Jacob's Creek Bridge (Pennsylvania) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Jacob's Creek Bridge |
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|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°06′45″N 79°33′11″W / 40.11254°N 79.55309°W |
| Crosses | Jacob's Creek |
| Locale | South of Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania |
| Characteristics | |
| Material | Wrought iron chain |
| Total length | 70 feet (21 m) |
| Width | 12 feet 6 inches (3.81 m) |
| History | |
| Designer | James Finley |
| Construction cost | $600 (US$10,000 with inflation ) |
| Opened | 1801 |
| Closed | 1833 |
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The Jacob's Creek Bridge was a very important bridge in American history. Built in 1801, it was the very first bridge in the United States to use strong iron chains to hold it up. This type of bridge is called a suspension bridge.
A clever inventor and judge named James Finley designed it. The bridge crossed Jacob's Creek. This creek is located just south of Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania.
The Jacob's Creek Bridge was taken down in 1833. Today, nothing of the bridge is believed to remain. However, a spot on the north side of Jacob's Creek is still called "Iron Bridge." This is where Pennsylvania Route 819 crosses the creek.
Contents
Building the First Chain Bridge
People in other parts of the world, like China and England, had already built bridges using iron chains. During the 1790s, James Finley was a state senator in Philadelphia. Philadelphia was the capital of Pennsylvania at that time.
Experts believe that Finley learned about these European bridges while in Philadelphia. He likely read about them in books at the American Philosophical Society library. This knowledge helped him design his own chain bridge.
Planning and Construction
In March 1801, officials from Fayette County suggested building the bridge. They wrote to the commissioners of Westmoreland County. Jacob's Creek forms part of the border between these two counties.
Finley signed a contract for the bridge in April 1801. Each county agreed to pay half of the $600 cost. The contract said the bridge had to be finished by December 15 of that year.
John Fulton and Andrew Oliphant were the builders. The iron for the bridge came from Isaac Meason. He was a friend of Finley's and also a judge. Meason owned nearby iron furnaces called Union Furnace and Mount Vernon Furnace.
How the Bridge Was Built
The Jacob's Creek Bridge had two main chain cables. These cables were made from 1-inch thick iron bars. The bars were shaped into links that were between 5 and 10 feet long. These chains were firmly attached to the ground at each end of the bridge.
The chains stretched over tall stone structures called piers. These piers were shaped like pyramids and were 14 feet high. They stood on each side of the creek.
Vertical hangers, also made of iron, hung down from the chains. These hangers supported the wooden beams under the bridge's roadway. The iron hangers were made in different lengths. This helped make the bridge's roadway almost flat.
Finley promised that the bridge would last for 50 years. The only part that might need replacing was the wooden roadway. The bridge was 70 feet long and 12 feet, 6 inches wide.
Finley used a similar design for another bridge in 1808. This was the Chain Bridge at Falls of Schuylkill. He also got a patent for his bridge design in the same year. A patent protects an inventor's idea.
The Jacob's Creek Bridge was damaged in 1825. It was rebuilt after that. However, a new wooden bridge replaced it in 1833.
Images for kids
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Chain Bridge at Falls of Schuylkill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1808). Jacob's Creek Bridge was of similar design, but only a single span.
