A wooden bridge existed on this site at the turn of the 20th century.

A copy of a similar postcard in the Newton History Museum collection was postmarked in 1906. The note on the card indicates that the orange building in the center is the Hamilton School on Washington Street. (A later school, with the same name, was built on Grove Street.)

The same view in 2011. The building in the center of this photo (at the left end of the footbridge) is the Ware Paper Mill, which dates to 1790 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

more neighborhood history

According to the book Walks in Wellesley:

In 1950 construction of Route 128 destroyed much of the MDC Charles River Reservation parkland. Mary Hunnewell Fyffe was determined that the parkland bordering the Charles would be restored and that the historic footbridge, of which only the framework remained, would be used once again. ... On May 6, 1984, in a ceremony attended by old and young, the prize-winning new footbridge was dedicated to Mrs. Fyffe for her unflagging efforts.