BRUNSWICK/TOPSHAM

The Swinging Bridge has spanned the Androscoggin River for generations, connecting Brunswick and Topsham. It was originally built for mill workers living along the river to have easy access to the Cabot Manufacturing cotton mill. Now, it serves as a reminder of the communities’ past, as well as the close physical and historical connection between the towns.

The bridge, built in 1892 for $2,000, was renovated in 2005 with Federal and state grant money and private donations totaling $710,000.

The bridge was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.

Nancy Randolph, a former selectboard member in both Brunswick and Topsham, who is part of the nonprofit Save Our Bridge group, said having the bridge on the national register helps the organization apply for grants.

She said to her, what is so remarkable about the bridge is its accessibility to townspeople in both communities. “In 15 minutes, 15,000 people can get to the bridge on foot,” she said.

She said historically the towns have not wanted to spend local tax dollars on bridge restoration. However, many locals are fond of the structure, and have donated money and labor to see to its care.

“I’ve always wanted to connect rather than separate. The world would be better if all communities were connected. This bridge is the epitome of connection,” Randolph said.

Randolph said she became interested in the bridge in 2002 when she was appointed to a committee to decide how to go about restoring the landmark.

Randolph and two other locals, Elizabeth Glover, Roger Caouette, as well as her daughter, Jessica, an architect, who worked together to start the Save Our Bridge non-profit and applied for Federal funding to help with the rehabilitation of the bridge.

The group was started because by 2000, the bridge was in disrepair and threatened with demolition. A two town committee was appointed to investigate the options for rehabilitation and funding. Apart from the money raised to renovate the bridge, $50,000 in services and money was donated to create welcoming parks and parking areas at either end of the bridge.

Bridge history

When the Topsham Land Company decided to develop housing in Topsham Heights along the Androscoggin River, it decided a pedestrian bridge would help entice workers at the Cabot Mill in Brunswick to move across the river, according to historian Candace Kane, a Brunswick resident who wrote a history of the bridge for the Maine Memory Network.

Cabot Manufacturing owned about 30 acres of land on both sides of the river and had more than 75 tenement buildings to house workers.

Many of the workers who lived in the tenements and in the northwest section of Brunswick came from Canada and were of French descent. By the 1880s, the tenements were overcrowded and serious concerns were raised about health and sanitary conditions in the area, according to information compiled by the Maine Memory Network and the Maine Historical Society.

To help alleviate the situation, Charles E. Hacker, Amos O. Reed, George A. Stover and Frank Weatherill of the Topsham Land Company built houses on the Topsham side of the Androscoggin River.

It was decided a footbridge would make the new housing more attractive to mill workers. The Topsham Land Co. wanted a reliable firm to design the bridge and supply materials because a footbridge in Skowhegan had recently collapsed due to weak cables, according to the Maine Memory Network.

The suspension bridge was built and is now known by several names — the Swinging Bridge, the Swing Bridge, and Le Petit Pont. In November 1891, developers met with representatives of the John A. Roebling Sons Co., which made wire rope and employed bridge engineers who could design suspension bridges.

Roebling is best known for his design work on the Brooklyn Bridge, which was completed in 1883. Roebling built 37 suspension bridges of different sizes, including the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and George Washington Bridge, which connects New York City to New Jersey.

In 1936, following damage from a flood, workers hired through the Roosevelt Administration’s New Deal Works Progress made repairs to the Swinging Bridge. Bridge users on both sides of the river watched in shock during the spring flooding in 1936 as high water and ice flipped the deck of the bridge, heavily damaging the structure. Repairs were made to the bridge deck, among other parts of the structure, and new railings were added, according to information from the Maine Memory Network

The suspension cables and the towers were unharmed, despite the beating the bridge took from the high, powerful river waters.

Renovated and repaired in 2006, the bridge is ready to serve many more generations of Brunswick. A continuing fundraising campaign raises money for maintenance of the bridge.

Visit saveourbridge.org. for more information.

jlaaka@timesrecord.com