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Collection Data
- Description
- James E. Serrell (1820-1892), Henry G. Opdycke (1870-1938), and William R. Patrick were New York City surveyors and civil engineers. Serrell was appointed city surveyor in the Street Dept. of New York, had a surveying practice in the city, and carried on experiments for improvements in the design of marine engines and propellers. Opdycke practiced engineering and consulted on the construction of the first subway in New York City. In 1899 he formed a partnership, Opdycke & Thomson, with H. Serrell Thomson and later was associated with William R. Patrick in his surveying practice. Patrick eventually assumed Opdycke's surveying business, taking possession of Opdycke's papers and the papers of James E. Serrell. The Serrell-Opdycke-Patrick papers document the evolution of property ownership and land use in New York City and the development of the city's urban infrastructure of streets and sewers especially during the latter half of the 19th century (1840s-1890s). Over one-half of the collection consists of New York City land maps and surveys arranged by city block number with collateral papers including correspondence, engineering notes and field notebooks. Papers reflect the surveying and engineering work of James E. Serrell, Henry G. Opdycke, the firm of Opdycke & Thomson, and (to a lesser extent) of William R. Patrick. Included also are personal and miscellaneous papers of James E. Serrell, Henry G. Opdycke, and William R. Patrick relating mainly to their professional careers.
- Dates / Origin
- Date Created: 1828 - 1963 (Approximate)
- Library locations
- Manuscripts and Archives Division
- Shelf locator: MssCol 2724
- Physical Description
- Extent: 16 linear feet (37 boxes, 1 v.)
- Type of Resource
- Text
- Still image
- Identifiers
- NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b12351334
- MSS Unit ID: 2724
- Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): e067b7f0-0a22-0133-50be-58d385a7bbd0
