Moncure Robinson (February 2, 1802 – November 10, 1891) was an American
civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...
, railroad planner and builder and a railroad and steamboat owner,
["Robinson, Moncure (1802-1891)"](_blank)
at Swem Library Special Collections, The College of William & Mary Robinson. Accessed February 12, 2014. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. who is considered one of America's leading
Antebellum period
In the history of the Southern United States, the Antebellum Period (from la, ante bellum, lit= before the war) spanned the end of the War of 1812 to the start of the American Civil War in 1861. The Antebellum South was characterized by the ...
civil engineers. He was educated at the
College of William and Mary
The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III a ...
and at the
Sorbonne
Sorbonne may refer to:
* Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities.
*the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970)
*one of its components or linked institution, ...
; his most noted project was the
Philadelphia & Reading Railroad
The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and commercial rail transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states that operated from 1924 until its 1976 acquisition by Conrail.
Commonly calle ...
.
Unlike many early 19th century American engineers, Robinson did not receive his engineering education at the
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...
at
West Point
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
, New York. He acquired his
engineering education
Engineering education is the activity of teaching knowledge and principles to the professional practice of engineering. It includes an initial education (bachelor's and/or master's degree), and any advanced education and specializations that ...
through self-directed study and observing engineering projects throughout the United States and Europe. Within nine years of the introduction of the first
steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
in the United States, Robinson surveyed, supervised the construction, or was the consulting engineer for 721 miles of track (or one-third the entire railroad track built to that time). At the time of his death in 1891, over 163,000 miles of track spanned the country.
Along with well-known engineers
Benjamin Henry Latrobe, II
Benjamin Henry Latrobe II (December 19, 1806 – October 19, 1878) was an American civil engineer, best known for his railway bridges, and a railway executive.
Personal life
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on December 19, 1806, he was the ...
,
John Edgar Thomson
John Edgar Thomson (February 10, 1808 – May 27, 1874) was an American civil engineer and industrialist. An entrepreneur best known for his leadership of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) from 1852 until his death in 1874, Thomson made it the lar ...
, and
John B. Jervis
John Bloomfield Jervis (December 14, 1795 – January 12, 1885) was an American civil engineer. America's leading consulting engineer of the antebellum era (1820–60), Jervis designed and supervised the construction of five of America's earliest ...
, Moncure Robinson was in much demand during the late 1820s-40s and after, the transition period from America's Canal Era to the beginning of the Railway Age. By 1850, the basic technical aspects of the American railroad had been solved by this generation of engineers.
Early life
Moncure Robinson was born in Richmond, Virginia to Agnes Conway Moncure (1780 – November 15, 1862), whose husband, John Robinson III (February 13, 1773 – April 26, 1850), was clerk and later judge of the circuit court.
Both parents were from the
First Families of Virginia
First Families of Virginia (FFV) were those families in Colonial Virginia who were socially prominent and wealthy, but not necessarily the earliest settlers. They descended from English colonists who primarily settled at Jamestown, Williamsburg ...
. His brother
Conway Robinson
Conway Robinson (September 15, 1805 – January 30, 1884) was a Virginia lawyer, author, slaveholder and politician aligned with the Democratic Party who represented Richmond, Virginia during the 1852-1853 session of the Virginia House of Delegat ...
would serve a term in the Virginia House of Delegates, but become more noted as a legal scholar and historian, as well as for establishing parks and public buildings during his time on Richmond's City Council.
The Robinson family presence in Virginia dates to 1688 at New Charles Parish.
His mother's father, Peyton Conway, was the clerk of the court in
Stafford County, Virginia
Stafford County is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is a suburb outside of Washington D.C. It is approximately south of D.C. It is part of the Northern Virginia region, and the D.C area. It is one of the fastest growing, and highest ...
, and her family also descended from Scots immigrant—Rev. John Moncure (1709-1764), longtime priest of
Aquia parish and friend of founding fathers
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
,
George Mason
George Mason (October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, one of the three delegates present who refused to sign the Constitution. His writings, including s ...
and others. His brothers were Cary, Edwin, Conway, Eustace and Moore Robinson, sisters Octavia (c. 1813 – c. 1880) and Cornelia.
Education and apprenticeship
Moncure Robinson attended the
College of William and Mary
The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III a ...
from 1815 to 1818. He did not graduate, because in 1818 the College asked him and 21 other students to leave in a dispute involving the charges for a lecture class. Although later exonerated, Robinson never returned to the school, nor fulfilled his father's expectation to follow his example and become an attorney, (though his cousin,
Richard C.L. Moncure long served as President of the
Court of Appeals
A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...
).
Robinson studied
drafting in New York, and visited the
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...
then under construction. Knowing that Virginians contemplated similar canal building, Robinson applied for a position with the Board of Public Works to survey a route from Richmond to the Ohio River.
Personal life
Robinson married Charlotte Randolph Taylor (1815–1895) on February 2, 1835. Likewise a member of the First Families of Virginia, her grandfather
Edmund Randolph
Edmund Jennings Randolph (August 10, 1753 September 12, 1813) was a Founding Father of the United States, attorney, and the 7th Governor of Virginia. As a delegate from Virginia, he attended the Constitutional Convention and helped to create ...
was the nation's first attorney general, and numerous other Randolphs likewise distinguished (even President Thomas Jefferson could trace Randolph family descent). Their sons were John Moncure Robinson (1835-1893) and Edmund Randolph Robinson; their unmarried daughter Natalie Robinson lived at home in 1880. The family lived in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
beginning in 1835, although the traveling Moncure Robinson only lived there intermittently until his death. They also had a residence in
Richmond, Virginia
(Thus do we reach the stars)
, image_map =
, mapsize = 250 px
, map_caption = Location within Virginia
, pushpin_map = Virginia#USA
, pushpin_label = Richmond
, pushpin_m ...
.
Early surveys
![Danville and Pottsville Rail Road survey, 1831](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Danville_and_Pottsville_Rail_Road_survey%2C_1831.jpg)
Although denied a job because of his youth, the enthusiastic 16-year-old Robinson was allowed to accompany the surveyors as a volunteer.
On returning to Virginia, Robinson worked as an engineer's assistant with the
James River Company
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguat ...
, apprenticing on survey work for canals in his native state. He then continued his education in Europe, where he witnessed and learned from some of the world's first railroad operations. Three years later, the Virginia Board of Public Works hired Robinson to assist in locating an extension for the
James River Canal
The James River and Kanawha Canal was a partially built canal in Virginia intended to facilitate shipments of passengers and freight by water between the western counties of Virginia and the coast. Ultimately its towpath became the roadbed for a ...
. Robinson traveled to New York to view the construction of the Erie Canal, over a less hilly route than contemplated in Virginia. That visit convinced him of the advantages of railroads over canals both as a means of transportation and in commerce. His report to the Virginia Board of Public Works disputed the benefits of further canal development, and praised railroads in its place. Faced with an unenthusiastic response, Robinson resigned his position and, at that moment, devoted himself to developing railroads.
Robinson then traveled to Europe and further studied
civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...
at the Ecole des Ponts et Chaussees,
Sorbonne
Sorbonne may refer to:
* Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities.
*the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970)
*one of its components or linked institution, ...
, in Paris from 1825 to 1827. Touring Europe, Robinson also studied canal, harbor, bridge and railroad engineering in England, the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, France and
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
.
Railroad construction
![First Passenger Train in N](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/First_Passenger_Train_in_N.Y._State%2C_1831.png)
In 1828-1829, Pennsylvania hired Robinson to survey parts of the state's anthracite coal regions, the upper Susquehanna River canal system, and the
Danville and Pottsville Railroad
This is a list of the earliest Rail transport, railroads in North America, including various railroad-like precursors to the general modern form of a company or government agency operating locomotive-drawn trains on metal tracks.
Railroad-like ...
(D & P) connecting the upper Susquehanna and Schuylkill rivers' canal systems with the coal fields in between. Moncure Robinson remained an early advocate of railroads over canals, and came to direct construction of several of the earliest railroads in the country, including parts of the D & P railroad and inclines during the early 1830s.
In 1829, Pennsylvania's "Main Line of Public Works" hired Robinson to survey part of the canal and railroad route from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. His best known early work was the survey and design of the
Allegheny Portage Railroad
The Allegheny Portage Railroad was the first railroad constructed through the Allegheny Mountains in central Pennsylvania, United States; it operated from 1834 to 1854 as the first transportation infrastructure through the gaps of the Allegheny ...
, the 36 mile combination of ten inclines and level railroad over the Allegheny Mountains,
Hollidaysburg
Hollidaysburg is a borough in and the county seat of Blair County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is located on the Juniata River, south of Altoona and is part of the Altoona, Pennsylvania, metropolitan statistical area. In 1900, 2,998 ...
to
Johnstown, which connected the state's canal on the east side with another state-subsidized canal in the Ohio River drainage on the west. The survey included the first railroad tunnel to be built in the United States, and became an engineering landmark. Modeled after early British practices, some called it one of the greatest accomplishments of the Canal Era.
Robinson also surveyed lines in the Mahanoy and Shamokin coal lands, eventually acquiring a part of the lands. He was civil engineer for the Little Schuylkill Railroad, 1830-1831, and for what would become the Catawissa Railroad in the anthracite country (all later part of the Reading). All had inclines and connected to canals—still within the early British tradition of railroads being an adjunct to water/canal transport systems. While building one of the short coal railroads of the anthracite region, Robinson also served as post master of
Port Clinton, Pennsylvania
Port Clinton is a borough in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located at the confluence of the Schuylkill and Little Schuylkill rivers, it was a port on the Schuylkill Canal and named after DeWitt Clinton.
Geography
According to ...
, where an early home of his still stands. He also promoted the use of trains to carry mail.
Back in his native Virginia, Robinson built the
Chesterfield Railroad
The Chesterfield Railroad was located in Chesterfield County, Virginia. It was a long mule-and-gravity powered line that connected the Midlothian coal mines with wharves that were located at the head of navigation on the James River just below th ...
, a thirteen-mile coal road with incline, the first railroad 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 ...
, completed in 1831. Robinson also directed construction of other short lines around Richmond:
Richmond & Petersburg,
Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac
The Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad was a railroad connecting Richmond, Virginia, to Washington, D.C. The track is now the RF&P Subdivision of the CSX Transportation system; the original corporation is no longer a railroad compa ...
(which his brother Conway Robinson serving as President), and
Winchester & Potomac. In 1833, at age 31, Robinson became chief engineer for a grand railroad project from Richmond through Lynchburg, and later the New River Gorge, and on to the Ohio River. Although Robinson completed a survey, backers of the existing (though troubled and incomplete)
James River Canal
The James River and Kanawha Canal was a partially built canal in Virginia intended to facilitate shipments of passengers and freight by water between the western counties of Virginia and the coast. Ultimately its towpath became the roadbed for a ...
blocked public funding for the company, so it could not to enough raise funds for construction, although decades later the
Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad
The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P. Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Richmond to ...
built the route.
Meanwhile, Robinson returned to Pennsylvania. In 1833, he was elected to the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
. In 1833-1834, he also surveyed a railroad in the
Tamaqua coal fields, directed further D & P construction in the Shamokin Valley, and another built another coal line near
Pottsville
Pottsville usually refers to the city of Pottsville, Pennsylvania, in the United States.
Pottsville may also refer to:
Other communities
*Pottsville, New South Wales, Australia
*Pottsville, Arkansas, United States
*Pottsville, Kentucky, United ...
. During 1834-1840, Robinson became chief engineer of the new
Philadelphia and Reading Railroad
The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and commercial rail transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states that operated from 1924 until its 1976 acquisition by Conrail.
Commonly called ...
and directed construction of the line, including a spectacular stone bridge and a tunnel 1,932 feet long now considered his crowning achievements. The 93-mile railroad built from the major anthracite coal fields of Pottsville to Reading and then to the connecting railroads and port at Philadelphia was the first double track mainline in the United States (after the British model). The route included three of the nine first railroad tunnels in the United States, and was reportedly the first to use crushed stone ballast. (In 1828-9, Robinson had designed his first railroads—the Allegheny Portage and the Danville & Pottsville railroads—as double track lines, but these included inclines that worked better with two tracks; the Reading was the first main line designed at the outset with double tracks in mind, though with only a 22' wide grade that required widening later). Because of the extensive coal fields it tapped, the Reading would become one of the most profitable railroads in the U. S. It was also considered Moncure Robinson's first mountain railroad without inclines—a statement about the transition from the Canal Era of feeder coal roads to water transport/canals. The Reading paralleled the
Schuylkill Canal, and by the 1840s proved the superiority of the railroad over the turnpikes and canals; railroads thus became the 19th century's inland transportation system.
![Louisa Rail Road, Table of Garduations, 1836](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Louisa_Rail_Road%2C_Table_of_Garduations%2C_1836.jpg)
Horses and mules, gravity and stationary steam engines on inclines, were the first motive power on Moncure Robinson's railroads. Though Robinson held patents on incline systems, from the beginning, he recommended British built locomotives for railroads, especially the recently perfected 0-4-0s with Bury fire box. By the mid-1830s, American mechanics had perfected the 4-2-0, with its lead swivel truck or pilot wheels – designed by John B Jervis for the Mohawk & Hudson – and Robinson recommended these for steeper grade railroads during the late 1830s, in Virginia and Pennsylvania. For the Reading, he ordered British and American made locomotives. For more power, however, he helped design in 1839 one of the earliest 4-4-0 locomotives, the "Gowan & Marx," named after his London banker. The most powerful locomotive up to that time was built by Eastwick & Harrison of Philadelphia, and proved ideal for the coal fields tapped by the Reading.
In 1840, Robinson declined an offer from the Czar of Russia to direct an ambitious railroad building program, but did serve as consultant to the Czar, the US government, and elsewhere. About this time he broadened his consulting work, providing reports on the proposed
New York & Erie Railroad, the New York Harbor improvements, and other projects. In 1839, with Benjamin Latrobe, John Jervis, J Edgar Thomson,
Claudius Crozet
Claude "Claudius" Crozet (December 31, 1789 – January 29, 1864) was a soldier, educator, and civil engineer.
Crozet was born in France and trained as an artillery officer and civil engineer. After the defeat of Napoleon's army, he emigrated t ...
, Horatio Allen, Henry Campbell (and others), Robinson helped organize the
American Society of Civil Engineers
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
in Philadelphia. When the organization languished, Robinson helped form a new
American Society of Civil Engineers
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
in New York in 1852, and the following year the new organization bestowed one of its highest honors on Robinson by electing him an honorary member.
Robinson was described as "tall and handsome ... with cold, gray eyes, an aquiline nose, and a scar on the left side of his face that ran from the corner of his mouth to his ear. Women found him fascinating."
While working on the Reading, Robinson undertook other railroad projects. He built the majestic bridge across the
James River
The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...
between
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
and
Richmond, Virginia
(Thus do we reach the stars)
, image_map =
, mapsize = 250 px
, map_caption = Location within Virginia
, pushpin_map = Virginia#USA
, pushpin_label = Richmond
, pushpin_m ...
for the
Richmond and Petersburg Railroad
The Richmond and Petersburg Railroad moved passengers and goods between Richmond and Petersburg from 1838 to 1898. It survived the American Civil War and eventually merged into the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1900.
History
The Richmond and Pe ...
which was completed in 1838. This 19-span bridge was the most impressive Town lattice truss bridge ever built in wood. Because of increased business in Virginia, he left his cousin Wirt Robinson as the Reading's chief engineer. Between 1840 and 1847, Moncure Robinson succeeded his brother Conway (and an interim president) as president of the
Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad
The Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad was a railroad connecting Richmond, Virginia, to Washington, D.C. The track is now the RF&P Subdivision of the CSX Transportation system; the original corporation is no longer a railroad compan ...
and continued his interest in the line afterward (another brother Edwin Robinson succeeded him as president 1847-1860, and his son John became the line's president 1871-1878). Moncure Robinson also continued to advocate for a line from Richmond to the Ohio River, which would compete with the Baltimore and Ohio (Latrobe chief engineer), Pennsylvania (Thomson chief engineer, later president), and the series of lines paralleling the Erie Canal later organized as the New York Central (Jervis chief engineer), all of which built into the Ohio Valley/Midwest in the 1840s-50s.
Manager and financier
By the late 1840s Robinson was moving away from civil engineering, and toward management and finance. After successfully raising funds in England for the Reading railroad in the 1830s, he more and more turned to financing and directing project. Robinson became an active stockholder and/or director of various rail and water transport companies—the
Seaboard & Roanoke Railroad
The Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad was organized in 1833 (as the Portsmouth and Roanoke Railroad) to extend from the area of the rapids of the Roanoke River at its fall line near Weldon, North Carolina to Portsmouth, Virginia, across the Elizabeth ...
, the
Chesapeake & Delaware Canal
The Chesapeake & Delaware Canal (C&D Canal) is a -long, -wide and -deep ship canal that connects the Delaware River with the Chesapeake Bay in the states of Delaware and Maryland in the United States.
In the mid‑17th century, mapmaker Augus ...
, Chester Valley Railroad, Pennsylvania Railroad,
Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad
The Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad (PW&B) was an American railroad that operated independently from 1836 to 1881.
It was formed in 1836 by the merger of four state-chartered railroads in three Middle Atlantic states to create a ...
, steamboats on the Chesapeake, and other properties—managing his holdings from his Philadelphia home.
During the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
, his son John Moncure Robinson was president of the Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad and took pride in substituting Southern products for supplies normally purchased in the North (such as bacon grease for whale oil, and even manufacturing its own soap). However, military needs led the Confederate Secretary of War to order key railroad supplies such as iron to be sent to other locations, and even ordered the destruction of both Norfolk & Petersburg and Seaboard & Roanoke railroad track to patch other lines, especially the line from Petersburg to Weldon, North Carolina (previously a competitor). Federal troops seized one locomotive, and other rolling stock leased to other railroads. In May 1863 Union troops captured a bridge near
Carrsville, Virginia
Carrsville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Isle of Wight County in the Hampton Roads region of southeastern Virginia in the United States. The population as of the 2010 Census was 359. The town is named for Jesse Carr, whose family had long ...
and sent salvaged track to Norfolk, as well as narrowed the (5 foot wide) S&R line between Suffolk and Kilbey, so it could be operated as part of the
U.S. Military Railroad
The U.S. Military Railroad (USMRR) was established by the United States War Department as a separate agency to operate any rail lines seized by the government during the American Civil War. An Act of Congress of 31 January 1862 authorized Presi ...
. Meanwhile, following the example of his cousins (Conway Robinson's sons), Moncure Robinson's son John M. Robinson accepted a commission as a Confederate captain and in 1863 served as an engineering officer under General
Sam Jones in southwestern Virginia. He also ran the Union blockade and became a special purchasing agent in Europe for five Virginia railroads and the Confederate government. As commander of Company B of the 38th North Carolina Infantry, J.M. Robinson would attend General Robert E. Lee during the surrender at Appomattox Court House. He would later become President of the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad, but resigned in a bitter dispute with his father over curtailment of steamboat service on the Potomac River (although the two would reconcile at the end of both their lives). Captain Robinson would become president of the Baltimore Steam Packet Company (a/k/a Bay Line) as well as the S&R railroad, and develop rail-water service between Baltimore, Portsmouth, Raleigh, Hamlet, Abbeville and Atlanta.
After the War, Moncure Robinson, his son John Moncure Robinson, former Confederate general
William Mahone
William Mahone (December 1, 1826October 8, 1895) was an American civil engineer, railroad executive, Confederate States Army general, and Virginia politician.
As a young man, Mahone was prominent in the building of Virginia's roads and railroa ...
and North Carolina businessman
Alexander Boyd Andrews
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
successfully worked with investors to consolidate a series of short-line railroads into what became the
Seaboard Air Line Railroad
The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , which styled itself "The Route of Courteous Service," was an American railroad which existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime rival, t ...
and ship system. They foiled an attempt by
Thomas A. Scott
Thomas Alexander Scott (December 28, 1823 – May 21, 1881) was an American businessman, railroad executive, and industrialist. In 1861, President Abraham Lincoln appointed him to serve as U.S. Assistant Secretary of War, and during the American ...
, who had risen through the ranks of the
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
and acquired the
Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad
The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P. Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Richmond ...
after the war, to build a system along the eastern seaboard. Instead, John Moncure Robinson became superintendent then president of this major, southern trunk line, from Norfolk and Richmond, Virginia to Atlanta, Georgia and Birmingham, Alabama. Even during the
Panic of 1873
The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the "Lon ...
(which destroyed Mahone's empire and much of the fledgling Republican party in Virginia) the Seaboard Road showed a profit and declared regular annual dividends.
In 1887, at age 85, Moncure Robinson completed his last railroad construction project, the 18-mile
Palmetto Railroad
The Palmetto Railroad was a Southeastern railroad that served South Carolina and North Carolina in the late 19th century.
The Palmetto Railroad was chartered by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1882 and the North Carolina General Assembly in ...
in the Carolinas, which helped link the Seaboard line from Richmond to Florida.
Death and legacy
![Moncure Robinson tombstone](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Moncure_Robinson_tombstone.jpg)
Robinson died on November 10, 1891 in Philadelphia and was interred at
Laurel Hill Cemetery
Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia. Founded in 1836, it was the second major rural cemetery in the United States after Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts.
The cemetery is ...
. He had survived his brother Conway Robinson by seven years (although Conway's body would be returned to Richmond for burial). Moncure Robinson's widow survived him by four years; their son and railroadman John M. Robinson reconciled with his father in their last years but only survived him by two years. Eulogists remembered that as a young man, Moncure Robinson had been one of the new Republic's first railroad civil engineers. Robinson wrote his will on September 11, 1873 (months before Conway's death), and left an endowment for preservation of the
Aquia Episcopal Church,
Aquia, Virginia Aquia () is an unincorporated community in Stafford County, in the U.S. state of Virginia.
It is named for Aquia Creek, which leads to the Potomac River. Nearby historic locations include Aquia Church and the remains of Aquia quarry. Cliffs of the ...
(his grandfather was reverend there, and his parents and many cousins of various degrees of descent are buried there—the Robinson trust still funds the cemetery's maintenance). His personal papers and the papers of the Robinson family are held by the
Special Collections Research Center at the
College of William and Mary
The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III a ...
.
Reputation
Robinson became the leading railroad engineer in the United States, attained an international reputation for engineering excellence and executive talent, and during his retirement continued to consult on various railroad projects. Called "one of the most distinguished civil engineers in the United States" and the "genius of America's earliest railways,"
[Brown, Revelle Wilson. ''Moncure Robinson (1802-1891) Genius of America's Earliest Railways.'' Newcomen Society of England, American Branch, 1949.] Robinson was instrumental in the early development and growth of the country's great railroad system.
He influenced Frederick List, called the "Father of German Railroads" and
Michel Chevalier
Michel Chevalier (; 13 January 1806 – 18 November 1879) was a French engineer, statesman, economist and free market liberal.
Biography
Born in Limoges, Haute-Vienne, Chevalier studied at the ''École Polytechnique'', obtaining an engineering d ...
, the Minister of Public Works under Louis Philippe and the most eminent engineer in France.
Publications
* Francis William Rawle, Moncure Robinson.
Central Rail Road: Reports of the Engineers of the Danville and Pottsville Rail Road Company ; with the Report of the Committee of the Board Thereon, October 15, 1831'' Danville and Pottsville Rail Road Company. Clark & Raser, 1831
* Moncure Robinson.
Report on the Continuation of the Little Schuylkill Rail Road: From Port Clinton to Reading'' J. and W. Kite, printers, 1834
* Moncure Robinson,
Jonathan Knight
Jonathan Rashleigh Knight-Rodriguez (born November 29, 1968) is an American singer. He is best known for being a member of the boy band New Kids on the Block. It also includes Donnie Wahlberg, Joey McIntyre, Danny Wood and his younger brother Jo ...
,
Benjamin Hall Wright.
Report of M. Robinson ... Jonathan Knight ... and Benjamin Wright ... Civil Engineers, upon the plan of the New-York and Erie Rail Road'' Scott & Company, 1835
* Moncure Robinson.
Report of Moncure Robinson, Esq: Upon the Surveys for the Louisa Rail Road'' Volume 38. T.W. White, 1836.
* Moncure Robinson. ''Obituary Notice of Henry Seybert''. 1883
References
Further reading
* Barbara E. Benson (ed.) ''Benjamin Henry Latrobe and Moncure Robinson: The Engineer as Agent of Technological Transfer.'' Proceedings Regional Conference in Economic History, Eleutherian Mills, 1974.
* Revelle W. Brown. ''The Reading Railroad – An Early History.'' The Newcomen Society of England, American Branch, New York, 1946.
* Revelle W. Brown. ''Moncure Robinson, Genius of America's Earliest Railways.'' The Newcomen Society of England, American Branch, New York, 1949.
* George H. Burgess and Miles C. Kennedy. ''Centennial History of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, 1846-1946.'' Philadelphia: Pennsylvania Railroad, 1949.
* James D. Dilts. ''The Great Road, the Building of the Baltimore and Ohio, the Nation's First Railroad, 1828-1853.'' Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1993.
* Richard B Osborne, "Professional Biography of Moncure Robinson," ''William & Mary Quarterly'', 2d Series, vol 1 #4, October 1921.
* Scott Nelson Reynolds. ''Iron Confederacies: Southern Railways, Klan Violence, and Reconstruction.'' University of North Carolina Press, 2000.
External links
Robinson, Moncure (1802-1891)at Swem Library Special Collections, The College of William & Mary Robinson.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Moncure
1802 births
1891 deaths
19th-century American railroad executives
Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia)
Businesspeople from Richmond, Virginia
Moncure family