Gwynn’s Island tender house. Photo by Harold Weissler.


certified, and flagger training. During bad weather, we may implement an emer- gency action plan.” To qualify as tender, one must pass a


Virginia State Police security background check, spend ten days performing ten openings, and then undergo a verbal exam. Knowledge of hand tools and the ability to climb ladders is a must. Most jobs are filled by word-of-mouth and retirees and veterans are always desirable. Despite having to wait for the bridges to open and close, it was not always so easy or convenient for travelers to access the other side. Let’s look back at the way it used to be.


Gwynn’s Island Bridge


For most Mathews County residents there’s always been a bridge across Mil- ford Haven, but that has not always been the case. The first bridge to link the island to the mainland was completed in 1939. Prior to the mid-1880s, residents relied on canoes and skiffs to get across. Many had horse-drawn vehicles stabled at vari- ous points on the mainland to which they rowed to and from, towing their horses behind.


In an interview with a local newspa- per some years ago, the late Thomas E. Edwards recalled how he used to feel sorry for their horse because winter days were certainly cold, but claimed the horse didn’t seem to mind. “When first he was learning to swim the channel, he tried to keep his head out like a man. But after he got used to it, he got smart and would just lazy along, expecting us to pull him. Many is the time he would just lie on his side in the water with his head a little ways out, and we would have to pull him the whole way,” Edwards recalled. In 1883, the residents of Gwynn’s Island and folks on the mainland decided that a ferry was in order. A benefit dinner kicked off a fundraising effort and by 1885 a hand-powered cable ferry, large enough the carry two buggies and a small cart, had been installed. Hired ferry- men or residents operated the vessel as needed. With the advent of gasoline engines, the hand-powered ferry was upgraded with the addition of a boat with a 5hp motor that was lashed alongside. This conveyance was eventually retired when a larger ferry made the crossing from Callis’


36 July/August 2017


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