New and Old Clark's Ferry Bridges with Paddlewheel Coal Digger, July 26, 1925

A bridge photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park.

Handwritten note on the back of this photo: "7-26-1925. New & old Clark's Ferry Bridge."

As Wikipedia explains, the current Clark's Ferry Bridge, which was built in 1986, "carries U.S. Routes 22 and 322 across the Susquehanna River near Duncannon, Pennsylvania, about 20 miles north of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania." This photo, however, shows the two bridges that preceded the current one.

The concrete bridge in front was brand new when this photo was taken in 1925, and the older soon-to-be-demolished wooden covered bridge behind it was constructed in 1859. Drivers who crossed the privately owned bridge were charged a fee (see tickets below), but that changed in the 1940s after the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania purchased it and discontinued tolls.

In the foreground is a curious-looking boat with a paddlewheel. After a bit of searching, I learned that this was a "paddlewheel coal digger," one of many such boats that dredged the tons and tons of anthracite coal that washed down the river from mining operations farther north in Pennsylvania. For more information, see Van Wagner's article, The Hard Coal Navy of the Susquehanna River, and his 35-minute YouTube documentary, The Billy Marks: Paddlewheel Coal Diggers on the Susquehanna River.