# Dingman's Ferry Bridge > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Dingman's_Ferry_Bridge > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Dingman's_Ferry_Bridge.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dingman's_Ferry_Bridge > Source revision: 1312434462 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) For the community named Dingmans Ferry, see [Dingmans Ferry, Pennsylvania](/source/Dingmans_Ferry%2C_Pennsylvania). This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (April 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Bridge in Sandyston Township, New Jersey Dingmans Bridge Coordinates 41°13′12″N 74°51′33″W / 41.220070°N 74.859300°W / 41.220070; -74.859300 Carries PA 739 (PA side) / CR 560 (NJ side) Crosses Delaware River Locale Delaware Township, Pennsylvania and Sandyston Township, New Jersey Official name Dingmans Bridge Other name Dingmans Ferry Bridge Maintained by Dingmans Choice and Delaware Bridge Company Characteristics Design Truss bridge Material Wrought iron Total length 530 feet (160 m) Width 18 feet (5.5 m) Longest span 170 feet (52 m) Clearance above 11 feet (3.4 m) History Opened August 24, 1900[1] Statistics Toll $2.00, both directions Location Interactive map of Dingmans Bridge The **Dingman's Ferry Bridge** (also known as the **Dingmans Bridge**) is a [toll bridge](/source/Toll_bridge) across the [Delaware River](/source/Delaware_River) between [Delaware Township, Pennsylvania](/source/Delaware_Township%2C_Pike_County%2C_Pennsylvania) and [Sandyston Township, New Jersey](/source/Sandyston_Township%2C_New_Jersey). Owned and operated by the Dingmans Choice and Delaware Bridge Company, it is the last privately owned toll bridge on the Delaware and one of the few remaining in the United States. It is also the only bridge on the Delaware to toll traffic entering New Jersey. The bridge lies south of the [Milford–Montague Toll Bridge](/source/Milford%E2%80%93Montague_Toll_Bridge), and well north of the [Delaware Water Gap Toll Bridge](/source/Delaware_Water_Gap_Toll_Bridge) along [Interstate 80](/source/Interstate_80). This crossing location is particularly useful for Pennsylvanians commuting to New Jersey or New York City. ## Operations Dingman's Ferry Bridge from the New Jersey side As of July 1, 2022[\[update\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dingman%27s_Ferry_Bridge&action=edit), the toll for automobiles is $2.00 each way.[2] Books of 40 tickets can be purchased from the toll collector for $40.00, effectively lowering the toll to $1.00 for frequent users. The bridge's toll booth, located on the Pennsylvania side, is staffed by a single toll collector who stands in between the two lanes of traffic, collecting toll fees by hand. No toll is charged on Christmas Day, when the booth is unattended. Although the bridge is within the [Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area](/source/Delaware_Water_Gap_National_Recreation_Area), government employees pay the toll, unless responding to an emergency with lights and sirens on. Bicyclists may cross for free, but pedestrians are not allowed due to the narrow lanes. An 11-foot (3.4 m) height restriction coupled with a weight restriction of four [tons](/source/Ton) precludes large [RVs](/source/Recreational_vehicle) and trucks from crossing. Because the Bridge Company is responsible for its own repairs, it employs an engineering firm certified for bridge inspection to regularly and thoroughly inspect the bridge from the tops of the [trusses](/source/Trusses) to the underwater foundations. Each year, the bridge company closes the bridge the second week after Labor Day to conduct any repairs needed to maintain the structural integrity of the bridge and to replace or flip the salt-treated [British Columbia](/source/British_Columbia) [fir](/source/Fir) planks. These floor boards are held in place with [anchor plates](/source/Anchor_plate) and collar nails which results in a characteristic rattling of the deck with the traffic moving.[3] ## History ### Origins In 1735, Andrew Dingman, a [Dutch](/source/Netherlands) pioneer from [Kinderhook, New York](/source/Kinderhook%2C_New_York), operated a [ferry](/source/Ferry) that connected the [Old Mine Road](/source/Old_Mine_Road) in [Sussex County, New Jersey](/source/Sussex_County%2C_New_Jersey) to the Bethany Turnpike (now [U.S. Route 209](/source/U.S._Route_209)) in [Delaware Township](/source/Delaware_Township%2C_Pike_County%2C_Pennsylvania) in [Pike County](/source/Pike_County%2C_Pennsylvania). The ferry thrived for over a century as [pioneers](/source/Settler) utilized this important river crossing to move westward. Crossing on the ferry took some time; the ferryman on the western (Pennsylvania) bank had to be summoned by a bell on the eastern (New Jersey) shore. A house was built near the present-day bridge in 1803 by Judge Daniel W. Dingman, who was said to hold court in his bare feet. Still standing, the house is on the state and [national historic registers](/source/National_Register_of_Historic_Places). ### First four bridges In 1836, the first bridge was built by the Dingmans. Under the terms of its charter, churchgoers, schoolchildren, and funeral processions were given free passage, a condition that is still in effect today. The first bridge lasted until 1847 when high water washed away the [Milford Bridge](/source/Milford%E2%80%93Montague_Toll_Bridge) upstream and swept the debris into Dingman's Bridge. After a brief life, the second bridge was destroyed four or five years after the first, in a severe windstorm. A third bridge was constructed in 1856, but, being of poor quality, it fell apart by 1862. The ferry was operated once again by the Dingmans until the property was sold in 1875 to John W. Kilsby, Sr. Kilsby's family operated the ferry until the turn of the twentieth century when the current bridge was constructed using some materials recycled from a railroad bridge on the [Susquehanna River](/source/Susquehanna_River). This bridge has survived major floods in 1903, 1955, 2005, and 2006. ### Later years Dingman named his original plot of land Dingman's Choice. The village of Dingman's Choice, which became quite identified with the ferry, had its name changed by the Post Office to [Dingmans Ferry](/source/Dingmans_Ferry%2C_Pennsylvania) in 1868. Records from an early logbook show tolls of 40 cents for a [horseless carriage](/source/Horseless_carriage), 25 cents for a two-horse wagon, 10 cents for a horse and rider, 5 cents for a bicycle, and 2 cents for a footman. Under the terms of the original charter, no toll was charged for individuals traveling to church or a funeral, a custom which is still practiced presently.[4] ## See also - [List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in New Jersey](/source/List_of_bridges_documented_by_the_Historic_American_Engineering_Record_in_New_Jersey) - [List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Pennsylvania](/source/List_of_bridges_documented_by_the_Historic_American_Engineering_Record_in_Pennsylvania) - [List of crossings of the Delaware River](/source/List_of_crossings_of_the_Delaware_River) ## References **Notes** 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Dingman's Bridge Completed"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/35931167/dingmans_bridge_august_23_1900/). *The Pike County Dispatch*. [Milford, Pennsylvania](/source/Milford%2C_Pennsylvania). August 23, 1900. p. 3. Retrieved September 13, 2019 – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [Dingmans Choice and Delaware Bridge Company](https://dcdbc.com/) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [Spanning the Gap The newsletter of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Vol. 15 No. 2 Summer 1993](https://web.archive.org/web/20050408101044/http://www.nps.gov/dewa/InDepth/Spannin2/stgDFBRG.html) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Leibenluft, Jacob (August 2008). ["Can I Sell You a Bridge in Brooklyn?"](https://www.slate.com/id/2196425/). *Slate.com*. Retrieved January 31, 2014. **Sources** - Henn, William F. (1975). *The Story of the River Road: Life Along the Delaware from Bushkill to Milford, Pike County, Pa*. ## External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Dingmans Bridge](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Dingmans_Bridge). - [Official website](http://dcdbc.com) - [Historic American Engineering Record](/source/Heritage_Documentation_Programs#Historic_American_Engineering_Record) (HAER) No. PA-15, "[Dingmans Bridge](https://loc.gov/pictures/item/pa1137/)" - [Spanning the Gap The newsletter of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Vol. 15 No. 2 Summer 1993](https://web.archive.org/web/20050408101044/http://www.nps.gov/dewa/InDepth/Spannin2/stgDFBRG.html) - [Dingmans Bridge](https://structurae.net/structures/data/index.cfm?ID=20005817) at *[Structurae](/source/Structurae)* Crossings of the Delaware River Upstream Milford–Montague Toll Bridge Dingmans Bridge Downstream Delaware Water Gap Toll Bridge v t e Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Points of interest Delaware Water Gap Delaware River Appalachian Trail Delaware Water Gap Toll Bridge Dingman's Ferry Bridge Milford–Montague Toll Bridge Minisink Minisink Archaeological Site Waterfalls New Jersey Bevans Foster–Armstrong House Kittatinny Mountain Mount Tammany Military Road Millbrook Old Mine Road Historic District Cornelius Gunn House Old Mine Road Pahaquarry Copper Mine Van Campen's Inn Wallpack Ridge Brau Kettle Wallpack Valley Flat Brook Flatbrookville Wallpack Center Worthington State Forest Mount Tammany Fire Road Sunfish Pond Pennsylvania Big Bushkill Creek Blue Mountain Mount Minsi Brodhead Creek Brodhead Farm Bushkill Callahan House Capt. Jacob Shoemaker House Conashaugh Cold Spring Farm Springhouse Delaware Water Gap station Eshback Fort Hyndshaw John Michael Farm John Turn Farm Marie Zimmermann Farm Metz Ice Plant Nyce Farm Schoonover Mountain House Zion Lutheran Church Dingmans Ferry Dingmans Falls Dingman's Ferry Dutch Reformed Church George W. Childs Recreation Site History Tocks Island Dam controversy --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Dingman's Ferry Bridge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dingman's_Ferry_Bridge) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dingman's_Ferry_Bridge?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.