March 27, 1807 - April 22, 1877

— Co-Founder (1852) and Second President (1867-1868) of the American Society of Civil Engineers —

James Pugh Kirkwood was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. He came to the United States in 1832 and was appointed Resident Engineer for the Western Railway of Massachusetts, and later the Long Island Railroad. He won recognition for the rapid construction of the Great Starrucca Masonry Viaduct on the Erie Railroad in 1847, after which he became the Railroad's General Superintendent.

James Kirkwood came to St. Louis to be Chief Engineer for the Missouri Pacific Railroad in April 1850. His task was to lay out a route from St. Louis to the western border of Missouri. The chosen route, following the Meramec River to Gray's Summit and then along the Missouri River to Jefferson City, led to the founding of the City of Kirkwood. James Kirkwood resigned in 1852 due to poor health. In March 1865, the St. Louis Board of Water Commissioners made Kirkwood the Chief Engineer of the Water Division. He designed the City's first water treatment plant at Bissells Point, which was built in 1867 and served St. Louis until 1960. Kirkwood resigned in 1867 and returned to New York. James Kirkwood is the namesake of Kirkwood, Missouri and Kirkwood, New York.

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