National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering Search this
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry Search this
Extent:
20.4 Cubic feet (4 boxes, 82 folders)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Account books
Blueprints
Diaries
Drawings
Letterpress books
Notebooks
Scrapbooks
Place:
Upper Peninsula (Mich.)
Date:
1861-1955
Summary:
Papers document prominent nineteenth-century steam engineer Erasmus D. Leavitt.
Scope and Contents note:
The Leavitt Papers include a Civil War diary, personal account books, photographs, drawings, and engineering materials relating to steam engines.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into three series.
Series 1: Engineering Materials, 1861-1955
Series 2: Photographs, 1890s, undated
Series 3: Engineering Drawings, 1874-1906
Historical:
The Calumet and Hecla Company, which was formed in about 1866, was one of the largest mining operations in the Lake Superior region of Upper Michigan. Over 3 billion pounds of copper were removed from its extensive mines by the time operations ceased in 1939. To facilitate the work in both the mines and smelting plants, the company installed some the largest steam engines ever built. The aggregate amounted to over 55,000 horsepower.
Noted 19th century steam engineer Erasmus Darwin Leavitt was hired to design the series of huge multi-cylinder engines. Each had sufficient power to support several operations at one time. While an engine drove one of the hoists, it might also power pumping, conveying, and air compressing machinery. At the peak of operations there were at least 50 steam engines of all sizes providing power to Calumet and Hecla. Falling copper prices during the 1920s and the economic depression of the 1930s ultimately forced the mines to close. The engines were of no further use and their countless tons of cast iron and steel ended up in the scrap drives of World War II.
Biographical:
Erasmus Darwin Leavitt was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1836 and died in 1916 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was educated in the Lowell public schools, entered the machine shop of the Lowell Manufacturing Company in 1852, and served three years as an apprentice. He spent one year with Corliss and Nightingale and was later assistant foreman of the City Point works in South Boston, where he was in charge of building the engines for the flagship "Hartford." From 1859 to 1861 he was chief draftsman for Thurston, Gardiner & Co., of Providence, Rhode Island, leaving to enter the United States Navy in the summer of 1861.
Leavitt served during the Civil War and he was detailed to the Naval Academy at Annapolis as instructor in steam engineering. Resigning in 1867, he resumed the practice of mechanical engineering, making a specialty of pumping and mining machinery. He was consulting engineer of the Calumet and Hecla Mining compan from 1874 to 1904 during which time he designed the equipment. He was also consulting engineer for Henry R. Worthington, the Dickson Manufacturing Company, City of Boston and City of Cambridge, and designed the pumping engine for the City of Louisville, Kentucky. He was advisory engineer and designed machinery for the Bethlehem Steel Company and for South African mining companies. He was a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and formerly its president; the American Society of Civil Engineers, American Institute of Mining Engineers, Boston Society of Civil Engineers, American Society of Naval Engineers, an honorary member of the British Society for the Advancement of Science, life member of Franklin Institute, and member of Institution of Civil Engineers and of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers of Great Britain. He was also a fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
In 1884 Mr. Leavitt received the honorary degree of Doctor of Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology of New Jersey. Leavitt retired from active practice in 1904. He married Annie Elisabeth Pettit in 1867, and had three daughters, Mary, Margaret and Annie.
Source
Cambridge Chronicle, March 18, 1916
Related Materials:
Materials at Other Organizations
Michigan Technological University Archives and Copper Country Historical Collections
Calumet and Hecla Mining Company Collection
Provenance:
Collection materials donated by Calumet and Hecla, Inc. in 1960 and by Thomas E. P. Rice, 1977.
The collection came to the Smithsonian in 1960 from Calumet & Hecla, Inc. In the course of a reorganization in 1952 mining had been dropped from the company name as the emphasis was on chemicals, foundry work, and forest products. Its remaining mining activites in other areas of Michigan were phased out during the 1960s and in 1968 Calumet & Hecla merged with Universal Oil Products, Inc. Late in 1970 Universal Oil Products scrapped what was left of the Calumet & Hecla physical plant and its remaining assests were auctioned off.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Includes rate and tariff schedules, rules and regulation, ordinances, reports, municipal contract detail, policy statements, meeting proceeding, fire hydrants. Areas covered: New York (Watertown, Croton Aqueduct), Maine, Virginia, Maryland, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Interstate Traffic, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Oregon (Portland),
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: Waterworks, 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).
The collection consists of cyanotype and silver gelatin photographs, print negatives, publications, stamps, and a glass plate negative, documenting the Metropolitan Water Works during its construction.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists of four series. Series 1,Cyanotype photographs and Series 2,Cyanotype photographs contain a total 877 cyanotype photographs.
Series 3, contains 128 silver gelatin photographs, 14 print negatives.
Series 4, contains one glass plate negative, two stamps and two publications.
The material's from 1895 to 1919. The material is arranged by number.
Overall the cyanotype photographs are in good condition while some show signs of water damage. Images depict different installations of the Boston Waterworks system, views of pumping stations being installed and in operation as well as views of water mains. The first publication relates to the Metropolitan District Water supply tunnel from the Ware River to the Wachusett Reservoir and the second publication relates to the Boston Society of Civil Engineers excursion to water supply from the Metropolitan District, October 22, 1932. The stamps were used to label the cyanotype photographs with the name of the collection, date it was received, and the museum division name.
Arrangement:
The Collection is organized into three series.
Series 1: Cyanotype Photographs, 1897-1919
Series 2: Silver Gelatin Photographs, 1896-1921
Series 3: Glass Plate Negative, Stamps, and Publications, 1932
Biographical:
In 1846, the city of Boston established the first municipal water utility in order to maintain and operate the Cochituate Water Works, known as the Boston Water Commissioners. In 1850, the Cochituate Water Board is established.In 1865, the Mystic Water Board was established. In 1875 the Cochituate Water Board and Mystic Water Board merge to create the Boston Water Board. Later in 1895, the Boston Water Board was abolished, which lead to the establishment of the Metropolitan Water Board, resulting in the transfer of maintenances and operations of the Boston Water Board to the Metropolitan Water Board as well as the Spot Pond Water Works of the towns of Melrose, Malden and Medford. The Boston Water Board then became known as the Boston Water Department. In 1901, the Metropolitan Water Board merged with the Board of Metropolitan Sewerage Commissioners to form the Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Board. In 1919, the Metropolitan Park Commission merges with the Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Board to form the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC).
Source
Historical note was provided courtesy of: Sean M. Fisher, Archivist, DCR Archives, Office of Cultural Resources, Bureau of Planning and Resource Protection, MA Department of Conservation and Recreation, 251 Causeway St., Suite 600, Boston, MA 02114-2119
Related Materials:
Commonwealth of Massachusetts State Archives
Metropolitan Water Works photograph collection, 1876-1930 (bulk 1895-1921)
Series includes photographic documentation of the Boston Water Board's construction between 1890 and 1895, representing the Hopkinton Reservoir and Dam, and Sudbury Reservoir and Dam; and the photographic documentation of the Metropolitan Water Works system through three successive state agencies between 1895 and 1926.
Provenance:
The collection was acquired by Curator Robert Vogel, Division of Work and Industry, National Museum of American History, 1964-1965.
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.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, vol. 32, no. 8, July 1930; vol. 63, no. 7, May 1961; and vol. 64, no. 1, November 1961.
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 Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
Arthur Raymond Brooks Collection, NASM.1989.0104, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
