Loammi Baldwin Jr. (May 16, 1780 – June 30, 1838) was an American civil engineer. His father was Col.
Loammi Baldwin
Colonel Loammi Baldwin (January 10, 1744 – October 20, 1807) was a noted American engineer, politician, and a soldier in the American Revolutionary War.
Baldwin is known as the Father of American Civil Engineering. His five sons, Cyrus ...
, a prominent civil engineer.
Biography
Baldwin was born at North
Woburn, Massachusetts
Woburn ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,876 at the 2020 census. Woburn is located north of Boston. Woburn uses Massachusetts' mayor-council form of governme ...
living at
Baldwin House aka "The Baldwin Mansion", educated at
Westford Academy
Westford Academy is the public high school for the town of Westford, Massachusetts, United States. It was incorporated in 1792 and is one of the oldest public high schools in the United States.
History
Westford Academy (WA) was founded as a ...
, and graduated from
Harvard College
Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...
in 1800. His early inclinations were towards mechanical subjects, and during his college life he made a clock which kept good time.
In 1794 at age 14 he accompanied his father and two brothers (
Cyrus
Cyrus (Persian: کوروش) is a male given name. It is the given name of a number of Persian kings. Most notably it refers to Cyrus the Great ( BC). Cyrus is also the name of Cyrus I of Anshan ( BC), King of Persia and the grandfather of Cyrus t ...
, 22, and
Benjamin
Benjamin ( he, ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel (Jacob's thir ...
, 17) on a nine-day consulting inspection visit from the famous canal engineer
William Weston of the route of the
Middlesex Canal
The Middlesex Canal was a 27-mile (44-kilometer) barge canal connecting the Merrimack River with the port of Boston. When operational it was 30 feet (9.1 m) wide, and 3 feet (0.9 m) deep, with 20 locks, each 80 feet (24 m) long and between 10 and ...
. Later all five of
Loammi Baldwin
Colonel Loammi Baldwin (January 10, 1744 – October 20, 1807) was a noted American engineer, politician, and a soldier in the American Revolutionary War.
Baldwin is known as the Father of American Civil Engineering. His five sons, Cyrus ...
Senior's sons (Loammi Baldwin Jr.,
Benjamin Franklin Baldwin Benjamin Franklin Baldwin (December 15, 1777 – October 11, 1821) was one of the five sons of Loammi Baldwin of Woburn, Massachusetts.
Baldwin held the office of captain in the militia from 1800 to 1805, of major from 1807 to 1811, and of lie ...
, Cyrus Baldwin,
James Fowle Baldwin
James Fowle Baldwin (April 29, 1782 – May 20, 1862) was an early American civil engineer who worked with his father and brothers on the Middlesex Canal, surveyed and designed the Boston and Lowell Railroad and the Boston and Albany Railroad, the ...
and
George Rumford Baldwin
George Rumford Baldwin (North Woburn, January 26, 1798 – North Woburn, October 11, 1888) an early American civil engineer who worked with his father Loammi Baldwin and brothers Loammi Baldwin, Jr. Cyrus Baldwin, Benjamin Franklin Baldwin, and ...
) worked with their father on the ten-year construction of the
Middlesex Canal
The Middlesex Canal was a 27-mile (44-kilometer) barge canal connecting the Merrimack River with the port of Boston. When operational it was 30 feet (9.1 m) wide, and 3 feet (0.9 m) deep, with 20 locks, each 80 feet (24 m) long and between 10 and ...
.
After graduation, he entered a law office in
Groton, Massachusetts
Groton is a town in northwestern Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, within the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The population was 11,315 at the 2020 census. It is home to two prep schools: Lawrence Academy at Groton, founded in 17 ...
, where he constructed a
fire engine
A fire engine (also known in some places as a fire truck or fire lorry) is a road vehicle (usually a truck) that functions as a firefighting apparatus. The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters and water to an i ...
called "Torrent", which the town greatly needed.
In 1804 he completed his studies at Groton and opened his own law office in
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
. In 1807, however, he abandoned his law practice in favor of engineering. He traveled to
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
to inspect public works and intended to do the same in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, but he was barred by the difficulty in entering the country. Upon his return he began an engineering practice in
Charlestown, Massachusetts
Charlestown is the oldest neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. Originally called Mishawum by the Massachusett tribe, it is located on a peninsula north of the Charles River, across from downtown Boston, and also adjoins t ...
. He was elected a Fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
in 1810,
and a member of the
American Antiquarian Society
The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...
in 1814.
American Antiquarian Society Members Directory
/ref>
One of his earliest engineering works was the construction of Fort Strong
Fort Strong is a former U.S. Army Coast Artillery fort that occupied the northern third of Long Island in Boston Harbor. The island had a training camp during the American Civil War, and a gun battery was built there in the 1870s. The fort was ...
(1814), a fort in Boston Harbor
Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeastern United States.
History
Since ...
built for defense against the British. He served as chief engineer with the rank of Colonel, a title which has sometimes confused him with his father. In 1819 he was asked to complete the construction of the Milldam, now that stretch of Beacon Street
Beacon Street is a major thoroughfare in Boston, Massachusetts and its western suburbs Brookline and Newton. It passes through many of Boston's central and western neighborhoods, including Beacon Hill, Back Bay, Fenway–Kenmore, the Boston Uni ...
beyond the Boston Common
The Boston Common (also known as the Common) is a public park in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest city park in the United States. Boston Common consists of of land bounded by Tremont Street (139 Tremont St.), Park Street, Beacon ...
. From 1817 to 1820, he worked in Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, and in 1821 was made engineer of the Union Canal
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. In 1824 Baldwin returned to Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
and remained there a year, mostly in France, examining public works.
In 1825 he joined a small committee planning the Bunker Hill Monument
The Bunker Hill Monument is a monument erected at the site of the Battle of Bunker Hill in Boston, Massachusetts, which was among the first major battles between the Red Coats and Patriots in the American Revolutionary War. The 221-foot (67 m) gran ...
and recommended the obelisk now seen there. In 1827 he accepted an appointment from the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
government which led to the two great works of his life (1827-1834): the naval dry dock
A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...
s at the Boston Navy Yard
The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of t ...
in Charlestown and at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard
The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility tha ...
in Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
. Baldwin led many other projects such as a marine railway at Pensacola
Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ci ...
; construction of buildings at Harvard College
Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...
; a canal around the Ohio River
The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...
falls; a stone bridge called the Warren Bridge at Charlestown; and the Union Canal in Pennsylvania.
Baldwin was twice married; first to Ann, daughter of George Williams, of Salem. She was sister of Samuel Williams, an eminent American banker in London; second on June 22, 1828, to Catherine, widow of Captain Thomas Beckford, of Charlestown. She died May 3, 1864. Child by first marriage: Samuel Williams Baldwin, born 1817, died December 28, 1822.
About a year before he died he had a stroke
A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...
of paralysis; a second attack proved fatal. He died at Charlestown, Massachusetts on June 30, 1838, at the age of fifty-eight, and was buried in Woburn. After Loammi's stroke and death his brother, James Fowle Baldwin (1782-1862), with whom he had often worked, continued his work especially for a safe water supply for Boston.
References
External links
''Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of the State of Massachusetts.''
By William Richard Cutter
William Richard Cutter (August 17, 1847 – June 6, 1918) was an American historian, genealogist, and writer.
Life
Born in Woburn, Massachusetts on August 17, 1847, he was the son of Dr. Benjamin Cutter and Mary Whittemore Cutter. He attended ...
, William Frederick Adams, published 1910. Loammi Baldwin Jr. article in volume 1 page 579.
*
''Historical Sketch of Groton, Massachusetts. 1655-1890''.
By Samuel Abbott Green, published 1894, 263 pages. Citation - page 206 of the above pictures Baldwins Fire Engine.
''Ancient Middlesex with Brief Biographical Sketches of the Men who Have Served the County.''
By Levi Swanton Gould, Loammi Baldwin Jr. article on page 29.
* ''The Old Middlesex Canal'' by Mary Stetson Clarke, published 1974 The Hilltop Press, 191 pages. Page 19 for Baldwin biography, page 29 on Weston visit.
''Report on Introducing Pure Water Into the City of Boston.''
By Loammi Baldwin, published 1834, 78 pages.
''Report on Introducing Pure Water Into the City of Boston.''
By Loammi Baldwin, published 1835, 143 pages.
14 Vols. Papers. 1784–1904, bulk 1820–34.
Guide to the Loammi Baldwin Papers 1821-1842
from th
University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baldwin, Loammi Jr.
1780 births
1838 deaths
Harvard College alumni
People from Woburn, Massachusetts
American civil engineers
Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Members of the American Antiquarian Society
Loammi