Major William Addams Welch (August 20, 1868 – May 4, 1941) was an American engineer and environmentalist who would have a major impact on the state and national park systems of the United States. Born in Cynthiana, Kentucky, he obtained a civil engineering degree from Colorado College in 1882 and a master's degree from the University of Virginia in 1886.
Background
In the 1890s, working for the U.S. government in Alaska, he assembled the first iron steamship to be built in that territory. Lake Welch in Harriman State Park is named after him.