William I. Baucus was born in Hoosick, N.Y. in 1866. Upon graduating from RPI in 1887 he accepted a position in Boston, Mass., where for the next three years he was engaged in the construction of the Clinton reservoir. For the next two years Mr. Baucus was connected with the Hoosac Marble Quarry in North Adams, Mass. He then became a member of the civilian staff of the United States Army Corps of Engineers and was sent to Panama City. Here he designed and built the Ancon Reservoir, which was constructed in connection with the building of the Panama Canal. Upon its completion he was sent to Havana, Cuba, where he was also engaged in water works projects for the United States Government, in connection with the American intervention. Subsequently, Baucus went to San Domingo, where military intervention had also been found necessary, as a government engineer. After spending nine years in this service, he returned to the United States and was assigned to an intercoastal waterways survey, where he was in charge of the work along the coast between Boston and Narragansett Bay. Upon completion of this work Mr. Baucus returned to North Adams for a vacation in 1919, and while there was induced by the commissioner of public works to accept a temporary appointment to the (then vacant) position of city engineer. Upon insistence of members of the city government he agreed to remain as city engineer and served in that capacity until March, 1924, when he resigned to accept the corresponding position in Northampton, Mass. Baucus died in Northampton on November 6, 1936. [edited from Rensselaer Alumni News, January 1937].
From the description of William I. Baucus papers, 1903-1919. (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute). WorldCat record id: 123991692
