Darlington's Bridge at Delaware Station

The Darlington's Bridge at Delaware Station was a highway bridge over the Delaware River in the community of Delaware, New Jersey (known locally as Delaware Station). Formerly a railroad bridge constructed by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad in 1855, the bridge was sold off when the new one upstream was constructed. Henry V. Darlington, an Episcopal minister in Delaware and nearby Belvidere offered to buy the second-hand bridge for $5,000 (1914 USD, equal to $116,013 today). Darlington converted it into a highway bridge, using two fired members of the nearby Meyer's Ferry to be toll collectors. The bridge prospered, becoming a part of State Highway Route 6 in 1927 and U.S. Route 46 in 1936. In 1932, during the massive state takeover of bridges by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, Darlington refused offers, bargaining his way up to $275,000 (1932 USD, equal to $4,684,390 today) before accepting the sale. This amount was a far cry from the nearby Belvidere-Riverton and Portland-Columbia Covered Bridge, which were accepted for $60,000 (equal to $1,022,049 today) and $50,000 (equal to $851,707 today) respectively. On that moment, tolls along the bridge and Route 6 were eliminated. The bridge prospered toll-free for another 21 years, until the construction of the Portland-Columbia Toll Bridge upstream at Columbia. Although Reverend Darlington was still alive to see all this transpire, the Commission ceased operations on the Darlington Bridge on April 3, 1954, and the bridge was immediately demolished.