Town historian Rebecca Hobart wrote: The Document has been preserved which was an agreement between Robert Little, Isaac Hobart Jr., and William Wood, selectmen of Edmunds, and Theodore Lincoln Jr. and Theophilus Kilby, Selectmen of Dennysville, on one part, and John Kilby of Dennysville, on the other part, that John Kilby would cause to be built on or before September 1, 1836, “in a thorough and workmanlike manner, a bridge over the Dennys river near the saw mills.” All of the specifications were given in regard to location, material and type of construction. The document was left in the hands of Benjamin Foster, town clerk of Dennysville, for safe keeping. When the bridge had been completed, and had been accepted by the selectmen of both towns as meeting all of the requirements of the agreement, each town paid the promised sum of one hundred and eighty dollars. That 1836 bridge linked the town of Dennysville and Edmunds for sixty-four years, until it was carried away by a freshet. The loss created an inconvenience, particularly to the residents of Edmunds who habitually travelled daily to the Dennysville post office. The October 15, 1900, issue of the “Eastport Sentinel” contained an article expressing the thanks of the “aged and infirm of Edmunds” to Miss Grace Allan, who kindly, courteously and expertly provided transportation with her dog cart and gentle bay pony, ‘Joe,’ to those who would otherwise could not travel the longer route around the Lower Bridge to the reach the post office and the stores. On October 27 a town meeting was called to consider the feasibility of rebuilding the bridge. Since a majority was in favor of restoration, the selectmen were instructed to proceed with the arrangements of construction, implementing a cemented granite pier in the middle. The town of Dennysville took similar action to provide a means of access from one town to another. In the town meeting held March 28, 1921, the citizens of Dennysville voted to appropriate $3,000 to the State towards the building of a concrete bridge at the mills. Although the mills now exist only in memory, the Upper Bridge is still in daily use. Until the construction of the new highway in the early 1950’s, which by-passes the town and crosses the river on a concrete bridge downstream from the Lincoln House, the Upper Bridge served all of the Route One traffic. From Rebecca W. Hobart, Dennysville 1786-1986 . . . and Edmunds, Too!, p. 12-3

Dennys River Historic PhotographsJohn P. Sheahan CollectionPhotos for Map

Upper Bridge, Contemporary view