Brother Thomas Rainey: The Visionary Behind Queensboro Bridge and the Legacy of Rainey Park in Astoria
A gentle breeze carries the scent of the river as I sit on a bench in Rainey Park, watching sunlight flicker through the leaves of hundred-year-old oaks and London planes. Children’s laughter mingles with the distant hum of the city, and for a moment, the world feels timeless.
Once the heart of Ravenswood, a neighborhood renowned for its grand estates and spacious plots along Vernon Boulevard, this peaceful park has a storied past. Before factories and towers rose around it, the land was home to prominent families and their elegant houses with riverside views. In the latter half of the 19th century, Dr. Thomas Rainey lived just feet from where I now sit. He undoubtedly gazed across this same river to Manhattan, dreaming of a bridge that he knew would forever change Queens.
As the historian of Advance Service Mizpah Lodge #586 of Astoria, New York, I have come to Rainey Park to reflect upon the life of our esteemed Brother, Dr. Thomas Rainey, who was raised in our Mother Lodge, Advance Lodge No. 635, on November 29th, 1881. Where to begin? His legacy continues to inspire us, and his contributions remind us of the enduring values that bind us as brothers.
The park’s waterfront, where I now sit, was intended to be the Queens anchor for this bridge. Remnants of that effort remain: beneath Eleanor’s Pier, a concrete abutment, like a broken column, still stands; a silent witness to Rainey’s perseverance. His vision so transformed the area that, when the city acquired the land in 1904, it honored his legacy by naming this park after him. In 1901, these grounds were still dotted with mansions. Many were already abandoned, as was Rainey’s, at this time. Having exhausted his fortune on the bridge project, Dr. Rainey moved in with his sister several blocks away. Yet, from 1901 to 1909, in his old age, he would walk these grounds, watching as the bridge he dreamed of finally took shape.
Today, the park is a quaint oasis. As I sit here, I recall a 1909 Brooklyn Eagle article describing the opening day ceremony, when Dr. Thomas Rainey was assisted across the bridge by New York Governor Charles Evans Hughes and awarded a gold medal inscribed “Father of the Bridge,” in recognition of his many contributions. This soft opening was pushed ahead of schedule due to Rainey’s declining health; sadly, he did not live to see the bridge’s official opening and full use. I begin with his final effort, not necessarily his most impressive achievement, but one that clearly encompasses the hallmarks of his character. This is just one of his many stories that reflect the motto of Advance Service Mizpah Lodge #586: “To The Highest Degree.”
What follows is an abridged highlight of his remarkable life.
Dr. Thomas Rainey (1824–1910)
Born on a plantation in Yanceyville, North Carolina, Dr. Rainey sought a proper education and became disillusioned by his father’s violent nature. At just 14 years old, after another thrashing, he left home in the middle of the night with only $3.50 in his pocket. He travelled west, working his way through West Virginia and Missouri, and earned an education in arithmetic, medicine, and engineering. As a professor, he taught school in Ohio, worked as a teacher and journalist, and lectured in Missouri and Iowa. In 1847, he published his first book, Rainey’s Improved Abacus, a treatise on arithmetic and geometry that became a standard educational text across the western states.
Born on a plantation in Yanceyville, North Carolina, Dr. Rainey sought a proper education and became disillusioned by his father’s violent nature. At just 14 years old, after another thrashing, he left home in the middle of the night with only $3.50 in his pocket. He travelled west, working his way through West Virginia and Missouri, and earned an education in arithmetic, medicine, and engineering. As a professor, he taught school in Ohio, worked as a teacher and journalist, and lectured in Missouri and Iowa. In 1847, he published his first book, Rainey’s Improved Abacus, a treatise on arithmetic and geometry that became a standard educational text across the western states.
Political and Editorial Work
While serving on the school board in Ohio, Rainey made his first political connections, becoming involved in Republican Party politics. At the request of the National Whig Committee, he established The Cincinnati Daily Republican, a crucial Whig publication at the time. His efforts with the journal and his lecturing brought him to the attention of Daniel Webster, a member of the presidential cabinet.
During this period, he advanced his engineering studies, specializing in engine and steam technology for river navigation. He observed that the government underestimated the growing significance of the navy, communication networks, and industrial trade within the United States, as well as with Europe, Canada, and South America. In 1854, he declined a nomination to serve as U.S. consul to Bolivia, choosing instead to move to Brazil. There, he built a fleet of sixteen steam ferry boats and amassed his fortune.
In Brazil, his company faced numerous hardships, including injuries, disease, and loss of life. Despite these challenges, his steamboat enterprise improved mail communication, facilitated the transport of goods, and boosted tourism. His success helped highlight Brazil’s emergence as an industrial power and ultimately demonstrated to the U.S. government the value of steam technology.
Traveling East
In 1857, Congress arranged for Dr. Thomas Rainey to spend two years studying European steamships to deepen his expertise in ocean navigation, engineering, and postal systems. His research culminated in the 1858 book Ocean Steam Navigation and the Ocean Post, which the U.S. government used to identify cost-effective engines, fuel sources, and materials. Rainey’s work helped modernize American naval and postal fleets and routes worldwide.
Los Confederados
Upon returning to Brazil, he began selling off his profitable steamboat and postal companies. The climate posed many challenges, but it was overshadowing by a new, now largely forgotten, plague, which inspired him to leave Brazil. The Confederados: former Confederates from the U.S. South, migrated to Brazil during and after the Civil War, drawn by cheap land and the legality of slavery. Their arrival reinforced and often intensified Brazil’s existing racial hierarchies, damaging local businesses and straining American-Brazilian relations.
Settled in New York
From Brazil, Dr. Thomas Rainey settled in Ravenswood, Queens, New York. In 1871, he helped incorporate the New York and Queens County Bridge Company, serving first as treasurer and later as president, and became the leading advocate for what would ultimately become the Queensboro Bridge, which opened in 1912, two years after he passed away. He was laid to rest in Green-Wood Cemetery
Reflections On A Legacy
The lowering sun is casting shadows across Rainey Park now. As I rise from my bench I take one last look at the river and the bridge framework catching the golden light. Everything around me is a testament to Dr. Thomas Rainey’s vision and perseverance. Where once stood the mansions and gardens of a bygone era, now families gather, joggers pass, and children play, all beneath the watchful span that Rainey dreamed into being.
Dr. Rainey’s journey - from a troubled youth in North Carolina, through hardships and triumphs in Brazil and Europe, to his final years here in Queens - was marked by resilience, innovation, and a steadfast belief in progress. his legacy endures in the bridge that connects communities and the park that bears his name.
As a member of Advance Service Mizpah Lodge #586, I am reminded that the highest degree of service is not measured by wealth or recognition, but by the lasting impact one leaves on others. Dr. Rainey’s story is not just a chapter in our lodge’s history; it is a living example of vision, tenacity, and brotherhood; qualities that continue to inspire us today. For a brief moment I am reminded of a line form one of Horace’s Poems, “Not all of me shall die”
So, as the city lights begin to twinkle across the water and the laughter of children fades into evening, I leave Rainey Park with a sense of gratitude. Here, on these storied grounds, the past and present meet. And in the quiet persistence of the river and the enduring strength of the bridge, Dr. Thomas Rainey’s spirit lives on; reminding us all to strive, in our own ways, “to the highest degree.”
Once the heart of Ravenswood, a neighborhood renowned for its grand estates and spacious plots along Vernon Boulevard, this peaceful park has a storied past. Before factories and towers rose around it, the land was home to prominent families and their elegant houses with riverside views. In the latter half of the 19th century, Dr. Thomas Rainey lived just feet from where I now sit. He undoubtedly gazed across this same river to Manhattan, dreaming of a bridge that he knew would forever change Queens.
As the historian of Advance Service Mizpah Lodge #586 of Astoria, New York, I have come to Rainey Park to reflect upon the life of our esteemed Brother, Dr. Thomas Rainey, who was raised in our Mother Lodge, Advance Lodge No. 635, on November 29th, 1881. Where to begin? His legacy continues to inspire us, and his contributions remind us of the enduring values that bind us as brothers.
The park’s waterfront, where I now sit, was intended to be the Queens anchor for this bridge. Remnants of that effort remain: beneath Eleanor’s Pier, a concrete abutment, like a broken column, still stands; a silent witness to Rainey’s perseverance. His vision so transformed the area that, when the city acquired the land in 1904, it honored his legacy by naming this park after him. In 1901, these grounds were still dotted with mansions. Many were already abandoned, as was Rainey’s, at this time. Having exhausted his fortune on the bridge project, Dr. Rainey moved in with his sister several blocks away. Yet, from 1901 to 1909, in his old age, he would walk these grounds, watching as the bridge he dreamed of finally took shape.
