Mayville Stories—The Old “Toll Bridge” 1869—1927

Posted: December 15, 2006

The Old Toll Bridge

 Oxford Democrat October 4, 1927

 

 Bethel “Toll Bridge” Gone

 

 The old toll bridge across the Androscoggin River at Bethel was closed to traffic on Wednesday, Sept 21, 1927, after having withstood the elements for a period of 64 years.  This bridge was condemned as unsafe a few years ago but it had been repaired and kept in use. Last year state and bridge engineers examined it and found that the center stringers and plank were rotten and advised the erection of a new bridge.

 

 During the process of removing the bridge, the construction company found that the upper side of the bridge was in very bad shape, stringers being broken and one arch badly buckled and cracked.

 

 This bridge was built at a cost of approximately $35,000 and for a number of years a fee was collected from the traveling public to help pay for it.  This practice was discontinued later (December 31, 1888) and the town bonded for the amount left unpaid.

 

 A temporary bridge on the upper side of the old site will serve as a crossing until the new bridge is ready. This bridge is well lighted and approaches to it are good.

 

 The last ones to cross the old toll bridge were Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Chapman of Bethel. (The Chapmans lived only two houses from the Mayville end of the bridge and quite likely had made a deal with the policeman, McKeen, to be the last ones allowed to cross before the bridge closed for good.)

 

 An idea of the traffic over this route can be gained from the following figures which were furnished by Mr. E.E. McKeen, who is acting as traffic police on the bridge and covers the last ten days of the life of the old bridge. On September 11, 877 vehicles crossed; on the last day September 20, 594 crossed. A total from he 10 days is 7,102 for a daily average of 710.

During the bridge’s last 10 days in use, 7,102 vehicles crossed.

Click photo for enlargement

“The first day of January (1889) the outside world rejoiced in the privilege of coming to Bethel Hill without being compelled to pay tribute.” Oxford Democrat

1868— Bridge Construction Begins

 

February 14, 1868: (The Oxford Democrat)

 

 Stone work for the new bridge at Barker’s Ferry has been let to Piper and Lary. They are to build a pier of split stones, cemented which will be 80 ft by 12 feet at the base and 20 ft by 10 ft at the top. The building committee is: P. Burnham, Eber Clough* Samuel B. Twitchell (Mayville).  At this time it was extremely dry without enough water to run the mills; there were no teams in the woods; in April 1, 1868, there is a large amount of lumber at the mills but no water to cut it up.

 

 June 19, 1868: The Oxford Democrat, “We understand that the wood work for the new bridge at Barker’s Ferry has been let out to Mr. J. Richardson of Northumberland, NH.

 

 

 *Later Mr. Clough built a wooden model of the bridge which he kept at his mill next to Mill Brook .

Bethel had been incorporated for 73 years without a reliable bridge over the area’s major river. Trestle bridges could not hold up under severe flood conditions which were often accompanied by large ice floes.

Until the Androscoggin River was bridged by this huge two lane, three span, wooden marvel in 1869, Bethel residents as well as all other north bound travelers in this region were forced to use ferries to conduct their business across the river.