Page 2 - doi_preservationbrief15

Extensive construction in concrete also occurred through
the system of coastal fortifications commissioned by the
federal government in the 1890s for the Atlantic, Pacific,
and Gulf coasts. Unlike most concrete construction
to that time, the special requirements of coastal
fortifications called for concrete walls as much as 20 feet
thick, often at sites that were difficult to access. Major
structures in the coastal defenses of the 1890s were built
of mass concrete with no internal reinforcing, a practice
that was replaced by the use of reinforcing bars in
fortifications constructed after about 1905.

The use of reinforced concrete in the United States dates
Figure 2. Chatterton House was the home of the post trader at Fort
Fred Steel in Wyoming, one of several forts established in the 1860s from 1860, when S.T. Fowler obtained a patent for a
to protect the Union Pacific Railroad. The walls of the post trader's reinforced concrete wall. In the early 1870s, William E.
house were built using stone aggregate and lime, without cement. Ward built his own house in Port Chester, New York,
The use of this material presents special preservation challenges. using concrete reinforced with iron rods for all structural
elements. Despite these developments, such construction
publicized in the second edition of Orson S. Fowler's A remained a novelty until after 1880, when innovations
introduced by Ernest L. Ransome made the use of
Home for All (1853) which described the advantages of
reinforced concrete more practicable. Ransome made
"gravel wall" construction to a wide audience. The town
of Seguin, Texas, thirty-five miles east of San Antonio, many contributions to the development of concrete
already had a number of concrete buildings by the 1850s construction technology, including the use of twisted
and came to be called "The Mother of Concrete Cities," reinforcing bars to improve bond between the concrete
with approximately ninety concrete buildings made and the steel, which he patented in 1884. Two years later,
from local "lime water" and gravel (Fig. 1). Ransome introduced the rotary kiln to United States
cement production. The new kiln had greater capacity
Impressed by the economic advantages of poured gravel and burned more thoroughly and uniformly, allowing
wall or "lime-grout" construction, the Quartermaster development of a less expensive, more uniform, and
General's Office of the War Department embarked on a more reliable manufactured cement. Improvements in
campaign to improve the quality of building for frontier concrete production initiated by Ransom led to a much
military posts. As a result, lime-grout structures were greater acceptance of concrete after 1900.
constructed at several western posts soon after the Civil
War, including Fort Fred Steele and Fort Laramie, both The Lincoln Highway Association, incorporated in
in Wyoming (Fig. 2). By the 1880s, sufficient experience 1913, promoted the use of concrete in construction of a
had been gained with unreinforced concrete to permit coast-to-coast roadway system. The goal of the Lincoln
construction of much larger buildings. A notable Highway Association and highway advocate Henry
example from this period is the Ponce de Leon Hotel in B. Joy was to educate the country in the need for good
St. Augustine, Florida. roads made of concrete, with an improved Lincoln

Figure 3. The Lincoln Highway Association promoted construction of Figure 4. The highly ornamental concrete panels on the exterior
a high quality continuous hard surface roadway across the country. facade of the Baha'i House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, illustrate
The Boys Scouts of America installed concrete road markers along the the work of fabricator John J. Earley, known as "the man who made
Lincoln Highway in 1928. concrete beautiful. "
2