'On the Water:' The Last of the Bristol Ferries

Steam power replaced the sail and horse powered boats of the early Bristol Ferry.

One of the last Bristol ferries was the "Bristol." This boat was more modern in design. Primarily a summer boat, she carried cars, trucks and buses.  She was a "double-ender" so that she didn't have to turn around and back into the piers. The Bristol began service in 1905 and continued until the Mt. Hope Bridge opened in 1929.

The "Sagamore" operated at about the same time.  Both were owned by the Newport and Providence Street Railway Company (trolley). They formed a link between Aquidneck Island and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad which would take you to Providence and beyond.  The ferry slip in Bristol was at the foot of Constitution St. or at Old Ferry Road (the traditional ferry stop).