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Private company

Berlin Iron Bridge Co.

American company (1868–1900)

The Berlin Iron Bridge Company was a Berlin, Connecticut company that built iron bridges and buildings that were supported by iron. It is credited as the architect of numerous bridges and buildings now listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. It eventually became part of the American Bridge Company.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

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Lover's Leap Lenticular Bridge, Spanning Housatonic River on Pumpkin Hill Road, New Milford (Litchfield County, Connecticut)
Photo: Jet Lowe, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons4

The Berlin Iron Bridge Company was a Berlin, Connecticut company that built iron bridges and buildings that were supported by iron. It is credited as the architect of numerous bridges and buildings now listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. It eventually became part of the American Bridge Company.2

The story

The Berlin Iron Bridge Company began in 1868 as the Corrugated Metal Company, a branch of tinware firm Roys and Wilcox, which is now part of Roper Whitney. Originally producing roofing and shutters, the company became involved in roof trusses. In 1878, under Samuel C. Wilcox, the company purchased the rights to the "parabolic" (lenticular truss) bridge patent from William Douglas. Douglas became treasurer and executive manager of the company. In 1885 he received another patent, and the company name was changed to Berlin Iron Bridge Company.

The Berlin Iron Bridge Company constructed hundreds of bridges across the eastern United States, until 1900, when the company was acquired by the American Bridge Company.

Berlin Steel

Almost immediately after its acquisition by the American Bridge Company, three executives from the Berlin Iron Bridge Company split from American Bridge and formed their own company, the Berlin Construction Company. The new company continued in the path of the Berlin Iron Bridge Company and continued building bridges until the 1930s. In 1962 it was renamed to the Berlin Steel Construction Company, and still exists today. Several of their bridges have also been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

From Wikipedia’s article on Berlin Iron Bridge Co., shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Sources

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