The Bridgewater - Rochester Bridge

The Bridgewater - Rochester Bridge. . One of the first river bridges constructed in Beaver County was the Big Beaver Tall Bridge, which connected the thriving manufacturing town of Bridgewater with its smaller suburb of "East” Bridgewater in 1815. This wooden, covered bridge lasted just seven years before a strong storm took it down in 1821. , The second bridge here did not open until July 1826. The bridge was built by William Le Baron for the sum of $20,000. It was a much more substantial structure than the first span, and was also a wooden, covered bridge. This bridge would also operate as a toll bridge during its lifetime, which lasted until 1884. The Borough of Rochester was incorporated in 1849. , In February 1884, this bridge was a casualty of the greatest flood Beaver County had ever seen. The wooden Fallston Bridge was lifted from its piers and carried downriver, where it lodged against the Big Beaver Bridge. This mangled mess of wood then broke loose and slammed into the bridge of the Cleveland and Pittsburg Railroad, knocking it from its foundations. The remains of all three bridges were then swept out into the Ohio River, when they crashed into the great iron bridge of the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad. The devastation was so great that it was reported in newspapers across the country. , The third bridge constructed was an iron bridge with a wooden floor, completed in 1885. Once again operated as a toll bridge until 1905, it served both Bridgewater and Rochester during the busy industrial period of the late 19th century. This all-important link would also carry the streets of the Beaver Valley Traction Company beginning in 1891. In April of 1931, the wooden floor of the bridge caught fire and the structure was destroyed. , The current Bridgewater-Rochester Bridge was opened to the public as a free bridge on June 2, 1933.