New Jersey History and Sites

The Roebling Museum focuses on the Company Town of Roebling, where people lived and worked at the famous steel mill known for manufacturing wire rope.

The John A Roebling’s Son Company was started by John Augustus Roebling, a civil engineer best known to designing the Brooklyn Bridge. Roebling mastered the manufacturing of wire rope, that became an integral part of modern day suspension bridges. Later, Roebling’s sons, Washington, Ferdinand and Charles, continued to build the company into the world’s leading producer of wire rope. The wire rope helped build the Brooklyn Bridge, the San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, and George Washington Bridge just to name a few. The company had four factories, with 8,000 employees at the height of its success. With steel prices on the rise in 1904, the Company bought the farmland on the Delaware River and built their own steel factory and the company town for the workers, which later became known as the town of Roebling. In addition, the innovations of the John A Roebling’s Company were used to create advancements in telegraphs, telephones, ships, elevators, and airplanes.

The Museum opened in 2009 and is located on the grounds of the historic steel mill. The Museum Building was previously the Gate House, the entry point for thousands of workers as they clocked in each day. Although, there is very little of the original land and structures remaining as the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, deemed the area a Superfund site due to the high levels of contamination. Despite the EPA removing a lot of the original structures and land, the Museum remembers the history of the workers and legacy of the John A Roebling’s Sons Company.

Once visitors enter the museum, they are invited to watch an 18- minute video documentary of Roebling locals as they discuss life in Roebling and the Steel factory. Then, visitors walk through several exhibits about the Roebling family, workers of the factory, the creations of the factory, and life in the town. Various artifacts, including original cables from several bridges using Roebling wire, are on display. Afterward learning about the Company and Town, visitors can walk around a small portion of the outside grounds to see some of the steel equipment. The Museum offers a unique New Jersey town history, which is worth exploring.

Resources

“About Roebling Museum.” Roebling Museum. Accessed January 17, 2026. https://www.roeblingmuseum.org/about

Cohen, Stephen M. and Brenda H. Cohen. America’s Scientific Treasures: A Travel Companion. New York: Oxford University Press, 2020. https://www.google.com/books/edition/America_s_Scientific_Treasures/2GkLEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

“Roebling Museum.” Journey Through Jersey. Accessed January 17, 2026. https://www.journeythroughjersey.com/about/