Fink-Type Truss Bridge

{{Infobox NRHP

| name = Fink-Type Truss Bridge

| nrhp_type =

| image = Fink Through-Truss Bridge, Hunterdon County Government Complex (moved to), Flemington vicinity, Hunterdon County (New Jersey).jpg

| caption = Fink-Type Truss Bridge in 1971.

| nearest_city = Allerton, New Jersey
Hamden, New Jersey

| coordinates = {{coord|40|36|14|N|74|54|08|W|display=inline,title}}

| locmapin = USA New Jersey Hunterdon County#New Jersey#USA

| built = {{Start date|1857}}

| architect = Trenton Locomotive & Machine Manufacturing Co.

| architecture = Fink truss

| added = December 24, 1974

| area =

| refnum = 74001161{{NRISref|version=2013a|refnum=74001161}}

| designated_other1_name = New Jersey Register of Historic Places

| designated_other1_abbr = NJRHP

| designated_other1_link = New Jersey Register of Historic Places

| designated_other1_date = November 20, 1974

| designated_other1_number = 1578{{cite web |title=New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places – Hunterdon County |url=https://www.nj.gov/dep/hpo/1identify/nrsr_lists/HUNTERDON.pdf#page=3 |publisher=New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection – Historic Preservation Office |page=3 |date=March 23, 2022 }}

| designated_other1_num_position = bottom

| designated_other1_color = #ffc94b

}}

The Fink-Type Truss Bridge, also known as the Hamden Bridge, carried Hamden Road/River Road over the South Branch Raritan River, the border between Clinton Township and Franklin Township, at Hamden near the Allerton section of Hunterdon County, New Jersey. The bridge was built in 1857 by the Trenton Locomotive and Machine Manufacturing Company. It consisted of a single-span through truss {{Convert|100|ft}} long, {{Convert|15|ft}} wide, and {{Convert|19|ft}} high.{{cite web |url=https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/nj/nj0100/nj0143/data/nj0143data.pdf |title=Fink Through-Truss Bridge (Hamden Bridge)|last=Murphy |first=Kevin |date=June 1984 |website=Historic American Engineering Record |publisher=Library of Congress |location=Washington, D.C. }}

The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 24, 1974, for its significance in engineering. At the time of its nomination, it was one of the earliest surviving iron truss bridges in the United States.{{cite web|url={{NRHP url|id=74001161}}|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Fink-Type Truss Bridge |publisher=National Park Service|first1=Terry |last1=Karschner |date=August 1974 }} With {{NRHP url|id=74001161|photos=y|title=accompanying 3 photos}} The Fink truss bridge was patented by Albert Fink in 1854, and the Hunterdon county bridge, built 3 years later, was a nearly perfect example of the patented design. It collapsed as a result of an automobile collision in 1978. The remaining pieces were subsequently relocated to the Hunterdon County Government Center. It was documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in 1984, which included photos from 1971.