Search Results

Creator:

Missionary Catechists of Divine Providence.  Search this

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Civil Engineering Department  Search this

Underwood and Underwood  Search this

Compiler:

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering  Search this

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry  Search this

Extent:

44 Cubic feet (132 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Blueprints

Drawings

Lantern slides

Photographs

Sketches

Date:

1758-1945, undated

Summary:

A collection primarily of 19th and early 20th century lantern slides relating mostly to engineering, agriculture, railroads, mining, and extractive industries collected by the Division of Work and Industry, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.

Scope and Contents:

A collection of 19th and early 20th century silver gelatin dry plate lantern slides acquired by the staff of the Division of Work and Industry, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. These materials were collected for research purposes and relate to various subjects.

Condition of the material varies widely with some fragile or broken slides. Poor quality images also exist probably due to unstable storage environments or the processing of the slides. All slides have been digitized and moved to off-site storage to minimize handling and at the same time increase accessibility.

The collection is arranged in nine series: series 1, engineering; series 2, extractive industries; series 3, chemical; series 4, manufacturing companies; series 5, machinery; series 6, railroads; series 7, agriculture; series 8, travel photography; and 9, miscellaneous materials.

Arrangement:

Collection is arranged in nine series.

Series 1: Engineering, undated

Subseries 1.1: Architecture and Structures, undated

Subseries 1.2: Bridges, Cantilever, undated

Subseries 1.3: Bridges, Concrete Arch and Beam, undated

Subseries 1.4: Bridges, Masonry Aqueducts, undated

Subseries 1.5: Bridges, Metal Arc, undated

Subseries 1.6: Bridges, Metal Truss, undated

Subseries 1.7: Bridges, Movable, undated

Subseries 1.8: Bridges, Suspension, undated

Subseries 1.9: Canals, undated

Subseries 1.10: Hydraulic Engineering, undated

Subseries 1.11: Machine Tools, undated

Subseries 1.12: Materials Handling, undated

Subseries 1.13: Power, undated

Subseries 1.14: Railroad Mileage Maps, undated

Subseries 1.15: Steam Boilers, undated

Subseries 1.16: Steam Turbines, undated

Subseries 1.17: Tunneling Machine Tools, undated

Series 2: Extractive Industries, undated

Subseries 2.1: Coal, undated

Subseries 2.1.1: Coke, undated

Subseries 2.1.2: Diagrams and Maps, undated

Subseries 2.1.3: General, undated

Subseries 2.1.4: General, undated

Subseries 2.1.5: Infrastructure and Laborers, undated

Subseries 2.1.6: Internation, undated

Subseries 2.1.7: International Product and Labor Statistics, undated

Subseries 2.1.8: Jack Leg Drilling, undated

Subseries 2.1.9: Lansford Breaker Fire Coal Facilities, undated

Subseries 2.1.10: Loading Machinery, undated

Subseries 2.1.11: Longhole Drilling Method, undated

Subseries 2.1.12: Machinery, undated

Subseries 2.1.13: Mines, undated

Subseries 2.1.14: Mining Communities, undated

Subseries 2.1.15: Subsidence, undated

Subseries 2.1.16: Forepoling Warden Mine, undated

Subseries 2.1.17: Montour Number 10 Mine, undated

Subseries 2.1.18: Conveyors, undated

Subseries 2.1.19: Coal Land Valuation, undated

Subseries 2.2: Iron, undated

Subseries 2.2.1: General, undated

Subseries 2.2.2: Pig Iron, undated

Subseries 2.3: Gemstones, undated

Subseries 2.3.1: Gemstones, undated

Subseries 2.4: Mining, undated

Subseries 2.4.1: Diagrams, undated

Subseries 2.4.2: Hydraulic, undated

Subseries 2.4.3: General, undated

Subseries 2.4.4: Ores and Mines, undated

Subseries 2.4.5: Processing Equipment and Infrastructure, undated

Subseries 2.4.6: Shafts, Drilling, and Loading, undated

Subseries 2.4.7: United States Bureau of Mines, undated

Subseries 2.4.8: L. E. Young, Box C, undated

Subseries 2.4.9: L. E. Young, Box D, undated

Subseries 2.4.10: L. E. Young, Box E, undated

Subseries 2.4.11: L. E. Young, Box F, undated

Subseries 2.4.12: L. E. Young, Box G, undated

Subseries 2.4.13: L. E. Young, Box I, undated

Subseries 2.5: Oil, undated

Subseries 2.5.1: Oil, undated

Subseries 2.6: Rubber, undated

Subseries 2.6.1: Coke Rubber Rails, undated

Subseries 2.6.2: General, undated

Subseries 2.6.3: General, undated

Subseries 2.6.4: General, undated

Subseries 2.7: Steel, undated

Subseries 2.7.1: Newcastle Steel Work, undated

Subseries 2.7.2: General, undated

Subseries 2.8: Timber, undated

Subseries 2.8.1: General, undated

Subseries 2.8.2: Lifts, undated

Series 3: Chemical Processing, undated

Subseries 3.1: Chemical Processes, undated

Subseries 3.2: Laboratory and Studies, undated

Subseries 3.3: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 37A: 1-48, undated

Subseries 3.4: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 47: 1-68, undated

Subseries 3.5: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 52: 1-20, undated

Subseries 3.6: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, undated

Subseries 3.7: Radiation Studies, undated

Subseries 3.8: Visual Aids in Chemical Education, The Museum, undated

Series 4: Manufacturing Companies, undated

Subseries 4.1: American Bosch Company, Fuel Injection Equipment, undated

Subseries 4.2: American Locomotive Company, undated

Subseries 4.3: American Locomotive Company, undated

Subseries 4.4: Atlas Imperial Marine Diesel, undated

Subseries 4.5: Baldwin Locomotive Works, undated

Subseries 4.6: Buda, undated

Subseries 4.7: Buda Marine, undated

Subseries 4.8: Cooper-Bessenger, undated

Subseries 4.9: Cooper-Bessenger, undated

Subseries 4.10: Fairbanks Morse Marine Diesel General Set, undated

Subseries 4.11: Fairbanks Morse Marine Diesel, undated

Subseries 4.12: Fairbanks Morse Marine Diesel, undated

Subseries 4.13: Fairbanks Morse Marine Diesel, undated

Subseries 4.14: Fairbanks Morse Marine Diesel, undated

Subseries 4.15: Fairbanks Morse Marine Diesel General Set, undated

Subseries 4.16: General Motors Company, undated

Subseries 4.17: General Motors Company, undated

Subseries 4.18: General Motors Company, undated

Subseries 4.19: General Motors Company, undated

Subseries 4.20: General Motors Company, undated

Subseries 4.21: General Motors Company, undated

Subseries 4.22: General Motors Company, undated

Subseries 4.23: General Motors Company, undated

Subseries 4.24: General Motors Company, undated

Subseries 4.25: General Motors Company Miscelleaneous, undated

Subseries 4.26: Hamilton Diesel, undated

Subseries 4.27: Hamilton Diesel, undated

Subseries 4.28: Hamilton Diesel, undated

Subseries 4.29: Hamilton Diesel, undated

Subseries 4.30: Ingersoll - Rand, undated

Subseries 4.31: International Harvester Fuel Singler Plunger, undated

Subseries 4.32: Long and Alstatler Company, undated

Subseries 4.33: Miscelleaneous Manufacturing Companies, undated

Subseries 4.34: Nordberg Marine Diesel, undated

Series 5: Machinery, undated

Subseries 5.1: Blast Furnances, undated

Subseries 5.2: Construction, undated

Subseries 5.3: Construction - Brick, undated

Subseries 5.4: Construction - Cement, undated

Subseries 5.5: Diagram Miscelleaneous, undated

Subseries 5.6: Diesel Engines, undated

Subseries 5.7: Diesel Engines, General, undated

Subseries 5.8: Diesel Engines, Superior Types KNB, undated

Subseries 5.9: Diesel Installation USS Maumee, undated

Subseries 5.10: Drills, Jumbos, undated

Subseries 5.11: Engine Model D, undated

Subseries 5.12: Factories and Warehouses, undated

Subseries 5.13: Factory Machines, undated

Subseries 5.14: Flywheel Governors, undated

Subseries 5.15: Furnances General, undated

Subseries 5.16: Gas, undated

Subseries 5.17: General Engines, undated

Subseries 5.18: Governors, undated

Subseries 5.19: History of Pumps, undated

Subseries 5.20: Hoisers, undated

Subseries 5.21: Industrial Furnances, undated

Subseries 5.22: Industrial Scenes, undated

Subseries 5.23: Machines Diagrams and Sketches, undated

Subseries 5.24: Machinery Miscelleaneous, undated

Subseries 5.25: Refrigeration, undated

Subseries 5.26: Safety, undated

Subseries 5.27: Steam Engines General Information, undated

Subseries 5.28: Vacuum, undated

Series 6: Railroads and Locomotions, undated

Subseries 6.1: Charts and Graphs, undated

Subseries 6.2: Company Photographs, undated

Subseries 6.3: Drawings, undated

Subseries 6.4: Toppling Over, undated

Subseries 6.5: Interior of Train Cars, undated

Subseries 6.6: Locomotion, undated

Subseries 6.7: Locomotion Miscelleaneous, undated

Subseries 6.8: Repair Report Forms, undated

Subseries 6.9: Shop Scenes, undated

Subseries 6.10: Track Debris, undated

Subseries 6.11: Train Car Component Details, undated

Subseries 6.12: Train Yards, undated

Subseries 6.13: Underside of Locomotives, undated

Subseries 6.14: Yard Scenes, undated

Series 7: Agriculture, undated

Subseries 7.1: Bananas, undated

Subseries 7.2: Butter, undated

Subseries 7.3: Coffee, undated

Subseries 7.4: Corn, undated

Subseries 7.5: Cotton, undated

Subseries 7.6: Machinery, undated

Subseries 7.7: Onions, undated

Subseries 7.8: Potatoes, undated

Subseries 7.9: Poultry, undated

Subseries 7.10: Sugar, undated

Subseries 7.11: Tea, undated

Subseries 7.12: Tobacco, undated

Subseries 7.13: Turpentine, undated

Series 8: Travel Photography, undated

Subseries 8.1: California, undated

Subseries 8.2: Canada, undated

Subseries 8.3: Colorado, undated

Subseries 8.4: General Landscapes, undated

Subseries 8.5: General Locations, undated

Subseries 8.6: Landscapes and Locations General, 186-2-36, undated

Subseries 8.7: Landscapes and Locations General, 187-18-48, undated

Subseries 8.8: New York, undated

Subseries 8.9: United States National Parks, undated

Subseries 8.10: Washington, DC, undated

Series 9: Miscellaneous Materials, undated

Subseries 9.1: Duplicates of Navy Slides, undated

Subseries 9.2: Miscelleaneous

Subseries 9.3: Reliefs, Cravings, and Architecture, undated

Subseries 9.4: Wood Products, undated

Related Materials:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

For related material on Canals, see the following collections:

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Canals, NMAH.AC.0060

Underwood & Underwood Glass Stereograph Collection, NMAH.AC.0143

Roland A. McCrady Photograph Collection, NMAH.AC.0710

Division of Cultural History Lantern Slides and Stereographs, NMAH.AC.0945

Niagara Falls Power Company Records, NMAH.AC.0949

Modjeski and Masters Company Records, NMAH.AC.0976

George Morison Collection, NMAH.AC.0978

Uriah A. Boyden Papers, NMAH.AC.0982

James Forgie Papers, NMAH.AC.0986

William R. Hutton Papers, NMAH.AC.0987

Snake River Irrigation Project Photograph Album, NMAH.AC.1031

Silas H. Woodard Papers, NMAH.AC.1038

Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad Records, NMAH.AC.1074

Mechanical and Civil Engineering Stereograph Cards, NMAH.AC.1090

New York State Barge Canal Photographs, NMAH.AC.1536

Lackawaxen Canal Survey Profiles, NMAH.AC.1546

Nicaragua Canal Collection, NMAH.AC.1550

For related material on Cantilever Bridges, see the following collections:

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Bridges, NMAH.AC.0060

Underwood & Underwood Glass Stereograph Collection, NMAH.AC.0143

Nathan W. Morgan Papers, NMAH.AC.0965

George Morison Collection, NMAH.AC.0978

John A. Roebling Collection, NMAH.AC.0981

Mechanical and Civil Engineering Stereograph Cards, NMAH.AC.1090

Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering Bridges Reference Collection, NMAH.AC.1577

For related material on Concrete Arch and Beam Bridges, see the following collections:

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Bridges, NMAH.AC.0060

For related material on Corliss Steam Engine Company, see the following collections:

Frick Company Collection, NMAH.AC.0293

Cooper-Bessemer Corporation Records, NMAH.AC.0961

Robert Wetherill Company Records, NMAH.AC.0992

Evolution of the Corliss Steam Engine Scrapbook, NMAH.AC1016

Mechanical and Civil Engineering Glass Plate Negatives, NMAh.AC.1089

For related material on Hydraulic Engineering, see the following collections:

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Engineering, NMAH.AC0060

Charles Richardson Pratt Papers, NMAH.AC.0958

Rudolph Hering Collection, NMAH.AC.0989

Mechanical and Civil Engineering Glass Plate Negatives, NMAH.AC.1089

Mechanical and Civil Engineering Stereograph Cards, NMAH.AC.1090

For related material on Machine Tools, see the following collections:

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Tools, NMAH.AC.0060

Pratt & Whitney Company Scrapbook, NMAH.AC.0093

Max Holland Numerical Control Collection, NMAH.AC.0537

Southwark Foundry and Machine Company Records, NMAH.AC.1107

For related material on Materials Handling, see the following collections:

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Materials Handling, NMAH.AC.0060

James J. Childs Numerical Control Collection, NMAH.AC.0420

World War Two Bomb Damage Photographs, NMAH.AC.1535

Norton Grinding Machine Company Photograph Collection, NMAH.AC.1551

Paul Steam-Heating System Company Records, NMAH.AC.1554

For related material on Metal Arch Bridges, see the following collections:

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Bridges, NMAH.A.C0060

Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering Bridges Reference Collection, NMAH.AC.1577

Mechanical and Civil Engineering Stereograph Cards, NMAH.AC.1090

For related material on Movable Bridges, see the following collections:

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Bridges, NMAH.AC.0060

Henry Grattan Tyrrell and Mary Maude Knox Tyrrell Papers, NMAH.AC.0948

Nathan W. Morgan Papers, NMAH.AC.0965

Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering Bridges Reference Collection, NMAH.AC.1577

For related material on Panama Canal, see the following collections:

John Frances Little Panama Canal Scrapbook, NMAH.AC.0708

A.R. Van Tassell Photograph Album, NMAH.AC.1015

W. A. Fishbaugh Panama Canal Photograph Album, NMAH.AC.1021

W. P. Stine Panama Canal Papers, NMAH.AC.1039

Katherine Kingsford Panama Canal Photograph Album, NMAH.AC.1040

Richard Fisher Collection of Panama Canal Materials, NMAH.AC.1045

Robert Dearborn Panama Canal Glass Negatives, NMAH.AC.1111

Charles Edwards Wood Panama Canal Photograph Album, NMAH.AC.1114

Panama Canal Commission Photonegatives, 1903-circa 1939, NMAH.AC.1116

Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering Panama Canal Collection, NMAH.AC.1569

For related material on railroads, see the following collections:

Archives Center Lantern Slide Collection, NMAH.AC.0686

Railroad Bridge Construction Photograph Album, NMAH.AC.1024

Northern Pacific Railroad Bridge Construction Photograph Album, NMAH.AC.1031

Penn Station, New York, Photographs, NMAH.AC.1048

Northern Pacific Railway Photographs, NMAH.AC.1067

New York Central Railway Valuation Negatives, NMAH.AC.1072

Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago, and St. Louis Railroad Photographs (PCC and St. Louis), NMAH.AC.1079

Niagara Railroad Negatives, NMAH.AC.1081

Charles B. Chaney Jr. Railroad Photographic Collection, NMAH.AC.1167

Clayton M. Hall Collection of Railroad Photographs, NMAH.AC.1168

Harry A. McBride Railroad Photographs, NMAH.AC.1171

Thomas Norrell Railroad Photographs Collection, NMAH.AC.1174

Pullman Palace Car Company Photographs, NMAH.AC.1175

Haskell and Barker Car Company Photographic Negatives, NMAH.AC.1183

For related material on Steam Boilers, see the following collections:

Frick Company Collection, NMAH.AC.293

Erasmus D. Leavitt Collection, NMAH.AC.0966

Edwin Rust Papers, NMAH.AC.1070

Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company Records, NMAH.AC.1541

For related material on steam engines, see the following collections:

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Engines, NMAH.AC.0060

Frick Company Collection, NMAH.AC.0293

Borsig Steam Engine Records, NMAH.AC.0956

Cooper-Bessemer Corporation Records, NMAH.AC0961

Greville I. Bathe Papers, NMAH.AC.0970

McIntosh, Seymour, and Company Records, NMAH.AC0985

Mechanical and Civil Engineering Glass Plate Negatives, NMAH.AC1089

For related material on Steam Turbines, see the following collections:

Parke, Davis Research Laboratory Records, NMAH.AC.0001

Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company Records, NMAH.AC.0977

Skinner Engine Company Records, NMAH.AC.1087

Mechanical and Civil Engineering Glass Plate Negatives, NMAH.AC.1089

For related material on Suspension Bridges, see the following collections:

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Bridges, NMAH.AC.0060

Underwood & Underwood Glass Stereograph Collection, NMAH.AC.0143

Nathan W. Morgan Papers, NMAH.AC.0965

Modjeski and Masters Company Records, NMAH.AC.0976

Niagara Falls Bridge Commission Records, NMAH.AC.1060

Mechanical and Civil Engineering Glass Plate Negatives, NMAH.AC.1089

Mechanical and Civil Engineering Stereograph Cards, NMAH.AC.1090

Robinson & Steinman Collection, NMAH.AC.1562

Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering Bridges Reference Collection, NMAH.AC.1577

Provenance:

Immediate source of acquisition unknown.

Restrictions:

Collection open for research on site by appointment. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

African American women  Search this

Agriculture -- Corn  Search this

Agricultural crops -- Fields  Search this

Agricultural laborers  Search this

Agricultural machinery  Search this

Agricultural products  Search this

Architecture  Search this

Bananas -- Costa Rica  Search this

Bananas -- Jamaica  Search this

Bearings (Machinery)  Search this

Bridges  Search this

Butter  Search this

Butter -- New York  Search this

Canals  Search this

Children -- 20th century  Search this

Coal mines and mining  Search this

Coffee  Search this

Coffee industry -- Brazil  Search this

Coffee -- Jamaica  Search this

Coffee -- Mexico  Search this

Engineering  Search this

Hydraulic engineering  Search this

Laborers  Search this

Machine-tools  Search this

Maple sugar  Search this

Materials handling  Search this

Mining engineering  Search this

Onions  Search this

Poultry industry  Search this

Potatoes  Search this

Power  Search this

Railroads  Search this

Railroads -- 19th century  Search this

Railroads -- 20th century  Search this

Rubber -- Ceylon  Search this

Rubber -- Congo  Search this

Rubber plantations  Search this

Steam-boilers  Search this

Sugar  Search this

Tires  Search this

Tobacco  Search this

Tunnels  Search this

Turbines  Search this

Turpentine -- North Carolina  Search this

Water-supply  Search this

Cotton  Search this

Cotton farming  Search this

Cotton industry  Search this

Oil  Search this

Oil industries  Search this

Mine shafts  Search this

Genre/Form:

Blueprints

Drawings -- 20th century

Lantern slides

Photographs -- Lantern slides -- 19th century

Photographs -- Lantern slides -- 1900-1950

Sketches

Citation:

Division of Work and Industry Lantern Slide Collection, 1758-1945, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1013

See more items in:

Division of Work and Industry Lantern Slide Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep864c4320f-954c-462f-8434-2b79c0ed7159

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1013

Creator:

Allis-Chalmers  Search this

S. Morgan Smith Company  Search this

Names:

Atlanta Water and Electric Power Company  Search this

Collector:

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of History of Technology  Search this

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering  Search this

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry  Search this

Extent:

23 Cubic feet (105 boxes; 4 map folders)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Advertisements

Catalogs

Photographs

Trade literature

Place:

Atlanta (Ga.)

York (Pa.)

Date:

1890-1914.

Summary:

This collection documents the products and facilities of the S. Morgan Smith Company through photographs and trade literature.

Scope and Contents:

Archival materials, including photographs, advertising art, catalogs and other trade literature, documenting the equipment, facilities, personnel and products of the S. Morgan Smith Company, engineers and contractors. The subjects of the photographs include engines, fire pumps, generators, paper making machinery, turbines, the construction of a dam and hydroelectric station by the Atlanta Water and Electric Power Company, and the Mathis Dam near Atlanta.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into three series

Series 1: Company Records, 1877-1961

Series 2: Catalog Art, undated

Series 3: Glass Plate Negatives,

Biographical / Historical:

The S. Morgan Smith Company was an engineering company located in York, Pennsylvania. It was founded by S. Morgan Smith, who patented one of the first washing machines, in 1877. The company became notable for its high-powered water turbines and other hydraulic machinery. The S. Morgan Smith Company later became Allis-Chalmers.

Provenance:

Donated to the National Museum of History and Technology (now the National Museum of American History) in 1968 by the Allis-Chalmers Company.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Dams  Search this

Engines  Search this

Fire pumps  Search this

Generators and generating stations  Search this

Hydraulic engineering  Search this

Hydroelectric power plants  Search this

Power plants  Search this

Turbines  Search this

Water-power  Search this

Genre/Form:

Advertisements

Catalogs

Photographs -- Black-and-white negatives -- Glass -- 19th-20th century

Photographs -- Black-and-white negatives -- Glass -- 1890-1920

Trade literature

Citation:

S. Morgan Smith Company Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1099

See more items in:

S. Morgan Smith Company Records

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep834bcaf09-d452-4e04-abdd-10162af29786

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1099

Creator:

Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad  Search this

Donor:

ConRail  Search this

Collector:

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering  Search this

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry  Search this

Names:

Passaic Steel Company (Paterson, N.J.)  Search this

Extent:

22.3 Cubic feet (1 box, 59 map-folders)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photograph albums

Cyanotypes

Place:

Paterson (N.J.)

Hoboken (N.J.)

Date:

1878-1971

Scope and Contents:

The collection consists of: a 1903 book of photographs entitled "Illustrations Showing the Works of the Passaic Steel Company at Paterson, New Jersey"; photograph albums (including several cyanotype albums) of the port of Hoboken, the terminal and buildings and other structures; a "souvenir" photograph album of the Clarks Summit/Halstead cut-off, 1914, published by the American Society of Civil Engineers; reports from the 1950s and 1960s itemizing the precise costs of the elements of the Hoboken terminal; track maps; and approximately 10,000 oversized drawings, tracings and blueprints of structures built by the railroad.

Arrangement:

Collection divided into two series.

Series 1: Business Records

Series 2: Drawings

Historical:

The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company was incorporated in Pennsylvania on April 7, 1832, as the Liggetts Gap Railroad Company. Its name was changed to the Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company on April 14, 1851, and to the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western (DL&W) Railroad Company on March 11, 1853, at which time it absorbed the Delaware & Cobbs Gap Railroad Company.

The first section of railroad, from Scranton to Great Bend, opened in October, 1851. The Southern Division of the railroad was opened between Scranton and the Delaware River on May 27, 1856, forming a more direct route to New York City in connection with the Warren Railroad and the Central Railroad of New Jersey. The DL&W leased the Morris & Essex Railroad in 1868 and, after upgrading it to permit a heavy coal tonnage, secured its own line to New York Harbor. Other extensions carried the Lackawanna to Utica, Syracuse, Ithaca, and Oswego in central New York State and to Buffalo in the early 1880s. The DL&W had a particular advantage in that it was allowed to directly operate coal mines. The DL&W began mining on its own account in 1851, when a Coal Department was organized. The Lackawanna was exceptionally well placed to supply both New York City and New England via the Southern Division and also upstate New York, the Great Lakes, and Canada via the Northern Division.

The DL&W was still bound by its 1856 traffic contract with the Central of New Jersey, and on March 16, 1872, the two companies agreed to consolidate, being managed by a joint committee of directors from the two companies. However, the two companies were actually now competitors, with roughly parallel lines between Scranton and New York. The consolidation broke up after about a year over arguments as to which company would be the dominant partner. All connection between the two companies was severed in 1875.

During the long presidency of the conservative Samuel Sloan (1867-1899), the road became extremely prosperous as a coal hauler. Financial control was exercised by Moses Taylor and his National City Bank of New York, who had bought into the company at the time of the Panic of 1857. In March 1876 the DL&W converted from 6-foot gauge to standard gauge.

In 1880 Jay Gould acquired an interest in the company and promoted its extension to Buffalo (1882), giving it a significant share of the truck line business for the first time. However, Taylor and his successors refused Gould any further voice in the management. In 1890 William Rockefeller became a director, reflecting the alliance between the Standard Oil group and the National City Bank.

William H. Truesdale replaced Sloan as president and began a massive modernization of both the company's management and the physical plant. The company began issuing full annual reports for the first time since 1857. Two major line relocations were built to the highest engineering standards, across western New Jersey and between Scranton and Binghamton, to improve grades and clearances. They featured massive cuts and fills and huge viaducts, the Tunkhannock Viaduct, 240 feet high, being the largest concrete arch bridge in the world. The DL&W was a pioneer in the adoption of reinforced concrete construction for all types of structures. Under Truesdale's successor, John M. Davis, the principal New Jersey commuter services were electrified in the early 1930s.

After successful government prosecution of the other anthracite railroads for antitrust violations, the DL&W voluntarily divested itself of its Coal Dept., which became the Glen Alden Coal Company in 1921.

After World War II the DL&W hoped to merge with its principal western connection, the Nickle Plate, but was unsuccessful. After continuing losses from commuter service and heavy storm damage to its main lines in 1955, the company began to explore the possibility of consolidation with the roughly parallel Erie Railroad. The merger, forming the Erie Lackawanna Railroad Company, took effect on October 17, 1960.

Source

Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company records, Accession 1643, Manuscripts and Archives Department, Hagley Museum and Library

Related Materials:

Materials at Other Organizations

Manuscripts and Archives Department, Hagley Museum and Library

Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company records, 1849-1960

Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company Coal Department photographs (Accession 1990.267), Audiovisual Collections and Digital Initiatives Department

The Enderlin Collection of Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company Records, 1835-1956

The collection consists of material acquired by Enderlin during his career with the Lackawanna, primarily the kind of historical miscellany that flowed into the secretary's office. Two-thirds of the collection consists of newsclippings on labor matters (ca. 1900-1919), and the remainder of agreements, letters of resignation, statistics and rough minutes. John G. Enderlin was born on August 16, 1888. In 1903, he began work as an office boy in the New York City headquarters of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company, rising through the ranks in the president's and secretary's offices to become secretary-treasurer in 1933. He retired at the end of 1956 and died on September 28, 1981.

Syracuse University Libraries

Lackawanna County Historical Society

The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad was one of the largest and most prosperous anthracite mining and transporting companies in Pennsylvania.Their records consist of minutes of the DL&W and its two direct predecessors.

Provenance:

The oversized items were donated to the Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering by Consolidated Rail Corporation (ConRail) through William M. Wehner in 1987. Provenance for the rest of the collection is unknown.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Railroads -- Buildings and structures  Search this

Railroads  Search this

Railroad stations -- United States  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photograph albums -- 20th century

Cyanotypes

Citation:

Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1074

See more items in:

Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Records

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep82dc280d2-5ac8-418a-a422-7194d28d2b2a

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1074

Creator:

Providence Engineering Works  Search this

Collector:

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering  Search this

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry  Search this

Names:

Providence Steam Engine Company  Search this

Rice and Sargent Company  Search this

Extent:

2.5 Cubic feet (10 boxes, 1 map-folder)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Blueprints

Order books

Drawings

Photographs

Trade literature

Place:

Providence (RI)

Date:

1850-1933

Scope and Contents:

Collection includes order books, 1883-1898, 1898-1918, 1894-1923; shipping book, 1883-1892; detailed cost record, 1892-1896; parts listing; pattern list, 1890-1907; miscellaneous order book, 1916-1920; book of standard and special engine details, 1881-1889; and drawing list, 1881-1908; also photographs, glass negatives, drawings, publications, and other material concerning Corliss engines and Rice and Sargent steam engines.

Arrangement:

1 series.

Biographical / Historical:

Engineers specializing in stationary engines and general machinery. It was incorporated in 1863 as the Providence Steam Engine Company, and merged in 1889 with the Rice and Sargent Engine Company to become the Providence Engineering Works.

Provenance:

Donated to the Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering by Charles T. Main, Inc. in 1965.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Steam-engines  Search this

Genre/Form:

Blueprints

Order books

Drawings

Photographs -- Black-and-white negatives -- Glass -- 19th-20th century

Trade literature

Citation:

Providence Engineering Works, 1850-1933, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1076

See more items in:

Providence Engineering Works Records

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep88d3e8c8b-decb-41d1-b1ae-381d8fd008e4

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1076

Creator:

Colorado Fuel and Iron Company  Search this

Elk Rapids Iron Company  Search this

Rust Boiler Company  Search this

Rust Engineering Company  Search this

Rust, Edwin  Search this

Rust, Henry Bedinger, 1872-1936  Search this

Rust-Helander Engineering Company  Search this

Collector:

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of History of Technology  Search this

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry  Search this

Extent:

5 Cubic feet (14 boxes and 1 map-folder)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Correspondence

Blueprints

Photographs

Date:

1890-1928

Scope and Contents:

Papers, comprised mostly of business correspondence (typescript, handwritten, and letter press books), from Edwin Rust's career as an engineer, specializing in boilers and steam engines. Also included are agreements, receipts, telegrams, blueprints, sketches, job cost records, rate of wages (Antrim Iron Company), daily labor reports (Elk Rapid Iron Company) and publications such as Iron Age.

Some letters relate to various engineering companies Rust was associated with, including the Rust Boiler Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company of Pueblo, Colorado; The Elk Rapids Iron Company, Michigan; the Rust-Helander Engineering Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; the Rust Engineering Company, Birmingham, Alabama. Rust's brother Henry is one of the correspondents. Some of the personal correspondence relates to Rust's membership in various clubs such as the Duquense Club and Antelpoe Park Club. Photographs of Edwin G. Rust and boilers and boiler equipment are also included in the papers.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into four series.

Series 1: Biographical, 1912-1925

Series 2: Correspondence, 1893-1928

Series 3: Patents, 1890-1920

Series 4: Photographs, 1902-1918

Series 5: Drawings, Blueprints and Sketches, 1886-1917

Biographical / Historical:

Edwin Gray Rust (1869-1925) was born in Leesburg, Viginia and attended Lehigh University, graduating in 1894 with a degree in mechanical engineering. During the Spanish American War he served as an assistant engineer with the rank of junior lieutenant and during World War Two, he served in the production department of the Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC). EFC was established by the United States Shipping Board, in 1917to acquire, maintain, and operate merchant ships to meet national defense, foreign and domestic commerce during World War I. As an engineer, Rust specialized in boilers, inventing the Rust water tube bolier (US 710,340) and later founded the Rust Boiler Company.

Provenance:

Originally collected for the Division of Agriculture and Extractive Industries' reference collections. Original provenance is unknown.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Steam-engines  Search this

Manufacturing  Search this

Boilers  Search this

Genre/Form:

Correspondence -- 20th century

Blueprints -- 20th century

Photographs -- 20th century

Citation:

Edwin Rust Papers, 1899-1922, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1070

See more items in:

Edwin G. Rust Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8cffec0df-8cb6-415c-991e-e7dac7c71cbd

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1070

Creator:

Erie City Iron Works.  Search this

Former owner:

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering  Search this

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry  Search this

Extent:

1 Cubic foot (3 boxes, 1 map folder)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Correspondence

Drawings

Articles

Blueprints

Trade catalogs

Photographs

Proposals

Price lists

Date:

1869-1960

bulk 1875-1912

Summary:

The collection documents a company founded in the 1840s in Erie, Pennsylvania as Presque Isle Foundry. It changed its name to Erie City Iron Works in 1851. Erie City iron Works made engines (stationary, portable and agricultural), boilers, and circular saw mills. The documents include products through catalogs, trade literature, photographs, blueprints and drawings.

Scope and Contents:

The collection documents the Erie City Iron Works of Erie, Pennsylvania. It includes trade literature, catalogs, price lists and advertisements; drawings and blueprints; photographs of engines and boilers; and articles.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into four series.

Series 1, Catalogs/Pricelists, 1869-1953, undated

Series 2, Drawings 1884-1889; 1941-1953, undated

Series 3, Photographs, undated

Series 4, Miscellaneous, 1912, 1919, 1960

Biographical / Historical:

The Erie City Iron Works was founded in Erie, Pennsylvania in 1840 as Presque Isle Foundry. It changed its name to Erie City Iron Works in 1851. Over its history, it experienced several name changes: Zurn Industries' Energy Division, Aalborg Industries, and Erie Power Technologies, Inc. Today, the parent company, CMI Belgium, is a global supplier of steam-generating products and services to the power industry and general industrial steam market.

Provenance:

Source of acquisition unknown. Collected by the Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering, now known as the Division of Work and Industry.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Boilers  Search this

Engines  Search this

Steam-engines  Search this

Genre/Form:

Correspondence

Drawings

Articles

Blueprints

Trade catalogs

Photographs -- 20th century

Photographs -- 19th century

Proposals

Price lists

Citation:

Erie City Iron Works Collection, dates, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1050

See more items in:

Erie City Iron Works Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep86741dbac-99bb-4186-be28-246844d82037

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1050

Creator:

Green, Mary E.  Search this

Former owner:

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Extractive Industries  Search this

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry  Search this

Extent:

2.5 Cubic feet (6 boxes and 1 map-folder )

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Manuals

Brochures

Posters

Pamphlets

Newsletters

Date:

1883-1980

Summary:

Over a period of approximately 25 years, Dr. Mary Eloise Green of Ohio State University collected a wide variety of materials pertaining to food preservation and home canning techniques. She acquired associated pamphlets, manuals, and recipe booklets from companies as well as governmental agencies.

Scope and Contents:

This collection contains printed materials on various aspects of food preservation, which includes canning, pickling, freezing, and other methods. Recipe books, instruction manuals, posters, brochures and pamphlets issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, by manufacturers of food products, and by manufacturers of canning and preserving products and devices; also newsletters published by bottle and jar collecting hobby groups. A large percentage of the publications in the collection were published during World War II, and relate to preserving food to ensure an adequate food supply during the war years.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into four series.

Series 1, Product Literature, 1880s-1970s

Series 2, Price Guides, 1970-1977

Series 3, General Publications, 1934-1980

Series 4, Posters, undated

Biographical / Historical:

Dr. Mary E. Green, a professor in the Food and Nutrition Division of the School of Economics at Ohio State University, studied and collected documentation and artifacts pertaining to the home preservation of food.

Related Materials:

Researchers should also consult the Louisan E. Mamer Rural Electrification Administration Papers, 1927-2002 (AC #862).

Separated Materials:

The Division of Work and Industry holds artifacts related to this collection (Accession #322793) including canning jars and food preservation devices.

Provenance:

This collection was donated by Mary E. Green on October 1, 1976.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Cookery, American  Search this

Frozen foods  Search this

Canning and preserving  Search this

Food industry and trade  Search this

Food conservation  Search this

World War, 1939-1945 -- Food supply  Search this

advertising  Search this

Genre/Form:

Manuals

Brochures

Posters

Pamphlets

Newsletters

Citation:

Food Preservation and Home Canning Literature Collection, 1883-1980, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1061

See more items in:

Food Preservation and Home Canning Literature

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8ca0a037c-1e5b-4cab-9919-08704687dfe0

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1061

Creator:

Eney, William J.  Search this

Names:

Lehigh University  Search this

Former owner:

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry  Search this

Extent:

2.5 Cubic feet (5 boxes, 1 map-folder)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Reports

Correspondence

Drawings

Blueprints

Date:

1929-1977

Summary:

The collection documents William J. Eney, a civil engineer whose research primarily focused on model analysis of bridges, stress test and concrete.

Scope and Contents note:

The collection relates to Eney's professional career at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania as a researcher, professor, and the director of the engineering laboratory. The papers include reports, publications, teaching materials, photographs and blueprints.

Arrangement:

1 series.

Biographical/Historical note:

William J. Eney (d. 1981) was a 1927 graduate of Lehigh University, earning a degree in civil engineering. Eney was head of the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Fritz Engineering Laboratory. In addition to teaching, he published widely, in various engineering publications and was a co-author of the textbook, Structural Steel Design.

Provenance:

Original source and date of acquisition unknown.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Materials -- Testing  Search this

Structural design  Search this

Civil engineering  Search this

Civil engineers  Search this

Bridges  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs -- 20th century

Reports

Correspondence -- 20th century

Drawings -- 1900-1950

Blueprints

Citation:

William J. Eney Collection, 1929-1977, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1062

See more items in:

W.J. Eney Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8eecded32-4f67-414c-a442-663d3f09ef3d

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1062

Creator:

Darnell, Victor C.  Search this

Berlin Iron Bridge Company (East Berlin, Conn.).  Search this

Berlin Construction Company (East Berlin, Conn.)  Search this

Former owner:

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering  Search this

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry  Search this

Extent:

2 Cubic feet (1 box, 5 oversize folders)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Blueprints

Photograph albums

Photographs

Date:

1890-1953

Scope and Contents note:

Blueprints and plans for facilities built by the company, including coal-handling bridges, coal unloading towers, dock trestles, and coal-handling plants and two photograph albums from the Berlin Iron Bridge Company, East Berlin, Connecticut. The images in one of the albums are mostly of factory scenes. The other album contains mostly images of bridges throughout Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and elsewhere in New England. The collection also contains blueprints and plans for facilities built by the company, including coal-handling bridges, coal unloading towers, dock trestles, and coal-handling plants.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into one series.

Provenance:

Gifts of Victor C. Darnell, 1981 and 1986.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Bridges  Search this

Building  Search this

Coal  Search this

Factories  Search this

Genre/Form:

Blueprints -- 20th century

Photograph albums -- 20th century

Photographs -- Black-and-white photoprints -- Silver gelatin -- 20th century

Citation:

Berlin Construction Company Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1032

See more items in:

Berlin Construction Company Records

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep829ca5061-b334-4e90-847d-bf747421ab59

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1032

Creator:

Woodard, Silas H., 1870-1961  Search this

Names:

Isthmian Canal Commission.  Search this

Pennsylvania Railroad.  Search this

St. Lawrence River Power Development Commission.  Search this

Former owner:

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering  Search this

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry  Search this

Extent:

1 Cubic foot (3 boxes, 3 map-folders)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Reports

Photograph albums

Maps

Place:

Great Lakes (North America)

St. Lawrence River

Date:

1899-1932

Scope and Contents note:

The papers of Silas H. Woodard include the Isthmian Canal Commission Report containing text, maps, profiles, and plates, 1899-1901; photograph albums on the East River Tunnel, 1904-1908; reports on the regulation of the levels of the Great Lakes, 1910-1914; and reports dealing with the development of hydroelectric power on the St. Lawrence River, 1930-1932.

Arrangement:

Collection is arranged into one series.

Biographical/Historical note:

Silas H. Woodard, civil engineer specializing in power development, dams, tunnels, and foundation work, served as an engineer for the Isthmian Canal Commission, 1899-1902; the Pennsylvania Railroad, 1902-1909; and the Engineering Board of the St. Lawrence River Power Development Commission, 1930s. Woodard also worked as a consulting engineer.

Related Materials:

Materials at the Archives Center

Panama Canal Commission Photonegatives (AC1116)

Joe Britton Panama Canal Zone Photographs (AC1234)

W.P. Stine Panama Canal Papers (AC1039)

Katherine Kingsford Panama Canal Photograph Album (AC1040)

W.A. Fishbaugh Panama Canal Photograph Album (AC1021)

John Frances Little Panama Canal Scrapbook (AC0708)

Charles Wood Panama Canal Photograph Album (AC1114)

Robert Dearborn Panama Canal Glass Negatives (AC1111)

William Currie Photograph Album (AC1043)

Roland A. McCrady Photograph Collection (AC0710)

George S. Morison Collection (AC0978)

George W. Sims Papers (AC0127)

William R. Hutton Papers (AC0987)

Division of Cultural History Lantern Slides and Stereographs (AC0945)

Robert F. Olds Collection (AC0231)

Provenance:

Immediate source of acquisition unknown.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Tunnels  Search this

Dams  Search this

Canals  Search this

Genre/Form:

Reports

Photograph albums

Maps -- 19th century

Citation:

Silas H. Woodard Papers, circa 1899-1932, Archives Center, National Museum of American

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1038

See more items in:

Silas H. Woodard Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8930f229e-f4a0-4bc3-990a-1734049abc17

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1038

Creator:

Fisher, Richard  Search this

Fisher, Richard, Mrs.  Search this

Former owner:

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering  Search this

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry  Search this

Extent:

1 Cubic foot (4 boxes , 1 map-folder)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Books

Place:

Panama Canal (Panama)

Canal Zone

Date:

1902-1968

Summary:

The Fisher Collection of Panama Canal materials contains materials collected by Richard Fisher, who lived in the Panama Canal Zone during its construction. Materials include books and pamphlets, stereographs, postcards, and panoramic photographs detailing the construction and history of the Panama Canal.

Scope and Contents:

The collection contains stereographs and postcards relating to the construction of the Panama Canal; typescripts of letters sent from Panam, 1944; legislative documents; panoramic photographs detailing the Panama Canal's landscape; photographs of buildings; and books and pamphlets discussing the history of the Panama Canal.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into two series.

Series 1: Photographs and Stereographs,

Series 2: Publications, 1902-1968

Biographical / Historical:

Richard Fisher lived in the Canal Zone during the construction of the Canal and collected and assembled these materials.

Related Materials:

Materials at the Archives Center

Panama Canal Commission Photonegatives (AC1116)

Joe Britton Panama Canal Zone Photographs (AC1234)

W.P. Stine Panama Canal Papers (AC1039)

Katherine Kingsford Panama Canal Photograph Album (AC1040)

W.A. Fishbaugh Panama Canal Photograph Album (AC1021)

John Frances Little Panama Canal Scrapbook (AC0708)

Charles Wood Panama Canal Photograph Album (AC1114)

Robert Dearborn Panama Canal Glass Negatives (AC1111)

William Currie Photograph Album (AC1043)

Roland A. McCrady Photograph Collection (AC0710)

George S. Morison Collection (AC0978)

George W. Sims Papers (AC0127)

William R. Hutton Papers (AC0987)

Division of Cultural History Lantern Slides and Stereographs (AC0945)

Robert F. Olds Collection (AC0231)

Provenance:

The collection was donated by Mrs. Richard Fisher in 1977 to the Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering (now the Division of Work and Industry).

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Canals  Search this

Dams -- Panama  Search this

Locks and dams  Search this

Genre/Form:

Books

Citation:

Richard Fisher Collection of Panama Canal Materials, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1045

See more items in:

Richard Fisher Panama Canal Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep84852e71d-e403-4888-83f8-7130c9e4afa5

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1045

Creator:

Lehigh Valley Coal Company  Search this

Lehigh Valley Railroad Company  Search this

Millington, W.P.  Search this

Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company  Search this

Wagner, E.C.  Search this

Collector:

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry  Search this

Extent:

5 Cubic feet (16 boxes, 1 map-folder)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Application forms

Blueprints

Correspondence

Deeds

Journals (accounts)

Land titles

Maps

Patents

Photographs

Reports

Place:

Pennsylvania -- Anthracite coal industry

Date:

1790-1964

Scope and Contents:

Records include voluminous correspondence, much of it to or from W.P. Millington, Secretary of the Estate; with the Lehigh Valley Coal Company and Lehigh Valley Railroad Company; and with the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company. Also reports, including annual reports, reports by the Mining Engineer, and reports on visits by trustees; applications for permits; leases, including the lease for the City of Philadelphia as trustee under the will of Stephen Girard to Lehigh Valley Coal Company, 1884-1899; deeds; original agreements regarding the land, 1785 and 1793; licenses to mine coal; photographs, including photographs taken as part of surveys; blueprints; maps; patents; and daily journals for the years 1872, 1873, and 1879, kept by E.C. Wagner, Assistant Superintendent for the Girard Estate, detailing such things as inspections, meetings, etc.

Arrangement:

The collection is divied into six series.

Series 1: Girard Estate General Background Materials, 1794-1955

Series 2: Leases, Agreements and Deeds, 1794-1928

Series 3: Court Cases and Legal Materials, 1790-1928

Series 4: Reports, 1830-1964

Series 5: W. Parkes Millington's Files (Correspondence), 1830-1953

Series 6: Photographs, 1861-1913

Biographical / Historical:

In 1830, Stephen Girard, a merchant, financier, and philanthropist, purchased 67 tracts of land in Pennsylvania that had been held by trustees of the first Bank of the United States. A large portion of the land passed into the Girard Trusts, bequeathed by Girard to the city of Philadelphia. Beginning in 1862, leases for the mining of coal on these lands were granted by the Estate.

Related Materials:

Materials in the Archives Center

Lehigh Coal and Navigation Compamny Records (NMAH.AC.0071)

Lehigh Valley Coal Copmany Record (NMAH.AC.1106)

Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company Records (NMAH.AC.0282)

Provenance:

Collected for the Museum for the Division of Extractive Industries, now the Division of Work and Industry.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Coal mines and mining  Search this

Mining -- Pennsylvania  Search this

Genre/Form:

Application forms

Blueprints

Correspondence

Deeds

Journals (accounts)

Land titles

Maps

Patents

Photographs -- 1850-1900

Photographs -- 20th century

Reports

Citation:

Girard Estate Records, 1870-1965, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1011

See more items in:

Girard Estate Records

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8851aa1a4-4f8c-4d9d-bfe8-510eb81f42bf

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1011

Creator:

Plowden, David  Search this

Former owner:

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering  Search this

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry  Search this

Extent:

0.15 Cubic feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Date:

1970-1976

Scope and Contents note:

Photographs Plowden took of bridges, aqueducts and viaducts all over the United States and a few in Canada. The photographs are of various types of bridges: truss, suspension, covered. Some photographs feature close-up details of architectural elements, such as arches, chains, towers and ornamentation.

Arrangement:

1 series.

Biographical/Historical note:

Author and photographer.

Provenance:

Collection donated by David Plowden, date unknown.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Bridges -- Canada  Search this

Bridges -- United States  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs -- 20th century

Citation:

David Plowden North American Bridge Photographs, 1970-1976, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1019

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep84e3133d2-c1b0-408c-8f56-7a3ae80182dd

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1019

Donor:

Enterline, Stevenson  Search this

Eney, William J.  Search this

Creator:

Quebec Bridge Company.  Search this

Collector:

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Engineering and Industry  Search this

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of History of Technology  Search this

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry  Search this

Extent:

0.5 Cubic feet (3 boxes, 1 map folder)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photograph albums

Postcards

Photographs

Place:

Canada

Quebec

Date:

1905-1986

bulk 1905-1916

Summary:

The collection documents the construction of the first and second Quebec Bridges over the St. Lawrence River. Construction on the first bridge began in 1900 and the bridge collapsed before completion in 1907. Construction on the second Quebec Bridge, which is the longest cantilever bridge in the world, was completed in 1917.

Scope and Contents:

The collection documents the construction of the first and second Quebec Bridges over the St. Lawrence River primarily through photographs. The collection is arranged into two series: Series 1, Photographic Materials, 1905-1965 and Series 2, Other Materials, 1916-1986.

Series 1, Photographic Materials, 1905-1965, is divided into two subseries: Subseries 1.1, Photographs, 1907-1965 and Subseries 1.2, Photograph Album, 1905. The black-and-white photographs primarily document the construction of the second Quebec Bridge, 1907-1917. Many of these photographs were taken in a workshop where the production of the bridge parts and building materials occurred. One picture, marked number 24, is of the Prime Minister of Canada, Robert Borden, attending the construction site in October 1913. This series also contains photographs of the 1907 bridge collapse and pictures taken in 1965 of the current second bridge. Subseries 2, Photograph Album, 1905, documents the construction of the first Quebec cantilever bridge. The album contains mounted black-and-white photographs taken between May 12 and November 23, 1905.

Series 2, Other Materials, 1916-1986, consists of newspaper articles and postcards. The newspaper articles detail the 1916 construction accident on the second Quebec bridge; one 1917 article about the bridge; and one 1986 article about the 1907 collapse of the first bridge. There are three postcards, both black-and-white and color, of the Quebec Bridge.

Arrangement:

Collection is arranged into two series.

Series 1, Photographic Materials, 1905-1965

Subseries 1, Photographs, 1907-1965

Subseries 2, Photograph Album, 1905

Series 2, Other Materials, 1916-1986

Biographical / Historical:

The first Quebec Bridge was built over the St. Lawrence River in order to connect important railroad lines.[1] This bridge collapsed on August 29, 1907, killing 79 men.[2] The engineers for the second bridge were Maurice Fitzmaurice, H.E. Vautelet, and Ralph Modjeska.[3]

Notes: [1] "Bridge of 1,800-FT. Span Across the St. Lawrence," Popular Mechanics Vol. 8, No. 12 December 1906

[2]"Wrecked Quebec Bridge to be Recommended"[3] "Wrecked Quebec Bridge to be Recommended"

Provenance:

Originally collected for the Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering's reference collections; exact date and source of acquisition unknown.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Reproduction permission from Archives Center: reproduction fees may apply.

Topic:

Bridges -- Design and construction  Search this

Bridges -- Canada  Search this

Bridge failures  Search this

Bridges -- Quebec  Search this

Rivers -- Quebec  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photograph albums -- 20th century

Postcards -- 1900-1920

Photographs -- Black-and-white photoprints -- Silver gelatin -- 1900-1950

Citation:

Quebec Bridge Photograph Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1026

See more items in:

Quebec Bridge Photograph Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep87b51becf-1e0e-417b-80c4-79ab4bdf13b0

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1026

Creator:

Coxe Brothers and Company, Inc. (Drifton, Pennsylvania)  Search this

Collector:

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of History of Technology  Search this

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry  Search this

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Extractive Industries  Search this

Engineer:

Coxe, Eckley B. (Eckley Brinton), 1839-1895  Search this

Names:

Coxe, Tench, 1755-1824  Search this

Extent:

100 Cubic feet (55 boxes, 107 map folders )

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Agreements

Blueprints

Correspondence

Deeds

Drawings

Glass plate negatives

Legal documents

Maps

Patents

Photographs

Tracings

Place:

Pennsylvania

Date:

1830-1997

Summary:

Collection documents the Coxe Brothers and Company Inc., an anthracite coal producer in Pennsylvania.

Scope and Contents:

The collection contains primarily drawings of mine machinery and buildings, including buildings within the company town such as worker housing and churches and maps, including real estate maps, contour and topographical maps, maps of highways and roads, insurance maps and others. There are some photographs, including glass plate negatives, of mining machinery and operations; deeds, leases, and agreements and papers relating to Eckley B. Coxe's patents and legal matters.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into seven series.

Series 1: Eckley B. Coxe, Jr. Estate Materials, 1891-1969

Series 2: Patent Material, 1871-1902

Series 3: Agreements, Deeds, and Leases, 1882-1949

Series 4: Miscellaneous Documentation, 1866-1950

Series 5: Glass Plate Negatives and Photographs, 1890-1937

Series 6: Drawings, 1885-1991

Series 7: Maps, 1830-1997

Historical:

The Coxe family's connection with Pennsylvania's anthracite coal region is rooted in the prescience of the statesman, author and land speculator Tench Coxe. Recognizing the significance anthracite would play in the development of the newly founded Republic, Tench purchased nearly 80,000 acres of land surrounding outcroppings of anthracite coal in Carbon, Luzerne and Schuylkill counties. He hoped that future generations of the family would profit from the land when the anthracite industry came of age. Indeed, his purchase would secure wealth for the Coxe family and all their mining enterprises well into the twentieth century.

Tench Coxe was born in Philadelphia on May 22, 1755, to William and Mary Francis Coxe, members of a family with a long tradition of land ownership. Tench's great-grandfather, Dr. Daniel Coxe, personal physician to King Charles II and Queen Anne of England, held large colonial land grants in New Jersey and the Carolinas. Though he never visited his property in the new world, Dr. Coxe would eventually acquire the title of Governor of West Jersey. Upon his death, he passed the whole of his North American land holdings to his son, Colonel Daniel Coxe. The Colonel was the first Coxe to leave England for life in America, settling in Burlington, New Jersey in 1702. Inheriting a passion for land, Colonel Coxe distinguished himself by publishing "A Description of the Provinces of Carolana," which in 1722 proposed one of the earliest plans for political union of the British colonies of North America. Tench Coxe explored various career options in his struggle to establish his name in the United States. After considering a profession in law, Tench chose instead to join his father's import-export firm, Coxe & Furman, in 1776. The renamed firm of Coxe, Furman & Coxe operated for fourteen years but was dissolved by mutual agreement after experiencing financial difficulties.

Soon after, Tench and a business partner from Boston established a new commercial enterprise under the name of Coxe & Frazier. After several prosperous years, this firm also disbanded, freeing Tench to pursue a career in public service. Tench's Loyalist sympathies during the American Revolution complicated his political ambitions. Following British General Howe's evacuation of Philadelphia in 1778, the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania accused Tench of treason for collaborating with the enemy. Although he swore an oath of allegiance to the United States of America, his Tory leanings would be used repeatedly to undermine his political influence. Despite his Loyalist past, Tench retained the respect of his patriot neighbors. He was selected as the sole Pennsylvania delegate to the Annapolis Convention in 1786, and then selected to the Second Continental Congress in 1788. After the war, Tench became an advocate for the Whig Party, although his politics were often in direct support of the Federalist cause. This was apparent from a pamphlet he wrote in 1788 titled, "An Examination of the Constitution of the United States," which revealed his strong support for the ratification of the United States Constitution.

With the new government in place, Tench received a variety of appointments to public office under George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. He was named Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in 1790, Commissioner of the Revenue of the United States in 1792 and Secretary of the Pennsylvania Land Office in 1800. After switching his affiliation to the Republican Party in 1803, Tench accepted an appointment from Thomas Jefferson as Purveyor of the Public Supplies, an office that he held until 1812. The duties of his various posts ultimately made Tench an authority on the industrial development of the nation. In 1794 he published a collection of essays under the title, "A View of the United States of America," in which he contemplated the development of commerce and manufacturing in America. These essays reveal his early awareness of coal in Pennsylvania, as he remarked:

"All our coal has hitherto been accidentally found on the surface of the earth or discovered in the digging of common cellars or wells; so that when our wood-fuel shall become scarce, and the European methods of boring shall be skillfully pursued, there can be no doubt of our finding it in many other places."

Anthracite coal was discovered around the year 1769 in Pennsylvania. It is the hardest of the known types of coal, with an average 85%-95% carbon content, as compared to the 45%- 85% range of the bituminous coal found in the western part of the state. The high carbon content in anthracite allows it to burn at much higher temperatures than bituminous coal and with less smoke, making it an ideal fuel for home heating. The only anthracite deposits of commercial value in the United States are located within four major fields in Eastern Pennsylvania and are confined to an area of 3,300 square miles. These four coalfields are commonly referred to as the Northern, Eastern-Middle, Western-Middle and Southern fields. Tench Coxe's awareness of the promise of anthracite coal, coupled with his tenure in the Pennsylvania land office and a family tradition of land speculation spurred him in 1790 to begin purchasing promising acreage. Though he acquired land throughout the country, he particularly focused on land in Carbon, Luzerne and Schuylkill counties in Northeastern Pennsylvania, which he believed held vast underground seams of coal.

Despite large land holdings, Tench Coxe lived most of his life in debt thanks to litigation, tax problems and complications with business partners. Realizing that he would not be able to develop the property in his lifetime, Tench worked diligently to retain the property he believed was enriched with valuable mineral deposits, in hopes that his dreams would be realized by future generations of Coxes. Tench's son, Charles Sidney Coxe, would inherit from his father a passion for land ownership and for the untapped potential of the anthracite coal region. When Tench Coxe died on July 16, 1824, he left Charles sole executor of his estate, which was composed of approximately 1.5 million acres in eight states. Born July 31, 1791, Charles Sidney Coxe was the sixth of ten children of Tench and Rebecca Coxe. Educated at the University of Pennsylvania and Brown University, Charles was admitted to the Philadelphia Bar in 1812. Charles eventually served as District Attorney of Philadelphia and associate judge of the District Court of Philadelphia, but he remained infatuated by his father's vision.

Charles devoted his life to keeping together the large coal properties handed down by Tench to his surviving children. This monumental task involved paying annual taxes on completely unproductive land, fighting a never-ending battle against squatters and timber thieves, and litigating an endless array of boundary disputes. Charles and his family routinely spent their summer months in Drifton, Luzerne County a location that would eventually become synonymous with the Coxe name. His son Eckley Brinton Coxe gained his first experience in the coalfields at Drifton, accompanying his father as he traced the geology of the area in search of coal veins. Besides introducing Eckley to the "family business", the surveys gave Charles invaluable detailed knowledge that he used to preserve the coal deposits on his family's property. Deposits that he discovered comprised nearly half of the entire Eastern-Middle field. Even as his knowledge grew, however, Charles was unable to develop the land he retained. He saw the pioneers of anthracite mining lose fortunes as the mining technology of the day struggled to catch up with the new demands.

Regular shipments of anthracite began in the 1820s as canals opened the coal regions of Pennsylvania to markets in Philadelphia. The demand for anthracite remained relatively low during the early years of the industry, but as markets developed and demand increased, railroads began to compete in the trade and would eventually come to dominate as carriers to all of the major markets. As the problems of mining and transporting coal and developing a market for it were worked out, the demand for "hard coal" grew substantially. Coal sales increased from 364,384 tons in 1840 to 3,358,890 tons in 1850 and would steadily increase throughout the century to levels exceeding 40 million tons annually. Charles Coxe's witness to the inception of this industry unquestionably spurred his desire to realize his father's dream, but like Tench, he too would have to defer to his sons.

Charles S. Coxe had married Ann Maria Brinton in 1832 and together they were the parents of seven children, Brinton, Rebecca, Anna Brinton, Eckley Brinton, Henry Brinton, Charles Brinton and Alexander Brinton. The eldest son, Brinton Coxe, followed the career of his father, establishing himself in the legal profession. Brinton was a renowned lawyer and writer of constitutional law and served with prestige as president of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania from 1884 until his death. The remaining four sons would distinguish themselves in the coal business under the guidance of their brother, Eckley B. Coxe. Born in Philadelphia on June 4, 1839, Eckley B. Coxe entered into a family in which his calling was clear. His aptitude for the calling, however, would astonish the entire industry. Eckley's earl surveying excursions with his father introduced him to the mines, machines and collieries of the anthracite industry. His exposure to local miners must also have made a lasting impression, as his knowledge of their customs and sympathy toward their circumstances proved to be one of his greatest assets as an employer.

Eckley Coxe's formal education began in 1854 at the University of Pennsylvania. Although focusing his studies in chemistry and physics, he took additional courses in French and bookkeeping after receiving his degree in 1858. After graduation, Eckley briefly returned to the coalfields where he was engaged in topographic geological work on his family's land, learning a skill that would later earn him a commission to the Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania. In 1860 Eckley went abroad to polish his technical education, spending two years in Paris at the Ecole Nationale des Mines, one year at the Bergakademie in Freiberg, Germany and nearly two years on a tour studying the practical operations of European mines. Armed with both practical and theoretical knowledge of his craft, Eckley B. Coxe returned to America and embarked on the mission for which his entire life had prepared him. On January 30, 1865, Eckley, his brothers Alexander, Charles and Henry and a cousin, Franklin Coxe, formed the co-partnership Coxe Brothers and Company.

The company began with a combined capital of $120,000, with Eckley investing $40,000 and the other partners investing $20,000 each. The firm was formed for the exclusive purpose of mining and selling coal from the Drifton property, which they leased from the Estate of Tench Coxe. The Estate had begun leasing property as early as 1852 to various companies, which paid royalties to the estate in return for the coal they mined. Coxe Brothers would operate under a similar lease, but they would, in a sense, be paying royalties to themselves as both partners and heirs. Coxe Brothers and Company began operations in Drifton in February 1865, sending their first shipment of coal to market the following June. Once the operations at Drifton were fully tested and proved successful, Eckley moved to consolidate control over all of his family's land, in order to keep all the mining profits in the family.

By 1879 Coxe Brothers and Company had opened collieries at Deringer, Gowen and Tomhicken, adding Beaver Meadow Colliery two years later. The firm's success exceeded all of the partners' expectations, reaching well beyond the goals set forth in the original Articles of Copartnership. Charles B. Coxe died in 1873 and Franklin Coxe retired from the firm in 1878. In 1885, the remaining partners agreed to extend the life of the firm indefinitely and operate for the purpose of developing the land belonging to the Estate of Tench Coxe.

Even more important to the success of the Coxe family mining interests was the organization of the Cross Creek Coal Company in October 1882. The officers of this company included the three remaining partners of Coxe Brothers and Company, along with a Philadelphia partner, J. Brinton White and the Coxe's first cousin Arthur McClellan, brother of the Civil War General, George B. McClellan. Cross Creek Coal Company took over all of the mining operations on the Estate lands, led by Eckley B. Coxe, president of both companies. Coxe Brothers transferred the mining rights to the Coxe property to the Cross Creek Coal Company but retained control of the Coxe collieries where the freshly mined coal was prepared.

Eckley's shrewd and aggressive management of his family's land proved successful. When his father, Charles S. Coxe died in 1879, Eckley assumed an even more direct role in the management of the property. In addition to receiving the inheritance of his grandfather's land, he, along with his three surviving brothers, became executors of the Estate of Tench Coxe. By 1886, Eckley had brought nearly 3/4ths of his family's property under his direct control. Coal shipments from these properties reached an astounding 1.5 million tons in 1890, a vast improvement from the 27,000 tons sold in its inaugural year. Coxe Brothers and Company did not limit itself to mining operations on the lands of the Estate of Tench Coxe. By 1889, the firm was also leasing lands from the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company, West Buck Mountain Coal Company, Anspach & Stanton, the Black Creek Coal Company, and the Central Coal Company. In total Coxe Brothers was operating roughly 30,000 acres of coal property.

Just over twenty years after its inception, Coxe Brothers and Company established itself as the largest individual anthracite producer that was not associated with a major railroad. This distinction, however, made them an obvious target for the expanding railroad industry. Realizing the value of anthracite as freight, railroads entered into a land scramble throughout the region, securing their coal freight by purchasing it before it was mined. This point is perhaps best illustrated by the actions of the Pennsylvania Railroad, which in 1872 purchased 28,000 acres in the anthracite fields. Of the roughly 38 million tons of coal produced in 1888, 29 million had been mined by coal companies linked with the railroads.

The remaining independent producers were forced to negotiate with the railroads to have their coal shipped to market. It was the practice of the railroads to charge exorbitant fees to the independent producers, which in effect reduced the railroads' competition in the coal sale yards. In order to survive, many independent producers were either forced to sell their coal directly to the railroads at the mines or to sell their operation completely to the railroad. Eckley B. Coxe, however, pursued an altogether different means of survival. In 1888, the partners of Coxe Brothers and Company petitioned the Interstate Commerce Commission for relief from the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company (LVRR). They argued that the Lehigh Valley Coal Company (LVCC), entirely owned by the LVRR, sold coal at a price that did not net them sufficient funds to pay the fees that were being charged to Coxe Brothers and Company for the same shipping service. The railroads were willing to operate their coal companies at a loss, since they were more than able to absorb the losses with increased railroad freight. As a result of discriminating between the companies it owned and independent operators, the LVRR was found in violation of federal law and was forced to lower its rates in 1891.

The lengthy trial, however, inspired Eckley to build his own railroad, which began operations in 1891. Incorporated as the Delaware, Susquehanna & Schuylkill Railroad, its tracks linked all of the Coxe collieries with connections to most of the major rail lines in the region. With sixty miles of single gauge track, twenty-nine locomotives and 1,500 coal-cars, they forced the railroads to compete for the immense freight being produced by their coal companies. By compelling his adversaries to come to fair terms with victories in both the courts and in the coalfields, Eckley succeeded in securing Coxe Brothers' position as the largest independent anthracite producers in Pennsylvania. In June 1893, Ezra B. Ely and Eckley Brinton Coxe, Jr. were admitted to the firm of Coxe Brothers and Company. Ezra, a long-time business associate and general sales agent of Coxe Brothers and Company and Eckley, Jr., son of the deceased Charles Brinton Coxe, joined the firm just weeks prior to the establishment of two more Coxe mining enterprises.

On June 19,Coxe Brothers and Company, Incorporated was organized as the selling agency for Coxe coal and purchased from the firm their supply headquarters in New York, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Milwaukee and Philadelphia. This same day also saw the formation of the Coxe Iron Manufacturing Company, which took control of the firm's machine shops in Drifton. In addition to being responsible for the construction and repair of Coxe mines and railroads, this company also filled large outside orders for machinery. It was in these machine shops that Eckley proved himself as one of the most brilliant mining engineers of the day. The United States Patent Office records 111 patents either issued directly to Eckley B. Coxe or as a supervisor of employees who worked under his instructions at the Drifton Shops. Seventy-three of these patents pertained to the details of the Coxe Mechanical Stoker, which introduced the first practical means of burning small sizes of anthracite coal. This innovation put an end to the financial loss associated with large culm banks of fine sized coal that plagued collieries as waste. The subject of waste seems to have driven the business and personal endeavors of Eckley B. Coxe.

As a founder and future president of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, Eckley was appointed to chair a committee to investigate waste in coal mining, which he did thoroughly. His report outlined the waste associated with the extraction, preparation and transportation of anthracite coal. To combat waste in the preparation of coal, Eckley designed and erected the world's first coal breaker made of iron and steel. This fireproof structure, used to separate coal into uniform sized pieces, was also equipped with numerous innovative labor-saving devices, including an automated slate picking chute, improved coal jigs, corrugated rollers for breaking coal and electric lighting for nighttime operations. The breaker at Drifton stood as one of the most revolutionary coal structures in the region until Eckley erected an even more magnificent iron and steel coal breaker at Oneida. In creating more economical methods for preparing and consuming coal, Eckley helped boost the anthracite industry to remarkable levels. Although he secured many of his inventions by patent, Eckley licensed his improvements to many coal operators and created an agency to help install and maintain the complicated machinery at the various collieries. This service reflected Eckley's conviction that the mutual exchange of knowledge in engineering matters would benefit the whole anthracite industry, and in turn would benefit each individual company. That attitude appears to have carried over in his interactions with consumers, as is evidenced by a paper Eckley read before a meeting of the New England Cotton Manufactures, acknowledging that, "It may seem curious that a person whose life has been spent in mining and marketing coal should appear before this association to discuss the economical production of steam, involving, as it does, either the use of less fuel or fuel of less value. But I am convinced that the more valuable a ton of coal becomes to our consumers, the more in the end will be our profit from it."

Eckley recognized, however, that the increased demand for anthracite would subvert his battle against waste. The abundance of coal beds in the region gave rise to numerous operators who often sacrificed long-term efficiency for low-overhead and quick profits. Using cheap machinery and incompetent labor, these operators mined only the most valuable and easily available veins, leaving large amounts to waste. Mining practices like these were prohibited in many European countries, where the right to mine had to be obtained from the government. In many countries, mining operations were required to work to full capacity, so long as they did not compromise the safety of the men or the mine. Having witnessed European laws in practice, Eckley was an advocate for comparable laws in this country, calling for a well-educated corps of experts to inspect the mines and manufactories to ensure the protection of life and property. In later years, mining foremen would be required by Pennsylvania law to pass an extensive exam, demonstrating not only practical experience but also specific knowledge of the principles of ventilation. Eckley was also aware that mining legislation alone could not prevent careless miners.

As an employer of skilled labor and a trustee of Lehigh University, Eckley gave a great deal of thought to the issue of technical education. In concluding a paper titled, "Mining Legislation," read at the general meeting of the American Social Science Association in 1870, Eckley insisted "upon the importance of establishing schools for master miners, in which anyone who works in the mines could, while supporting himself by his labor, receive sufficient instruction in his business to qualify him to direct intelligently the underground workings of a mine." His exposure to the finest technical institutions of Europe made Eckley keenly aware of the shortcomings in America of giving its students an equivalent education. In order to prevent future mining foremen and superintendents to grow up without a theoretical knowledge of their work, Eckley established the Industrial School for Miners and Mechanics in Drifton. The school opened its doors on May 7, 1879, providing young men employed by Coxe Brothers and Company with an opportunity to educate themselves outside of working hours. This unique opportunity gave the young miners a chance to combine the scientific knowledge of various disciplines, including trigonometry, mechanical drawing, physics, mineralogy and drafting with the experience gained in their daily toil. Classes were held free of charge at night and during idle days in the mines in a two-story building erected by Eckley Coxe, known as Cross Creek Hall.

In addition to comfortably seating 1,000 people and housing a library and reading room for the residents of Drifton, it also furnished classrooms for the eleven students who enrolled in the school during its first year. The school succeeded in delivering a first-class technical education to its students for nearly ten years before a fire completely destroyed the Hall in 1888. Five years later the school reorganized under the name Miners and Mechanics' Institute of Freeland, Pennsylvania, which soon after changed its name to the Mining and Mechanical Institute of Freeland. The school continues to operate today as the MMI Preparatory School and stands as a testimonial to Eckley's achievements in promoting technical education.

Eckley and the Coxe family gave generously to the people of the anthracite fields. They donated estate lands for churches and cemeteries of various denominations, as well as schools, parks and baseball fields. Eckley also established a scholarship prize of $300 for the best student at his mining school, which would continue for the term of four years if the recipient chose to pursue higher education. Eckley made a point, however, not to confuse business with charity and confined his donations predominantly to gifts of opportunity and knowledge. But, as the people of Drifton affirmed during the opening ceremonies for Cross Creek Hall, "For relieving those who have been disabled by accidents, providing for the widows and orphans, visiting our homes in times of sickness, taking an interest in the education and welfare of our children and providing a free library, to promote our intellectual culture you are worthy of the highest praise we can bestow." One of the most deplorable circumstances in the coalfields was the scarcity of adequate hospitals. Nineteenth century anthracite mining was extremely dangerous, with miners facing hazards from explosions, suffocation, cave-ins and floods.

By 1881, Coxe Brothers and Company employed 1,171 people, who endured their share of accidents, despite the sound mining methods initiated by the company. The closest hospital was in Bethlehem, which was over two hours away. To remedy the situation, at least for his own workers, Eckley established the Drifton Hospital on September 1, 1882, for the benefit of Coxe Brothers and Company employees. The building could accommodate thirty-five patients and in its first sixteen months of operation treated eighty-five people. In later years, a state hospital at Hazleton was built for the miners of the Eastern-Middle field. Eckley was an obvious candidate for the Board of Commissioners of the state hospital, an appointment he received in 1891.

The company also maintained an accident fund for its employees. In the event a Coxe Brothers employee died, the fund contributed fifty dollars to the family to defray their funeral expenses. It also provided the widows of employees with three dollars a week for one year, allowing an additional dollar per week for each child less than twelve years of age. In cases where the employees were disabled, men were given five dollars a week until they were able to perform light work.

In all his endeavors, Eckley B. Coxe held himself to a high standard of honor. His standard of personal integrity created unusual circumstances when he was elected to the Pennsylvania State Senate in November 1880. Elected a Democrat from the 26th senatorial district, comprised of parts of Luzerne and Lackawanna counties, he declined to take the oath prescribed by the state constitution, thereby forfeiting the office. In an address to his constituents in January 1881, he explained that he was not able to swear to the fact that all his campaign funds had been contributed as "expressly authorized by law." He further stated, "I have done nothing in this campaign that I am ashamed of, or that was inconsistent with strict honesty." A detailed examination of his accounts shows expenses that were not considered "expressly authorized," but were also not uncommon for most of the political candidates in Pennsylvania. In holding himself to the strict letter of the law, he earned the respect of both Democrats and Republicans alike. The next year Eckley B. Coxe was again elected to the Senate, this time with a majority three times as large as the previous year.

Eckley's personal character made him a model senator and he took advantage of the opportunity to spread his opinions across the entire commonwealth. Belonging to the minority party in the Senate, Eckley was unable to initiate any legislation, but did remain vocal concerning many of the major issues of the day. He was particularly interested in the "Voluntary Trade Tribunal Statute," which dealt with the vexed topic of labor organizations. In addressing the Senate, Eckley argued, "Though not pretending to be a workingman, or in any way his representative, but, on the contrary, a large employer of labor of all kinds, I feel and admit that he has equal rights with me. What he properly demands, and what he will have, is justice. To be satisfied, he must feel that the bargain is fair, and that it has been reached in an honorable way, without any resort to coercion. He cares more for this than a slight addition to or a deduction from his daily pay. Where the workingman does not get his dues, trouble must ensue, and capital must pay its share of the bill, which is often a large one." Eckley made every attempt to treat his men with the respect they demanded. Even so, he was not immune to strikes, which brought his collieries to a halt on several occasions. When demands for increased wages by a joint committee of the Knights of Labor and the Miners' and Laborers' Amalgamated Association brought operations in the anthracite fields to a standstill in 1887, Eckley remained open to hearing the grievances of his men, but like many coal operators, refused to meet with organizations, as he did not believe they represented the best interest of his men. As labor struggled to organize in the latter part of the century, workingmen were as determined to stand by their unions as operators were to ignore them.

This state of affairs resulted in repeated struggles between labor and capital throughout the country, struggles that were especially bitter in the coalfields. When a congressional committee was appointed to investigate the labor troubles in Pennsylvania in 1888, Eckley testified, "It does not make any difference to us whether the men belong to any association or not. I do not care what association they belong to or what politics they have; it is none of my business; but when it came to the question, I was always willing and anxious to deal with my own men, and I expect to always; but I want to deal with the men who are interested to the particular question that I have got to settle." Eckley continued to remain active in the mining profession through his associations with numerous professional organizations, including the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Engineer's Club of Philadelphia, the American Chemical Society, the Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, to name just a few. In 1870, Eckley published a translation of Julias Weisbach's treatise, "A Manual of the Mechanics of Engineering and of the Construction of Machines, with an Introduction to the Calculus." Weisbach was a former professor of Eckley's at the Bergakademie in Freiberg, and an influential voice in the field of mechanics. This capacious volume, used primarily as a textbook, was completed at a monetary loss, but would, however, associate Eckley's name with one of the leading mechanical engineers in the world.

As Eckley continued to advance his own career and the anthracite industry as a whole, he never lost sight of his principal commitment to developing the lands of the Estate of Tench Coxe. In an effort to fully exploit the resources of his family's land, Eckley organized four additional companies in June 1893. The Drifton, Oneida, Tomhicken and Beaver Meadow water companies were organized to supply water to the industries and citizens of Hazle, East Union, Black Creek and Banks Township, respectively. On June 20, 1893, the capital stock of the four water companies, along with the stock of the Cross Creek Coal Company, Coxe Brothers and Company, Incorporated, the Delaware, Susquehanna and Schuylkill Railroad Company, and the Coxe Iron Manufacturing Company were placed into a trust under the control of Eckley B. Coxe, who served as president of them all. The trust was created to secure the continuation of the companies in the case of the death or sale of interest by any of the partners. The ownership of these companies was held in the same interest as that of the firm of Coxe Brothers and Company, being 4/15ths each with Eckley and Alexander Coxe, 3/15ths each vested in Henry B. and Eckley B. Coxe, Jr., and a 1/15th interest with Ezra B. Ely.

With the establishment of the various new Coxe enterprises, the business of the original firm (Coxe Brothers and Company) became limited to the operation of company stores at Fern Glen, Eckley and Drifton. This was no small point, however. By remaining a partnership, the Coxe family was not bound by the corporation laws of Pennsylvania, which prohibited the operation of company stores. But Coxe Brothers and Company stores respected the spirit of the anti-company store legislation. All Coxe employees were paid in cash that they could spend anywhere and not company script, which they would have to spend on overpriced goods at company stores. Eckley instructed his stores to sell goods as cheaply as possible and at no point were store debts deducted from an employee's wages. The various Coxe-owned enterprises remained in Eckley's charge till May 13, 1895, when at the age of 55, Eckley Brinton Coxe died of pneumonia. His death was mourned across the region as the buildings of Drifton were draped in black and Coxe collieries went idle. On the occasion of his funeral, every mine in the region suspended operations as a tribute to their deceased colleague.

Although Eckley was gone, his benevolence lived on through his wife of twenty-six years, Sophia Georgiana (Fisher) Coxe. Sophia undoubtedly served as Eckley's guiding light in his many altruistic endeavors. She was collectively known throughout the region as the "Angel of the Anthracite Fields" and the "Coxe Santa Claus." Sophia earned the latter title by providing the children of the Coxe mining towns with gifts and candy at an annul Christmas Party held in Cross Creek Hall. With the income guaranteed to her in Eckley's will, Sophia embarked on numerous acts of charity, funding additions to the Hazleton State Hospital, White Haven Sanitarium and the Philadelphia Children's Hospital. Sophia also advanced Eckley's work in education as a faithful benefactor of the Mining and Mechanical Institute of Freeland. She endowed the school with a new gymnasium and a trust fund to keep the school operating after her death, which occurred in 1926.

As Eckley's benevolence continued after his death, so too did his mining enterprises. His two surviving brothers, Alexander and Henry Coxe remained active in the business affairs of the Coxe mining companies, as Alfred E. Walter, a business associate, took control of the trust and presidency of the Coxe companies. The trust would subsequently pass to Irving A. Stearns from 1901 to 1905, when the trusteeship was canceled. The mining enterprises continued to expand through the turn of the century under the administration of Alexander B. Coxe. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Alexander had distinguished himself in the Civil War, serving on the staff of Major-General George Meade. After the war, he played a major role in the financial management of Coxe Brothers and Company as the only Coxe partner, other than Eckley, who resided in Drifton. He continued to live near the collieries for nearly forty years.

In March 1900, Alexander initiated a series of business maneuvers to streamline the management of the various Coxe companies. He purchased the entire capital stock of the Coxe Iron Manufacturing Company and the selling agency, Coxe Brothers and Company, Inc. for the Cross Creek Coal Company. Now representing the combined capital of three companies, the Cross Creek Coal Company officially changed its name to Coxe Brothers & Company, Inc. The new company name distinguished only by the replacement of "and" by "&". Days later, the original firm of Coxe Brothers and Company was dissolved by agreement, with the remainder of its property and assets being assigned to the Cross Creek Coal Company for the sum of $300. The business of the firm would be continued by Coxe Brothers & Company, Inc. and the Delaware, Susquehanna & Schuylkill Railroad, both of which were owned in the same interest as the original firm. As both the executor of the Tench Coxe Estate and partner of Coxe Brothers & Company, Inc., Alexander was in a unique situation to further consolidate the management of the Coxe properties. On June 24, 1904, the numerous individual leases from the Estate of Tench Coxe to Coxe Brothers & Company, Inc. were consolidated into one blanket lease. The lease granted exclusive mining rights to the latter on the Drifton, Eckley, Stockton and Beaver Meadow properties, as well as on portions of the Tomhicken, Derringer and Oneida properties. The terms of the lease were agreed to continue until the coal was exhausted from the property or mining operations became unprofitable.

In 1904 Coxe Brothers was operating roughly 30,000 acres of land, although not all of it came from family leases. In addition to owning small portions of land, they still held leases on additional property from the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company, West Buck Mountain Coal Company, Anspach & Stanton, Black Creek Improvement Company and the Central Coal Company. The year 1904 also marked the death of Henry B. Coxe, leaving the sole responsibility of the company and the estate in Alexander's charge. With most of the family leaving the coalfields for homes in Philadelphia and nobody in the family willing to take the reins of the family business, the aging Alexander contemplated giving in to the railroads and selling off the mining operations. The Pennsylvania Railroad approached Alexander with an offer to purchase the entire operation of Coxe Brothers & Company, Inc., in an attempt to secure the valuable freight being produced at Coxe collieries. This freight totaled over one 1,500,000 tons of anthracite with 1,000,000 tons being mined directly from Coxe land. The LVRR, however, was not willing to lose its principal independent coal shipper and made Coxe Brothers a matching offer. Fortunately for the LVRR, Alexander Coxe served on its board of directors and in 1905 agreed to sell the whole of the Coxe mining enterprises to the LVRR.

The sale was completed on October 7, 1905, and included all of the property and assets of Coxe Brothers & Company, Inc. comprising, 1100 miners' houses, real estate in Chicago and Milwaukee, floating equipment in New York harbor, all the mined coal on hand as well as the leasehold rights covered in the 1904 lease. Also included in the sale were the Delaware Susquehanna & Schuylkill Railroad and the four Coxe subsidiary water companies. In return the LVRR paid a total of 18.4 million dollars, $6,400,000 being paid in cash and $12,000,000 in collateral trust four percent bonds, which could be redeemed in semi-annual payments of $500,000. The bonds were issued by the Girard Trust Company, which secured payment with Coxe Brothers & Company, Inc. stock, pledged by the LVRR. These bonds would mature in February 1926 at which time the stock was to be transferred back to the LVRR. The sale had the effect of taking the Coxe family out of the mining industry after forty years of successful operations.

The sale also marked the last major land acquisition by the LVRR, which competed in an industry that by some estimates controlled as much as 78% of the entire anthracite output. Nearly all of the other large independent operators had sold-out years ago, leaving the Coxe family operations as a relic of a day gone by. The family, however, would not forget the employees who gave the better part of their lives in service to the company. The Coxe Relief Fund was created by a resolution of the former stockholders of Coxe Brothers & Company, Inc. on October 31, 1905, and was funded by contributions from the Coxe family. In addition to paying off the sundry debts of the company, the fund provided a pension to numerous Coxe employees. The Coxe family benefited greatly from Alexander Coxe's management of the company. In addition to providing the estates of his former partners with an $18.4 million dollar sale, he secured the Heirs of Tench Coxe a steady income of coal royalties for years to come. The stress and anxiety of such an endeavor, however, had an adverse effect on his health. Just four months after completing the sale to the LVRR, Alexander B. Coxe died.

With all of the original Coxe partners dead, a new generation of Coxe heirs stepped in to manage the affairs of the Estate of Tench Coxe. In January 1906, Henry Brinton Coxe, Jr. and Alexander Brown Coxe, both sons of Henry B. Coxe, became the Estate Agents. The management of the estate's property remained in the hands of agents and attorneys-in-fact for its entire existence, one member of which was always a descendant of Tench Coxe.

Although selling all of its direct interests in mining, the Coxe family retained ownership of the land it leased to Coxe Brothers & Company, Inc., now a subsidiary of the LVRR. Indirectly having control of the leases to the Coxe property, the LVRR subleased the mining rights of the Coxe land to the Lehigh Valley Coal Company, placing Coxe Brothers in the business of preparing coal at the breakers.

For years Federal law had prohibited railroad companies from owning their own coal properties, a law that was easily avoided by placing control of their properties with a coal company whose stock they owned entirely. Laws seeking to put an end to monopolistic trusts were becoming increasingly more stringent, however, placing all of the major rail lines in the anthracite field at risk of prosecution. In June of 1906, the Hepburn Act passed into law. Containing a commodities clause, it explicitly forbade the interstate shipment by railroad companies of any mining product in which they held a direct or indirect interest.

The LVRR became an easy target for the law. The railroad could not readily disguise its ownership of Coxe Brothers & Company, Inc. because it was paying for the purchase with railroad bonds. A decision in 1911, by the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York, affirmed that the LVRR was in violation of the Commodities Clause of the Hepburn Act by its stock ownership of both the LVCC and Coxe Brothers & Company, Inc. To evade the clause the Lehigh Valley Coal Sales Company was organized in an attempt to distance the railroad from its mining operations. The sales company purchased Coxe Brothers and Lehigh Valley coal at the breakers and distributed it to the various dealers.

The Lehigh Valley Railroad Company's entanglement with its coal properties remained obvious nonetheless and in March 1914, the Federal Government filed suit against the railroad for trust evasion, charging it with violations of both the Sherman Anti-Trust Act and the Hepburn Act. After six years of litigation, a decision was handed down ordering the dissolution of the Lehigh Valley mining combination. The final decree of the court was handed down in November 1923, outlining the exact steps the court required. The decree called for the creation of a trusteeship that would hold the complete voting power of Coxe Brothers & Company, Inc. stock. The trustee was further ordered not to vote the stock in any way that would bring about a unity of interest or a suppression of competition between the two companies. Under the direction of the Coxe trustee, Coxe Brothers & Company, Inc. went through a series of changes in the operation of their property. In 1929 management of the Coxe properties was turned over to the Jeddo-Highland Coal Company, operated by Donald Markle, son of the highly successful retired anthracite operator, John Markle. The change in management took control of the Coxe Brothers property out of the hands of the LVCC, severing the remaining links with the LVRR. The agreement with Jeddo-Highland had been in place for seven years when, in 1936, Coxe Brothers & Company, Inc. was given direct control of its mining operations, placing them back in the business of mining coal for the first time since the company was sold in 1905.

Management by Coxe Brothers did not prove to be very sound, as strikes repeatedly shut down operations. During a strike in 1938, an operative employed by the company to spy on the men reported, "They say the company is not providing and using props at any place – that no effort is being made to save the roof. They say no coal is being taken which entails the expenditure of anything but the minimum amount of money. This they interpret to mean the abandonment of the company's operations there in the near future is a certainty. This is now the basis for the strike." The poor management of Coxe Brothers under the control of its board of directors, many of whom were directors of the LVRR, did not go unnoticed by the Coxe trustee and in 1940 management of Coxe Brothers & Company, Inc., once again, was turned over to the Jeddo-Highland Coal Company. Management of portions of some properties were also granted to the Gowen Coal Company, Wolf Collieries Company, Pardee Brothers and Company, Inc., Sterrick Creek Coal Company and the Haddock Mining Company.

The year 1940 marked the last year that Coxe Brothers had any direct or indirect control concerning mining, selling or transporting coal from its leased property. The anthracite industry saw peak years of production during World War I, but then began a steady decline from which it would never recover. By the 1940s coal operators were becoming increasingly scarce giving the LVRR an opportunity to regain control of the capital stock of Coxe Brothers & Company, Inc. In 1942 they petitioned the United States Government to end the trusteeship, arguing that Coxe Brothers & Company, Inc. acted strictly as a property agent without any control of the operators' policies. They further argued that 82% of the coal on Coxe Brothers property had been removed since the trusteeship was created and with the decreased market for anthracite coal, finding a buyer of the Coxe Brothers stock would be nearly impossible.

The courts handed down a decision in favor of the railroad and ordered the stock of Coxe Brothers & Company, Inc. returned to the LVRR. The return of Coxe Brothers' stock was authorized by the courts with the explicit requirement that quarterly reports concerning the financial condition and conduct of business be submitted to the office of the Attorney General of the United States. The approval of the Attorney General's office was also required before Coxe Brothers could change the terms or execute any new lease. In its petition to the courts the LVRR alluded to the "short prospective life of Coxe Brothers & Company, Inc." This attitude appears to be confirmed upon the latter's return to LVRR control. A memo from C.E. Hildum, Vice President of the LVRR, in June 1943, stated, "Coxe Bros. presumably could use its cash to continue mining operations, either by its own organization or through management agreements, until its working funds were exhausted, or until its operating leases exceeded the Railroad Company profits from the movement of coal."

The LVRR was once again mining for freight, a practice that ultimately brought about a significant decrease in coal royalties for the Heirs of Tench Coxe. In 1943, Coxe Brothers & Company, Inc. leased over 19,000 acres of land, 79% of which was leased from the Estate of Tench Coxe. The remaining portions were either owned in fee or leased from the Deringer Estate, LVCC or the Estate of Charles S. Coxe. For the next seven years Coxe Brothers did not operate any of its collieries but was still required to obtain the heirs' consent before subleasing to tenants. The Estate Agents, however, were unhappy with the way Coxe Brothers was managing their property. The agents believed that Coxe Brothers & Company, Inc. was mainly interested in obtaining freight for the railroad rather than obtaining the maximum income from the properties.

Coxe Brothers was further criticized for allowing the Haddock Mining Company to operate the Beaver Meadow, Deringer and Tomhicken properties without paying royalties or taxes for a period of nine months. In 1938, an amendment was made to the 1904 lease in which royalties were to be paid to the estate on a profit-sharing basis, with 2/3 of the net income being paid in royalties. The estate was then permitted to employ accountants to examine the records of Coxe Brothers. The accountants found numerous discrepancies in Coxe Brothers' accounts and in February 1949 the Heirs of Tench Coxe filed a lawsuit against Coxe Brothers & Company, Inc. to recover $350,000 due them in royalties. The heirs charged that Coxe Brothers took unauthorized deductions in computing their net income, the basis for establishing royalty payments. The lawsuit, however, was just an example of the animosity that existed between the two interests. It eventually became the clear desire of the Estate Agents to eliminate Coxe Brothers & Company, Inc. as a "middleman" by canceling the terms of the 1904 lease.

In 1950, the Estate Agent, Daniel M. Coxe, called a meeting of the Coxe heirs to discuss the canceling of their lease with Coxe Brothers & Company, Inc. It was agreed by all parties involved that the result of such an action would create considerable savings on overhead and increased royalties to the Estate. As part of the settlement agreement from the lawsuit filed a year earlier the terms of the 1904 lease were canceled. In addition, Coxe Brothers assigned all of its subleases, titles to culm and refuse banks, its fee land, mining equipment, drainage tunnels and miners houses to the Estate of Tench Coxe. Of particular significance in this agreement was the stipulation that all of the maps, leases, surveys, correspondence and records of every nature relating to the property be transferred to the Estate. The ownership of these records were retained by the Estate until 1968 when they were transferred to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, as a portion of this collection. The courts approved the settlement agreement in July 1950, having the effect of putting Coxe Brothers & Company, Inc. out of business and in line for liquidation. Coxe Brothers was officially dissolved in July of the following year with distribution to its stockholders, the LVRR. The settlement also placed the Coxe family in direct control of its landholdings for the first time in forty-five years.

By 1950, the anthracite industry was a shell of its former self. A deflated market for anthracite led to decreased income for the estate. Under the direction of the agents, new leases were granted to mining operations, including the Jeddo-Highland Coal Company, but finding additional tenants proved to be extremely difficult. Given the state of affairs in the anthracite fields it soon became the clear intention of the Tench Coxe Estate to divest itself of its land holdings.

In 1956, the first major land sale was completed for 2,000 acres, to the Beryllium Corporation of Reading to establish the firm's new Nuclear Division. The land sale trend continued in 1959 with the sale of the Drifton Village and again in 1960 with the sale of Tomhicken. Coal production on estate lands was down to 62,744 tons in 1960 without any hope of future improvements. Facing the prospect that the majority of accessible coal deposits had been exhausted and profitable leases were no longer available, Daniel urged to the heirs to liquidate the real estate of the Estate of Tench Coxe. The large number of individuals, estates and trusts holding an interest in the Tench Coxe Estate, however, made property sales extremely difficult.

With over fifty-seven distributees, representing 108 heirs on two continents, the fractional interests of the estate were getting smaller as the number of heirs multiplied with each generation. To avoid the lengthy task of securing consent from all of the individual family members, the heirs and owners of the Tench Coxe properties executed a trust agreement, which conveyed their authority to sell the family property to a group of trustees, which included Daniel M. Coxe, Eckley B. Coxe, III and Tench C. Coxe, Jr. The trust was organized under the name Tench Coxe Properties Liquidating Trust in December 1961.

Initially, the trust was able to sell only small portions of the property, but nonetheless actively pursued a buyer for the large acreage that remained. The trust liquidated the last remaining portions of the estate lands in 1966, with the sale of 16,400 acres to Butler Enterprises, Inc., owned by the prominent Philadelphia real estate developers, Philip and Nathan Seltzer. Butler Enterprises was drawn to the area due in large part to the efforts of Can-Do, Inc., (Community-Area New Development Organization). This citizen-sponsored organization was established in 1956 with the intention of drawing new industries to the Hazleton region, which Philip Seltzer described as being one of the "great progressive areas of Pennsylvania." Can-Do, Inc. functioned with assistance from the Coxe family, which had a great deal to gain from increasing the vitality of the region.

The assistance was also very much characteristic of the Coxe family's tradition of providing support for the social and economic development of the region. The transfer of title to Butler Enterprises marked the end of an era for the Coxe family, an era spanning over 150 years of direct involvement with the people and geology of the area. An example of this relationship between labor and capital can be seen today at Eckley Miners Village, a historic site representing a nineteenth century company mining town or "patch town." The site is maintained by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, on land once owned by the Estate of Tench Coxe. The family's impact will also continue to be felt at MMI Preparatory School, which continues to benefit from contributions from the Heirs of Tench Coxe and the Sophia Coxe Charitable Trust.

Although the Coxe family has long since left the coalfields of Northeastern Pennsylvania, the potential still exists for the Coxes to return to the region, through the auspices of Tench Coxe, Inc. Established in 1968, this company holds the gas and oil rights to roughly 13,000 acres of property included in the sale to Butler Enterprises. Although the prospect of discovering gas and oil may not be substantial, large domes discovered on the property in the 1950's may prove to be valuable storage sites for natural gas surpluses pumped into the Northeast during summer months. The domes are situated at depths of 18,000 feet, which do not make them economically useful to date.

Source

Coxe Family Mining Papers, Background Notes, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 2001. (last accessed February 28, 2022, http://www2.hsp.org/collections/coxe/findingaid.html)

Related Materials:

Materials at Other Organizations

Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Coxe Family Papers, 1638-1970 (inclusive), 1730-1900 (bulk)

The collection is broken into three major series of papers. They include the Tench Coxe section, 1638, 1776-1824, 1879; the Charles Sidney Coxe, Edward Sidney Coxe, and Alexander Sidney Coxe legal papers section, circ 1810-1879; and Third Party Papers, circa 1722-1815. The Tench Coxe Section is broken down further into four series: Volumes and printed materials; Correspondence and general papers; Essays, addresses and resource material; and Bills and receipts

Coxe Family Mining Papers, 1774-1968

The Coxe family mining papers document the history of what once was the largest independent anthracite coal producer in the United States

The William J. Wilgus Collection, 1915-1916

Documents the valuation conducted by William Wilgus during 1915 and 1916 on land and property either owned or leased by Coxe Brothers and Company, Inc. Coxe Brothers was a company that mined and leased anthracite coal lands in northeastern Pennsylvania.

Provenance:

The collection was donated by Tench Coxe Properties through Daniel M. Coxe, Senior Trustee to the Division of Extractive Industries, National Museum of History and Technology (now the National Museum of American History). The exact date of the acquisition is unknown, but it is presumed to be pre-1978.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Anthracite coal  Search this

Coal mines and mining  Search this

Coal mines and mining -- Pennsylvania  Search this

Company towns  Search this

Mines  Search this

Mining  Search this

Mining equipment  Search this

Genre/Form:

Agreements

Blueprints

Correspondence -- 19th-20th century

Deeds

Drawings -- 19th century

Drawings -- 20th century

Glass plate negatives

Legal documents -- 19th century

Maps

Patents -- 19th century

Photographs

Photographs -- 19th century

Tracings

Citation:

Coxe Brothers Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1002

See more items in:

Coxe Brothers Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8e29ebe7f-2837-4d3e-938e-6f844f019642

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1002

Collector:

Wilson, Raymond E.  Search this

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of History of Technology  Search this

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering  Search this

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry  Search this

Donor:

Millington, Ruth H.  Search this

Creator:

National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges.  Search this

Extent:

3 Cubic feet (9 boxes, 1 map folder )

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Blueprints

Books

Clippings

Newsletters

Pamphlets

Photograph albums

Photographs

Slides (photographs)

Date:

1912-1980

Summary:

The collection documents covered bridges in America and Europe.

Scope and Contents:

The collection relates to covered bridges in America and Europe. It includes hundreds of slides (with index) of photographs of covered bridges; an album of prints of photographs of covered bridges in Germany, Switzerland and Austria; books and pamphlets, both national and regional, about covered bridges; newsletters from covered bridge organizations, both national and regional, such as the National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges; drawings; notes; copies of patents, an album of photographs entitled Trusses; articles and clippings; correspondence about covered bridges; and blueprints of plans for repair work on bridges.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into one series.

Biographical / Historical:

Mechanical engineer and covered bridge enthusiast.

Provenance:

Donated by Wilson's daughter in 1983 to the Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering, now called the Division of Work and Industry.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Bridges  Search this

Covered bridges  Search this

Covered bridges -- Austria  Search this

Covered bridges -- Germany  Search this

Covered bridges -- Switzerland  Search this

Covered bridges -- United States  Search this

Genre/Form:

Blueprints

Books

Clippings

Newsletters

Pamphlets

Photograph albums -- 20th century

Photographs -- 1950-2000

Slides (photographs) -- 20th century

Citation:

Raymond E. Wilson Covered Bridge Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0999

See more items in:

Raymond E. Wilson Covered Bridge Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8540ade10-141e-4a75-9ac7-ee5ed2bd4401

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0999

Creator:

Roebling, Charles Gustavus, 1849-1918  Search this

Roebling, Ferdinand W. (Ferdinand William), 1842-1917  Search this

John A. Roebling's Sons Company  Search this

Roebling, John Augustus, 1806-1869  Search this

Roebling, Washington Augustus, 1837-1926.  Search this

Collector:

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of History of Technology  Search this

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering  Search this

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry  Search this

Extent:

18.5 Cubic feet (62 boxes, 1 map-folder)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photograph albums

Specifications

Reports

Price lists

Photographs

Newsletters

Letterpress books

Correspondence

Blueprints

Ledgers (account books)

Genealogies

Notebooks

Patents

Date:

1836-1975

bulk 1930-1950

Summary:

Collection documents the work of the John A. Roebling's Sons Company, builders of bridges. The materials consist primarily of photograph albums documenting some of the bridges, tramways, ski lifts and chair lifts that Roebling's Sons Company was involved with. The documentation also includes specifications, patents, and reference materials about the engineering process of building bridges and bridges in general.

Scope and Contents:

The collection documents the work of the John A. Roebling's Sons Company, builders of bridges. The materials consist primarily of photograph albums documenting a variety of bridges, mostly in the United States. The documentation also includes specifications, patents, and reference materials about the engineering process of building bridges and bridges in general.

Series 1, Historical background materials, 1895-1958, is divided into two subseries: Subseries 1, John A. Roebling's and Sons Company materials, 1895-1949 and Subseries 2, Newsletters, 1929-1931.

Subseries 1, John A. Roebling's and Sons Company materials, 1895-1949, contains a variety of items related to the company such as historical narratives, correspondence, price lists, testing data, and a ledger with cost estimates. The correspondence is partially bound (pages 1 to 104) from a letter press book (handwritten and typescript) belonging to John A. Roebling's and Sons Company. William Hildebrand and Charles G. Roebling are the chief correspondents. The correspondence documents daily activities related to the design and erection of bridges as well as finances and supplies. Charles G. Roebling's notebook, undated, contains calculations and notes about various bridge projects.

Subseries 2, Newsletters, 1929-1931, contain copies of Blue Center and Wire Engineering, which were John A. Roebling's and Sons Company publications intended for employees. The newsletters were apparently used as scrapbooks, with black-and-white photographs pasted into the pages. Found among the pages of Blue Center are photographs of the Hudson River Bridge and in Wire Engineering, there are photographs of the Maysville, Kentucky Bridge.

Series 2, Photographs, 1926-1975, comprises the largest series in the collection. The photographs are primarily black-and-white and document aerial tramways, tramways for logging or mining, chair lifts, ski lifts, floods, and bridge construction projects. The latter makes up the majority. Most photographs were assembled into albums with corresponding captions and dates, and almost all of the photographs document bridges in the United States. There is one exception, the Yauricocha Tramway in Peru. In some instances, the captions are recorded on the back of the photographs, and others were recorded on album pages. The series is arranged alphabetically by name of bridge and/or project.

Series 3, Specifications, 1855-1962, consists of printed textual documents (both bound and loose) that contain information for bidders, proposals, contracts, and bonds, and the detailed specifications. This series is arranged alphabetically by bridge name.

Series 4, Reports, 1928-1938, contains bound reports (both progress and final) detailing problems, requirements, research, manufacture, plant installation, cable equipment, strand adjustments, and Roebling Company developments. This series is arranged alphabetically by bridge/and/or project.

Series 5, Patent materials, 1849-1952, consists of issued patents (to a variety of individuals) for cable and cable appliances, cables, and cable apparatus, cableways and tramways, and grips. The patents are arranged by subject area, then by patent number.

Series 6, Reference materials, 1836-1964, contains a wide range of materials—articles, biographical files, drawings, photographs, newspaper clippings, advertising, correspondence, notes—documenting all aspects of bridges. This series is arranged alphabetically by topic.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into six series.

Series 1, Historical background materials, 1895-1958, undated

Subseries 1, Biographical, 1900-1958, undated

Subseries 2, John A. Roebling's and Sons Company materials, 1895-1949

Subseries 3, Newsletters, 1929-1931

Series 2, Photographs, 1926-1975

Series 3, Specifications, 1855-1962

Series 4, Reports, 1928-1938

Series 5, Patent materials, 1849-1952

Series 6, Reference materials, 1836-1964

Biographical / Historical:

John Augustus Roebling (1806-1869) was the founder and proprietor of John A. Roebling's Sons Company. Born in Mühlhausen, Germany, he was a civil engineer famous for his wire rope suspension bridge designs, in particular, the design of the Brooklyn Bridge. Roebling married Johana Herting in 1836 and they had nine children: Washington A. Roebling (1837-1926); Laura R. Methfessel (1840-1873); Ferdinand W. Roebling (1842-1917); Elvira R. Stewart (1844-1871); Josephine R. Jarvis (b. 1847); Charles Gustavus Roebling (1849-1918); Edmund Roebling (1854-1930); William Roebling (b. 1856, d. 1860); and Hannah Roebling (died in infancy). Roebling's three sons, Washington Augustus Roebling; Ferdinand William Roebling and Charles Gustavus Roebling, worked for the company.

Roebling's Sons Company was active in the design and manufacture of wire rope used in the erection of suspension bridges since the 1840s. Roebling devised a system of spinning the wires together where weights and swivels turned the wire coils in the opposite direction from the twisting, thereby removing kinks. Method of and Machine for Manufacturing Wire Rope (US Patent # 2,720) issued on July 16, 1842. Roebling would adapt this wire rope to his suspension bridge principle. In 1848, he established a company—John Roebling's Sons Company—in Trenton, New Jersey, to manufacture his wire rope. Roebling manufacturing plants were sold in 1952 to the Colorado Fuel and Iron (CF&I) Company of Pueblo, Colorado. In 1968, the Crane Company purchased the CF& I.

Related Materials:

Materials in the Archives Center

George S. Morison Collection (AC0978)

Modjeski and Masters Company Records (AC0976)

Materials at Other Organizations

The Rutgers University, Special Collections and University Archives

Roebling family papers, cicra 1820s-1950s

Provenance:

This collection was donated by Blair Birdsall, former chief engineer at John A. Roebling's Sons Company in 1981.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Bridges -- New York (N.Y.)  Search this

Bridge construction industry -- United States  Search this

Bridges -- Design and construction  Search this

Iron industry and trade -- United States  Search this

Iron industry and trade -- Colorado  Search this

Wire industry -- New Jersey  Search this

Suspension bridges -- Design and construction  Search this

Ski lifts  Search this

Wire-rope industry -- New Jersey  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photograph albums

Specifications

Reports

Price lists

Photographs -- 20th century

Newsletters -- 1920-1940

Letterpress books

Correspondence

Blueprints

Ledgers (account books)

Genealogies

Notebooks

Patents

Citation:

John A. Roebling Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0981

See more items in:

John A. Roebling Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8419ecb5a-d411-4efa-b829-43d8cc9002ec

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0981

Creator:

Hartford Electric Light Company.  Search this

Foster Wheeler Corporation  Search this

Stone and Webster.  Search this

General Electric Company  Search this

Babcock and Wilcox Company.  Search this

Emmet, William Le Roy, 1859-  Search this

Former owner:

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering  Search this

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry  Search this

Extent:

4 Cubic feet (14 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Reports

Photographs

Logs (records)

Correspondence

Blueprints

Architectural drawings

Articles

Date:

1920 - 1961

Summary:

The Emmet Mercury Boiler Records contains information about General Electric Company and Hartford Electric Light Company's development, installation, and use of William Le Roy Emmet's mercury boiler units. The mercury boiler units used mercury fluid along with steam power to improve cycle efficiency in converting coal or oil to electric power. The collection contains articles, news clippings, reports, instruction manuals, log books, data sheets, photographs, and drawings related to the experimental unit installed at Dutch Point, Connecticut, and the first commercial use of a mercury boiler at the South Meadow Station in Hartford, Connecticut.

Scope and Contents:

The collection documents the construction, operation, and demolition of mercury boiler generating units developed by William Le Roy Emmet and installed by the Hartford Electric Light Company in Hartford, Connecticut. The collection contains articles and research about the use of mercury and the development and implementation of mercury boilers. Also included is general correspondence between Hartford Electric Light Company and General Electric Company, operational logs, collected data, instructional guides, inspection reports, and photographs and drawings for the Dutch Point Mercury Boiler and the South Meadow Station.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into four series.

Series 1: Background and Research on Mercury Boilers, 1920-1961

Series 2: Correspondence, 1921-1950

Series 3: Dutch Point Mercury Boiler Operational Records, 1923-1949

Subseries 3.1: Data Sheets and Reports, 1923-1927

Subseries 3.2: Log Books and Instructions, 1924-1949

Subseries 3.3: Photographs and Drawings, 1923-1927

Series 4: South Meadow Station Operational Records, 1928-1961

Subseries 4.1: Data Sheets and Reports, 1928-1961

Subseries 4.2: Log Books and Instructions, 1928-1955

Subseires 4.3: Photographs and Drawings, 1928,1955

Series 5: Hartford Electric Light Company Operational Records, 1928-1949

Historical:

The mercury boiler was developed by a General Electric Company's engineer, William Le Roy Emmet, to use mercury fluid in conjunction with steam power to improve cycle efficiency in converting coal or oil to electric power. An experimental mercury-steam generating unit was installed by Hartford Electric Light Company in 1923 at Dutch Point, Connecticut. In June 1927, ground was broken for the South Meadow Station in Hartford, Connecticut, and Babcock and Wilcox Company was contracted for the boiler. This unit was the first commercial installation in the nation and was based on the data collected from the Dutch Point unit. The Dutch Point unit was damaged during the course of operations and was permanently shut down by Emmet in September 1927. Emmet requested that all efforts be focused on the South Meadow Station. In August 1947, the first commercial unit at South Meadow Station was taken out of service and disposed of, and a second unit was installed and put into use on January 1, 1949. The engineering company, Foster Wheeler, was used to help design the second unit. During inspections in 1959 and 1960, it was discovered that the second unit had a wastage issue, and the unit was then operated at half load capacity for the remainder of 1960. On January 4, 1961, the second unit was removed from operation, and on April 19, 1961 it was officially retired. The mercury was removed and sold to Woodbridge Chemical Corporation. The decision was made to not to replace it with another mercury unit.

Provenance:

Immediate source of acquisition unknown.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions. Copyright held by the Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Mercury  Search this

Mechanical engineering  Search this

Electricity  Search this

Chemical engineering  Search this

Boilers  Search this

Mercury vapor  Search this

Genre/Form:

Reports

Photographs -- 20th century

Logs (records)

Correspondence -- 20th century

Blueprints

Architectural drawings

Articles

Citation:

Emmet Mercury Boiler Records, 1920-1961, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0968

See more items in:

Emmet Mercury Boiler Records

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8fc4d3ee7-dff1-4b34-8491-c4f6239318d5

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0968

Creator:

Calumet and Hecla Mining Company.  Search this

Leavitt, Erasmus D., 1836-1916  Search this

Former owner:

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering  Search this

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry  Search this

Extent:

20.4 Cubic feet (4 boxes, 82 folders)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Account books

Blueprints

Diaries

Drawings

Letterpress books

Notebooks

Scrapbooks

Place:

Upper Peninsula (Mich.)

Date:

1861-1955

Summary:

Papers document prominent nineteenth-century steam engineer Erasmus D. Leavitt.

Scope and Contents note:

The Leavitt Papers include a Civil War diary, personal account books, photographs, drawings, and engineering materials relating to steam engines.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into three series.

Series 1: Engineering Materials, 1861-1955

Series 2: Photographs, 1890s, undated

Series 3: Engineering Drawings, 1874-1906

Historical:

The Calumet and Hecla Company, which was formed in about 1866, was one of the largest mining operations in the Lake Superior region of Upper Michigan. Over 3 billion pounds of copper were removed from its extensive mines by the time operations ceased in 1939. To facilitate the work in both the mines and smelting plants, the company installed some the largest steam engines ever built. The aggregate amounted to over 55,000 horsepower.

Noted 19th century steam engineer Erasmus Darwin Leavitt was hired to design the series of huge multi-cylinder engines. Each had sufficient power to support several operations at one time. While an engine drove one of the hoists, it might also power pumping, conveying, and air compressing machinery. At the peak of operations there were at least 50 steam engines of all sizes providing power to Calumet and Hecla. Falling copper prices during the 1920s and the economic depression of the 1930s ultimately forced the mines to close. The engines were of no further use and their countless tons of cast iron and steel ended up in the scrap drives of World War II.

Biographical:

Erasmus Darwin Leavitt was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1836 and died in 1916 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was educated in the Lowell public schools, entered the machine shop of the Lowell Manufacturing Company in 1852, and served three years as an apprentice. He spent one year with Corliss and Nightingale and was later assistant foreman of the City Point works in South Boston, where he was in charge of building the engines for the flagship "Hartford." From 1859 to 1861 he was chief draftsman for Thurston, Gardiner & Co., of Providence, Rhode Island, leaving to enter the United States Navy in the summer of 1861.

Leavitt served during the Civil War and he was detailed to the Naval Academy at Annapolis as instructor in steam engineering. Resigning in 1867, he resumed the practice of mechanical engineering, making a specialty of pumping and mining machinery. He was consulting engineer of the Calumet and Hecla Mining compan from 1874 to 1904 during which time he designed the equipment. He was also consulting engineer for Henry R. Worthington, the Dickson Manufacturing Company, City of Boston and City of Cambridge, and designed the pumping engine for the City of Louisville, Kentucky. He was advisory engineer and designed machinery for the Bethlehem Steel Company and for South African mining companies. He was a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and formerly its president; the American Society of Civil Engineers, American Institute of Mining Engineers, Boston Society of Civil Engineers, American Society of Naval Engineers, an honorary member of the British Society for the Advancement of Science, life member of Franklin Institute, and member of Institution of Civil Engineers and of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers of Great Britain. He was also a fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

In 1884 Mr. Leavitt received the honorary degree of Doctor of Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology of New Jersey. Leavitt retired from active practice in 1904. He married Annie Elisabeth Pettit in 1867, and had three daughters, Mary, Margaret and Annie.

Source

Cambridge Chronicle, March 18, 1916

Related Materials:

Materials at Other Organizations

Michigan Technological University Archives and Copper Country Historical Collections

Calumet and Hecla Mining Company Collection

Provenance:

Collection materials donated by Calumet and Hecla, Inc. in 1960 and by Thomas E. P. Rice, 1977.

The collection came to the Smithsonian in 1960 from Calumet & Hecla, Inc. In the course of a reorganization in 1952 mining had been dropped from the company name as the emphasis was on chemicals, foundry work, and forest products. Its remaining mining activites in other areas of Michigan were phased out during the 1960s and in 1968 Calumet & Hecla merged with Universal Oil Products, Inc. Late in 1970 Universal Oil Products scrapped what was left of the Calumet & Hecla physical plant and its remaining assests were auctioned off.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Engines  Search this

Hoisting and conveying  Search this

Mineral industries  Search this

Mining  Search this

Pumping  Search this

Steam-engines  Search this

Waterworks  Search this

Genre/Form:

Account books

Blueprints

Diaries

Drawings

Letterpress books

Notebooks

Scrapbooks

Citation:

Erasmus D. Leavitt Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0966

See more items in:

Erasmus D. Leavitt Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8c5e7ffde-5f5f-415c-ae48-45a3c941509b

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0966

Creator:

Tyrrell, Henry Grattan, 1867-1948  Search this

Author:

Tyrrell, Mary Maude Knox  Search this

Collector:

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of History of Technology  Search this

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering  Search this

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry  Search this

Extent:

2.3 Cubic feet (11 boxes, 1 oversize folder)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Manuscripts

Publications

Advertisements

Scrapbooks

Correspondence

Date:

1886-1941

Summary:

Manuscripts, correspondence, business records, newspaper clippings and scrapbooks documenting the career of Henry Grattan Tyrrell, an early-twentieth-century civil engineer and bridge builder who was also a prolific self-published author of hundreds of journal articles and several books. Subjects include aesthetic bridge design, history of bridges, design of movable bridges, and the economical design of factories, shops, and mill buildings.

Scope and Contents:

This collection contains typed manuscripts, correspondence, drawings, and business records written by and relating to Henry Grattan Tyrrell, civil engineer, bridge builder and prolific self-published author on the subjects of bridge engineering, aesthetics and history of bridge design, and the economical design of factories, shops and mill buildings.

The bulk of the collection consists of drafts and submission copies of his numerous published journal articles as well as early manuscripts of several of his books. Also included are two scrapbooks compiled by Tyrrell, containing many of his published articles, pamphlets, and letters to editors of engineering-related publications, as well as advertising material for both his engineering businesses and his books. There are many newspaper clippings related to projects Tyrrell worked on or expressed interest in, documentation of claims he brought against various companies for infringement or failure to pay, lists of his works, compilations of critical praise and personal endorsements, and general material relating to his experiences in publishing.

The collection presents a specific view of the trends and innovations in engineering at the beginning of the twentieth century, particularly focusing on bridges of all types and materials, as well as an early example of self-employment and self-promotion. It may be of interest to researchers in the areas of bridge and factory design in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, historical engineering publications, and the history of bridge building in the United States and Canada.

Arrangement:

This collection is divided into seven (7) series:

Series 1: Personal, 1886; 1920s-1930s; undated

Series 2: Correspondence, 1895-1901; 1907; 1911-1917; 1928-1929; 1931-1941

Series 3: Business Records, 1899-1937

Subseries 3.1: Engineering, 1899; 1902; 1905; 1917-1919; 1923; 1935

Subseries 3.2: Publishing, 1900-1920

Subseries 3.3: Legal/Financial, 1901-1902; 1907-1908; 1914-1915; 1920-1932; 1937

Series 4: Proposals, Drawings and Sketches, 1900-1908; 1920-1921; undated

Series 5: Publications, 1886; 1900-1905; 1909-1916

Subseries 5.1: Books, 1911-1913; 1920-1921

Subseries 5.2 Articles, 1886; 1900-1905; 1909-1916; 1920

Subseries 5.3 Article drafts/submission copies, 1900-1905; 1912-1915; 1920

Series 6: Press Clippings, 1900-1921

Series 7: Scrapbooks, 1901-1920

Biographical / Historical:

Henry Grattan Tyrrell (1867-1948) was born in Weston, Ontario, Canada and was educated at the University of Toronto School of Practical Science as a civil engineer specializing in bridge architecture and design. He worked for several architectural companies, including the Boston Bridge Company (Massachusetts), the Brackett Bridge Company (Ohio), as well as his own businesses the American Estimating Company, and Grattan Tyrrell & Co. His brief career as an engineer was superceded by his prolific career as a writer of both journal articles and books on the aesthetics of bridge design and practical designs for factories and mill houses.

The son of an avid outdoorsman and explorer, his early writings are about the Canadian wilderness. By the turn of the century, his writing focused on architectural engineering, specifically the design of bridges. Tyrrell was well-traveled and wrote at length about the beauty of a well-designed bridge, like those he had seen all over the world. He suggested that America's cities (Chicago, Seattle, Milwaukee and Cleveland), build attractive bridges, which, he argued, could also be economical. His books History of Bridge Engineering (1911) and Artistic Bridge Design (1912) spoke to these issues. He expanded his love of aesthetics to buildings as well, advocating for the economical and practical design of factory buildings and floors, as well as mill houses and shops (Mill Buildings, 1911; Engineering of Shops and Factories, 1912). His last (possibly unpublished) book, Movable Bridges (1921), explored the design of drawbridges, vertical lift bridges and suspension bridges. His wife, Mary Maude Knox Tyrrell, co-authored and illustrated many of the books.

Tyrrell was an avid self-promoter, writing reviews of his own books, including contents and endorsements of his achievements, and selling them in pamphlet form. He was a frequent contributor to many engineering journals, such as Canadian Engineer, Builders' Magazine, Engineering News, and The Engineering Magazine. His prolific writings on the subjects of bridge engineering and aesthetics are a lasting legacy of early-twentieth century ingenuity.

Provenance:

Collection donated by Grattan Tyrrell. Exact date of acquisition unknown.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Factories  Search this

Mill buildings  Search this

Mills  Search this

Bridges  Search this

Tunnels  Search this

Genre/Form:

Manuscripts

Publications

Advertisements

Scrapbooks

Correspondence

Citation:

Henry Grattan Tyrrell and Mary Maude Knox Tyrrell Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0948

See more items in:

Henry Grattan Tyrrell and Mary Maude Knox Tyrrell Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep840b3f726-d28d-42c7-993f-07f68bbaef08

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0948