After a brief stint as a bookkeeper for a dry goods company, he worked another six years (1866-71) as the city's register of deeds.
In 1872, he was elected to the Wisconsin's 19th State Senate district (Winnebago County) as a Republican, with 4,295 votes to 2,946 for Democrat Charles Weisbrod.
In 1873, McCurdy introduced an early version of employer's liability for railroads which had been drafted for him by Judge Harlow S. Orton.
He was credited with having written, and secured passage of, laws requiring building inspections of new construction, particularly their electrical wiring, in the region.
When he died July 13, 1896, at his home in Oshkosh, newspaper reports attributed his death in part to the long-term effects of his injuries.