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Jonathan Knight: Engineer, Railroader, Quaker: Reasoned Rightly On All Subjects
Jonathan Knight 1787-1858 is a fascinating figure of American history. This book tells the story of an amazing person whose endeavors still influence our lives today. He was born in the Philadelphia area during the year that the Constitution of the United States was being written, and he lived and participated in the vibrant times of nationalism and westward expansion.
As the surveyor and commissioner for the Department of War, he helped to develop the National Road, America’s first Interstate. This roadway started in Cumberland, Maryland and headed west through the states of Pennsylvania, Virginia (later West Virginia), Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, and was the largest financial undertaking of the federal government prior to the Civil War.
As Chief Civil engineer for the B&O Railroad, Knight helped develop America’s first commercial railroad. The B&O started at the port of Baltimore, passing over and around the Appalachian Mountains to the Ohio River, thus creating a major economic and cultural impact in American history.
Knight was a brilliant self-taught mathematician, surveyor, and civil engineer; he was a devout Quaker that worked to stop the spread of slavery in the years prior to the Civil War. He and his wife Ann Heston Knight raised seven sons to adulthood who all led successful lives. He was a lifelong farmer, a founder of agricultural societies, and an innovator of modern agricultural methods. Like Abraham Lincoln, he was a member of the Whig party, a proponent of Henry Clay’s American System and opposed to the Presidencies of Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, and Franklin Pierce. Knight was elected to the Pennsylvania State Senate and later served in the most contentious congressional term in America’s history, the 34th U.S. Congress.
The town of Knightstown, Indiana is located on the National Road and was created in 1827. Read why this town in
Indiana was named for Jonathan Knight who was a lifelong Pennsylvanian.
As the surveyor and commissioner for the Department of War, he helped to develop the National Road, America’s first Interstate. This roadway started in Cumberland, Maryland and headed west through the states of Pennsylvania, Virginia (later West Virginia), Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, and was the largest financial undertaking of the federal government prior to the Civil War.
As Chief Civil engineer for the B&O Railroad, Knight helped develop America’s first commercial railroad. The B&O started at the port of Baltimore, passing over and around the Appalachian Mountains to the Ohio River, thus creating a major economic and cultural impact in American history.
Knight was a brilliant self-taught mathematician, surveyor, and civil engineer; he was a devout Quaker that worked to stop the spread of slavery in the years prior to the Civil War. He and his wife Ann Heston Knight raised seven sons to adulthood who all led successful lives. He was a lifelong farmer, a founder of agricultural societies, and an innovator of modern agricultural methods. Like Abraham Lincoln, he was a member of the Whig party, a proponent of Henry Clay’s American System and opposed to the Presidencies of Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, and Franklin Pierce. Knight was elected to the Pennsylvania State Senate and later served in the most contentious congressional term in America’s history, the 34th U.S. Congress.
The town of Knightstown, Indiana is located on the National Road and was created in 1827. Read why this town in
Indiana was named for Jonathan Knight who was a lifelong Pennsylvanian.
237 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 16, 2024
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January 9, 2025
The format really held my interest: there were quotes, stories, images of artifacts, lore, and family trees all related to Jonathan Knight. He seemed like a humble Quaker of integrity.
Displaying 1 of 1 review