The Othniel Foster Nichols Papers (MC 7) span the years 1869 to 1900 with the bulk of the material falling into the period 1887-1900. The collection contains scrapbooks, a photo album, sketches, writings and newspaper clippings documenting his personal interests as well as his professional civil engineering activities. The scrapbooks contain a wide variety of material collected by Nichols, including newspaper clippings related to the Brooklyn Elevated Railroad and other railroad engineering projects such as the London Rapid Transit system. There are also an assortment of RPI related clippings, commencement programs and alumni event programs and menus. Other items include advertisements, particularly for railroad-related equipment; tickets for various railroads; society listings for groups such as the American Society of Civil Engineers; political cartoons; theatre playbills; an invitation to the opening of the Ferris wheel with a ticket; literary and historical clippings; and photographs of politicians and other prominent figures. There is also a photocopy of an obituary scrapbook held by the Newport Historical Society in 1980 and the society may also hold copies of the photographs from the photo album in the collection. Of particular note are the materials related to the design and construction of the Williamsburg (New East River) and Manhattan Bridges including documentation of the controversy surrounding the eye bar cable system. Also of significance are the photographs of workers inside the caissons for the Williamsburg Bridge contained within the photo album.