December 28, 2020 www.porcupinesoup.com

Tracing Your Roots in Greene County By Sylvia Hasenkopf

James Bogardus, inventor, watchmaker, and father of the skyscraper.

Who would have thought that James was from Catskill, New York? He

most certainly was.

James was born March 14, 1800 in Catskill, one of six children of John

Bogardus and his wife Sara Stockens. As John was a prosperous farmer

and could afford to send his children to school, James was educated in the

village school in Catskill, likely starting his education around the age of

seven.

James would have been only seven years old when the Clermont, the

first commercial steamboat of the paddlewheel design, churned past

Catskill on its inaugural run on August 17, 1807. The innovation and

creativity in design likely left an indelible impression on him.

Catskill, at the time, was a river port and sloops plied up and down the

Hudson, bringing travelers, goods and the mail. The sloops were met by

many interested villagers, as this was the prime means of learning the

news from afar. It must have been an exciting time for a young boy, with

all the activity along the wharves.

At the age of fourteen, James took up an apprenticeship under Horace

Willard, Catskill’s main jeweler, watch and clock maker, located on Main

St. in the village. During his apprenticeship, James soon became skilled in

watch work and working in gold and silver. He also learned how to make

dyes, engraving in wood, steel and other metals. This skill would serve

him well in years to come.

When Willard decided to sell his business, James bought out the

remaining time of his apprenticeship and set himself up in business in

Catskill. James was still a young man, however, and blessed with an

adventuring spirit and bounding curiosity, James decided to close up his

shop and move to Savannah, GA in 1820. He stayed only a few years, and

by the summer of 1823, he had reestablished his watchmaker’s shop in

Catskill.

But James loved to tinker. He was forever designing new inventions. In

1828 he invented a three wheeled mantle clock, which he patented. He

also exhibited the clock at the newly-founded American Institute in New

York City, where he won the “highest premium”, the highest recognition

possible.

The American Institute, founded in 1828, served as a meeting place for men with ideas – men who wanted to use technology to

improve everyday life. It served as a means in which inventors could market their ideas to entrepreneurs and businessmen alike. In

1830, the American Institute hired James to create the steel dye of a newly designed medal for the organization. James had the

opportunity to use his newly invented dye machine. By all accounts, the medal was exquisite. Over the next forty years James

maintained his connection with the American Institute, winning many medals for his inventions.

James’ close association with the American Institute allowed him to mingle with other inventors and he was energized and inspired

to create even more inventions. However, he felt Catskill was just too far away from New York City, the center of new artistic and

industrial innovations, so he closed his business in Catskill once again, and moved to New York City some time in 1829. He never

James Bogardus Catskill native and father of the skyscraper

James Bogardus

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looked back.

On February 12, 1831, James married Margaret Maclay, daughter of

Scottish born Archibald Maclay, a prominent Baptist pastor of New York

City. Margaret was an acclaimed painter in oils as well as miniature portraits

and her income was a welcome addition to the family finances during those

early years of struggle for James and his inventions.

The couple did not have any children that survived infancy and they

eventually adopted Margaret’s niece, Harriet Hogg, and reared her as their

own daughter.

The 1830’s were marred by financial troubles for James, however he

continued to produce an astounding number of inventions: devices for watch

making (cutting wheels, cutting watch dials), engraving devices, a spinning

machine and a mammoth clock, grinding mills, devices for pressing glass,

devices for cutting or working with rubber, devices for making postage

stamps, an eccentric mill, a mechanical pencil, a gas metering device…. the

list goes on and on. Between 1830 and 1850 James was awarded thirteen

United States Patents and one British Patent. Not all of James’ inventions

were patented, however.

In 1836 James sailed for England, in an effort to establish a British Patent

for his gas metering device. He was unsuccessful. Expecting to stay only a

very short while, James ended up staying in Europe for four years. And these

were very formative years for the inventor, which would have a profound

impact on American architecture in years to come.

England, at the time, was experiencing an industrial boom and many

structures were being built using iron. Bridges, aqueducts, railway facilities,

shipping docks and columns were being constructed in cast iron. James found

this quite fascinating.

Before returning to America, James and Margaret decided to undertake a

Continental tour. It was during their stay in Italy, that James was struck by the 63 Nassau Street,1857-59, by James Bogardus, Financial

District, New York, image by Beyond My Ken via Wikimedia

Commons.

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historic Classical and Renaissance architecture with its “regularity and repetition”. In later

years, James would say that it was then that he conceived the idea of using cast iron in the

facades of buildings.

Unlike Britain, iron was not commonly used in America for structural purposes in the

first half of the nineteenth century. Iron was not in plentiful supply locally and had to be

imported from abroad. It wasn’t until the 1840’s that domestic sources of iron were

discovered.

Devastating fires in many cities in the 1820’s and 30’s drove many builders and their

clients to seek fireproof or fire-resistant building materials. And that is where James’

unique abilities and vision came into being. He wanted to emulate the architectural

designs of antiquity in cast iron in New York City.

In an effort to convince the public, investors and builders of his vision he published an

article in a New York newspaper in May 1849, stating, “these buildings will sustain a

greater weight and are put up with less inconvenience than brick buildings, being cast and

fit so that each piece may be put up as fast as it is brought on the ground…. They admit

more light, for the iron columns will sustain the weight that would require a wide brick

wall in ordinary buildings. They combine beauty with strength, for the panels can be filled

with figures to an extent.”

Critics fueled the public’s prejudice, predicting that, “iron facades would attract

lightening, expand and contract dangerously in sunlight and with temperature changes,

melt in fire, or even collapse of their own weight.” But James believed in his idea and he

persisted.

James’ first commission was the Milhau Pharmacy building. Dr. John Milhau, a

respected pharmacist in New York City, wanted to update and enlarge his small building

at 183 Broadway. He ordered an entire cast iron façade in 1848. This was James’

opportunity to prove that his invention of cast iron facades was safe and viable.

Kitchen, Montross & Wilcox Store, 1861, by

James Borgardus, Tribeca, New York, image by

Beyond My Ken via Wikimedia Commons.

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The Milhau Pharmacy building grew in height from three

to five stories and where each floor previously had 3

windows, James’ new construction allowed four. This was

made possible by the strength of the slender supporting iron

columns that were in place between the windows. Upon

completion, the Milhau Pharmacy looked like no other

building ever built before.

James went on to build the Laing Stores facades and then

his own cast iron factory on Duane St. The speed with

which the buildings were constructed amazed many.

James realized that he needed to patent his invention and

on February 9, 1850 he submitted an application to the

United States Patent Office. The application claimed that his

invention of a building system was novel in five ways: the

frame, the floor, the roof, the modular construction of the

exterior walls and the use of open beams.

Patent No. 7,337, entitled, “Construction of the Frame,

Roof and Floor of Iron Buildings” was awarded to James

Bogardus. It recognized three of the five novel ways

claimed by James. In very short order, other cast iron

manufacturers began to develop new methods and systems

for building cast iron facades that circumvented James’

patent. By 1855 there were seven new patents by other

inventors relating to iron front construction. Competitive

exploitation had begun.

James flung himself into the business of building iron clad

buildings. He placed a plaque on his buildings that stated:

James Bogardus, originator and constructor of Iron

Buildings, New York. James built more than thirty iron clad

structures in the 1850’s. Not only did he construct buildings

and factories, he also constructed seven story fire towers for

the City of New York and other towers for various

industries. In 1862 he built his last iron clad building.

By this time James was sixty-two and he spent the last

decade of his life doing what he loved the most – inventing

things!

James Bogardus died at his home on 14th St. in New York

City on April 13, 1874 and was buried in the idyllic Green-

wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. His obituary in the Scientific

American acclaims him as “an inventor celebrated both for

the multiplicity and variety as well as the value of his

productions…the record of his life is one of continuous

labors repeatedly crowned with substantial success, of a

versatile genius which devoted himself to the origination of Hopkins Store, 75 Murray Street, 1857-58 by James Bogardus, Tribeca, New York,

image by Beyond My Ken via Wikimedia Commons.

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Want to connect with Sylvia about local history? Contact her at Sylvia@northriverresearch.com

Want to read previous articles from Sylvia? Click here.

of devices in widely differing arts and industries, and finally

of unremitting toil in the search for the new and useful.”

Few of James’ iron clad buildings have withstood the test

of time. Fire and changing architectural tastes and needs have

resulted in the loss of most of the buildings. However, a few

have survived. The Iron Clad building in Cooperstown, listed

on the National Historic Register still stands, as does the old

Hopkins building on 75 Murray St. and the building at 63

Nassau St. in New York City.

The height of buildings before the invention of the cast iron

facades was limited. The weight of the construction material,

whether brick, stone or wood became too great at a certain

point to remain stable, so the height of buildings was limited

to a few stories.

Without a doubt, James proved that buildings could be

made lighter and quicker using iron structures. His seven

story fire towers soared over all surrounding buildings of the

day and proved that building “up” was possible.

By 1884, the world’s first true skyscraper had been built in

Chicago. The ten story Home Insurance Building had a steel

frame that supported the entire weight of the walls, instead of

load bearing walls carrying the weight of the building.

James’ vision of iron clad buildings was the forerunner of

this building style. That’s why he is called the father of the

skyscraper.

254-60 Canal Street, 1856-57, by James Bogardus, Chinatown, New York, image

by Beyond My Ken via Wikimedia Commons.