Charles River Bridge (first) is dedicated.

Sometimes called the Charlestown Bridge, the 40-foot wide, toll drawbridge spans Boston Inner Harbor and connects Charlestown to Boston. The first bridge built over a major tidal estuary in the U.S., it is described as, “The greatest enterprise which had been undertaken in the country.” Some 20,000 people attend the dawn ceremony, which begins when a Madame Healy (who had paid $500 for the honor) is driven over in a carriage drawn by four white horses. Since the bridge replaces a ferry whose revenues had been granted to Harvard College, its owners are required to pay the school 200 pounds per year. They sue when another bridge is proposed nearby, and the case decided by the Supreme Court in 1837.* The bridge becomes free in 1858, and is replaced by a new bridge (second) in 1889.*