Type: Exhibition case
Name: The Father of American Railroads
Detail: John Stevens (1749-1838) was the scion of a prominent family in colonial New Jersey. During the Revolutionary War he served as state treasurer. In the postwar period he became intrigued by experiments in steam navigation by men such as John Fitch. At his estate at Castle Point in Hoboken, Stevens devoted the rest of his life to experimenting with the application of steam to travel on water and land. Frustrated by the steamboat monopoly given to Robert Fulton by New York, he turned his attention to the new technology of railroads.
In 1812, he wrote the first American publication promoting the advantages of “steam carriages” over canals, which has been called “the birth certificate of all railroads in the United States.” He prevailed on the New Jersey legislature in 1815 to pass an act “to erect a Rail-Road from the River Delaware, near Trenton, to the River Raritan, at or near New Brunswick”—the first American railroad charter. The law said nothing, however, about what kind of motive power would be used. Stevens was not able to raise funds for the project. In 1825, at age seventy-six, Stevens built on his estate an experimental steam engine “for propelling a carriage on railways.” Guests were delighted to ride at six miles per hour on “the circle at the Hoboken Hotel.” Five years later, the Camden and Amboy Railroad was chartered, and his sons Robert L. and Edwin A. became officers in the fledgling company. When the John Bull locomotive arrived from England in 1831, the old inventor hosted a grand celebration at his estate. John Stevens had lived to see his vision realized.