Until 1829, when a covered toll bridge was built across the river between Danville and Riverside (South Danville), travelers relied mainly on ferry boats to reach the opposite shore. Floods and ice jams repeatedly damaged Danville's bridges over the years. The first wooden bridge was destroyed in a flood in 1846, a second bridge erected the following year was lost to a flood in 1875, and a third bridge was destroyed in the spring of 1904. A fourth bridge, made of iron and steel, stood with its landing at the east end of the park and became a local landmark, gathering place, and source of community pride. It withstood many floods for nearly a century before being replaced in 2000 by a concrete bridge one block downriver. The historic lampposts now in the park were manufactured by Danville Foundry and Machine Company and originally placed in Memorial Park on Bloom Street in 1909. After their removal from that park in the 1950s, local merchant Paul "Cal" McVey rescued them, and his daughter and son-in-law, JoAnn and Bill O'Brien, donated them in 2007 for the development of the new River Front Park. Metso Minerals, a descendant of Danville Foundry and Machine Company, financed the refurbishing of the lampposts.