John Mullan: The Tumultuous Life of a Western Road Builder - Softcover

Petersen, Keith C

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0874223210 ISBN 13: 9780874223217

Publisher: Washington State University Press, 2014

Synopsis

John Mullan's celebrated road, a 625-mile link that connected the Missouri and Columbia rivers and eventually became a significant component of Interstate 90, established the West Point graduate as an accomplished engineer. After completing the West's first highway, he lived for nearly another half century, a period of dynamic change. Now Idaho State Historian Keith Petersen takes a fresh look at the dashing young soldier/explorer--probing his complex personality and continuing a story that includes business partnerships and personal relationships with some of the West's most intriguing characters.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

John Mullan's celebrated construction project--a 625-mile link that connected the Missouri and Columbia rivers--established the West Point graduate as an accomplished road builder. After completing the West's first engineered highway at age thirty-two, he lived for nearly another half century, a period of dynamic change. When he died in1909, automobiles were making their initial crossings along the route he engineered, and his arterial eventually became a critical link in America's longest interstate freeway, I-90. Yet despite frequent mentions in books about the nineteenth century Northwest, the soldier/explorer has remained little more than a caricature: a dashing young Army officer who comes West, builds one of its most important thoroughfares, and then disappears from the region's literature.

Now, in lively prose, Idaho State Historian Keith Petersen takes a fresh look at Mullan's road, which has significantly impacted the development of the Northwest for more than 150 years. The deeply researched biography also probes Mullan's complex personality and continues the story, including business partnerships and personal relationships with some of the West's most intriguing characters: Father Pierre-Jean DeSmet, General William T. Sherman, Chico founder John Bidwell, Idaho gold discoverer Elias Pierce, Yakama Indian chief Owhi, and others. Long overdue, Petersen's comprehensive portrayal bestows a full appreciation of Mullan's life--his rise to fame as well as his fall from grace.

About the Author

Keith C. Petersen is an author and historian who lives in Pullman, Washington.

About this edition

• Publisher: Washington State University Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0874223210
• ISBN 13: 9780874223217
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 344