Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge & Clifton Suspension Bridge collection, 1847-1861, n.d.

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. The success of the railway suspension bridge brought calls for another bridge to be built closer to the Falls. The bridge was to connect Niagara Falls, New York and Clifton, Ontario, and was known as the Clifton Suspension Bridge or Falls View Bridge. A Canadian charter was granted to the Clifton Suspension Bridge Company in 1867 and the bridge officially opened in 1869.The collection contains items relating to the early history of the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge and Clifton Suspension Bridge including receipts, company shares, a circular, private bill, ambrotype, small photo album, and guidebook