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1750-1799

Cotton Gin
Society: ASABE Main Category: Agricultural & Biological Sub Category: Processing Era: 1750-1799 DateCreated: 1794 Cotton Exchange Commission Building Savannah State: GA Zip: Country: USA Website: https://www.asabe.org/awards-landmarks/asabe-historic-landmarks/cotton-gin-20.aspx Creator: Eli Whitney

This Creative Development Which Was Responsible For The Survival Of The Cotton Industry In The United States Occurred In General Nathaniel Greene's Plantation Near Savannah 10 Miles Northeast Of This Marker. Separation By Hand Labor Of The Lint From The Seed Of The Desired Upland Variety Of Cotton Produced Only One Pound Per Day Per Person. Eli Whitney, A Native Of Massachusetts And Yale Law Graduate, Came To Georgia To Teach School In Late 1792, At Age 27. Mrs. Catherine Greene, Widow Of General Greene, Invited Whitney To Her Plantation, And Urged Him To Design A Cotton Gin.

YearAdded:
1986
Image Credit: Image Caption: Era_date_from:
Montgolfier Balloon
Society: AIAA Main Category: Aerospace & Aviation Sub Category: Frontiers of Knowledge Era: 1750-1799 DateCreated: 1768-1790 Annonay State: Zip: Country: France Website: https://info.aiaa.org/tac/ETMG/HISTC/Shared%20Documents/Historic%20Aerospace%20Sites%20(HAS)/Procedures%20and%20templates/HAS%20blurb.doc Creator: Joseph Michel, Montgolfier, Jacques Etienne

On 4 June 1783, Joseph Michel and Jacques Etienne Montgolfier captured the imagination of the world with their first balloon flight at Cordeliers Square.  There were no passengers, but the Regional Council and the whole town population saw the machine go up and stay aloft at 500 meters for ten minutes. The scientific world raced to make use of the Montgolfiers’ discovery, and all accomplishments made since then by aeronauts, aviators, and astronauts can be traced directly to this site.

YearAdded:
2001
Image Credit: Image Caption: Physicist Pilatre de Rozier and Marquis d’Arlandes take flight in the Montgolfier-style balloon on November 21, 1783, 5 months after the initial launch. Era_date_from:
Society: Main Category: Sub Category: Era: DateCreated: State: Zip: Country: Website: Creator:

We have all been taught to be critical of the written word, but we tend to let the omnipresent graphics of our era pass without close scrutiny. This we do at our own loss and peril. Graphics are rich stores of information, but often they lie about quantitative information and are unnerving and confusing when they could be aesthetically pleasing. In his recent book, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, Edward R. Tufte tells us what we should treasure, reject, and censor in graphics—and much more.

YearAdded:
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Point of Beginning, U.S. Public Lands
Society: ASCE Main Category: Civil Sub Category: Boundaries & Surveys Era: 1750-1799 DateCreated: 1785 East Liverpool State: OH Zip: 43920 Country: USA Website: http://www.asce.org/Project/Point-of-Beginning,-U-S--Public-Lands/ Creator: Hutchins, Thomas

The "Land Ordinance of 1785" required that U.S. lands in the public domain be surveyed before sale, and that the surveys be made in accordance with a consistent, integrated system of lines grid-oriented to a true meridian (north-south reference line) and base line (east-west reference line), subdividing the land into approximately square parcels, called townships.  

Thomas Hutchins, the first Geographer of the United States, drove his stake near East Liverpool, Ohio to mark the Point of Beginning of the Geographer's Line, the first westward base line.

YearAdded:
1985
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikipedia/Nyttend Image Caption: This monument marks the site that served as the basis for the entire Public Land Survey System — the system by which most of the United States, outside of the original colonies, was surveyed. Era_date_from: 1785
Vancouver's Mapping of the West Coast of North America
Society: ASCE Main Category: Civil Sub Category: Boundaries & Surveys Era: 1750-1799 DateCreated: 1791-1795 West Coast of North America N/A State: Zip: Country: USA Website: https://www.asce.org/project/vancouver-s-mapping-of-the-west-coast-of-n-a-/ Creator: Vancouver, George

The voyage of Captain George Vancouver, 1791 -1795, was commissioned by the British Admiralty to map in detail the west coast of North America from Mexico to Alaska and to meet with Spanish authorities on the coast to enforce the terms of the Nootka Sound Convention of 1790. 

YearAdded:
2009
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikipedia/Robbot Image Caption: A view of Mount Rainier from Captain Vancouver's voyage. Era_date_from: 1791
Ironbridge
Society: ASCE Main Category: Civil Sub Category: Bridges Era: 1750-1799 DateCreated: 1779 Coalbrookdale-Ironbridge State: Zip: TF8 7AL Country: UK Website: http://www.asce.org/project/iron-bridge/ Creator: Darby III, Abraham

This bridge is recognized as the first iron bridge in the world. This rural region of England was an important industrial area thanks to coal deposits near the surface. In 1776 the nearest bridge that enabled people and goods to pass over the River Severn was two miles away at Buildwas. There was a ferry crossing, but the trip was difficult and dangerous especially in winter. In 1776, an Act to build a bridge to remedy this situation received Royal Assent.

YearAdded:
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikipedia/Jasonjsmith Image Caption: This bridge is recognized as the first iron bridge in the world. Era_date_from: 1779
Forth & Clyde Canal and Union Canal
Society: ASCE Main Category: Civil Sub Category: Water Transportation Era: 1750-1799 DateCreated: 1768-1790 Forth to Bowling on the Clyde, Scotland Glasgow State: Zip: Country: UK Website: http://www.asce.org/project/forth---clyde-canal/ Creator: Smeaton, John

It took 22 years to complete the 35-mile waterway, as funding problems caused the work to shut down from 1777 to 1785.  

The notion of creating a canal that crossed Scotland was conceived in the 17th century during the reign of Charles II, but would not be realized for nearly 100 years.  The Forth and Clyde Canal, known as The Great Canal in its early years, was the first major transportation project in Scotland and the world's first man-made, sea-to-sea ship canal.   

YearAdded:
2000
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikipedia/Michel Van den Berghe (CC BY-SA 2.0) Image Caption: The Forth and Clyde Canal, known as The Great Canal in its early years, was the first major transportation project in Scotland and the world's first man-made, sea-to-sea ship canal. Era_date_from: 1768
U.S. Capitol
Society: ASCE Main Category: Civil Sub Category: Buildings Era: 1750-1799 DateCreated: 1793 Capitol Hill Washington State: DC Zip: C 20016 Country: USA Website: http://www.asce.org/Project/U-S--Capitol/ Creator: Thornton, William , Latrobe, Benjamin

The United States Capitol is among the most symbolically important and architecturally impressive buildings in the nation. Construction of the original Capitol began in 1793, but it has been through several additions and alterations. Over its lifetime, the Capitol building has been built, burnt, rebuilt, extended, and restored.

YearAdded:
1986
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/Jiuguang Wang (CC BY-SA 2.0) Image Caption: U.S. Capitol Era_date_from: 1793
Springfield Armory
Society: ASME Main Category: Mechanical Sub Category: Manufacturing Era: 1750-1799 DateCreated: 1794 202-206 Pearl Street Springfield State: MA Zip: 01105 Country: USA Website: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/manufacturing---1/-41-springfield-armory-%281794%29 Creator: Blanchard, Thomas, Buckland, Cyrus, Knox, Henry, Warner, Thomas, Washington, George

George Washington's concern over standardization of rifles for the Continental Army led to the formation of national armory and to his selection of Springfield as its site. Completed in 1794, it was the first national armory in the United States. Like the Robbins and Lawrence Armory, the Springfield Armory was an outstanding machining center for the design and mass production, employing notable engineers such as Thomas Blanchard (1788-1864), Thomas Warner, and Cyrus Buckland.

YearAdded:
1980
Image Credit: Image Caption: This illustration from 1850 shows the growth of Springfield Armory since its inception in 1794. The building in the foreground is the Main Arsenal building that acts as the Springfield Armory National Historic Site visitor center today. Era_date_from: 1794
Sewall's Bridge
Society: ASCE Main Category: Civil Sub Category: Bridges Era: 1750-1799 DateCreated: 1761 York River York State: ME Zip: 03909 Country: USA Website: http://www.asce.org/Project/Sewall-s-Bridge/ Creator: Sewall, Samuel

Sewall's Bridge is a singular example of an era when wooden trestle bridges carried highway traffic across New England waterways. It is the earliest pile-trestle bridge for which an authentic construction record exists, and the oldest for which builder's drawings survive. Spanning the York River, it was named for Major Samuel Sewall, Jr., the civil engineer who designed and constructed it.

YearAdded:
1986
Image Credit: Public Domain (State Historical Society of Colorado) Image Caption: Sewall's Bridge Era_date_from: 1761
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Innovations

Great Falls Raceway and Power System

Visionary Alexander Hamilton, the United States' first Secretary of the Treasury, visited the Great Falls of the Passaic River with George Washington in 1778. The 77-foot-high, 280-foot-wide waterfall inspired his dream of abundant, inexpensive energy as the means for economic independence from…

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Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier

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Bethlehem Waterworks

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Old Cape Henry Lighthouse

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Choate Bridge

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Ellicott's Stone

The stone was set by the joint U.S.-Spanish survey party on April 10, 1799.  Made of sandstone, it is roughly two feet high and eight inches thick. On the north side of the stone is the inscription "U.S. Lat. 31, 1799." On the south side is "Dominio de S.M. Carlos IV, Lat. 31, 1799."

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Hwaseong Fortress

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Discovery of Oxygen by Joseph Priestly

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King's Road

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Mason-Dixon Line

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New Castle Ice Harbor

In 1794, the Delaware legislature authorized a lottery to fund the erection of ice piers in the harbor at New Castle. The ice harbor was designed to protect anchored ships from storms and ice. At the time, New Castle served as the principal winter port for ships from the Port of Philadelphia…

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Portland Head Light

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Potowmack Canal and Locks

These canals and locks are a part of the first extensive system of canal and river navigation works undertaken in the United States. The idea for the canal was proposed by George Washington, when, as an engineer, surveyor and military emissary for Virginia, he saw the need for a trade route west…

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Sewall's Bridge

Sewall's Bridge is a singular example of an era when wooden trestle bridges carried highway traffic across New England waterways. It is the earliest pile-trestle bridge for which an authentic construction record exists, and the oldest for which builder's drawings survive. Spanning the York River…

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Springfield Armory

George Washington's concern over standardization of rifles for the Continental Army led to the formation of national armory and to his selection of Springfield as its site. Completed in 1794, it was the first national armory in the United States. Like the Robbins and Lawrence Armory, the…

Read More
U.S. Capitol

The United States Capitol is among the most symbolically important and architecturally impressive buildings in the nation. Construction of the original Capitol began in 1793, but it has been through several additions and alterations. Over its lifetime, the Capitol building has been built, burnt…

Read More
Forth & Clyde Canal and Union Canal

It took 22 years to complete the 35-mile waterway, as funding problems caused the work to shut down from 1777 to 1785.  

The notion of creating a canal that crossed Scotland was conceived in the 17th century during the reign of Charles II, but would not be realized for nearly 100…

Read More
Ironbridge

This bridge is recognized as the first iron bridge in the world. This rural region of England was an important industrial area thanks to coal deposits near the surface. In 1776 the nearest bridge that enabled people and goods to pass over the River Severn was two miles away at Buildwas. There…

Read More

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