The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-08-14
CARNEGIE HEADED
KEOkUK BRIDGE
Was President of the keckuk and
Hamilton Bridge Company
When He Died and from
Beginning.
ONLY ONE HE HEADED
Seemed to Have Sentimental Inter.
est In the Bridge Across the
River Here Rebuilt
Recently.

Recently.
Did Andrew Carnegie, about whom
the world Is talking today, have a
special sentimental interest in the
Keokuk and Hamilton Bridge com
spany?
He was president of that company
from its organization to the day OF
Ms death.
1t is the only company Of which
he was president in the later days
of his long life.
once, he refused to sell the Keo-
kuk bridge across the Mississippi
iriver at any price
Immediately after the civil war,
Carnegie realized that iron bridges
would supplant the wooden bridges,
then the only kind used by railroads
as on country roads.
One Of His First.
He organized the Keystone Bridge
company to build iron bridges. and
Il little later the Union Iron WORKS
TO furnish the material for his bridge
company. Then, he not only sold
iron bridges to railroads in large
quantity, but organized some bridge
companies to buy the bridges from
the keystone company which bought
the iron from the Union Iron works.
The Keokuk proposition was one
of the very first Carnegie handled
and the largest bridge ne built for
years, and probably the new bridge
here is the largest he ever built
Through his corDOratiOrS
After the ferry had been used
since 1850, and had become made
auate, the Keokuz and Hamilton MIS-
fsissippi Bridge company was organ
lied in January 1865, and made
survey for a bridge in 1857. Later,
this company disappeared and the
present Keokuk and Hamilton Bridge
company became the permanent one.
controlled and chiefly owned by An
drew Carnegie, the change occurring
about coincident with the actual
building of the bridge.
Much Money for Then.
In 1868, the right Of way across the
levee was given the company by the
Keokuk city council and the bridge
was blue printed.
1t was built in 1869 and 1870, and
opened for traffic early in 1871. The
original scutcheon placed on 1t then
is still there, on the new bridge.
The Keokuk and Hamilton Bridge
company let the contract for build |!
ing the bridge to the Keystone |
Bridge company on december 6, |
1868, for sS50,000
A half dozen years ago, Keokuk /,
men, with the invaluable aid of Con I
. Il ~ l..
man of the interstate commerce (
committee of the house, forced the /
company to build fine new bridge .
on the old piers. The old bridge had I
become as obsolete as chaise, and ,
the new one is perfection for its
purpose.
He Disiked to Do 1t.
Carnegie gave his personal atten-
ition to the task OF preventing con.
,gress from forcing him to build a
new bridge It was bill perrnittina
a railroad on the big Keokuk dam
that controlled the situation Chair
man Adamson told Carnegie. VINO |,
went to Washington himself to lobby
that the dam railroad would be
authorized, unless new bridge OF (
certain specifications was built at
once on the Keokuk and Hamilton
bridge piers. Dayy Crockett's coon
finally came down and the new bridge I
was built. 4
Always, it seemed that Carnegie I
held the Keokuk bridge close to his
heart l
When he closed out his other cor {
porations and centralized his wealth
in bonds, and when he placed well
chosen men at the head Of his bust
ness units, he retained the presl-
dency of the Keokuk and Hamilton
Bridge company.
He was the only president It ever
had, and it is believed that It is the
only company he was president of
when he died.
He Would Not Sell II.
Another indication that Carnegie ,
had some special fondness for the
Keokuk bridge is in an incident of /,
many years ago. when the ironmas-