Toll bridges across the Kennebec date to the early 1820's, and the bridge connecting Waterville and Winslow was repeatedly damaged by floods in 1827, 1832, 1855, and 1869. The Ticonic, or Two Cent, Footbridge was built in 1901 by Edwin Dwight Graves of the Berlin Construction Company for the Ticonic Footbridge Company, chartered in 1899, and opened on December 15, 1901. It gave workers easier access across the river between the Hollingsworth & Whitney paper mill in Winslow and the new woolen mill on the Waterville side. Its original toll was one penny, collected at a booth on the Waterville side, but after high water washed the bridge away less than a year after it opened, it was rebuilt in 1903 and the toll rose to two cents to recover the cost, giving the bridge its common name. It survived major floods in 1935 and 1987 without major damage, and for many years its toll house was inhabited by toll keepers Leon and Desimond Crowell. The toll ended in the early 1960's when the Ticonic Foot Bridge Company gave the structure to the City of Waterville. After years of neglect and disrepair, it was seriously damaged during a July 4th celebration in 1990, causing significant structural problems. In 2011, with funding assistance from the State of Maine, the city began a major rehabilitation project that replaced the wind cables and walkway grating, painted the bridge, and installed new handrails. First listed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 1973, the 576-foot span over the Kennebec is the longest and oldest wire suspension footbridge in America and remains an important reminder of the river history shared by Waterville and Winslow.