Town and Howe truss designs were patented by Ithiel Town in 1820 and William Howe in 1840, respectively.[2] The Rexleigh Bridge employs "the patented Howe truss, with paired diagonal timbers, single timber counters, and multiple vertical iron rods defining each truss panel. The diagonals and verticals are connected to the upper and lower chords by means of cast-iron bearing blocks."[2] Those bearing blocks are "embossed with the name of their manufacturer, 'R. Comins, Troy, N.Y.,'" and, although the timber used is local, the bridge "appears to be a rare surviving example of this type of prefabricated nineteenth-century bridge construction."[2]
It was individually inventoried by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation in 1977.[3]