The Kinzua Bridge in McKean County in the U.S.
state was originally built from iron in 1882 and was billed as the
"Eighth Wonder of the World" . The idea to build what would be come the
Kinzua Viaduct was the brainchild of General Thomas Kane,
the Civil War hero who was a stakeholder in the New York, Lake Erie
& Western Railroad. His idea was to find a way to cross the Kinzua
Valley by rail versus a winding six mile route through the valley. He
along with Octave Chanute, a civil engineer, agreed that a viaduct high
above the Kinzua Valley would be the best choice.
