![](https://www.historynet.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/WIWP-AUTUMN-ENTERPRISE-01-copy.jpg)
James Eads (1820–87) spent his early life on the Mississippi and in adulthood bridged the mighty river. On July 4, 1874, after a tireless seven-year construction project, officials and residents of St. Louis gathered to dedicate the landmark span in this Currier & Ives lithograph. (Library of Congress)
Library of Congress