New York State Department of Public Works

The office of Superintendent of Public Works was created by an 1876 amendment to the New York State Constitution. It abolished the canal commissioners and established that the Department of Public Works execute all laws relating to canal maintenance and navigation except for those functions performed by the New York State Engineer and Surveyor who continued to prepare maps, plans and estimates for canal construction and improvement. The Canal Board (now consisting of the Superintendent of Public Works, the State Engineer and Surveyor, and the Commissioners of the Canal Fund) continued to handle hiring of employees and other personnel matters. The Barge Canal Law of 1903 (Chapter 147) directed the Canal Board to oversee the enlargement of and improvements to the Erie Canal, the Champlain Canal and the Oswego Canal.^[1] In 1967, the Department of Public Works was merged with other departments into the new New York State Department of Transportation.

List of Superintendents of Public Works

• George B. McClellan (1826–1885) nominated March 16, 1877 by Gov. Robinson;^[2] rejected by the State Senate
• Charles S. Fairchild nominated January 4, 1878 by Gov. Robinson;^[3] rejected by the State Senate on January 16, 1878 ^[4]
• Daniel Magone nominated January 18, 1878, by Gov. Robinson;^[5] rejected by State Senate January 23, 1878^[6]
• Benjamin S. W. Clark (1829–1912) nominated January 23, confirmed January 30, 1878 - January 15, 1880 ^[7]
• Silas Belden Dutcher (1829–1889) January 15, 1880 - February 13, 1883 ^[8]
• James H. Shanahan (1828–1897), February 13, 1883 - resigned 1889 ^[9]
• Edward Hannan, December 16, 1889 - Jan 2, 1895
• George W. Aldridge January 2, 1895 - Jan 16, 1899
• John Nelson Partridge, January 16, 1899 - Dec 20, 1901
• Charles S. Boyd, December 20, 1901 - January 4, 1905
• Nicholas Van Vranken Franchot, January 4, 1905 - January 14, 1907
• Frederick C. Stevens (New York), January 14, 1907 - January 4, 1911
• Charles E. Treman, January 4, 1911 - January 1, 1913
• Duncan W. Peck, January 1, 1913 - January 6, 1915
• William Wallace Wotherspoon January 6, 1915 - February 3, 1919
• Lewis Nixon, February 3, 1919 - May 3, 1919
• Edward S. Walsh, May 3, 1919 - January 19, 1921
• Charles L. Cadle, January 19, 1921 - January 9, 1923
• Edward S. Walsh, January 9 - August 30, 1923
• Frederick Stuart Greene (1870–1939), August 30, 1923 - March 26, 1939 (retired, but died before successor was appointed)^[10]
• Arthur William Brandt (1888–1943),^[11] March 30, 1939 ^[12] - May 20, 1943
• Charles Harvey Sells (1889–1978),^[13] May 20, 1943 ^[14] - September 30, 1948 (announced resignation on September 2 ^[15])
• Bertram Dalley Tallamy (1901–1989) ^[16] September 30, 1948 ^[17] - 1955
• John W. Johnson (New York) 1955 - 1959
• John Burch McMorran (1899–1991) 1959 - September 1, 1967, when he continued in office as the first head of the New York State Department of Transportation.^[18]

Notes

1. History of the office, at NY State Archives
2. McClellan nominated
3. Fairchild nominated
4. Fairchild rejected
5. Magone nominated
6. Magone rejected and Clark nominated
7. Clark appointed
8. Dutcher appointed
9. Obit
10. Obit in NYT on March 27, 1939
11. Obit in NYT on June 12, 1943 (subscription required)
12. Appointed and confirmed, NYT on March 31, 1939 (subscription required)
13. Obit in NYT on January 27, 1978 (subscription required)
14. Appointed, in NYT on May 21, 1943 (subscription required)
15. resigantion announced, in NYT on September 3, 1948 (subscription required)
16. Alfonso A. Narvaez (September 19, 1989). "Bertram D. Tallamy, 87, Official For U.S. and New York Highways". New York Times. Retrieved 2011-11-14. Bertram Dalley Tallamy, an engineer who supervised billions of dollars in highway construction for the Federal Government and for New York State, died of kidney failure Thursday at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington. He was 87 years old and lived in Washington. ...
17. Nominated, in NYT on September 4, 1948 (subscription required)
18. Lee A. Daniels (reporter) (October 9, 1991). "J. Burch McMorran Is Dead at 92. Built Many Public Works Projects". New York Times. Retrieved 2011-11-14. J. Burch McMorran, a career civil servant who helped design and build some of the most important public works projects in New York State, died on Sunday at Eddy Memorial Geriatric Center in Troy, N.Y. He was 92 years old and lived in Troy. ...