About me

I am a river historian. I work with teachers, conservationists, and historians to help students learn American history through the history of rivers. I have published websites, articles, op-eds, reviews, and book chapters on river history. The River That Made Texas will be published with the University of North Carolina Press in Fall 2026. As a consultant, I work with a range of clients big and small to help them uncover stories and lessons about their history. I graduated from Bowdoin College and received my PhD in American history from Columbia University. I was part of the team that wrote the American Historical Association’s American Lesson Plan, and I was also a research scholar for Historic New England. Please feel free to email me about potential collaborations or if I can be helpful for your own project or career. Click here to visit my consulting firm, Oxbow History Company.

Writings

This article explores the role of rivers in historical recovery for Historic New England: Learning From Rivers: History Courses with our waterways

Abolition and Slavery published my peer-reviewed article: The Wet Frontier of Slavery: Plantation Slavery and Freedom on Texas’ Trinity River

Here is the link to my article in The Journal of Southern History: Oil on the Farm: The East Texas Oil Boom and the Origins of an Energy Economy

And this is the accompanying essay I wrote for Texas Monthly's energy blog:  The Oil Boom's Roots in East Texas Cotton Farming

Attached is a link to the article I published in Environmental History:  Defining a Nuisance: Pollution, Science, and Politics on Maine's Androscoggin River

And here is the accompanying blog article I wrote for Oxford University Press: Cool, clear water?

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Teaching

Columbia Magazine wrote this article about my class and our exploration of the Harlem River.

Here is the syllabus for “Rivers, Politics, and Power in the US.” A history seminar I created and taught for Columbia University’s History Department.

Contact Me

Email: WSM2116@Columbia.edu

From left to right: Cathance, Archie, and Alsea

From left to right: Cathance, Archie, and Alsea