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Putnam Memorial Bridge,
Bridge No. 992
• Route 44 over Quinebaug River
• Putnam
• Concrete arch
• Length: 70'
• Built in 1925
• Connecticut Highway Department, engineers
The State originally planned to build a much plainer bridge at Putnam's Cargill Falls as part of its
trunk-road bridge program, but local citizens felt that a more stylish bridge, especially if it were
dedicated to war veterans, was needed for this prominent downtown location. As one resident
expressed it, "That bridge may be there for the next century. Why should it not have lines of
grace, as well as strength?" 
Consequently, the citizens of Putnam appropriated $9,000 to reimburse
the state for the extra expense of sidewalks, a wider roadway, and attractive brass lamps. They
also paid more than $2,000 for the memorial bronzes, which depict infantry, aircraft, and naval
vessels and list the names of the town's World War I veterans.
The bridge was dedicated on Armistice Day, 1925, by Governor John Trumbull. The celebration included
a parade that attracted 15,000 people, at that time the largest ever held in Putnam. The event was
filmed and appeared shortly thereafter in moviehouse newsreels across the country.
