Before the Suspension Bridge was built in 1870, this ferry connected East Waco to Waco. From The Texas Collection, Baylor University. Their description of this photo: “This image shows a ferry carrying a covered wagon across the Brazos River. We believe that this photo pre-dates the building of the Suspension Bridge in 1870 and was taken in or near Waco. The first license to operate ferries across the Brazos River was granted by the McLennan County Commissioners Court to Shapley P. Ross. Two years later a ferry service began across the Brazos but was operated by the county. In 1853, Ross took over the operation as he had planned to do earlier. Over the years more ferries came into being (licenses were issued by the Commissioners Court and rates regulated) but by 1866, the Waco Bridge Company’s 1866 charter stopped the establishment of any ferries operating within a five mile range of Waco.The Waco Suspension Bridge, chartered by the Texas Legislature in 1866, with construction beginning in 1868, was to be the first bridge to cross the Brazos River. This structure was completed and opened for traffic on January 7, 1870.”