The Hallowell-Chelsea Bridge was constructed in 1860. A group of Hallowell residents formed a corporation to build the bridge to compete with the one in Augusta. A mineral spring had opened at Togus, several miles east of Hallowell, and the businessmen hoped to intercept tourists traveling to Togus. They believed the bridge in Hallowell was a more direct route than crossing the river in Augusta. The bridge saw little use in the ten years of its existence.

An old Hallowell resident once recounted that the main use of the bridge was to deliver coal to Chelsea. The Togus health spa failed and the property became the first veterans hospital in the United States. The floods of 1869 and 1870 destroyed the bridge and all that can be seen today are the remains of the center pier at extremely low tides.