A "highway and railway" bridge

In 1872, the Old Colony Railroad Company received permission from the state to "construct a bridge across Taunton River...from Fall River to...Slade's Ferry in Somerset and said bridge shall be adapted to both highway and railway purposes." By January of 1876, the bridge was fully operational. It was the final rail link connecting Providence and beyond to Fall River. This bridge was demolished in 1970. Somerset was once a transportation hub delivering needed commodities and a critical energy source to cities that throbbed with industry during the Gilded Age. Photo courtesy of Richard Girard