Alvah Crocker

Alvah Crocker

Alvah Crocker (born October 14, 1801 in Leominster , Worcester County , Massachusetts , † December 26, 1874 in Fitchburg , Massachusetts) was an American industrialist and politician .

Life

After attending public schools and the Groton Academy , he went into the paper industry first in Franklin (New Hampshire) and from 1823 in Fitchburg. With the help of loans, he soon built his own company. The initial difficulties were soon overcome. The acquisition of all the land in the Nashua Valley to build a road turned out to be a stroke of luck for him . In 1836 he was elected to the United States House of Representatives as MP for Massachusetts. Later he was to get a seat in 1842 and 1843.

His electoral success was based primarily on his earnings in building railroad lines from Boston west to open up the Massachusetts hinterland. For this reason, he also initiated the construction of the Hoosac tunnel to create a rail link to Vermont . In addition to his presidency of several railroad companies, including the "Boston and Fitchburg Railroad" and the "Troy and Boston Railroad", he continued to invest in his paper mills, which soon became the largest in the United States. In addition to his paper factories and mills, he built foundries and machine shops. For the first time he used cleaning wool to make white paper.

He served in the Massachusetts Senate during the Civil War . In the 42nd Congress he was a Republican successor to the resigned William B. Washburn . He was re-elected to the 43rd Congress and served until his death.

Crocker was buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery .

literature

• William Bond Wheelwright: Life and times of Alvah Crocker . Boston 1923.

Web links

• Alvah Crocker in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• ZDF documentary about the Hoosac tunnel