Butte County
Biographies
CHARLES D. SHEARER
CHARLES D. SHEARER.—One of the leading cement and brick contractors of Chico is found in the person of Charles D. Shearer, a native of Maryland, where he was born, September 18, 1869, in Frederick County. He was educated in private schools at Monrovia, that state, and worked with his father in a flouring mill, owned by the latter, at Monrovia. Charles D. was the oldest child in the family, and in 1888, with his mother and six brothers and sisters, he came to California and located in Sacramento. Leaving the other members of the family in that city, he went to the mines and worked a short time, then came back to the capital city and began to work with a cement and brick contractor to learn the business. He was associated with skilled mechanics and soon became a proficient workman, and later took charge of the work of his employer, continuing until 1897. He then moved to San Francisco and there changed his occupation, becoming an employe (sic) of the San Francisco Examiner, in the engineering department, where he worked for two years, after which time he moved across the Bay and found employment with the Oakland Electric Railway, in the power plant operated by that concern.
The year 1900 found Mr. Shearer back at his trade of brick and cement worker in Honolulu, where he remained until 1903. During that summer he came back to California, and in Sacramento continued his vocation one year. In 1904 he located in Chico and still continued working at his trade. Among the more important of the buildings upon which he has worked are the Auditorium Building and Annex to the State Normal School, where he put in the foundations. He put in the first concrete foundations in Chico, it being for the Chico Ice and Cold Storage Plant, also doing some abutment work for that company. In 1905 he formed a partnership with J. T. Narbett, under the firm name of Narbett and Shearer. This company has done considerable fine work; they erected the Colonial Hotel at Biggs; the Hamilton City Hotel; and have done considerable bridge construction in this part of the Sacramento Valley.
In 1906 this partnership was dissolved and Mr. Shearer became associated with the Chico Construction Company, as superintendent of construction. He remained with this company until 1911, and during the intervening time built the Braden Block in Oroville; laid miles of sidewalks and curbing; made additions to the city gas plant; built the Odd Fellows Home in that city; and constructed several fine homes in Marysville, and the Democrat Building and Rideout Bank Building in that city. He spent three seasons in Oregon, building the sewer system at Klamath Falls, also some business blocks there. He superintended the construction of the Bank of Dunsmuir Building at Dunsmuir; also the first concrete bridge in Butte County, and miles of sidewalks and curbs in Chico. Finding the time opportune to embark in business on his own account in Chico, Mr. Shearer located in that city and since then he has put in many foundations for buildings, and has done some fine tile and mantel work, besides erecting a fine home for himself in Chico Vecino. He has been uniformly successful and has become firmly established in Chico.
In 1898, in San Francisco, Mr. Shearer was united in marriage with Clara Elizabeth Cox, a native of Nebraska, and their union has been one of mutual helpfulness. They have had six children: Lysle, a graduate of Heald’s Business College of Sacramento; Percy D., Audrey; Edith and Ethel, twins; and Florence. Mr. and Mrs. Shearer are prominent in fraternal circles. He is a member and treasurer of Court Butte Lodge, No. 58, F. of A. Mrs. Shearer is a member and Chief companion of the Companions of the Forest, and is a member of the drill team in the Order of Pocahontas. Mr. Shearer was a member of the Volunteer Fire Department of Chico for nine years, serving as foreman of Engine Company No. 2, for two years, and for a like period as second assistant fire chief. He served as president of the Master Builders’ Association of Chico, and as secretary of the Chico Business Men’s Association for one year. In whatever position he has been placed, he has filled it with credit to himself, and has made many firm friends.
Transcribed
by Sharon Walford Yost.
Source: "History of
Butte County, Cal.," by George C. Mansfield, Pages 1150-1151, Historic Record Co, Los Angeles, CA, 1918.
© 2009 Sharon
Walford Yost.
Golden Nugget Library's Butte County Biographies