My America: Free Bridge Crossing on the Sabbath

The covered bridges in America began being built in the early 1800's and the concept spread quickly. Yesterday we hiked to a modern version of these bridges located on a recreationalized old railroad bed in central Wisconsin. It was an easy walk as the path had just been groomed and packed for snowmobiling and a snowmobile had yet to come by. The snow was also smoothed and packed under the roof covering.  In our earlier history the bridges were often built and maintained by families.

Winter time did not involve removing snow from the bridges. In fact, the task was the opposite.  Farmers and merchants waited until winter to move the heaviest loads by sleigh.  It was necessary to have a member of the family make sure the bridge was covered with snow.  When the covered bridges were built this job required even more labor.

Families allowed others to use their bridges and naturally charged a toll depending on the size of wagon and load. An early 1800's toll may have ranged from 1-10 cents.  A long pole called a pike was placed across the road before the bridge.   Someone wanting to cross could ring a bell and a family member would come to the bridge, collect the toll and swing the pike out of the way to allow the wagon through; hence the word turnpike.

Most of the settlers still acknowledged and adhered to the Sabbath as Sunday, by calendar, the first day of the week. This day's name was derived from pagan sungod worship, "the venerable day of the sun".  A millennium and a half before America's bridge building settlers, the Roman Emperor Constantine established Sunday as the Sabbath.  The Emperor's forcefully (and for the most part successfully) attempted to Romanize the Christian faith.  Among other things he separated the Church from the Bible's statute of the Sabbath being the 7th day of the week, i.e. Friday at sundown to Saturday at sundown.

Though today our calendars show Sunday as the first day of the week, it is by practice  reality the last day of the week.  Ask anyone what the first day of the week is and they will say Monday! Of course, that makes Sunday the last day of the week.  So these settlers in belief and practice considered Sunday the last day of the week despite the artificial order of the days in the calendar.  Because of this reverence America's early bridge builders did not charge tolls on the Sabbath.