| by Samuel C. Eastburn
Delaware Valley Advance, 1929
Samuel Eastburn's early days of Langhorne,
Once known as Attleborough. Part VII
While using these fords and ferries until after the Revolution, the increase in travel demanded bridges. They were built at first very slowly and after years of talk about it. The expense for bridges has always been a large item in the county's finances. With a very considerable stream like the Neshaminy running lengthwise through it, and the Tohickon running across it, and the Delaware River and canals on two sides, and the many sizeable streams which ran down into all of these from its hills, the county has had nearly one hundred bridges to build, repair and rebuild. Freshets washed them away or they were burned and had no insurance.
On account of its position in the bend of the river, the county not only had to provide bridges of size and strength for its own travel, or the nearby people of New Jersey, but travel from New England to Washington went across it and in later years very many heavy commercial trucks from Philadelphia to New York did the same. Many efforts have been made ever since stone roads were built to correct this very evident unfairness to the property holders by our legislators from this county by putting heavier taxes on heavy travel.
Nearly all the bridges in the lower end of the Bucks County have had to be rebuilt or strengthened to make truck travel safe for people who did it for profit. After persistent efforts to Senator Clarence J. Buckman, the States have just now taken these bridges over and Bucks County will always owe thanks to him for his untiring, unselfish and public spirited efforts over many years, after taking a great deal of his time outside of his routine duties as Senator to secure for his constituency fair taxes, good roads and free bridges.
Toll-Bridges Built
The bridges over the Delaware were built by corporations that were slow in building. Those who wanted them most naturally had to put up the money to build them. Money was not so plentiful in those days, nor were banking syndicates so ready to take bonds. The State gave them wide charters with liberal powers as an inducement, some with banking rights with issuance of notes and currency, limiting the building of nearby bridges, allowing them to make their own by-laws and charge "all the traffic would bear" in tolls. fortunately the stockholders were at first, among the largest users of them, and they were generally kept within reasonable rates.
If a history of the efforts to get these bridges built, the incidents of their construction, and how the tolls were charged and why were written it would be a very interesting picture of the life in the Delaware River Valley for 100 years past. They nearly all varied as to tolls, being set according to local ideas, and sound funny to us today. One had a rate posted on it for "a man leading a calf, 4c;" "5c a hear for "horned cattle';" "7c for a horse and rider;" "1c for a foot passenter;25 cents a month for him payable in advance." We can hardly understand why so many would wan to lead calves over the bridge, in 1843 as to require a special rate and sign. Evidently short horns or muleys were not known in those days, or they let them across free on account of their rarity. The monthly rate probably was to lure customers to a tavern, store or post office on the other end.
Many of these locations became great routes of tavel and their rights became vry valuable though fires and freshets destroyed some, or parts of them, without insurance. Including the one about to be built at Bristol, there were twelve of these in the limits of the county. They were all toll bridges.
Some years ago Senator Buckman took up the far seeing ideas that, for the convenience of Bucks County and comity with our neighboring state of New Jersey, these bridges should be free, and he set about to do it. It has taken many years of patient effort to get the descendants of these early owners to part with their stock at a fair price to the states. It was also hard to persuade members of the legislatures to free bridges they never used, but he has succeeded so that there is but one toll bridge within the limits of the county.
The fords on the Neshaminy had been used for 100 years before there were bridges. Bridges were generally build near the fords, as the roads were built to them and people were used to crossing there. The first built, I believe, was the one at Bridgewater on the "king's Path" to Philadelphia, and the second the stone arch bridge at Edison on the York Road. These bridges were of very heavy oak frames morticed and bolted together with very heavy oak pins. They were boarded on the sides and roofed and set on heavy stone piers. The trusses were of heavy white oak. These were on the sides about four feet apart and eight by eight inches in size.
On the inside a heavy arch of oak was sprung from peir to pier andpinned through the whole with oak pins two inches in diameter and two feet long. Later, thick oak planks 3 x 20 inches were fastened lengthwise inside the arch, making it appear asif with good roads and heavier loads, the early builders feared for their "margin of safety." Pennalties or fines were put on them. "$5.00 for carrying fire over them, or smoking, and $30.00 for driving cattle faster thana walk." No more than 20 head of horned cattle were to be driven over at one time.
The years 1865 and 1866 were known as the freshet years, there being no less than five large ones. The "great freshet" was at this time and washed away every one of these save one, from Wrightstown to the mouth of Neshaminy creek, eight in all. The one at Oakford alone remaining because of the volume of water was so great that the main current went across the meadows.
The bridge at Bridgetown was fine one of its type. It was lifted entirely from its foundations and floated down as a whole, striking the bridge on the Buck Road, demolishing it, and then went across the meadows with the current and lodged part way across in what is now the Springfield Water Company's meadow at Janney. When the creek receded we had the novel sight of a large covered bridge sitting in a green meadow, where it stood for a long time, a sample of the honest work of its builders. It was afterward, with great difficulty, torn to pieces and partly hauled away, and its heavy timbers burned.
These bridges require but little repairs. They had heavy white oak plank floors held in place, but too tightly, by oak pieces on either side. There are but three of these left in the lower end of our county. One of the Feasterville Road, one at Rocksville over the same stream and one at the end of Bowman's Hill. these are small compared with great bridges of the kind which were first built on the lower Neshaminy and are about to be taken down.
The piers of these bridges still stand and when we consider there was no steel drill for foundations and little machinery except rope and pulley, and note the great stones of which they are constructed and their solid appearance, and that they have been battered by logs, trees and tons of ice through the years, they are mute evidence of the honest pride in the work of these early masons. The bridge at Bowman's, while not a perfect type, having been rebuilt, is on the lands of the Washington Crossing Park Commission and will, be preserved by them as a feature of it "Colonial Center" there.
These bridges were succeeded by iron bridge which were expected to last forever, but the weather and wind and tension of heavier travel required their replacement very soon. The iron appeared to lose its tensile strength and they continually required painting, tightening and other repairs.
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