Abram Stevens Hewitt
Encyclopedia
Abram Stevens Hewitt was a teacher
, lawyer
, an iron
manufacturer, chairman of the Democratic National Committee
from 1876 to 1877, U.S. Congressman
, and a mayor
of New York
. He was the son-in-law of Peter Cooper
(1791–1883), an industrialist, inventor and philanthropist
. He is best known for his work with the Cooper Union
, which he aided Peter Cooper in founding in 1859, and for planning the financing and construction of the New York City subway
system, for which he is considered the "Father of the New York City Subway System".
. His mother, Ann Gurnee, was of French Huguenot
descent, while his father, John Hewitt, was from Staffordshire
in England
and had emigrated to the U.S. in 1790 to work on a steam engine
to power the water plant in Philadelphia.
Hewitt worked his way through and graduated from Columbia College
in 1842. He taught mathematics
at the school, and became a lawyer
several years later.
From 1843 to 1844, Hewitt traveled to Europe with his student, Edward Cooper
, the son of industrialist entrepreneur Peter Cooper
, and another future New York City mayor. During their return voyage, the pair were shipwreck
ed together. After this, Hewitt became "virtually a member of the Cooper family", and in 1855 married Edward's sister, Sarah Amelia.
, the Trenton Iron Company, where, in 1854, they produced the first structural wrought iron
beams, as well as developing other innovative products. Hewitt also invested in other companies, in many case serving on their boards. Hewitt was known for dedicated work for the U.S. government and exceptionally good relations with his employees.
After his marriage to Sarah Cooper, Hewitt supervised the construction of Cooper Union
, Peter Cooper's free educational institution, and chaired the board of trustees until 1903.
In 1871, inspired by reformer Samuel J. Tilden
, Cooper was prominent in the campaign to bring about the fall of the corrupt Tammany Hall
-based "Tweed Ring", led by the William M. Tweed, and helped reorganize the Democratic Party
in New York, which Tweed and Tammany had controlled. He first ventured into elective politics in 1874, when he won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives
, where he served for five terms. He also became the head of the Democratic National Committee
in 1876 when Tilden ran for President.
Hewitt's most famous speech was made at the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge
between Manhattan Island and Brooklyn in 1883.
In 1886, Hewitt was elected mayor of New York City
when Richard Croker
of Tammany Hall – which had resumed its control of the Democratic Party in the city – arranged for Hewitt to get the Democratic nomination, despite his being the leader of the anti-Tammany "Swallowtails" of the party: Croker needed a strong candidate to oppose the United Labor Party candidate, political economist Henry George
. Tammany feared that a win by George might reorganize politics in the city along class lines, rather than along ethnic lines, which is where Tammany drew its power. Theodore Roosevelt
, running as the Republican Party
candidate, came in third. Hewitt was not successful as a mayor, due both to his unpleasant character and nativist beliefs: he refused, for instance, to review the St. Patrick's Day Parade, a decision which alienated most of the Democratic power base. Hewitt also refused to allow Tammany the control of patronage they wanted, and Croker saw to it that Hewittt was not nominated for a second term.
Hewitt was considered a consistent defender of sound money practices – he is famously quoted as saying "Unnecessary taxation is unjust taxation." – and civil service
reform. He was conspicuous for his public spirit, and developed an innovative funding and construction plan for the New York City subway
system, for which he is known as the "Father of the New York City Subway System".
Hewitt had many investments in natural resources, including considerable holdings in West Virginia
, where William Nelson Page
(1854–1932) was one of his managers. He was also an associate of Henry Huttleston Rogers
(1840–1909), a financier and industrialist who was a key man in the Standard Oil Trust, and a major developer of natural resources. One of Hewitt's investments handled by Rogers and Page was the Loup Creek Estate in Fayette County, West Virginia
. The Deepwater Railway
was a subsidiary initially formed by the Loup Creek investors to ship bituminous coal
from coal mines on their land a short distance to the main line of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
(C&O) along the Kanawha River
. After rate disputes, the tiny short line railroad was eventually expanded to extend all the way into Virginia and across that state to a new coal pier
at Sewell's Point
on Hampton Roads
. Planned secretly right under the noses of the large railroads, it was renamed the Virginian Railway
and was also known as the "richest little railroad in the world" for much of the 20th century.
gave him the degree of LL.D. in 1887, and he was the president of its alumni association in 1883, and a trustee from 1901 until his death. In 1876 he was elected president of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, and was a founder and trustee of the Carnegie Institution. He was also a trustee of Barnard College
and of the American Museum of Natural History
.
, Brooklyn
, New York. His last words, after he took his oxygen tube from his mouth, were "And now, I am officially dead."
Hewitt's daughters, Amy, Eleanor, and Sarah Hewitt, founded the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. His son, Peter Cooper Hewitt (1861–1921), was a successful inventor, while another son, Edward Ringwood Hewitt (1866–1957), was also an inventor, a chemist and an early expert on fly-fishing. He published Telling on the Trout, among other books. Hewitt's youngest son, Erskine Hewitt (1878–1938), was a lawyer and philanthropist in New York City. He donated Ringwood Manor
to the State of New Jersey in 1936.
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
, lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, an iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
manufacturer, chairman of the Democratic National Committee
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
from 1876 to 1877, U.S. Congressman
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, and a mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He was the son-in-law of Peter Cooper
Peter Cooper
Peter Cooper was an American industrialist, inventor, philanthropist, and candidate for President of the United States...
(1791–1883), an industrialist, inventor and philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
. He is best known for his work with the Cooper Union
Cooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly referred to simply as Cooper Union, is a privately funded college in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States, located at Cooper Square and Astor Place...
, which he aided Peter Cooper in founding in 1859, and for planning the financing and construction of the New York City subway
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and also known as MTA New York City Transit...
system, for which he is considered the "Father of the New York City Subway System".
Early life
Hewitt was born in Haverstraw, New YorkHaverstraw, New York
Haverstraw is the name of two locations in Rockland County, New York:*Haverstraw, New York, a town*Haverstraw , New York, a village located entirely within the townIt may also refer to:*West Haverstraw, New York*Haverstraw Bay*Haverstraw Indians...
. His mother, Ann Gurnee, was of French Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
descent, while his father, John Hewitt, was from Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and had emigrated to the U.S. in 1790 to work on a steam engine
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
to power the water plant in Philadelphia.
Hewitt worked his way through and graduated from Columbia College
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in 1842. He taught mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
at the school, and became a lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
several years later.
From 1843 to 1844, Hewitt traveled to Europe with his student, Edward Cooper
Edward Cooper (mayor)
Edward Cooper was the Mayor of New York City from 1879 to 1880, serving as a Democrat. He was the only son of industrialist Peter Cooper. Edward Cooper's business partner and brother-in-law, Abram S. Hewitt, also served as mayor of New York City . W.R. Grace's terms as mayor separated Cooper's and...
, the son of industrialist entrepreneur Peter Cooper
Peter Cooper
Peter Cooper was an American industrialist, inventor, philanthropist, and candidate for President of the United States...
, and another future New York City mayor. During their return voyage, the pair were shipwreck
Shipwreck
A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
ed together. After this, Hewitt became "virtually a member of the Cooper family", and in 1855 married Edward's sister, Sarah Amelia.
Career
In 1845, financed by Peter Cooper, Hewitt and Edward Cooper started an iron mill in Trenton, New JerseyTrenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
, the Trenton Iron Company, where, in 1854, they produced the first structural wrought iron
Wrought iron
thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...
beams, as well as developing other innovative products. Hewitt also invested in other companies, in many case serving on their boards. Hewitt was known for dedicated work for the U.S. government and exceptionally good relations with his employees.
After his marriage to Sarah Cooper, Hewitt supervised the construction of Cooper Union
Cooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly referred to simply as Cooper Union, is a privately funded college in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States, located at Cooper Square and Astor Place...
, Peter Cooper's free educational institution, and chaired the board of trustees until 1903.
Samuel J. Tilden
Samuel Jones Tilden was the Democratic candidate for the U.S. presidency in the disputed election of 1876, one of the most controversial American elections of the 19th century. He was the 25th Governor of New York...
, Cooper was prominent in the campaign to bring about the fall of the corrupt Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society...
-based "Tweed Ring", led by the William M. Tweed, and helped reorganize the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
in New York, which Tweed and Tammany had controlled. He first ventured into elective politics in 1874, when he won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, where he served for five terms. He also became the head of the Democratic National Committee
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
in 1876 when Tilden ran for President.
Hewitt's most famous speech was made at the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River...
between Manhattan Island and Brooklyn in 1883.
In 1886, Hewitt was elected mayor of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
when Richard Croker
Richard Croker
Richard Croker, Sr. was an American politician, a leader of New York City's Tammany Hall.-Biography:...
of Tammany Hall – which had resumed its control of the Democratic Party in the city – arranged for Hewitt to get the Democratic nomination, despite his being the leader of the anti-Tammany "Swallowtails" of the party: Croker needed a strong candidate to oppose the United Labor Party candidate, political economist Henry George
Henry George
Henry George was an American writer, politician and political economist, who was the most influential proponent of the land value tax, also known as the "single tax" on land...
. Tammany feared that a win by George might reorganize politics in the city along class lines, rather than along ethnic lines, which is where Tammany drew its power. Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
, running as the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
candidate, came in third. Hewitt was not successful as a mayor, due both to his unpleasant character and nativist beliefs: he refused, for instance, to review the St. Patrick's Day Parade, a decision which alienated most of the Democratic power base. Hewitt also refused to allow Tammany the control of patronage they wanted, and Croker saw to it that Hewittt was not nominated for a second term.
Hewitt was considered a consistent defender of sound money practices – he is famously quoted as saying "Unnecessary taxation is unjust taxation." – and civil service
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
reform. He was conspicuous for his public spirit, and developed an innovative funding and construction plan for the New York City subway
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and also known as MTA New York City Transit...
system, for which he is known as the "Father of the New York City Subway System".
Hewitt had many investments in natural resources, including considerable holdings in West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, where William Nelson Page
William N. Page
William Nelson Page was an American civil engineer, entrepreneur, industrialist and capitalist. He was active in the Virginias following the U.S. Civil War...
(1854–1932) was one of his managers. He was also an associate of Henry Huttleston Rogers
Henry H. Rogers
Henry Huttleston Rogers was a United States capitalist, businessman, industrialist, financier, and philanthropist. He made his fortune in the oil refinery business, becoming a leader at Standard Oil....
(1840–1909), a financier and industrialist who was a key man in the Standard Oil Trust, and a major developer of natural resources. One of Hewitt's investments handled by Rogers and Page was the Loup Creek Estate in Fayette County, West Virginia
Fayette County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 47,579 people, 18,945 households, and 13,128 families residing in the county. The population density was 72 people per square mile . There were 21,616 housing units at an average density of 33 per square mile...
. The Deepwater Railway
Deepwater Railway
The Deepwater Railway was an intrastate short line railroad located in West Virginia in the United States which operated from 1898 to 1907.William N. Page, a civil engineer and entrepreneur, had begun a small logging railroad in Fayette County in 1896, sometimes called the Loup Creek and Deepwater...
was a subsidiary initially formed by the Loup Creek investors to ship bituminous coal
Bituminous coal
Bituminous coal or black coal is a relatively soft coal containing a tarlike substance called bitumen. It is of higher quality than lignite coal but of poorer quality than Anthracite...
from coal mines on their land a short distance to the main line of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P...
(C&O) along the Kanawha River
Kanawha River
The Kanawha River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 97 mi long, in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The largest inland waterway in West Virginia, it has formed a significant industrial region of the state since the middle of the 19th century.It is formed at the town of Gauley...
. After rate disputes, the tiny short line railroad was eventually expanded to extend all the way into Virginia and across that state to a new coal pier
Coal pier
A coal pier is a transloading facility designed for the transfer of coal between rail and ship.The typical facility for loading ships consists of a holding area and a system of conveyors for transferring the coal to dockside and loading it into the ship's cargo holds...
at Sewell's Point
Sewell's Point
Sewells Point is a peninsula of land in the independent city of Norfolk, Virginia in the United States, located at the mouth of the salt-water port of Hampton Roads. Sewells Point is bordered by water on three sides, with Willoughby Bay to the north, Hampton Roads to the west, and the Lafayette...
on Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
. Planned secretly right under the noses of the large railroads, it was renamed the Virginian Railway
Virginian Railway
The Virginian Railway was a Class I railroad located in Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The VGN was created to transport high quality "smokeless" bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads....
and was also known as the "richest little railroad in the world" for much of the 20th century.
Philanthropy
As a philanthropist, Hewitt was especially interested in education. Columbia UniversityColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
gave him the degree of LL.D. in 1887, and he was the president of its alumni association in 1883, and a trustee from 1901 until his death. In 1876 he was elected president of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, and was a founder and trustee of the Carnegie Institution. He was also a trustee of Barnard College
Barnard College
Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...
and of the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
.
Death and family
Hewitt died in 1903, and was interred at Green-Wood CemeteryGreen-Wood Cemetery
Green-Wood Cemetery was founded in 1838 as a rural cemetery in Brooklyn, Kings County , New York. It was granted National Historic Landmark status in 2006 by the U.S. Department of the Interior.-History:...
, Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York. His last words, after he took his oxygen tube from his mouth, were "And now, I am officially dead."
Hewitt's daughters, Amy, Eleanor, and Sarah Hewitt, founded the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. His son, Peter Cooper Hewitt (1861–1921), was a successful inventor, while another son, Edward Ringwood Hewitt (1866–1957), was also an inventor, a chemist and an early expert on fly-fishing. He published Telling on the Trout, among other books. Hewitt's youngest son, Erskine Hewitt (1878–1938), was a lawyer and philanthropist in New York City. He donated Ringwood Manor
Ringwood Manor
Ringwood Manor was home to a number of well-known ironmasters from the 1740s to the late 19th century. During the American Revolution, Robert Erskine managed ironmaking operations from Ringwood, and became George Washington's first geographer and Surveyor General, producing maps for the Continental...
to the State of New Jersey in 1936.
Legacy
- One of Cooper Union's academic buildings was named in his honor. It was demolished and replaced with a New Academic Building in 2007. An historic twenty-foot column in the Hewitt Building designed by Stanford WhiteStanford WhiteStanford White was an American architect and partner in the architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White, the frontrunner among Beaux-Arts firms. He designed a long series of houses for the rich and the very rich, and various public, institutional, and religious buildings, some of which can be found...
was transported - appropriately enough - to its former home at the Green-Wood CemeteryGreen-Wood CemeteryGreen-Wood Cemetery was founded in 1838 as a rural cemetery in Brooklyn, Kings County , New York. It was granted National Historic Landmark status in 2006 by the U.S. Department of the Interior.-History:...
in Brooklyn, New York where it now stands on Abram S. Hewitt's memorial plot. - A New York City fireboatFireboatA fireboat is a specialized watercraft and with pumps and nozzles designed for fighting shoreline and shipboard fires. The first fireboats, dating to the late 18th century, were tugboats, retrofitted with firefighting equipment....
, Abram S. Hewitt, which served from 1903 until 1958 was named in his honor. The fireboat was eventually scrapped, and its remains may be found at the Witte Marine Scrapyard in Rossville, Staten IslandRossville, Staten IslandRossville is the name of a neighborhood of Staten Island, New York, located to the west of Prince's Bay, on the island's South Shore.-Early History of the Area:...
. - There is a life-sized white marble statue of Hewitt in the Great Hall of the Chamber of CommerceChamber of commerceA chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...
of the State of New York in Albany, New YorkAlbany, New YorkAlbany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
. - The historic village of Hewitt, New JerseyHewitt, New JerseyHewitt is an unincorporated area within West Milford in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP Code 07421. It is named after Abram S. Hewitt....
, located within the Township of West MilfordWest Milford, New JerseyWest Milford is a township in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 25,850.-History:...
, is preserved within Long Pond Ironworks State ParkLong Pond Ironworks State ParkLong Pond Ironworks State Park is located in the community of Hewitt, in West Milford, New Jersey, United States. The park is known for its old stone walls, furnaces and other remnants of a once industrious ironworking community that now sits next to the swiftly flowing Wanaque River...
. The village contains the ruins of the iron smelting furnaces operated by Cooper and Hewitt. - Ringwood ManorRingwood ManorRingwood Manor was home to a number of well-known ironmasters from the 1740s to the late 19th century. During the American Revolution, Robert Erskine managed ironmaking operations from Ringwood, and became George Washington's first geographer and Surveyor General, producing maps for the Continental...
in Ringwood, New JerseyRingwood, New Jersey-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there are 12,396 people, 4,108 households, and 3,446 families residing in the borough. The population density is 491.0 people per square mile . There are 4,221 housing units at an average density of 167.2 per square mile...
, the Hewitt family's summer estate from 1857 to the 1930s, is preserved as the centerpiece of New Jersey's Ringwood State ParkRingwood State ParkRingwood State Park is a 5000 acre state park in Passaic County in northeastern New Jersey, USA. The Park is located in the heart of the Ramapo Mountains in Ringwood. It contains the New Jersey Botanical Garden at Skylands, historic Ringwood Manor and Skylands Manor, and the Shepherd Lake...
. - Abram Stevens Hewitt School (P.S. 130) in the Bronx, New York was named for him.
- Hewitt Hall of Barnard CollegeBarnard CollegeBarnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...
at Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
is named for him. - A New Jersey State Forest along the Appalachian TrailAppalachian TrailThe Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply the AT, is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. It is approximately long...
was named in his honor.