Remembering Conshohocken and West Conshohocken Read Online Free PDF

the second of five bridges built to connect Conshohocken to West Conshohocken. It replaced the covered bridge, opening in 1872, and served the borough until 1919, when construction on the concrete bridge began. The John Woods Manufacturing Company can be seen on the left of the bridge.
    Peter Matson and his family had strong religious ties and were members of the Friends. The Friends of Plymouth Meeting was established in 1686 and would hold joint services and meetings with Gwynedd, Merion and Radnor Friends. Matson’s ties to these organizations unquestionably led to his building of a ford so that meetings could be held on both sides of the river. Matson’s Ford was located approximately seventy-five to one hundred yards upriver from today’s Matsonford Bridge.
    Matson’s Ford played a key role during the Revolutionary War in 1777 and again in 1778, and not without damages to Matson’s possessions. Matson encountered serious damage to his house and farm thanks to artillery action on May 20, 1778. Matson’s Ford played a prominent part for General George Washington’s troops, led by twenty-two-year-old General Marquis de Lafayette. Lafayette’s soldiers set up a fortress high on the hills above the river and, with cannons and heavy artillery, kept the British from crossing the river, forcing a retreat. Unfortunately, Matson’s house was in the line of fire. Following Matson’s death in 1778, his estate was one of the largest claimants for the damages wrought principally by the activity of that May 20, 1778 skirmish.
    By the early 1830s, members of the Matson family formed a bridge company originally called the President, Manager and Company of the Schuylkill Bridge of Matson’s Ford. The name was later shortened to the Matson’s Ford Bridge Company (and later renamed the Matsonford Bridge Company). In 1833, a covered bridge was constructed, crossing the river just yards from the Matsons’ house. With the building of this bridge, the original Matson’s Ford crossing was abandoned. For many years, the rock crossing was very visible, but today no sign of the crossing can be found.
    The original covered bridge spanned only the river from bank to bank. It measured 520 feet long and 25 feet wide. The cost of the first bridge was $13,000. A spring freshet in 1839 wiped out the bridge, but it was quickly rebuilt and opened in October 1840. The swollen Schuylkill River claimed the bridge again on September 2, 1850. The bridge was washed downriver to Philadelphia but remained in fairly good condition and was rebuilt again very quickly. In an effort to increase the revenues of the bridge, railroad tracks were installed on the bridge in 1860. Railroad trains were pulled by mules, helping travelers to move their goods—for a fee, of course.
    Once he emerged from the covered bridge on the Conshohocken side of the river, the traveler entered a short covered bridge that crossed the canal. It was in between bridges that he stopped to pay a toll.
    According to the original minutes reprinted in the Conshohocken Recorder newspaper, a sign was posted at both ends of the bridge announcing the fees for the use of the bridge:
    Rate of Tolls Authorized to be taken at the Matsonford Bridge—1838
    For Every Score of Sheep ---------------------6cts
    For Every Score of Hogs-----------------------10 cts
    For Every Score of Cattle----------------------20cts
    For Every Horse or Mule-----------------------3cts
    For Every Horse and Rider--------------------4cts
    For Every Foot Passenger----------------------1ct
    For Every Sulkey, Chaise or Gig with One Horse or Two Wheels--------------------6cts
    For Every Chariot, Coach, Phaeton or Chaise with Two Horses and Four Wheels--------12 & half cts
    For Either of the Aforesaid Carriages with Four Horses-----25cts
    For Every Stage Wagon with Two Horses-----------------------12 & half cts
    For Every Sleigh for Every Horse Drawing the Same----------6 & a