Loammi Baldwin, Jr.

Loammi Baldwin, Jr. (May 16, 1780 – June 30, 1838) was an American civil engineer. His father was Col. Loammi Baldwin a prominent civil engineer.

Baldwin was born at North Woburn, Massachusetts living at Baldwin House aka "The Baldwin Mansion", educated at Westford Academy, and graduated from Harvard College in 1800. His early inclinations were towards mechanical subjects, and during his college life he made a clock which kept good time.

In 1794 at age 14 he accompanied his father and two brothers (Cyrus, 22, and Benjamin, 17) on a nine-day consulting inspection visit from the famous canal engineer William Weston of the route of the Middlesex Canal. Later all five of Loammi Baldwin Senior's sons ( Loammi Baldwin Jr., Benjamin Franklin Baldwin, Cyrus Baldwin, James Fowle Baldwin and George Rumford Baldwin) worked with their father on the ten-year construction of the Middlesex Canal.

After graduation he entered a law office in Groton, Massachusetts, where he constructed a fire engine called "Torrent", which the town greatly needed. In 1804 he completed his studies at Groton and opened his own law office in Cambridge. In 1807, however, he abandoned his law practice in favor of engineering. He traveled to England to inspect public works and intended to do the same in France, but he was barred by the difficulty in entering the country. Upon his return he began an engineering practice in Charlestown, Massachusetts. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1810, and a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1814.

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