<\/p>\n
Much interest has recently been aroused for the preservation of what people have long called the “Two Cent Bridge” across the Kennebec at the foot of Temple Street in Waterville, to which we made brief reference in last week’s broadcast. Unique as one of the few, still existing toll foot bridges in the nation, this Waterville bridge is now listed on the register of national historic places.<\/p>\n
Original promoter of that bridge was the late Harvey D. Eaton, Waterville’s well known attorney and co-founder with the late Walter Wyman of what is now the Central Maine Power Company. Through the courtesy of Mr. Eaton’s son, Doane Eaton of Skowhegan, I have seen a family scrapbook that contains several clippings about the Two Cent Bridge.<\/p>\n
In the spring of 1900, the Waterville Mail published an article under the heading ”Where is the bridge?”. The article said: “A corporation was formed a few years ago to put in a suspension briclge across the Kennebec at the foot of Temple Street. A
\ncharter was obtained from the Legislature, but nothing has been done about the bridge.<\/p>\n
“The bridge would be a great convenience to workmen in the Winslow pulp mill who reside on the Waterville side of the river, especially those who live north of Ticonic Bridge. A private corporation now controls the charter rights. When the time
\ncomes for the City to build a bridge at the point named, there will be conditions that must be met, and they are likely to cost something beyond the natural expense.”<\/p>\n
The newspapers hint that the city ought to get busy about the footbridge got no response and nothing happened until the late autumn of 1900, when the Mail had another story on the bridge. The headline read, “New Footbridge to Be Built from Foot of Temple Street Across the Kennebec. Finished by April 1, 1901.” The text of the story said: “The much looked for bridge to be built by the Ticonic Footbridge Co. is at last assured. American Bridge Co. of New York for the Ticonic Bridge Co. of Waterville at a cost of $15,000, the structure to be completed by the first of next April.<\/p>\n
“The bridge will have five spans. The shore spans will be respectively 100 and 76 feet; the next two will each be 100 feet, and the central or channel span will be the longest, 200 feet. The bridge width will be six feet, inside measurement, except for the wider channel span, which will be eleven feet.<\/p>\n
“The bridge will rest on six piers, the parts of which under water are to be crib work with granite tops. The shore pieces will have granite abutments.<\/p>\n
“The work of building the piers has been sublet to Proctor & Bowie Co. of Waterville, and construction will begin at once. The steel parts will be shipped to Waterville soon, and the general contractor hopes to have all the steel in place before the ice goes out in the spring. The bridge will be twelve feet above high water.<\/p>\n
“Proctor snd Bowie are now receiving bids for the ballast needed to build the piers.<\/p>\n
“The Ticonic Footbridge charter was granted in 1899, but because of the great increase in cost of steel, the promoters felt compelled to delay construction. The charter sets the toll at two cents. At present all the stock in the company is held by
\nHarvey D. Eaton and William T. Haines.”<\/p>\n
In February 1901, the Mail published the following account: “It was cold today for workmen on the new Ticonic Footbridge, but Alan Horner, foreman for the American Bridge Co. was in high good humor. Three or four days earlier, warm weather had fast softened the ice, and if it had continued the ice would have gone out. Now, if all goes well, the spans will be in place before the ice leaves Waterville.<\/p>\n
Explanation of that statement is that a deliberate decision had been made to build the bridge in winter, when workmen could stand on the firm ice. Its melting and going out made the work more difficult.<\/p>\n
The same article stated that the toll house would be near the Waterville end of the bridge, and that it would not be a simple toll box, but a residence structure with toll office and three other rooms on the first floor, and four rooms on the second.<\/p>\n
In March there appeared another article in the Waterville Mail. It said: “The test which people of Waterville and Winslow have been awaiting to ascertain the stability of the new footbridge came today between 10 a.m. and noon. The ice gave way above the Hollingsworth dam and came down with a big flood of water, striking the piers of the footbridge and swelling up under the toll house, but all proved equal to the strain. The small, narrow piers cut the water and turned it aside, like the bow of a ship, and the bridge stands firm and secure. The predictions of the wiseacres that the bridge would not hold thus went down the river with the ice. Mr. Eaton has labored faithfully on this project, and he deserves the gratitude of the community.”<\/p>\n
Just before the bridge was ready to open, the Waterville Mail said: “The building of the footbridge will bring Waterville and Winslow closer together in their industrial and business relations. It will prove a decided convenience for a large number of the H & W workmen, and should receive considerable patronage from the general public. As it is now, a trip from this city to the mills is so long that almost anyone on this side of the river who has business with the H & W offices is inclined to use the telephone or take a carriage for a personal visit. With the bridge, it will be only a short walk to the mills.”<\/p>\n
When the footbridge opened in early April of 1901, the Waterville Mail heralded the event with an editorial. It said: “The opening of Ticonic Footbridge should prove a source of much satisfaction to one of our citizens. For at least six years, Harvey D. Eaton has been engaged in an effort to secure closer connection between this city and the Hollingsworth mills. For some three years, his efforts were concentrated on the erection of a free footbridge by the city. In the spring of 1898, he presented to the City Council a petition signed by nearly all the businessmen on the street. After lengthy and controversial discussion, the Council decided against the proposal, deeming it inexpedient as a taxation project because of the expense.<\/p>\n
“So Mr. Eaton turned to plans for a privately owned bridge. He succeeded in interesting Mr. Haines, and together they secured from the Legislature, in the spring of 1899, a charter for the Ticonic Footbridge Co.<\/p>\n
“Now at last the bridge is in operation. Beginning Sunday, the rate will be two cents, as authorized by the charter. However, books of tickets of either 10 or 25 can be purchased at the rate of one cent per ticket. That reduction will do much to make the bridge successful.”<\/p>\n
Although the footbridge withstood its first rush of spring water, it was a different story the following December. It is unusual for a Kennebec flood to occur in that month, but such a freshet not only came in 1901, but it proved to be the highest water and the most disastrous flood on the river since the devastating freshet of 1832.<\/p>\n
The newspaper account of what happened to the footbridge in that flood tells us that on the morning of December 16, 1901, there seemed danger that the bridge might be carried away at any moment. It was swaying badly. The toll house on its high posts had been boarded up, but the ice-filled water was pounding at its foundation with great force.<\/p>\n
People living in the houses at Head of the Falls were packing their goods preparing to move to higher quarters. By 3 a.m. the toll house was just hanging and was expected momentarily to go. Soon after 6 a.m. the footbridge went out. It had stood less than a year and had been soundly constructed. When it was built no one could possibly foresee that it would face, in a few months, the worst Kennebec flood in a century.<\/p>\n
The intrepid owners soon made plans to rebuild the bridge. In February 1903, the Mail said: “Harvey Eaton and William T. Haines have made a contract with the Bridge Construction Co. of Berlin, Conn. for the erection of a new steel suspension bridge across the Kennebec at the foot of Temple Street. It is expected to be completed before the ice leaves the river. The new bridge will cost $30,000, twice the cost of its predecessor that was destroyed by the flood of December 16, 1901. It will be six feet wide and 570 feet long. It will be set on an incline 16 feet higher at the Winslow end. The main or suspension span will be 400 feet. Supports will be two towers 53 feet high, over which will run anchorages, two steel cables 2-3\/8 inches in diameter, from which the main span will be suspended. The designing engineer is Edwin Graves of Hartford, Conn.; consulting engineer is J. R. Worcester of Boston, whose local representative is Engineer John Burleigh of Waterville.<\/p>\n
“Although the former bridge had a short life, it was used long enough to show that there was no lack of patronage. The new bridge will be much heavier and is expected to withstand all stress that the elements may put upon it. Mr. Eaton and Mr. Haines deserve highest praise for their determination.”<\/p>\n
As we close this broadcast, let us turn to the wording of a warrant issued for the collection of Waterville taxes more than 140 years ago in 1835.<\/p>\n
Signed by Ebenezer Bacon and Jonah Coombs, two of the selectmen of Waterville, the warrant was issued to Nathaniel Crommett, the town treasurer and collector of taxes. Its somewhat quaint language reveals the complicated entanglement of different kinds of taxes in the early 19th century. The warrant said: “In the name of the State of Maine, you are hereby required to levy and collect from the several persons named in the list herewith committed to you each his proportion therein set down of the total amounting to $3,918.23, being the amount of the state, county and town taxes assessed upon the inhabitants of said town of Waterville for the current year, including deficiencies in the highway tax of last year. You are to collect and pay said sums to Asa Redington, Treasurer of the State of Maine before January 1, 1836, $463.16; to David Dike, Treasurer of Kennebec County $553.62, half before September 1, 1835, and the other half before January 1, 1836. The residue you are to place in the treasury of the town of Waterville, half before October 1, 1835, and the other half before January 1, 1836. You are authorized, however, to allow the following discounts: 6% for payment within 30 days,
\n4% within 60 days, 2% within 120 days. If any person shall neglect to pay before January 1, 1836, you are to distrain his goods and chattels to the value thereof and hold them for four days. If he does not pay before the expiration of those four days, you are to sell the goods at public auction for payment of the tax with charges. The overplus from such sale, if any, you will restore to the owner. If the delinquent taxpayer has no goods or chattels, you are to take the body of such person and commit him into the county jail, there to remain until he pays his tax.<\/p>\n
Thus we see that the tax laws had teeth in 1835, and with that bite we say goodbye until next week.<\/p>\n
Year: 1976<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Read the script for “Little Talks” program #1084, Broadcast on April 25, 1976<\/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":[35493,35296],"tags":[],"builder_content":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9626"}],"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=9626"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9626\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9626"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9626"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9626"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}