James Finley (engineer)

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

Born in Maryland, Finley moved to a 287-acre (1.16 km2) 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 70 feet (21 metres), and was 12 feet 6 inches (3.81 m) wide[2].
Finley is also credited with designing and constructing a chain suspension bridge across Dunlap's Creek in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, in 1809. In 1820, however, the bridge collapsed under a heavy snow combined with the loads from a six-horse wagon team. The bridge was replaced by the Dunlap's Creek Bridge, the country's first cast-iron bridge, in 1835.[3]

Other bridges by Finley or to his patent include:

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]

References

  1. ^ a b c Kranakis, Eda, "Constructing a Bridge", The MIT Press, 1997
  2. ^ a b c Finley, James, "A Description of the Patent Chain Bridge", The Port Folio Vol. III, Bradford & Inskeep, Philadelphia, June 1810, [1]
  3. ^ Structural Iron 1750–1850, edited by R.J.M. Sutherland, Ashgate, 1998. pp. 18-19.

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