macadam

Cool, reesetee! I wasn't dreaming, there really was a guy named McAdam who paved roads. Whew!

I think his family came to NY from Scotland. He lived mid-18th to mid-19th centuries. His family was apparently involved in the Revolutionary War.

Here's some info I dug up quickly: www.maybole.org/Notables/johnloudonmcadamhistory.htm

Wikipedia's entry for macadam says: "While macadam roads have now been resurfaced in most developed countries, some are preserved along stretches of roads such as the United States' National Road. Due to uses of macadam as a road surface in former times, roads in some parts of the United States (e.g., parts of Pennsylvania) are often referred to as macadam, even though they might be made of asphalt or concrete."

Seems to explain the Pennsylvania link to the word.

Well, that would certainly make sense with the idea that it's a regionally known term in Pennsylvania. Was Mr. MacAdam (or was it Macadam?) a Scots immigrant to Pennsylvania, by any chance? I'm thinking late eighteenth, early nineteenth century at the latest, based on nothing but my vague memory...

For what it's worth, I've never heard of this. My family speaks Michiganese, and I grew up in Florida. I now live in New Mexico. Haven't heard the word in any of those contexts.

I've encountered that too--people who aren't from the same region not knowing this word. I'd always assumed it was more or less universal, but I've also heard it's a regional (PA) thing.

There was a John McAdam--Scottish engineer, I believe. He invented a means to create roads that were smoother than those made of earth and called the process macadamisation. At first, it didn't include tar, but it was later added to keep dust down--and that is apparently where the word tarmac came from as well.

Interesting!

I prefer to say this over "asphalt," or the even less desirable "blacktop," but apparently "macadam" is a regionalism and not many other people seem to know what I'm talking about.

I remember learning years ago that it was a man named John MacAdam who invented the kind of paving we call asphalt. I don't know if that's true or one of those weird little memories I dredge up when I see this word.