1958: A Rainy Day Opening for a Footbridge Link Between the Keystone and Garden States

October 22, 1958

On a rainy Wednesday afternoon, a dedication ceremony was held for a pedestrian bridge crossing the Delaware River and connecting the borough of Portland, Pennsylvania, with the community of Columbia in Knowlton Township, New Jersey. This new structure replaced a covered bridge that had been constructed in 1869 and was destroyed by the remnants of Hurricane Diane in 1955.

The new structure – originally known as the Portland-Columbia Toll Supported Bridge — was built by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC). It was Gus P. Verona, one of the members of this commission, who officially opened the Portland-Columbia Pedestrian Bridge to the public. In his brief remarks to those in attendance, Verona proclaimed that the bridge would provide “a structure of considerable benefit and convenience to the public as a link between the two communities and the two states.”

Other dignitaries who likewise served as speakers at the ceremony included Charles Newbaker, a retired DRJTBC officer who was in direct charge of the Portland-Columbia Pedestrian Bridge’s predecessor for quite a few years; Howard Ott, mayor of Portland; Robert F. Sanders, mayor of Knowlton Township; George Werkheiser, president of the Portland Community Board of Trade; William S. Kennedy, president of the Portland Businessmen’s Association; Alfred Baylor, president of the Knowlton Township Chamber of Commerce; and Barbara D. Ward, president of the Portland Women’s Club.

Father Joseph Illig, the pastor of St. Vincent DePaul Catholic Church in Portland, gave an invocation as part of the ceremony. There was also music performed during these inaugural festivities for the bridge. “Walter Charles Emery, trumpet soloist, provided instrument accompaniment for the group singing of the ‘Star Spangled Banner,’” reported the next day’s edition of the Pennsylvania-based Pocono Record. “Mrs. Walter Emery directed a group of sixth and seventh grade pupils — Jean Encke, Judy Fields, Alice Jewell, Irene Mack, Kathleen Reimer and Jean Taylor — in singing the National Anthem.”

The Portland-Columbia Pedestrian Bridge is 774 feet (236 meters) in length. It continues to be owned and operated by DRJTBC.

Photo Credit: Jag9889 (licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en)

For more information on the Portland-Columbia Pedestrian Bridge (originally called the Portland-Columbia Supported Toll Bridge), please check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland%E2%80%93Columbia_Pedestrian_Bridge