E.C. Jordan & Co. records and family papers

Edward C. Jordan, 1846-1935 (ECJ1) was born in Westbrook, Maine. The sixth child of Samuel Jordan (1805-1880) and Eunice Quinby Jordan, he grew up in the Woodfords Corner neighborhood of Portland with his six siblings: Emily, Horace, Elizabeth, Arthur, Henry, and Isabella. ECJ1 graduated from Union College in 1868 with a degree in civil engineering, and spent the following 4-5 years working on portions of the transcontinental railroad, including the 80 miles of rail that joined the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads in Promontory, Utah. In the early 1870s, ECJ1 worked on the engineering corps of Northern Pacific in Minnesota and North Dakota.

In 1873, ECJ1 returned to Portland to work as an engineer and surveyor. He founded E.C. Jordan & Co., headquartered at 31½ Exchange Street, was City Engineer in Portland in 1892 and rose to become one of the city’s most prominent municipal engineers, and was a founder and president of the Maine State Board of Health. In 1882, ECJ1 married Marcia Bradbury.

Henry I. Jordan, 1877-1950 (HIJ) was the son of ECJ1’s brother Arthur Jordan and his wife Helen. After graduating from Deering High School in the late 1890s and training as an engineer, HIJ joined his uncle’s firm and the two rebranded as H.I. and E.C. Jordan; HIJ remained with the firm for 50 years.

HIJ married Elsie Boody, and the two had Edward C. Jordan (ECJ2) and Elizabeth Jordan. HIJ conducted extensive research into his and his wife’s ancestry, creating genealogies for many branches of their families. The genealogies are housed with this collection.

Edward C. Jordan, 1913-1999 (ECJ2), the son of HIJ and Elsie Boody, was also a graduate of Deering High School, and studied engineering at the University of Maine and Harvard College. ECJ2 was an engineering reservist in the U.S. Army during the 1930s, and, from 1941-1946, served as commanding officer of the 1081st Engineers Utilities Detachment. ECJ2 joined the H.I. and E.C. Jordan firm, which eventually evolved into the technical design firm Edward C. Jordan Company. ECJ2 led the company until his retirement in 1978.

E.C. Jordan & Co. was an engineering and planning firm in Portland, Maine, originally founded in 1873 by ECJ1. Early projects included the construction of dams, roads, and rail and water systems in the rapidly developing Portland area. Over the years, just as the firm’s name evolved to reflect its principals, its focus shifted to meet the changing needs of the region, including the development of a partnership with Stevens Architects. In the years after ECJ2’s retirement, the company was acquired and combined with several other firms to become Owen Haskell Land Surveyors.