Jamestown Historical Society: Old Jamestown Bridge

	Jamestown Historical Society
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Old Jamestown Bridge

The Old Jamestown Bridge
1940 - 2006

Jamestown Bridge Memories Project
Personal stories & memories from the 1940's to the present.

For almost three centuries after the first English settlers came to Jamestown, the only access to the island was by boat. With the advent of steam power, regular ferry service was established across Narragansett Bay with Newport to the east and Saunderstown to the west.

The Jamestown Bridge Toll House, December 10, 1969 after the tolls were eliminated when the Newport Bridge opened several months earlier. The toll booth was at the west end in Saunderstown. In 2006 the Jamestown Bridge was torn down after years of not being used with the new bridge just to the north.

The first bridge to the island was built in 1940 and spanned the West Passage, connecting Jamestown to the mainland at Saunderstown. This was a significant event in the history of the island and it is recorded in detail in the archives of the historical society. Jamestown would not have a bridge to Newport in the east for another 30 years in 1969.