By the 1880s, the tenements were overcrowded and serious concerns began to be raised about health and sanitary conditions in the area.
To help alleviate the situation, Charles E. Hacker, Amos O. Reed, George A. Stover and Frank Weatherill -- the Topsham Land Company -- decided to build houses on the Topsham side of the Androscoggin.
They decided a footbridge would make the new housing more attractive to mill workers.
