Benjamin Wright, the chief engineer behind some of the most famous civil engineering projects in United States history — including the Erie Canal — was born to Grace and Ebenezer Wright of Wethersfield today in 1770. Ebenezer’s accumulated debts had forced young Benjamin to forego most of his formal schooling to take up odd…
Tag: farmington canal
July 4: A Canal for Connecticut
On July 4, 1825, surrounding a canal-boat-on-wheels specially created for the occasion, thousands of Connecticans gathered at Salmon Brook Village in Granby for ground-breaking on what was then the largest transportation project in Connecticut history – the Farmington Canal. Governor Oliver Wolcott spoke briefly before digging the ceremonial first shovel of dirt, officially kicking…
October 10: “Father of American Civil Engineering” Born in Wethersfield
Benjamin Wright, the chief engineer behind some of the most famous civil engineering projects in United States history — including the Erie Canal — was born to Grace and Ebenezer Wright of Wethersfield on this day in 1770. Ebenezer’s accumulated debts had forced young Benjamin to forego most of his formal schooling to take…