Whiting Arches are little-seen engineering achievement

NORTH CANAAN — A remarkable feat of engineering rose high above Canaan Valley 140 years ago. Embodying strength, purpose and beauty, it has endured in near perfect condition to this day. But few have seen or even heard of the Whiting Arches. The mysterious double tunnel has gotten a modicum of attention lately, with the more than 54 acres of land that surround the arches on the market. Raynard & Peirce Real Estate is listing the land, a five-bedroom home and a three-story stone “summer house” for $980,000. The former owner, whose daughter inherited the property, lived across Canaan Valley Road, and bought it in 1983 to preserve the land.Realtor Maria Bonetti offered a tour of the property that began with a drive through a yet-to-be-planted cornfield, fearing a gated drive might not be passable following some winter blowdowns. The swath of yard leading into the property is concealed by a grass-covered gravel berm, installed by the original owner for just that purpose. It is like entering another world. Beyond the two houses, charming despite a need for some TLC, the path continues on through woods and tall trees draped in vines. It opens into a clearing by the Whiting River, and the first — and perfect — view of the arches. At one time, Route 44, still known in parts as the Albany Turnpike was just that; the road from Hartford to Albany, N.Y. Over time, development forced portions onto different courses. In East Canaan, Old Turnpike Road South forks to the northwest. It is straight as an arrow to the end, where it meets Browns Lane and College Hill Road. Directly across the intersection, a dirt road provides access to two homes, and ends at an access road onto the property. Continue to draw that line on a map and it will hit and continue straight along Old Turnpike Road North. In between the pieces of the original turnpike is the Whiting River (little more than a stream in some places), which courses through Canaan Valley. A turnpike bridge there would have had to be modest.But then the railroad came. The old Central New England Railway (CNE) paralleled the turnpike. It boasted steep grades as it made its way from Springfield and Hartford to Maybrook, N.Y., just beyond Poughkeepsie.But traversing the Canaan Valley required a different approach —not a trestle but, for reasons lost to history, a massive fill.The double arches were needed to accommodate the river and the road. A lot of blasting — unpredictable black powder charges were used in those days — was needed to prepare the site.It was massive construction project for that era, circa 1870. An estimated 50 men and 100 horse-drawn carts moved dirt dug up by a steam shovel from the nearby fields to fill a notch between two ridgelines. The stone used for the arches is said to be from Bald Mountain in Norfolk. A plaque set into the structure lists A. Ives D. Starrick and W.A. Barnes as the contractors.Bonetti has a box of old photographs that offer glimpses of what life was like decades ago when the summer home was built and a small community thrived in the valley proper. They show extensive gardens and outbuildings. It was obvious the folks there fended very well for themselves, living off the bounty of the fertile land long after the train stopped rumbling by above them.A portion of the old rail bed is maintained by the Norfolk Land Trust. There is access from Ashpohtag Road, a short distance north of Route 44. On the way to the arches, which cannot be seen from up top, is Stoney Lonesome, a rock cut about a half mile in, famous for its proximity to a fiery train crash in 1882. The No. 6 Bloomfield engine hit a boulder on the track and tumbled down a cliff. It took 10 days to haul it back up. A huge steel “pin” was set deep into the rock there as part of the process, and remains to this day.