Record Book, 1847-1852
Scope and Contents
The record book contains office copies of reports, notices, and letters issued by the St. Louis City Engineer from January 4, 1847, to January 27, 1852. It also includes details about the construction of the Biddle Street sewer. The book is disbound, except for the first twelve pages, which have been assigned page numbers i-xii for processing purposes, and all pages are numbered from 1 to 530. The copied items appear in chronological/page number order. There are two tables of contents for the record book, which are located at both the beginning and the end of the volume. Each content list is chronological. The first is entitled Index to City Engineer’s Reports (p. i-ix, p. 528-530) and refers to copied reports that date from January 4, 1847, to December 11, 1851. This table of contents provides the following information: report number, to whom the report was written, date, a brief subject statement, and the volume page number. However, reports No. 116 through No. 122, dated December 18, 1851, to January 27, 1852, are not included in the Index to City Engineer’s Reports (p. 490-498). The second table of contents is entitled Index to Notices, Letters of the City Engineer (p. x-xii, p. 525-527) and chronologically lists copies of letters and notices from June 9, 1847, to November 20, 1851. This list provides the following data: to whom letters were written, date, a brief subject statement, and the volume page number. The final pages of the volume include records for construction of the Biddle Street sewer (p. 499-519). There are calculations about cubic feet of earth excavated, earth fill numbers, numbers and types of bricks, and tunnel calculations. The final two pages itemize tasks and payment due to Peter Brooks, contractor for the project, which totaled $153,031.44. Examples of subjects included in the tables of contents are wharf and harbor improvements like dykes near Duncan’s Island; gas lamp construction; contracts and estimates for various improvements; sewer construction; public building construction; draining lots and ponds; and grading and paving streets, sidewalks, and public alleys. The reports vary in length from less than one page to several pages about large projects. On May 26, 1848, Louis Winkelmaier requested funds to hire more map makers due to the increased activity in the office (p. 129). On February 21, 1849, he wrote Thomas Harsant, a Board of Delegates member, about the bill to drain Chouteau’s Pond (p. 189).
Dates
- 1847-1852
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research use.
Extent
From the Collection: 0.31 Cubic Feet ( (1 box))
Language of Materials
English
Creator
- From the Collection: Kayser, Henry, 1811-1884 (Contributor, Person)
- From the Collection: Coote, Clement W., 1820-1855 (Contributor, Person)
- From the Collection: Cozens, William H., 1819-1890 (Contributor, Person)
- From the Collection: Curtis, Samuel Ryan, 1805-1866 (Contributor, Person)
- From the Collection: Winkelmaier, Louis, 1811-1872 (Contributor, Person)
Repository Details
Part of the Missouri Historical Society Library and Research Center Repository