Lansing Hoskins Beach

Lansing Hoskins Beach

Quick Facts

Significance:

Early park manager

Place of Birth:

Dubuque, Iowa

Date of Birth:

June 18, 1860

Place of Death:

Pasadena, California

Date of Death:

April 2, 1945

Place of Burial:

Arlington, Virginia

Cemetery Name:

Arlington National Cemetery

Lansing Hoskins Beach was the eldest child of Myron and Helen Mary Beach. He was born in Iowa on June 18, 1860.

Beach was admitted to the United States Military Academy where he graduated third in his class in 1882. Due to his high ranking, he was commissioned into the Army Corps of Engineers.

His first assignment was in Ohio, working on the locks and dams that were on the Muskingum River. He transferred to Washington, DC in 1894 where he worked on public improvements, including those in Rock Creek Park.

In 1896, Lieutenant Beach succeeded Captain Gustav J. Fieberger in the position of Assistant Engineer. Beach was responsible for the direct operations of the park. In 1898 he was promoted to the position of Engineer Commissioner, a position he held until he departed the DC area in 1901.

Beach was promoted to Captain and in 1897, he was responsible for many road improvements in the park. With no funds appropriated from Congress, Beach utilized the labor of chain gangs to complete necessary repairs within the park. Funding eventually came through in 1899 which allowed for the older roads that wound through the park to be graded and paved. 

In 1901, Beach left Washington for Detroit where he served as District Engineer. To honor his work in the District, park commissioners named the main park road after him. The road retains his name to this day and is a popular recreational thoroughfare for park visitors.

Beach's career included work in the Gulf, Baltimore Harbor and in the Tennessee River Valley. 

He served as Chief of Engineers in the 1920s. He retired on his birthday in 1924 as a Major General.

In retirement he worked as a consulting engineer for various business interests and was President of the American Society of Military Engineers. 

Beach died in Pasadena, California in 1945 and was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery.