Hiram M. Chittenden

Hiram M. Chittenden
Chittenden in 1916
Born
Hiram Martin Chittenden

(1858-10-25)October 25, 1858
DiedOctober 9, 1917(1917-10-09) (aged 58)
Resting placeLake View Cemetery, Seattle
NationalityAmerican
EducationUnited States Military Academy at West Point
OccupationEngineer
Engineering career
InstitutionsArmy Corps of Engineers
ProjectsChittenden Memorial Bridge, Grand Loop Road Historic District, Roosevelt Arch, Chittenden Locks, Sylvan_Pass_(Wyoming)
Signature

Hiram Martin Chittenden (October 25, 1858 – October 9, 1917) was an American engineer and historian. A graduate of West Point, he was the Seattle district engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers from 1906 to 1908). Chittenden was one of the first three elected Port Commissioners at the Port of Seattle. He also helped found the Pacific Coast Association of Port Authorities, later known as the Association of Pacific Ports in 1913. The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks in Seattle are named in his honor.

As a historian he was noted for his work on the American West, especially the fur trade. Historian Gordon B. Dodds stated,

His works on the Yellowstone, the fur trade, and on Missouri River steamboating were long recognized as definitive....His style was formal, clear, and undramatic. His works contain a mass of detail. He was typical of the Progressive era of American history in his strong belief in progress and in 'the divine mission of the Anglo-Saxon.'[1]

Chittenden also wrote the noted work History of early steamboat navigation on the Missouri River: life and adventures of Joseph La Barge.[2]

  1. ^ Gordon B. Dodds, "A Dedication to the Memory of Hiram Martin Chittenden, 1858–1917," Arizona and the West (1963) 5#3 pp 182–186
  2. ^ Chittenden, 1903, front cover