Town and Howe truss designs were patented by Ithiel Town in 1820 and William Howe in 1840, respectively.[2] The Shushan Bridge employs "the patented Town lattice truss, consisting of top and bottom chords of laminated wood plank, and a web of diagonal wood planks connected by wood trunnels at each point of intersection".[2]
It was individually inventoried by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation in 1977.[3]
The Shushan bridge was closed to traffic in 1962, and was left abandoned for 10 years, then saved by local preservation efforts. Now it is operated as a seasonal museum.