Essex Library Presents: Connecticut River Ferries - Past, Present & Future

Before bridge crossings spanned the Connecticut River, almost two dozen ferries moved people and cargo from one bank to another. The oldest ferry passage launched in 1641; today you can still cross the river by ferry, but only at two crossings.

Captain Paul Costello will share the histories of the Chester – Hadlyme and Rocky Hill – Glastonbury ferries, the challenges both ferries have faced, why these two have survived, the improvements made to them by the State over the decades, and the futures of the two remaining ferries.

About Paul Costello Paul has worked on the Connecticut River for more than 25 years, as a captain of the ferries and nearly every commercial passenger vessel on the lower Connecticut River.