This vintage postcard from the 1800s shows the Mata-Port Bridge. It crosses over the Delaware River, connecting Port Jervis, New York, to Matamoras, Pennsylvania. Historians widely believe that the first bridge between the two communities was built in 1854. Since then, it has been destroyed and rebuilt at least three times.
One of the most famous disasters involving the bridge took place in 1875. At the time, the Delaware River was full of ice and subsequently flooded. The ice bergs took out the bridge and damaged many other areas within both cities. Below is a photo taken after the 1875 flood.
It clearly shows how massive the ice bergs were and gives a glimpse at what the cleanup efforts must have entailed.
The final few photos are what the Mata-Port Bridge looked like in the 1990s and early 2000s.
For those that are interested, additional information about the Mata-Port Bridge’s history is available through the Minisink Valley Historical Society and the Catskill Archive.
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