Increase A. Lapham Explained

Increase A. Lapham
Birth Date:March 7, 1811
Birth Place:Palmyra, New York, US
Death Place:Wisconsin, US
Fields:Ecology, natural history, biology, geography
Known For:Natural history in Wisconsin
Author Abbrev Bot:Lapham

Increase Allen Lapham (c. 1811 – September 14, 1875)[1] was an American writer, scientist, and naturalist, whose work focused primarily on the what is now the U.S. state of Wisconsin.[2] [3] He made maps of the area and published numerous books on the archaeology, biology, and geology of the region, and discovered both the Panther Intaglio Effigy Mound and Milwaukee Formation. He founded the Wisconsin Natural History Association, and served as the state's Chief Geologist for two years. He also lobbied Congress and the Smithsonian Institution to establish an agency to predict the weather around the Great Lakes and this became the National Weather Service.

Biography

Born in Palmyra, New York, his family moved to Pennsylvania, back to New York, to Ohio then to Louisville, Kentucky (1827–1830) then back to Ohio while his father, Seneca Lapham, worked on the canals in various locations. Lapham was of entirely English ancestry, all of which had been in what is now the United States since the early 1600s. His ancestors were among the first English colonists to establish Rhode Island.[4] He displayed a talent for scientific observation early on while working on the canals and their locks, producing drawings that he could sell at the age of thirteen.

In July 1836, Lapham moved to Kilbourntown (which soon incorporated into the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin) and worked closely with Byron Kilbourn in his business and development endeavors.[5] The two had worked together previously on the Miami Canal and Lapham considered him a loyal friend and mentor. Before the end of the year, Lapham had published a Catalogue of Plants and Shells, Found in the vicinity of Milwaukee, on the West Side of Lake Michigan, perhaps the first scientific work published west of the Great Lakes.

In 1848,[6] Lapham founded the Wisconsin Natural History Association, a predecessor of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters,[7] of which he also was a charter member.

Many of his works and early maps were used for various civil projects such as canal and railroad development. In 1844 Lapham published the first substantial book on the geography of the Wisconsin Territory. His first map of Wisconsin was made in 1846.[8] He published many more papers and books through his life, particularly on geology, archaeology and history, and flora and fauna of Wisconsin, including publication by the Smithsonian Institution.[9]

In 1850, he discovered the Panther Intaglio Effigy Mound, which is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[10]

Lapham was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1853,[11] and he was Chief Geologist of the State of Wisconsin from 1873 to 1875.[12] He was elected as a member to the American Philosophical Society in 1874.[13]

Lapham was one of the first people to recognize the cement potential of certain rock strata seen along the banks of the Milwaukee River. Those strata, now known as belonging to the Milwaukee Formation, were later mined for high quality natural hydraulic cement. Milwaukee thus went on to become the country's leading producer of natural hydraulic cement from 1876 to 1910.[12]

Honors

Lapham is considered "Wisconsin's first great scientist"[14] and the "Father of the U.S Weather Service,"[15] [16] based upon his lobbying to Congress and the Smithsonian Institution to create such an agency to forecast storms on the Great Lakes and both coasts.[17] When the agency was created through the U.S. Secretary of War, Lapham made the first such accurate Great Lakes storm warning from Chicago.[18]

Since his death, numerous landmarks throughout the southeastern Wisconsin area have been named after him, including Lapham Peak, the highest point in Waukesha County, Wisconsin,[19] a major University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee building,[20] and streets.[21] In Madison, Wisconsin, he currently has an elementary school named after him.[22] [23]

A genus of North American plants, Laphamia,[24] was named for him by Asa Gray.[25] Several species of invertebrates from the Paleozoic rocks of Wisconsin, such as Nuculites laphami (Cleland, 1911)[12] and Ekwanoscutellum laphami (Whitfield, 1877),[26] were also named in honor of him. Certain markings found on iron meteors were designated by J. Lawrence Smith[27] as Laphamite markings.[28] A formerly existing glacial lake was provisionally named Lake Lapham.[29] The Wisconsin Archeological Society awards the Lapham Research Medal,[30] first doing so in 1926.[31] The U.S. Navy named a ship SS Increase A. Lapham during World War II.[32] The University of Wisconsin has an Increase A. Lapham Professorship.[33] Lapham was inducted in 1992 into the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame[34] and in 2003 into the Wisconsin Forestry Hall of Fame.[35]

The centennial of Lapham's birth was celebrated in 1911.[36] In 2011, celebration of the bicentennial was planned, including an Increase A. Lapham Day at Aztalan State Park.[37]

Lapham Junction (44.2975°N -90.4781°W) in Knapp, Jackson County, Wisconsin, is now defunct railroad junction on the Goodyear branch of the Milwaukee Road which branch ran to Zeda, where lumbering operations took place,[38] [39] and was named for Lapham.[40]

Selected works

Some works of Increase A. Lapham:

TitleDate
Notice of the Louisville and Shipping sport Canal and of the Geology of the vicinity1828[41]
A Catalogue of Plants & Shells, Found in the Vicinity of Milwaukee, on the West Side of Lake Michigan1836[42]
A Geographical and Topographical Description of Wisconsin1844[43]
Wisconsin: its geography and topography, history, geology, and mineralogy1846[44]
Fauna and Flora of Wisconsin1852[45]
The Antiquities of Wisconsin1855[46]
On the Man-shaped Mounds of Wisconsin1859[47]
Opening an Ancient Mound Near Madison, Wisconsin1860[48]
Geological Map of Wisconsin1855[49]
Report on the Disastrous Effects of the Destruction of Forest Trees1867[50]
New Geological Map of Wisconsin1869[51]
Oconomowoc and other Small Lakes of Wisconsin1876[52]

See also

References

Further reading

External links

General
Works
Maps

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Lapham, Increase, 1811 - 1875 . Wisconsin Historical Society . August 4, 2024.
  2. Hoy, P. R. Increase A. Lapham, LL. D., Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters. v. 3, 1876, pp. 264–267. (copy) (copy)
  3. Quaife, Milo M. Increase Allen Lapham, First Scholar of Wisconsin. Wisconsin Magazine of History, v. 1, n. 1, September 1917, pp. 3–15. (copy) (copy) (copy)
  4. Graham Parker Hawks, Increase A. Lapham, Wisconsin's first scientist (University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1960)
  5. Book: Barquist . Barbara . Barquist . David . Leroy . Haley . The Summit of Oconomowoc: 150 Years of Summit Town . 1987 . Summit History Group . 9 . The Beginning .
  6. http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/u?/tp,43652 Constitution of the Natural History Association of Wisconsin, 1848
  7. Shorger, A. W. The Wisconsin Natural History Association . Wisconsin Magazine of History, v. 31, n. 2, December 1947, pp. 168–177.
  8. Smith, Alice E. Two Wisconsin Map Makers . The Wisconsin Magazine of History, v. 29, n. 4, June 1946, pp. 402–406.
  9. Winsor, Justin. Narrative and critical history of America, v. 1, 1889, p. 400. (copy) (copy)
  10. Web site: Panther Intaglio. Landmark Hunter.com. February 23, 2012. July 21, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110721103240/http://landmarkhunter.com/198655-panther-intaglio/. live.
  11. Web site: American Antiquarian Society Members Directory . February 17, 2016 . March 3, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160303233840/http://www.americanantiquarian.org/memberlistl . live .
  12. Book: Gass . Kenneth C. . Kluessendorf . Joanne . Mikulic . Donald G. . Brett . Carlton E. . Fossils of the Milwaukee Formation: A Diverse Middle Devonian Biota from Wisconsin, USA . 2019 . Siri Scientific Press . Manchester, UK . 978-0-9957496-7-2 .
  13. Web site: APS Member History. 2021-05-05. search.amphilsoc.org. May 5, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210505191933/https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?year=1874;smode=advanced;startDoc=1. live.
  14. Janik, Erika, Citizen Scientist – Wisconsin's First Renaissance Man, Increase A. Lapham Merits Renown... Wisconsin Natural Resources Magazine, February 2007.
  15. Hintz, Martin. Hiking Wisconsin. Human Kinetics, 1997, p. 159.
  16. Web site: 206th Birthday of Increase Lapham, Father of the National Weather Service . 2022-03-05 . www.weather.gov . EN-US . March 5, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220305215322/https://www.weather.gov/mkx/laphambirthday . live .
  17. Miller, Eric R. New light on the beginnings of the Weather Bureau from the papers of Increase A. Lapham . Monthly Weather Review, v. 59, iss. 2, February 1931, pp. 65–70.
  18. http://www.crh.noaa.gov/dtx/november_8th_1870.php First Official Weather Warning in the United States
  19. McGrath, Wm. Chad. Great Wisconsin Walks: 45 Strolls, Rambles, Hikes, and Treks. Trail Books, 1997, p. 108.
  20. http://www4.uwm.edu/map/buildings/vt-lap-prof.cfm UWM Campus Maps, Lapham Hall Profile (Virtual Tour)
  21. Baehr, Carl & Baehr, Ellen. Milwaukee Streets: The Stories Behind Their Names. Wisconsin: Cream City Press, 1995, pp. 149–150.
  22. Heggland, Timothy F. and Rankin, Katherine H. The Tenney-Lapham Neighborhood: A Walking Tour, Madison Landmarks Commission, 1997, p. 35.
  23. https://books.google.com/books?id=QDAUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA35 Proceedings of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin at its Fifty-Second Annual Meeting
  24. Meehan, Thomas, Horticulture at Milwaukee, The Gardener's Monthly, v. 12, n. 2, 1870, p. 52.
  25. http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/WI/WI-idx?type=HTML&rgn=div1&byte=1617245793 "A Cabinet of Natural History": The UW-Madison Herbarium's Sesquicentennial, 1849–1999
  26. Book: Bergland . Martha . Hayes . Paul G. . Studying Wisconsin: The life of Increase A. Lapham, early chronicler of plants, rocks, rivers, mounds and all things Wisconsin . 2014 . Wisconsin Historical Society Press . Madison, Wisconsin . 978-0-87020-648-1 . April 24, 2020 . August 1, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200801211706/https://shop.wisconsinhistory.org/studying-wisconsin-the-life-of-increase-lapham-early-chronicler-of-plants-rocks-rivers-mounds-and-all-things-wisconsin . live .
  27. Smith, J. Lawrence A New Meteoric Iron—"The Wisconsin Meteorites"—with some remarks on the Widmannstättan Figures. American Journal of Science and Arts, v. 47 (97), n. 140, March 1869, pp. 271–272. (copy)
  28. Farrington, Oliver C. Handbook and Catalogue of the Meteorite Collection., Chicago: Field Columbian Museum, pub. 3, Geological Series, v. 1, n. 1, August 1895, pl. 2, fig. 1.
  29. Edwards, Ira. Glacial Lake Lapham a Preliminary Announcement, Year Book of the Public Museum of the City of Milwaukee 1921, v. 1, July 1922, pp. 94–99.
  30. http://www4.uwm.edu/org/was/awards.html Increase A. Lapham Award, Society Awards and Grants
  31. Barret, S. A. The Lapham Research Medal, American Anthropologist, v. 28, iss. 3, 1926, pp. 576–577.
  32. http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/a6/alkes.htm Alkes (SS Increase A. Lapham)
  33. http://www.secfac.wisc.edu/senate/2008/0407/2038(mem_res).pdf Memorial Resolution of the Faculty of the University of Wisconsin—Madison
  34. http://www.wchf.org/inductees/lapham.html Increase A. Lapham
  35. http://www.wisconsinforestry.org/webtemplate.php?section=2&linkname=halloffame-lapi Increase A. Lapham, 2003 Inductee
  36. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fqZAAAAAIBAJ&pg=7428,5602788&dq=lapham%20centennial The Dr. Lapham Centennial
  37. Nurre, Rob. Increase A. Lapham's Legacy and the Wisconsin Archeological Society, WisArch News, v. 11 n. 1, Spring 2011, pp. 5–6.
  38. Web site: Ghostly post: The vanished logging post offices of Goodyear and McKenna. October 1, 2021. August 4, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240804184141/https://lacrossetribune.com/community/tomahjournal/lifestyles/ghostly-post-the-vanished-logging-post-offices-of-goodyear-and-mckenna/article_333c359c-5058-11e2-8dee-001a4bcf887a.html. live.
  39. Web site: Poor's Manual of Railroads. September 29, 1891. H.V. & H.W. Poor. Google Books. October 1, 2021. August 4, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240804184059/https://books.google.com/books?id=aMAvAQAAMAAJ&q=Zeda%2C+wisconsin&pg=RA2-PA130#v=snippet&q=Zeda%2C%20wisconsin&f=false. live.
  40. Book: Callary. Edward. Place Names of Wisconsin. 2016. University of Wisconsin Press. Madison, WI. 978-0-299-30964-0. 150.
  41. Lapham, Increase A. Notice of the Louisville and Shipping sport Canal and of the Geology of the vicinity, American Journal of Science, v. 14, 1828, pp. 65–69.
  42. Legler. Henry Eduard. Early Wisconsin Imprints: A Preliminary Essay. Proceedings of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin at Its Fifty-first Annual Meeting. 1904. 118–138.
  43. Lapham, Increase A. A geographical and topographical description of Wisconsin. Milwaukee: P. C. Hale, 1844.
  44. Lapham, Increase A. Wisconsin: its geography and topography, history, geology, and mineralogy. Milwaukee: I. A. Hopkins, 1846. (copy) (copy) (copy)
  45. Lapham, Increase A. Fauna and flora of Wisconsin, Transactions of the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society, v. 2, 1852, pp. 337–419. (copy) (copy) (copy)
  46. Lapham, I. A. The Antiquities of Wisconsin, as surveyed and described by I. A. Lapham, Civil Engineer, etc, on behalf of the American Antiquarian Society. Washington, D. C.: The Smithsonian Institution, June 1855.(copy) (copy)
  47. Lapham, I. A. On the Man-shaped Mounds of Wisconsin. Report and Collections of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin for the years 1857 and 1858, v. 4, 1859, pp. 365–368. (copy)
  48. Lapham, I. A. Opening an Ancient Mound Near Madison, Wisconsin. Milwaukee Daily Sentinel, January 2, 1860. Reprinted in the Wisconsin Archeologist, v. 14, n. 3, September 1915, pp. 85–87.
  49. Lapham, I. A. A Geological Map of Wisconsin, 1855. Great Lakes Maps exhibit of the Wisconsin's Water Library. Accessed October 26, 2010.
  50. Lapham, I. A., J. G. Knapp, and H. Crocker, Report on the disastrous effects of the destruction of forest trees, now going on so rapidly in the state of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis.: Atwood & Rublee, state printers, 1867. (copy) (copy)
  51. Lapham, I. A. Geologic map of Wisconsin 1869 . UWM Libraries Digital Collections, American Geographical Society Library Digital Map Collection. Accessed April 24, 2011.
  52. Lapham, I. A. Oconomowoc Lake, and Other Small Lakes of Wisconsin, Considered with Reference to Their Capacity for Fish-Production, Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters. v. 3, 1876, pp. 31–36. (copy) (copy)

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