Online exhibit and slideshow by MHS Volunteer Amy Kuhn Higgins
William S. Edwards (1830-1918) was a civil engineer who worked for the City of Portland from 1876-1906. Serving as First Assistant to Chief Engineer William A. Goodwin, then to Commissioner George N. Fernald, Edwards was a fixture in City Hall for 30 consecutive years, proving indispensable throughout the terms of 15 Mayors of Portland, including all six of those held by James Phineas Baxter. Edwards made significant contributions to Portland, including the creation of Deering Oaks Park, the crucial establishment of the sewer system, and the cataloging of the Eastern and Western Cemeteries. An outstanding mapmaker and planner, Edwards' works on paper continue to benefit historians.
Edwards owned an album of photographs that date to 1887. That leather-bound album, comprised of 45 cabinet card prints sized at 4.25 x 7," is now in the keeping of Portland's Department of Planning and Development.
The album's creator paired the photographs with meticulous inscriptions in pencil that provided the date, location, and subject. The collection reveals Edwards, son of newspaper owner William Eustis Edwards, an assiduous documentarian, not only of his work for the city but also of his colleagues and environs. On the whole, Edwards' album provides an astonishing record of Portland as a thriving port and railway hub, reflecting the needs of the city as an increasingly popular destination for tourism.
Notable images include singular photographs of Deering Oaks Park, and such rarities as Albion Little's elaborate home on the Western Promenade (since demolished), the erstwhile view from Francis Fassett's City Hall (1868-1908), the doomed Cape Elizabeth ferry Cornelia H., and the foundations of Portland's beloved Union Station, which was destroyed in 1961.
Friendly URL: https://www.mainememory.net/exhibits/edwardsalbum
