Lewis Wernwag

Louis Wernwag (b. Alteburg, Württemberg, Germany, 4 December 1769 — d. Harpers Ferry, Virginia, 12 August 1843) was a prominent bridge builder in the United States in the early 19th century.

On leaving school, in order to evade military service, he was secreted by a shepherd in the mountains, who directed his attention to the study of astronomy, natural history, and other scientific subjects. In 1786 he made his way to Amsterdam and thence to Philadelphia.

His earliest venture in the United States was the building of a machine for making whetstones. Soon afterward he began to build power mills and bridges. While conducting this business he purchased land containing large quantities of white oak and pine timber in New Jersey, from which he got out, about 1809, the keel for the first U. S. frigate built at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.

In 1810 he erected a bridge across Neshaminy Creek, on the road between Philadelphia and New York City. The following year he built a drawbridge across Frankford Creek at Bridgeburg, a "cantilever" type with a center panel that could be raised to allow vessels with tall masts through.

His third bridge of wood was built across the Schuylkill River in 1812-13 at Philadelphia. This structure, known as the "Colossus of Fairmount," consisted of a single arch, the span of which was 340 feet. In consideration of its length of span — the longest ever erected for a wooden bridge — solidity, and strength, "The Colossus" was regarded as one of the wonders of the world. (It was destroyed by fire September 1, 1838.)

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