Report Upon The Plan Of Construction Of Several Of The Principal Rail Roads In The Northern And Middle States: And Upon A Railway Structure For A New Track On The Baltimore And Ohio Rail Road
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Report Upon The Plan Of Construction Of Several Of The Principal Rail Roads In The Northern And Middle States: And Upon A Railway Structure For A New Track On The Baltimore And Ohio Rail Road
Jonathan Knight, Benjamin Henry Latrobe
Printed by Lucas & Deaver, 1838
Transportation; Railroads; General; Railroads; Transportation / Railroads / General; Transportation / Railroads / History
Jonathan Knight was an American civil engineer and politician. He served as Member of the Pennsylvania Senate from 1822 to 1828 and as a Member of the U. S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 20th district from 1855 to 1857.
Background
Jonathan Knight was born on November 22, 1787 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States, the son of Abel and Ann S. Knight. His father, a weaver, from time to time practiced surveying or taught school. In 1801 the family moved to East Bethlehem, Washington County, Pennsylvania, and here he afterward resided.
Education
Jonathan was largely self-educated, though he studied surveying under his father and was tutored in algebra by a local teacher. Throughout his life he displayed an aptitude for the exact sciences.
Career
When Jonathan Knight was twenty-one he began teaching school and surveying land on his own account. In the spring of 1815, he purchased a farm, but continued to be in demand as a surveyor. In 1816 he was appointed by the State of Pennsylvania to survey and map Washington County, and as soon as this work was completed he was elected county commissioner, serving three years. He then assisted in the preliminary surveys for the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal and for the National Road between Cumberland, Maryland, and Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia).
From 1822 to 1828 he served in the Pennsylvania legislature. In 1825 the federal government appointed him a commissioner to extend the National Road. This was one of the important engineering undertakings of the day. His work in connection with the National Road brought him into prominence as an engineer, and with Colonel Stephen H. Long he was chosen in 1827 by the newly organized Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company to survey the parts of Maryland and northwestern Virginia through which the road was to pass. In the fall of 1828 he accompanied two other engineers of the company to England, where they made a careful examination of two railroads which were already in operation there, giving special attention to track construction and the development of the steam locomotive.
Upon his return from this mission he was appointed chief engineer of the Baltimore & Ohio, which position he held until 1842, having charge of the location of the road, the planning of structures and machinery, and the letting of contracts, but not the actual construction work. In this position, he made some investigations and reports, which were published in the early annual reports of the company. His location work was particularly remarkable, more so at the start because few people knew what a railroad was or should be and he was exploring a virgin field.
Upon leaving the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company he became a consulting engineer, being frequently employed by that company and others. In 1844-1847 he cooperated with the city of Wheeling in its controversy with the Baltimore & Ohio in regard to the route of the railroad to that point. He was also very largely engaged in agriculture and became secretary of the first agricultural society organized in Washington County. At the same time he took an active interest in politics, and was elected as a Whig to the Thirty-Fourth Congress (1855 - 1857). He was a candidate for reelection in 1856 and again in 1858 but was unsuccessful both times.