1848 | Annual report
This collection of reports given at the first annual meeting of the stockholders of the Richmond and Danville Railroad Company in 1848 includes extensive information about the financial status of the railroad. Whit'l P. Tunstall, president of the company, also presents an extensive argument for Virginia's railroad development, predicated on the successes of railroads in other states.
January 21, 1850 | Contract
Claudius Crozet offers the Board of Public Works his assessment of the bids for one section of the Tunnel project.
May 6, 1850 | Letter
Claudius Crozet keeps the Board informed of the project's progress on the Blue Ridge and measures that progress in numbers of "hands" employed and the amount of rock and earth moved.
1850 | Annual report
When proposed and the first efforts made in 1850, the Blue Ridge Tunnel was to be the longest tunnel in North America. Claudius Crozet, as chief engineer, warns his Board of Public Works against comparing its progress with other tunnels. The condition of the rock and the scale of the project were different and unprecedented, respectively. Crozet tries to educate the Board on the nature of the project.
November 15, 1850 | Letter
The Kelly contract dispute occupied the first year of Claudius Crozet's project to build the Blue Ridge Tunnel. This letter from Kelly to the Governor of Virginia explains the contractor's view of his contract and his disagreement with Claudius Crozet, the chief engineer. Kelly claims his contract was to include the building of some parts of the project, while Crozet let these to another contractor at a much lower price.
November 15, 1850 | Letter
Claudius Crozet reports on his disagreement with the Tunnel's general contractor.
January 15, 1851 | Letter
In one of the first reports to the Board, Claudius Crozet explains the dangerous conditions in the construction and advises against using sink shafts on the project. Crozet refers to Col. Randolph, probably Thomas Jefferson Randolph, grandson of Thomas Jefferson and contractor of slaves to the project.
April 2, 1852 | Contract
Contractors on the Blue Ridge Railroad and Tunnel project filled out elaborate and detailed descriptions of work that they were to complete.
June 5, 1852 | Contract
Contractors on the Blue Ridge Railroad and Tunnel project filled out elaborate and detailed descriptions of work that they were to complete.
August 2, 1853 | Letter
Claudius Crozet reports on the changing costs of labor in 1853.
August 2, 1853 | Letter
Claudius Crozet explains what he thinks prompted the strike among the Tunnel workers in April 1853 for $1.50 a day wages.
December 6, 1853 | Letter
Claudius Crozet reports on labor costs and the national labor market as it affects the Blue Ridge Tunnel project. He encourages the Board to consider a mixed labor force of white and enslaved black workers as a means to keep both in check.
December 23, 1853 | Contract
In December 1853, George A. Farrow and David Hansbrough signed a contract with the Blue Ridge Railroad to provide fifty slaves to assist in the construction of the Blue Ridge railroad tunnel.
January 4, 1854 | Letter
In his report Claudius Crozet explains the high costs of white labor and the difficulties of securing enslaved labor.
January 17, 1854 | Letter
Under pressure from the legislature to complete the Blue Ridge Tunnel project as soon as possible and at reasonable cost, Claudius Crozet outlined the progress on the construction for the Board of Public Works.
April 20, 1854 | Letter
When two slaves were killed on the Blue Ridge Tunnel project, the slaveholders retained legal counsel to negotiate a settlement with the Board of Public Works.
September 1, 1854 | Letter
When cholera broke out among Irish workers at the Blue Ridge Tunnel, Claudius Crozet reported on the epidemic and the various problems on the project with contractors.
October 27, 1854 | Letter
When two slaves were killed on the Blue Ridge Tunnel project, the Board of Public Works attorneys sought sworn affidavits from white men who knew the enslaved men to determine their value for compensation to the slaveholders. The legal process regularized and the practice of industrial slavery on the railroads.
October 27, 1854 | Letter
When two slaves were killed on the Blue Ridge Tunnel project, the Board of Public Works attorneys sought sworn affidavits from white men who knew the enslaved men to determine their value for compensation to the slaveholders. The legal process regularized and the practice of industrial slavery on the railroads.
October 28, 1854 | Letter
When two slaves were killed on the Blue Ridge Tunnel project, the Board of Public Works attorneys sought sworn affidavits from white men who knew the enslaved men to determine their value for compensation to the slaveholders. The legal process regularized and the practice of industrial slavery on the railroads.
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