West Elizabeth

West Elizabeth Boat Yard

The photo above is dated 1919 by the photographer, Robert Eberhart, and was taken at the West Elizabeth Boat Yard which was / is located slightly up river and on the opposite side from the Elizabeth Marine Ways. The EMW is visible below the bridge.

The boats seen include the T J WOOD, BERTHA and the JIM BROWN. JW does not mention in his journal that these three boats were at the EMW at the same time.

A panoramic view of West Elizabeth, with the barges at the Boat Yard the subject of the photographer. Note the hillside, a sign advertising Ice Cream to the right of the bridge and what appears to be a coal chute starting at the top of the hill, to the left of the bridge. These photos were taken circa 1920s/1930s and are from the collection of the Elizabeth Marine Ways.

The photos below are from the collection of Robert Eberhart and are dated 1920. The view is similar to the photos above, i.e. barges with West Elizabeth homes in the background, including hanging wash left out to dry.

The three photos above, from the collection of Robert Eberhart, are each labeled as West Elizabeth. The two on the left are dated as July 1914 and being photos of "X" Boat Bottoms with each photo showing a different Boat Bottom number. I do not know if the photo on the right might be showing the two "X" Boat Bottoms in their next phase of construction as it is not labeled with any info other than West Elizabeth, the town of Elizabeth appears in the background across the river.

The Elizabeth / West Elizabeth Bridge

The Bridge was built during 1893, opening on November 14, 1893. It was a toll bridge from its opening until December 6, 1913 when it was taken over by Allegheny County. A detailed early history of the bridge is available in R. T. Wiley's book "Elizabeth and Her Neighbors" pages 189 to 197. The bridge remained in service into 1951 when it was replaced by the four lane bridge that is part of Rt. 51.

During the bridge's twenty years as a Toll Bridge their were a total of twelve different tokens that were used which are described in the information below, click on the image to show full size. The photos below show several of these tokens.

added 6/27/16

The Tug AID was docked at West Elizabeth for approximately two years,1912 to 1914, and an assumption is that the tokens with the name of the Tug AID on the back were used by the employees of this boats company when crossing the bridge.

If you have additional information or photos of the tokens used on the bridge please contact me at jwmohney"at" comcast "dot" net. This is not a clickable address so please change the quoted words to the appropriate symbols.

The Toll Booth, shown below, was located on the Elizabeth side of the bridge with the first Superintendent / Toll Taker being Joseph S. Taylor. After tolls stopped being required Taylor continued working for Allegheny County on the bridge until he passed away in 1928. JW Lynch writes in his journal that he began working part time on the bridge during 1927 and then full time in 1928. Another name I found in the June 1978 issue of S&D Reflector who worked on the bridge as a toll taker was William Hughes.

The date of the photo below and the man shown is unknown but it might be during the 1920s and the man walking in front of the now installed railroad gate might be Joseph Taylor.

added 5/14/16