Jeffrey visited the Bridgetender's House today! This small cottage is located next to the historic St. James Hotel on the bluff of the Alabama River. It is the site of Selma's first bridge across the Alabama River and is listed on the National Historic Register. The turning operation of the toll bridge required a bridge tender to manually turn the capstan to open the span. The bridge tender lived in this house with his family and was on duty 24 hours a day! Tolls were collected until 1900 when the county bought the bridge and made it free to cross. The bridge was then removed in 1940 when the Edmund Pettus Bridge was opened.
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