Alvah Crocker
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Alvah Crocker (October 14, 1801 – December 26, 1874) was an American manufacturer and railroad promoter. He served in the
Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from th ...
and was
U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
from
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
.


Biography

Born in
Leominster, Massachusetts Leominster ( ) is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the second-largest city in Worcester County, with a population of 43,782 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Leominster i ...
, Crocker attended the public schools and
Groton Academy Lawrence Academy at Groton is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational college preparatory boarding school located in Groton, Massachusetts, in the United States. Founded in 1792 by a group of fifty residents of Groton and Pepperell, Massachusetts ...
. He was first employed in a paper mill at
Franklin, New Hampshire Franklin is a city in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 8,741, the least of New Hampshire's 13 cities. Franklin includes the village of West Franklin. History Situated at the confluence of th ...
, in 1820. In 1823, he borrowed the money necessary to establish a paper mill at Fitchburg and served as proprietor of paper manufactures there. His paper mills became the largest in the United States and he built extensive machine shops and foundries in the neighborhood of his mills. In manufacturing white paper he was the first to use cotton waste and also the first to use palm leaf fibre in wall papers.''The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans'', by John Howard Brown
/ref> He was elected to the Massachusetts legislature in 1835, where he advocated steam communication with
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, returned to the legislature in 1842, and obtained a charter for a new railroad between northern Massachusetts and the seaboard, which was completed through his exertions in 1845. He afterward engaged in building the Vermont and Massachusetts, the Troy and Boston, and the
Hoosac Tunnel The Hoosac Tunnel (also called Hoosic or Hoosick Tunnel) is a active railroad tunnel in western Massachusetts that passes through the Hoosac Range, an extension of Vermont's Green Mountains. It runs in a straight line from its east portal, al ...
railroads, and in 1847/8 lectured in behalf of the tunnel project. The
Science Channel Science Channel (often simply branded as Science; abbreviated to SCI) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel features programming focusing on science related to wilderness survival, engineering, man ...
documentary ''Driven to Invent: Killer Tunnel'' called Crocker "The Father of Modern Tunneling" for his influence in advancing the use of
geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althoug ...
s, explosives,
pneumatic tool A pneumatic tool, air tool, air-powered tool or pneumatic-powered tool is a type of power tool, driven by compressed air supplied by an air compressor. Pneumatic tools can also be driven by compressed carbon dioxide () stored in small cylinders ...
s, boring technology, and said, "He laid down the rules for tunnel construction even to the present day." He served as president of the Fitchburg Railroad. 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 ...
, he was a member of the
Massachusetts State Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...
for two terms. Crocker was elected as a
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
to the Forty-second Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of William B. Washburn (who was elected Governor). He was reelected to the Forty-third Congress. He served in Congress from January 2, 1872, until his death in
Fitchburg, Massachusetts Fitchburg is a city in northern Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The third-largest city in the county, its population was 41,946 at the 2020 census. Fitchburg is home to Fitchburg State University as well as 17 public and private e ...
, December 26, 1874. He was interred in Laurel Hill Cemetery.


See also

* List of United States Congress members who died in office (1790–1899)


References

;Attribution


Future reading

*Wheelwright, William Bond, ''Life and Times of Alvah Crocker'' 1923, Reprint, New York: Arno Press, 1981.


External links

* Crane, Ellery Bicknell
''Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of Worcester County Massachusetts''
page 241. {{DEFAULTSORT:Crocker, Alvah 1801 births 1874 deaths People from Leominster, Massachusetts Massachusetts Whigs Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Massachusetts state senators 19th-century American railroad executives Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts 19th-century American politicians