Theodore Burr

Who was Theodore Burr?

Theodore Burr was an inventor from Torringford, Connecticut, who was credited with the Burr Arch Truss bridge design and was cousin of vice president Aaron Burr. Theodore Burr came to Oxford, New York in 1792. By 1794, he had built a grist mill, and a dam to power the mill. In 1800 he built the first stringer bridge across the Chenango River in Oxford. From 1809-1811, he built an impressive Federal style house on the site of an ancient Indian Fort for his family. The building still stands and houses the Oxford Memorial Library.

Around 1804, Burr built the first "sizable bridge" crossing New York's Hudson River, at Waterford, New York. It lasted until 1909, when it was destroyed by fire. The "Burr arch truss", used two long arches, resting on the abutments on either end, that typically sandwiched a multiple kingpost structure. Theodore Burr built nearly every bridge that crossed the Susquehanna River from Binghamton, New York, to Maryland in those days. His successes made him the most distinguished architect of bridges in the country. Today's modern bridges with their graceful arches can be traced back to Theodore Burr and his contemporaries.