John Roebling’s Sons was primarily a wire cable company that also manufactured hand tools. John A Roebling was a surveyor who also studied engineering and architecture. John noticed the shortcomings of hemp rope while working on canals. He set up a small hemp rope factory in 1840 and made the first wire rope in the United States in 1841. The company relocated to Trenton, NJ from Saxonburg, PA in 1848. John was responsible for several suspension bridges. The most notable was the Brooklyn Bridge.
The Brooklyn bridge was started n 1869. John was injured and died of tetanus the next year. His son, Washington Augustus Roebling took over. He became injured and his wife assumed responsibility. Emily W Roebling deserves much credit for construction of the Brooklyn Bridge.
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