\nLast week I told you about the first Sebasticook Bridge at Winslow, opened ten years before there was any bridge across the Kennebec between that town and Waterville.<\/p>\n
Not until 1824 was the first Ticonic Bridge erected, and during all the years of sizable settlement on both sides of the river before that date, the only conveyance for vehicles was by the ferry which operated across the bay below Ticonic Falls. Persons on horseback could, in low water, cross by the ford a short distance above the falls.<\/p>\n
The first Maine Legislature convened in 1821, a few months after Maine had been made a separate state in 1820. In that first legislature there was passed an act creating a corporation called the Proprietors of Ticonic Bridge. That act is worth quoting in its entirety. It said: “Be it enacted by the House of Representatives and the Senate of the State of Maine, in legislature assembled, that Nathaniel Gilman, Asa Redington, Abijah Smith, Hall Chase, Nehemiah Getchell, Jediah Morrill, James Husty, Simeon Mathews, Moses Appleton, James Stackpole, Jr., and Johnson Williams are hereby incorporated into a body politic by the name of the Proprietors of Ticonic Bridge, for the purpose of erecting and keeping in repair a bridge over the Kennebec River. At each meeting one vote shall be allowed for each share, provided that no proprietor shall be entitled to more than ten votes.<\/p>\n
“Said bridge shall be erected over the Kennebec River at the foot of Ticonic Falls – the towns of Waterville and Winslow – of good and durable materials, and well covered with plank or timber suitable for such a bridge. A toll is granted to be collected by the corporation as follows: for each foot passenger two cents; for person riding one horse 12 cents; for single horse drawn cart, wagon, sled or sleigh, 16 cents; for person with wheelbarrow or handcart, 5 cents; for each team drawn by more than one horse or ox, but not more than four, 20 cents; for each additional horse or ox, 4 cents; for each coach, chariot, chaise, phaeton or carriage, 37 cents; for meat cattle or horses other than those ridden or attached to vehicles, 3 cents each; for sheep and swine, one cent each. Toll shall be paid for all carriages passing the bridge, whether loaded or not. Toll shall begin when the bridge is first open to passengers. It is, however, provided that all persons going to or returning from military duty and all inhabitants of Waterville or Winslow going to or from public worship on the Sabbath Day shall pass the bridge free of toll.<\/p>\n
“At the place where toll is collected, the corporation shall erect a board or sign, on which shall be inscribed in large capital letters the rates of toll. At all times when the toll gatherer shall not be in attendance, the gate shall be left open and passage shall be free of toll.”<\/p>\n
Of special interest in that charter is the provision for free toll to people going to or from Sunday services. That was necessary in the early 1820’s when the towns were responsible for religious services and were equally obligated to grant religious freedom to all sects. It frequently happened that persons in Waterville wanted to hear the Rev. Joshua Cushman, regular preacher in Winslow, rather than hear the itinerant preachers in the East meeting house on the Waterville common. Likewise, some people in Winslow preferred to go to the East meeting house to hear different denominational preachers, or to attend the services held by the Baptist’s Jeremiah Chaplin and Stephen Chaplin in schoolhouse or homes, before the Baptist Meetinghouse was opened in 1826.<\/p>\n
So, to permit people on either side of the river to go to church on the other side, they could do so without paying toll.<\/p>\n
In May 1822, at a Waterville tavern run by Gardner Waters, Timothy Boutelle, Asa Redington,and Jediah Morrill were made a committee to draft by-laws, and a committee of five, comprised of Gilman, Moses Dalton, William Pearson, James Stackpole, and Edward Esty, was appointed to choose a site for the bridge and draft a plan for its construction.<\/p>\n
In September 1822, it was voted to erect the bridge with its western end near Moses Dalton’s grist mill and James Stackpole’s old store, and as near to right angles with the course of the river as should be practicable. In November a contract was made with William Sylvester to build the bridge for $6,500, according to a plan submitted by him. Sylvester lived in Norridgewock. The corporation further agreed to accept from James Stackpole, a piece of land extending from the west shore near Moses Dalton’s house to the channel, and pay him such damages as a neutral referee, Robert Hallowell Gardiner, should decide. The by-laws committee saw their recommendations confirmed, so that the adopted regulations called for an annual meeting in November, the election of president, clerk, and treasurer, appointment of a toll gatherer, and declaration of annual dividends. The toll taker was obligated to settle with the Treasurer every Saturday evening, and he must attend the gate daily from sunrise to 9 P.M.<\/p>\n
Another by-law stated: “If any person, with intent to avoid toll, shall attempt to pass or actually pass the bridge without consent of the toll gatherer, he shall pay for each offense not more than $10 nor less than $1.”<\/p>\n
As was the case with the Sebasticook Bridge, a man could get for himself and his whole family, the right to cross the bridge at any time, without paying trip by trip toll, if he purchased a year’s passage at a stipulated fee, based upon the size of the family and the nature of his business.<\/p>\n
Before construction got underway, two outsiders were added to the proprietors – Joseph Southard of Vassalboro and Reuel Williams of Augusta.<\/p>\n
You have already noted that no taxation was involved in building Ticonic Bridge. The cost was met by the sale of stock issued by the private corporation that had been chartered in 1821. Among the original proprietors no one at first held more than ten shares, probably because the by-laws provided that no more than ten shares could be voted at a meeting by anyone person. So of the first owners, Gilman, Redington, Getchell and Stackpole each had ten shares, the others had fewer.<\/p>\n
In 1831, there were outstanding 107 shares. The largest block was held by a Boston man, Peleg Sprague, who had 23 shares. The second largest holder was Timothy Boutelle with 17. Williams had 13, while Nathaniel Gilman and Thomas Hill held ten shares each. Of the 107 shares, 73, or a clear controlling interest were in the hands of five men. There were 12 other proprietors, none of whom had more than six shares. In fact, by 1831 some of the original investors had sold most of their stock in the bridge, for by that time James Stackpole had only four shares and Asa Redington only two.<\/p>\n
When construction began on the bridge in the summer of 1823, the president of the corporation was Nathaniel Gilman, the clerk was Moses Appleton, and the treasurer was Timothy Boutelle. There were four directors: Asa Redington, William Pearson, Jediah Morrill and Moses Dalton. Timothy Boutelle was appointed to apply to the Court for abandonment of the ferry traveling as soon as the bridge should be opened. It was also voted to permit Mr. Washburn to cross the bridge in a mail stage for an annual fee of $25.<\/p>\n
In 1830 the corporation voted to cause two lamps to be kept burning under the arch of the bridge on dark nights. Of course that first bridge was a covered bridge, as were its successors, until well after the Civil War. Covered also was the railroad bridge, a short distance above the highway bridge. That railroad bridge was erected when the Somerset and Kennebec R.R. came up the east side of the river in 1855. Six years earlier the Androscoggin and Kennebec R.R. had already arrived from Lewiston via Belgrade and Oakland. In 1830 it was decreed that no person should be allowed to walk on the bridge after candle lighting in the evening, but riders on horseback, and drivers of wagons and carriages were allowed to cross until 9 p.m.<\/p>\n
So much publicity regarding the old covered bridges has mentioned the prohibition at driving across them faster than a walk that few people know that such was not the case when some of the old bridges were built. Ticonic Bridge had been open for eight years before, in 1832, the corporation petitioned the legislature to pass an act prohibiting horses and carriages from going across Ticonic Bridge at faster than walking pace.<\/p>\n
The year 1832 saw the biggest freshet that ever hit the Kennebec until 104 years later in 1936. In that 1832 flood, Ticonic Bridge was swept away. There was some question whether the bridge should be replaced on the same spot or built a little farther upstream. There was a movement to place it even above the falls. However, it was decided to build on the old site, and Asa Redington, James Stackpole and Samuel Plaisted were appointed a committee to supervise construction. They had holes bored in the ledge on the Waterville side to secure the ends of posts for the new bridge, but construction for some reason, not clear in the old records, was still delayed.<\/p>\n
In June 1833 a new committee – Jediah Morrill, Timothy Boutelle, and Nathaniel Gilman – was appointed to contract for a bridge, either at the old site or at a new site across the rock island, for a sum not exceeding $7,000. The contractor must warrant the bridge to stand for 12 years and, during that period, the proprietors would be at no expense for any repairs except for flooring. The committee did however have the option to contract for a trussed bridge without warranty if one could be built for $5,000, the contractor to have the use of any usable materials salvaged from the old bridge.<\/p>\n
The proprietors went even farther in giving leeway to their committee. If the committee should be unable to make satisfactory contract for a $7,000 guaranteed bridge, or a $5,000 trussed bridge without guarantee on the old site, they were authorized to contract for a permanent bridge at the upper site across the rock island above the falls, the bridge to rest on stone piers, and the whole to cost not more than $13,000. The committee was able to present approved plans and a contract for a trussed bridge on the old site for the already agreed $5,000, and in the fall of 1834 the new bridge was opened to traffic.<\/p>\n
During the first ten years of its existence the ownership of Ticonic Bridge stock saw a lot of changes. In 1835 there was a public sale of what were called delinquent shares. Those were shares for which pledges had been made but not paid. So Julius Alden, a local auctioneer informed the proprietors that on April 11, 1835, he had sold 27 delinquent shares for $15 a share, 22 of them to Timothy Boutelle, and the other five to William Pearson. Since partial payments had been made on the forfeited shares, the corporation got somewhat more than the $15 figure for the complete sale.<\/p>\n
The by-laws required that, whenever toll receipts were insufficient to meet expenses, an assessment should be levied on each share. Although in many years the company was able to declare dividends, there was sometimes a deficit. Such was the case in 1837 when an assessment of $5 a share was levied. Just as some purchasers had not paid for their shares and lost them at auction, so were there failures to pay assessments. Hence Alden, the same auctioneer who had sold delinquent shares in 1834, sold rights to shares on which amounts had not been collected. Again Boutelle was the big buyer, getting rights on some 20 such shares at 25 cents each.<\/p>\n
In 1841 tolls were reduced in price, so that a gig or sulky carrying one person could cross for 15 cents, and a person who had to make daily foot use of the bridge to get to work could cross it as many times as he pleased for 12 cents a week. Tolls were again reduced in 1848, so that a man on horseback could now cross it for six cents.<\/p>\n
The last meeting of the proprietors was held on November 21, 1870. Immediately after the Civil War there had been a movement to free the bridge from toll, but nothing came of it until another big flood in 1869 destroyed Ticonic Bridge. When it was rebuilt, it was under the County Commissioners as a free bridge.<\/p>\n
And with that story of old Ticonic Bridge we must say goodbye until next week.<\/p>\n
Year: 1973<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Read the script for “Little Talks” program #973, Broadcast on May 13, 1973<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":405,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35313,35296],"tags":[],"builder_content":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9348"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/405"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9348"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9348\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}