Los Angeles County
Biographies
CHARLES OSCAR POOLE
POOLE, CHARLES
OSCAR, Electrical Engineer, of Los Angeles, Cal.,
was born at Saulsbury, Mass.,
June 17, 1859, the son of Reuben Poole and Mary Agnes (Gorace)
Poole. His father was a Mechanical Engineer, of Yorkshire,
England.
His family having
moved to San Francisco when he was
about ten years of age, he spent a large part of his life there. He attended the public schools there and
later took special studies in higher mathematics. In 1875 he took up practical mechanics and
mining work, and from 1879 to 1883 led an extremely active career in mining and
engineering. For a time he became the
owner and captain of a steamboat in the Northwest, plying the waters of Elliott
Bay and Lake Washington. Selling this in 1883, he became master
mechanic for the Oregon Improvement Co., owners of the Franklyn coal mines near
Seattle, and was in complete charge
of all machinery and engineering work for the company. Mr. Poole held this post for about four years
and during this time made a special study of electrical engineering realizing
the possibilities in that field of industrial development.
In 1887, Mr.
Poole went to San Francisco, then the center of electrical activity on the
Pacific Coast, and there entered the employ of the California Electric Light
Co. He remained in the dynamo department two years, part of the time as foreman,
and at the end of that time was made foreman of the repair department. In 1891 he was made Superintendent of Station
B, at that time the largest steam driven plant on the Pacific
Coast. His work in this place brought him
appointment, in 1895, as General Superintendent of the Company and he held that
office for about a year, when his company, with other electric light interests,
was taken over by the Edison Light & Power Company. Following the consolidation, Mr. Poole was
retained as General Superintendent and for the next four years had the
management of the entire electric light and power business of San
Francisco, exclusive of its electric railways.
On February 1,
1900, Mr. Poole resigned his position to become General Superintendent of the
Standard Electric Company of California,
taking entire charge of its construction and operating departments. While in this position Mr. Poole originated
and carried to conclusion some of the most important works of his career,
especially in the field of long distance high tension power. Under his supervision the Standard built its
great power plant at Electra, Cal, with the capacity of 15,000 H. P.
In addition to this work Mr. Poole was
interested in the United Gas & Electric Co., which acquired all the
electric and gas industries of San Jose, Cal., thus completing a chain of
plants circling the Bay of San Francisco for a distance of 100 miles. Much of
the business of this company was under the direction of Mr. Poole as Manager
and Supervising Engineer.
In 1903, Mr.
Poole became associated with the Hendrie & Bolthoff Manufacturing & Supply Company, as Western
Engineer for the Stanley Electric Manufacturing Company, and also was
Consulting Engineer for the Nevada Power, Mining & Milling Company, which
installed a 100-mile transmission system from Bishop, California, to Goldfield,
Nev. In 1906, he accepted the position
of Asst. Gen. Mgr. and Engineer for the Nevada California Power Co., with
headquarters at Goldfield. He directed
the extension of the company’s system over the greater part of Southwestern
Nevada, the line playing an important part in the development of
the mining interests of the section.
In January, 1910,
Mr. Poole formed a partnership with R. G. Manifold, as Manifold & Poole,
Consulting Engineers. They retained the
Nevada Mining & Milling Co. as one of their clients and in addition have
designed and constructed numerous important hydro-electric plants in California
and Nevada. They are Engineers for the Nevada-California
Power Co., Sierras Construction Co., Southern Sierras Power Co., Hydro-Electric
Power Co., Pacific Power Co., and several others. Mr. Poole and his partner designed and
supervised construction of the longest high voltage transmission system in the
world, from Bishop, Cal, to San Bernerdino
(sic), Cal. It is 237 miles long, designed for 150,000
volts. They also supervised construction
of a 10,000-kilowatt turbine plant for use in connection with this system.
Mr. Poole has
been a prolific writer and lecturer on technical matters. He was a charter member,
and officer for many years of the California Electrical Society and is a member
of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers.
Transcribed 6-9-08
Marilyn R. Pankey.
Source: Press
Reference Library, Western Edition Notables of the West, Vol. I, Page 65,
International News Service, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles,
Boston, Atlanta. 1913.
© 2008 Marilyn R. Pankey.
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