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Crossing the James at Bent Creek

US 60 crosses the James River from Gladstone to Bent Creek (Appomattox Co.). A few hundred feet upstream are the remnants of an old crossing. Built in the 1830'...
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US 60 crosses the James River from Gladstone to Bent Creek (Appomattox Co.). A few hundred feet upstream are the remnants of an old crossing. Built in the 1830's, the wooden covered bridge was around 450 feet long, and was burnt during the Civil War. In the 1920's, it was reconstructed as a steel bridge, and then replaced in 1965 by the current bridge.
During the interim of the wooded and steel bridges, a ferry was in operation. Ferryman John Thomas McCormick changed every man, wagon, or buggy five cents, no matter what. One morning someone spotted a cat crossing the river by using the ferry's 2 inch cable from Nelson into Appomattox. It appears the cat had been given to a store owner on the Nelson side and evidently the cat didn't like his new home. So being a smart cat, he re-crossed the river using the cable. There's no doubt that if Mr. McCormick had caught the cat he would have charged him five cents!
True story: "Appomattox Virginia Heritage"
By S. Grose, page 34.
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