The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1886-09-14
THE SUSPENSION BRIDGE.


THE SUSPENSION BRIDGE.
A Thing Of Beautyand Joy FOrever-SOme.
thing OF It's CheGkered Career.
The graceful suspension bridge which
spans tho Ohio at Wheeling has long been
the admiration Of the voyager down the
beautiful river, In It's earlier days It was
the marvel Of all who saw 1t, and the re-
ports which went abroad concerning 1t
were received with many grains Of salt,
While itstands 1t will be a monument to
the courage of the men who embarked in
an enterprise considered go hazardous, and
Ut tho skill Of the engineers who devised
and built the then novel structure.
Alta very early day the need had been
felt Of such link between the city and
the Island, and thence to tho Ohio shore,
In 1915 the "Whseling and Belmont
Bridge Company" was chartered to supply
the lacking link. The incorporators Of
this company were Archibald Woods,
Noah Zane, Samuel Sprigg, Joseph Oald.
well, John White, Moses Sheppard, Not.
ley Hays, Benjamin Ruggles, George
PAUL, James Barnel and Elijah Woods,
names very generally identified with the
history Of Wheeling, On the supposition
that the bridge could be built and main.
tanned, there were visions OF comfortable
iiyidendl on the stock. In the charter
Il was provided that man, horse, mule
Or OK might pass over for twelve and a
hall cents; q carriage, wagon or cart for
he SMALL sum OF twenty-five cents a wheel.
fortunate enough to have four.
wheel vehicle was to be allowed to 90 and
come for two dollars, and dollars were not
tho most plentiful things In those early
lays. Neat cattle were to pass over at
half the cost Of wheel, and sheep, lamb,
hog or goat might go over II no happened
10 have two cents about his person.
HARD LUCK.
But the bridge was not yet built nor
destined soon TO be. There were some
stumbling blocks In tho charter. The
bridge was not to interfere with navigation
,ither by obstruCting the river with It's
piers or by placing the superstruCture 50
ow that the river craft Of that time could
not pass under in time Of floods. In case
The bridge did these unseemly things II
vas 10 b. declared public nuisance and
% be liable to abatement. Discourage
nents we're 80 many and great that for
seventeen years nothing WAS done under
lie charter. In 1888 was begun the cree.
ion Of q wooden bridge over the back
water to connect Wheeling Island
With the Ohio side, 1t required about
our years in that slow.going time TO COM
,lete the work at q cost OF $05,000, Tho
contract price left the Zane Brotherp, the
builders, In deep water.
Earnest, repeated and always unsuccess-
al efforts we're made to induce the Gov
,rnment 10 build the great bridge that was
O span the main channel. With tho Ma.
ionsl Road hating at each bank Of the
Ohio, 1t WAS thought that Congress would
egard tho supplying Of this link as
patriotic pleasure no less than duty. But
congress was OF another mind, and the
Iolid, energetic men Of Wheeling at last
lad 10 buckle to the work themselves.
TAKING HOLD IN EARNEST.
BY an act Of the General Assembly OF
Virginia, March 10, 1sl7 legislation Of
1915 and 1887 was revived, except that the
new charter did away with pier b ridge
and provided for q suspension bridge in
stead. The Board Of Directors was COM
posed OF James Baker, Henry Moore, L.
n Stevens, w. I. selby, Thomas Sweeney,
JOHNNY. Gill, William Paxton, Thomas
Hughes, and Daniel O. List. Thomas
Sweeney was made President. John Gil.
christ WIS engaged to locate the abut-
ments.
Two young engineers, Charles Ellet, Of
PHILADELPHIA and +. A. Roeheling, Of New
York. came forward with plans, the former
thelongainglespa ofthe present
structure, the latter two spans with wing
walla. The two plans were combined and
Mr.. Ellet retained to supervise the con-
The contractors got into trou-
BILE, and The company took the work into
its own hands, placing In charge Engineer
Ellet az Superintendent. Under these
auspices the bridge was completed In 1850,
and marvel Of beauty and strength II
was.
The bridge was thorn In the sldo Of
which feared that II would
make Wheeling practically the head Of
navigation and 90 put her own nose out ol
Joint, Pennsylvania brought suit to alatO
the alleged nuisance. but the bridge was
opened to travel August !, 1850, and
though tue suits went on, Pennsylvania
never did the great bridge any harm.
Worse than law suits was terrific wind
storm, May II, 1854, which wrenChed the
cables from the anchorage and piled the
structure up In the river. The bridge was
rebuilt and travel over 1t began again In
January, 1850.
A BIC BLOW.
This Structure was intended TO bs tenn.
porary only, and yet SIX years after lite
erection II was sub eCted To a terrific strain
and stood tho storm. II was Fair time, and
the bridge was packed with loople and
vehicles StampedOd from the Fair Grounds
by the STORM. The wind dashed and
pounded the br dye, which seemed doom.
ed again, The people werO panlc.Btricken.
The scene has been described as resenb.
ling the fOut Of an army. But the cables
held iass and the bridge ouLrode the wind
storm, In the am q small boy was
killed, and this was the only casualty. In
1900 the structure was again rebuilt and
made stronger. In 1872 further improve.
tnent WA inadc and the bridge enlarged
on the general plan Of lloehelidH'g original
suggestions pAV6 w 10 span. This work
has cost In al about 100000. When II
was frat ertCsed the span Of 1910 feet was
the longest In the world. Longer spans
have since been constructed, but no more
symmetrical aud beautiful bridge structure
.I.ula aaHs.t,nsa