Amzi L. Barber

Amzi L. Barber (c.1902)

Amzi Lorenzo Barber (1843-1909) was a pioneer of the asphalt industry in the United States, and an early participant in the automobile industry as well. He laid many of the roads in Westchester County, New York[1] and was known as "The Asphalt King".

Life and career

Barber was born in 1843 in Saxtons River, Windham County, Vermont the son of Amzi Doolittle Barber, the pastor of the Congregationalist Church there. He grew up in Ohio and attended Oberlin College, graduating in 1867. He briefly considered following his father's vocation in the ministry, but instead took a teaching position at Howard University.[2] At Howard, he was "Principal of Normal and Preparatory Department" as well as Professor of Natural Philosophy and Acting Professor of Mathematics until his resignation in 1873. He graduated from Columbian University in Washington, DC in 1877.[3]

In 1878, abandoning teaching, he became actively involved with asphalt pavement work with his brother-in-law John J. Albright. In 1880, Barber partnered with U.S. Senator John Sherman for the purchase and sale of the "Stone" property, then on the outskirts of Washington D.C.[4] This led to an interest in asphalt for paving city streets, after a government study determined it to be the best available method. He incorporated Barber Asphalt Paving Co. in 1883 to produce asphalt, and in 1887, secured a 42-year monopoly concession from the British Government for the Pitch Lake in Trinidad,[5] the largest natural deposit of asphalt in the world. He was also managing director of Trinidad Lake Asphalt Co., Limited, incorporated in London in 1898. Barber moved the Washington-based business to New York City, and it continued to expand, becoming, against Barber's wishes, part of an asphalt trust. By 1900, he had laid over 12 million square yards of Trinidad asphalt pavement in 70 American cities at a cost of $35 million.[6] Barber retired from the business in 1901, just before the trust collapsed, but returned to the industry in 1904.[2]

Barber also had an interest in automobile production, forming the Locomobile Company in 1898. The company at first produced small Stanley Steamer motor cars, which they initially sold for $600, with sales peaking at 1,600 cars in 1900.[7] Locomobile later transitioned into selling internal-combustion automobiles.[2]

Barber married twice, and had four children with his second wife. His first wife was Celia M. Bradley of Geneva, Ohio who died in 1870. In 1871 he married Julia Louise Langdon of Belmont, New York.[8] He was an avid yachtsman. He bought a 269-foot boat named the T.S.Y. Lorena, after his daughter, in 1906. The yacht had a crew of 44 and comfortably held around 12 passengers. The United States government bought it from him for use in the First World War, and then scraped it after the war. He was a founder of the very exclusive Ardsley Country Club, a trustee of Oberlin College from 1889 to 1909,[9] and a director of Washington Loan and Trust.[10]

Barber died of pneumonia in April 1909 at the age of 66 at his home "Ardsley Towers" in Ardsley-on-Hudson, New York. At the time of his death, The New York Times estimated his wealth at "many millions."[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Stolz, George (1986-06-29). "If You're Thinking of Living In Irvington". The New York Times. p. 2. Retrieved 2009-05-16.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Amzi L. Barber Dies of Pneumonia" The New York Times (April 19, 1909)
  3. ↑ Lamb, Daniel Smith (1900). A Historical, Biographical and Statistical Souvenir. Beresford: Howard University Medical Department. p. 86. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  4. ↑ Lamb, Daniel Smith (1900). A Historical, Biographical and Statistical Souvenir. Beresford: Howard University Medical Department. p. 86. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  5. ↑ Lamb, Daniel Smith (1900). A Historical, Biographical and Statistical Souvenir. Beresford: Howard University Medical Department. p. 86. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  6. ↑ Lamb, Daniel Smith (1900). A Historical, Biographical and Statistical Souvenir. Beresford: Howard University Medical Department. p. 86. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  7. ↑ "1899 Locomobile Stanhope Style 1"
  8. ↑ Lamb, Daniel Smith (1900). A Historical, Biographical and Statistical Souvenir. Beresford: Howard University Medical Department. p. 86. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  9. ↑ Oberlin College Archives
  10. ↑ Lamb, Daniel Smith (1900). A Historical, Biographical and Statistical Souvenir. Beresford: Howard University Medical Department. p. 86. Retrieved 17 September 2015.

External links


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