Yardley's Bridges Over the Delaware River
![Yardleyville Covered Bridge](https://yardleyhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Yardleyville-Covered-Bridge-cropped-768x659.jpg)
Mystery Unsolved: Piecing Together the Yardley Bridge Story
Thursday, September 12 • 7:30 p.m.
Old Library by Lake Afton
46 West Afton Avenue, Yardley
A series of bridges (were there two or three?) once connected Yardley to Wilburtha, NJ. This river crossing was preceded by various ferries, until a local company was legislatively authorized in 1835 to build and operate a private toll bridge. But when did it open? And who built it? That’s where all the mystery begins.
Joe Donnelly of the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission will attempt to unravel some of the mysteries about the bridge crossing. The story involves low-denomination promissory notes, railroad barons, a Philadelphia business address, a Trenton-trolley enthusiast, quarry operators, scant news accounts, and eventual public ownership by the states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Today, the only remaining vestige of the bridge crossing is its abutment on the Pennsylvania side. Find out how and why this river crossing changed over time and why it no longer exists.
The public is welcome to attend, and there is no charge.