James Finley (engineer)

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Jacob's Creek Bridge, The Port Folio, 1810

James Finley (1762^[1] - 1828), aka Judge James Finley, is widely recognised as the first designer and builder of the modern suspension bridge.

Born in Maryland, Finley moved to a 287-acre farm in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, near Uniontown^[1]. Elected a justice of the peace in 1784, he went on to become county commissioner in 1789, and a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and Senate. From 1791 until his death, he was an Associate Judge for Fayette County^[1].

His Jacob's Creek Bridge, built in 1801 for US$600^[2], and demolished in 1833, was the first example of a suspension bridge using wrought iron chains and with a level deck. It connected Uniontown to Greensburg, spanning 21 metres (70 feet), and was 12 feet 6 inches wide^[2].

Other bridges by Finley or to his patent include:

Potomac River, 1807, 39 metre span
Schuylkill Falls, Philadelphia, 1809, two 47 metre spans, collapsed 1811 under a herd of cattle
Newburyport, Massachusetts over the Merrimack River, 1810, 74 metre (244 feet) span, collapsed 1827
Brownsville, Pennsylvania, collapsed in 1820 under a snow-covered cart
Lehigh River, Northampton, Pennsylvania, retained in service until 1933

None of Finley's bridges now survive.

Finley patented his system in 1808 and also published a paper on the principles of the deck-stiffened suspension bridge.^[2]

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b ^c Kranakis, Eda, "Constructing a Bridge", The MIT Press, 1997
^ ^a ^b ^c Finley, James, "A Description of the Patent Chain Bridge", The Port Folio Vol. III, Bradford & Inskeep, Philadelphia, June 1810, [1]