Moncure Robinson (1802-1891) - Find a Grave Memorial

Civil Engineer. He played a large role in the creation and construction of many early railroad lines, the success of which influenced the growth of the railroad in the 19th century and the subsequent transportation revolution. Born in Richmond, Virginia, he attended William and Mary College, studying physics and engineering. After studying drafting in New York City, he gained employment as an engineering assistant with the James River Company in Virginia. Despite being under the age of 20, he became involved in complicated projects, surveying the topography of Virginia from Richmond to the Ohio River, and being placed in charge of the project to widen the James River Canal. In 1825 he embarked on a two-year trip to Europe, studying railroad, bridge building, canal and harbor civil engineering in England, Holland, Italy and at the Sorbonne in Paris, France. Upon his return he was commissioned by the State of Pennsylvania to survey the anthracite coal fields around Pottsville in conjunction with plans to build a railroad to make the transport of the coal easier and cheaper (his work eventually became the basis of the Danville-Pottsville Railroad). In 1831 he completed the 13-mile Chesterfield Railroad in Virginia, the state's first. From then on he became one of the most prominent pioneers in railroad construction, a field to which he devoted much of his career. After building two more railroad lines in Virginia, he returned to Pennsylvania, and constructed what is considered his crowning achievement – the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad. Financed partially through his own efforts via trips to England to secure investors, it became the main conduit for bringing coal from the mines in Schuylkill County to the state's largest city for many years (the rail line featured a large stone bridge and the Black Rock Tunnel near Phoenixville, which ran almost 2,000 feet). His reputation grew such that in 1840 that Czar Nicholas I of Russia sent commissioners to offer Moncure Robinson the position of chief engineer of the massive railroad engineering project he was planning for his empire - an offer he declined, although he did give the Russians advice and counsel to take back to the Czar. From 1840 to 1847 he served as President of the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad in Virginia, and in 1847 he constructed the Palmetto Railway line, which connected Augusta, Georgia with Washington, DC. It would prove to be his last railroad project, as he retired from civil railroad engineering after its completion. In 1835 he had made his permanent residence in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he lived until his passing.

Bio by: RPD2

Inscription

IN MEMORY OF
MONCURE ROBINSON
BORN IN RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
DIED IN PHILADELPHIA.
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THIS STONE ERECTED BY HIS WIFE AND CHILDREN TO RECORD THEIR EVIDENCE OF THE BEAUTY OF HIS CHARACTER. HE WAS A MOST LOVING AND DUTIFUL SON, BROTHER, FATHER, HUSBAND AND FRIEND.