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This journal appears to be a unique record of daily on site observations and construction processes of the building of a second Harlem River bridge at the site of Third Avenue, County of New York (Manhattan). It contains copied documents such as the New York State Legislature’s document Chapter 774 dated April 17, 1857 authorizing the building of a new bridge at the site, as well as the design requirements for the new bridge, removal of the previous bridge and the official appointment and acceptance letters of the chief engineer, William J. McAlpine and assistant engineer, Frederick Hubbard. This information is copied into the first numbered pages of the bound journal. The journal appears to be written for the purpose of having a record of all various loose documents relating to the project. There appears to be at least two different styles of handwriting: the earlier entries are written in an elegant careful style possibly by the assistant engineer; the last few weeks of entries are in a hurried, abbreviated scrawl with pages left blank seemingly left open to be filled in when the loose documents became available to be transcribed into the daily working account. Evidence of this manner of copying documents and notes into the bound journal consist of a few pages written on loose sheets laid in the area of blank pages bearing the same dates. The journal not only has written text but contains many detailed construction drawings (on different paper) fastened into the bound pages, as well as lists and tables of materials, costs, working hours and weather conditions.
Title: Copy of Engineers Private Journal on Harlem Bridge, 1860-1861
Authors: Hubbard, Frederick, 1817-1895
Call number: SC MS 0142
(Bethlehem,Special Collections, Lehigh University Libraries)
Publisher: Special Collections, Lehigh University Libraries
Language: English.
Date: From 1860 to 1861
Place: New York (N.Y.)
Subjects names: McAlpine, William J. (William Jarvis); Hubbard, Frederick, 1817-1895; Wood, Fernando, 1812-1881; McAlpine, Charles S
Subjects topical: Washington Bridge (New York, N.Y.)
Subjects geographic: New York (N.Y.)
Genres: Diaries
Table of Contents:
(links lead to pages on OPenn)
- fol. 3v — 3-7 April 1860
- fol. 4r — 13 April 1860
- fol. 4v — 20-30 April 1860
- fol. 5r — 30 April-15 May 1860
- fol. 10r — 25 May 1860
- fol. 13r — 29 May 1860
- fol. 13v — 30 May-2 June 1860
- fol. 14r — 4 June 1860
- fol. 14v — 15 June-16 July 1860
- fol. 15r — 16-23 July 1860
- fol. 16r — 6-16 August 1860
- fol. 16v — 16-17 August 1860
- fol. 19v — 10 October 1860
- fol. 20r — 12-23 October 1860
- fol. 20v — 24-25 October 1860
- fol. 21r — 26-29 October 1860
- fol. 21v — 30 October-1 November 1860
- fol. 23r — 2-3 November 1860
- fol. 23v — 4-7 November 1860
- fol. 24r — 8-9 November 1860
- fol. 24v — 10 November 1860
- fol. 25v — 11-12 November 1860
- fol. 26r — 13-14 November 1860
- fol. 26v — 15-17 November 1860
- fol. 27r — 18-20 November 1860
- fol. 27v — 21 November 1860
- fol. 28r — 22-23 November 1860
- fol. 28v — 24 November 1860
- fol. 29r — 26-28 November 1860
- fol. 29v — 29 November-1 December 1860
- fol. 30r — 2-4 December 1860
- fol. 30v — 5-6 December 1860
- fol. 31r — 7-8 December 1860
- fol. 31v — 12-13 December 1860
- fol. 35v — 14-15 December 1860
- fol. 36r — 17-18 December 1860
- fol. 36v — 19-21 December 1860
- fol. 37r — 21-24 December 1860
- fol. 37v — 24 December 1860
- fol. 38r — 24-27 December 1860
- fol. 38v — 28 December 1860
- fol. 39r — 29 December 1860
- fol. 39v — 30 December 1860
- fol. 40r — 31 December 1860
- fol. 41r — 1-3 January 1861
- fol. 41v — 4 January 1861
- fol. 43r — 5 January 1861
- fol. 44v — 6-8 January 1861
- fol. 45v — 9 January 1861
- fol. 47v — 10 January 1861
- fol. 49v — 11 January 1861
- fol. 50r — 12 January 1861
- fol. 51v — 13-14 January 1861
- fol. 52r — 15 January 1861
- fol. 53r — 16 January 1861
- fol. 54r — 17 January 1861
- fol. 54v — 18 January 1861
- fol. 56v — 19 January 1861
- fol. 57r — 21 January 1861
- fol. 57v — 22-25 January 1961
- fol. 58r — 26 January 1861
- fol. 60r — 28 January 1861
- fol. 60v — 29 January 1861
- fol. 61r — 30-31 January 1861
- fol. 62v — 1 February 1861
- fol. 63r — 2 February 1861
- fol. 64r — 4 February 1861
- fol. 64v — 5 February 1861
- fol. 65r — 6 February 1861
- fol. 66r — 7 February 1861
- fol. 68r — 8 February 1861
- fol. 70v — 9 February 1861
- fol. 71r — 11 February 1861
- fol. 72r — 12-13 February 1861
- fol. 72v — 14 February 1861
- fol. 73v — 15 February 1861
- fol. 74r — 16 February 1861
- fol. 74v — 18 February 1861
- fol. 75r — 19 February 1861
- fol. 75v — 20-21 February 1861
- fol. 76r — 22 February 1861
- fol. 76v — 23 February 1861
- fol. 77r — 25 February 1861
- fol. 78v — 26 February 1861
- fol. 79r — 27 February 1861
- fol. 79v — 28 February 1861
- fol. 80r — 1-3 March 1861
- fol. 80v — 4-5 March 1861
- fol. 81r — 6 March 1861
- fol. 81v — 7 March 1861
- fol. 82r — 8-9 March 1861
- fol. 83v — 11-12 March 1861
- fol. 84r — 13 March 1861
- fol. 84v — 14-15 March 1861
- fol. 85r — 16 March 1861
- fol. 85v — 18 March 1861
- fol. 86r — 19-20 March 1861
- fol. 87v — 21 March 1861
- fol. 91r — 22-23 March 1861
- fol. 91v — 28-29 March 1861
- fol. 92r — 30 March-1 April 1861
- fol. 92v — 2 April 1861
- fol. 93r — 3-4 April 1861
- fol. 93v — 5 April 1861
- fol. 94r — 6 April 1861
- fol. 94v — 7-8 April 1861
- fol. 95v — 9 April 1861
- fol. 96r — 10-11 April 1861
- fol. 96v — 12 April 1861
- fol. 97r — 13 April 1861
- fol. 97v — 15-16 April 1861
- fol. 98r — 17 April 1861
- fol. 98v — 18 April 1861
- fol. 99r — 19 April 1861
- fol. 99v — 20 April 1861
- fol. 100r — 22 April 1861
- fol. 100v — 23 April 1861
- fol. 101r — 24 April 1861
- fol. 101v — 25 April 1861
- fol. 102r — 26-27 April 1861
- fol. 102v — 29 April 1861
- fol. 103v — 30 April-2 May 1861
- fol. 104v — 3 May 1861
- fol. 105v — 4-6 May 1861
- fol. 106r — 7 May 1861
- fol. 106v — 8-9 May 1861
- fol. 107r — 10-11 May 1861
- fol. 107v — 13-14 May 1861
- fol. 108v — 15 May 1861
- fol. 109r — 16 May 1861
- fol. 109v — 17-18 May 1861
- fol. 110r — 20 May 1861
- fol. 111r — 21 May 1861
- fol. 111v — 22 May 1861
- fol. 113r — 23-24 May 1861
- fol. 113v — 25 May 1861
- fol. 114r — 27-28 May 1861
- fol. 114v — 29 May 1861
- fol. 115r — 30-31 May 1861
- fol. 115v — 1 June 1861
- fol. 116r — 3-4 June 1861
- fol. 117v — 5-6 June 1861
- fol. 119r — 7-8 June 1861
- fol. 119v — 10 June 1861
- fol. 120r — 11 June 1861
- fol. 120v — 12 June 1861
- fol. 121r — 13-15 June 1861
- fol. 121v — 17-19 June 1861
- fol. 122r — 20-21 June 1861
- fol. 123r — 22-24 June 1861
- fol. 123v — 25 June 1861
- fol. 124r — 26-27 June 1861
- fol. 124v — 28-29 June 1861
- fol. 125r — 1-3 July 1861
- fol. 125v — 4-8 July 1861
- fol. 126r — 9-11 July 1861
- fol. 128r — 12 July 1861
- fol. 129r — 13 July 1861
- fol. 129v — 15-16 July 1861
- fol. 130r — 17 July 1861
- fol. insert 6 1r — 18 July 1861
- fol. insert 6 1v — 19 July 1861
- fol. insert 6 2v — 20 July 1861
- fol. 132v — 22-23 July 1861
- fol. 133r — 24-25 July 1861
- fol. 133v — 26 July 1861
- fol. 134v — 27-29 July 1861
- fol. 135r — 30-31 July 1861
- fol. 135v — 1 August 1861
- fol. 136r — 2 August 1861
Decorations
- fol. 44r — Profile at right angles to alignment of bridge column number one
- fol. insert 2 1r — Plan of machinery at centre pier, Jan 10 1861
- fol. 50v — Lower section of column
- fol. insert 3 1r — Section of column no. I
- fol. 56v — Sketch of riverbed
- fol. 64r — Col. no. II
- fol. 66r — Sketch of soundings
- fol. 66v — Sketch of fulcrum
- fol. insert 4 1v — Sketch of block and tackle
- fol. 71v — Sketch of lever
- fol. 74r — Lower section of column no. I
- fol. 77v — Column no. I
- fol. 83r — Section of column no. I
- fol. insert 5 1r — Sketch of block and tackle
- fol. 86v — Sketch of arrangement of lever over column no. II
- fol. 103r — Sketch of weighing apparatus
- fol. 107v — Diagram of column II and III
- fol. 108r — Penetration below original bed
- fol. 112v — Diagram of central column
- fol. 118r — Diagram of column no. IV
- fol. 122r — Approximate geological section east and west at Mott Haven
- fol. 122v — Rocks under column X
- fol. 124v — Sketch of rock below riverbed
- fol. 126v — Column X
- fol. 128r — Sketch of rocks under the column after its final settlement
- fol. 128v — Sketch of removal of wooden deck from riverbed
- fol. 132r — Column V
- fol. insert 7 1r — Col IX