Contributed by Penobscot Marine Museum
Description
The Ferry Point "steel bridge" as it became known was built to replace the wooden covered bridge, which had spanned the St. Croix since 1845.
The opening of the "steel bridge" in 1895 was the occasion of the greatest celebration ever seen in the St. Croix Valley. Up until this time all three bridges across the St. Croix had been toll bridges, a fact much resented by the local populace on both sides of the river.
However with the beginning of the international street railroad a new, much sturdier steel bridge was required to support the weight of the streetcars. As it was no longer feasible to collect tolls, the towns of Calais and St. Stephen bought all the bridges and they became "free."
On the day the bridges officially became free almost every citizen in the two towns who could walk paraded the four-mile loop from Calais to Milltown, across the Milltown bridge to Milltown New Brunswick, then back to St. Stephen and across the "steel bridge" to Calais. It is said the line was unbroken for the entire length of the march.
About This Item
- Title: International Bridge between Calais and St. Stephen, N.B., ca. 1940
- Creation Date: circa 1940
- Subject Date: circa 1940
- Location: Calais, Washington County, ME
- Media: Glass Negative
- Dimensions: 12.7 cm x 17.75 cm
- Local Code: LB2007.1.114244
- Collection: Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co.
- Object Type: Image
Cross Reference Searches
Standardized Subject Headings
- Rivers--New Brunswick
- Iron and steel bridges--Maine--Calais
- Iron and steel bridges--New Brunswick--St. Stephen
- Saint Croix River (Me. and N.B.)
- Rivers--Maine
- Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Company
- Photographs--Maine
- Postcards--Maine
For more information about this item, contact:
Penobscot Marine MuseumPO Box 498, 5 Church Street, Searsport, ME 04974
(207) 548-2529
Website
This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. No Permission is required to use the low-resolution watermarked image for educational use, or as allowed by the applicable copyright. For all other uses, permission is required.
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