George W. Rafter Photomicrography Plates

George W. Rafter was born on December 9, 1851 in Phelps, New York. He was educated at the Phelps Union School, Canandaigua Academy, and Cornell Unversity. After spending 1872 and 1873 as principal at the Phelps Union School, Rafter moved to Rochester, where he worked in the city surveyor's office and taught math at Reed's private school. In 1876, he worked on the Rocheste water works before spending 1877 and 1878 in private practice and as engineer to the Rochester and Lake Ontario Railroad. He then headed west, serving as engineer in charge of constructing the Missouri Pacific and Texas Pacific Railroads from 1880 to 1882. He worked on multiple water systems in the plains states and in New York until returning to Rochester in 1888.

Upon his return, Rafter was engaged in the expansion of Rochester's water supply from June 1888 to October 1890. He spent the 1890s on various water and sanitary sewer projects, along with spending 1894 in Europe researching movable bridges for the State Engineer's office and 1896 carrying out concrete studies for the same office. From 1900 onwards, Rafter was in private practice, primarily as a consulting engineer on water and sewer projects. Rafter was a member of many organizations, including the American Society of Civil Engineers, American Forestry Association, American Geographical Society, Society of the Genesee, American Waterworks Association, Rochester Chamber of Commerce, Oak Hill Country Club and the Masons. He married Alyda Kirk on February 16, 1873, with whom he had two daughters, Ethel and Myra. George W. Rafter passed away in Carlsbad, Austria on December 29, 1907.