{"nrhp_refnum":"74001798","name":"Chain Bridge","other_names":["Lehigh Canal Swinging Bridge","Wire Towing Path at Pool No. 8"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"SW of Glendon on Hugh Moore Pkwy. across the Lehigh River","address_restricted":false,"city":"Easton","county":"Northampton County","state":"PA","lat":40.65385205500007,"lon":-75.24849080599995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-02-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A suspension footbridge and animal crossing over the Lehigh River at Easton, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, consisting of three stone piers, two sagging spans and stranded cable. It is a structure built in 1856-1857 by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the bridge was an integral part of the Lehigh Canal system, carrying mules and people across the river where the canal crossed from one bank to the other. It is presented as a fine early example of stranded cable bridge construction and a unique civil engineering solution to a canal-era problem. Its role in opening the Lehigh Valley to outside development and in coal transport is also cited.","narrative":"Spanning the Lehigh River at Easton, Pennsylvania, the Chain or Change Bridge was built in 1856 and 1857 by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company. Its engineer, E.A. Douglas, of the same company, completed it for $3,613.24. The structure rests on three stone piers, the central one about forty feet across at water level and shaped on its upstream face to break ice, with two spans suspended from stranded cable of roughly three inches in diameter. The cable was made on site and is believed to have been produced by the Roebling Company, builders of several suspension bridges. The bridge carried mules and people across the river at the point where the Lehigh Canal changed banks, and it allowed animals to tow boats and barges. It replaced an earlier crossing nearer a dam, where currents were stronger. It is regarded as an early example of stranded cable bridge construction and a practical engineering answer to a canal-era need. Its surviving piers and cable are linked to the Lehigh Valley's transport network and its coal trade.","period_of_significance":"1856-1857","architect_builder":"E.A. Douglas (engineer), Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company (builder)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Deteriorated; the road surface was removed from the piers in the 1950s; the bridge is owned by the City of Easton and administered under the Hugh Moore Parkway, with plans for restoration.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:28.996019-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/74001798.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74001798/035f024493-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74001798/035f024493-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Shuvaev","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chain_Bridge_on_Lehigh_River,_Easton_PA_04.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Shuvaev</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chain_Bridge_on_Lehigh_River,_Easton_PA_04.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71995397","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain_Bridge_(Easton,_Pennsylvania)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5067861"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/northampton-county/chain-bridge-74001798/"}