Remembering Conshohocken and West Conshohocken Read Online Free PDF Page B

quarter cts
    For Every Sled and for Every Horse Drawing Same-----------4 cts
    For Every Wagon or Cart per Horse-----------------------------5cts
    Two Oxen to be estimated equal to one horse Marble or all other heavy loads
    For three tons burden---------------4cts per horse
    For four tons burden----------------5cts per horse
    For five tons, 8cts, six tons, 9cts, seven tons, 10cts, up to 12 tons for 15cts
    No Tolls shall be demanded of any persons, attending Funerals, nor returning from the same. And all persons going to and returning from military parades, going to or returning from church, children going to or returning from school, going to or returning from general elections or walking in military processions .
    The covered bridge fell into disrepair in the late 1860s, and the Matsonford Bridge Company opted for the removal of the covered span and replaced it with a more modern wood and steel, open-air bridge. In 1886, the Matsonford Bridge Company was purchased by Montgomery County, and tolls were abolished.
    In early 1916, several trucks had fallen through the wooden planks of the steel bridge. Because of the deteriorating condition of the structure, Montgomery County commissioners assigned four watchmen (costing the county eighty-four dollars per week) to monitor the amount of traffic allowed on the bridge at one time and the weight of the vehicles. Restrictions on the bridge caused many fights with the four guards, one at each end of the bridge for twelve-hour shifts. The speed limit on the bridge was four miles per hour, with tickets handed out, and any truck that looked too heavy was ordered to drive to Norristown to cross the bridge there.
    By 1918, plans for a new, more modern concrete bridge were in place, and construction began with the building of the borough’s third bridge, a temporary wooden span to be used during the two-plus years of construction of the new bridge. Construction of a temporary bridge made of wood began on November 24, 1919, with workers began driving piles over the canal. The temporary bridge was built some fifty yards upriver from where the concrete structure was to be built.
    On December 27, 1919, the first concrete was poured on the West Conshohocken side of the river for a retaining wall. On March 5, 1920, large chunks of ice in the rapidly flowing river washed out the temporary bridge. Two months later, the temporary bridge was in service.
    Seeds & Derham Construction was the low bidder for the construction of the bridge, coming in at a total cost of $638,500. The bid also included the removal of ten buildings that would be in the right of way for the new bridge, including the home of Peter Matson located on the West Conshohocken side of the river. Behind the Matson house were two brick homes that were demolished; they had been owned by John Sowers and his brother Monroe. At the corner of Front and Ford Streets was a barbershop owned and operated by Robert Reid. Next to Reid’s barbershop was a blacksmith shop, wheelwright buildings and a house, all owned by J. Fred Beaumont. On the Conshohocken side of the river was the old Conshohocken Hotel, once owned and operated by James Wells, whose signature can be found on the Conshohocken incorporation papers. The bridge ticket office once used to collect tolls, the home of the bridge caretaker and one of the first iron mills erected in the borough were also demolished.
    When finished, the new bridge spanned the river, canal, three sets of railroad tracks and two roads. The new bridge was twice as wide as the covered bridge, at fifty feet wide (the covered bridge was twenty-five feet wide). When it was built from 1919 to 1921, materials used to create the span included 25,000 cubic yards of concrete, 672 tons of steel, 5,750 square yards of wood block paving, 2,110 square yards of granite, 1,607 square yards of bithulithic, 31,700 barrels of cement, 16,500 tons of sand and 28,700 tons of gravel.
    When the bridge opened in 1921, the road