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Creator:

Smithsonian Magazine  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2016-12-09T16:20:01.000Z

YouTube Category:

Entertainment  Search this

See more by:

SmithsonianMagazine

Data Source:

Smithsonian Magazine

YouTube Channel:

SmithsonianMagazine

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_bgWHBBfjZII

Series Creator:

Warshaw, Isadore, 1900-1969  Search this

Container:

Box 108, Folder 47

Type:

Archival materials

Series Restrictions:

Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.

Series 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.

Series Citation:

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Railroads, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

Sponsor:

Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).

See more items in:

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Railroads

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Railroads / 6: Publications / 6.3: Articles, Reports, Newspaper Clippings and General Histories

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8f01e3274-0879-4398-9f12-a9e39043f3b2

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0060-s01-01-railroads-ref4432

Creator:

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

Names:

Ames Iron Works.  Search this

Hendrick Manufacturing Company  Search this

Woodruff and Beach Iron Works.  Search this

Bennett, C.  Search this

Blaisdell, Alfred O.  Search this

Gordon, W. F.  Search this

Reed, James  Search this

Richardson, William J.  Search this

Sheldon, Frank P.  Search this

Snow, J. Parker  Search this

Extent:

0.3 Cubic feet (1 box

)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Technical descriptions

Technical notes

Financial data

Inspections

Lists

Drawings

Shop orders

Notebooks

Date:

1835-1930

Summary:

Collection of personal notebooks of civil engineers.

Scope and Contents note:

Mainly personal notebooks of engineers, although one is a listing of products of a manufacturer of gears and another is a compilation of shop orders for various products of a manufacturer. They generally contain technical descriptions, drawings, specifications, and financial data.

Provenance:

Immediate source of acquisition unknown.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

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.

Occupation:

Engineers  Search this

Topic:

Furnaces  Search this

Architecture -- United States  Search this

Bridges  Search this

Boilers  Search this

Mechanical engineering and engineers  Search this

Mills and mill-work  Search this

Kilns  Search this

Engineering: financial accounting  Search this

Engineering notebooks  Search this

Engineering: shop orders  Search this

Piers  Search this

Docks  Search this

Civil engineering  Search this

Engineering  Search this

Railroads  Search this

Railroad car builders  Search this

Steam-engines  Search this

Refrigeration and refrigerating machinery  Search this

Genre/Form:

Technical descriptions

Technical notes

Financial data

Inspections

Lists

Drawings

Shop orders

Notebooks

Citation:

Engineering Notebook Collection, 1835-1930, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0225

See more items in:

Engineering Notebook Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8b4c9d0f7-246c-410c-a9e6-591c65a470a5

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0225

Creator:

Skinner Engine Company  Search this

Names:

Chuse Engine Company  Search this

Four Valve  Search this

Harrisburg  Search this

Nordberg Manufacturing Company  Search this

Ridgway  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:

29 Cubic feet (81 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Drawings

Trade catalogs

Tracings

Blueprints

Correspondence

Photographs

Date:

1880-1960.

Scope and Contents:

Records of the Skinner Engine Company, Erie, Pennsylvania, manufacturers of Universal Unaflow engines, include correspondence and orders, 1905-1939, 1948-1951; drawings, blueprints, tracings, photographs, and files on Corliss engines, diesels, steam turbines, variable steam controls, and Kingsford and Stumpf stationary and marine unaflow engines, 1890-1941, 1944, 1948-1951; instruction and lubrication manuals, catalogs, sales literature, and other publications issued by the company, 1880-1960; tractor boiler patents, 1904; Stumpf patents, 1911; contracts, 1912-1917, 1934, 1941; and calculations, 1938. Also includes articles, advertisements, blueprints, bulletins, catalogs, correspondence, and photographs relating to other engine builders, including Chuse Engine Company, Harrisburg, Nordberg, Four Valve, and Ridgway, 1911-1938.

Arrangement:

1 series. Arrangement: By type of material.

Provenance:

The first portion of this collection was donated by Skinner Engine Company to the Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering, National Museum of HIstory and Technology (now the National Museum of American History) in 1963. Skinner donated additional materials in 1984.

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:

Diesel engines  Search this

Steam-turbines  Search this

Boilers  Search this

Steam-engines  Search this

Unaflow engines  Search this

Genre/Form:

Drawings

Trade catalogs

Tracings

Blueprints

Correspondence

Photographs -- 19th century

Citation:

Skinner Engine Company Records, 1880-1960, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1087

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep862055c64-2d55-4413-bfb1-8fd7f7ad2743

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1087

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)

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:

The collection is open for research use.

Researchers must handle unprotected photographs 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:

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

Collection Creator:

Erie City Iron Works.  Search this

Container:

Box 1, Folder 2

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1876-1912

undated

Collection Restrictions:

The collection is open for research use.

Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves.

Collection 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.

Collection Citation:

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

See more items in:

Erie City Iron Works Collection

Erie City Iron Works Collection / Series 1: Catalogs/Pricelists

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8ad1780ac-f877-4078-8dca-f0fbdbbfa92a

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1050-ref25

Collection Creator:

Erie City Iron Works.  Search this

Container:

Box 1, Folder 3

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1875-1909

undated

Collection Restrictions:

The collection is open for research use.

Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves.

Collection 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.

Collection Citation:

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

See more items in:

Erie City Iron Works Collection

Erie City Iron Works Collection / Series 1: Catalogs/Pricelists

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep86049f206-6ec7-4b4a-a73c-9ae880c0fe14

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1050-ref26

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.

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

Author:

Nagle Engine and Boiler Works  Search this

Names:

Buffalo Forge Works  Search this

Pennsylvania Boiler Works  Search this

Collector:

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

Former owner:

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

Extent:

11.3 Cubic feet (2 boxes, 40 oversize folders)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Blueprints

Drawings

Correspondence

Place:

Erie (Penn.)

Date:

circa 1890-1939

Summary:

This collection contains documents related to Nagle Engine and Boiler Works, including photographs, drawings, correspondence, and catalogues.

Scope and Contents:

The collection includes drawings, blueprints, correspondence, and published materials related to Nagle Engine and Boiler Works. The collection is divided into four series.

Series 1: Personal Papers, 1912-1915, includes correspondence between T.M. Nagle and various construction companies, notably Kirschner Brothers Contractors and Builders. The correspondence is primarily concerns various additions and improvements to Nagle's private property, and dates 1912-1914. The series also includes building specifications and miscellaneous notes and calculations.

Series 2: Correspondence, 1914, includes business letters exchanged between Nagle Engine and Boiler Works and its suppliers and customers.

Series 3: Catalogues/Price Lists, 1903-1926, is composed primarily of catalogues, including a leather-bound book containing blank graphing paper and several catalogues, which was given to B.P. Morse of Morse Brothers Machinery Company. Also included are price lists, circulars and bulletins, and a book of testimonials from Nagle customers. In addition, this series contains some loose sheets including ads and articles referencing Nagle products and an instruction sheet for a Hassle Oil Engine.

Series 4: Photographs, undated, is divided into folders based on subject. There are photographs featuring standard boilers, vertical and wheeled boilers, steam engines, and miscellaneous parts. One folder contains images of Nagle products printed on cardstock for use in publication.

Series 5: Drawings, 1890-1938, includes oversize blueprints, tables, and diagrams produced by Nagle Engine and Boiler Works and Pennsylvania Boiler Works. Steam engines make up the bulk of the series, although boilers and miscellaneous parts are also represented.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into five series.

Series 1: Personal Papers, 1912-1915

Series 2: Correspondence, 1914

Series 3: Catalogues and Price Lists, 1903-1926

Series 4: Photographs, undated

Series 5: Drawings, circa 1890-1938

Biographical / Historical:

Nagle Engine and Boiler Works was founded by T.M. Nagle in 1879 and incorporated in 1896. The company was based in Erie, Pennsylvania, and was affiliated with Pennsylvania Boiler Works. For over fifty years, Nagle Engine and Boiler Works manufactured steam engines and boilers, including the Corliss engine model. It ceased production in 1940.

Related Materials:

Smithsonian Libraries Trade Literature Collection Trade Catalogues from Nagle Engine and Boiler Works MC*316892, Nagle Steam Engine, Vertical Slide-valve MC*329758, Gardner Throttling Steam Engine Governor

Provenance:

Immediate source of acquisition unknown.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

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

Steam-engines  Search this

Manufacturing  Search this

Genre/Form:

Blueprints

Drawings

Correspondence -- 20th century

Citation:

Nagle Engine and Boiler Works Records, circa 1890-1939, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1083

See more items in:

Nagle Engine and Boiler Works Records

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8d85e35ba-2f3c-4198-9197-0128811f8ba4

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1083

Collection Author:

Nagle Engine and Boiler Works  Search this

Container:

Box 2, Folder 1

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

undated

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Collection 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.

Collection Citation:

Nagle Engine and Boiler Works Records, circa 1890-1939, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

See more items in:

Nagle Engine and Boiler Works Records

Nagle Engine and Boiler Works Records / Series 4: Photographs

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8f0326e97-ad04-42c8-8d59-ff57b875fa64

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1083-ref24

Creator:

Walinska, Anna  Search this

Names:

Guild Art Gallery  Search this

Avery, Milton, 1885-1965  Search this

Beata, Welsing  Search this

Hacohen, Bracha  Search this

Littlefield, William Horace, 1902-1969  Search this

Nevelson, Louise, 1899-1988  Search this

Walinsky, Louis Joseph, 1908-2001  Search this

Extent:

2.1 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Drawings

Interviews

Photographs

Scrapbooks

Sketchbooks

Sketches

Transcripts

Travel diaries

Place:

Europe -- description and travel

Israel -- Description and Travel

Date:

1927-2002

bulk 1935-1980

Summary:

The papers of New York-based painter, teacher and art director Anna Walinska measure 2.1 linear feet and date from 1927 to 2002, with the bulk of material from 1935 to 1980. The papers include biographical material, correspondence, writings, travel diaries, printed material, scrapbooks, artwork, sketchbooks, and photographs.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of New York-based painter, teacher and art director Anna Walinska measure 2.1 linear feet and date from 1927 to 2002, with the bulk of material from 1935 to 1980. The papers include biographical material, correspondence, writings, travel diaries, printed material, scrapbooks, artwork, sketchbooks, and photographs.

Biographical material consists of awards, certificates, curriculum vitae, biographical outlines, exhibition lists, passports and other material. There is a partial transcript from a radio interview of Anna Walinska. Also included are limited financial records.

Correspondence includes Anna Walinska's letters to her family from her 1954-1955 trip abroad to multiple countries in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. There is personal and professional correspondence with friends, artists and art institutions. Notable correspondents include Milton Avery, Louise Nevelson, Beata Welsing, Bracha Hacohen, William Littlefield, and Walinska's brother Louis Walinsky.

Writings consist of Walinska's notes, notebooks, lectures, essays, and a handwritten prospectus for Guild Art Gallery. There is one folder of writings by others about Walinska at the end of the series. There are four travel diaries that describe Walinska's trip around the world from 1954-1955, during which she traveled to many countries, and later trips to locations such as Israel and Trinidad.

Printed Material include clippings about Anna Walinska, group and solo exhibition catalogs, announcements, event invitations, and course catalogs for the Master Institute of United Art in New York City, where Walinska taught painting and drawing classes.

There are three scrapbooks: one scrapbook is about Guild Art Gallery, the second scrapbook is about the Holocaust exhibition, the third oversized scrapbook documents Walinska's career and activities overall.

Artwork consists of two bound sketchbooks as well as drawings and sketches in a variety of mediums from pencil and ink to watercolors and oils.

Photographs are of Walinska, friends, family, artists, artwork, exhibition installations, and other subjects. One album includes photos of Anna Walinska and her travels, along with images of friends and colleagues. The second album includes photographs of Walinska's solo exhibition at Sunken Meadow Gallery (1959). There is also one folder of photocopies of photos of assorted artwork by Walinska.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 8 series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1927-2002 (Box 1; 11 folders)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1949-1995 (Box 1; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 3: Writings, circa 1935-circa 1983 (Box 1; 8 folders)

Series 4: Travel Diaries, 1954-1973 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 5: Printed Material, 1942-2002 (Boxes 1-2; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 6: Scrapbooks, circa 1929-1980 (Boxes 2, 4; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 7: Artwork, circa 1929-1963 (Box 3; 5 folders)

Series 8: Photographs, circa 1932-1980 (Box 3; 0.3 linear feet)

Biographical / Historical:

Anna Walinska (1906-1997) was a New York artist, teacher and gallery director who traveled widely and is most well known for her paintings related to the subject of the Holocaust.

Anna Walinska was born in London, England in 1906 to labor organization leader Ossip Walinsky and poet Rosa Newman Walinska. She had two siblings, Emily and Louis. The family immigrated to New York City in 1914, and Anna Walinska began studying at the Art Students League in 1918. In 1926, she travelled to Paris and studied art at the Academie de Grande Chaumier with Andre L'Hote. France was her primary residence until 1930.

In 1935, Walinska and artist Margaret Lefranc co-founded the Guild Art Gallery at West 57th Street in New York and gave Arshile Gorky his first solo exhibition in the city. The gallery closed its doors in 1937. In 1939, Walinska was the Assistant Creative Director of the Contemporary Art Pavilion at the New York World's Fair. During this time, Walinska also pursued her own art and exhibited work in numerous group shows.

From 1954 to 1955, Walinska traveled around the world, visiting the capitals and major cities of many countries in Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Places she went included Japan, Burma (now known as Myanmar), Pakistan, Greece, Italy, France and Spain. During her four month stay in Burma, she painted a portrait of Prime Minister U Nu and she later became a highly respected portrait artist who painted numerous illustrious subjects such as First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, artists Louise Nevelson and Mark Rothko, and many others.

In 1957, Walinska became the artist-in-residence at the Riverside Museum where she also taught and exhibited with other artists. That same year, she had her first retrospective at the Jewish Museum in New York City.

Walinska exhibited widely and often. Holocaust: Paintings and Drawings, 1953-1978, which opened at the Museum of Religious Art at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, is probably the most well-known of her exhibitions and it traveled across the country to several other sites such as the War Memorial Building in Baltimore and Mercy College of Detroit. Works from this exhibition were acquired by multiple museums to become part of their permanent collections.

Walinkska died on December 19, 1997 at the age of 91 in New York City. In 1999, there was a retrospective of her work titled Echoes of the Holocaust: Paintings, Drawings, and Collage, 1940-1989 held at Clark University's Center for Holocaust Studies. The Onisaburo Gallery at New York's Interfaith Center also held a solo exhibition titled Portraits of Faith (2000). Her art is part of the collections at the Denver Art Museum, National Portrait Gallery, National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Rose Art Museum, and other museums.

Related Materials:

The Archives of American Art also has the Guild Art Gallery records, which consists of material related to the gallery that was co-founded by Anna Walinska.

Provenance:

The papers were donated by Anna Walinska in two installations in 1976 and 1981. Rosina Rubin, Anna Walinska's niece, made a third donation of material in 2017.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., research center.

Occupation:

Gallery directors -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Educators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Topic:

Drawing--Study and teaching  Search this

Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945), in art  Search this

Painting -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Asia--Description and travel  Search this

Middle East--Description and travel  Search this

Trinidad and Tobago--Description and travel  Search this

Women painters  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Women educators  Search this

Genre/Form:

Drawings

Interviews

Photographs

Scrapbooks

Sketchbooks

Sketches

Transcripts

Travel diaries

Citation:

Anna Walinska papers, 1927-2002, bulk 1935-1980. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by Rosina Rubin.

Identifier:

AAA.walianna

See more items in:

Anna Walinska papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9995d1f6a-668f-4e1e-8abe-bb24edfb016b

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-walianna

Creator:

Sargent, Aaron Augustus, 1827-1887  Search this

Names:

Sargent, Aaron Augustus, 1827-1887  Search this

Extent:

0.05 Cubic feet (1 folder)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Drawings

Date:

1883

Summary:

This collection consists of drawings relating to Aaron A. Sargent's designs for an Aerial Ship in 1883

Scope and Contents:

This collection consists of approximately eighteen sheets of drawings, descriptions and calculations relating to Aaron A. Sargent's designs for an Aerial Ship. These early dirigible designs are dated June 2, 1883 and are believed to have been drawn during Sargent's tenure as Minister to Germany.

Arrangement:

No arrangement; just one folder of material.

Biographical/Historical note:

Aaron Augustus Sargent (1827-1887) was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts. After working in the printer's trade in Philadelphia, PA, he moved to Washington, DC and became Secretary to a Member of Congress. He later owned a paper in Nevada City, CA and studied law there, subsequently serving as District Attorney and as Representative to the Thirty-seventh Congress. He served as a United States Senator from 1873-1879. In January 1878 he introduced to the Senate a bill that was to be adopted in 1920 as the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, granting suffrage to women. Sargent returned to California in 1880. He was appointed Minister to Germany (1882-1884) and thereafter practiced law in San Francisco, CA.

Provenance:

David I. and Janice Sargent Lamphier, Gift, 2000, NASM.2000.0032

Restrictions:

No restrictions on access

Rights:

Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.

Topic:

Aeronautics -- pre-1903  Search this

Airships  Search this

Aeronautics  Search this

Genre/Form:

Drawings

Citation:

Aaron A. Sargent 1883 Designs for Aerial Ship, NASM.2000.0032, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NASM.2000.0032

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg2348dd92a-acb8-45ba-942f-eaa4c0d68e3d

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nasm-2000-0032

Creator:

Hutton, William R., 1826-1901  Search this

Extent:

30 Cubic feet (33 boxes, 21 oversize folders)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Letterpress copybooks

Blueprints

Diaries

Drawings

Cashbooks

Business records

Business letters

Notebooks

Topographic maps

Tax records

Technical drawings

Stock certificates

Technical literature

Photoengravings

Notes

Maps

Microfilms

Linen tracings

Letter books

Letters

Land titles

Legal documents

Sketches

Salted paper prints

Reports

Receipts

Plans (drawings)

Photostats

Photographic prints

Architectural drawings

Administrative records

Albumen prints

Albums

Annual reports

Booklets

Account books

Books

Family papers

Financial records

Cyanotypes

Correspondence

Deeds

Printed material

Contracts

Photograph albums

Specifications

Christmas cards

Menus

Place:

France

Maryland

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

Panama Canal (Panama)

New Jersey

New York (N.Y.)

Hudson River

Baltimore (Md.)

Georgetown (Washington, D.C.)

New York

Washington Bridge

New Croton Aqueduct

Kanawha River Canal

Washington Aqueduct

Potomac River -- 19th century

Washington Memorial Bridge

Hudson River Tunnel

Date:

1830-1965

Summary:

The papers document the life and work of William R. Hutton, a civil engineer during the late 1800s to the early 1900s. Materials include diaries, notebooks, correspondence, letterpress copy book, printed materials, publications, specifications, photographs, drawings, and maps that document the construction of several architectural and engineering projects during this period. Most notable are the records containing information related to the construction of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, Hudson River Tunnel, the Washington Aqueduct, the Kanawha River Canal, and the Washington/Harlem River Bridge. There are also several records about railroads in the state of Maryland, the District of Columbia and elsewhere, including the Western Maryland Railroad, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, Colorado Midlands Railway, Baltimore and Drum Point Railroad, the Northern Adirondack Railroad, and the Pittsfield and Williamstown Railroad. The records can be used to track the progression of these projects, and engineering innovation during the late 1800s to the early 1900s.

Scope and Contents:

These papers document William R. Hutton's professional career as a civil engineer and his personal affairs. Although the personal materials in the collection provide insight into a man and a family that have been largely forgotten by biographers, it is the professional materials that are perhaps the most interesting to researchers. They provide a compelling narrative of the push to the West that occurred in 19th century America and the internal improvements movement typified by the American System plan proposed by Henry Clay. Perhaps best remembered for the high tariffs that accompanied it, the American System plan was also concerned with the advancement of internal improvements, such as canals, that would unite the East and West in communication, travel, and trade. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal can be seen as one of the products of this movement (1) and was in fact initially heralded as the first great work of national improvement (2).

The papers in this collection that are related to the construction and maintenance of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal are an invaluable documentation of efforts during this turbulent time to unite the eastern and western United States. They provide details of the canal from its initial construction to its decline with the incline at Georgetown project. The canal also serves as an example, or perhaps a warning against, federal involvement in state improvement efforts as it was the first project to be directly funded and staffed by the federal government (3). The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by then President John Quincy Adams whose toast, "to the canal: perseverance," (4) became an ironic omen, as construction of the canal took over twenty-two years to be completed. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal materials can be used as a case study for the problems encountered during canal building (5). These problems are best typified in the collection by the papers relating to the Georgetown incline. This project was headed by Hutton and was plagued with construction problems, boating accidents, and obsolescence from the moment of its completion. Despite these issues, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal remains a structure of historical significance in America. As the third and last effort to construct an all-water route to the West (6), the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal is an important artifact of 19th century attitudes and efforts towards commerce, trade, travel, and communication between the eastern and western United States. Other significant canals and water structures represented in the collection are the Kanawha Canal, the Washington Aqueduct, and a large collection of materials relating to the Kingston Water Supply (New York).

One of the most significant internal improvements made during this time was the railroad. The legal conflicts that arose between the canal companies and railroads is also represented in the materials relating to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. These materials specifically deal with the legal conflict's between the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The development and construction of the railroads is also represented in the materials documenting the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, the Baltimore and Drum Point Railroad, the Northern Adirondack Railroad, the Western Maryland Railroad, the Mexican National Railroad, the Colorado Midlands Railroad, and the Columbia Railroad.

The collection also demonstrates the spirit of innovation and invention that was prevalent in the engineering field in the nineteenth century. Joseph Gies writes, "...one of the distinctive characteristics of the great nineteenth century engineering adventurers was their readiness to gamble on the translation of theory into practice" (7). In this quote, he is speaking of the civil engineer Dewitt Clinton Haskins and a project that truly encapsulates engineering invention in the nineteenth century, the Hudson River Tunnel. Responding to the increase in the population of the City of New York in the late nineteenth century from sixty thousand to three and a half million, the Hudson River Tunnel was originally devised as a way to alleviate traffic and to transport train passengers directly across the Hudson River (8). Beginning with records dating from 1881 to 1901, the Hutton papers can be used to document not only the advances in engineering during this time but also the costs of progress. Haskins' initial efforts to build the tunnel using submerged air pressurized caissons were marked by failure and in some cases fatalities. Workers on the tunnel often suffered from what came to be known as "caisson disease" or "the bends," caused by the immense forces of compression and decompression experienced while working in the tunnels (9). This problem was so prevalent that as construction progressed the rate of worker deaths caused by "the bends" rose to twenty-five percent (10). Materials in the collection document worker complaints and deaths resulting from this disease as well as providing a technical record of the construction of the tunnel. The highlight of the materials relating to the Hudson River Tunnel is an album that contains photographs of workers in the tunnel and a detailed daily report of the construction progress on the tunnel that was maintained by Hutton's assistant, Walton Aims. The first hand account in these reports provides insight not only into the construction of the tunnel, but also the problems encountered.

Another project featured in the Hutton collection that was devised in response to the population explosion in the City of New York in the nineteenth century is the Harlem River Bridge, or as it is now known, the Washington Bridge. Known as one of the longest steel arch bridges of its time, the Harlem River Bridge also represents that spirit of invention and innovation that was prevalent in the civil engineering field during the nineteenth century. The collection provides an invaluable resource for those wishing to track the construction of the bridge from early concept drawings and proposals to finalized plans. Also present are photographs of the construction and workers. Societal response to the bridge in the form of newspaper and magazine clippings help to create the narrative of the Washington Bridge, and these are supplemented by correspondence from the builders, suppliers, and planners.

This collection also includes diaries, 1866-1901; letterpress copybooks, 1858-1901; correspondence on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, Hudson River Tunnel, Washington Bridge over the Harlem River, and Maryland and Colorado railroads, 1861-1901, and on Hutton's financial and real estate affairs, 1835-1921; construction photographs of the Harlem River, Cairo, Poughkeepsie, Niagara bridges and the Hudson River Tunnel, Washington Aqueduct, and Capitol Dome (in the form of albumen, cyanotype, salted paper print); data and drawings; rolled land profile drawings; canal notes, 1828-1892; Hudson River Tunnel construction reports, 1889-1891; publications, drawings, and maps of railroad routes; pamphlets and reprints on hydraulic works and water supply; road, railway, bridge, and hydraulic construction specifications, 1870-1900; drawings (linen, oil cloth, and heavy drawing paper), and blueprints; account books, 1891-1899; and plans, drawings, field notebooks, and publications on American and European construction projects, especially in Maryland, New York, and France; personal correspondence detailing his role as executor for the estates of Benjamin H. Hutton, Joseph Hutton, Annie Theller, and the Countess H. De Moltke-Hvitfeldt and his relationships with his children, siblings, cousins, and colleagues, 1850-1942.

Materials are handwritten, typed, and printed.

Special note should be made that any materials dated after the year 1901 were added to the collection by another creator who is unidentified. It can be speculated that professional materials added after this date were contributed by his brother and colleague Nathanial Hutton or his son Frank Hutton. Personal materials contributed after this date may have been added by his wife, daughters, or other members of his extended family.

Series 1, Letterpress Copybooks, 1858-1901, consists of twenty seven letterpress copybooks containing correspondence between Hutton and other engineers, architects, and building suppliers. The letterpress copybooks in this series have been arranged chronologically. The books involve a process by which ink is transferred through direct contact with the original using moisture and pressure in a copy press. The majority of the correspondence is business- related. Some letterpress copybooks are devoted to specific projects such as the Washington/Harlem River Bridge, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, Baltimore and Drum Point Railroad, Annapolis and Elk Ridge Railroad, and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The letterpress copybooks provide a record of correspondence written by Hutton, which makes it distinctive from the other correspondence in the collection. Most of the other correspondence has Hutton as recipient.

The letterpress copybooks also document Hutton's various residences throughout his life and provide a glimpse into the civil engineering profession at the time by demonstrating how engineers shared ideas and comments about projects. This can be supplemented with the printed materials in the collection as many of the authors also appear in the correspondence. Other topics covered in the letterpress copybooks include business reports (specifically the report of the president and directors of the Baltimore and Drum Point Railroad), records of people and companies involved in projects, pasted in engineering sketches, engineering specifications and notes, travel expenses and estimates, construction histories and progress, legal issues with family estates, tax information, Colorado Railroad, payment certificate schedules, St. Paul Railroad, personal correspondence, title guarantees, Hudson River Tunnel, financial matters, real estate matters, insurance information, sketches and drawings, supply lists, cost estimates, the Memorial Bridge, Coffin Valve Company, engineering expenses, engineering calculations, payroll notes for Kingston Water Supply, proposals, account information, Hutton Park, reservoirs, contract drafts, French Society of Civil Engineers, inspection results (specifically Piedmont Bridge), land descriptions, damage reports, Morse Bridge, Illinois Central Railroad, North Sea Canal, moveable dams, iron works, site histories, Potomac Lock and Dock Company, Kanawha River canal (lock quantities, specifications, payroll information), Pennsylvania Canal, and bills for services.

Series 2, Professional Correspondence, 1861-1901, consists of correspondence that relates to Hutton's architectural and engineering projects. This series is further subdivided into two subseries: Project Correspondence and General Correspondence. Subseries 1, Project Correspondence, 1876-1899, correspondence is divided by project and arranged alphabetically. Subseries 2, General Correspondence, 1861-1901, is arranged chronologically. Both series contain handwritten and typed letters. Some letters are on letterpress copybook pages and are most likely copies. Some materials are in French and Spanish. Special note should be made that this series does not contain all of the professional correspondence in the collection. Some correspondence has been separated according to project and placed in Series 8, Professional Projects, 1830-1965, in order to make it easier for researchers to access materials related to those subjects.

Subseries 1, professional correspondence topics include comparisons between construction projects (specifically comparisons of the Kanawha River Canal to other canals), supply lists, location recommendations, sketches, construction plans and modifications, bills for supplies and works, leaks in the gates, cost estimates, Brooklyn Water Supply, use of lake storage (Ramapo Water Supply), water supply to states and counties, damages to water supply pipes, estimates of water quantities, responses to construction reports, legal issues related to projects, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and payment for services.

Subseries 2, general correspondence topics include employment opportunities, committee meetings and elections, land surveys, sketches, engineering plans and ideas, work on projects, dismissal from projects, notes on supplies, Washington Aqueduct, construction progress, land purchases, Civil War, Jones Falls, cost of water pumps, steam drills, lots divisions and prices, repairs, report of the engineering bureau, tidewater connection at Annapolis, bridge construction, construction costs, statement of vessels that entered and cleared Baltimore, technical questions from colleagues, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, supply costs, letters of introduction, requests for reference, changes to plans and designs, survey reports, St. Andrew's lot, Canal Coal Company, publication process, American Society of Civil Engineers and its members, responses to project inquiries, Graving Dock gross revenue, job offers, specifications, trade figures, contracts, water levels, appointment dates and times, moveable dams, proposals for membership, salaries, Piedmont Coal Lands, maps, land profiles, Washington Bridge, board payments, Nicaragua Canal, Grant Coal Company, statistics, engineering notes, Hartford Bridge, water pressures, coal deposits, Colorado Coal, pipe lines, reservoirs, boat costs for canals, floods, bridges, letters of resignation, engines, Ruxton Viaduct, Colorado and Midland Railroad, Morse Bridge, share values, railroad locations, membership invitations, call for submissions, structural tests, record of accounts for room and board, appointments, water rights (Putnam County), publications, blueprints, visitation programs, cotton compresses, street trenches, pressures in dams, level tests, Portland Transportation bureau, trade information, concrete steel, Chicago drainage canal, ship canals, Augusta Cotton and Compress Company, Sooysmith case, Consolidated Gas Company, masonry, book binding, Columbia Railway Company, jetties, land grades, Chesapeake and Delaware canal, water wheels, pneumatic lock, tunnel arches, rifton power, Hutton's health, elevators, Brooklyn Bridge Terminals, girder weights, legal issues and their results, rating table for the Potomac, land profiles, transmission lines, transformers, water turbines, and water power on the Potomac River.

Correspondents for this series include the following: Captain Montgomery C. Meigs, Captain T.W. Symons, William Bryan, Ernest Flagg, John Hurd, Jake Wolfe, J.C. Saunders, J.H. Dolph, Charles J. Allen, G.H. Mendell, Virgil S. Bogue, B.A. Mounnerlyn, Edward Burr, H.G. Prout, R. William, H. Dodge, C.R. Suter, M. Mink, W.R. King, John Lyons, Alex Brown and Sons, John G. Butler, D. Condon, Bernard Carter, R.P. McCormick, D.R. Magruder, Andrew Banks, Isaac Solomon, C.J. Mayer, C.W. Kern, John Herring, James S. Mackie, D.R. Magunde, D. Rittaguide, R.S. Stevens, J.L. Raudolph (Baltimore and Ohio Railroad), J.M. Lane, W.D. Stuart, W.G.P. Palmer (Committee Church of the Ascension), C. Crozet, General W. Hughes, V.R. Maus, J.M. Hood (Western Maryland Railroad Company), Ernest Pontzen, M. Haus, William F. Craighill, Harry Hutton, John W. Pearce, Reverend James A. Harrald, William Watson, A.L. Rives, Thomas Monro, A.F. Croswan (Commander United States Navy), H.R. Garden, William McAlpine, James Forrest, Wm. Bloomsfield, Daniel Ammen, Linel Wells, A. and Otto Sibeth, Alfred Noble, Clemens Hershel, Sidney Warner, E.H. de Rheville, Theodore Cooper, William Findlay Shunk, Lewis S. Wolfe, Rufus Mead, Theodore F. Taylor, John Bogart, J. Whaler, B. Williamson, Colonel F.V. Greene, Robert H. Sayre (Lehigh Valley Railroad Company), Charles W. Pussey, Louis Q. Rissel, V.C. Bogue, H.C. Eckenberger, Melville E.G. Leston, Edwin Parson, Rudolph Hering, R.S. Hale, F.M. Turner, Thosl Martindale, Justus C. Strawbridge, William M. Ayresm, R.L. Austin, A.M. Miller, P. Livingston Dunn, T.J. Cleaver, C.S. Dutton, H.A. Carson, William Bainbridge Jaudon, H.A. Presset, Thomas H. McCann, Russel Sturgis, H.G. Prout, Alexis H. French, John K. Cowen, F.W. Williams, J. Waldorf, B.H. Byrant, B.H. Jones, M.H. Rogers, J.W. Ogden, General W. Cashing, William Longhudge, A.J. Cameron, T.L. Patterson, J.J. Hagerman, H. Wigglesworth, Charles B. Rowland, E. Bantz, W.G. Lathrop, Clarence King, George Rowland, George A. Tibbals (Continental Iron Works), George N. Vanderbilt, Eugene C. Lewis, F.P. Burt, Colonel John C. Clarke, Lieutenant Thomas Turtle, W.S.M. Scott, E. Bates Dorsey, Bernard Carter, George M. Shriver (Baltimore and Ohio Railroad), Russel Sturgis, Macmillan Publishing, James Abernethy, B. Baker, J.G.W. Fynje, A. Mallet, Jean Hersuy, L.F. Vernon Horcourt, Robert Lilley, A.J. Johnson, F.M. Colby, Henry D. Loney, A.S. Cameron, James A. Harrald, William Watson, John B. Lervis, A.L. Rives, Edwin F. Bidell, Frank H. Stockett, E. McMahon, C.F. Elgin, Enrique Budge, G. Clayton Gardiner, Dwight Porter, William A. Chapman, T.E. Sickels, Theodore Cooper, C.J. Warner, Institution of Civil Engineers, Robert Gordon, United States Coast of Geodetic Survey Office, C.P. Pattun, J.N. Putnam, Sidney B. Warner, H.D. Fisher, Union Pacific Railway Company, Lewis S. Wolle, George E. Waring Junior, The American Exhibition, G.F. Swain, American Society of Civil Engineers, N.H. Whitten, U.S. Engineer Office, Government Works Committee, J.J. Hagerman, D. Jackson, Sterling Iron and Railway Company, E.P. Alexander, E. Williamson, Central Railway Company of New Jersey, William A. Underwood, F. Collingwood, James Dun (Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad Company), Henry F. Kilburn, Louis A. Bissell, Virgil G. Boque, H.C. Eckenberger, Melville Egleston, Charles Parson, George Swain, Continental Iron Works, Rudolph Hering, J.B. Gordon, Mayor's Office (Baltimore), Harry Robinson, Pennsylvania Railway Company, W.H. Gahagan, L. Luiggi, B.H. Bryant, T.J. Cleaver (Chesapeake and Delaware Canal Company), H.A. Carson, H.A. Presset (Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey), John K. Cowen, Vernon H. Brown, J. Waldorf, B.H. Bryant, L.F. Root, P.W. White, Metropolitan Railroad Company, Charles F. Mayer (Consolidated Coal Company, Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad Company), J.M. Lane (Western Maryland Railroad), Dr. R.S. Stewart (Annapolis and Elk Ridge Railroad), Baltimore and Drum Point Railroad (John Lyons, John G. Butler, D. Candon, R.P. McCormick, Andrew Banks), Thomas F. Rowland, J.A. Bensel, Walton Aims, S.D. Coykendall, H.C. Rogers, John F. Ward, T.B. Jewell, H.A. Pressey, C.S. Armstrong, J. Nennett, V.G. Bague.

Series 3, Personal Correspondence, 1850-1942, contains correspondence with immediate and extended family, specifically the heirs to the Benjamin H. Hutton and Joseph Hutton estates and Adele Gorman. Correspondence is primarily arranged chronologically, but some files have been divided based on subject or author (the Deer Park and Adele Gorman files), or by form (the Telegrams, and Cablegrams file). Special note is made of the posthumous correspondence file, which includes correspondence both relating to Hutton's death and correspondence that was written by family members after the years of his death. The series contains both hand written and typed letters. Some correspondence is in French. The correspondence demonstrates his relationship with his children specifically Elizabeth (Bessie) Hutton, and illuminates his role in his family. This series also provides details about nineteenth century upper class society and activities. Special note should be made that this folder does not contain all of the personal correspondence contained in the collection. Some correspondence has been separated according to recipient, or subject in order to make researching these recipients or subjects easier.

Series 3 correspondence topics include: estate payments, distribution of assets, funds transfers, estate lines, conflicts with tenants, sketches, lot maintenance, real estate sales, deeds, real estate sales negotiations, congratulations wishes on new babies, family illnesses, family affairs and travels, traveling directions, personal investments, invitations for social occasions, family debts, professional interests, professional and personal appointments, family issues, requests for money, sketches, advice to children (specifically Frank Hutton), life insurance, books, letters of introduction, legal issues, funeral expenses, charity donations, advertisements, minutes from professional organizations, army enlistment, deaths of friends and family, recipes, estimates of personal expenses, renovations, stock certificates (Great Northern Railway Company, New York), food, social activities, the weather, marriages, real estate and construction plans, and loan agreements.

Correspondents include the following: Frank Hutton, Thomas B. Brookes, J.L. Marcauley, C.M. Matthews, Edward J. Hancy, John M. Wilson, H.A. Carson, William H. Wiley (of John Wiley and Sons Scientific Publishers, New York), Georgina Hutton, Pierre and Jane Casson, George McNaughlin, Henrietta Hutton, Aaron Pennington Whitehead, J.B. Wheeler, B. Williamson, Robert De Forest, Elizabeth (Bessie) Hutton, Grace Beukard, J.C. Saunders, Mary Hutton, William J. Pennington, C.S. Hurd, Henry C. Cooper, Henry J. Segers, S.F. Miller, Annie Theller, Alfred Noble, Maria Burton, Joseph Hobson, E. Lennon, F. Hulberg, Charles Gordon Hutton, Edward C. Ebert, A. William Lewin, E.R. Dunn, William P. Craighill, Theodore Cooper, P.I. Chapelle, Anita McAlpine, Clarence King, Victoria Raymond, and Adele Gorman.

Series 4, Personal Materials, 1835-1946, contains documentation about Hutton's personal finances, role as executor of the Benjamin H. Hutton, Joseph Hutton, Annie Theller, and Countess H. De Moltke-Hvitfeldt estates, Mary Augusta Hutton (wife), Mary Hutton (daughter), Frank Hutton, John Caulfield (son-in-law), and B.F. and C.H. Hutton. The series has been divided into four subseries: Financial Records, 1876-1901, Estate and Real Estate Records, 1835-1921, Other Huttons, 1876-1936, and Personal Material, 1878-1946. Subseries 2, Estate and Real Estate Records, 1835-1921, contains correspondence relating to specific family estates and family members. This correspondence was separated from Series 3, Personal Correspondence, 1850-1942, to make it easier for researchers to access all records relating to the family estates. This series includes hand written, typed, and printed materials. Some materials are in French. All material dated after 1901 has been added to the collection by other creators such as Hutton's wife and children.

Subseries 1, Financial Records, 1876-1901, includes account books, account records, correspondence related to bank accounts, bank statements, financial notes, bills and proofs of payment, rent receipts, tax bills (New York, Flatbush, Montgomery County), checks, money exchanges, receipts for tax payments, real estate receipts, stock and bond certificates, loan agreements, executor accounts, rebate calculation sheet, and tax and insurance payments.

Subseries 2, Estate and Real Estate Records, 1835-1921, includes property maps and information (rent, mortgage costs, deeds), correspondence, notes on estate distribution, estate assets, value of estate and estate payments, account records, loan agreements, receipts, proof of payments, checks, financial records, legal documents, insurance documents, tax bills, auction receipts, and wills relating to the estates of Benjamin H. Hutton, Joseph Hutton, Countess H. de Moltke-Hivtfeldt, Annie Theller, and William R. Hutton. Also included are correspondence, property maps and information, and deeds and mortgages on Hutton properties.

Subseries 2, the estate and real estate records correspondence topics include: Virginia state building codes, construction costs, construction notices, purchasing offers for property, real estate prices, receipts of payments, property lines, real estate purchases and sales, real estate sales negotiations, deeds insurance estimates and costs, loan costs, property estimates, renovation costs, mortgages, property damages and repairs, property tax payments, insurance rates and payments, rent payments, telephone installation, building permits, rental agreements, reports on property condition, contracts of sale, conflicts with tenants, changes of address, deeds, distribution of estate monies, details about the Countess' illness, estate arrangements, changes of address, problems arising out of estate distribution, payment of debts, will details, selling of mortgage shares, accounts, estate settlement, money cables and transfers, dealings with lawyers, rent on Hutton Park property, legal and accounting fees, power of attorney transfer, investments, property security, land appraisals, lists of assets, legacy taxes, mortgages transfers, property management, Flatbush property, property rent and values, and physicians bills.

Correspondents include the following: A.C. Weeks, Walter I. Green, John D. Probsh, A.G. Darwin, Thomas H. McCann, Allan Farguhar, Thomas Dawson, Potter and Crandall Real Estate and Insurance Brokers, George C. Tilyou, H.D. Olephant, F. Winston, Richard E. Calbraith, Frank P. Martin, Henry DeForest, Henry C. Cooper, Metropolitan Telephone and Telegraph Company, John Ecker, C.K. Avevill, Georgina Hutton, Edward J. Hancy, Robert Graham, W.M. Bennett, Willis E. Merriman, Nathan L. Miller, Harry Hutton, Marquise de Portes (Adele Gorman), Annie Theller, Samuel L. Theller, Mrs. R. Locke, Frank Z. Adams, John Palmer (Secretary of State, New York), J.T. Cammeyer, Frank P. Martin, Florence Theller, Francis H. Seger, Henry C. Cooper, D.W.G. Cammeyer, Campbell W. Adams, Jane Casson, Elizabeth Hutton, Rene de Portes, H.G. Atkins, Grace Beukard, Aaron Pennington Muikhead, J.E. Delapalme, T.H. Powers, Egerton L. Winthrop Junior, George B. Glover, William Jay and Robert W. Candler, B. Williamson, J.E. Knaff, Cornelius C. Vermeule, S.V. Hayden, Charles G. Landon[?], H.A. Hurlbert, F.A. Black, John L. Calwalder, the Health Department of New York, A.G. Darwin, William Laue, Frederick Frelinghuysen, Charles S. Brown, Henrietta Hutton, Edward Gelon.

Subseries 3, Other Huttons, 1874-1936, includes professional drawings and proposals, checks, insurance information, correspondence, tax information, medical information, tax bills, relating to Mary Augusta Hutton (wife), Mary Hutton (daughter), Henry and Harry Hutton, Frank Hutton (son), John Caulfield (son-in-law), B.F. Hutton, and C.H. Hutton.

Subseries 4, Personal Materials, 1878-1946, contains handwritten property notes, school notes, sermons, travel documents, menus, Christmas cards, jewelry box, postal guide, typed religious materials and flyers.

Series 5, Diaries, 1866-1901, contains twenty nine diary books that document both Hutton's personal and professional life. These diaries provide not only a record of Hutton's life, but were also used by Hutton himself as a reference tool. When working on projects he would refer to notes and observations he made in his diary (as evidenced by notes made in his diaries). The first pages of the diaries often list his height, weight and clothing sizes as they varied from year to year. A researcher could probably use the cashbooks (see Series 7) and the diaries in conjunction as both detail the purchases made by Hutton. Many of the diaries also include a short record of accounts in the back. The diaries are arranged chronologically.

Topics found in the diaries include short form accounts of daily activities and appointments, records of the weather, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal project, construction progress on projects, steam pumps, sketches and calculations, extension of Washington railroads, cost of food, work supplies, travel costs, costs of goods and food, work deadlines, home renovations, visits to family, cash accounts, accounts of household duties, produce on Woodlands property, records of deaths, debts owed, account of clearing Woodlands property, church visits, Hancock and Tonoloway Aqueduct, canals, Drum Point Railroad, Montgomery C. Meigs, Washington Aqueduct, Annapolis Water Works, telegram costs, wages for Chesapeake and Ohio Canal project, William Craighill, Morris Canal, Annapolis Railroad and Canal, professional duties (inspections), Kanawha River Canal, travel schedules, professional expenses, cash received from Chesapeake and Ohio Canal project, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, John's Dam, cathedral construction (St. Patricks?), Piedmont Bridge, Cumberland, account of farm property belonging to Major Campbell Bruns, Cunard Pier, Marquise de Portes, rent costs, Baltimore Canal, Kingston Water Supply, Croton Orange Estate, Pierre Casson, Hudson River Tunnel, Washington/Harlem River Bridge, entertainment costs, Greenwood cemetery, train schedule, notes on illness, real estate sales, Hutton Park, Benjamin H. Hutton estate and heirs, estimates, accounts of correspondence received and sent, Central Railroad, rent on Orange properties, addresses, contracts and building supplies for projects, personal finances, Joseph Hutton property on Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, amounts paid and received, medical appointments, Ramapo Water Company, drawing progress of maps and diagrams, Harbor Board (New York), property repairs, inspection and test reports, reservoirs, lists of birthdays, Boston Tunnel, family financial issues, tax payments, and prayers.

Series 6, Notebooks, 1860-1900, document the engineering and architectural projects worked on by Hutton. The series has been divided into three subseries: Subseries 1, Engineering and Survey Field Notes, 1860-1899; Subseries 2, Notebooks, 1871-1886; and Subseries 3, Notes, 1863-1900. Subseries 1, Engineering and Survey Field Notes, 1860-1899, contains sixteen field notebooks used by Hutton. Subseries 2, Notebooks, 1871-1886, contains seven notebooks. Subseries three, Notes, 1863-1900, contains four documents.

Some notebooks correspond to specific projects such as the Kanawha River Canal (lockgate and Phoenix Waterline), Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, Buffalo Reservoir, Potomac Lock and Dock Company, Northern Adirondack Railroad account, Washington Aqueduct, Little Rock Bridge, Wilson-Adam Dock, Croten Brick Works, Hutton Park, Centennial Iron Works, Cumberland Canal, Williamsport Aqueduct, Catoctin Aqueduct, Alexandria Canal, Miller's Saw Mill, Seneca Dam, Union Tunnel, Cumberland Waterworks, Victoria Bridge, Welland Canal, North Sea Canal, Ramapo Water Company, Annapolis Water Company, Antietam Aqueduct, Interoceanic Canal, San Quentin Canal, Suez Canal, Amsterdam Canal, Harlem Bulkhead, Morris Canal, Blue Lake Canal, and Nicaragua Canal.

These notebooks should be used in conjunction with the other materials in the collection related to professional projects, as they often provide more detailed accounts of the construction and land surveys. Some of the notebooks contain entries from several different sources. The notebooks were probably shared among the engineers working on these projects. The notebooks also contain looseleaf ephemera such as hand written calculations, newspaper clippings, and blueprints. Languages found in this series are English and French.

Notebook topics include construction projects, supply needs, costs for labor, sketches (Woodland Mills, landscapes, dams, railway cars, Noland Tunnel), costs of crops, survey measurements, cost of livestock, aqueducts, inspections, canal bridges, seed prices, dams, measurements, coffer dam, canal maintenance, worker salaries, calculations, towpath sketches and measurements, shipping rates, worker accidents, water and coal used, geometrical sketches (Washington Aqueduct), locks, damage reports, interactions with other engineers (William Reading), coal shipments on the canal, travel expenses, land survey notes, drafts for correspondence, William Craighill, Victoria docks, lists of personal supplies used, construction time estimates, surveying expenses, telegram costs, sand pump, canal from Sherling to Tuxedo Bay, analysis of several artificial lakes and reservoirs, distances of reservoirs to main pipes, calculations for the Austin Wheel, engine construction, bridges, gauging water depth, results and observations of tests and performance, problems with construction, to-do lists, cost of land surrounding towpaths, Fawcett's Lock, Tarman's Lock, comparison of costs in transporting coal by water and by rail, inspection notes, iron work, drainages, leaks, cost of supplies, watergates, harbor ferries, railroad station distances, flood protection, Panama Canal via the Nicaraguan route, cost of jetties, water levels, pressure of steam, boilers, steam and water cycle, water depth, cement, Great Falls, Virginia, waterflow, soundings, time of floats, flow of currents, rain fall measurements, tunnel measurements, cost of trenching San Francisco water supply, record of livestock, cost of food, rates of sawing woods and mills, preliminary railroad line measurements, profile of final line, and railroad line profiles.

Series 7, Cash Books, 1856-1899, contains seven cashbooks which list prices for personal items purchased by Hutton. Topics include groceries, church dues, clothes, hygiene products, cigars, some short journal entries about his work (Williamstown), concerts, dinners, family addresses, cakes, meals, cars, stamps, office supplies (pencils and papers), valentines, glasses, gloves, fabric, medicine, needles, diapers, tobacco, shoes (adult and childrens), travel expenses, telegrams, candles, newspapers, liquor, coal oil, jewelry, allowances given to family members, bank deposits, monies paid and received, taxes, subscriptions, tailoring costs, deposits and payments into estate trusts, and notes about payments to Benjamin H. Hutton heirs. The cashbooks also contain some personal loose leaf ephemera such as prayers, sketches, and engineering notes collected by Hutton.

Series 8, Professional Projects, 1830-1965, contains documents about engineering and architectural projects throughout Hutton's career, including information about the professional organizations and the legal issues in which he was involved. This series has been divided into eight subseries based on project, document form, and document subject. Some materials are in French and Italian.

Series 8, Professional Projects, also includes correspondence related to specific projects, primarily the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, the Hudson River Tunnel, the Washington/Harlem River Bridge, and the Georgetown Incline.

Topics include construction and repair to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, engineering and use of Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, worker contracts, supply and labor purchases, design plans and proposals, construction and repair costs, supply notes and costs of supplies, water pressure and power, shipping materials and routes (specifically the shipping of coal), inspections and their findings, condition of canal dam and locks, water supply, drainage, sketches, board proceedings, business meetings, deeds, cost comparisons to other shipping methods, hiring processes, wages, cost estimates, Hutton's consulting fees, measurements and calculations, funding issues, worker conflicts, negotiations with municipal governments, payment schedules, bills for services, air pressure in Hudson River Tunnel, permission for construction, specifications, mortality rate among workers on the Hudson River Tunnel, construction reports, outlet incline, proposals for construction, letters of introduction, railroad versus water for trade, controversy with Tiersey, construction contracts, construction schedules, construction issues, construction progress, construction damage, basis for estimates, supply requests, internal politics, changes to construction plans, contract and price adjustments, issues with suppliers, construction delays, work permits, bills, worker issues, engineering notes, construction excavations, expenses, construction instructions, Union Bridge Company, lighting installations, construction processes, hiring practices, electrical conductors, water proofing, hydraulics, cement, concrete, payment of contributors, processes of approval for construction, meeting dates of the Harlem River Bridge Commission, and contract restrictions.

Correspondents include the following: W.W.M. Kaig, Henry Dodge, E. Mulvany, John Shay, James Clarke, H.D. Whitcomb, Horace Benton, J. Rellan, J.R. Maus, W.E. Merrill, A.P. Gorman, J.H. Staats, Vernon H. Brown, Charles H. Fisher (New York Central and Hudson River Railway Company), B. Baker, John Fowler, Benjamin and John Dos Passos, Charles B. Colby, Charles B. Brush, S. Pearson, Stanford White, Horace E. Golding, R.H. Smith, Daniel Lord, A. Fteley, Herbert Hinds, J.R. Bartlett, D.M. Hirsch, M.H. Bartholomew, Thomas O. Driscoll, W.E. Porter, Thomas F. Rowland, George Edward Harding, R.H. Dames, William Watson, James B. Eads, J.D. Bright, H. Aston, Charles Suley, A.M. Maynard, W.R. Henton, G. Geddes, H.P. Gilbut, Malcolm W. Niver (Secretary of the Harlem River Bridge Commission), J.D. Patterson, George Devin (Assistant Engineer Washington/ Harlem River Bridge), J.B. Wheeler, John Bogart, Charles Burns, J. McClellon, Rob Bassee, B. Williamson, Theodore Cooper, Lewis Cass Ledyard, R.M. Hunt, John Cooper, Henry Wilson, A.A. Caille, Myles Tierney, W. Pentzen, L.B. Cantfield, George Q. Grumstaid Junior, M.J. Funton, George Pierce, W.O. Fayerweather, Noah S. Belthen, Herbert Steward, W.M. Habirsham. Subseries 1, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, 1828-1965, consists of plans, blueprints, land profiles, drawings, boat rates, contract forms, order forms, descriptions of the canal, design information, engineering data, sketches, cost estimates, land titles, microfilm, business papers, supply bills, patent bills, news clippings, reports, specifications, stockholder's reports, receipts, water leases, printed materials, and correspondence.

The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal project was started in 1828 and completed twenty two years later in 1850. The canal's main objective was to connect Georgetown to the coal banks above Cumberland, Maryland, providing a short and cheap trade route between the eastern and western United States. It was also hoped that the canal would provide greater communication and travel between these two regions. Plagued by natural disasters, and construction setbacks, the canal was never completed in time to be useful and became obsolete shortly after its completion. Canal trade was eventually put out of business by the increase of railroads. Although it was an important development in engineering at its inception, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal is no longer in use and has become what locals affectionately refer to as "the old ditch." The canal was designated a National Historical Park in 1971 and consists of 184.5 miles of hiking and biking trails.

Subseries 2, Hudson River Tunnel, 1887-1901, consists of agreements for construction, certificates, contracts, and cost estimates, construction reports, engineering notebooks, engineering notes, sketches, land profiles, maps, progress profiles, plans, proposals, printed material, statements of expenses, and correspondence.

The Hudson River Tunnel project was started in 1874, and the final tubes were opened in 1910 after several construction setbacks. The tunnel connects Weehawken, New Jersey and Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan, New York City. Today the Hudson River Tunnel, known as the North River Tunnels is used by Amtrak's Northeast Corridor and New Jersey Transit rail lines.

Subseries 3, Harlem River Bridge, 1878-1982, consists of blueprints, printed materials, photographs, engineer's estimates, schedules, costs, reports, proposals, contracts, specifications, and correspondence.

The Harlem River Bridge project was started in 1885 and was completed in 1889. It spans the Harlem River in New York City, New York and connects the Washington Heights section of Manhattan with the Bronx. It was later named and is still known as the Washington Bridge and has been adapted over time to carry highway traffic. These adaptations have allowed the bridge to remain in use today.

Subseries 4, Other Projects, 1858-1832, consists of drawings, maps, blueprints, plans, proposals, cost estimates, bills, correspondence, sketches, land profiles, dimensions, engineering notes, account records, photostats, supply lists, calculations, legal documents, surveys, inspection reports, financial data, and measurements on architectural and engineering projects. Highlights of this subseries include: Western Maryland Railroad, Washington Aqueduct, Panama Canal, Ramapo Water Company, Piedmont Bridge, Northern Adirondack Railroad, Columbia Railroad, Morris Canal, Pittsfield and Williamstown Railroad, Suez Canal, St. Gothard Canal, Tansa Dam, Colorado Midland Railroad Company, Memorial Bridge, Mersey Tunnel, Little Rock Bridge, Kingston Water Supply, Kanawha River Canal, Florida Ship Canal, East Jersey Water Company, Consolidated Coal Company, Dismal Swamp Canal, Boston and Baltimore Tunnels, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, Annapolis Water Company, Baltimore and Drum Point Railroad Company, and the Baltimore Beltline.

Subseries 5, Unidentified Project Files, 1872-1900, consists of bills of sale, engineering forms and regulations, cement test results and methods, census bulletin, contracts, cost estimates, correspondence, notes on publications, engineering data and notes, drawings, surveys, sketches, payrolls, photographs, and reports.

Subseries 6, Specifications, 1870-1900, consists of documents related to some of Hutton's projects, including specifications for bridges, reservoirs, canals, viaducts, docks, buildings, water works, and tunnels. Some specifications are more general, and some are blank proposal/specification forms. There are also proposals for estimates and a "call" or advertisement to contractors to bid on certain projects. Many of the specifications deal with projects in New York State, but projects in Pennsylvania, the City of Baltimore, and Europe are represented. The materials are arranged alphabetically by project name. There is one folder of documentation for the Potomac River Bridge (Arlington Memorial Bridge) in Washington, D.C. The Arlington Memorial Bridge was part of the 1901 McMillan Commission's plan for restoring Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant's original plan for the capital. Two decades passed before construction was initiated by the architectural firm McKim, Mead, and White. The documentation for the Memorial Bridge consists of calculations and monetary figures for materials such as granite.

Subseries 7, Legal Documents, 1886, contains documents related to a patent infringement suit for moveable dams involving Alfred Pasqueau vs. the United States. This file contains both a printed version of the case and a handwritten statement from Hutton.

Subseries 8, Professional Organizations, 1870-1902, contains documents related to professional organizations where Hutton held membership. Specific organizations represented are American Institute of Architects, American Society of Civil Engineers, Institution of Civil Engineers, Boston Society of Civil Engineers, Societe des Ingenieurs Civils de France, Librarie Polytechnique, American Agency of "Engineering" in London, Imperial Institute, League of Associated Engineers, Railroad Corporation, American Institute of Mining Engineers, and the Century Association. Material in the subseries includes correspondence, candidates for membership, membership payments, membership lists, meeting minutes, schedule of terms, professional practices, charges, articles of association, invitations for membership, and election notes. Some materials are in French.

Series 9, Printed Materials, 1850-1913, contains a variety of printed materials relating to engineering and architectural projects written by Hutton and fellow engineers. This series can be used to examine not only professional developments of the period and responses to those developments, but also to track how ideas were transferred between engineers across countries and continents. This series should be used in conjunction with the professional correspondence found in this collection, as many of the authors also appear there. Some materials are in French, German, Spanish, and Italian.

Subseries 1, Printed Materials by Hutton, 1852-1900, includes printed papers on the Missouri flood wave, the Ravine du Sud, the Potomac waterfront, the Colorado midlands, and the application of water supply machinery.

Subseries 2, Printed Materials by Others, 1826-1913, includes printed materials on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canals, Tehuantec Ship Railway, Interoceanic canals and railways, jetties, Nicaragua Canal, uses of cements, mortars, concretes, steam power, harbors, Niagara Falls, Kanawha River canal, Mississippi River, Hudson River Bridge, sewage disposal, Washington Aqueduct, specifications, construction progress reports, hydraulic experiments, water supply, drainage, road surfacing, sea walls, water-cooling apparatus, pollution reports, bridges, pipes, channels, reservoirs, irrigation, water power, and sewers.

Subseries 2 contains an issue of The North American Review in which Hutton has specifically highlighted an article entitled, "The Inter-Oceanic Canal." Please see the container list for names of authors.

Subseries 3, Printed Materials with No Author, 1852-1903, includes printed materials on harbor reports, Annapolis Water Company, Ramapo Water Company, water departments and boards, maps, engineer's reports, sea walls, preservation of structures, annual reports, Coal and Iron Railway Company, sewers, Baltimore and Drum Point Railroad, contract specifications, proposals, social club life, Croton Water Supply, law suits, water supplies, moveable dams, reservoirs, East River Bridge, Eastern Canal, water filtration, Kingston New Water Supply, water pipes, locks, docks, contracts, construction reports, Croton Water Supply, and surveys. Also included are issues of journals such as Le Correspondant, Circular of the Office of Chief Engineers, The Club, VIII Congres International de Navigation, Journal of the Association of Engineering Studies, and Journal of the Franklin Institute.

Subseries 4, Newspaper, Journals and Magazine Clippings, 1873-1900, contains clippings from a variety of newspapers such as Scientific American, andRailroad Gazette. Subjects included are the Union Tunnel opening in Baltimore, Drum Point Railroad, railroad company conflicts, Washington/Harlem River Bridge, Metropolitan Railroad, Western Maryland Railroad, crop prospects, lumber trade, North Avenue Bridge, Nicaraguan Canal, harbors, river improvements, reactions to engineering projects, Belt tunnel, city transit, Washington, D.C. flood in 1880, tunnel shields, Springfield Bridge, railroad patents, Panama Canal, jetties, Hudson Tunnel, steel boilers, composition and use of cement, and the Brooklyn Bridge.

Subseries 5, Oversized Printed Materials, 1889-1892, contains large printed materials related to the Washington Aqueduct, General Post Office Building, subway arches, cornices, Warwick's Castle, Neuschwanstein Castle, Renaissance paintings, botanical drawings, school buildings, church architecture, the Hospital for the Insane of the Army and Navy and the District of Columbia, the Panama Canal, Morningside Park, and the Mississippi Jetties. Also includes engravings of Hutton, T.N. Talfound, and F. Jeffrey and photographs of Montgomery C. Meigs, and Hutton. Some materials are in German and French.

References:

1. Ward, George Washington, "The Early Development of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Project," Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical and Political Science Series XVII, no. 9-11 (1899): 8.

2. Ibid., 88.

3. Ibid., 55.

4. Ibid., 90.

5. Sanderlin, Walter S., "The Great National Project: A History of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal," Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical and Political Science Series LXIV, no. 1 (1946): 21.

6. Ibid., 282.

7. Gies, Joseph, Adventure Underground (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday and Company Inc., 1962): 134.

8. Ibid., 131-132.

9. Ibid., 135-136.

10. Ibid., 145.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into ten series.

Series 1, Letterpress Copybooks, 1858-1901

Series 2, Professional Correspondence, 1861-1901

Subseries 1, Project Correspondence, 1876-1899

Subseries 2, General Correspondence, 1861-1901

Series 3, Personal Correspondence, 1850-1942

Series 4, Personal Materials, 1835-1946

Subseries 1, Financial Records, 1876-1901

Subseries 2, Estate and Real Estate Records, 1835-1921

Subseries 3, Other Huttons, 1874-1936

Subseries 4, Personal Materials, 1878-1946

Series 5, Diaries, 1866-1901

Series 6, Notebooks, 1860-1900

Subseries 1, Engineering and Survey Field Notes, 1860-1899

Subseries 2, Notebooks, 1871-1886

Subseries 3, Notes, 1863-1900

Series 7, Cashbooks, 1856-1899

Series 8, Professional Projects, 1830-1965

Subseries 1, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, 1828-1965

Subseries 2, Hudson River Tunnel, 1887-1901

Subseries 3, Harlem River Bridge, 1878-1892

Subseries 4, Other Projects, 1858-1932

Subseries 5, Identified Project Files, 1872-1900

Subseries 6, Specifications, 1870-1900

Subseries 7, Legal Documents, 1886

Subseries 8, Professional Organizations, 1870-1902

Series 9, Printed Materials, 1826-1913

Subseries 1, Printed Materials by Hutton, 1852-1900

Subseries 2, Printed Materials by Others, 1826-1913

Subseries 3, Newspaper, Journals, and Magazine Clippings, 1855-1901

Subseries 4, Oversized Printed Material, 1889-1892

Series 10: Drawings, 1875, 1883

Biographical / Historical:

Not much is known about the history of William Rich Hutton outside of his role in architectural and engineering projects of the late 1800s and early 1900s. In many cases, he is spoken of only in reference to his projects, and the short biographies that have been written read more like a resume than a life story. Because of this lack of information, this note will focus on Hutton's professional accomplishments, but will attempt to make some comments on his personal life.

William Rich Hutton was born on March 21, 1826 in Washington, D.C., the eldest son of James Hutton (died 1843) and his wife, the former Salome Rich (1). He was educated at the Western Academy (Washington, D.C.) from 1837-1840 under George J. Abbot and then at Benjamin Hallowell's School in Alexandria, Virginia, where he received special training in mathematics, drawing, and surveying (2). Hutton began his professional career in California when he, along with his younger brother James, accompanied their uncle William Rich to work for the United States Army. His uncle was a paymaster for the army and Hutton became his clerk. They traveled around the new state paying the various platoons stationed there, but Hutton also occupied his time by drawing the landscapes and structures he saw in the settlements of Los Angeles, San Francisco, La Paz, Mazatlan, Santa Barbara, Monterey, San Pedro, San Diego, and Cape San Lucas (3). These drawings are now held by the Huntington Library in San Marino, California. Hutton held the position of clerk until the spring of 1849, and in July of that year he began working with Lieutenant Edward O.C. Ord and completed the first survey of Los Angeles and its surrounding pueblo lands and islands. Hutton continued surveying in California from 1850-1851. He was hired by William G. Dana to survey the Nipomo Ranch in San Luis Obispo County and also surveyed the ranches Santa Manuela and Huer-Huero, both owned by Francis Z. Branch. After his employment with Dana, he became the county surveyor for San Luis Obispo County, where he prepared the first survey and map of the region. He also continued to survey ranches for Captain John Wilson during this time. In August 1851, he resigned from his position as county surveyor and moved to Monterey where he worked as an assistant to Captain (later General) Henry W. Hallack, superintendent of the New Almaden Quicksilver Mine in Santa Clara County (4). He remained in this position until March, 1853 when he returned to Washington, D.C. by way of Mexico (5).

Hutton began his career as a civil engineer in Washington, D.C. He was first assigned to the position of assistant engineer on a survey of the projected Metropolitan Railroad in 1853, which was chartered to connect Washington, D.C. with the mainline of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. In 1855 he began his professional relationship with Montgomery C. Meigs when he was appointed to the position of assistant engineer on the Washington Aqueduct. He also served as division engineer on this project until construction was shut down in 1861 because of the outbreak of the Civil War. Fortunately for Hutton, the construction on the Aqueduct was resumed in 1862, and when Congress transferred the supervision of the aqueduct project from the War Department to the Department of the Interior, Hutton was made chief engineer. By the end of the Civil War, Hutton's reputation as a civil engineer was established (6).

During this decade Hutton also served as the chief engineer for the Annapolis Water Works (1866) and as chief engineer for one of his most famous projects, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (1869-1871). Although some historians minimize Hutton as just one of many engineers to work on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, he did make one major contribution to its construction: the Georgetown Canal Incline. Perhaps the final effort of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal company to compete with the emerging and fast expanding railroad, the Georgetown Incline was designed to allow canal boats to travel through the canal with low water levels and to alleviate canal congestion. Unfortunately, by the time the incline was completed use of the canal had decreased so significantly that it was no longer needed to help control traffic (7). Despite this, Hutton continued to work as a consulting engineer for the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company until 1881, when he was let go because of the dwindling fortunes of the company (7).

In the 1870s and 1880s Hutton was busy with several engineering projects. During 1871-1873, he was the chief engineer in the completion of the Western Maryland Railroad to Hagerstown and Williamsport (9). He also practiced as an architect with his brother, the prominent Baltimore architect Nathanial Henry Hutton, during the years 1873-1880. He relocated to New York in 1880, serving as chief engineer for the Washington Bridge in 1888 and 1889 and the Hudson River Tunnel from 1889 to 1891. In 1886, he became the consulting engineer for the New Croton Aqueduct and served in the same position for the Colorado Midland Railway between the years of 1886-1889 (10).

As his personal and professional correspondence shows, Hutton continued to work on various engineering and architectural projects until his death on December 11, 1901. In addition to these projects, he also invented the innovative system of locks and moveable dams used in the Kanawha River Canal. He was awarded the Diplome d'Honneur for this featat the Paris Exposition in 1878 (11). His correspondence also demonstrates how Hutton was respected within his professional community. These letters refer to the accuracy of his work, his willingness to help other colleagues and supply them with reference materials and information, and, in addition to all this, his politeness. It seems that these qualities defined not only his personality but also his ideology. In one of the cashbooks in the collection, dated 1899, a hand written note contains a religious parable of "The Straw." The phrase in this parable that speaks most to Hutton's work ethic, and to the spirit of inventors everywhere, is this: "Even so however lowly may be the act, however little opportunities we may have of assisting others, we may still do something. Let us beg to fulfil our duty in this regards by making ourselves useful to others by some little act of thoughtful charity..." (12). Hutton, in his dedication to civil engineering, seems to have lived up to this virtue, and in his work he changed the landscape of Washington, D.C. and New York.

The Fairy Godfather: Hutton's Personal History

His professional records reveal a man who was fiercely dedicated to his work. His obituary references his professional life more than his personal life (13). Despite his reputation in the professional engineering community, his personal records demonstrate that Hutton was also dedicated to his family and children. In 1855, he married Montgomery County native Mary Augusta Clopper (died 1915). Together they lived on her family's estate known as the Woodlands, and had five children: Frank C. Hutton, Mary Hutton, Elizabeth Hutton (later Caulfield), Rosa Hutton, and Annie Salome Hutton (14). It is at this estate that Hutton died and was buried. The personal letters to his wife found in the Woodlands Collection held at the Montgomery County Historical Society show a man in love and willing to take time from his work to write to his wife. His letters to his children show a similar interest and compassion. In the many letters found in this collection from his daughter Elizabeth (Bessie) one can see a father who is interested in not only his daughter's activities abroad, but also in her opinion. This interest also extends to his son Frank Hutton, as their correspondence shows Hutton offering his son advice on his own engineering projects.

Hutton also served as executor to many of his extended family's estates. Many letters show the conflicts that Hutton had to mediate and the dependence of his cousins on him for advice and money. Although his family was wealthy (his cousin was Benjamin H. Hutton whose daughters married into the court of Napoleon III), they were volatile, and his records seem to indicate that he served as a mediator for many of their disputes. In addition to this, as his nickname of Fairy Godfather suggests, Hutton was always willing to lend his family either financial or moral support when needed. Unfortunately, little other documentation concerning Hutton's personal life exists outside of this collection and the one held at the Montgomery County Historical Society.

References:

1. Waters, Willard O., "Introduction," California 1847-1852 (San Marino: The Huntington Library, 1942).

2. Waters, Willard O., "Memoir," Glances at California 1847-1853 (San Marino: The Huntington Library, 1942): ix.

3. Waters, Willard O., "Introduction," California 1847-1852 (San Marino: The Huntington Library, 1942). and Waters, Willard O., "Memoir," Glances at California 1847-1853 (San Marino: The Huntington Library, 1942): x-xi.

4. Waters, Willard O., "Introduction," California 1847-1852 (San Marino: The Huntington Library, 1942).

5. Waters, Willard O., "Memoir," Glances at California 1847-1853 (San Marino: The Huntington Library, 1942): xvii.

6. Waters, Willard O., "Memoir," Glances at California 1847-1853 (San Marino: The Huntington Library, 1942): xvii-xviii.

7. Skramstad, Harold, "The Georgetown Canal Incline," Technology and Culture, Vol. 10, no. 4 (Oct. 1969): 555.

8. Business Correspondence, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, 22 February 1881, William R. Hutton Papers, 1830-1965, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, box number 27, folder number 29.

9. "William Rich Hutton," The Club: A Journal of Club Life for Men and Women,(July 1894):37

10. Ibid.

11. Monzione, Joseph, "William R. Hutton," A.P.W.A. Reporter (Sept. 1977): 7.

12. Cashbook, 1899, William R. Hutton Papers, 1830-1965, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, box number 23, folder number 5.

13. The Woodlands Collection, Montgomery County Historical Society.

Related Materials:

Materials in the Archives Center

The Montgomery C. Meigs Papers, 1870-1890, (AC0987). Contains materials relating to the construction of the Washington Aqueduct including a book of drawings illustrating reservoirs, tunnels, culverts, and other structural elements, a Government Senate Document relating to construction progress, scrapbooks created by Meigs that include newspaper clippings about the Washington Aqueduct project, water supply, engineering projects, building construction, architecture and other subjects. Collection is currently unprocessed, but is available for research.

Materials in Other Organizations:

The William Rich Hutton Papers, 1840-1961, are located at the Huntington Library in California (see http://catalog.huntington.org).

The collection contains 95 drawings, 13 letters, and 39 facsimile copies of letters and manuscripts. The illustrative material includes both watercolor and pencil drawings of California (including Los Angeles, Monterey, San Francisco, the New Almaden Quicksilver Mine, and the California missions), Baja California, Mexico, and Peru. There are also five pieces in the collection related to the author María Amparo Ruiz de Burton. In 1942, the Huntington Library published Glances at California 1847--853: Diaries and Letters of William Rich Hutton, Surveyor and California 1847--852: Drawings by William Rich Hutton.

The Hutton family papers are located at the Montgomery County Historical Society, Sween Library (see http://www.montgomeryhistory.org/sites/default/files/Family_Files.pdf).

The collection contains account books from the Woodlands estate, recipe books, livestock records, records of Mary Augusta Hutton (wife), Mary and Rose Hutton (daughters), newspaper clippings (including his obituary), correspondence, record books, deeds, bills and receipts, engineering papers, religious momentos (funeral service cards), and insurance papers.

Provenance:

The collection was donated by Mr. and Mrs. James J. Madine, a relative of Hutton's and last owners of the Woodlands estate; the Department of Forests and Parks, Maryland; Louis Fischer; and Mr. and Mrs. Mayo S. Stuntz, 1965-1966, 1974.

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research. Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives.

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.

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Engineering notebooks  Search this

Docks  Search this

Domestic and family life  Search this

Architecture -- United States  Search this

Architecture -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this

Harlem River Bridge  Search this

Western Maryland Railroad  Search this

Annapolis Waterworks  Search this

Steam engineering  Search this

Harlem River Bridge Commission  Search this

Washington (D.C.) -- 19th century  Search this

Reservoirs  Search this

Patents  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Letterpress copybooks

Blueprints

Diaries

Drawings

Photographs -- 19th century

Cashbooks

Business records -- 19th century

Business letters

Notebooks

Topographic maps

Tax records

Technical drawings

Stock certificates

Technical literature

Photoengravings

Notes

Maps -- 19th century

Microfilms

Linen tracings

Letter books

Letters

Land titles

Legal documents

Sketches

Salted paper prints

Reports

Receipts

Plans (drawings)

Photostats

Photographic prints

Architectural drawings

Administrative records

Albumen prints

Albums

Annual reports

Booklets

Account books -- 19th century

Books -- 19th century

Family papers -- 18th century

Financial records -- 19th century

Diaries -- 19th century

Drawings -- 19th century

Cyanotypes

Correspondence -- 19th-20th century

Deeds

Printed material

Correspondence

Contracts

Photograph albums

Specifications

Christmas cards

Menus

Citation:

William R. Hutton Papers, dates, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0987

See more items in:

William R. Hutton Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep84f6824ce-7291-4ac4-ab0f-abaa2071815e

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0987

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.

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:

McIntosh, Seymour and 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

Extent:

93.6 Cubic feet (174 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Notebooks

Manuals

Blueprints

Drawings

Place:

Auburn (N.Y.)

Date:

circa 1886-1939

Summary:

The records document the design, manufacture, and operation of steam and diesel engines by McIntosh, Seymour and Company of Auburn, New York.

Scope and Contents:

These records relate to the design, manufacture, and operation of diesel engines by McIntosh, Seymour and Company of Auburn, New York. Included are letter books, instruction manuals; price and data sheets; notebooks; design notes, blueprints and drawings; calculations and specifications, sketches; and photographs.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into ten series.

Series 1: Background Materials, 1889-1980

Series 2: Letter Books, 1895-1901

Series 3: Sketches, 1900-1941

Series 4: Shop Books, 1897-1924

Series 5: Calculation Books and Sheets, 1903-1915

Series 6: Drawings, 1899-1922

Series 7: Instructions, 1899-1941

Series 8: Technical Data, 1901-1923

Series 9: Photographs, 1915

Biographical / Historical:

John E. McIntosh (1858-1916) and James A. Seymour invented the centrifugal governor (US 346,302) in 1886 made possible the beginning of McIntosh and Seymour Company which was founded in 1886 in Auburn, New York. The centrifugal governor is a specific type that controls the speed of an engine, regulating the amount of fuel and maintaining a constant speed. The company manufactured and sold large steam engines for stationary generators and marine use. By 1910, the company introduced diesel engines for railroads.

Provenance:

Originally collected for the division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering (now the Division of Work and Industry). 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.

Topic:

Diesel engines  Search this

Steam-engines  Search this

Engine design  Search this

Manufacturing  Search this

Genre/Form:

Notebooks

Manuals

Blueprints

Drawings

Citation:

McIntosh, Seymour and Company Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0985

See more items in:

McIntosh, Seymour and Company Records

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep85ce8461d-744f-4a23-b929-e8a6b013f5f6

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0985

Creator:

Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company  Search this

Wetherill 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

Names:

Wetherill Company  Search this

Extent:

80 Cubic feet (48 boxes )

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Card files

Specifications

Drawings

Trade catalogs

Ledgers (account books)

Date:

circa 1875-1930

Scope and Contents:

These records document the activities of the Wetherill Plant of the Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, originally the Wetherill Company, particuarly the manufacture of steam and diesel engines. Included are engine specification cards; bound lists and charts of specifications and prices; a bound index of drawing numbers, 1886-1928; steam engine catalogs, ca. 1895-1910; drawings and plans for compound and Corliss steam engines, 1875-1921; engine record books, 1876-1902; order books, 1888-1891, 1895-1912; a delivery book, 1916; ledgers, 1876-1885; and drawings for the SunDoxford diesel engine, ca. 1920-1930.

Arrangement:

1 series. Arrangement: By type of material.

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:

Steam-engines  Search this

Diesel engines  Search this

Genre/Form:

Card files

Specifications

Drawings

Trade catalogs

Ledgers (account books)

Citation:

Archives Center, Robert Wetherill Company Records, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0992

See more items in:

Robert Wetherill Company Records

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8a7c2333c-f002-405f-9cd4-e9d0b9f04153

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0992

Creator:

James Leffel and 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:

20 Cubic feet (42 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Blueprints

Business records

Charts

Clippings

Correspondence

Drawings

Order books

Patents

Photographs

Specifications

Trade catalogs

Glass plate negatives

Place:

Springfield (Ohio)

Date:

circa 1848-1976

Summary:

Collection documents James Leffel and Company of Springfield, Ohio, manufacturer of turbines, water wheels and engines.

Scope and Contents:

The records contain business and legal records; correspondence; patents and patent files; specifications; charts; blueprints; mechanical drawings and original catalog art; photographs and negatives; catalogs, and clippings documenting James Leffel and Company.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into eight series.

Series 1: Correspondence, 1974-1978

Series 2: Patent Materials, 1848-1931

Series 3: Testing Data, 1913-1966, bulk 1920s

Series 4: Catalogs, 1870-1946

Series 5: Catalog Artwork, 1919-1959

Series 6: Trade Literature, 1890s-1976

Series 7: Photographs, 1908-1929

Series 7: Writings and Journal Articles, 1881-1854

Series 8: Glass Plate Negatives, 1890s-1950s, undated

Biographical:

James Leffel was born in 1806 in Botetourt County, Virginia to John and Catherine Leffel. The family moved to Ohio, settling near Springfield. where John Leffel established saw and grist mills. Leffel grew up surrounded by mills and and developed a strong interest in water wheels. Leffel trained as a millwright acquiring skills in metal work to make sickles, knives, and other small iron implements. In the late 1830s, Leffel established his first foundry and machine shop near Springfield, Ohio, quickly expanding and taking on two partners, William A. John and T.Y. Ferrell and adding mill gearing and stoves to their line of products. By 1845, Leffel ended his business relationship with John and Ferrell and formed a partnership with William Blackeney, a machinist who helped him support the foundry and its work. In 1846, Andrew Richards joined Leffel to build a cotton mill and machine shop. Leffel envisioned the utilization of water power in Springfield. Ohio, with the establishment of mills along a race--a dug channel leading from a creek or river to the mill--that would eventually bring trade. With the help of Samuel and James Barnett, gristmill operators, Leffel was able to "cut a race" and erect a Water Power and Flouring Mill. Leffel was especially interested in water wheel development and would receive patent US34,150 for a water wheel (1862) which later reissued as RE1791 and RE1792 in 1864.

Leffel also patented cooking stoves (US6775) in 1849 which became known as the "Buckeye," "Double Oven" and "Red Cook Stove" that were successful and earned him a strong reputation. In 1852, Leffel broke with Richards, and Nathaniel Cook, a machinist, joined Leffel and Blackeney. With his 1862 patent for a water wheel, Leffel focused his attention on demonstrating the water wheel and speaking about its productive uses. Numerous test runs of the water wheel convinced Leffel that he could sell the wheel to mills and factory operators. Leffel marketed the wheel as the "American Double Turbine" an efficient, cheap turbine for the mass market (Layton page 86 ). In 1863, Leffel and Blackeney formed a new firm, along with Perry Betchel and Leander Mudge to create a foundry designed solely for the production of the wheel. Leffel later joined forces with John Foos, a mill operator and James S. Goode, a lawyer, to form the James Leffel and Company. Leffel sold his water wheel to flour mills, woolen goods manufacturers, paper mills and farm equipment manufacturers. The company became one of the leading manufacturers of waterwheels and turbines and today continues to operate under the name of James Leffel and Company as part of Canyon Hydro which acquired the company in 2019.

Leffel died in 1866.

Source

Becker, Carl M. "James Leffel: Double Turbiner Water Wheel Inventor, Ohio History, Volume 75, No. 4, Autumn 1966, pages 200-211.

Layton, Edwin. "Scientific Technology, 1845-1900: The Hydraulic Turbine and the Origins of American Industrial Research," Technology and Culture, January 1979, Vol. 20, No. 1, pages 64-89.

Related Materials:

Materials at the Smithsonian

Smithsonian Institution Libraries, Trade Literature Collection

Pelton Water Wheel Collection, NMAH.AC.1093

Lombard Governor Company Records, NMAH.AC.1091

Niagara Falls Power Company Photographs, NMAH.AC.0949

J. & W. Jolly Company Records, NMAH.AC.1009

Uriah Boyden Papers, NMAH.AC.0982

William R. Hutton Papers, NMAH.AC.0987

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Series: Waterworks

Materials at Other Organizations

Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio

James Leffel & Company Records, 1867-1971

The James Leffel and Company Records consist of ledgers, journals, order books, inventories, cash and day books, payroll files, correspondence, photographs, publications, and scrapbooks of a late 19th and early 20th century Springfield, Ohio manufacturer of turbines, water wheels and engines.

Ohio Historical Society, Columbus, Ohio

James Leffel and Company Records, 1845-1890

Records of water-wheel company of Springfield, Ohio including a letter press book, notebook of hydraulic tables, and patents for water wheels and cooking stoves.

Provenance:

Collected for the National Museum of American History.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

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:

Hydraulic turbines  Search this

Steam-boilers  Search this

Stokers, Mechanical  Search this

Steam-engines  Search this

Valves  Search this

Water-wheels  Search this

Turbines  Search this

Genre/Form:

Blueprints

Business records

Charts

Clippings

Correspondence

Drawings

Order books

Patents

Photographs -- 19th century

Specifications

Trade catalogs

Glass plate negatives

Citation:

James Leffel and Company Records, 1867-1957, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0960

See more items in:

James Leffel and Company Records

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8b36140e4-0b0b-4f5c-8c2e-f3cfb0a2abf0

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0960

Creator:

Langley, S. P. (Samuel Pierpont), 1834-1906  Search this

Names:

Chanute, Octave, 1832-1910  Search this

Herring, Augustus Moore, 1867-1926  Search this

Huffaker, Edward C., 1856-1937  Search this

Langley, S. P. (Samuel Pierpont), 1834-1906  Search this

Manly, Charles Matthews, 1876-1927  Search this

Watkins, J. Elfreth (John Elfreth), 1852-1903  Search this

Extent:

24.28 Cubic feet (64 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Correspondence

Drawings

Manuscripts

Photographs

Publications

Date:

1891-1914

bulk 1891-1900

Summary:

This collection includes information about Samuel P. Langley and his colleagues, as well as documentation of Langley's work. The collection includes biographies of Langley and his assistant Charles Manly, newspaper clippings, correspondence, manuscripts regarding Langley's aircraft, photographs and drawings, work requisitions for the Aerodromes, a sketchbook, specifications and measurements for Langley's experiments, the Langley Memoirs on Mechanical Flight and the Langley "Waste Books."

Scope and Contents:

This collection includes information about Langley and his colleagues, as well as documentation of Langley's work. The collection includes the Aerodrome project waste books, biographies of Langley and his assistant Charles Manly, newspaper clippings, correspondence), manuscripts regarding Langley's aircraft, photographs and drawings, work requisitions for staff labor on the project, a sketchbook, specifications and measurements for Langley's experiments, and manuscript material from the Langley Memoir on Mechanical Flight.

The National Air and Space Museum's Samuel P. Langley Collection was drawn from several sources in the Smithsonian Institution. Parts of the collection were separated at undetermined dates from the institutional records of Langley's time as Secretary (now held by the Smithsonian Institution Archives [SIA], as the Samuel P. Langley Papers, 1867-1906, Record Unit 7003) for several purposes:

Design papers and notes from Langley's aerodrome project were used for restoring the Langley Aerodromes for exhibits beginning in 1917.

Correspondence from the papers was consulted when controversies arose between the Wright brothers and the Smithsonian, and over credit for the design of the motor built by Stephen M. Balzer and extensively modified by Charles Manly, which was used on Aerodrome A.

Technical drawings of the Aerodromes were drawn from the SIA in the 1970s for conservation purposes.

Other material was added to the collection over the years:

Correspondence, memoranda, notes and label scripts from Langley exhibits from 1913 through the 1960s.

Design notes and work records from Langley's workshop were stored with the Aerodromes in the Museum's collections, and were later transferred to the Archives Division.

Biographical material on Langley, and correspondence to the Museum on Langley and the Aerodromes.

Material from the foundation of the Langley Aerodynamic Laboratory (now NASA's Langley Research Center) in 1913.

In addition to Record Unit 7003, researchers may wish to consult these Smithsonian Institution Archives' collections:

Record Unit 31, Office of the Secretary, Correspondence, 1866-1906, with related records to 1927.

Record Unit 34, Office of the Secretary, Correspondence, 1887-1907

Record Unit 7268, J. Elfreth Watkins Collection, 1869, 1881-1903, 1953, 1966 and undated.

The Archives Division of the National Air and Space Museum holds the Charles M. Manly Papers, (Acc. 1999-0004). Manly was Samuel Langley's assistant in the Aerodrome project from 1898 to 1903.

Note: The digital images in this finding aid were repurposed from scans made by an outside contractor for a commercial product and may show irregular cropping and orientation in addition to color variations resulting from damage to and deterioration of the original objects.

Arrangement:

The Samuel P. Langley Collection is arranged in the following series:

Series 1 - Waste Books: Langley and his staff used waste books - bound ledgers - to keep records of their work on the aeronautical projects, which Langley inspected frequently.

Series 2 - Scrapbooks: A collection of 18 scrapbooks containing newspaper and magazine clippings on "Aerial Navigation". Projects by Langley, Maxim, Lilienthal and many obscure aeronautical experimenters are included. Other clippings are included in Series VIII and XI.

Series 3 - Aeronautical Research and the Aerodromes: This series consists of notes, data, drawings and memoranda from Langley's aeronautical research at both the Smithsonian and the Allegheny Observatory. Subseries 2 contains material used in various Smithsonian exhibitions of the Langley Aerodromes. Some additional material is included in Series 11.

Subseries 3.1 - Design and Construction

Subseries 3.2 - Langley Aerodrome Exhibits

Series 4 - Correspondence: Letters and memoranda written by and sent to S. P. Langley and his assistants, C. M. Manly and J. E. Watkins. Additional correspondence is included in Series 11.

Subseries 4.1 - S. P. Langley Correspondence

Subseries 4.2 - S. P. Langley's Assistants' Correspondence

Subseries 3 - Miscellaneous Correspondence

Series 5 - Manuscripts, Papers, Articles: Manuscripts, published articles and papers by Langley and others. See also Series 11.

Subseries 5.1 - Works by S. P. Langley

Subseries 5.2 - Miscellaneous Manuscripts, Articles, and Notes

Series 6 - Photographs: Photographs, mainly of Langley's Aerodromes. Additional photographs are included with Series 11.

Series 7 - Trade Catalogues and Ephemera: Trade catalogues and price lists from various suppliers and dealers found stored with the "Aerodrome A" at the Museum's Paul E. Garber Facility in Suitland, Maryland.

Series 8 - Miscellaneous Files

Series 9 - Flat Boxes and Oversized Material: Ledgers, drawings, test data, publications

Series 10 - Shorthand Diaries: A collection of 37 notebooks containing notes in an unidentified shorthand system, dating from 1898 to 1902, with 8 notebooks bearing partial dates or undated.

Series 11 - Additional Material: After the publication of the Langley Collection finding aid, two additional boxes of correspondence, manuscript material, drawings and photographs were found in the Museum's rare book room, the Ramsey Room. This material has been included as a separate series.

Biographical / Historical:

Samuel Pierpont Langley (1834-1906) was an astronomer, a pioneer of aeronautical research, and Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution (1887-1906). As a young man, Langley studied civil engineering and pursued this as a career until 1864, when his interest in astronomy led him to positions at the Harvard Observatory, the Naval Academy, the Western University of Pennsylvania and the Allegheny Observatory in Pittsburgh. In 1887, Langley was named Secretary of the Smithsonian, and spent the following years in the research, construction and tests of flying machines. On May 6, 1896, his unpiloted Aerodrome No. 5, powered by a 1hp steam engine, flew nearly three quarters of a mile. This flight surpassed by more than ten times the best efforts of any predecessor. In 1898, at the request of the Army's Board of Ordnance and Fortifications, Langley started work on another design - the Great Aerodrome, also known as Aerodrome A. However, two attempts at launching the aircraft in 1903 failed. In addition to his scientific experiments, Langley's writings include Experiments in Aerodynamics and The Internal Work of the Wind, and the Langley Memoir on Mechanical Flight, published posthumously. Samuel P. Langley died in Aiken, South Carolina, on February 27, 1906.

A Timeline of Early Aeronautical Milestones and Samuel P. Langley's Life and Career

August 22, 1834 -- Samuel Pierpont Langley born to Samuel Langley and Mary Sumner Williams Langley in Roxbury Massachusetts.

1843 -- William Henson and John Stringfellow publish their design for the "Aeriel", a steam-powered "Aerial Steam Carriage".

1845 -- Langley begins to attend the Boston Latin School.

1847 -- Henson tests a model of his aircraft.

1848 -- Stringfellow and Henson build and test a steam powered model aircraft. It has a wingspan of 10 feet (3.5 meters), and it flies 131 feet (40 meters) before crashing into a wall.

1849 -- Sir George Cayley tests a towed triplane glider. In one test, it flies several yards with a local boy as a passenger.

1851 -- Langley graduates from the Boston High School; begins work as an apprentice with a Boston architect.

circa 1852-1864 -- Langley works for architectural and engineering firms in St. Louis and Chicago.

1853 -- Cayley's coachman flies a glider across Brompton Dale, Yorkshire. The coachman resigns his position after the flight. Cayley conceives the rubber band–powered model airplane. Michel Loup designs a powered twin propeller monoplane with a wheeled undercarriage.

1853-1854 -- L C. Letur tests his parachute-glider design. Letur is killed in a test flight in 1854.

1855 -- Joseph Pline coins the word "aeroplane" to describe a propeller-driven dirigible.

1857 -- Jean-Marie Le Bris, a sea captain inspired by the flight of the albatross, builds a glider he names the "Albatros Artificiel" and makes two short hops, breaking his leg in the second. Félix du Temple, a French naval officer, flies a clockwork model aircraft - the first sustained powered flights by a heavier-than-air machine.

1862 -- Gabriel de la Landelle coins the word "aviation", and later, "aviateur" - aviator.

1864 -- Langley returns to Roxbury. He begins work, with his younger brother John, on a five foot focal length telescope, which they complete over three years.

1864-1865 -- Samuel and John Langley tour Europe.

circa 1865 -- Langley is hired as observatory assistant at the Harvard University Observatory, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

January 1866 -- The Aeronautical Society of Great Britain (later named the Royal Aeronautical Society) is founded.

circa 1866 -- Langley is hired as assistant professor of mathematics at the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland. Duties include restoring the Academy's astronomical observatory to operation.

1867 -- Langley is named professor of Astronomy and Physics at the Western University of Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh. Duties include directorship of the Allegheny Observatory. His tenure at Allegheny will begin his work at the popularization of science through lectures and writing newspaper and journal articles.

1868 -- Stringfellow builds a model triplane.

1869 -- Langley proposes a system of standard time distribution via the telegraph to railroads and cities. The Pennsylvania Railroad signs on for the service. Langley joins a U.S. Coast Survey expedition to Oakland, Kentucky, to observe the August 7th solar eclipse. He observes later eclipses in 1870, 1878, and 1900.

1870 -- The Allegheny Observatory begins twice-daily time signals to the Pennsylvania Railroad's offices. Other railroads, businesses, and government offices later subscribe to the service. The income from the system aids the operation of the Allegheny Observatory and Langley's research work. Langley travels to Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, to observe a solar eclipse.

1870 -- Alphonse Pénaud designs his rubber-powered "Hélicoptère".

August 18, 1871 -- Pénaud demonstrates his "Planophore", a rubber-powered model, at the Tuileries, Paris. It flies 40 meters (approximately 131 feet) in 11 seconds.

1871 -- Francis Wenham designs the first wind tunnel; it is built by John Browning.

1873 -- Langley makes a detailed drawing of a sun spot. Famous for its accuracy of detail, the drawing is widely reproduced for many years.

1876 -- Pénaud and Paul Gauchot patent a design for an inherently stable steam-powered full-sized airplane.

1878 -- Bishop Milton Wright presents a toy based on the Pénaud "Hélicoptère" to two of his sons – eleven year old Wilbur and seven year old Orville.

1879-1880 -- Langley designs and builds his bolometer for the measurement of the energy of incident electromagnetic radiation.

1879 -- Victor Tatin designs and flies a compressed air-powered seven foot long model.

1881 -- Langley organizes an expedition to Mount Whitney in California's Sierra Nevada Range for solar observations and other scientific studies.

1883 -- Alexandre Goupil builds a bird-shaped unpowered airplane that briefly lifts off in a tethered test while carrying two men.

1884 -- The U.S. Signal Service publishes Langley's report on the Mount Whitney expedition.

1886 -- Langley's interest in aeronautics is kindled by a paper on bird flight by a Mr. Lancaster at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Buffalo, New York. Lancaster also describes making small flying models which he describes as "floating planes" and "effigies".

1887 -- Langley designs and builds his large whirling table at the Allegheny Observatory for the study of aerodynamics; begins aeronautical experimental work. He coins the term Aerodromics for the art of building flying machines from the Greek aerodromoi.

January 12, 1887 -- Langley is appointed Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.

April 1887 -- Langley begins to build small Pénaud type rubber-powered flying models.

November 18, 1887 -- Langley is named Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution on the death of Secretary Spencer F. Baird. He retains the directorship of the Allegheny Observatory, dividing his time between Washington and Allegheny until 1891 when James E. Keeler becomes director of the observatory.

1887 -- Hiram Maxim, an American living in Great Britain and inventor of the Maxim machine gun, begins work on a large powered biplane test rig.

1888 -- Langley publishes The New Astronomy.

1889 -- The National Zoological Park is founded, due to Langley's support. A site in Washington's Rock Creek Park is selected by Langley and Frederick Law Olmstead. The Zoo becomes part of the Smithsonian in 1890, and is opened in 1891.

1890 -- Langley founds the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory; its first home is in a wooden building behind the Smithsonian Castle. In 1955, SAO moves to Cambridge, Massachusetts.

1890 -- Clément Ader completes his "Éole', a full-sized airplane. It has a fifty foot wing span, and is equipped with a lightweight 20-horsepower steam engine of Ader's design and a four-bladed propeller. At Armainvilliers on October 9, the Éole lifts off the ground to an altitude of approximately one foot and skims the ground for about 50 meters (165 feet). Ader later claims a second flight of 100 meters in September, 1891; there is no evidence for the second flight.

March 28, 1891 -- First successful flight of one of Langley's rubber-powered models.

1891 -- Work begins on Langley's "Aerodrome No. 0", powered by two small steam engines. Construction is halted before the aircraft is completed.

1891 -- Otto Lilienthal, a German mechanical engineer, begins a program of flight research using piloted hang gliders of his own design. He and his brother Gustav will go on to design and build 18 gliders over the next five years, making approximately 2,000 flights. Langley's Experiments in Aerodynamics is published by the Smithsonian.

1892 -- Langley's "Aerodrome No. 1" designed and built. Not flown.

1892-1893 -- "Aerodrome No. 2" and "Aerodrome No. 3" are designed and built. "No. 3" is powered by compressed air. Neither is flown.

1893 -- A 38 foot scow is converted into a houseboat with a workshop and launch platform for Aerodrome testing. In May, it is towed down the Potomac to a point near Quantico, Virginia, off Chopawamsic Island. In November, "Aerodrome No. 4" is taken to the houseboat for testing.

November 20, 1893 -- Test flight of "Aerodrome No. 4" - it falls in the water.

December 7, 1893 -- Second flight of "Aerodrome No. 4" – it falls in the water.

July 31, 1894 -- Maxim's large test rig rises briefly from its support rails during a test run.

August 1-4, 1894 -- Octave Chanute and Albert Zahm sponsor the Conference on Aerial Navigation in Chicago, bringing together an international assembly of aeronautical researchers.

October 1894 -- Test flight of modified "Aerodrome No. 4", using improved catapult. Aircraft falls in the water. "Aerodrome No. 5", with a one horsepower gasoline burning steam engine, is also tested. It flies 35 feet for three seconds before stalling and falling into the river.

November 12, 1894 -- Lawrence Hargrave, an Australian researcher, links together four of his box kites, adds a simple seat, and flies to an altitude of 16 feet in the device.

1894 -- Chanute publishes his book Progress in Flying Machines.

1895 -- James Means publishes the first of his three >Aeronautical Annuals.

May 6, 1896 -- "Aerodrome No. 6" is launched from the houseboat's catapult; the left wing collapses and the aircraft lands in the water. Aerodrome No. 5 is launched at 3:05 PM and flies about half a mile in a minute and a half at an altitude reaching 100 feet – the first sustained flight of a heavier than air apparatus. In a second flight at 5:10, Aerodrome No. 5 makes three circles, climbs to about 60 feet, and is airborne for one minute and thirty-one seconds. The flight is witnessed and photographed by Alexander Graham Bell (box 45, folder 9).

June 1896 -- Chanute and Augustus Herring establish a camp at the Lake Michigan dunes near Miller, Indiana to conduct flight tests on a number of gliders – several of Chanute's designs, including his multiwing "Katydid", Herring's copy of a Lilienthal design, and a Chanute-Herring triplane collaboration.

August 9, 1896 -- Lilienthal's glider stalls and crashes from an altitude of about 50 feet. Lilienthal dies of his injuries the next morning. His last words are "Opfer müssen gebracht warden" - "Sacrifices must be made".

November 28, 1896 -- "Aerodrome No. 6" is flown from the houseboat – it flies 4800 feet in one minute and forty-five seconds.

July 1897 -- Ader completes his "Avion III", also known as the "Aquilon". It features two 20-horsepower steam engines and twin tractor propellers, and a wingspan of nearly 56 feet. The aircraft weighs approximately 880 pounds. Ader attempts a flight on October 14; "Avion III" is unable to rise off the ground.

March 25, 1898 -- Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt suggests the military use of the Langley "Aerodrome" to Navy Secretary John D. Long (box 40, folder 10).

April 6, 1898 -- Langley proposes a scaled-up version of the "Aerodrome" for military use to a joint Army-Navy board meeting at the Smithsonian. He requests $50,000 to build a large, piloted version of his earlier designs. The proposed aircraft is called the "Great Aerodrome", or "Aerodrome A".

June 1898 -- Charles M. Manly, a Cornell University engineering student, is hired as Langley's "assistant in charge of experiments".

October 1898 -- Major work begins on the "Great Aerodrome", also known as "Aerodrome A".

December 12, 1898 -- A contract is signed between Langley and Stephen M. Balzer of New York. Balzer is to design and build a 12 horsepower motor to power the "Aerodrome". On the same date, Langley writes to the U.S. Army Board of Ordnance and Fortifications, agreeing to design and build a flying machine. He estimates a cost of $50,000 to build his machine.

May 1899 -- A new, larger houseboat equipped with a turntable and catapult is delivered in Washington.

May 30, 1899 -- Wilbur Wright sends a letter to Langley at the Smithsonian, requesting material pertaining to aeronautical research. He says in his letter that he wishes "… to begin a systematic study of the subject in preparation for practical work." Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Richard Rathbun directs his staff to assemble a package of papers, including Langley's Story of Experiments in Mechanical Flight and Experiments in Aerodynamics. The Wright brothers receive the package three weeks later. They later credit the material they received from the Smithsonian with giving them a "good understanding of the nature of the problem of flying."

June 7 - August 3, 1899 -- Additional flights of "Aerodrome No. 5" and "No. 6" are made from the houseboat at Chopawamsic Island.

July 1899 -- Langley visits Ader's workshop in Paris.

July 1899 -- The Wright Brothers build a five foot biplane kite.

October 2, 1899 -- Percy Pilcher dies of his injury after his Lilienthal-type glider breaks up in flight.

May 1900 -- Langley and the staff of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory observe the May 28 solar eclipse in Wadesboro, North Carolina.

August 1900 -- The Wrights begin to build their first glider, a biplane design with a 17 foot wingspan.

September 1900 -- The Wrights arrive at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, to test their glider on the dunes. They begin test flights in early October.

July 1901 -- The Wrights return to Kitty Hawk with a new biplane glider.

August 1901 -- Langley creates the Children's Room, with exhibits designed to inspire interest in science, technology and natural history, in the Smithsonian Castle.

Autumn 1901 -- The Wright brothers return to Dayton and begin a program to develop their own fundamental aeronautical data, building a wind tunnel and a test rig mounted on a bicycle.

September 19, 1902 -- The Wrights complete assembly of their new glider and begin flights the same afternoon. They continue the flights through the autumn. After an early crash, continual modifications improve the design. Wilbur writes to his father, "We now believe the flying problem is really nearing its solution." On their return to Dayton, the brothers file a patent on their design.

July 14, 1903 -- The houseboat is towed down the Potomac to a spot opposite Widewater, Virginia, about 40 miles from Washington.

August 8, 1903 -- Langley's "Quarter-Size Aerodrome" makes a successful flight from the houseboat.

September 3, 1903 -- Work is begun on erecting the "Great Aerodrome" on the houseboat catapult.

October 7, 1903 -- The "Great Aerodrome", piloted by Manly, is launched by the houseboat catapult at 12:20 PM. The aircraft is snagged by the catapult launch car, and drops into the river. Langley was in Washington, and does not witness the attempt. The wreckage of the "Aerodrome" is salvaged.

December 8, 1903 -- The refurbished "Great Aerodrome" is readied for flight on the houseboat, now moored below Washington at Arsenal Point at the confluence of the Potomac and Anacostia rivers. At 4:45 PM, the aircraft, with Manly at the controls, is launched. The tail assembly drags along the launch track, and the "Aerodrome's" tail begins to collapse. The "Aerodrome" drops into the river. Manly is briefly trapped by the wreckage, but cuts himself free and is rescued. In the aftermath of the crash, Langley is ridiculed in the press. Though the Army withdraws its support, Langley receives offers of financial support from businessmen to continue his aeronautical work. He politely refuses these offers and ends his aeronautical activities.

December 17, 1903 -- The Wright brothers make four flights at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The first flight covered a distance of 120 feet and lasted 12 seconds; in the fourth flight, the "Flyer" traveled 852 feet in 59 seconds.

June 1905 -- The Smithsonian's accountant, W. W. Karr, is accused of embezzling Institutional funds. He is later convicted and imprisoned. Langley holds himself responsible for the loss, and thereafter refuses to accept his salary.

November 1905 -- Langley suffers a stroke.

February 1906 -- Langley moves to Aiken, South Carolina to convalesce.

February 27, 1906 -- After suffering another stroke, Langley dies.

March 3, 1906 -- Samuel Pierpont Langley is buried in Forest Hill Cemetery, Boston.

May-October 1914 -- The "Great Aerodrome" is refurbished and is tested on Lake Keuka, Hammondsport, New York; the tests are conducted by Glenn Curtiss. Using the Manly-Balzer motor and mounted on pontoons instead of using a catapult launch, the "Aerodrome" makes several short flights, the longest lasting about five seconds. Later a Curtiss 80-hp engine is substituted for the Manly-Balzer motor and a flight of about 3,000 feet is made on September 17. The Smithsonian Institution later displays the "Aerodrome" with an exhibit label that reads "The first man-carrying aeroplane in the history of the world capable of sustained free flight." This claim causes a rift between the Institution and Orville Wright (Wilber Wright had died in 1912) that is not fully mended until 1942. The Wright 1903 "Flyer" is presented to the Smithsonian Institution on December 17, 1948. Today, the "Flyer" is on exhibit in the Milestones of Flight Gallery of the National Air and Space Museum's Mall Building; Samuel Langley's "Great Aerodrome" is displayed at the Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.

The Smithsonian Aeronautical Staff:

Langley's staff engaged in his aeronautical work as listed in waste books, drawings and correspondence:

The Smithsonian Aeronautical Staff

F. C. Bache -- Laborer with the U.S. Fish Commission, then located at the Smithsonian.

Carl Barus -- Formerly of the U.S. Geological Survey and the Weather Bureau. Hired in 1893 as a physicist; acted as the liaison between Langley and the Aerodrome project staff. Part of the crew on the houseboat.

Louville Eugene Emerson -- Laborer.

George L. Fowler -- An engineer, Fowler was hired by Langley to help design an engine for the Aerodromes.

William Gaertner -- Instrument maker.

Heed, Jr. -- Name found in a shorthand diary dated 1899 - presumably, a Smithsonian secretary or assistant.

Augustus Moore Herring -- An independent aeronautical experimenter and skilled designer and pilot of gliders; hired by Octave Chanute in 1894 and by Langley as chief assistant in 1895. Herring resigned (or was dismissed) in November 1895 and resumed work with Chanute. In 1908, he competed with the Wrights for the Army Flyer contract, but did not complete a finished aircraft.

Edward Chalmers Huffaker -- An engineer and aeronautical experimenter; built gliders based on the observation of bird flight; had delivered a paper at the International Conference on Aerial Navigation in Chicago, 1893. Recommended by Chanute, Huffaker was hired by Langley in December, 1894. He resigned from the Smithsonian in 1898 and went to work for Chanute.

L. C. Maltby -- Machinist, 1891-1899; assisted in motor design and oversaw the fabrications of the metalwork for the Aerodromes. Part of the crew on the houseboat.

Charles Matthews Manly -- Graduate of Cornell University (1896). Hired by Langley and placed in charge of construction of the Great Aerodrome in 1898. Piloted the Great Aerodrome on its two launch attempts, 1903. Manly resigned from the Smithsonian in 1905. He served as a consulting aviation engineer for different government agencies and corporations, including the British War Office, 1915; the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Corporation 1915-1919 (from 1919-1920 as the assistant general manger); and as a member of the US Commission to the International Aircraft Conference, London, 1918. Manly also completed and edited Langley's Memoir on Mechanical Flight which was published by the Smithsonian in 1911.

Charles B. Nichols -- Smithsonian cabinet maker (1890-1893), in charge of construction of the small rubber powered models.

R. Luther Reed -- Smithsonian carpenter foreman (1880-1904). In charge of construction of Aerodromes No. 5 and 6 following between Herring's departure and Manly's arrival. Worked on design of the Great Aerodrome and the second houseboat. Part of the crew on the houseboat.

B.L. Rhinehart -- Smithsonian mechanic. Built a small steam motor for Aerodrome No. 0 in 1891. Performed design work on an experimental gasoline motor, c.1896.

William L. Speiden -- Draftsman or designer (1893-1899).

John Elfrith Watkins -- Assistant engineer of construction with the Pennsylvania Railroad. Joined the Smithsonian as an honorary curator in the Steam Transportation section in 1885. Named curator of Transportation in 1887. He rejoined the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1892, and later worked at the Field Columbian Museum as director of Industrial Arts. Watkins returned to the Smithsonian in 1895 as the National Museum's curator of Technological Collections. In 1898, he was named curator of the Division of Technology. Watkins also served the Smithsonian as Engineer of Property, 1888-1889, and Chief of Buildings and Superintendence, 1896-1903. Watkins carried on much of the Aerodrome project's correspondence, and was the project's expert in steam engine design.

George B. Wells -- Smithsonian messenger (1894-1903). Most of the collection's shorthand notebooks (Series X) bear his name; possibly, he acted as Langley's stenographer.

William Crawford Winlock -- Curator, Bureau of International Exchange (1889-1899).

Related Materials:

Parts of the collection were separated at undetermined dates from the institutional records of Samuel Langley's time as Secretary (now held by the Smithsonian Institution Archives [SIA], as the Samuel P. Langley Papers, 1867-1906, Record Unit 7003).

In addition to Record Unit 7003, researchers may wish to consult these Smithsonian Institution Archives' collections:

Record Unit 31, Office of the Secretary, Correspondence, 1866-1906, with related records to 1927.

Record Unit 34, Office of the Secretary, Correspondence, 1887-1907

Record Unit 7268, J. Elfreth Watkins Collection, 1869, 1881-1903, 1953, 1966 and undated.

The Archives Division of the National Air and Space Museum holds the Charles M. Manly Papers, (Acc. 1999-0004). Manly was Samuel Langley's assistant in the Aerodrome project from 1898 to 1903.

Langley Technical Files: The Archives Division's technical files are housed in the Archives-Library reading room of the Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. Material on Langley and his Aerodromes are housed in folders in the technical files Aircraft Series and in the Biographies Series. Because material from the Samuel P. Langley Collection is thought to have been transferred into the Technical Files, these file headings are included here. In the listings, "Images Available" refers to digital image files available through the Archives Division's image database; these images may be viewed in the Museum's reading rooms.

Langley Technical Files: Aircraft Series Technical Files

Langley (Samuel P.), General -- Photos, Images Available. Folder(s): AL-198600-80

Langley (Samuel P.), General, NASM -- Photos, Photo Dupes. Folder(s): AL-198601-80, AL-198601-99

Langley (Samuel P.) Aerodrome A (Great Aerodrome, Man-Carrying Aerodrome) -- Documents, Photos, Negatives, Photo Dupes, Images Available. Folder(s): AL-198603-01, AL-198603-80, AL-198603-85, AL-198603-99

Langley (Samuel P.) Aerodrome A, Curtiss 1914 Rebuild -- Documents, Photos, Photo Dupes, Photo Dupes, Photo Dupes, Photo Dupes, Images Available. Folder(s): AL-198605-01, AL-198605-80, AL-198605-96, AL-198605-97, AL-198605-98, AL-198605-99

Langley (Samuel P.) Aerodrome A, NASM -- Documents, Photos, Photo Dupes, Images Available. Folder(s): AL-198607-01, AL-198607-80, AL-198607-99

Langley (Samuel P.) Aerodromes, Numbered, General -- Photos, Photo Dupes. Folder(s): AL-198610-80, AL-198610-99

Langley (Samuel P.) Aerodrome No 0 (1891) -- Photo Dupes, Images Available. Folder(s): AL-198612-99

Langley (Samuel P.) Aerodrome No 1 (1891) -- Images Available.

Langley (Samuel P.) Aerodrome No 2 (1892) -- Images Available.

Langley (Samuel P.) Aerodrome No 3 (1892) -- Images Available.

Langley (Samuel P.) Aerodrome No 4 (1895) -- Images Available.

Langley (Samuel P.) Aerodrome No 5 (1895-96) -- Documents, Photos, Transparencies, Photo Dupes, Photo Dupes, Images Available. Folder(s): AL-198622-01, AL-198622-80, AL-198622-90, AL-198622-98, AL-198622-99

Langley (Samuel P.) Aerodrome No 6 (1895-96) -- Documents, Photos, Photo Dupes, Images Available. Folder(s): AL-198624-01, AL-198624-80, AL-198624-99

Langley (Samuel P.) Clockwork Model -- Photos. Folder(s): AL-198628-80

Langley (Samuel P.) Gliding Model Aerodromes (1895) -- Images Available.

Langley (Samuel P.) Ladder Kite (1896) -- Photos, Photo Dupes, Images Available. Folder(s): AL-198635-80, AL-198635-99

Langley (Samuel P.) Model Aerodromes, General -- Documents, Photos, Photo Dupes, Images available. Folder(s): AL-198640-01, AL-198640-80, AL-198640-99

Langley (Samuel P.) Model Aerodrome No 4 (1895) -- Photo Dupes, Images available. Folder(s): AL-198648-99

Langley (Samuel P.) Model Aerodrome No 11 -- Images available.

Langley (Samuel P.) Model Aerodrome No 13 -- Images available.

Langley (Samuel P.) Model Aerodrome No 14 -- Images available.

Langley (Samuel P.) Model Aerodrome No 15 -- Photo Dupes, Images available. Folder(s): AL-198670-99

Langley (Samuel P.) Model Aerodrome No 19 -- Photos, Images available. Folder(s): AL-198678-80

Langley (Samuel P.) Model Aerodrome No 20 -- Images available.

Langley (Samuel P.) Model Aerodrome No 21 -- Images available.

Langley (Samuel P.) Model Aerodrome No 22 -- Photos, Images available. Folder(s): AL-198684-80

Langley (Samuel P.) Model Aerodrome No 23 -- Photos, Images available. Folder(s): AL-198686-80

Langley (Samuel P.) Model Aerodrome No 24 -- Images available.

Langley (Samuel P.) Model Aerodrome No 25 -- Images available.

Langley (Samuel P.) Model Aerodrome No 26 -- Photo Dupes, Images available. Folder(s): AL-198692-99

Langley (Samuel P.) Model Aerodrome No 27 -- Images available.

Langley (Samuel P.) Model Aerodrome No 28 -- Photos, Images available. Folder(s): AL-198696-80

Langley (Samuel P.) Model Aerodrome No 30 -- Images available.

Langley (Samuel P.) Model Aerodrome No 31 -- Images available.

Langley (Samuel P.) Proposed Man-Carrying Aerodrome (1898-99) -- Documents, Photo Dupes, Images available. Folder(s): AL-198710-01, AL-198710-99

Langley (Samuel P.) "Quarter-Size" Aerodrome (1900-01 -- Documents, Photos, Negatives, Photo Dupes, Images available. Folder(s): AL-198720-01, AL-198720-80, AL-198720-85, AL-198720-99

Langley (Samuel P.) "Rubber-Pull" Model Aerodrome (1895-96) -- Photos, Photo Dupes, Images available. Folder(s): AL-198730-80, AL-198730-99

Langley (Samuel P.) Whirling Arm (1888-90) -- Photos, Photo Dupes, Images available. Folder(s): AL-198740-80, AL-198740-99

Langley Technical Files: Biographies Series Technical Files

Langley, Samuel Pierpont, general -- Documents. Folder(s): CL-094000-01

Langley, Samuel Pierpont (articles by) -- Documents. Folder(s): CL-094000-02

Langley, Samuel Pierpont (articles by/Aero) -- Documents. Folder(s): CL-094000-03

Langley, Samuel Pierpont (articles by/Aero) -- Documents. Folder(s): CL-094000-04

Langley, Samuel Pierpont (articles by/Astro) -- Documents. Folder(s): CL-094000-05

Langley, Samuel Pierpont (articles by/Astro) -- Documents. Folder(s): CL-094000-06

Langley, Samuel Pierpont (articles by/Rocket) -- Documents. Folder(s): CL-094000-08

Langley, Samuel Pierpont (articles by/French) -- Documents. Folder(s): CL-094000-09

Langley, Samuel Pierpont (articles on) -- Documents. Folder(s): CL-094000-10

Langley, Samuel Pierpont (articles on) -- Documents. Folder(s): CL-094000-11

Langley, Samuel Pierpont (articles on) -- Documents. Folder(s): CL-094000-12

Langley, Samuel Pierpont (articles on) -- Documents. Folder(s): CL-094000-13

Langley, Samuel Pierpont (articles on) -- Documents. Folder(s): CL-094000-14

Langley, Samuel Pierpont (Awards and Honors) -- Documents. Folder(s): CL-094000-15

Langley, Samuel Pierpont (Wright Controversy) -- Documents. Folder(s): CL-094000-16

Langley, Samuel Pierpont (Obituaries) -- Documents. Folder(s): CL-094000-17

Langley, Samuel Pierpont -- Photo Dupes. Folder(s): CL-094000-40

Langley, Samuel Pierpont -- Photos. Folder(s): CL-094000-80

Langley, Samuel Pierpont -- Negatives. Folder(s): CL-094000-85

Langley, Samuel Pierpont -- Images available.

Provenance:

Smithsonian generated, transfer, unknown.

Restrictions:

No restrictions on access

Rights:

Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permission Requests.

Topic:

Aeronautics  Search this

Aeronautics -- pre-1903  Search this

Aeronautics -- 1903-1916  Search this

Aeronautics -- Records  Search this

Langley Aerodrome Family  Search this

Langley Aerodrome No 5 (1895-96)  Search this

Periodicals  Search this

Genre/Form:

Correspondence

Drawings

Manuscripts

Photographs

Publications

Citation:

Samuel P. Langley Collection, NASM.XXXX.0494, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NASM.XXXX.0494

See more items in:

Samuel P. Langley Collection

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg21fa211d9-0818-40b9-a8e7-60709d4400a8

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nasm-xxxx-0494

Collection Creator:

Langley, S. P. (Samuel Pierpont), 1834-1906  Search this

Container:

Box 44, Folder 2

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Restrictions:

No restrictions on access

Collection Rights:

Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permission Requests.

Collection Citation:

Samuel P. Langley Collection, NASM.XXXX.0494, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

See more items in:

Samuel P. Langley Collection

Samuel P. Langley Collection / Series 5: Manuscripts, Papers, Articles / 5.1: Works by S. P. Langley

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg24eeb3163-b58a-4635-95b9-abefd6e3e66a

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nasm-xxxx-0494-ref444

Collection Creator:

Langley, S. P. (Samuel Pierpont), 1834-1906  Search this

Container:

Box 44, Folder 7

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Restrictions:

No restrictions on access

Collection Rights:

Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permission Requests.

Collection Citation:

Samuel P. Langley Collection, NASM.XXXX.0494, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

See more items in:

Samuel P. Langley Collection

Samuel P. Langley Collection / Series 5: Manuscripts, Papers, Articles / 5.2: Miscellaneous Manuscripts, Articles, and Notes

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg2d2a20488-4cc4-48ca-aea8-c29910a582c3

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nasm-xxxx-0494-ref450