Brick_Wood_Stone_Land_Water_Measurement - University of Virginia

Brick_Wood_Stone_Land_Water_Measurement
In 1823, a shipment of marble arrived from Italy. Several of the capitals were so enormously heavy that the
university’s commission agent in Richmond did not know what to do with them upon their arrival. They are too
heavy to be transported by Drags, from Rocketts to the Basin, he informed the proctor, & the Locks are
not in order to admit the passage of Boats from the Basin to Tide water, & again, I fear they are too heavy
for Boats, particularly those of the North river, & when the water is low. Peyton to Brockenbrough, 7 July 1823, ViU:PP. The 16 capitals
and 2 half-capitals for Pavilions II, III, IV, V, VI, and VIII. cost $3,214.04. According to Brockenbrough’s calculations, transportation, custom duties, premiums, commissions, and etc., accounted for fully
one-third of the charges. See Brockenbrough’s Memorandum on Cost of Marble Capitals, 3 July to 26 August, in ViU:PP, and TJ’s Memorandum on Cost of Marble Capitals, ca 4 July 1823, in ViU:TJ.
In 1825, another shipment of marble capitals and bases arrived from Italy. Each piece was estimated to weigh 3
to 5 tons. Because of the extreme weight of the marble and delays attributed to inclimate weather, the shipment
did not arrive at the University until the spring of 1826.
See Henry A. S. Dearborn to TJ, 6 September, in ViU:TJ, and 20 September, in DLC:TJ, and Jonathan Thompson to TJ, 9 September, and 3 October 1825, in ViU:PP.
each piece weighed 3 to 5 tons. indian male elephant weighs 3-5 tons