BY ARIADNE WILL
With a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest of the guilty party, the Town of Pittsford is committed to figuring out who left graffiti on the Depot Hill covered bridge.
The graffiti was discovered by the town following the Fourth of July weekend.
Town Manager John Haverstock said it included “some advocacy regarding gay rights and marijuana use,” and that the graffiti endorsed both topics.
Highway Foreman Chad Eugair told the Reporter that the Highway Department has removed it to the best of their ability, but that some traces of the graffiti remain.
“The paint did not come completely off but is less noticeable,” Eugair told the Reporter. “The wood is rough and it is not easy to remove all the paint.”
And the graffiti isn’t just an eyesore: the Depot Hill covered bridge is registered as a National Historic Landmark.
The bridge was built in 1840 by Abraham Owen and got its name from its proximity to what used to be Pittsford’s train depot. It is one of two covered bridges in Pittsford that crosses Otter Creek.
“To have someone vandalize such a vital piece of the town’s history is senseless, disrespectful, and very disheartening,” said Anne Pelkey, curator at the Pittsford Historical Society. “Because our four covered bridges are an important part of Pittsford’s heritage, harming them in any way could result in their not being around for future generations.”
Haverstock agrees.
“Graffiti anywhere is a problem,” he wrote in an email. “However, graffiti on a historic structure such as a covered bridge is particularly obnoxious and disrespectful to the entire community.”
