The Peterson family was a family whose several members had a historical importance in the city of Bydgoszcz, Poland. They were influential from the beginning of the 19th century till the 1930s in the area of politics, engineering and entrepreneurship.
Ernst Conrad Peterson (1778–1841)
Early life
Ernst Conrad was born on June 18, 1778, in Kołobrzeg. He was the son of Johann Gottfried, a master bricklayer and Dorotha Elisabeth née Mursinna, his second wife.
His grandfather Martin Fryderyk, moved from Berlin to Kołobrzeg (then Kolberg) to work as a bricklayer. His father Johann Gottfried was in 1770 a builder involved in the construction of a bridge over the Netze river near Nakel and then in the leveling of the Bydgoszcz Canal. After a long period of employment in the network regulation between Nakel and Czarnikau, Johann Gottfried was employed as a master builder in Pomerania.
Ernst Conrad learned the construction craft with his father. In 1792, he began to study the works carried out by the city architect Wibelitz in Białogard. In 1795, he received a professional passport () as a surveyor's assistant; on October 22, he was employed in a topographic survey of South Prussia.
In 1796, he came to Bydgoszcz for the first time, invited by his half-brother Johann Philip, who worked there as a builder and had been supervising the extension and repair of the Bydgoszcz Canal, under the guidance of his mentor David Gilly. Initially, he worked on the site as a construction apprentice. From 1797 to 1799, he was employed in the measurement of the Drwęca river carried out in connection with the construction of the Ostróda-Elbląg canal. He worked further up to the mouth of the Vistula river.
In the years 1799–1801, Conrad studied at the Building Academy in Berlin, where he approached master architect David Gilly. Eventually, he received a license to conduct independent construction works.
Inspector of the Bydgoszcz Canal
In 1801, Ernst Conrad returned to Bydgoszcz to work as a building inspector. His duties included supervising constructions in cities, in the Netze District forest offices and monitoring works on the Bydgoszcz Canal.
At the end of 1803, he was appointed inspector of water construction and Bydgoszcz Canal inspector, in replacement of his half-brother Johann, who moved to Gdańsk to work on the harbour construction.
Most of the activity Ernst Conrad Peterson in Bydgoszcz was related to construction works on the canal, particularly during the period 1801–1805. Indeed, since the opening of the canal in 1774, the Prussian authorities never allocated enough funds for its maintenance, leading to the incapacity of the facility in 1792 to ferry grain from the Vistula river westwards.
During the tenure under Prussian rule (till 1806), Ernst carried out a steady construction work: clearing the canal from deposited sand and vegetation; strengthening the banks; converting most of the wooden locks into brick and stone devices; erecting 3 new weirs; building a new water lock in Nakło nad Notecią in the western end part of the canal. In the eastern side within Bydgoszcz territory and its suburbs, he had trees planted along the banks of the channel. The area is today the one of the largest city park and entertainment area in Bydgoszcz.
Under the Napoleonic Duchy of Warsaw (1807–1815), Ernst Conrad, as Bydgoszcz canal inspector, was subordinated to the Bydgoszcz Department prefect Antoni Gliszczyński. At that time, he built a sluice in Bielawy and a weir in Dębinek. He also undertook the reconstruction and extension of the Górnonotecki Canal.
In 1815, while Bydgoszcz returned to Prussian control, Ernst was part of the city's delegation which rendered homage to the visiting Frederick William III of Prussia.
Entrepreneurship
In 1815, Ernst Conrad Peterson left the civil service and took up running his own business.
Eventually, he was the owner of three brickyards: one located near the city lock, built in 1792, initially intended to provide bricks to the canal worksite; one in Żupy, (at today's 45 Toruńska Street), set up in 1803; one in Okole, near present day Nadrzeczna Street, along the Brda river, built in 1808 to supply for railway bridge constructions in the city.
During the same period of time, Ernst Conrad set up two watermills on his estate of Czyżkówko: a lower mill to grind grain, located at today's 4 Młyńska street; an upper mill producing paper, which ceased operating in 1860.
He also owned a brewery and distillery. Finally, he invested into housing, commissioning tenements in Gdańska and Grunwaldzka streets.