Rocks Village Toll House

Summary

Many early American bridges operated as private businesses. Travelers paid tolls to cross them. Tolls repaid construction costs, funded maintenance, and hopefully produced a profit for owners. Workers at this toll house, built in 1828, collected fares for a bridge across the Merrimack River at Rocks Village, Massachusetts. Henry Ford acquired the building in 1928 and moved it to Greenfield Village.

Many early American bridges operated as private businesses. Travelers paid tolls to cross them. Tolls repaid construction costs, funded maintenance, and hopefully produced a profit for owners. Workers at this toll house, built in 1828, collected fares for a bridge across the Merrimack River at Rocks Village, Massachusetts. Henry Ford acquired the building in 1928 and moved it to Greenfield Village.

Artifact

Tollhouse

Date Made

1828

Creators

Proprietors of the Merrimack River Bridge 

Place of Creation

United States, Massachusetts, Haverhill, Rocks Village 

Creator Notes

Built by the Proprietors of the Merrimack River Bridge in Rocks Village, Massachusetts.

Greenfield Village
 On Exhibit

at Greenfield Village in Porches and Parlors District

Object ID

28.999.1

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford.

Material

Wood (Plant material)
Brick (Clay material)
Glass (Material)

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