A Guide to the Sydney B. Williamson Papers 1909-1939 Williamson, Sydney B., Papers, 1909-1939 MS 0206

A Guide to the Sydney B. Williamson Papers 1909-1939

A Collection in
Virginia Military Institute Archives
Collection Number MS 0206

Virginia Military Institute Archives

Virginia Military Institute Archives
Preston Library
Virginia Military Institute
Lexington, Virginia 24450-0304
USA
Phone: (540) 464-7566
Fax: (540) 464-7279
Email: archives@vmi.edu
URL: http://www.vmi.edu/archives

Funding: Web version of the finding aid funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Processed by: Diane B. Jacob

repository

Archives, Preston Library, Virginia Military Institute

Accession number

MS 0206

Title

Sydney B. Williamson Papers 1909-1939

Physical Characteristics

The collection consists of approximately 1000 items filed in 7 manuscript boxes.

Language

English

Abstract

Sydney B. Williamson was a civil engineer whose most notable achievement was his service as Division Engineer of the Pacific Division of the Panama Canal construction project (1907- 1914). The collection contains project files, photographs, and drawings documenting Williamson's work in Panama, with particular emphasis on the construction of the Miraflores and Pedro Miguel Locks.

Administrative Information

Access

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Sydney B. Williamson Papers, MS 0206, Virginia Military Institute Archives, Lexington, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

The collection was donated to VMI in 1979 by Sydney W. Smith.

Biographical/Historical Information


Chronology
	1865 April 15	Sydney Bacon Williamson born at Lexington, Virginia
	1884	Graduated from the Virginia Military Institute with a degree in Civil Engineering
	1884-1886	Mathematics instructor at Kings Mountain (North Carolina) military school
	1886-1887	Served in the engineering departments of St. Paul and Duluth Railway and the Northern Pacific Railway; designed and constructed railroad terminals and bridges
	1887-1890	In general engineering practice with Williamson and Earl in Montgomery, Alabama; street paving, sanitary sewers for Montgomery and Columbus, Ga.
	1890 May 20	Married Helen Cecilia Davis
	1892	Assistant Engineer to Gen. George W. Goethals; in charge of improvements on the Tennessee River; included a canal lock at Riverton, Ala., and Muscle Shoals Canal
	1898	Served as Captain, Third Vol. Engineers under Gen. John R. Brooke in Puerto Rico
	1901-1903	Engineer of fortifications at Newport, R. I. under Goethals
	1903-1907	Consulting engineer in Baltimore and for Jamestown (N.Y.) Exposition
	1906-1914	Division Engineer of Pacific Division of Panama Canal under Goethals; responsible for wet and dry excavation of Pedro Miguel and Miraflores locks; also designed and constructed Pacific Terminal docks, water supply, sewers, road and streets for the towns of the division including the city of Panama
	1914-1916	Became Chief of Construction for J.G. White and Co., Ltd. of London; worked on power station and street railway for Brazil, water supply for Genoa, Italy, additions to street railway in Buenos Aires; Chief of Construction of U.S. Reclamation Service; supervised work of Central Office in Denver involving dams, reservoirs, power plants, canals
	1916-1924	Consulting Engineer for Guggenheim Brothers in New York; worked on Chile Copper Co."s plant and Braden Copper Co.'s plant; increased mining, milling, leaching, smelting, and power plants; also constructed houses for employees; water and sewer systems
	1918	World War I service. Leave of absence to serve as Lt. Col. of Engineers in France; Section Engineer of Intermediate Section West; built barracks, hospitals, warehouses, remount stations, ammunition dumps, water supplies; Nov. 4, promoted to Colonel
	1919	Discharged from army and returned to Guggenheim Brothers
	1924-1929	Civil engineering practice at Birmingham, Alabama, and Charlottesville, Virginia
	1926-1928	Consulting Engineer with Goethals at Port of Palm Beach, Florida; also consulted on water supplies for several towns in Virginia and Hollywood, FL
	1928	Employed by U.S. District Engineer at Philadelphia; worked on dikes to control Delaware River
	1929	Principal Engineer, U.S. Engineering Dept.; investigated feasibility of Nicaragua Canal
	1931	Appointed member of Interoceanic Canal Board by President Herbert Hoover; served until retirement in 1935
	1933-1935	Engaged by U.S. Army corps of engineers to determine damages done by Mississippi flood control program and to testify before courts
	1939 January 13	Died at Lexington, Virginia

Scope and Content Information

The bulk of the collection documents Williamson's engineering assignments in Panama, South America, and the United States, and his service on the Interoceanic Canal Board. The collection consists of the following series: Biographical and historical materials; Correspondence; Project and Planning Files; Engineering Drawings and Specifications; Reports, Papers and Speeches; Photographs; Printed Materials and Miscellaneous. The sizable group of drawings and specifications for the Panama Canal construction is of particular importance. Also of interest in the Photographs series is a Panama Album which includes photos of President William H. Taft's tour of the Panama Canal construction site, as well as photos recording in detail the massive task of constructing the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores locks; many of these photographs are unpublished.

Contents List

Box-folder 1:1

Biographical and historical items

Correspondence 1912-1935

Box-folder 1:2

Engineering Project and Planning Files

Box-folder 1:3
Masonry dams, including Pernambuco Power House
Box-folder 1:4
Noes on Nicaragua Canal
Box-folder 1:5
Notes on the Nicaragua Canal: Book No. 1
Box-folder 1:6
Notes on the Nicaragua Canal: Book No. 2
Box-folder 1:7
Lake Worth Inlet Terminal
Box-folder 2:1
Notes, various projects

Notes on work with State of Alabama; Front Royal, Va. Storage Dam Lexington, Va. Storage Dam; Lake Worth Inlet Terminal
Box-folder 2:2
Mississippi Floodways

"Comparison of Floodway Crossings as Proposed by the Yazoo and Miss. Valley Ry. and the U. S."
Box-folder 2:3
Mississippi Floodway

Notes
Box-folder 2:4
Muscle Shoals; Chile Copper Plant
Box-folder 2:5
Louisiana State Highway Project
Box-folder 2:6

Panama Canal: Drawings and Specifications

Box-folder 3:1
Panama Canal

Lock Gates and machinery on them; Gate recess covers; Gate operating machinery.
Box-folder 3:2
Panama Canal

Lighting material, panel boards, reflectors, lamps, etc.
Box-folder 3:3
Panama Canal

Upper guard gate valve machines
Box-folder 3:4
Panama Canal

Chain fenders
Box-folder 3:5
Panama Canal

Transformer Room equipment
Box-folder 3:6
Panama Canal

Structural steel for Gatun hydro electric
Box-folder 3:7
Panama Canal

Towing locomotives and tracks for same
Box-folder 3:8
Panama Canal

Spillway footbridges
Spillway Caissons
Spillway Gates
Spillway Gate machinery
Box-folder 3:9
Panama Canal

Stoney Sluice machinery, Stoney Gates; bulkheads, screens and intakes.
Box-folder 3:10
Panama Canal

Misc. electrical wiring for power and control wiring
Box-folder 3:11
Panama Canal

Snubbing posts; buffer castings
Box-folder 3:12
Panama Canal

Cylindrical valve machinery; culvert drainage pumps; machinery chambers and layouts; numbering system; S. B. Williamson
Box-folder 3:13
Panama Canal

Auxiliary electrical equipment for Gatun hydro electric station
Box-folder 3:14
Panama Canal

Extra contract prices

Reports, Papers and Speeches

Box-folder 4:1
Report: Final Report of the Toconce Pipeline
Box-folder 4:2
Report: Chile Exploration Company
Box-folder 4:3
Report: Comparison of Estimates and Final Cost of Panama Canal
Box-folder 4:4
Report: Interoceanic Canal
Box-folder 4:5
Report: Delaware River
Box-folder 4:6
Paper by Williamson. The Chief Engineers of the Panama Canal
Box-folder 4:7
Speech by Williamson. Practicing Engineering

Photographs

Box-folder 5:1
Panama Album, #s 1-13

Canal Engineers; social life in Panama; living quarters
Box-folder 5:2
Panama Album, #s 14-24

Visit of United States President William H. Taft to Panama to view canal construction
Box-folder 5:3
Panama Album, #s 25-35

Visit of United States President William H. Taft to Panama to view canal construction
Box-folder 5:4
Panama Album, #s 36-45

Construction of the Pedro Miguel Lock
Box-folder 5:5
Panama Album, #s 46-55

Construction of the Pedro Miguel Lock
Box-folder 5:6
Panama Album, #s 56-67

Construction of the Pedro Miguel Lock
Box-folder 5:7
Panama Album, #s 68-79

Construction of the Miraflores Lock
Box-folder 5:8
Panama Album, #s 80-90

Construction of the Miraflores Lock
Box-folder 5:9
Panama Album, #s 90-99

Construction of the Miraflores Lock
Box-folder 5:10
Panama Album, #s 100-115

Construction of the Miraflores Lock and Balboa Terminals
Box-folder 6:1
Portrait of Sydney B. Williamson
Box-folder 6:2
Panama and hydraulic excavation
Box-folder 6:3
Hydraulic mining, California, 1909.
Box-folder 6:4
Miraflores Lock construction
Box-folder 6:5
Miraflores Lock construction
Box-folder 6:6
Pedro Miguel Lock construction
Box-folder 6:7
Pedro Miguel Lock construction
Box-folder 6:8
Pedro Miguel Lock construction
Box-folder 6:9
Chile
Box-folder 6:10
Chile
Box-folder 6:11
Chile
Box-folder 7:1
Chile
Box-folder 7:2
Chile
Box-folder 7:3
Chile
Box-folder 7:4
Chile
Box-folder 7:5
Bolivia
Box-folder 7:6
Peru, Bolivia, Chile
Box-folder 7:7
Bolivia, Chile
Box-folder 7:8
Chile
Box-folder 7:9
Chile, Ecuador, Panama
Box-folder 7:10
Negatives

Printed Material and Miscellaneous

Box-folder 4:8
Bill for Injunction: Jackson vs. Lake Worth Inlet District
Box-folder 4:9
Passport
Box-folder 4:9
Postcards

Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Italy, France