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Serving the Delaware River Basin since 1866 A brief history of the Philadelphia District

History Timeline
  • The Philadelphia District was established in 1866, but the Corps' local legacy dates back to Revolutionary times, when Army Engineers planned the encampment and defense of General Washington's colonial Army at Valley Forge.
  • Then in 1829 the Corps embarked on its first civil works project in this region- a 1,300-foot-long stone breakwater near Cape Henlopen, Del., that provided refuge from storms to hundreds of ships entering and leaving the Delaware Bay.
  • In the mid-1800s the Corps strengthened area fortifications with the construction of Fort Delaware near Delaware City, Del. 
  • In 1908 ice piers were constructed in the Delaware River to protect ships from ice floes, first at New Castle, Del., and later at Port Penn, Marcus Hook, and Chester. These structures were among the first federally supported public works projects in the nation.
  • During World War I the Corps designated Philadelphia as a procurement district. Under this pilot project the district acted as a procurement supply depot for engineer and military supply needs, ranging from surveying equipment and searchlights, to bridge and railroad equipment. This assignment led to the establishment of five similar procurement districts nationwide.
  • In 1919 the federal government purchased the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal to be operated and maintained-and later expanded-by the Philadelphia District. Converted to a free-flowing waterway and enlarged and deepened several times, the C&D today handles a significant portion of the Port of Baltimore's ship traffic and is one of the district's most important navigation projects.
  • World War II brought construction of coastal defenses, expansion of Fort Dix, and construction of the Frankford Arsenal and the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia.
  • It was also during this period that the more than 100-mile-long Delaware River federal navigation channel was deepened to its current 40 feet between Philadelphia and the Atlantic Ocean.
  • After the 1955 floods that claimed ninety lives and 100 million dollars in property damage, the first comprehensive river basin study in the U.S. was accompanied by construction of the five earthfill dams the district operates and maintains in eastern Pennsylvania: Jadwin, Prompton, F. E. Walter, Beltzville and lastly Blue Marsh, which was dedicated as a multipurpose flood control project in 1979.
  • The year 1967 marked the launch of the McFarland , last in a long line of seagoing hopper dredges operated by the Philadelphia District. As the Corps' East Coast Minimum Fleet dredge, this vessel and its 60-man crew run scheduled missions along the Atlantic and Gulf and can respond to emergencies worldwide.
  • In response to growing national concern for environmental issues, the 1970s, 80s and 90s saw a significant shift in the district's responsibilities, to include new jurisdiction over wetlands; remediation of hazardous, radioactive and toxic wastes under the EPA Superfund Program; and projects to restore ecosystems.
  • The district's engineering expertise has been applied to a wide variety of projects along the New Jersey and Delaware coasts-from Manasquan Inlet, where in 1981 we pioneered the successful use of interlocking concrete structures called dolosse to combat erosion, to Indian River Inlet, Del., where in 1988 we installed a unique sand bypassing plant that continuously transports sand from the south side of the inlet to the north side for beach replenishment. The early 1990s saw completion of major beachfill projects at Cape May and Ocean City that are now maintained through periodic renourishment.
  • Also over the past two decades, the district has supported major construction and renovation programs at Fort Dix and McGuire Air Force Base, N.J., and Dover Air Force Base, Del.
  • Today the Philadelphia District and its approximately 500 men and women capably serve the region by applying global engineering expertise to build neighborhood solutions. We are privileged and proud to serve the people in the heart of the nation's northeast corridor.
  • Corps History

Commanders of the Philadelphia District

 

1866-1871 Lt. Col. C. S. Stewart
1871-1877 Lt. Col. J. N. Kurtz
1877-1882 Col. J. N. Macomb
1882-1884 Lt. Col. G. Weitzell
1884-1885 Maj. W. H. Heuer
1885-1890 Lt. Col. H. M. Robert
1890-1901 Maj. C. W. Raymond
1901-1902 Col. J. A. Smith
1902-1903 Lt. Col. C. W. Raymond
1903-1908 Maj. J. C. Sanford
1905-1907 Maj. C.A.F. Flagler
1908-1912 Maj. Herbert Deakyne
1912-1913 Lt. Col. Joseph E. Kuhn
1913-1916 Col. George A. Zinn
1916-1917 Maj. J. C. Oakes
1917-1918 Col. Mark Brooke
1918-1919 Leigh D. Shuman C.E.
1919-1921 Col. W. B. Ladue
1921-1922 Maj. L. E. Lyon
1922-1923 Col. Earl I. Brown
1923-1928 Col. F. C. Boggs
1928-1930 Lt. Col. G. B. Pillsbury
1930-1933 Col. Earl I. Brown
1933-1934 Col. J. A. Woodruff
1934-1938 Lt. Col. John C. H. Lee
1938-1940 Maj. C. W. Burlin
1940-1943 Col. H. B. Vaughan, Jr.
1943-1944 Col. A. H. Burton
1944-1945 Col. Clarence Renshaw
1945-1949 Col. Frederic F. Frech
1949-1950 Col. Earl E. Gesler
1950-1952 Col. Ralph E. Cruse
1952-1954 Col. Walter Krueger, Jr.
1954-1955 Col. R. J. Fleming, Jr.
1955-1957 Col. A. F. Clark, Jr.
1957-1959 Col. William F. Powers
1959-1963 Col. Truman H. Setliffe
1963-1966 Col. Elmer P. Yates
1966-1968 Col. William W. Watkin, Jr.
1968-1971 Col. James A. Johnson
1971-1973 Col. Carroll D. Strider
1973-1975 Col. Clyde A. Selleck
1975-1978 Col. Harry V. Dutchyshyn
1978-1981 Col. James G. Ton
1981-1984 Lt. Col. Roger L. Baldwin
1984-1987 Lt. Col. Ralph V. Locurcio
1987-1989 Lt. Col. George W. Quinby
1989-1992 Lt. Col. Kenneth H. Clow
1992-1994 Lt. Col. Richard F. Sliwoski
1994-1996 Lt. Col. Robert P. Magnifico
1996-1998 Lt. Col. Robert B. Keyser
1998-2000 Lt. Col. Debra M. Lewis
2000-2002 Lt. Col. Timothy Brown
2002-2004 Lt. Col. Thomas C. Chapman
2004-2006 Lt. Col. Robert J. Ruch
2006-2008 Lt. Col. Gwen E. Baker
2008- Lt. Col. Thomas J. Tickner


Philadelphia District Gallery of Distinguised Employees
Nicholas J. Barbieri, P.E.
Vincent L. Calvarese, P.E .
Lewis A. Caccese, P.E.
Albert J. Depman
Elaine H. Dickinson
Harry F. Flynn
Ernest P. Fortino, P.E.
Captain Jerome H. Jackson
George A. Johnson, P.E.
Wesley E. Jordan
Arthur A. Klein, P.E.
H. Ronald Kreh, P.E.
Joseph D. Mahoney
Anthony Marolda
Frederic Mullineaux
Alfred Padula, P.E.
George W. Padula
Charles F. Ruff
Leigh D. Shuman
Frank Snyder
Henry R. Spies
Lee H. Trader
Frank W. Vinci, P.E.
Eli K. Wells
Clarence F. Wicker
Mary A. Wilson
Steve Krajnik

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