The Woman Who Saved The Brooklyn Bridge

It’s almost like the Brooklyn Bridge had a grudge against the Roeblings. Both John and Washington wanted to build it, and both wound up dead or injured. Paralyzed as well as partly blind, deaf, and mute, Washington could only watch the bridge’s construction from his bedroom window using a pair of binoculars. But his mind was still fresh, and his crew needed instructions. How could he get his know-how down to the sandhogs?

That’s where Emily Warren Roebling came in. The two had met at a military dance and married in 1865, and right off the bat, she was plunged into the world of construction. Already planning the Brooklyn Bridge, her father-in-law sent Washington around the world to learn about caissons. Emily went along and got quite an education in bridge-building. And when John died and Washington became the new boss, she taught herself everything relevant there was to know about engineering. More than anything, she wanted to help her husband with his new job. Soon, she got more than she’d bargained for.

With John sick in bed, Emily became his messenger girl. She regularly visited the construction sites, giving the men John’s instructions and carrying questions back to her indisposed husband. However, as time went on, Emily’s role started to change. Soon, workers viewed her as the new boss, and as her knowledge and confidence increased, she effectively became the chief engineer, representing the Roeblings and the bridge to the world. She met with officials, held discussion with engineers, and coached the sandhogs.

And she wasn’t someone you wanted to mess with. When the American Society of Civil Engineers thought about replacing John, she became the first woman to address the group, delivering an impassioned speech in defense of her husband. The committee was awed and decided to keep John—and thus Emily—on the job.

The Brooklyn Bridge took 14 years to build. For 11 of those years, Emily was the one in charge. When it finally opened on May 24, 1883, she was one of the first people to cross the bridge, riding along with President Chester A. Arthur. New York Congressman Abram S. Hewitt told the delighted crowd that Emily Roebling deserved just as much credit as John, who was watching the whole affair from his bedroom window.

Emily led quite a life before her death in 1903. She met Queen Victoria, attended the coronation of Tsar Nicholas II, helped out relief efforts during the Spanish–American War, and even earned a law degree from New York University. And she did all that while taking care of two kids.