Edmund Dwight was an American merchant, manufacturer and philanthropist. His active career in business introduced him to the best society of Boston and brought him into contact with many of the keenest minds of eastern Massachusetts, an experience valuable in his education and helpful later in his business.
Background
Edmund Dwight was born on November 28, 1780 in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. He was the seventh of eight children born to Jonathan and Margaret (Ashley) Dwight of Springfield, Massachusetts. His father had been sent without patrimony at the age of ten to Springfield where he had become a leading citizen and merchant in that rising frontier community.
Education
After a thorough preparation Dwight entered Yale College, from which he graduated in 1799. His association with Ames, however, introduced him to the best society of Boston and brought him into contact with many of the keenest minds of eastern Massachusetts, an experience valuable in his education and helpful later in his business.
Career
Anxious to travel in Europe before settling down, Dwight proposed to his father that his share of the inheritance be given to him at once. His father’s willingness enabled the young man to spend the years 1802-04 abroad. Returning to America, he associated himself with his father and his brothers, whose business interests now included banking enterprises and branch stores in several towns. In spite of the expanding activities of the Dwight family, Edmund Dwight found time to represent the town of Springfield in the General Court, 1810-13, and 1813, and his interest in politics continued throughout his life.
His business during these Springfield years took him frequently to Boston and there he married Mary Harrison Eliot. This marriage gave Dwight further contacts with the most distinguished merchant families of the seacoast, and in 1816 he removed to Boston.
Establishing a partnership with James K. Mills, he was soon placed by his energy and foresight among the foremost of the entrepreneurs who laid the foundations for New England manufacturing. His was the directing hand in the establishment of three manufacturing centers, Chicopee Falls, Chicopee, and Holyoke, all situated in the Connecticut Valley where he had lived for many years.
In 1822 he and his brother Jonathan purchased most of the land later occupied by the village of Chicopee Falls, built a dam to harness the power, and by 1831 had erected four cotton-mills operating first under the name of the Boston & Springfield Manufacturing Company and then of the Chicopee Manufacturing Company.
The first-named company in 1825 bought the water rights and land later covered by the city of Chicopee. These water rights were distributed by the Springfield Canal Company, organized in 1831, and along the canal operated by this corporation Dwight built huge mills himself and induced other manufacturers to establish themselves. It was also the Dwight concern which eventually, through the Hadley Falls Company, secured the water rights and built the dam and canals upon which the manufacturing of Holyoke is based. By 1841 his company had the principal direction of cotton-mills, machineshops, and calico printing works, employing about 3, 000 persons.
Outside of manufacturing, Dwight’s chief business interest was in the promotion of the Western Railroad from Worcester to Albany. He was a member of the first board of directors (1836 - 39), was elected by the legislature a director on the part of the state in 1842, and until his death continued on the board as a representative either of the state or of the stockholders. He was president of the road in 1843 and during his entire service used his influence for the most durable and scientific construction. Less spectacular than his business ventures was his notable contribution to the development of public education. Becoming keenly interested in that subject after reading a translation of Cousin’s Report of the State of Public Instruction in Prussia, he was the center of a group who devised the School Law of 1837 passed under the governorship of Edward Everett, and became a member of the board of education established by it. This law gave the board large powers to collect information and distribute school funds. To make the board an effective instrument it was necessary to have a secretary of the highest talent, and Dwight made this possible by paying for sixteen years part of the salary of Horace Mann. When the board decided that a system of normal schools should be established, he contributed $10, 000 on condition that the state appropriate a similar amount, and later offered to raise $5, 000 if the state would duplicate it. His generosity also allowed Horace Mann to make his first experiments with teachers’ institutes.
“It was through his exertions, perhaps, more than any other individual, that this Board was established, and through his liberality, more than that of all others, that it was enabled to prosecute the system of measures which has resulted in whatever of success it has achieved. ” (Thirteenth Annual Report of the Board of Education)
Connections
On April 19, 1809 Dwight married Mary Harrison Eliot, daughter of Samuel Eliot, a prominent merchant.