Wheeling Suspension Bridge

The Wheeling Suspension Bridge, designed and erected by Charles Ellet, Jr., was completed in 1849 as the first bridge to cross the Ohio River carrying people and products west along the National Road. Known as the "Gateway to the West," it was the longest suspension bridge in the world at 1010 feet when it was built, and it held that distinction until the Brooklyn Bridge was completed in 1883. Called the father of American suspension bridges, it is the oldest vehicular suspension bridge in the world still in use. By extending the National Road west at Wheeling, at the northernmost navigable part of the Ohio River where overland routes, river traffic, and railroads converged, it brought people and goods to the city and helped attract entrepreneurs who manufactured iron, steel, nails, textiles, glass, tobacco, and other goods.

Wheeling, West Virginia · United States