- Ed Fletcher
"Colonel" Ed Fletcher (
December 31 ,1872 –October 15 ,1955 ) was a real estate developer and U.S. Republican and Democraticpolitician fromSan Diego, California .Fletcher was born 1872 in
Littleton, Massachusetts , son of Charles Kimball Fletcher.His family moved to Worcester and Boston, where he attended school.In 1888 Fletcher came to San Diego, where he sold produce.He was a born salesman and soon had his own business with a partner.In 1901, he entered the real estate business as a land agent,and started a partnership in 1908 with William Gross.That partnership developed Grossmont, Mt. Helix, and Del Mar.Fletcher donated land on Mt. Helix where Easter Sunrise services are held.
In 1907, Fletcher was appointed Lieutenant Colonel of the California National Guard, which earned him the title "Colonel", which stuck for the remainder of his life.
Fletcher became interested in road building and saw to it many road projects were completed. With Fred Jackson, Fletcher raised civic interest to building a road to Imperial Valley, thence a plank road across the desert to
Yuma, Arizona .Fletcher was later active in having state and U.S. highways built to San Diego.Fletcher also took an interest in developing projects delivering water to San Diego, including creating Lake Hodges.
Fletcher was a director of the
Panama-California Exposition (1915) andCalifornia Pacific International Exposition (1935) .After the 1915 Expo, he raised funds to save the well-received temporary buildings from destruction.He also raised funds to buy land for the Naval Training Station in San Diego,and for building the YMCA.In 1934 Fletcher was elected to the
California State Senate , and served until 1947. Sometime while in the Senate, he switched his party affiliation from Republican to Democratic. [http://capitolmuseum.ca.gov/english/legislature/history/county54.html] He authored laws creating the San Diego County Water Authority and transerring ownership of Mission Bay to the city.Fletcher married Mary C. Batchelder
April 8 ,1896 atAyer, Massachusetts .They had ten children: Catherine, Edward Jr.,CongressmanCharles K. Fletcher ,Lawrence, Willis, Stephen, Ferdinand, Mary Louise, Eugene, and Virginia.Fletcher died 1955 in San Diego.
Fletcher Parkway in
La Mesa, California andFletcher Hills inEl Cajon, California are named for Fletcher.ee also
*cite book|author=Fletcher, Ed|year=1952|title=Memoirs of Ed Fletcher|Publisher=
*cite book|author=Black, Samuel T.|year=1913|title=San Diego County California|Publisher=The S. J. Clark Publishing Company, Chicago, v. 2, pp. 128-132: "Ed Fletcher"; includes portrait
* Biography. Also has biography of his wifeExternal links
* [http://www.sandiegohistory.org/bio/fletcher/fletcher.htm Biography] (San Diego Historical Society). Based on Heilbron's biography (above)
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