508:"April 14, 1801.–The commissioners of Fayette and Westmoreland Counties met and completed contract with James Finley to build a bridge supported with iron at or near Isaac Meason's, over Jacob's Creek, for the sum of six hundred dollars, one-half to be paid out of the treasury of Fayette, and one-half out of the treasury of Westmoreland. The bridge to be "a patent Iron chain suspension" structure of seventy feet span, and to be completed ready for use on or before Dec. 15, 1801. This bridge over Jacob's Creek, on the turnpike road between Connellsville and Mount Pleasant, was the first iron suspension bridge erected in the State of Pennsylvania. The plan on which it was built was invented and patented by Judge James Finley, of Fayette County. Another bridge of this kind was built a few years later over Dunlap's Creek, at Bridgeport. The plan, however, proved defective and the bridges unsafe, the one last named falling under the weight of a team and ordinary wagon-load, after having been in use less than ten years." —
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wooden joists beneath the decking. Because the iron suspenders were graduated in length, the roadway was almost flat. Finley guaranteed the bridge to last for fifty years (except for the wooden decking). In a June 1810 article, Finley described the bridge as having a 70-foot (21 m) span, and a width of 12 feet 6 inches (3.81 m). He used a similar design for his
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The bridge's two chain cables were made of 1-inch iron bar, wrought into links between 5 and 10 feet long, and anchored to the ground at each end. These stretched over 14-foot pyramid-shaped stone piers built on either side of the creek. Vertical suspenders dropped from the cables to support the
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Iron-chain suspension bridges had been built in China, England, and elsewhere in Europe. During the 1790s Finley served as a state senator in
Philadelphia (then the state capital), and frequented the
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board of commissioners. (Jacob's Creek forms part of the boundary between the counties.) The contract with Finley was signed in April, with each county committing to half of the $ 600 (
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library. Eda
Kranakis, an expert on early American suspension bridges, conjectures that Finley would have had access in Philadelphia to information about European bridges.
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10,000 with inflation) cost, and specifying that the bridge be completed by
December 15. John Fulton and Andrew Oliphant constructed the bridge. Iron was supplied by
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How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a
Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda
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How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a
Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States
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Constructing a Bridge: An
Exploration of Engineering Culture, Design, and Research in Nineteenth-century France and America
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229:, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1808). Jacob's Creek Bridge was of similar design, but only a single span.
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Jacob's Creek Bridge was damaged in 1825 and rebuilt. It was replaced by a wooden bridge in 1833.
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Kranakis provides a multi-chapter history, structural analysis, and survey of Finley's bridges.
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Robert B. Van Atta, "Bridge across Jacobs Creek was world's first iron suspension bridge,"
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Evelyn
Abraham, "Isaac Meason, the First Ironmaker West of the Alleghenies,"
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400:. National Council of Structural Engineers Associations. pp. 64–66.
376:. National Council of Structural Engineers Associations. pp. 69–70.
255:, Finley's friend and fellow judge, who owned nearby Union Furnace and
360:] (in French). Vol. 2. Paris: Firmin Didot. pp. 178–181.
214:(Mount Pleasant Road) crosses – is still called "Iron Bridge."
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commissioners proposed the bridge in a March 1801 letter to the
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391:"Schuylkill Falls Chain Suspension Bridge (1809)"
27:Bridge in South of Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania
488:Iron Bridge, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
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267:in 1808, and secured a patent that same year.
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586:Bridges in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
317:(Philadelphia: L.H. Everts & Co., 1882).
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616:Wrought iron bridges in the United States
548:(Greensburg, Pennsylvania), May 19, 2002.
202:, a local judge and inventor, it spanned
322:Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine
198:built in the United States. Designed by
133:12 feet 6 inches (3.81 m)
596:Demolished bridges in the United States
591:Bridges in Fayette County, Pennsylvania
468:"Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–"
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304:James Finley, "Finley's Chain Bridge,"
194:(1801, demolished 1833) was the first
466:Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
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353:Histoire de la navigation intérieure
294:from Pennsylvania State University.
265:Chain Bridge at Falls of Schuylkill
227:Chain Bridge at Falls of Schuylkill
581:Suspension bridges in Pennsylvania
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365:Sayenga, Donald (November 2008).
559:"Finley's Chain Bridge," p. 442.
292:Finley's Wonder on Jacob's Creek
358:History of Interior Navigation
235:American Philosophical Society
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286:Finding Finley's Chain Bridge
601:Road bridges in Pennsylvania
460:American Antiquarian Society
440:American Antiquarian Society
389:Griggs, Frank (March 2016).
334:. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
208:Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania
196:iron-chain suspension bridge
103:Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania
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576:Bridges completed in 1801
510:History of Fayette County
315:History of Fayette County
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18:Jacob's Creek Bridge
350:Cordier, M.J. (1820).
328:Kranakis, Eda (1997).
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160:10,000 with inflation)
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64:40.11254°N 79.55309°W
257:Mount Vernon Furnace
192:Jacob's Creek Bridge
75:Jacob's Creek Bridge
34:Jacob's Creek Bridge
282:from Bridgemeister.
245:Westmoreland County
125:70 feet (21 m)
69:40.11254; -79.55309
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117:Wrought iron chain
280:1801 Chain Bridge
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153:Construction cost
16:(Redirected from
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464:1800–present:
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367:"James Finley"
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306:The Port Folio
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473:February 29,
471:. Retrieved
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253:Isaac Meason
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200:James Finley
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147:James Finley
122:Total length
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67: /
41:Coordinates
570:Categories
299:References
73: (
54:79°33′11″W
51:40°06′45″N
512:, p. 250.
406:1536-4283
398:Structure
382:1536-4283
374:Structure
101:South of
449:(1992).
429:(1997).
181:Location
143:Designer
114:Material
218:History
156:$ 600 (
138:History
88:Crosses
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173:Closed
165:Opened
98:Locale
456:(PDF)
436:(PDF)
394:(PDF)
370:(PDF)
356:[
130:Width
475:2024
402:ISSN
378:ISSN
336:ISBN
249:US$
176:1833
168:1801
158:US$
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