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COLUMBIA AND MONTOUR COUNTIES
aw ay by a flood, Daniel Blizzard being carried down with it and rescued with great difficulty near the old stone house. The company until then had declared eleven dividends, but it was not till i8 6 j tluit another was declared. A fter the destruction o i the bridge the contpany made a contract with Chester Evans and David N . Kownovcr to rebuild it. Evans disposed o f his share in the contract, and his partner completed it. T he second bridge stood the storms and floods for many seasons, until 1875, when it too was swept aw ay by the terrific impact of the Catawissa bridge, which was borne down uiKin it by a tremendous flood on St. Patrick's day o f that year. 'Ilie following year the bridge was rebuilt, H . F . H awke & Co. doing the stone work, and the Sm ith Iron Bridge Company, o f Ohio, the framew'ork and super structure. T his was also a toll bridge and the toll keepers at different dates w e re : Daniel Hoffman. Rudolph Sechlcr, E . Mellon, Isaiah S . Thornton and Joseph Hunter. T he bridge w as a fourth o f a mile in length, with a covered footway on each side, shut entirely off from the central roadway. T he officers of the company in 1886 w ere: A . J . Frick, president; J . C . Grove, secretary and treasu rer; W . H . M agill, A. J . Frick, Isaac X . G rier, Wilson M elter, G . M . Shoop, B. R. Gearhart, Amos Vastinc, managers. T his bridge was replaced in 1904 by a steel structure o f truss construction, by the State and county authorities o f Montour and North umberland, and w as made a free bridge by order o f court. H enry R . I.eonard was the engineer fo r the State, and the contractors were the K in g Bridge Company, o f Qeveland, Ohio. C ATAW ISSA
Barton, W illiam M cK elvcy, reorganized the company on a firm financial basis and erected a bridge at a cost o f $26,000. It w as opened for travel Jan . 15, 1833. The location was changed from that first selected, at the mouth o f Fishing creek, to the site of the present bridge. T his bridge su f fered several times from freshets and ice. In 1846 five spans were destroyed, but were re built the following year. In 1875 the entire superstructure w'as swept aw ay, an d a truss bndge was built to replace it the same year. A ll of these bridges were operated on the toll plan. W h ai proceedings were su rie d for a free county bridge at Bloomsburg, the stockholders of the Catawissa toll bridge became fearfu l that their property would be depreciated there by. and so they and other citizens filed a peti tion in court in December, >892, asking the appointment o f viewers to report on the exp^licncy o f making the Catawissa bridge a free county bridge. H. H . Hulmc, J . W. Hoffman, White Snyder, Joseph Sponcnberg, A . K . Smith and P. I lippenstccl were appointed viewers, and filed their report in September, 1893, in favo r of the proposition, fixing the pncc to be paid by the county at $34,000. On the same day the grand ju rv approved the re port. Exceptions were filed, and a fte r a hear ing and numerous delays the court ordered the bridge made free o f tolls on N ov. 9, 1893. T he same day the commissioners approved of this action, and tolls ceased at 2 :30 p . m . on Friday. N ov. n, 1893. In September, 1896. the bridge w as lifted o ff the piers from end to end and thrown over into the river by a windstorm. T he commi.ssioners, acting under the law o f 1895, providing that the State shall rebuild county bridges (hat arc destroyed by storm o r fire, took the prop er legal steps to have the Stale replace the bridge. T he contract for an iron and steel bridge w as let to the Penn Bridge Company, for $124,900. It w as completed and accepted, and used until March 9, 1904, when the ice flood carried aw ay two spans. Again the State rebuilt it. putting up an entirely new struc ture. much better than the first one. T h is was opened for travel in M ay, 1908. D uring the intervals when these bridges were build ing the county maintained a free ferry at this point.
T he necessity fo r a bridge across the river at Catawissa induced citizens o f that town to pe tition the L ^ s la t u r e as early as i8 i6 to authorize' the opening o f subscription books fo r that purpose. .Although some stock w*as subscribed for, the project languished for twelve years. Then the near completion of the North Branch canal caused renewed inter est and an appropriation o f $5,000 was obtained from the State. Subscriptions were olitained with more ease and a committee, consisting of George T aylor. Jacolj Alter, Philip Rcbsomc, George Keim, John Rcbsome, G ^ r g c Getz. BI.OOMSBUIIC Hcnr>- Foster. John C. Appelman. Samuel Brooke, Benjam in Beaver. Peter Schmick. On Aug. 23. 1 ^ 2 . a petition w as presented Cieorge H . Willci.s, Stacy Margerum, John to the court by citizens asking fo r a free county
