The work itself proved to be dangerous; of the six hundred submarines involved in building the caissons, over one hundred got sick from the working conditions, and fourteen died.
Structural steel had never been used on a project as big as the bridge. The Keystone Bridge Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, agreed to produce the steel, but their product did not pass the stress tests designed by Eads and his engineering team.
Even after improving the manufacturing techniques, the steel still failed in 10 percent of the tests. Eventually, Eads decided to use chrome steel, which proved easier to work with and became a standard building material in later years. In all, the bridge contained over 13 million pounds of steel, iron, and wood when completed.
On July 2, , thousands of people gathered to celebrate the completion of the bridge. Eads planned to provide a demonstration of the strength of his steel structure. In an attempt to promote public confidence, the scientifically minded engineer agreed to an informal test first: an elephant was brought in to cross over from St.
Louis to Illinois. People believed that elephants had an ability to know if a structure would collapse. When the elephant stepped onto the bridge without hesitation, the crowd cheered. Eads also had a bigger demonstration in mind: fourteen locomotives loaded with water and coal to travel back and forth across the bridge. During this show of strength, spectators filled the upper deck from one side of the river to the other.
This demonstration succeeded as well. Yet despite the celebration at its opening, the bridge did not immediately improve St. By the time of his death on March 8, , Eads had not yet seen his bridge become successful. Only in the s would the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis manage to fully integrate the bridge into the national network of railroads. James Buchanan Eads used his engineering ability to enhance transportation along and over the Mississippi River.
Though he had no formal training, Eads changed the way that large bridges were built by pioneering the use of structural steel.
His vision and demanding specifications resulted in a bridge connecting St. Louis to Illinois and the East that continues to stand today. The following is a selected list of books, articles, and manuscripts about James Buchanan Eads in the research centers of The State Historical Society of Missouri. The Society is not responsible for the content of the following websites:.
Skip to content. James Buchanan Eads. Born: May 23, Letter Transcription Dearest Martha, Believing my interview with your father today would possess considerable interest to you, I have sketched this little narrative, after an interval of eight or nine hours and whilst it is still fresh upon my memory, for your special benefit.
Text and research by Zachary Dowdle. Richardson, Kelli. Louis Republican. After a brief run at establishing a glass factory, Eads continued and expanded his wreck recovery business, making him very wealthy. In , he retired from the wreck recovery business because of his poor health. His wife passed away about the same time. Two years later he married the widow of his first cousin. With the outbreak of the Civil War, James Eads oversaw the construction of ironclad gunboats for the War Department from the spring of to the spring of from his boatyard in Carondelet.
This included the Excelsior Stove Works owned by the Filley brothers, who switched their production from stoves to cannons and iron plating in support of the war effort. Eads received his first contract from the War Department in August thanks to a letter from General Frank Blair to his brother-in-law army quartermaster general, Montgomery C. James holds on to wonderment and scatters it throughout his work in an attempt to remind those who have forgotten about the excitement in the world.
James currently resides in Los Angeles and runs a screen printing studio near DTLA where he works with a small team to create high quality limited edition prints and special projects. For available work please visit his shop. About James R. He made a fortune in the salvaging business and went on to spend the next several decades addressing challenges in the region.
During the Civil War, Eads constructed a fleet of seven ironclads that the Union used to engage in battle with Confederate forces. He also designed a revolving, steam-powered gun turret for ironclad monitors. His efforts were crucial to Union success. Following the war, he worked on infrastructure projects to improve transportation and commerce. Construction on the Eads Bridge, the first major bridge to span the Mississippi River, began in and it opened in
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