A Roebling Chronology


1806 John A. Roebling born in Muhlhausen, Germany
1820s John A. Roebling attends Polytechnic Institute of Berlin
1831 John A. Roebling immigrates to United States, sets up farm community, Saxonburg, Pa.

1837

John A. Roebling appointed engineer on Pennsylvania Canal project

1842

First Roebling wire rope installed on Allegheny portage canal

1844

John A. Roebling, Company builds suspension aqueduct across Allegheny River

1847

John A. Roebling, Company builds suspension bridge across Monongahela River at Pittsburgh

1848

John A. Roebling Company builds suspension aqueduct at Lackawaxen, Pa. (still existing)

1849

John A. Roebling establishes Trenton, New Jersey wire rope factory

1855

Completes railroad suspension bridge over Niagara river gorge

1857

Eldest son, Washington A. Roebling, enters business

1859

JohnA. Roebling, Company completes suspension bridge over Allegheny River;
second eldest son, Ferdinand W. Roebling, chemical engineer, enters business

1861-1865

Lt.Col. Washington Roebling, army engineer, war hero;
Roebling wire rope outfits U.S. Navy ships

1862

Roebling wire rope in first Otis elevators

1866

Roebling gets contract to construct Brooklyn Bridge

1867

Cincinnati, OH - Covington, KY suspension bridge completed

1869

John A. Roebling dies;
son Washington assumes supervision of Brooklyn Bridge construction

1870s

Washington opens "wire rope store"
in New York, begins manufacture of woven wire fabrics;
electrical wire market grows

1876

John A. Roebling's Sons Co.(JARCo) incorporates with Washington as president

1877

Charles succeeds Washington as JARCo president

1878

Ferdinand establishes New Jersey Wire Cloth Company

1883

Brooklyn Bridge completed;
Insulated Wire Division started

1892

Washington and Emily Roebling's West State Street mansion completed and occupied

1893

Eighty-ton wire rope machine erected - largest in the world

1898

Roebling wire rope for construction of Panama canal
U.S. Steel makes purchase offer

1902

Roebling Buckthorn plant ("Lower Works") opens in Trenton

1903

Williamsburg Bridge completed over East River NYC to Brooklyn

1908

John A. Roebling memorial, dedicated in Cadwalader Park

1909

Manhattan bridge completed over East River NYC to Brooklyn

1914-1918

10,000 Roebling employees;
aircraft control ropes;
anti-submarine netting;
devastating plant fires

1917

Ferdinand Roebling dies

1918

Charles Roebling dies;
Karl Roebling, founder's grandson, Ferdinand's son, becomes president

1921

Karl Roebling dies;
Washington Roebling, 81, reassumes presidency

1922

Lalor St. plant opens

1924

Bear Mountain Bridge across Hudson River completed

1926

Washington Roebling dies;
Ferdinand W. Roebling, Jr., grandson of founder, becomes president

1927

"Spirit of St. Louis", Roebling-equipped. flies across Atlantic Ocean

1931

George Washington Bridge completed over Hudson River NY-NJ

1936

Ferdinand Roebling, Jr. dies;
William Anderson becomes president

1937

Golden Gate Bridge completed, San Francisco, California

1941-1945

75% of operations to war production

1944

William Anderson dies;
Charles Roebling Tyson, 29, great grandson of founder, becomes president

1952

John A. Roebling's Sons Co. sold to Colorado Fuel & Iron Co.

1964

Roebling Division of CFI supplies cable wire for Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, Brooklyn-Staten Island, NY

1968

Eighty-ton wire rope machine converted to produce 5" wire rope, world's largest

1969

Crane Corp. purchases CFI

1974

Roebling plants closed down

1985

Trenton Roebling Community Development Corporation founded

1989

Eighty-ton wire rope machine designated National Mechanical Engineering Landmark

1992

Revitalization of Roebling "Upper Works" in Trenton begins; "Roebling Steel" play performed

1996

Phase One of the Revitalization of the Roebling "Upper Works" in Trenton is completed with the opening of several retail establishments in the Mill Yards