Riegelsville developed from a late 18th-century village at Shanks Ferry, which carried travelers across the Delaware River between Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and after Benjamin Riegel purchased the ferry business in 1806 the community became known as Riegels Ferry and later Riegelsville. The opening of the Delaware Canal in 1832 brought steady growth, transforming the hamlet into a village with numerous mercantile businesses and manufacturing industries, while a covered bridge built over the Delaware River in 1838 eventually made the ferry obsolete. The borough was formed in 1916 after local citizens petitioned for self-government for their thriving river and canal community. Riegelsville later saw the canal cease operations because of competition from rail and highway transportation, and its history reflects the evolution of transportation from river, canal, railroad, trolley, and automobile. Its heritage remains visible in recreational trails including the D&L Trail along the Delaware Canal Towpath, the Delaware River Water Trail, and the Highlands Trail. After the Pumpkin Flood of 1903 swept away a three-span covered bridge, John A. Roebling's Sons, Co. of Trenton, New Jersey, built a cable suspension bridge that opened on April 18, 1904, at a cost of $30,000 and survived major floods in 1936, 1955, and the early 21st century. Riegelsville also lies along the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor and the Lower Delaware National Wild and Scenic River, and it is a National Historic District with many significant commercial and residential buildings dating from the 18th and 19th centuries.