Frank Crowe
Encyclopedia
Francis Trenholm Crowe was the chief engineer of the Hoover Dam
. During that time, he was the superintendent of Six Companies
, the construction company that oversaw the construction project.
Born in Trenholmville, Quebec
, Crowe attended the Governor Dummer Academy, matriculating to the University of Maine
where he graduated in 1905 with a degree in civil engineering
. The University's Francis Crowe Society
is named in his honor. Crowe became interested in the American west during a lecture from Frank Weymouth, a guest speaker from the United States Bureau of Reclamation
. He signed up for a summer job before the end of the lecture. That summer job began a 20 year career with the reclamation service that would change the face of the American west. In 1924, Frank Crowe left the United States Bureau of Reclamation to join the construction firm of Morrison-Knudsen in Boise, Idaho
. Morrison-Knudsen had recently signed a partnership with the larger Utah Construction Company
to build dams.
While working on the Arrowrock Dam
in Idaho
, Crowe pioneered two practices that are crucial to the construction of large dams. The first was a pneumatic delivery system to transport concrete and the second was a system of overhead cables to allow the pneumatic concrete to be pumped at any point on the construction site. With this technique, Crowe built some of the largest dams in the American west, including the Hoover Dam
, Parker Dam
155 miles (249.4 km) downstream from Hoover; Copper Basin and Gene Wash Dams on the Colorado Aqueduct system; and Shasta Dam
in Northern California. All these dams were important but none approached the mythic scale or mystique of Hoover Dam.
He retired in 1944 to his 20000 acres (80.9 km²) cattle ranch near Redding
, California, where he died of a heart attack on February 26, 1946.
) was dramatised in an episode of the BBC's 2003 docudrama
television miniseries Seven Wonders of the Industrial World
.
The project and Frank Crowe's role was also dramatized in The History Channels series America: The Story of Us
in episode 9 entitled Bust.
Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam, once known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the US states of Arizona and Nevada. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President...
. During that time, he was the superintendent of Six Companies
Six Companies
Six Companies, Inc. was a joint venture of construction companies that was formed to build the Hoover Dam across the Colorado River in Nevada and Arizona....
, the construction company that oversaw the construction project.
Born in Trenholmville, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Crowe attended the Governor Dummer Academy, matriculating to the University of Maine
University of Maine
The University of Maine is a public research university located in Orono, Maine, United States. The university was established in 1865 as a land grant college and is referred to as the flagship university of the University of Maine System...
where he graduated in 1905 with a degree in civil engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
. The University's Francis Crowe Society
Francis Crowe Society
The Francis Crowe Society is an honor society intended to recognise the graduates of the University of Maine's College of Engineering.The society was founded in the fall of 2000 by Dean Larryl Matthews and named in honor of Francis T...
is named in his honor. Crowe became interested in the American west during a lecture from Frank Weymouth, a guest speaker from the United States Bureau of Reclamation
United States Bureau of Reclamation
The United States Bureau of Reclamation , and formerly the United States Reclamation Service , is an agency under the U.S...
. He signed up for a summer job before the end of the lecture. That summer job began a 20 year career with the reclamation service that would change the face of the American west. In 1924, Frank Crowe left the United States Bureau of Reclamation to join the construction firm of Morrison-Knudsen in Boise, Idaho
Boise, Idaho
Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...
. Morrison-Knudsen had recently signed a partnership with the larger Utah Construction Company
Utah Construction Company
The Utah Construction Company was a construction company founded by Edmund Orson Wattis, Jr, Warren L. Wattis and William. H. Wattis in 1900.-History:...
to build dams.
While working on the Arrowrock Dam
Arrowrock Dam
Arrowrock Dam is a concrete arch type dam on the Boise River, in Idaho, U.S.A. It opened in 1915 and is located on the border between Boise County and Elmore County, upstream of the Lucky Peak Dam and reservoir...
in Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
, Crowe pioneered two practices that are crucial to the construction of large dams. The first was a pneumatic delivery system to transport concrete and the second was a system of overhead cables to allow the pneumatic concrete to be pumped at any point on the construction site. With this technique, Crowe built some of the largest dams in the American west, including the Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam, once known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the US states of Arizona and Nevada. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President...
, Parker Dam
Parker Dam
Parker Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam that crosses the Colorado River downstream of Hoover Dam. Built between 1934 and 1938 by the Bureau of Reclamation, it is high, of which are below the riverbed, making it "the deepest dam in the world". The dam's primary functions are to create a...
155 miles (249.4 km) downstream from Hoover; Copper Basin and Gene Wash Dams on the Colorado Aqueduct system; and Shasta Dam
Shasta Dam
Shasta Dam is an arch dam across the Sacramento River in the northern part of the U.S. state of California, at the north end of the Sacramento Valley. The dam mainly serves long-term water storage and flood control in its reservoir, Shasta Lake, and also generates hydroelectric power...
in Northern California. All these dams were important but none approached the mythic scale or mystique of Hoover Dam.
He retired in 1944 to his 20000 acres (80.9 km²) cattle ranch near Redding
Redding
-Places in the United States:*Redding, California*Redding, Iowa*Redding Township, Jackson County, Indiana**Reddington, Indiana, an unincorporated town in Redding Township*Redding Township, Michigan*Redding, Connecticut-Places in Europe:...
, California, where he died of a heart attack on February 26, 1946.
Popular culture
The Hoover Dam construction project and Frank Crowe's role (portrayed by actor Jay BenedictJay Benedict
Jay Benedict is an American actor, best known in the United Kingdom for his role as Captain John Kieffer in Foyle's War .He has lived and worked in Europe since the 1960s...
) was dramatised in an episode of the BBC's 2003 docudrama
Docudrama
In film, television programming and staged theatre, docudrama is a documentary-style genre that features dramatized re-enactments of actual historical events. As a neologism, the term is often confused with docufiction....
television miniseries Seven Wonders of the Industrial World
Seven Wonders of the Industrial World
Seven Wonders of the Industrial World is a 7-part British documentary/docudrama television miniseries that originally aired from to on BBC...
.
The project and Frank Crowe's role was also dramatized in The History Channels series America: The Story of Us
America: The Story of Us
America: The Story of Us is a six-part, 12-hour documentary television miniseries that premiered on April 25, 2010, on History...
in episode 9 entitled Bust.