A wooden bridge was first built at this location in 1790 and named after Anthony Rutgers, of the family for which Rutgers University is named. It operated as a toll bridge until a great flood destroyed it in 1841. His widow sold the charter to the widow of Nicholas Joralemon. A new bridge built in 1843 was sold to the three counties in 1851 and made a free bridge. In 1879, an iron bridge was constructed and in 1915 it was replaced with a movable draw span bridge. The present Route 7 bridge was built in 2003 by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.