James Madison Porter III (1864–1928) was an American civil engineer

Civil engineer

A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...

 notable for his role in designing two unique bridges across the Delaware River

Delaware River

The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...

 and for his development of the civil engineering program at Lafayette College

Lafayette College

Lafayette College is a private coeducational liberal arts and engineering college located in Easton, Pennsylvania, USA. The school, founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter,son of General Andrew Porter of Norristown and citizens of Easton, first began holding classes in 1832...

. His grandfather, James Madison Porter

James Madison Porter

James Madison Porter , a Pennsylvanian, was the 18th United States Secretary of War and a founder of Lafayette College....

, was one of the college's founders. Porter III served on the civil engineering faculty at Lafayette from 1890 to 1917 and was an early advocate for materials testing

Materials testing

The following are organizations and other resources involved in testing of materials.* ASTM International* Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung* European Reference Materials* Nadcap* Zwick Roell Group...

.

In addition to his academic achievements, Porter designed the Northampton Street Bridge

Northampton Street Bridge

The Northampton Street Bridge is a bridge connecting Easton, PA and Phillipsburg, NJ that crosses the Delaware River. It is maintained by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission despite not being a toll bridge. It is known locally as the "Free Bridge" thus distinguishing it from the...

 between Easton, Pennsylvania

Easton, Pennsylvania

Easton is a city in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 26,800 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Northampton County....

, and Phillipsburg, New Jersey

Phillipsburg, New Jersey

Phillipsburg, known locally as P'burg, is a town in Warren County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 14,950....

, which is now one of few eyebar cantilever bridges remaining in the U.S. and notable for its high level of ornamentation. Porter also served as consulting engineer to John A. Roebling and Sons on the Riegelsville Bridge further downstream, a wire-rope suspension bridge

Suspension bridge

A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. Outside Tibet and Bhutan, where the first examples of this type of bridge were built in the 15th century, this type of bridge dates from the early 19th century...

. Both bridges have national significance for their unique designs and have been documented by the Historic American Engineering Record. Drawings and calculations for these bridges are among Porter's papers collected at the Northampton County Historical and Genealogical Society, the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission

Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission

The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission is a bistate, public agency charged with providing safe, dependable and efficient river crossings between Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The DRJTBC was established under legislation enacted in the two states in 1934. The federal Compact for the...

archives, and in Special Collections at Lafayette College's Skillman Library.