Senator William Barrett Washburn

William Barrett Washburn served as a Senator from Massachusetts in the United States Congress from 1863 to 1875. A member of the Republican Party, William Barrett Washburn contributed to the legislative process during 6 terms in office.

William Barrett Washburn’s service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history. As a member of the Senate, William Barrett Washburn participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of constituents.

William Barrett Washburn (January 31, 1820 – October 5, 1887) was an American businessman and politician from Massachusetts. Washburn served several terms in the United States House of Representatives (1863–71) and as the 28th governor of Massachusetts from 1872 to 1874, when he won election to the United States Senate in a special election to succeed the recently deceased Charles Sumner. A moderate Republican, Washburn only partially supported the Radical Republican agenda during the American Civil War and the Reconstruction Era that followed. A Yale graduate, Washburn parlayed early business success in furniture manufacture into banking and railroads, based in the Connecticut River valley town of Greenfield. He was a major proponent of railroads in northern and western Massachusetts, sitting on the board of the Connecticut River Railroad for many years, and playing an oversight role in the construction of the Hoosac Tunnel. He has been described as a latter-day “Connecticut River God” because of his role as a leading regional businessman and politician.