Theodore Burr
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Theodore Burr (1771 - 1822)

Theodore Burr
Born in Torringford, Torrington, Litchfield County, Connecticutmap
Ancestors ancestors
Brother of [half]
Husband of — married 1789 in Hartford, Connecticut, United Statesmap
Died at age 51 in Halifax Township, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, United Statesmap
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Profile last modified | Created 16 Aug 2022
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Biography

Notables Project
Theodore Burr is Notable.

The cousin of vice president Aaron Burr, the Connecticut-based engineer, who lived between 1771 and 1822, used an innovative combination of trusses and arches to create covered bridges noted for their strength and durability.

The most sought-after bridge designer of his day, Burr was buried in a potter’s field and has been little remembered, despite the efforts of the Theodore Burr Covered Bridge Society of Pennsylvania and the Theodore Burr Covered Bridge Resource Center in the house Burr eventually built in Oxford, New York.

The Trenton, New Jersey to Morrisville, Pennsylvania Bridge

According to DRJTBC documentation, Burr’s 1,008-foot-long and 36-foot-wide bridge “had massive laminated arches. The floor was suspended from the arches with iron chains, a revolutionary design for its time. The structure’s New Jersey and Pennsylvania entrance portals featured high and elaborate fronts, with great arched doorways over the carriage ways and foot-walks. The piers and abutments were constructed of stone masonry designed to be elevated enough to clear the highest flood. As a result of floods reaching a level higher than expected during the construction period, the masonry was raised to a new high-water level. Because of this precaution, the bridge was not swept away during the 1841 flood that destroyed five other bridges over the Delaware north of Trenton. The bridge was modified in the late 1830s to carry steam locomotives and became the first bridge in the United States to be used for interstate railroad traffic. The Pennsylvania Railroad replaced the bridge with two twin iron spans completed in 1875 and 1876.”

Theodore Burr (August 16, 1771 – November 22, 1822) was an inventor from Torrington, Connecticut, who was credited with the Burr Arch Truss bridge design. He designed and built one of the first bridges across the Hudson River and several bridges that crossed the Susquehanna River.

A 2014 Structure Magazine article convey the novelty of the bridge by asking the question “Where did Burr get the idea for a tied arch in wood?” And answered itself with, “Whatever the source, Burr designed and built a bridge that was unique to the United States, and one that was noted around the western world.”

The bridge covered by a roof of cedar shingles also attracted the attention of artists who created drawings and prints of it. That in turn helped to make it a curiosity and destination.

Although the bridge received high praise — as reflected in the words of a toast raised to Burr at the bridge’s dedication that said “may the Trenton Delaware Bridge prove as useful to the publick, as the simplicity and strength of the plan and the skill and ingenuity displayed in the workmanship” — and whose original design drawings were featured in British engineer David Stevenson’s 1838 “Sketch of the Civil Engineering of North America,” Burr never again used the design.

The current "Trenton Makes The World Takes" bridge is a five-span steel truss bridge,” Donnelly says. “It is a divided bridge. There are two dual portals on each side, and single lanes in each direction. The piers are wider than the bridge itself. That goes back to the late 1800s when it had three different structures.

Trenton, New Jersey is the capitol of the state and named after William Trent.

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Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/106468375/philomela-marsh: accessed March 2, 2024), memorial page for Philomela Burr Marsh (13 Apr 1794–13 Jan 1881), Find a Grave Memorial ID 106468375, citing Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, Kings County, New York, USA; Maintained by Eternal Peace (contributor 48793983).
posted by Mark Weinheimer

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Categories: Notables