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THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE OPENS
Emily Warren Roebling was born in 1843, a descendent of Mayflower passenger Richard Warren, and daughter of New York politician Sylvanus Warren. She went to school in Washington, D.C., and during the Civil War, met her husband Washington Roebling through her Union Army Commander brother, Gouverner Warren.
Washington Roebling was an engineer, and his father John Augustus was an accomplished engineer and bridge builder. The New Jersey based Roebling family had built bridges throughout the Northeast, including over the Niagara River (near Niagara Falls), and over the Ohio River in Cincinnati. Shortly after they were married, Emily and Washington traveled to Europe where Washington studied the latest engineering and building techniques.
John Augustus Roebling began working on the Brooklyn Bridge in 1867. In 1869, his foot was injured while working on the bridge. It became infected with tetanus, and he died a month later (thank goodness we have tetanus shots now!). Washington Roebling took over the project after his father's sudden death. Within a year, Washington got sick with the bends from working on the bridge in airtight spaces below water level.
That left Emily Roebling to finish the job. She took over the chief engineer duties, and supervised the construction of the bridge. The Brooklyn Bridge was finished in 1883, and the workers insisted that Emily be the first person to cross the bridge. As a sign of victory, she carried a rooster as she crossed. President Chester A. Arthur and Governor of New York (and future President) Grover Cleveland were at the opening. At the time, the Brooklyn Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world, and the tallest structure in the Western hemisphere!
You can learn more about the Roebling Family at the Roebling Museum, located in Roebling, NJ.
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