Henry Norlande Ruttan
Henry Norlande Ruttan
Henry Norlande Ruttan was a prominent and long-serving City Engineer for the city of Winnipeg at the turn of the 20th century.
Ruttan was born in Upper Canada in 1848. He learned engineering on the job with the Grand Trunk Railway starting in 1868. Within a year he was working with Sandford Fleming as a rodman on the Intercolonial Railway on the Baie des Chaleurs (New Brunswick/Quebec) section.
Side bar No. 1 - Family Connection with Fleming
It may not have been entirely by chance that Ruttan worked for Sandford Fleming as Ruttan’s father—Henry Jones Ruttan (12 June 1792–31 July 1871) was a businessman, inventor and politician in Upper Canada who collaborated with Sandford Fleming in the design of some of Canada’s early stamps. Ruttan’s father also was associated with inventions for ventilating and building railway cars1.
Early Career
In 1874 Ruttan joined the Canada Pacific Railway (CPR), where Sanford Fleming had been named chief engineer in 1871, and remained until 1880. Ruttan spent the first two years in charge of a track location party working through the Yellowhead Pass in Alberta. One of his responsibilities during his tenure as second in authority after Fleming included dealing with natives while building the line (certificate from superintendent general of Indian affairs, dated 1 May 1875)2.
Career Change
Sometime in the late 1870s he began a two-year study of municipal engineering and, after establishing several short-lived firms (contracting, engineering, mining and railway construction), he worked for several municipalities in Ontario. He came to Winnipeg in 1880 to start his own engineering business.
Winnipeg City Engineer
In 1885 he was appointed as the City Engineer for the city of Winnipeg, a position he held for 29 years until his retirement in 1914.
Ruttan was a staunch proponent of the public ownership of utilities, including Winnipeg’s own power system, aggregate quarry, and asphalt paving plant. In 1905, Ruttan proposed a dedicated fire protection system drawing water from the Red River at the foot of James Avenue. Council approved and directed him to complete the works. Ruttan partially designed the high pressure fire protection system in 1906 and supervised the construction to completion in 1908. During his tenure, the city’s water supply evolved from river supply and artesian wells to ultimately the Shoal Lake aqueduct.
He oversaw the infrastructure for a population which grew from 16,000 in 1885 to 130,000 at his retirement.
He was also an active supporter of the engineering profession and a charter member of the Canadian Society of Civil Engineering, of which he was president in 1910.
A newspaper reference puts Ruttan’s contract salary between $1800 and $3000 in 1908, which is equivalent to $40,000–$67,000 in 2020 dollars.
Side Bar No. 2 - Assiniboine River Hydro Power Concept
Ruttan was interested in developing increased energy sources from water. The city council was enthusiastic about his plan to develop an electric plant on the Assiniboine River. The plan included a proposal to increase the water supply in the Assiniboine River by digging a canal from the river to Lake Manitoba. This canal would also serve to improve inland water transportation. Although they initially supported the plan, the press, the public, and the business community began to criticize it as too costly, so the project was abandoned.2
File:Water power and Navigation Assiniboine River Report 1888 07 05 NH Ruttan City Wpg Engineer.pdf
Challenges on the Job
Despite Ruttan’s high profile and 29-year tenure, it was not without its troubles. In 1896 a couple of city councillors attempted to pass a motion to dismiss the City Engineer. The councillors believed that most of the public’s prejudice against the council had been caused by the incompetence displayed in the engineer’s department. An example used was the construction of macadam roads on Higgins Avenue in the previous year. The engineer had grossly underestimated the volume of stone the city was required to supply to the contractor. They needed to get a second company to crush more stone. This was still not enough; so, they employed poor men to crack some more stone by hand during the winter in order to give them employment. This was still not enough, and they had to acquire additional material. However, the issue with the initial quantity estimate was refuted due to the original road width being 20 ft. but the final being 38 ft. A series of other criticisms and complaints followed along with the comment that “the engineer ran the committees, and not the committees the engineer.”
The objections against the engineer were viewed as personal attacks because the councillor was a solicitor for a tile-sidewalk firm and the City Engineer had opposed this type of sidewalk as being unsuitable. A number of other councillors refuted the allegations against Ruttan. “Aldermen Black spoke highly of the engineer’s qualities. He had been on that board before and had found him to be a man in his profession of more than average skill. He was asked questions by every committee, and had to give reports on every conceivable subject, and he had never failed them. Col. Ruttan was in every way efficient, and it would pay the city to give him assistance in his office, so that he could get out more.” The final motion to terminate the City Engineer was defeated 8 to 2.
Once again, in 1901, there was a dispute in city council regarding Ruttan, the City Engineer. A number of councillors wanted to dismiss him for a series of bad decisions regarding the construction of macadam roads, rock quality, a water pump, water-softening plant, and a reservoir. This, too, was defeated and he continued his employment for an additional 13 years.
Military Career
There is no doubt H.N. Ruttan was a formidable engineer. In addition to his engineering exploits, he maintained a parallel career in the military, ultimately being promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel. He served against the Fenians in 1866, was a Captain in the Little Black Devils in 1883, and served against the Saskatchewan Rebellion in 1885. On 18 May 1910 he was recalled to command the recently re-named “100th Winnipeg Grenadiers”.
Side Bar No 3. – In the News
1900 August Winnipeg Tribune (summary by Ryan Bernier): There is an article in the paper discussing an issue with the city's brand new water well. The city was building a series of wells to service Winnipeg, however once the first well was dug it was found to have more than enough capacity. As a result, the additional wells were not dug. Some time later it was discovered that the water was beginning to contain sand. It was determined that they were pumping water out at such a rate that it was eroding some of the sand within the aquafer. This happened to such an extent as to cause an adjacent building containing the water pump and an exhaust tower to begin to sink (the pumps appear to be operated by coal). The chimney had reportedly sunk two inches. The recommended solution by the city engineer was to cease operating the well and to construct the other remaining wells as originally suggested. They wished to hire a consulting engineer with expertise in water work immediately to consult on the issue. The city engineer was directly in the meeting with council providing information and advice. The proposed consultants were as follows: W. T. Jennings, of Toronto; P.W. St. George, of Montreal; J.F. Fanning, of Minneapolis; or Rudolf Hering, of New York (previously hired by the city). For the time being the rate of pumping was cut in half from 4 milling gallons a day to 2 million. This greatly reduced the amount of sediment and the water cleared up.
Ruttan passed away in Winnipeg in 1925.
References
- Cobourg & District Historical Society, https://cdhs.ca/henry-ruttan/
- Dictionary of Canadian Biography, https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/ruttan_henry_norlande_15E.html
- Manitoba Historical Society, https://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/people/ruttan_hn.shtml
- James Avenue Pumping Station, https://enggeomb-heritage.a2hosted.com/index.php/James_Avenue_Pumping_Station
Compiled by
Ryan G. Bernier PEng
Review
- Richard Jones, PEng (SM), FEC
- Glen N. Cook, PEng (SM), FEC
Edited by James A. Burns, PhD.
Posted by Glen N. Cook, P. Eng. (SM), FEC
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