An Act for erecting a Suspension Bridge over the Niagara River, at or near the Falls of Niagara, 1846

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Act_Erecting_Suspension_Bridge_1846_RG881.pdf (71.82 KB)

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2024-05-22

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Cameron, Chantal

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Abstract

A document titled “Anno Decimo Victoria Reginae, Cap. CXII [1846, No. 112]: An Act for erecting a Suspension Bridge over the Niagara River, at or near the Falls of Niagara”. The document is four pages and includes sections on incorporation, amount of capital, management, stock, meetings, site survey, tolls and penalties, and the construction timeline. The names of the principal investors are listed and include Samuel De Veaux, James Buchanan, Thomas Street, C.B. Stuart, P. Whitney, W.H. Merritt, James Cummings, Oliver T. Macklim, James R. Benson, and William Wright. Royal Assent was given by Her Majesty in Council on 30th October [1846], and proclamation made thereof by His Excellency Earl Cathcart, in the Canada Gazette of December 26, 1846.

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In 1846, the governments of Upper Canada and the State of New York initiated the creation of two companies that would be authorized to build a bridge over the Niagara River. The bridge was to be owned by both companies, respectively known as the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge Company (Canadian) and the International Bridge Company (American). Engineer Charles Ellet was hired to construct the bridge and completed a temporary suspension bridge that opened in 1848. A financial dispute with the Bridge Companies led to Ellet’s departure and American civil engineer John A. Roebling was hired in 1851. He was to build a suspension bridge that would carry railways and carriages. In 1854 a lower deck was completed and opened to carriages and pedestrians. The following year the upper deck was opened which carried railway cars. It became the first working suspension railway bridge in history and remained in operation until 1897.

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Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge Company, Bridges--Niagara Falls (N.Y. and Ont.)

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http://hdl.handle.net/10464/18403

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CC0 1.0 Universal
Except where otherwised noted, this item's license is described as CC0 1.0 Universal