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1985

Parshall Flume
Society: ASABEMain Category: Agricultural & BiologicalEra: 1920-1929DateCreated: 1922Lory Student CenterFort CollinsState: COZip: 80521Country: USAWebsite: https://www.asabe.org/awards-landmarks/asabe-historic-landmarks/parshall-flume-19.aspxCreator: Parshall, Ralph L.

Since the beginning of irrigated agriculture, it has been important to measure flows of irrigation water. Accuracy of early water measurement methods often suffered because of trash or sediment in the water, or unusual flow conditions. Ralph L. Parshall saw this problem when he began working for the USDA in 1915, as an irrigation research engineer. In 1922 he invented the flume now known by his name. When this flume is placed in a channel, flow is uniquely related to the water depth.

YearAdded:
1985
Image Credit: Public Domain
Point of Beginning, U.S. Public Lands
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: Boundaries & SurveysEra: 1750-1799DateCreated: 1785East LiverpoolState: OHZip: 43920Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/Project/Point-of-Beginning,-U-S--Public-Lands/Creator: Hutchins, Thomas

The "Land Ordinance of 1785" required that U.S. lands in the public domain be surveyed before sale, and that the surveys be made in accordance with a consistent, integrated system of lines grid-oriented to a true meridian (north-south reference line) and base line (east-west reference line), subdividing the land into approximately square parcels, called townships.  

Thomas Hutchins, the first Geographer of the United States, drove his stake near East Liverpool, Ohio to mark the Point of Beginning of the Geographer's Line, the first westward base line.

YearAdded:
1985
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikipedia/Nyttend Image Caption: This monument marks the site that served as the basis for the entire Public Land Survey System — the system by which most of the United States, outside of the original colonies, was surveyed.Era_date_from: 1785
Emanuel Bowen's 1747 map showing the boundary between Virginia and North Carolina.
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: Boundaries & SurveysEra: 1700-1749DateCreated: 1728-1821MiddlesboroState: KYCountry: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/Project/Royal-Colonial-Boundary-of-1665/Creator: Charles II

The Royal Colonial Boundary of 1665 was decreed by England's King Charles II to demarcate his American colonies. It provided a survey from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River along 36 degrees, 30 minutes north latitude. The boundary now serves to divide Virginia from North Carolina and Kentucky from Tennessee. 

YearAdded:
1985
Image Caption: Emanuel Bowen's 1747 map showing the boundary between Virginia and North Carolina.Era_date_from: 1728
Firth of Forth Railway Bridge
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: BridgesEra: 1890-1899DateCreated: 1890QueensferryZip: EH30 9SFCountry: UKWebsite: http://www.asce.org/Project/Firth-of-Forth-Railway-Bridge/Creator: Benjamin, Baker

"The majestic Forth Bridge ... symbolises the tremendous achievements of Victorian engineers and the immense strides made in the technique of bridge design and construction since the dawn of the Railway Age..."
 - Derrick Bennett, Bridges: Great Buildings of the World

YearAdded:
1985
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/Brain M Forbes (CC BY 2.0)Image Caption: The Forth Bridge became the longest bridge in the world when it was completed in 1890.Era_date_from: 1890
Statue of Liberty
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: BuildingsEra: 1880-1889DateCreated: 1886Statue of Liberty National MonumentBrooklynState: NYZip: 11231Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/Project/Statue-of-Liberty/Creator: Bartholdi, Frédéric , de Laboulaye, Edouard René

Sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi is credited with bringing the concept of the Statue of Liberty to fruition, deriving inspiration from the 19th-century penchance for grandiose monuments. He originally designed the statue for placement at the Suez Canal, but the project was never commissioned. After a promotional trip across America, Bartholdi's ideas finally took hold in 1874, and a Franco-American coalition was formed to fund the project, with the Americans building the base and the French the statue.

YearAdded:
1985
Image Credit: Public Domain (U.S. Customs and Border Protection)Image Caption: Statue of LibertyEra_date_from: 1886
High Bridge
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: BridgesEra: 1870-1879DateCreated: 1877Kentucky RiverWilmoreState: KYZip: 40390Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/Project/High-Bridge/Creator: Lindenthal, Gustav

In the 1850s, the Lexington and Danville Railroad began building a suspension bridge over the Kentucky River. The bridge was designed by John A Roebling. Due to unforeseen increases in train loads, the Roebling bridge was never completed. The High Bridge would then be built 20 years later on the existing foundations.

YearAdded:
1985
Image Credit: Public Domain (Author's Choice)Image Caption: High BridgeEra_date_from: 1877
Society: ASMEMain Category: Mechanical, RoadSub Category: Road TransportationEra: 1950-1959DateCreated: 1957Jacobs Manufacturing CompanyBloomfieldState: CTZip: 06002Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/road-and-off-road-transportation/-108-jacobs-engine-brake-retarder-%281957%29Creator: Cummins, Clessie Lyle
The Jake Brake permits large trucks to descend long, steep grades at a controlled speed. It was the first practical mechanism for altering on demand the valve timing on a truck diesel engine, thereby converting the engine to a power absorbing machine. The modified engine can continue to power the truck in normal operation, allowing service brakes to remain cool for emergency situations. Invented by Clessie Lyle Cummins (1886-1968), this device (produced by the Jacobs manufacturing company since 1961) has contributed significantly to highway safety.
YearAdded:
1985
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikipedia/Sierra Fournier (CC BY-SA 3.0)Image Caption: Jacobs Engine Brake Retarder ("Jake Brake")Era_date_from: 1957
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: SteamEra: 1890-1899DateCreated: 1895665 Marietta StreetAtlantaState: GAZip: 30313Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/mechanical-power-production-steam/-110-harris-corliss-steam-engine-%281895%29Creator: William Harris steam engine company
This 350-horsepower Corliss type steam engine is an example of a typical late nineteenth century steam engine. The essential feature of Corliss type engines is the valves that admit steam to and exhaust it from the cylinder. The Corliss valve gear made the engine extremely efficient in steam consumption and was the most efficient system for controlling low to medium speed engines. This particular engine operated for more than eighty years, having been retired not by age but over concern for stack emissions by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The engine was built by the William A.
YearAdded:
1985
Image Credit: Public Domain (National Park Service)Image Caption: Harris-Corliss Steam EngineEra_date_from: 1895
Going-to-the-Sun Road
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: Roads & RailsEra: 1930-1939DateCreated: 1932Going-To-The-Sun RdWest GlacierState: MTZip: 59936Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/project/going--to-the-sun-road/Creator: Goodwin, George , Vint, Thomas Chalmers

Considered one of the world's most scenic mountain drives, the two-lane Going-To-The-Sun Road through Glacier National Park was the first major road to be constructed directly over high mountain terrain, proving that roads did not need to be limited to mountain passes.

YearAdded:
1985
Image Credit: Original Image: Flickr/Katie BradyImage Caption: Going-to-the-Sun RoadEra_date_from: 1932
Detroit Edison District Heating System
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: Environmental ControlEra: 1900-1909DateCreated: 19032000 Second StreetDetroitState: MIZip: 48226Country: USAWebsite: https://www.asme.org/about-asme/who-we-are/engineering-history/landmarks/105-detroit-edison-district-heating-system, https://www.asme.org/getmedia/c43f3200-c9df-4a17-a3f5-5c1d07c87fa5/105-Detroit-Edison-District-Heating-System.aspxCreator: Holly, Birdsill

The concept of heating a number of buildings in the core area of a city from a single heating plant was introduced into the United States by Birdsill Holly at Lockport, New York, in 1877. The gain in thermal efficiency of a single large steam plant over a series of small isolated boilers led to widespread commercial installation of district heating. Organized by the Detroit Edison Company, the Central Heating Company began service here in 1903, supplying twelve customers with steam piped from the Edison Company's Willis Avenue Plant. Today's greatly enlarged system continues in operation.

YearAdded:
1985
Image Credit: Courtesy ASMEImage Caption: Detroit Edison District Heating SystemEra_date_from: 1903
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Innovations

The Atlas E-2 Space Booster, or launch vehicle, is a modified intercontinental ballistic missile developed by the Convair Division of General Dynamics and the U.S. Air Force. The basic concept of the Atlas system was proven in its first flight on June 11, 1957, followed over the years by the… Read More
This is one of the three original 60-ton vessels by which the basic oxygen process (BOP) of steel making was introduced into this country from Austria, where it was invented. It heralded the first new technology in fifty years to become the basis of a major process for steel production throughout… Read More
Bayonne Bridge

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When erected by Peter Grubb to smelt the rich iron ore of the nearby Cornwall ore banks, this stone-built blast furnace was typical for its time, producing about 20 tons of pig-iron and cast-iron products a week. A major reconstruction in 1856 to 1857 produced important changes: the furnace itself… Read More
Davis Island Lock and Dam

Before the Davis Island Lock & Dam were built, the flow of the Ohio River slowed to little more than a trickle during dry periods. For several months each year, the unreliable flow stranded Pittsburgh's steamboats, towboats, and barges.    

The Davis Island Lock &…

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Detroit Edison District Heating System

The concept of heating a number of buildings in the core area of a city from a single heating plant was introduced into the United States by Birdsill Holly at Lockport, New York, in 1877. The gain in thermal efficiency of a single large steam plant over a series of small isolated boilers led to…

Read More
Going-to-the-Sun Road

Considered one of the world's most scenic mountain drives, the two-lane Going-To-The-Sun Road through Glacier National Park was the first major road to be constructed directly over high mountain terrain, proving that roads did not need to be limited to mountain passes.

Glacier National…

Read More
This 350-horsepower Corliss type steam engine is an example of a typical late nineteenth century steam engine. The essential feature of Corliss type engines is the valves that admit steam to and exhaust it from the cylinder. The Corliss valve gear made the engine extremely efficient in steam… Read More
The Jake Brake permits large trucks to descend long, steep grades at a controlled speed. It was the first practical mechanism for altering on demand the valve timing on a truck diesel engine, thereby converting the engine to a power absorbing machine. The modified engine can continue to power the… Read More
High Bridge

In the 1850s, the Lexington and Danville Railroad began building a suspension bridge over the Kentucky River. The bridge was designed by John A Roebling. Due to unforeseen increases in train loads, the Roebling bridge was never completed. The High Bridge would then be built 20 years later on the…

Read More
Statue of Liberty

Sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi is credited with bringing the concept of the Statue of Liberty to fruition, deriving inspiration from the 19th-century penchance for grandiose monuments. He originally designed the statue for placement at the Suez Canal, but the project was never commissioned…

Read More
Firth of Forth Railway Bridge

"The majestic Forth Bridge ... symbolises the tremendous achievements of Victorian engineers and the immense strides made in the technique of bridge design and construction since the dawn of the Railway Age..."
 - Derrick Bennett, Bridges: Great Buildings of the World

Throughout…

Read More
Emanuel Bowen's 1747 map showing the boundary between Virginia and North Carolina.

The Royal Colonial Boundary of 1665 was decreed by England's King Charles II to demarcate his American colonies. It provided a survey from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River along 36 degrees, 30 minutes north latitude. The boundary now serves to divide Virginia from North Carolina and…

Read More
Point of Beginning, U.S. Public Lands

The "Land Ordinance of 1785" required that U.S. lands in the public domain be surveyed before sale, and that the surveys be made in accordance with a consistent, integrated system of lines grid-oriented to a true meridian (north-south reference line) and base line (east-west reference line),…

Read More
Parshall Flume

Since the beginning of irrigated agriculture, it has been important to measure flows of irrigation water. Accuracy of early water measurement methods often suffered because of trash or sediment in the water, or unusual flow conditions. Ralph L. Parshall saw this problem when he began…

Read More

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