John Stevens: Father of the American Railroad

In this installment of ‘Profiles in History,’ we meet a man whose interests in steam power result in steamboats and America’s first railroad.

A portrait of John Stevens, circa 1830, by an unidentified artist. National Portrait Gallery. Public Domain

John Stevens (1749–1838) was born into a wealthy family, finished his education at King’s College (now Columbia University) in 1768, was admitted to the bar of the New York and New Jersey colonies 1771, but never practiced law. Perhaps his interest lay elsewhere; as historian Archibald Douglas Turnbull noted, Stevens was “a farmer, a horticulturist, a student of law and medicine, a sportsman, and a great mechanical engineer.”

Several other professions could be added to that list: soldier, treasurer, and surveyor. When war broke out against the British, Stevens told William Franklin, governor of New Jersey, “Your Excellency will not wonder [that] I should prefer the duty I owe my Native Country to any other Consideration.” He enlisted into the Continental Army, but was soon appointed treasurer of New Jersey, a position he held from 1776 to 1779. As the war was coming to its end, he became surveyor of eastern New Jersey from 1782 to 1783. During that time, he married Rachel Cox, with whom he would have 11 children. By war’s end, he held the rank of colonel.

A portrait of Rachel Cox Stevens by Gilbert Stuart. Public Domain

In 1784, he purchased 55 acres in New Jersey (the estate would become part of Hoboken when the city was founded in 1849). Upon this estate, Steven would work on many of his inventions.

Godfather of the American Patent

During the late 1780s, inventors like John Fitch and James Rumsey began working on steam engines. By 1787, Fitch built America’s first steamboat—20 years before Robert Fulton steamed his boat, the Clermont, across the Hudson River. Stevens began working on his own steamboat in hopes of improving upon Fitch’s invention. As the 1780s were nearing their end, Fitch and Rumsey began a rather public quarrel, in which both accused the other of stealing one another’s ideas. The squabble motivated Stevens to promote the need for patents.

He first wrote the New York Assembly and then followed up with a petition to Congress. His petition was read to the House of Representatives on Feb. 8, 1790, ultimately resulting in the U.S. Patent Act of 1790. Turnbull suggested this made Stevens the “godfather … to all later American inventors.”

The following year in August, he received a “patent for two types of steam boiler and a method of propelling boats using steam power.” The patents were certified and signed by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Edmund Randolph.

Monopoly and Steamboats

Stevens’s brother-in-law was Robert R. Livingston, one of the more prominent Founding Fathers. Livingston had been part of the Committee of Five to draft the Declaration of Independence, and he had administered the oath of office when Washington first became president. Livingston believed in the future of steam power and the benefits of using steam for transportation. In 1798, he promised the New York Assembly he would deliver this new form of transportation for the Hudson River if provided exclusive rights. The Assembly agreed, and Livingston was given a monopoly for a yet-to-be-established industry.

Livingston turned to Stevens to establish a commercially viable steamboat. Stevens continued to improve on his invention, and by 1804, his steamboat, the Little Juliana (named after his daughter), successfully crossed the Hudson. Unfortunately, Livingston had already jumped ship from his brother-in-law to Robert Fulton.

Nonetheless, Stevens continued to build steam ferries. With Livingston’s monopoly (which he strictly enforced via the courts), it was impractical to try to compete, so Stevens ferried along tributaries. He built a larger steamship called the Phoenix, and, in 1809, he steamed along the Delaware River to Philadelphia, “making it the first steam-powered vessel to complete an ocean voyage.” In 1811, he developed a paddle-wheel steamship that ferried throughout Long Island Sound.

‘Rail-Ways and Steam-Carriages’

Along with steamboats, Stevens had been working on steam engines, believing that transportation via land was even more efficient than by river and canal. The train had yet to be invented, so he called his idea “steam carriages.” Steel had also yet to be invented, so the rails would be made of wood.

Replica of John Stevens' steam carriage. Public Domain

In 1812, he published what is considered the first publication regarding railroads in America, called “Documents Tending to Prove the Superior Advantages of Rail-Ways and Steam-Carriages over Canal Navigation.” The publication is known as “the birth certificate of all railroads in the United States.”

Three years later, he convinced the state legislature of New Jersey to pass a bill “to erect a Rail-Road from the River Delaware, near Trenton, to the River Raritan, at or near New Brunswick”—the first charter of its kind in the United States. Despite the political backing for the venture, he did not have the financial backing.

The First American Railroad

In 1823, the Pennsylvania Legislature provided him a charter to establish a railroad between Philadelphia and Columbia. The results from this endeavor proved similar to the New Jersey charter. But just as with his steamboat engine, Stevens fully believed in the viability of his “Rail-Ways and Steam-Carriages.” He therefore built his own railway on his large New Jersey estate.

It was in 1825, at the ripe age of 76, that he constructed America’s first steam locomotive (five years before Peter Cooper’s famous Tom Thumb). Guests to his “Hoboken Hotel” were thrilled by his “carriage on railways” that sped along in a circle at six miles per hour. It was this and his many different efforts to maneuver America toward the power of steam engines that he is considered the “father of the American railroad.”

Additionally, Stevens’s estate is now the site of the Stevens Institute of Technology, where his family is considered “America’s First Family of Inventors.”

An 1808 engraving of John Stevens's estate, Castle Point, Hoboken. Currently the site of Stevens Institute of Technology. Public Domain

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