Henry Ketchum
Henry George Clopper Ketchum (February 26, 1839 – September 8, 1896) was a railway engineer and businessman in maritime British North America and later Canada.
Henry Ketchum | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 26, 1839 |
| Died | September 8, 1896 (aged 57) Amherst, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Resting place | Sackville, New Brunswick |
| Education | Civil Engineering, 1862 |
| Alma mater | University of New Brunswick |
| Occupation | Railway engineer |
| Known for | Chignecto Marine Transport Railway |
| Spouse |
Sarah E. Milner (m. 1866) |
Born in Fredericton, Ketchum was the first graduate of the University of New Brunswick's undergraduate civil engineering program in 1862. His early career saw him working on construction of several rail lines in New Brunswick and a significant viaduct in Brazil. He was made an Associate of the British Institution of Civil Engineers in 1866, and a Member in 1878.
In 1875 Ketchum proposed his most ambitious project, the Chignecto Marine Transport Railway, a portage railway crossing the isthmus of Chignecto from the Bay of Fundy to the Gulf of St. Lawrence via the Northumberland Strait. Construction started in 1887, however financing failed in 1890 and work stopped in 1891 with the railway nearly completed. Ketchum continued to promote the project and worked to secure the remaining funds until his sudden death in 1896.