Daily AncestorBridge tender
A bridge tender operated and looked after a movable bridge, opening it for boats and closing it again for road or rail traffic.
Drawbridges and swing bridges over canals, rivers and harbors had to open for passing vessels. The bridge tender watched traffic, worked the bridge and kept it in order, and on a railroad bridge was also responsible for the safety of trains.
Movable bridges usually had a small bridge tender's house to work from, and sometimes it was also the tender's home.
As seen in a recordOccupation column of the 1870 to 1940 census
Silas Moon, 58, Bridge tender
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Daily Ancestor. "Bridge tender." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/bridge-tender. Last checked 2026-10-10.