17th Century | 18th Century | 19th Century | 20th Century
This miniature suspension bridge, built in 1936, carries you across the tidal flow from Barrell’s Mill Pond pond to the York river. A man made causeway leads to the bridge, which continues onto the short, looping wooded path with a storybook trail in Steedman Woods. Richard Steedman gave the land to Old York in 1978 to be kept forever wild. The Wiggly Bridge is the smallest suspension bridge (75 feet long) in the U.S. and possibly the world! A local story claims a group of Girl Scouts gave it the name "Wiggly Bridge" in the 1940s because it "wiggles" when walked on.
Barrell's Mill Pond was created by a dam in 1726. It was once known as Meeting House Creek and was the site of much of York's history for the first 300 years. It also was once the site of an old mill and in 1882, the pond was used for cutting ice for the Boston market. Pictures of the old ice house and pier can be found at the entrance to the causeway leading to the Wiggly Bridge.
