Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
Marshall Cohen—researcher and producer, CNN
Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
HOPKINS, William: Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
HOPKINS, William. (Glasgow, Scotland--Dubuque, IA, 1902). Hopkins | HOPKINS, William. (Glasgow, Scotland, Feb. 1, 1840--Dubuque, IA, 1902). Hopkins learned the trade of iron shipbuilding and boiler-making in Europe. During the [[CIVIL WAR]], he was hired to come to the United States by Harrison Loring the shipbuilder, of Boston, to build monitors for the government. He remained in Boston until the close of the war. | ||
In 1867, he came to Dubuque and was master mechanic of the boiler shops of the [[DUBUQUE AND SIOUX CITY RAILROAD, until the company passed into the control of the [[ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD]]. He then found employment with the [[IOWA IRON WORKS]]. Hopkins, perhaps more than any other person, led Dubuque to become the premier [[BOAT BUILDING]] center on the inland waters of the United States. | |||
Working for the Iowa Iron Works, Hopkins supervised the construction of the Clyde, the Upper Mississippi River's first iron-hulled boat and the second built for the lumber trade. The boat was named for a river in Scotland. | |||
In 1882 he patented the "doctor," a lift and feed pump used to maintain a minimum level of water in boilers and thereby preventing high pressure boiler explosions. | In 1882 he patented the "doctor," a lift and feed pump used to maintain a minimum level of water in boilers and thereby preventing high pressure boiler explosions. | ||
Revision as of 20:06, 19 January 2016
HOPKINS, William. (Glasgow, Scotland, Feb. 1, 1840--Dubuque, IA, 1902). Hopkins learned the trade of iron shipbuilding and boiler-making in Europe. During the CIVIL WAR, he was hired to come to the United States by Harrison Loring the shipbuilder, of Boston, to build monitors for the government. He remained in Boston until the close of the war.
In 1867, he came to Dubuque and was master mechanic of the boiler shops of the [[DUBUQUE AND SIOUX CITY RAILROAD, until the company passed into the control of the ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD. He then found employment with the IOWA IRON WORKS. Hopkins, perhaps more than any other person, led Dubuque to become the premier BOAT BUILDING center on the inland waters of the United States.
Working for the Iowa Iron Works, Hopkins supervised the construction of the Clyde, the Upper Mississippi River's first iron-hulled boat and the second built for the lumber trade. The boat was named for a river in Scotland.
In 1882 he patented the "doctor," a lift and feed pump used to maintain a minimum level of water in boilers and thereby preventing high pressure boiler explosions.
---
Source:
Oldt, Franklin. History of Dubuque County, Iowa. Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1880, p. 812.