Bridge currently undergoing rehabilitation
The 120th anniversary of the current New Hope-Lambertville Toll-Supported Bridge’s opening was sometime in July — but the exact anniversary date remains a bit of a mystery.
The bridge, which has been owned by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission since July 1, 1987, replaced a formerly privately owned covered-wooden toll bridge that was destroyed in the Delaware River’s “Pumpkin Flood” of 1903. The flood’s name stemmed from the squash and gourds observed moving downstream in the river’s turbulent harvest-time surge.
The steel bridge was constructed between April and July of 1904 for the local shareholder-owned New Hope Delaware Bridge Company, which then operated it as a tolled crossing for the next 15-1/2 years. The company charged tolls in each direction to animal-power and early motorized vehicles, pedestrians, and bicyclists.
The bridge’s designer was Reginald G. Develin, a Pennsylvania railroad civil engineer. The general contractor was Lewis F. Shoemaker & Co., which had offices in New York City and Philadelphia and construction works in Pottstown, PA. The bridge’s main steel members were manufactured by the Cambria Iron & Steel Works in Johnstown, PA. The bridge originally had a wooden road deck installed by the Armstrong & Latta Co. of Philadelphia. The bridge’s original walkway had a wood surface and was only four-foot wide.
Now, on to the mystery: When did the steel bridge open?
The Commission has previously stated that the completed or nearly completed bridge opened to the public on Friday, July 22, 1904. That date was based on a July 22, 1904, Trenton Evening Times newspaper clipping about a horse and wagon owned by Alfred B. Holcombe of New Hope and driven by James Naylor being the first to cross the bridge during the early part of July 21, 1904. The article – with a Lambertville, July 22 dateline – stated: “The bridge was open for traffic this morning.” (Note: The significance of Mr. Holcombe’s rig crossing the bridge was that it was the last vehicle to cross the old wooden bridge before its demise in the Pumpkin Flood.)
Three subsequent news items published in July 1904 now put the July 22 opening date in doubt. One is a paragraph that appeared in the Trenton Evening Times’ July 21 edition: “Isaac Scarborough, who has charge of the ferry boat running between this city and New Hope, made his last trip yesterday afternoon at 3 o’clock. At that hour the new bridge was opened for traffic.” If that report is correct, the bridge opened 3 p.m. Wednesday, July 20, 1904.
Two other news articles suggest the bridge opened on Saturday, July 23, 1904:
One is a July 24, 1904, Philadelphia Inquirer article with a “Lambertville July 23” dateline that states the bridge opened with the bridge company allowing “foot passengers and teams” to cross that day free of charge. The other citation for a July 23 opening date is an item in the Lambertville Record’s July 27, 1904, edition. It says the bridge opened on Saturday morning (July 23) and “all day people flocked from one town to the other” with no tolls being collected.
The bridge opening date certainly could be solved if meeting minutes were available for the second incarnation of the New Hope Delaware Bridge Company. Unfortunately, those minutes and other documents appear to be lost – if they ever existed in the first place.
As for the bridge itself, it soldiers on. Aside from repair projects and flood emergencies, the bridge has been in service as either a privately owned tolled crossing or a publicly owned non-tolled crossing for 120 years.
The bridge is currently undergoing a multi-faceted rehabilitation aimed at putting it in a good state of condition, mitigating the need for major repairs and protracted lane closures for a minimum of 15 years. The bridge was last rehabilitated in 2004, the structure’s 100th anniversary year.
The New Hope-Lambertville bridge crossing is the fourth oldest along the Delaware River, dating back to a covered wooden bridge that opened September 12, 1814. This bridge was designed by American covered-bridge pioneer Louis Wernwag and was owned by the first incarnation of the New Hope Delaware Bridge Company established in 1812. The bridge’s crossing full ownership history is as follows:
- New Hope-Delaware Bridge Company (first iteration), private covered wooden toll bridge, Sept. 12, 1814, to March 15, 1850 (approximate)
- (Note: Half of the bridge (on New Jersey side) was destroyed in the January 1841 “bridges freshet;” three replacement spans subsequently were constructed later that year.)
- Honorable John Runk et al, court-appointed receivers later further empowered by legislative fiat in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, private toll bridge, Feb. 27, 1850 (approximate) to April 4, 1854.
- John G. Michener and James Gordon, Philadelphia attorneys, private toll bridge, Apr. 4, 1854 – Nov. 8, 1855 (possibly in connection with Samuel Grant of Philadelphia).
- Samuel Grant, Esq., Philadelphia shipper and importer, private toll bridge, November 8, 1855, to September 23, 1872.
- Estate of Samuel Grant, William S. Grant executor, private toll bridge, September 23, 1872, to May 11, 1887.
- New Hope-Delaware Bridge Company (second iteration), private toll bridge, May 11, 1887, to December 31, 1919 (property closing) – January 3, 1920 (effective date)
- (Wooden bridge destroyed by flood October 10-11, 1903.)
- States of Pennsylvania and New Jersey (jointly) with operation and maintenance assigned to the former so-called Joint Commission for Elimination of Toll Bridges across the Delaware River with costs covered by state tax subsidies, public non-toll bridge, December 31, 1919 (property closing date) January 3, 1920 (effective date) to December 28, 1934.
- States of Pennsylvania and New Jersey with operation and maintenance assigned to the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission and costs covered by state tax subsidies, public non-toll bridge, December 28, 1934, through June 30, 1987.
- The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (owner/operator) with costs covered by a portion of tolls collected at the agency highway toll bridges, public “toll supported” bridge, July 1, 1987, to today.
A full and accurate historical account of the bridge is available here: www.drjtbc.org/wp-content/uploads/NH-L_History_web_single-file.pdf.