The "Working On The River: A Ferry Tale! - Part III" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Sometime in the 1720s along the bank of the Susquehanna River in the state of Pennsylvania.  A young Quaker by the name of John Wright had arrived near the river in 1724 to explore the land and preach to the local Native American tribe, the Shawnee, who had established a settlement along a creek bearing their name and which exists to this day.  He built a log cabin in an area known as Shawanatown which was a tract of land granted to George Beale by William Penn in 1699.  Here John lived for slightly more than a year before leaving.  

A photograph of the Wright's Mansion in Columbia, PA.

But, he returned in 1726 with two gentlemen known as Robert Barber and Samuel Blunston.  It was during this stay that they began developing the area.  Mr. Wright built a house about 100 yards from the edge of the Susquehanna in the area of South and Union Streets in what today is known as Columbia, Pennsylvania.  The house eventually became home to his family which included at the time wife Patience and sons John Jr. and James.  One of John's daughters, Susanna who was born in England 29 years before, eventually moved into the home to care for her brothers after their mother had died.  Mr. Barber built a saw mill and two years later built a home near the river which still stands today and is the second oldest home in the area, after Mr. Wright's home.  Mr. Blunston built a mansion atop a hill next to North Second St.  When he died it was found that he had willed the mansion to Susanna Wright who had become a close friend of Samuel.  She took up residence at the mansion while she too ministered to the Native Americans, raised silkworms and visited her brother John Jr.  

An artist rendition of the first Wright's Ferry. Click to enlarge.

In 1729 John Wright applied for a patent to operate a ferry on the river with his two friends and in 1730 was granted that patent.   He also built a ferry house and tavern on the eastern shore of the river and a small town grew up around it with the tavern still there today.  His son, John Jr. operated the tavern until 1834 when he married and moved to the west shore of the river and built a similar structure in what today is known as Wrightsville, Pennsylvania.  Eventually John Sr. became involved in local government and rented his ferry to others and eventually sold it.  In 1729, soon after he had applied for his patent for the ferry, he also petitioned Mr. Penn to create a new county, Lancaster County, which was the fourth county in the colony known as Pennsylvania.  Lancaster County residents regularly traveled to Wright's home to file papers and claims, seek government assistance, register deeds and perhaps use his ferry.  The town became known as Wright's Ferry.  Today the town is known as Columbia in honor of Christopher Columbus.  Now, to give you a bit of information about the ferry.  For quite some time those traveling west from Philadelphia, thru Lancaster, would reach the mighty Susquehanna River and have to stop unless they could find a way across the rapid waters of the river.  The river came to be the political boundary between the unsettled and settled lands in the country.  The ferry led to growth of towns around both sides of the river with Wright's Ferry on the east shore and Wrightsville on the west shore.  The very first ferry consisted of two dugout canoes fastened together with carriage and wagon wheels.  

On the Wrightsville side (west) of the river is located the
John Wright Restaurant.  Along the shoreline is a sign that
tells the history of the area and river.  This is a tiny part
of the very worn sign showing an early ferryboat.  I'm not
sure if it was one of John's ferryboats or if came later.

If cattle had to be moved across the river, the canoeist guided a lead animal with a rope behind the canoes in hopes the other cattle would follow.  If the lead animal became confused it might begin swimming in circles with the others following and all would drown.  Mr. Wright's ferry service grew and included canoes, rafts, flatboats and steamboats that were capable of handling Conestoga Wagons.  Eventually the volume of traffic grew and some might have to wait several days before they could cross the river.  Good business for his tavern though.  The ferrymen used to use chalk to put numbers on the wagons and other vehicles to keep them in order.  I can just imagine all the trouble that came from that, especially if it rained and the chalk washed off the waiting vehicles.  Fees were everything from 9 shillings for a coach or wagon with four passengers and drawn by up to five horses to 6 pence for a man and his horse.  At the time 10 pence would be equal to 13 cents.  And then, it happened.  Other people saw how successful the ferry was or they might have lived too far away to reach the ferry, so other ferries began to operate in 1787.  John had to reduce his fares to stay in business.  Anderson's ferry opened about three miles upstream near Marietta and was the closest competition, but more followed.  Eventually he sold the ferry and then in 1814 the first bridge over the Susquehanna River was built.  At the time it was the longest covered bridge in the world at 5,690 feet.  Since then five additional bridges have spanned the river at this site.  One was blown over while one was destroyed by ice while one was burned in 1863 by Union militiamen and townspeople to prevent Confederate forces invading Lancaster County and reaching the capital at Harrisburg.  Two still remain.  Decades before the Civil War, the Susquehanna served as a south to north route for fugitive slaves who traveled on the Underground Railroad through the town of Columbia.  Interesting story, but that's for another time.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.