Julius Walker Adams
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Julius Walker Adams (October 18, 1812 – December 13, 1899) 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 ...
and railroad engineer, who designed the
Starrucca Viaduct Starrucca Viaduct is a stone arch bridge that spans Starrucca Creek near Lanesboro, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Completed in 1848 at a cost of $320,000 (equal to $ today), it was at the time the world's largest stone railway viaduct and w ...
. He co-founded the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1852 and served as its president from 1874 to 1875.


Early years

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, on October 18, 1812, son of Eli Adams and Sarah D. Swift. Adams was the second cousin of President John Quincy Adams. In 1830, he entered the United States Military Academy, where he studied for two years, but resigned to start working as an engineer for his uncle George Washington Whistler.


Career

From 1832 to 1844, he acted as assistant engineer of various railroads. Adams was assistant engineer on the Providence and Stonington Railroad and on the
Paterson and Hudson River Railroad The Paterson and Hudson River Railroad was a railroad that operated in New Jersey and connected the cities of Jersey City and southeast Paterson. The railroad was started in 1833. The company was the first in the United States to build moveable ...
and was chief engineer in various enterprises. Then he was at
Cochituate Cochituate (; ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Wayland in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,569 at the 2010 census. Geography Cochituate is located at . According to the United States Censu ...
water works, Boston, in 1846, and in the same year became superintending engineer of the Erie Railway, where he worked with
Daniel McCallum Daniel Craig McCallum (January 21, 1815 – December 27, 1878) was a Scottish-born American railroad engineer, general manager of the New York and Erie Railroad and Union Brevet Major General of the United States Military Railroads during the Am ...
. With
James P. Kirkwood James Pugh Kirkwood (27 March 1807 – 22 April 1877) was a 19th-century American civil engineer, and general superintendent of the Erie Railroad in the year 1849–1850.Edward Harold Mott Between the Ocean and the Lakes: The Story of Erie'' Colli ...
Adams designed the stone arch
Starrucca Viaduct Starrucca Viaduct is a stone arch bridge that spans Starrucca Creek near Lanesboro, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Completed in 1848 at a cost of $320,000 (equal to $ today), it was at the time the world's largest stone railway viaduct and w ...
, which was built in 1847-1848 by New York and Erie Railroad. In 1851 he also was editor of Appletons' ''Mechanics' Magazine''. In 1852 he moved to Kentucky, was chief engineer of the Central Railroad, and in 1855 of the
Memphis and Ohio Railroad Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memphi ...
. In 1856, he switched from railroad engineering to design and supervise the first large-scale urban
sewerage Sewerage (or sewage system) is the infrastructure that conveys sewage or surface runoff (stormwater, meltwater, rainwater) using sewers. It encompasses components such as receiving drainage, drains, manholes, pumping stations, storm overflows, a ...
and drainage system in the United States for Brooklyn, New York, worked there from 1857 to 1860, when he became an engineer for New Haven's water works. During the Civil War, he became a colonel of engineers and also of the 67th New York Volunteers, while served in Army of the Potomac, from 1861 to 1863. Wounded in the 1862 Battle of Seven Pines in Virginia, he resigned and returned to Brooklyn, where Adams was consulting engineer in New York city. During the 1863 New York City draft riots, he commanded the troops who defended the offices of the '' New York Times'' and '' New-York Tribune'', which published the names of those selected for service.


Last years

From 1869 to 1878 he served as chief engineer of the Brooklyn board of city works, and from 1878 to 1889 consulting engineer of the board of public works of New York City. A suggestion of his led to the formation of a company which eventually had charge of building the first bridge over the East River at New York. He served as president of the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1874–75, and published ''Sewers and Drains'' and various scientific papers. He was edited ''
Engineering News ''Engineering News-Record'' (widely known as ''ENR'') is an American weekly magazine that provides news, analysis, data and opinion for the construction industry worldwide. It is widely regarded as one of the construction industry's most authori ...
'', from 1881 to 1882, and became member of the American Academy for the Advancement of Science and of the New York Academy of Science.


Family

His son, Julius W. Adams (born in Westfield, Massachusetts, in April 1840; died in Brooklyn, New York, November 15, 1865), graduated at West Point in 1861, served there as assistant instructor of infantry tactics until June 1862, was wounded and taken prisoner at Gaines's Mills, promoted captain in August 1862, and served at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, where he commanded a regiment, and the Second Battle of Cold Harbor, where he received wounds that caused his death. He died in Brooklyn, New York, on December 13, 1899.


Selected publications

* Adams, Julius W.; et al. (1875, ed.) ''Templeton's Engineer, Millwright, and Mechanics' Companion: Report on the Pollution of Rivers'', New York Academy of Sciences * Adams, Julius Walker (1881). ''Sewerage of Elmira'' * Adams, Julius Walker; Hering, Rudolph (1884). ''Report on the Improved Sewerage System''


References

Attribution * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Julius Walker 1812 births 1899 deaths American civil engineers Union Army officers Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery