Colonel Loammi Baldwin

Col. Loammi Baldwin
(1740-1807)

Col. Loammi Baldwin was a noted soldier, politician and has been called the Father of American Civil Engineering because of his role in surveying and building the Middlesex Canal and his other public works projects.

Born in Woburn, Massachusetts, Baldwin was a friend and fellow student at Harvard College with Benjamin Thompson, also of Woburn. Thompson later became better known as Count Rumford.

Baldwin joined the Woburn militia in 1774. On April 19, 1775 Baldwin was a major in the Woburn militia and took part in the fighting on that date. He joined Col. Gerrish's regiment and was later promoted to the command of that regiment. Baldwin fought in the Battle of Brooklyn Heights and crossed the Delaware with Gen. Washington to join in the attack on the Hessian troops at Trenton. He retired from the Army in 1777 due to health concerns.

Col. Baldwin became Sheriff of Middlesex County and served in the Massachusetts House. He was a member of the American Academy of Sciences and contributed papers to the society. The Baldwin apple is named for him.

The Middlesex Canal

Middlesex Canal @
Baldwin Mansion
2 Alfred St.
Woburn, Mass.

On June 22, 1793 Governor John Hancock of Massachusetts, signed a document authorizing the construction of the Middlesex Canal. Built with private funding, the canal was to run from the Merrimack River at Middlesex Village (Lowell) to Medford. A later addition to the canal extended its length to Charlestown. This was a very ambitious civil engineering project for its time and a precursor to the more famous Erie Canal in New York.

Built under the direction of Loammi Baldwin, a veteran of the Revolutionary War, the canal was to be some 27 miles long, 3o feet in width, 3 feet in depth and have 20 locks and several aqueducts. The colorful wooden barges that floated down the canal carried both passengers and freight. Farmers and proprietors in New Hampshire and northern Massachusetts no longer had to depend upon the tides of the Merrimack River or the poor roads to get their products to Boston markets. The return trip supplied manufactured goods from Boston, Medford etc. to the interior

The Middlesex Canal began its operations in 1803 and continued to operate successfully until the 1840's. Having put regular freight and stage companies at a competitive disadvantage, the canal was unable to compete against the newest transportation technology - the railroad. The directors of the Middlesex Canal were forced to shut down operations and declare bankruptcy in 1851.

Falling into disuse the canal has mostly been filled in or paved over. Portions of the old canal are still visible in Woburn and in Billerica, where the Middlesex Canal Association makes its home. This association is dedicated to preserving the memory of this late 18th - early 19th century "engineering marvel".

The Jason Russell House

The Jason Russell House
7 Jason St.
Arlington, Mass.

This 18th century home is best known for the fighting that took place here on the afternoon of April 19, 1775. After engagements that morning on Lexington Green and at the North Bridge in Concord the remnants of a 700-man expeditionary force of British soldiers and Marines, along with a relief force of an additional 1,000 troops, were attempting to make their way back to Boston.

Thousands of militia from the surrounding communities, many in organized companies, but some coming singly or in small groups, were laying in ambush all along their route. A mixed group of militia, including men from as far away as Woburn and Danvers, decided to make their stand at the Russell homestead.

As they proceeded along Concord Road (what is now Mass. Ave.) the British Regulars sent out flankers to clear the houses that lined the road of any opposition. This brutal house to house fighting resulted in the deaths of many in Menotomy (present-day Arlington) and Cambridge.

Here at the Russell homestead British Light Infantry engaged the militia in some of the bitterest fighting of the day. Jason Russell was bayoneted several times and died just outside his home. Ten other men of the militia, including seven men from Danvers, also perished as well as two British soldiers.

Members of the Russell family lived here until 1896. It is now owned and operated by the Arlington Historical Society.