William S. Ladd

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William Sargent Ladd
William S. Ladd

Ladd circa 1870
In office
1854 – 1855
Preceded by Josiah Failing
Succeeded by George W. Vaughn
In office
1857 – 1858
Preceded by James O'Neill
Succeeded by A. M. Starr
Born October 10, 1826
Holland, Vermont
Died January 6, 1893 (aged 66)
Portland, Oregon
Spouse Caroline Ames Elliot

William Sargent Ladd (October 10, 1826-January 6, 1893) was an American politician and businessman in Oregon. He twice served as Portland, Oregon’s mayor in the 1850s. A native of Vermont, he was a prominent figure in the early development of Portland, and co-founded the first bank in the state in 1859. Ladd also built the first brick building in Portland and was a noted philanthropist. Part of his former estate, the Ladd Carriage House, was on the National Register of Historic Places until 2008.

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[edit] Early life

William Ladd was born to Nathaniel Gould Ladd and Abigail Kelley Mead on October 10, 1826 in Holland, Vermont.[1] Nathaniel was of English heritage and received his education at Dartmouth College, becoming a physician, while Abigail was from New Hampshire.[2] When William was seven years old, the family moved to Sanborton Bridge, New Hampshire where he was educated in the local public schools and an academy.[2] During the summers, he worked and at age 15 his father got him a job on a farm. William later worked on the family’s 58 acre farm before at age 19 beginning to work as a teacher in area schools.[2]

His father had earned his way through school, but was successful enough to pay for William to attend college.[2] However, William decided to pay for his own way in life and did not attend college. He then began working for the Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad at a freight house in Sanborton Bridge.[2] Ladd received several promotions and was briefly in charge of the company’s freight department before being returned to Sanborton Bridge. Disillusioned with the demotion, he decided to move west to work with Charles Elliott Tilton, a former classmate, who was involved in a mercantile business in San Francisco, California.[2]

Ladd left from New York City on February 27, 1851. Upon arriving in San Francisco he attempted to get Tilton to become partners in a venture to import good to what was then the Oregon Territory. Tilton declined and Ladd traveled north to Oregon on his own.[2]

[edit] Oregon

He arrived in Oregon in 1851 with a small load of merchandise, which he sold off in Portland at a small store.[2] Then in association with Mr. Goodkin he continued in the mercantile business for several years, and in 1852 partnered with Tilton. Ladd would then open W. S. Ladd & Company in Portland, and was soon joined by his brother John Wesley Ladd.[2] He then erected the first brick building in the city in 1853.[1] In 1854, William sent for his bride to be, Caroline Ames Elliot, who he had fallen in love with back in New Hampshire.[2] She arrived in San Francisco where Ladd met her, and they were married there on October 17, 1854. The couple then arrived in Portland on November 6. He and Caroline would have seven children. William M., Helen Kendall, Charles Elliott, John Wesley, and Caroline Ames were five of the seven children.[2]

In 1855, Ladd bought out Tilton, with Tilton returning east.[2] Ladd then made his brother a partner in his firm. In 1858, Titlton returned and after a slight delay re-joined Ladd.[2] They opened the first bank in Oregon in April 1859.[1] Tilton would retire and leave the partnership in 1880. The company later become Ladd, Reed & Co.. when Simeon Gannett Reed joined the business.[3] Reed’s wife Amanda had accompanied the future Mrs. Ladd. William and Simeon would also partner in a variety of ventures, including a hobby farm where Reedville, Oregon now stands.[3] In 1862, the Oregon Steam Navigation Company was formed with Ladd as the second biggest investor, and Reed investing as well.[2]

Over the years Ladd would be a major player in the early economic development of Portland.[1] Investments or promotions included the Oregon Furniture Manufacturing Company in 1874, the Portland Flouring Mills Company in 1883, the Portland Cordage Company in 1888, and the Portland Hotel in 1887.[2] Other enterprises included the Oregon Telegraph Company in 1862, Oregon Iron and Steel Company, the Oregon Central Railroad Company in 1866, and in 1868 the Idaho Telegraph Company.[1] In 1867, Ladd along with Asahel Bush founded the Ladd and Bush Bank in Salem, Oregon.[4] Ten years later Bush would buyout Ladd and become the sole proprietor of the financial institution.[4]

Ladd was also involved with agriculture. He owned farm land in Multnomah County and neighboring Washington and Clark counties.[2] He imported cattle, thoroughbred horses, hogs, and sheep for his Broad Mead farm. Ladd served as the president of the board of regents at the state’s agricultural college in Corvallis, now known as Oregon State University.[2]

[edit] Politics

In 1853 and again in 1856, Ladd served on the city council in Portland.[5] In between he was the fifth mayor of the city, serving from March 15, 1854 to April 1, 1855.[6] After serving the one-year term, he was out of office for two years before returning in 1857 for a second one-year term.[6] In 1886, he was a member of the city’s water commission. Originally a Democrat, he became a Republican in 1864 when he supported Abraham Lincoln’s re-election.[2]

[edit] Later life and philanthropy

Ladd was one of the first people to contribute funds toward the creation of the Portland Library fund.[2] He also endowed a chair at the state’s medical school in Portland (later Oregon Health & Science University) and a scholarship at Willamette University in Salem. He endowed a chair at the Presbyterian’s seminary in San Francisco in 1886. In Portland, he helped to establish River View Cemetery.[2] In 1891, Ladd platted what became Ladd's Addition in what is now Southeast Portland. The addition has a criss-crossed street layout, and had parks, utilities and is annexed into Portland that year along with the rest of East Portland.[7]

William S. Ladd died in Portland on January 6, 1893 at the age of 66. He was buried at River View Cemetery.[8] His estate was valued at $10 million.[1] Ladd Acres Elementary in Reedville, Oregon (part of the Hillsboro School District) was built on the former land of Ladd and Reed’s farm in Washington County, with the school named in Ladd’s honor.[9]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Corning, Howard M. (1989). Dictionary of Oregon History. Binfords & Mort Publishing. p. 138.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Gaston, Joseph. (1911). Portland, Oregon, Its History and Builders. Chicago: S.J. Clarke Pub. Co. pp. 517-20.
  3. ^ a b Terry, John. Oregon’s Trails: Reeds’ desires, riches yield premier legacy of learning. The Oregonian, July 6, 2003.
  4. ^ a b Oregon History Project: Asahel Bush. Oregon Historical Society. Retrieved on December 1, 2007.
  5. ^ Scott, Harvey W. (1890). History of Portland, Oregon with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Prominent Citizens and Pioneers. Syracuse, N.Y.: D. Mason & Co. p. 198.
  6. ^ a b Mayors of Portland. City of Portland. Retrieved on February 6, 2008.
  7. ^ Barnett, Erin Hoover. Southeast Portland, revisited. The Oregonian, May 27, 2007.
  8. ^ Welcome to River View Cemetery. River View Cemetery. Retrieved on February 6, 2008.
  9. ^ A Brief History of Ladd Acres. Hillsboro School District. Retrieved on February 8, 2008.

[edit] External links