Edward L. Berthoud
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Captain Edward Louis Berthoud (March 29,1828 - June 13, 1908) was a military officer, statesman and engineer in the western United States during the late 19th century. He is primarily known as the chief engineer and secretary of the
Colorado Central Railroad The Colorado Central Railroad was a United States, U.S. railroad company that operated in Colorado and southeastern Wyoming in the late 19th century. It was founded in the Colorado Territory in the wake of the Colorado Gold Rush to ship gold fr ...
during its expansion throughout
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
in the 1870s. The town of Berthoud, Colorado, as well as Berthoud Pass in the
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west of
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, are named for him.


Biography

Berthoud was born Edouard Louis Berthoud (pronounced "bare-too") in
Geneva, Switzerland Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the capital of the Republic and Ca ...
on March 29, 1828. He came to the United States in 1830 with his parents and spent his childhood along the
Mohawk River The Mohawk River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 river in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson R ...
and in Oneida County in
Upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region of New York (state), New York that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area of downstate New York. Upstate includes the middle and upper Hudson Valley, ...
. In the United States, the family Americanized the pronunciation of their name to "ber-thud". Berthoud graduated with a degree in engineering from
Union College Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...
in 1849. In the early 1850s he worked as a surveyor on the
Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...
. In 1855, he was living in Leavenworth in the
Kansas Territory The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Slave and ...
where he became interested in the effort to build the
first transcontinental railroad America's first transcontinental railroad (known originally as the "Pacific Railroad" and later as the "Overland Route (Union Pacific Railroad), Overland Route") was a continuous railroad line built between 1863 and 1869 that connected the exis ...
. In 1860, during the Colorado Gold Rush, Berthoud and his wife Helen settled in the western part of the territory in the new town of Golden. Helen was a daughter of a founding Golden family, the Ferrells, and an original street of the town was named in her honor. In 1861, the town became part of the
Colorado Territory The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the 38th State of Colorado. The territory was organized ...
. Berthoud spent much of his career surveying roads and
railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
s throughout the region, and became an active citizen in Golden. In 1861, in an effort to establish a more direct route from Denver to
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, he surveyed the first road to Middle Park and discovered and surveyed the pass that now bears his name (current route of U.S. Highway 40). He also named Vasquez Peak. In 1862, after the outbreak of the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, he volunteered for the Union Army and received a commission in the 2nd Colorado Volunteer Infantry. That same year he received commendations for his design of fortifications to save
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, during a rebel attack. He returned to Golden in 1866 and proceeded to run for the Colorado Legislature. He also served as the librarian of the Colorado Territorial Library in Golden from 1867–1868. As a member of the legislature, he helped authorize the foundation of the
Colorado School of Mines The Colorado School of Mines (Mines) is a public research university in Golden, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1874, the school offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering, science, and mathematics, with a focus on ener ...
and served as the college's first registrar, and on its Board of Trustees. Berthoud surveyed the lines of the
Colorado Central Railroad The Colorado Central Railroad was a United States, U.S. railroad company that operated in Colorado and southeastern Wyoming in the late 19th century. It was founded in the Colorado Territory in the wake of the Colorado Gold Rush to ship gold fr ...
, the first railroad to penetrate the Colorado mountains, and he became the longtime proprietor of the Overland Hotel in downtown Golden. Berthoud served as the Colorado State Historian and was Mayor of Golden from 1890–1891. Berthoud died in Golden in 1908 as a result of injuries sustained in a fall at the Overland, joining his wife who preceded him in the 1880s. The Colorado School of Mines dedicated Berthoud Hall in his honor in 1940.


Bibliography

* Michel et Brigitte Clément-Grandcourt, Edouard-Louis Berthoud, 1828–1908 : de Fleurier à Golden (Colorado), Editions Attinger, Hauterive (NE), Switzerland, 2010. 135 pp. * Robert C. Black, Railroad Pathfinder: The Life and Times of Edward L. Berthoud, Evergreen, Colo. : Cordillera Press, 1988.


External links


Union College Magazine: Edward Berthoud
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Berthoud, Edward L. 1828 births 1910 deaths Swiss emigrants to the United States Military personnel from Colorado Union College (New York) alumni Union army officers People of Colorado in the American Civil War Colorado School of Mines People from Golden, Colorado Deaths from falls