The Alfred Noble Papers collection consists of several letters and diaries documenting his service with the 24th Michigan Infantry during the Civil War and correspondence, construction documents and other material relating to his work as a civil engineer on a number of major projects including the St. Mary's Canal, the Harlem Tunnel in New York, Panama Canal, Alton Bridge on the Mississippi and a proposed Nicaraguan Canal. The collection is organized in two series, Papers and Printed Works, 1853-1906. The Papers series is available on microfilm.
Alfred Noble was born in Livonia, Michigan, on August 7, 1844, to Charles and Lovina (Douw) Noble. He started to school when he was four years old at the district school, and later attended the Union School in Plymouth, Michigan. He also worked on the family farm with his three brothers, all of whom died while still young.
On August 9, 1862, Noble and several friends enlisted for three years in Company C of the 24th Michigan Infantry, mustering on August 15, 1862. The 24th served in many of the principle engagements of the war. According to his diary, at the Battle of Gettysburg (where 80% of the 24th was lost) Noble found himself separated from the 24th on the first day of the battle and it was two days before he found out about the death of his good friend and tentmate, John Ryder. Noble was never wounded in the war and was hospitalized only once with illness. Noble mustered out with the rank of Sergeant on June 30, 1865.
Following the war, Noble served for two years in a clerical position with the War Department in Washington, D.C. During this time he saved his money and studied with tutors to prepare for college, which enabled him to enter the University of Michigan as a Sophomore in the fall of 1867. Noble was a member of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity and in his Junior year he served as vice-president of the class of 1870. While an undergraduate, Noble spent over a year working as Assistant Engineer on a government project performing harbor surveys in Michigan. Despite his absence from campus, Noble kept up his studies and graduated with his class in June 1870, receiving his degree in Civil Engineering.
Noble continued to work on the harbor surveys until October 1870, when he was put in charge of the canal improvements at Sault St. Marie, Michigan. In 1873 he became U.S. Assistant Engineer for improvements on the St. Mary's Falls Canal and the St. Mary's River. Completing this project in 1882, Noble went on to several prominent engineering projects, including the Shreveport Bridge, Louisiana; the Washington Bridge, New York City; the Leavenworth and Bellefontaine Bridges across the Missouri River, and Alton Bridge across the Mississippi; and was General Assistant Engineer of the Northern Pacific Railroad.
Noble was appointed by three U.S. Presidents to serve on various boards and commissions which were charged with the responsibility of first selecting the best route for a canal to link the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and then of determining the type of canal constructions most appropriate. Appointed by President Cleveland in 1895 to serve on the Nicaragua Canal Board, Noble toured both Nicaragua and Panama as potential canal sites. In 1899 Noble was selected by President McKinley as part of the Isthmian Canal Commission to propose a route for a canal across the Isthmus of Panama. As a member of the International Board for Consulting Engineers for the Panama Canal in 1905, Noble and four of the board members were able to convince President Roosevelt and the U.S. Congress in a minority report that a sea-level canal was not possible, and that instead the oceans should be linked together through a series of locks. Noble later consulted on various problems during construction of the Panama Canal.
From 1910 to 1914 Noble operated a private practice, and was solicited for consultation by both the U.S. and Canadian governments. Noble was also active in a number of national and regional engineering societies. For a more complete list of his professional achievements, professional memberships, honors and papers, see the Memorial publications within this collection.
Noble married Georgia Speechly, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, on May 31, 1871. One son, Frederick C., survived to adulthood. Alfred Noble died in New York City on April 19, 1914, due to complications following emergency surgery.
On March 15, 1922, the American Institute of Consulting Engineers dedicated a bronze memorial tablet to Alfred Noble, which is installed on the wall immediately to the left of the main door of the United Engineering Building in New York City.
