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1850-1859

(not pictured)
Era: 1850-1859DateCreated: 1850-1857State: MDCountry: USA

The Old Lock Pump House, whose first element was built in 1837, preserves a feature of the old canal, which relied on locks and pumps to move vessels over the low divide of the Delmarva Peninsula between Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay. Because there are no large rivers on the peninsula, water had to be pumped uphill to fill the upper canal and locks.

The Oliver Chilled Cast-Iron Plow
Society: ASABEMain Category: Agricultural & BiologicalSub Category: MechanizationEra: 1850-1859DateCreated: 1857Oliver Plow WorksSouth BendState: INZip: 46601Country: USAWebsite: https://www.asabe.org/awards-landmarks/asabe-historic-landmarks/the-oliver-chilled-cast-iron-plow-51.aspxCreator: Oliver, James

On June 30, 1857, James Oliver filed a patent application for chilling the wear face of cast-iron moldboard plows.  While pouring molten cast iron in sand molds he circulated hot water through chillers to regulate the rate of cooling. Oliver's control of raw material content and cooling produced moldboards with a very hard surface  and a softer, tough inner core for strength.  Their fine textured wearing faces of uniform hardness maintained a mirror polish and resisted rust.

YearAdded:
2008
First Oil Well
Society: ACSMain Category: ChemicalSub Category: Industrial AdvancesEra: 1850-1859DateCreated: 1859Drake Well MuseumTitusvilleState: PACountry: USAWebsite: https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/pennsylvaniaoilindustry.htmlCreator: Drake, Edwin

Long before Texas gushers and offshore drilling, and a century before oil wells dotted Arabian sands and rose out of Venezuelan waters, the center of petroleum production was western Pennsylvania. In the middle of the 19thcentury two developments occurred that guaranteed Pennsylvania’s dominance: The construction, in Pittsburgh, of the first still to refine crude oil into kerosene for use in lighting, and the drilling of the first oil well in Titusville, Pennsylvania.

 

Image Caption: A retouched photograph showing Edwin L. Drake, to the right, and the Drake Well in the background, in Titusville, Pennsylvania, where the first commercial well was drilled in 1859 to find oil
asce
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilEra: 1850-1859DateCreated: 1852Old Croton AqueductSleepy HollowState: NYCountry: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/project/site-of-the-founding-meeting-of-asce-on-nov-5,-1852/

On October 23rd, 1852 a notice was sent to practitioners of civil engineering in and near New York City requesting their participation in developing an association that would serve the professionals who design and construct America's built environment. Twelve men responded to this invitation, meeting on November 5 in the office of Alfred W. Craven, chief engineer of the Croton Aqueduct  Department. These men became the founders of the American Society of Civil Engineers and Architects, later renamed the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).

Across the way from the portentous WPA Romanism of the National Archives in Washington, D.C., a cheerful stand of Federal buildings has managed to survive, and in one of them is a machine that changed the way the world looks.

Fate has put this mechanism in the hands of Fred Litwin, and it couldn’t have found a better curator.

Electric Fire Alarm System
Society: IEEEMain Category: ElectricEra: 1850-1859DateCreated: 1852Boston Fire Department officeBostonState: MAZip: 02115Country: USAWebsite: http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/Milestones:Electric_Fire_Alarm_System,_1852Creator: Channing, William, Farmer, Moses

On 28 April 1852 the first municipal electric fire alarm system using call boxes with automatic signaling to indicate the location of a fire was placed into operation in Boston. Invented by William Channing and Moses Farmer, this system was highly successful in reducing property loss and deaths due to fire and was subsequently adopted throughout the United States and in Canada.

YearAdded:
2004
Image Caption: Channing's fire-alarm system at Boston's City Hall in 1852Era_date_from: 1852
Iron Building of the U.S. Army Arsenal
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: BuildingsEra: 1850-1859DateCreated: 1859US Army ArsenalWatervlietState: NYZip: 12189Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/Project/Iron-Building-of-the-U-S--Army-Arsenal/Creator: Badger, Daniel D.

The Watervliet arsenal complex originally was built to house and manufacture weapons for the War of 1812. During the Civil War, it specialized in gun cartridges and artillery carriages. The facility today is a primary site for making state-of-the-art tank cannon, howitzers, mortars, and recoilless rifles.

Image Credit: Courtesy Wikipedia/US ArmyImage Caption: The 1859 cast iron storehouse at the U.S. Army's Watervliet Arsenal is a unique example of early prefabricated construction technology.Era_date_from: 1859
International Boundary Marker #1
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilEra: 1850-1859DateCreated: 1855El PasoState: TXCountry: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/project/international-boundary-marker/Creator: Emory, William

William Emory was an 1831 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. When the Mexican War broke out, he was assigned as chief engineer officer to General Stephen Kearny, whose army traversed largely unknown territories in the West. The U.S. War Department would later print 10,000 copies of Emory's Notes of a Military Reconnaissance, which made a significant contribution to understanding the geography and topography of the Southwest.

Image Caption: The easternmost boundary marker along the Mexico–United States border, just west of the Rio Grande. The photograph is taken from the northeastern corner, in the United States. The northern side of the obelisk contains a plaque in English; the eastern side of the obelisks contains a plaque in English and Spanish; the southern side of the obelisk presumably contains a plaque in Spanish.Era_date_from: 1855
Hoosac Tunnel
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: Rail TransportationEra: 1850-1859DateCreated: 1855-1876North AdamsState: MAZip: 10013Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/Project/Hoosac-Tunnel/Creator: Shanley, Walter and Francis

When first proposed in 1819, the Hoosac Tunnel seemed so logical. It would provide an efficient and direct route for the Boston and Albany Railroad, whose pathway meandered 20 miles along precipitous grades. Early proponents, however, could not have imagined that blasting a 4.75 mile tunnel through the Hoosac Mountain would require over 20 years of labor. The project took so long to complete that it was commonly referred to as "The Great Bore." 

YearAdded:
1975
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikipedia/Acela2038 Image Caption: The 4.75 mile Hoosac tunnel, which was bored through the Hoosac Mountain, required over 20 years of labor.Era_date_from: 1855
Fink Through Truss Bridge
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: BridgesEra: 1850-1859DateCreated: 1858HamdenState: NJZip: 08801Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/Project/Fink-Through-Truss-Bridge/

"Fink's truss design was one of a number of early patented solutions to [the problem of how] to carry a massive, moving weight (a train) over long spans (to avoid the expense of building piers and obstructing waterways) on easily erected bridges (often in rough terrain) with good long-term economy..." 
 - Kent Farnow Smith, "America's Oldest Functioning Iron-Truss Bridge," 1978

YearAdded:
1979
Image Credit: Courtesy Library of CongressImage Caption: This bridge is an example of the Fink truss, the most efficient solution to building long-span bridges quickly and economically during its time.Era_date_from: 1858
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When first proposed in 1819, the Hoosac Tunnel seemed so logical. It would provide an efficient and direct route for the Boston and Albany Railroad, whose pathway meandered 20 miles along precipitous grades. Early proponents, however, could not have imagined that blasting a 4.75 mile tunnel…

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International Boundary Marker #1

William Emory was an 1831 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. When the Mexican War broke out, he was assigned as chief engineer officer to General Stephen Kearny, whose army traversed largely unknown territories in the West. The U.S. War Department would later print 10,000…

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The Watervliet arsenal complex originally was built to house and manufacture weapons for the War of 1812. During the Civil War, it specialized in gun cartridges and artillery carriages. The facility today is a primary site for making state-of-the-art tank cannon, howitzers, mortars, and…

Read More
Electric Fire Alarm System

On 28 April 1852 the first municipal electric fire alarm system using call boxes with automatic signaling to indicate the location of a fire was placed into operation in Boston. Invented by William Channing and Moses Farmer, this system was highly successful in reducing property loss and deaths…

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asce

On October 23rd, 1852 a notice was sent to practitioners of civil engineering in and near New York City requesting their participation in developing an association that would serve the professionals who design and construct America's built environment. Twelve men responded to this invitation,…

Read More
First Oil Well

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Read More

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