Los Angeles County

Biographies

 

 

 

 

HENRY FISHER

 

 

     FISHER, HENRY, Investments, Redlands, California, was born in Pittsburg, Pa., December 18, 1843, the son of John Jacob and Friedericka Fisher.  His first wife was Mary C. Clark, whom he married at Oil City, Pennsylvania, in 1872, and who died on their first visit to California, in 1893.  They had one son, John H., now associated with his father in many of his enterprises.  In 1894, at New York City, he married Marion J. Thomas of Washington, D.C., granddaughter of the late Adjutant General Lorenzo Thomas of the U. S. Army.  They have three children, Natalia, George MacWhorter and Friedericka..

     Mr. Fisher, standing today with the honored men of the West, who have developed the resources of Southern California, has been in active business for nearly half a century, and while building a fortune for himself has builded (sic) for his country and his fellowman. He received his education in the public schools of his native city, and entered the oil business in Oil City Pa. and vicinity, in 1864.  Mr. Fisher was one of the first to recognize the future importance of petroleum in the industrial and domestic life of the world, and was as much a part of the development of Pennsylvania’s petroleum resources as any other single person, becoming a large producer and shipper and interested in a number of important corporations.  Organizing the Fisher Oil Company in the early eighties, he served as President of that corporation until he left Pittsburg and sold out his interests to his brother.  He was a Director in the Pittsburg Petroleum Exchange and first President of the Washington Oil Company, organized with a capital of one million dollars, and one of the most successful in the field—now controlled by the Standard Oil Company.

     In the beginning of the oil production in Pennsylvania, transportation facilities were not of the best and, as markets for the product were developed, it behooved the oil men to find an economical method of getting the petroleum to the railroads.  Mr. Fisher was one of the originators of the pipe line method of transportation, and was a partner in the first three pipe line companies operating in the Pennsylvania district, devoting a part of his time between the years of 1868 and 1872 to this business.

     Mr. Fisher was also one of the organizers of the Natural Gas Company of West Virginia, which supplies the city of Wheeling with natural gas.  He served as a Director in this organization until he left Pittsburg.  He helped to organize and served as a Director in the Keystone Bank of Pittsburg.

     In 1893 Mr. Fisher took a much needed vacation and visited Southern California.  The climate and promise of the country so impressed him that he decided to transfer his home to that section, and, upon his return to Pittsburg, disposed of most of his interests in that locality.  These included valuable oil lands, gas, banking and other stocks, for he was one of the leading figures in the business life of Western Pennsylvania and possessed of diversified interests.

     Locating at Redlands, California, at a time when the country was only slightly developed, Mr. Fisher, who had closed one highly successful business career, entered upon another with the same vigor which had characterized his earlier operations.  He invested largely in business property in Redlands, and has been one of the most potent influences in the upbuilding of that city.  His first work in California was the organization, with others, of the Redlands Electric Light & Power Company and the Southern California Power Company, both of which he assisted largely in financing; these plants were finally merged with the West Side Lighting Company of Los Angeles, then into the Edison Electric Company, now known as the Southern California Edison Company, in which Mr. Fisher holds the office of Vice President and Director.

     The above water power companies had an important bearing on the business growth of Redlands and surrounding country, for, with their formation, a new life was put into the city and it entered into a period of steady growth, which has not subsided after several years.  Realizing the importance of transportation facilities, Mr. Fisher organized the Redlands Street Railway Company, the San Bernardino Valley Traction Company and Redlands Central Railway Company, in two of which he held the office of President, maintaining a progressive policy, which aided largely in the development of the country through which the lines passed and which, at present, is one of the richest and most prosperous in the United States.

     As a banker, Mr. Fisher served for many years as a Director of the First National Bank of Los Angeles, the First National of Redlands and the Redlands National, resigning from these as his many interests made it inconvenient to attend the meetings.

     Of extraordinary forcefulness and resource, quick to see the possibilities of a project and possessed of the ability to carry an enterprise to success, Mr. Fisher is known through Southern California as a man of scrupulous integrity and fair play.  He has been a strenuous worker all of his life, but is fortunate in the possession of unusual endurance and determination, qualities which have aided largely in the gratifying success which has attended his efforts.

     Mr. Fisher is a patron of the arts and has spent considerable time traveling in the United States and abroad.  His home, one of the handsomest in Redlands, is filled with art treasures, which he has collected during his travels and which have been brought together for their artistic and historic value. Although his life has been filled with important business affairs, Mr. Fisher has not devoted his time to these alone, but his family has always been identified with the social life of Redlands, and he helped to organize and served as President of the Redlands Country Club for many years.  He is also a member of the University Club of Redlands, the California Club of Los Angeles, and a life member of the Western Pennsylvania Exposition Society of Pittsburg.  He has never taken an active part in politics and has avoided public attention, but is a public-spirited man, always ready to do his part to help along the welfare of his home town—Redlands—which he considers the most delightful place on earth.

     He has been a Director and faithful attendant of the meetings of the Chamber of Commerce of Redlands for many years, serving on numerous committees and taking a leading part in all of its public enterprises.

 

 

Transcribed 7-1-08 Marilyn R. Pankey.

Source: Press Reference Library, Western Edition Notables of the West, Vol. I,  Page 89, International News Service, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Atlanta.  1913.

© 2008 Marilyn R. Pankey.

 

 

 

 

 

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