Kern County
Biographies
CHARLES H. FAIRCHILD
CHARLES H. FAIRCHILD. - The records of Pennsylvania
show that when William Penn brought over his original colony of emigrants he
had among the number a member of the English family of Fairchild, a young man
of bold spirit and fearless valor, well qualified to assist in pioneer tasks,
and it is said that he became one of the first settlers in the city of
Philadelphia. Later generations remained in the Keystone state and Ephraim
Fairchild was born in Bradford County. With the love of the frontier that had
been manifested in the original immigrant, he came to California when this
great commonwealth was an unknown region without attractions except for goldseekers, its rich soil undeveloped and its sunny
climate unappreciated. While developing an important business in Sacramento and
acquiring large tracts of land in the adjacent valley, his wife, Sarah Kelton (Ford) Fairchild, also was becoming well known in
the west, where she contributed liberally to the press of that day and was
recognized as a gifted and popular writer.
The schools of his native
city of Sacramento afforded to Charles H. Fairchild fair educational advantages,
of which he availed himself to the utmost. A sturdy, wideawake
and ambitious boy, he developed into a successful man who was never content to
do less than the best. From the time that he entered the employ of the Southern
Pacific Railroad Company he rose rapidly to positions of trust. Gradually he
was given additional responsibilities. Any doubts that might have been entertained as
to his ability were soon changed to satisfaction and therefore he was trusted
in a degree not always given to the young.
The interests of the company were promoted by his able service as
assistant superintendent at Mojave. In recognition of his ability and sound business
judgment he was promoted to be freight and passenger agent at Bakersfield,
which influential position he held for many years, meanwhile establishing in
this city a home made beautiful by the artistic
tastes of his wife (nee Margaret H. Fay) and made happy by the presence of
their four children. He was an influential member of the Episcopal Church , and kind and charitable to those in need.
The discovery of oil
in Kern county and the instantaneous development of a
new industry here did not fail to rouse the enthusiastic interest of Mr.
Fairchild. As was natural to a man of his breadth of thought, he at once
entered heartily into the new work. Grasping the business with a celerity seldom surpassed, he became very successful as a
dealer in oil lands and acquired expertness as a judge of values and possibilities.
Eventually his interests as an oil operator became so important that he
resigned from his position with the Southern Pacific Railroad and devoted
himself exclusively to oil development thereafter, with the exception that for
one year he also engaged as proprietor of the Hughes hotel in Fresno. His most
important and profitable connection in the oil fields was as vice-president and
a large stockholder in the Calloma Oil Company
operating in the Kern river field, the other partners in the organization
having been H. A. Jastro and the St. Clair Estate.
Another successful lease which he promoted with Clarence Berry as partner was
the Ethel D., in the west side field. His death occurred May 14, 1910, from
hemorrhage of the brain , and brought an unexpected and sudden termination to
his far-reaching activities, entailing upon Bakersfield a heavy loss to
its citizenship, depriving the Bakersfield Club of one of its honored charter
members and removing from the oil industry of Kern County one of its keenest
operators. He was a strong partisan in politics,
possessing stanch convictions, and was at one time chairman of the Republican
County Central Committee. Fraternally, he was a member of the Elks, a Mason of
the Knight Templar degree, and a Shriner.
Transcribed
by Sally Kaleta.
Source:
"History of Kern County with Biographical Sketches," Wallace M.
Morgan, Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, California, 1914, Pages
521-522.
© 2014 Sally Kaleta.
GOLDEN NUGGET'S KERN COUNTY
BIOGRAPHIES