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"Oliver Evans, the Watt of America" Original portrait caption
Oliver Evans (September 13, 1755 – April 15, 1819) was an American inventor, engineer, and businessman born in rural Delaware and later rooted commercially in Philadelphia. He was one of the first Americans to build steam engines and an advocate of high-pressure steam (as opposed to low-pressure steam). A pioneer in the fields of automation, materials handling and steam power, Evans was one of the most prolific and influential inventors in the early years of the United States. He left behind a long series of accomplishments, most notably designing and building the first fully automated industrial process, the first high-pressure steam engine, first vapor compression refrigeration and the first (albeit crude) amphibious vehicle and American automobile.
Born in Newport, Delaware, Evans received little formal education and in his mid-teens was apprenticed to a wheelwright. Going into business with his brothers, he worked for over a decade designing, building and perfecting an automated mill with devices such as bucket chains and conveyor belts. In doing so Evans designed a continuous process of manufacturing that required no human labor. This novel concept would prove critical to the Industrial Revolution and the development of mass production. Later in life Evans turned his attention to steam power and built the first high-pressure steam engine in the United States in 1801, developing his design independently of Richard Trevithick, who built the first in the world a year earlier. Evans was a driving force in the development and adoption of high-pressure steam engines in the United States. Evans dreamed of building a steam-powered wagon and eventually constructing and running one in 1805. Known as the Oruktor Amphibolos, it was the first automobile in the country and the world's first amphibious vehicle, although it was too primitive to be a success as either. (Full article...)
DE 14 was first designated by 1936 to run from the Maryland state line near Burrsville east to DE 26inBethany Beach. The road was extended south to Fenwick Island in 1939. In the 1940s, the road was realigned to bypass Rehoboth Beach. The route between Nassau and Rehoboth Beach was widened into a divided highway in the 1950s, with all of DE 14 southeast of Milford being upgraded to a divided highway by the 1970s. In 1977, most of DE 14 east of Milford was replaced with DE 1, with the eastern terminus being realigned to its current location by 1984. The DE 1 intersection became an interchange in 2019. (Full article...)
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