Lewis Wood Robinson

Farm living wasn’t the life for Lewis, but it was how he grew up. All that is known of his youth is that his parents were William and Anna, he was born near Haddonfield in Camden County, New Jersey. One newspaper account stated that, until he was 18, he only went to school for three months of the year and spent the other nine working on a farm, presumably his father’s.

In spite of that, his education was good enough to get him into the Polytechnic College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia where he received a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering in 1861. One record says he later received his Master’s in Mechanical Engineering.

 

Called to War

But first, there was a rebellion in the southern states, prompting him to join the Navy that year. He entered as a Third Assistant Engineer aboard the USS Kennebec, shown here in an artist’s sketch. Assigned to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron, his ship took part in the surrender of New Orleans, the attack on Vicksburg, and the blockade of Mobile Bay. By that time he was Second Assistant Engineer, staying with the ship until the end of the war.

Lewis made the Navy his career and was assigned to Philadelphia, where he became the husband of Mary Ann Rupp on September 5, 1865. He became the father of his first daughter nine months later, and was also promoted to First Assistant Engineer with the rank of Lieutenant. The family grew to include six more children. His place of employment was the new Navy Yard established on League Island in 1868 and developed over the years to come.

 

Called to the Fair

Meanwhile, Philadelphia was getting ready to throw a grand 100th birthday celebration for the country. The city needed an engineer like Lewis to organize, equip, and take charge of the exhibition space in Machinery Hall, so the Navy granted him a leave of absence. It was said to be the focal point of the Centennial Exposition of 1876, introducing America’s industrial might on the world’s stage for the first time.

The building was massive; more than 11 football fields could fit inside. Visitors marveled at 1900 different exhibits, including a steam engine that powered the building, a Baldwin locomotive, Bell’s telephone, an Otis elevator, inventions like the typewriter, and an early internal combustion engine. Lewis was the general superintendent, making sure every exhibitor had a successful demonstration, making the fair itself a great success.

Back on the Navy’s payroll in 1877, Lewis went to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis as senior instructor in the Department of Steam Engineering. Six years later the family returned to Philadelphia. He moved to the position of Chief Engineer with the relative rank of Lieutenant Commander. His new assignment was outfitting the recommissioned USS Ossipee at League Island. In 1887 he was appointed to the examining board for Naval Engineers.

 

At the Fair, Again

The Navy granted him another leave of absence at the request of the World’s Columbian Exposition to be held in Chicago in 1893. The first steel Ferris wheel was a great sensation, but electricity was the outstanding wonder throughout the fair. The power behind all the lights came from Lewis’ building, officially known as the Palace of Mechanic Arts.

The building’s exterior was opulent but it wasn’t as large as the one in Philadelphia.  Inside was the largest power plant ever built, powered by steam from the largest boiler room in the world. Different classes of boilers from various manufacturers were in operation, almost in a sort of competition. They were all powered by petroleum.

One observer wrote, “It was a sight worth looking at for the engineer, or the student of progress of any sort in the mechanical field… one of the wonders of the fair, but was recognized as such by only a portion of the visitors.” Lewis must have been pleased by what was accomplished, and humbled to have his name and his likeness published around the country as one of the men who made the fair a success. 

 

Called On Board

He returned to the Navy in 1894, serving on the USS Newark and being promoted to commander in 1895. The next year he was aboard the USS Indiana, then returned to the Navy Yard in 1897, promoted to captain in 1898, and assigned to inspection and recruiting duty during and after the brief war with Spain.

When Lewis retired on September 21, 1901, he completed 40 years in his country’s service. According to Navy procedure, that entitled him to be awarded the next higher rank, that of rear admiral. He was a member of the American Society of Naval Engineers and the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers.

 

Called Home

Lewis enjoyed just one year of his retirement. His wife, Mary Ann, died three days before Thanksgiving of 1902, and he caught pneumonia and died less than three months later. They were buried in a plot purchased for two of their children who predeceased them. Two others are buried in the same section but in Lot 160.