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A Brief History of Ligon and Ligon
Serving as the mechanical-electrical engineer for Baltimore City after World War I, P.G. Ligon was asked to resign when a new Mayor of the opposite party was elected. The new Mayor asked P.G. if there was anything the City could do for him to show their appreciation for his service as well as compensate him for resigning. P.G. asked to dig the ditches the city needed to install new water mains. He proposed to do the work at $500 per section, which was allowed by the City without competitive bid. The City agreed and P.G. bought picks and shovels as well as hired laborers to dig the ditches. The laborers were paid based on the cubic foot of excavation and backfilling. The project was successful thus founding the P.G. Ligon Company
As operations grew, G.C. Ligon, a brother of P.G.’s, left Westinghouse to join the company. In 1920, the company was renamed Ligon & Ligon, Inc. The company survived the difficult economic times of the 1920’s and 1930’s by working as a subcontractor for AT&T in Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Connecticut. Ligon & Ligon, Inc. also dug tunnels and built bridges in Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland. The company survived the Great Depression by laying 4” terracotta conduit in Connecticut followed by numerous cross-country projects, one of which was a 90 mile gas main in the mountains of West Virginia.
It was during this time that ditches were primarily dug by hand by hundreds of men, all who were paid in cash. Production fared favorably when compared to the machine work that is used today.
During World War II, Ligon & Ligon, Inc. performed water and sewer jobs at Camp Ritchie and Fort Detrick in Frederick as well as at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds.
After the war, Daniel Ligon and John Ligon, son of P.G. Ligon, and Joe Ligon, son of G. C. Ligon, respectively, joined the company. Superintendents were Sam Widerman, James Graham, Don Ramsburg and William H. Stinson, Sr. Samuel Riggs served as Treasurer and W.T. (Ted) Vanorsdale held the title of Secretary/Attorney.
In 1985, Ligon installed over 600 feet of roc-jacketed welded steel pipe over the Jones Falls Expressway and under President Street. It was on this job that Ligon was required to field bend and install 3,400 feet of 8” somastic coated pipe in city streets. This job was particularly complicated as the bends had to correctly fit in the ditch around all obstructions, maintain exact spacing between the pipes and ensure cathodic protection while maintaining a nitrogen atmosphere in the pipes. The job was a success and Ligon & Ligon, Inc. installed a comparable pipeline system shortly thereafter. continue...
