Franklin Fuller

Carey, Charles Henry. "History of Oregon." Vol. 3. Chicago-Portland: Pioneer

Historical Pub. Co., 1922. p. 224.

FRANKLIN IDE FULLER

Various corporate interests have felt the stimulus and profited by the cooperation of Franklin Ide Fuller, who, however, has concentrated his efforts largely upon the interests of the Portland Railway, Light & Power Company, of which he has for a number of years been the vice president. Honored and respected by all, there is no man who occupies a more enviable position in business and financial circles, not only by reason of the success he has accomplished but also owing to the straightforward and progressive business methods which he has always utilized. It has ever been his custom to study thoroughly and understand every phase of every business with which he has become connected, and thoroughness has ever been one of the salient features in his successful career.

Descended from New England ancestry long connected with American interests, Franklin Ide Fuller was born in Providence, Rhode Island, May 29, 1858, his parents being Leonard F. and Mary I. Fuller. He became a public school pupil at the usual age and when he had completed his studies of that character he became a student in the office of the city engineer of Providence and there received both practical and theoretical training, for he acquainted himself with the scientific phases and principles of the business as presented by the best textbooks on the subject. Step by step he advanced as the result of his increasing efficiency and after tour years in the office of the city engineer he entered the railway service and was engaged on location and construction work in both New York and Wisconsin.

Mr. Fuller dates his residence in Oregon from 1883, business interests bringing him to the northwest as the representative of the Northern Pacific Terminal Company. He was employed in his professional capacity on railway and other improvements then in progress, and following the failure of the Northern Pacific and cessation of railway work in the northwest, Mr. Fuller took up the business of contracting, which he followed for four years, giving his attention largely to railway and heavy timber work.

For three years he was connected with the Oregon Iron & Steel Company at Oswego, Oregon, working on the construction of the blast furnace and pipe foundry and acting as assistant to the manager of the company, while subsequently he was made manager of the foundry. He later engaged in the real estate business for a year and became identified with his present line in 1892 by accepting the position of manager with the Portland Cable Railway Company. Throughout the intervening period he has concentrated his efforts and energies upon the development and improvement of the street railway interests of Portland. With the reorganization of the business under the name of the Portland Traction Company, he continued to serve as manager until 1900. In that year the Portland Traction Company and the Portland Railway Company were merged under the latter name and Mr. Fuller remained as manager until 1904, when a merger was brought about between the Portland. Railway Company and the City & Suburban Railway Company, thus forming the Portland Consolidated Railway Company. After a year spent as general manager with the newly organized corporation, the properties were purchased by the dark & Seligman interests of Philadelphia and New York, at which time the Portland Railway Company was organized with Mr. Fuller as president. He continued as its chief executive officer until the Portland Railway, Light & Power Company was formed and he was made vice president. From the beginning of his connection with the railway interests of Portland he has been a most vital factor in the development of the system. His sound judgment, his carefully formulated plans, his initiative and his professional knowledge have all featured actively in the growth and advancement of the business. Another publication has said of him: "No man in Portland has such a complete knowledge of the development of the street railway system of the city as Mr. Franklin Ide Fuller, vice president of the Portland Railway, Light & Power Company, a large corporation. For the past fourteen years Mr. Fuller has been directing the street railway lines of Portland and has been the man who, more than any other, brought the traction lines to their present excellent condition. None other has had so large a part in the development of the surface lines from horse and cable car service to modern, powerful electric cars of the latest pattern. Under Mr. Fuller's direction the city street ear lines have kept pace with the growth of the city, until Portland is acknowledged to have a service on its traction lines second to no city in the country. A scenic line has been built around Portland Heights, and has lately been extended by a loop circling Council Crest, the highest point near the city, which overlooks the city and surrounding country. This line is a very popular one and vies with the road up Mount Tamalpais in scenic attractiveness." As the years have passed Mr. Fuller has extended his Investments and active connection to other corporation interests and is now a director of the Portland-Oregon Cement Company, also of the Lumbermen's Trust Company and vice president of the Pacific States Fire Insurance Company. His cooperation is eagerly sought in business affairs because of the recognized soundness of his judgment.

In Portland, on the 14th of April, 1886, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Fuller and Miss Anna Jessie Parrish, a daughter of the late L. M. Parrish, who was one of the early residents of Portland. Mr. and Mrs. Fuller have a son, Leonard P., who was born in 1890 and was graduated from Cornell University in 1912, while in 1919 he received from Stanford University the degree of Ph. D. He is now a well known mechanical electrical engineer, specializing in radio work.

In the club circles of Portland Mr. Fuller is well known, having membership with the Arlington, Multnomah Amateur Athletic and Transportation Clubs, also the Oregon State Motor Association and the Chamber of Commerce, while along professional lines his connection is with the American Society of Civil Engineers. He votes with the republican party and he and his wife are active members of the First Presbyterian church. His life has been dominated by a spirit of study, a study not only of textbooks and scientific journals but of men and measures, of conditions and opportunities His opinions are the' result of careful consideration of every vital question from every possible standpoint and thus it is that he has become a most forceful factor in the business life of the community, while his social qualities and high personal worth have made for popularity among all whom he meets in social connections.

Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in July 2007 by Diana Smith. Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.