Frank Duff McEnteer, Engineer, Papers
Collection
Collection Number: A&M 3751
Personal and professional papers of Frank Duff McEnteer, a consulting engineer in Clarksburg, West Virginia who pioneered the use of reinforced concrete for the construction of buildings and bridges. His legacy as an engineer includes the design and construction of many bridges in West Virginia and other locations. This collection includes series of personal and family papers (boxes 1-10), business papers (boxes 11-18), professional papers (boxes 19-22), photographs (boxes 22-25, oversize folder 1), blueprints (boxes 26a-26b), business papers -- checks and bank statements (boxes 27-31), and miscellaneous (box 32).
English
No special access restriction applies.
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Copied verbatim from internet version of West Virginia Encyclopedia article by Emory Kemp.
Engineer Frank Duff McEnteer, the builder of a thousand bridges, was born May 23, 1882, in Reynoldsville, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Harvard engineering school in 1905 and moved to Clarksburg in 1911 to superintend the construction of the Palace Furniture Company building. The concrete-frame building, still in use, is one of the earliest reinforced concrete buildings in West Virginia. It launched McEnteer upon a career in building reinforced concrete structures, then essentially a new engineering material and form.
In 1914, McEnteer was appointed to superintend the multi-span concrete arch bridge on Fourth Street in Clarksburg. In the same year, with P. M. Harrison, he incorporated the Concrete Steel Bridge Company. The company showed steady growth and by 1924 had 52 separate construction teams in the field. Branch offices were established in Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Huntington, and Knoxville, with a subsidiary company in Florida.
Although the intention of the firm was to build short to medium span bridges, in its later years several large bridges were built, including the Alderson bridge across the Greenbrier River in 1915. On the eve of the Great Depression, in 1928-29, the company encountered unexpected difficulties with a Pennsylvania bridge project. The company was forced into bankruptcy and was liquidated in 1931.
Following the demise of the company, McEnteer joined the State Road Commission until World War II. He arrived in the Middle East in 1942 and in 1943 was made chief engineer of the construction division of the U.S. armed forces in the entire region.
Upon his return to Clarksburg following the war, he opened a consulting firm which he headed until his death on September 4, 1957. Frank Duff McEnteer's handiwork is evident throughout West Virginia and surrounding states, with many of his bridges still in service.
13.55 Linear Feet (13 ft. 6.6 in. (32 document cases, 5 in. each) (1 document case, 2.5 in.) (1 oversize folder, .1 in.))
Personal and professional papers of Frank Duff McEnteer, a consulting engineer in Clarksburg, West Virginia who pioneered the use of reinforced concrete for the construction of buildings and bridges. His legacy as an engineer includes the design and construction of many bridges in West Virginia and other locations. This collection includes series of personal and family papers (boxes 1-10), business papers (boxes 11-18), professional papers (boxes 19-22), photographs (boxes 22-25), blueprints (boxes 26a-26b), business papers -- checks and bank statements (boxes 27-31), and miscellaneous (box 32). See Scope and Content Note for a contents list. See Historical Note for more information on Frank D. McEnteer.
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / Fax: 304-293-3981 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/
Frequently used abbreviations:
ASCE - American Society of Civil Engineers
BSE - Builders Supply and Equipment Co.
CSBC - Concrete Steel Bridge Co.
CSC - Consolidated Supply Co.
Part of the West Virginia and Regional History Center Repository