Le Petit Pont

Le Petit Pont. . , Le Petit Pont footbridge connects French-Canadian workers with home, church, and school. , "French Quarter" community spans the river , An estimated 1 million French-speaking Canadians relocated to the U.S. between 1840 and 1930. In census figures for Brunswick, French speakers accounted for 40% of the population in the early 1900s. Recruited by Cabot Mill, many of these French-Canadians lived in worker housing here in Topsham Heights but crossed the river on the "swinging bridge" to work and to attend the Catholic church and school in Brunswick. , 1892 Swinging Bridge helped Cabot Mill workers cross to homes in the Topsham Heights neighborhood. The same firm that designed and built the Brooklyn Bridge, John A. Roebling's Sons Company, constructed le petit pont. Over time, steel replaced its original timber-framed towers. Partially destroyed by flood in 1936, the Works Progress Administration rebuilt its superstructure. A later renovation was completed in 2006. , ( photo captions ) , , 1925 Cabot Mill: Here, third-floor winding room workers. 13 of them have French surnames , , Topsham Heights housing for millworkers as seen from Brunswick , , 1936 A family crossing the Androscoggin River