Chain Bridge (Massachusetts) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Chain Bridge |
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Chain Bridge, 1990
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| Coordinates | 42°50′01″N 70°54′24″W / 42.8337°N 70.90674°W |
| Carries | Vehicular and pedestrian traffic |
| Crosses | Merrimack River |
| Locale | Newburyport, Massachusetts |
| Official name | Essex-Merrimac Bridge |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Suspension bridge |
| Longest span | 225 feet |
| Number of spans | 1 |
| History | |
| Designer | George Fillmore Swain & Robert R. Evans |
| Construction begin | 1909 |
| Construction end | 1910 |
| Statistics | |
| Toll | No |
The Chain Bridge in Newburyport, Massachusetts, is a special bridge. It looks like an older bridge that was built in 1810. That older bridge was actually the first suspension bridge in the United States!
The current Chain Bridge was built in 1910. It is one of many bridges that have stood in this spot since 1793. This makes it the "oldest continually used, long span, bridge crossing" in the United States. People also call it the Essex-Merrimac Bridge or Newburyport Chain Bridge.
This bridge is 225 feet long. It is a type of suspension bridge called a chain bridge. It crosses the right side of the Merrimack River. The river flows around Deer Island. The border between Newburyport and Amesbury, Massachusetts goes through Deer Island. So, the Chain Bridge connects these two towns.
To cross from Deer Island to the other side of the Merrimack River, you use the Derek S. Hines Memorial Bridge. This bridge used to be called the Essex-Merrimack Drawbridge. It was rebuilt and opened again in 2012. Because the Chain Bridge looks so unique, people sometimes think it's the only bridge crossing the Merrimack River.
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History of the Chain Bridge
The story of the Chain Bridge begins a long time ago. Several bridges have stood in this exact spot.
First Bridge: Timber Arch (1792)
The very first bridge here was built in 1792. It was made of wood and designed by Timothy Palmer. He was a local architect. He used a special design for the arch that looked like stone arches, but it was made from wood. This design was so clever that he even got a patent for it!
Building this bridge cost more than $36,000, which was a lot of money back then. People had to pay a fee, called a toll, to cross it. By 1809, the bridge was not safe to use anymore. Its wooden parts were then sold off.
Second Bridge: Chain Suspension (1810)
In 1810, a new bridge was built to replace the old wooden one. This new bridge was a suspension bridge made of wrought-iron chains. It was designed by an engineer named James Finley from Pennsylvania. He had patented his chain bridge design in 1808. He even built another chain bridge over the Schuylkill River that same year.
This chain bridge also charged tolls until 1868. That year, Essex County bought the bridge. After that, people could cross it for free. In 1896, a magazine called Scientific American wrote about it. They said it was the only bridge of its kind in New England. They also said it worked very well.
Current Bridge: A Modern Replica (1910)
The bridge we see today was finished in 1910. It was built right where the two older bridges used to be. Almost all the materials used for this new bridge were brand new. Even today, people still call it the "Chain Bridge." The bridge it replaced is often called the "Old Chain Bridge."
The Chain Bridge is special because it is the only suspension bridge that the Massachusetts Department of Transportation takes care of. In 1990, the bridge was part of a big study of historic bridges in Massachusetts. It has been repaired and updated several times, most recently in 2003.
