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Iron Women: The Ladies Who Helped Build the Railroad
By the beginning of the nineteenth century, with independence won and the Indians largely subdued, the great tide of western movement across the North American continent was gaining momentum. One of the first railroad lines that transported people from the East to the West was the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Construction on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad began in July 1828, and the first stretch of rails was completed in 1830. More than ninety years later, the rail line was still carrying passengers to destinations beyond the Missouri River and still establishing themselves as leaders in the industry. In 1920, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad executives made the bold decision to hire a woman in their engineering department. Not only was Olive Dennis the first female professional engineer hired by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, but she was also the first female ever to be hired in that field for a major rail line.
As a child growing up in Baltimore, Olive enjoyed working with tools. She frequently borrowed her father’s tools to disassemble her mechanical toys. Olive was born on November 20, 1885, in Thurlow, Pennsylvania, and at the age of eleven decided to build her own playhouse. She spent days watching the construction of a new home across the street from where she lived and was convinced, she could duplicate the work she saw being done. Using recycled wood from an old shed her father had torn down, Olive designed and built a playhouse complete with windows, shutters, doors, and a full porch with stairs.
