Hippen, James Campbell 1937-2010
HIPPEN, DOBBS
Posted By: Joy Moore (email)
Date: 9/7/2012 at 17:09:09
James C. Hippen, Historian of Engineering, Industry, and Transportation (April 14, 1937 – February 24, 2010)
James Campbell Hippen, age 72, of Decorah, IA, died Wednesday morning, February 24, 2010 at his home in Decorah.
A memorial service will be held in the spring with inurnment in Phelps Cemetery in Decorah.
Jim was born in Oklahoma City on April 14, 1937 to Albert Campbell Hippen and Evelyn Mae Dobbs. His passion for history began at an early age and grew throughout his lifetime.
He received his B.A. in history from the University of Oklahoma and then served in the U.S. Navy on a minesweeper in the Pacific Fleet. He moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts where he earned his M.A. and PhD in history from Harvard University.
Jim became Curator at the Merrimack Valley Textile Museum in North Andover, Massachusetts. He traveled back roads from West Virginia to Maine to collect historic textile machinery for the museum. During this time, his friendly rivalries with Smithsonian Institution curators turned into lifelong friendships.
His next move was to Decorah, Iowa where he joined the Luther College history faculty. His enthusiasm for teaching touched and inspired his students. During summers, he traveled the state to photograph and document industrial technology, including bridges, dams, highways, and railroads.
He generously provided information to others from his extensive array of his own photographs, specifications, notes, and collected books. He also shared his research through articles he wrote, such as “Finding Truss Bridges in Eastern Iowa.” His publication, Marsh Rainbow Arch Bridges in Iowa, set a standard for state documentation methods.
Jim served on the Iowa Department of Transportation preservation committee to document and preserve historic bridges and worked with the State of Iowa Review Committee to determine nominations to the National Register of Historic Places.
He acted as adviser to the State Historic Preservation Office on bridges and industrial architecture and identified Iowa bridge types via his extensive photography and research. He was a consultant to multiple Iowa counties in the evaluations of historic bridges, mills, power plants, and dams.
Jim organized a conference, “Historic Preservation,” with a grant from the Iowa Board for Public Programs in the Humanities. The conference resulted in the establishment of the Broadway-Phelps Park Historic District, which became the first historic district in Decorah and one of the first in the state.
He served on many historical committees in Decorah and was especially interested in the Norwegian-American Museum. He worked with museum personnel to write several articles for the museum’s magazine, “Vesterheim,” and to plan and create the exhibit “Small Town Enterprise.”
Jim’s last project, recently completed, was his portion of the Greene County Lincoln Highway interpretive project, which will be located near Grand Junction, Iowa.
With enthusiasm, humor, and generosity, he shared his knowledge to help others learn about and appreciate history.
Jim was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his wife, Elaine and two children, Ben and Susan.
Source: Fjelstul Funeral Home database
Phelps Cemetery
Winneshiek Obituaries maintained by Bruce Kuennen.
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