A statue of Loammi Baldwin in Woburn, Massachusetts which was repaired in the fall of 2007 to replace the missing sword and cleaned.

Colonel Loammi Baldwin (January 10, 1744-October 20, 1807) was a noted American engineer, politician, and a soldier in the American Revolutionary War. Events 49 BC - Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signaling the start of civil war. Year 1744 ( MDCCXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Events 1740 - Maria Theresa takes the throne of Austria. France, Prussia, Bavaria and Saxony Year 1807 ( MDCCCVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common In this article the inhabitants of the thirteen colonies that supported the American Revolution are primarily referred to as "Americans" with occasional references to "Patriots" His five sons, Cyrus Baldwin(1773-1854), Benjamin Franklin Baldwin(1777-1821), Loammi Baldwin, Jr.(1780-1834), James Fowle Baldwin(1782-1862), and George Rumford Baldwin(1798-1888) were also well-known engineers. Loammi Baldwin Jr ( May 16 1780 &mdash June 30 1838) was the son of noted engineer Col James Fowle Baldwin (1782-1862 an early American civil engineer who worked with his father and brothers on the Middlesex Canal, surveyed and designed the Boston and Lowell George Rumford Baldwin (1798–1888 an early American civil engineer who worked with his father Loammi Baldwin and brothers Loammi Baldwin Jr

Baldwin is known as the Father of American Civil Engineering. Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design construction and maintenance of the physical and naturally built He surveyed and was responsible for the construction of the Middlesex Canal; but today he is perhaps best remembered for the Baldwin apple which he developed at his farm, or rather he recognized its potential and propagated it throughout the northeast. The Middlesex Canal was a 27 mile (44 km Barge Canal connecting the Merrimack River with the port of Boston. The Baldwin apple is a bright red winter Apple, very good in quality and easily shipped At the time it was known as the Woodpecker, having been discovered on the farm of John Ball in Wilmington, Mass, around 1750, and named Woodpecker by a later owner of the farm. Colonel Baldwin's promotion of the apple occurred after 1784. He was also a surveyor and plantation co-owner in Hartford, Maine, which at that time was known as East Butterfield, Mass. Hartford is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. Hartford is included in the Lewiston - Auburn, Maine metropolitan New (Source: The Apples of NY (1905), and Lorraine Parsons in Hartford, Maine)

Education

Baldwin attended grammar school in Woburn, Massachusetts. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Later he would walk from North Woburn to Cambridge with his younger friend and childhood neighbor, Benjamin Thompson, later Count Rumford, to attend the lectures of Professor John Winthrop at Harvard College. Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford (in German: de Reichsgraf von Rumford FRS ( 26 March 1753 – 21 August 1814 Harvard College is the undergraduate section and oldest school of Harvard University, a Private university in the United States founded in 1636 by the Massachusetts He and Thompson would then perform their own experiments when back at home. Baldwin received a Master of Arts degree from Harvard in 1785. A Master of Arts ( Latin: Magister Artium) is a Postgraduate academic Master's degree awarded by universities in a large

Military Career in the American Revolution

In 1774 Baldwin enlisted in a regiment, and commanded the Woburn militia at the Battle of Lexington and Concord as a major. The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. At the beginning of the war he enlisted in the 26th Continental Regiment commanded by Colonel Samuel Gerrish. Here he rapidly advanced to be lieutenant-colonel, and upon Colonel Gerrish's retirement in August 1775, he was placed at the head of the regiment, and was soon commissioned its colonel.

Till the end of 1775, Colonel Baldwin and his men remained near Boston, but in April 1776, he was ordered with his command to New York City. The City of New York On that memorable night of December 25, 1776, in the face of a violent and extremely cold storm of snow and hail, General Washington and his army crossed the Delaware to the New Jersey side, and fought the Battle of Trenton. Events 274 - Roman Emperor Aurelian Year 1776 ( MDCCLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a George Washington (February 22 1732 December 14 1799 served as the first President of the United States of America (1789&ndash1797 and led the The Delaware River is a river on the Atlantic coast of the United States. New Jersey ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. Background In the time before the battle American morale was low Baldwin and his regiment participated in both the crossing and the fight. In 1777, Baldwin resigned from the army because of ill health.

Political Career

He was subsequently elected to various public offices between 1780 and 1796. He was appointed high sheriff of Middlesex County in 1780, and was the first to hold office after the adoption of the state constitution. Middlesex County is a County located in the US state of Massachusetts. In 1778, 1779, and 1780, and the four following years, he represented Woburn in the Massachusetts General Court. The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled The General Court of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts In 1794, he was a candidate for election to the United States House of Representatives, and obtained all the votes cast in Woburn but one. The United States House of Representatives is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress; the other is the Senate.

Engineering Career

Loammi began work often with his older sons on the Middlesex Canal in 1794 and after 9 years of work the canal began service in 1803. The Middlesex Canal was a 27 mile (44 km Barge Canal connecting the Merrimack River with the port of Boston. He continued working on the canal and on other projects. These other projects including Boston fortifications. His son Cyrus continued his father's work on the canal as a long time agent for the Middlesex Canal. The Middlesex Canal was a 27 mile (44 km Barge Canal connecting the Merrimack River with the port of Boston. And son Benjamin worked on the Boston Mill Dam for Perkins before an early death at age 43 in 1821.

Baldwin was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, contributing two papers. The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS is an organization dedicated to scholarship and the advancement of learning He opposed Shays' Rebellion. Shays' Rebellion was an armed uprising in Central and Western Massachusetts from 1786 to 1787 His fine mansion originally built in 1660 and expanded in the 1800's, Baldwin House, still exists in Woburn. The Baldwin House, also known as the Loammi Baldwin Mansion, is a fine Colonial American mansion located at 2 Alfred Street in Woburn Massachusetts Currently in use as a Chinese restaurant the building needs painting and refurbishment.

Family

Loammi married first on July 9, 1772, Mary Fowle(died 1786 age 39) daughter of James Fowle,Jr. and Mary(Reed)Fowle and had four sons. Loammi married second, May 26,1791, Margaret Fowle(1747-1799), daughter of Josiah and Margery(Carter)Fowle and had a son and daughter: Clarissa(1791-1841) who married Thomas B. Coolidge in 1812 and George Rumford Baldwin(1798-1888). George Rumford Baldwin (1798–1888 an early American civil engineer who worked with his father Loammi Baldwin and brothers Loammi Baldwin Jr

References

• Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of the State of Massachusetts. By William Richard Cutter, William Frederick Adams, published 1910. Loammi Baldwin Sr. article in volume 1 page 575.
• Ancient Middlesex with Brief Biographical Sketches of the Men who Have Served the County. By Levi Swanton Gould, Loammi Baldwin article on page 26.
• Transcript of Epitaphs in Woburn First and Second Burial Grounds, Compiled by William Richard Cutter, Edward Francis Johnson, published 1890, page 56, item 267.
• The Old Middlesex Canal by Mary Stetson Clarke, published 1974 The Hilltop Press, 191 pages. Page 19 for Baldwin biography,

External Links

• Nice Web version of the Baldwin article from Historic Homes and Places and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs relating to the Families of Middlesex County, Massachusetts by W. R. Cutter published 1908, pages 9-22 of [Volume 1, also see Volume 2,Volume 3, Volume 4.

• Baldwin, Loammi, 1740-1807. Papers: Guide at Harvard University.

• Baldwin Family Papers at the University of Michigan.

• Towpath Topics with biographies on the Baldwins.