November 9, 1888
Steve Brodie, the bridge jumper, at an early hour jumped from the Poughkeepsie railroad bridge into the river. Friends claim he jumped from the top of the bridge, 234 ft above the water. Some of the bridge officers present assert that Brodie jumped from the lower cord of a truss span, a distance of 35 or 77 feet less than he claims. In either case he made a pretty good jump and was considerably hurt, blood issuing from his mouth, nose and ears when he was picked up. No bones were broken however and Brodie is around again and offers to make another jump from the top of the bridge on a wager of $1000.