Like many organizations the Board of Public Works was most powerful and effective during the early years of its existence and became less so with age. The antebellum period was one of great interest in canals and turnpikes, while railroads were gradually gaining acceptance. After the Civil War the board primarily was concerned with making tax assessments and regulating railroads; before that the board had been deeply involved in the financing and construction of a wide variety of internal improvements.

During the early years the principal engineer was the board's official agent in the field. The principal engineer was responsible for surveys and maps of the routes of. improvements, as well as for managing his teams of assistant engineers and accounting for surveying expenses. He also bore the brunt of any criticism over his selection of routes. The board was fortunate that this position was filled by a series of talented men, the most illustrious of whom was Claudius Crozet.

The board's investments of money and talent had to be repaid by the companies by way of reports and accounts. Annual reports were required of each company in which the board had purchased stock, and company expenses chargeable to the board had to be accounted for strictly. The annual reports included a description of the progress of the work, as well as a statement of the company's financial condition. Lists of stockholders, certificates of the amount of money actually paid on private subscriptions, and accounts of expenditures were sent to the board regularly.

Besides its involvement with internal improvements, the board was. responsible for several short-term projects of importance to the state. For example, by an act of the General Assembly passed on March 6,1835, the board was authorized to appoint a person to make a geological survey of the state, and Professor William Barton Rogers of the University of Virginia faculty was chosen. During the Civil War the board was given the task of ensuring the production and distribution of salt. A state superintendent of the salt works was appointed by an act of March 30,1863, and the Board of Public Works acted as a board of directors of the salt works for the remainder of the war.

Shortly before the Civil War the state began to divest itself of its stock in internal improvement companies. This process accelerated after the war. Turnpikes were abandoned or taken over by the counties through which they passed. Canals yielded to the railroads, which now ran from state to state, and were now controlled by ever more powerful and complex corporations. After the war the board took a passive rather than an active role, concerning itself primarily with tax assessments.

As evidence of the board's new role, the office of railroad commissioner was created on March 31, 1877, by an act of the General Assembly. The commissioner saw to it that the railroad companies did not violate their charters-a responsibility that the board