Alexander Robey Shepherd. John P. Richardson

      Alexander Robey Shepherd

       Alexander Robey Shepherd

       The Man Who Built the Nation’s Capital

      John P. Richardson

      Foreword by Tony Williams

      PUBLISHED FOR THE

      UNITED STATES CAPITOL HISTORICAL SOCIETY

      BY OHIO UNIVERSITY PRESS

      ATHENS

      Ohio University Press, Athens, Ohio 45701

       ohioswallow.com

      © 2016 by John P. Richardson

      All rights reserved

      To obtain permission to quote, reprint, or other wise reproduce or distribute material from Ohio University Press publications, please contact our rights and permissions department at [phone] or [phone] (fax).

      Frontispiece: Henry Ulke 1871 oil portrait depicts Alexander Shepherd as head of the Board of Public Works. (Courtesy of Krystal Branton, Office of D. C. City Council Member Jim Graham)

      Printed in the United States of America

      Ohio University Press books are printed on acid-free paper ™

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      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Names: Richardson, John P., author.

      Title: Alexander Robey Shepherd : the man who built the nation’s capital / John P. Richardson ; foreword by Tony Williams.

      Description: Athens, OH : Ohio University Press, [2016] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

      Identifiers: LCCN 2016024887| ISBN 9780821422496 (hc : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780821422502 (pb : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780821445891 (pdf)

      Subjects: LCSH: Shepherd, Alexander Robey, 1835–1902. | Washington (D.C.)—Politics and government—19th century. | Mayors—Washington (D.C.)—Biography. | Territorial governors—United States—District of Columbia—Biography. | District of Columbia. Board of Public Works—Biography. | Public works—Washington (D.C.)—History—19th century. | Washington (D.C.)—History—19th century.

      Classification: LCC F198.R525 2016 | DDC 975.3/02092 [B] —dc23

      LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016024887

      Contents

       Foreword

       Preface

       Chapter One. “An Apollo in Form”: Coming of Age in the Nation’s Capital, 1835–1861

       Chapter Two. “The Great Work of Improving and Beautifying Our Beloved City”: First Steps in Business and Political Leadership, 1862–1865

       Chapter Three. “We Want an Honest Board of Commissioners and No Broken-down Political Demagogues”: Building His Business and Political Base for Civic Reform, 1865–1868

       Chapter Four. “The Necessity for a Change in the Form of Government for This District”: Promoting Territorial Government, 1869–1870

       Chapter Five. “A Practical Experiment”: Achieving Territorial Government, 1870–1871

       Chapter Six. “Improvements Must Go On”: The Board of Public Works, 1871

       Chapter Seven. “More Work of Improvement Was Undertaken at Once Than Was Wise”: Meeting Opposition to the Board of Public Works, 1872

       Chapter Eight. “They Must Have a Republican Boss Tweed for Campaign Purposes”: A Troubled Territorial Governor, 1873–1874

       Chapter Nine. “A Free Man Once More”: Bankruptcy and Preparations to Move to Mexico, 1874–1880

       Chapter Ten. “A Life of Labor and Extreme Simplicity”: Seeking El Dorado in Batopilas, 1880–1882

       Chapter Eleven. “Anxieties, Expenses, Delays, and Losses”: Journey’s End, 1882–1902

       Chapter Twelve. “The Law of Necessity”: Denouement and Final Assessments

       Acknowledgments

       Note on Primary Sources

       Index

      Foreword

      I FIRST CAME close to Alexander Shepherd many years ago when I researched a presentation on city maps I was to give at the Library of Congress. I was amazed at the painstaking detail, captured in various maps, in converting Washington from a Civil War casualty into a modern city. As an inveterate walker of Washington’s streets and boulevards, I get another view of Shepherd. I delight in my own “reaction shots” of a visitor’s embrace of the National Capital, the awe of a tourist looking skyward to the Washington Monument, the reverence of the school child at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and the enchantment of the convention attendee taking in the Mall for the first time.

      And then there’s the quizzical look of the sightseer viewing the bronze statue of Alexander Shepherd in front of the Wilson Building in downtown Washington, D.C. The look tells you every thing you need to know about what the average American doesn’t know about the establishment of the Washington, D.C. of today.

      I’m often asked about the statue. Who was Shepherd? Why was he important? What impact did he have? He only served a relatively short time, and yet was of enough consequence to earn a statue on Pennsylvania Avenue! Fortunately, I can now confidently refer inquirers to this wonderful biography of Shepherd by my friend John Richardson.

      Shepherd’s story, told in this book with skill and confidence, is at once the story of a great American character, with all his great achievements—bold, visionary, pragmatic, entrepreneurial; and notable flaws—racially insensitive, ethically myopic, and not infrequently, completely unrealistic. After all, how many political figures retire to Mexico to single-handedly establish a silver mining operation, using state of the art technology?

      And it’s also the story of a great and complex American city’s recovery from the Civil War, growth in the Industrial age, and implementation of one of the world’s greatest urban plans.