Christopher Colles: America's First Steam-engine Builder

Abstract

Christopher Colles was born in the Old World in 1739, emigrated to Colonial America in 1771 and died in New-York around the age of 80. He was primarily a steam engine builder but his talents extended to general engineering, architecture, surveying and cartography. Colles strove to provide New-York City with a suitable drinking water system in which his steam-engine was integral. He built and operated an optical telegraph system, and was the first projector and promoter of inland navigation in the United States. He surveyed and published the first comprehensive collection of road maps in the USA. This paper considers Colles' engineering and technological accomplishments as well as his other more mundane activities. Many answers are revealed, and much contradictory information is unravelled, yet Colles remains an enigma.

Keywords:

• CHRISTOPHER COLLES
• STEAM-ENGINE BUILDING
• WATER SUPPLY
• OPTICAL TELEGRAPH
• INLAND WATERWAYS
• CARTOGRAPHY