New York and Erie Railroad Organizational Diagram

Daniel McCallum's 1855 organizational diagram for the New York and Erie Railroad, created with civil engineer George Holt Henshaw, is considered one of the first modern organizational charts in American business history. Unlike standard charts, it places top authority at the bottom as tree roots, with departments and personnel as branches and leaves to improve communication across the company. The original diagram has been recreated as a new set of posters, now available for the first time in colorful variations inspired by the railroad's promotional materials.

Often hailed as one of the first modern organizational charts in the history of American business, Daniel McCallum’s diagram is a beautiful snapshot of the New York and Erie Railroad’s company structure in 1855. As the railroad’s general superintendent, McCallum worked with civil engineer George Holt Henshaw to create the diagram to address the need for more effective communication between various levels of the organization. Unlike most organizational charts, McCallum’s design depicts those with the most authority the president, board of directors, and general superintendent at the bottom acting as a the roots of a large tree with individual departments and personnel superintendents, engineers, labormen, etc. as the branches and leaves. Superintendents were responsible for physical assets along the five main branches of the railroad, represented by two sub-branches each—straight branches, punctuated by rectangles representing stations and winding branches with many leaves representing personnel who worked along the lines. The complete diagram is an impressive feat of design that is rich in detail on several levels. The delicate tree-like display invites exploration, which is rewarded by beautiful typography labeling groups of personnel and iconography for the facilities at each station. At the bottom is an ornate title paired with a comprehensive explanation detailing the “employés” along each line and their roles. This project is a recreation of the diagram from scratch as a new set of posters. Plus, for the first time since its creation, new colorful variations inspired by materials promoting the New York and Erie Railroad are also available.