Date of Award
12-2010
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.A.
Degree Program
History
Department
History
Major Professor
Mitchell, Mary N.
Second Advisor
Atkinson, Connie
Third Advisor
Dupont, Robert
Abstract
Albert Baldwin Wood and his screw pumps modernized New Orleans by bringing flood-free streets and cleaner water to the city while providing the potential for growth by pumping swamp lands dry. While Wood was never part of the local Progressive movement, his work with the pumps fit with Progressive initiatives for modernization. At first, the screw pumps removed rain water from the streets. Then New Orleans expanded the drainage to include sewerage removal and water purification. The pumps successfully drained thousands of acres of land once considered uninhabitable swamp land. This additional land extended New Orleans city limits but also aided in the acceleration of residential segregation. Cities from around the world used the designs for the screw pump and consulted Wood for advice on drainage systems.
Recommended Citation
Romagossa, Nicole, "Albert Baldwin Wood, the Screw Pump, and the Modernization of New Orleans" (2010). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 1245.
https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1245
Rights
The University of New Orleans and its agents retain the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible this dissertation or thesis in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The author retains all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis or dissertation.