Gurdon Wattles

Infobox Person
name = Gurdon Wattles


caption =
birth_date = May 12, 1855
birth_place = Richford, New York
death_date = 1932
death_place = Hollywood, California
other_names =
known_for = Financing early Hollywood
occupation = Banker, civic leader
nationality = American

Gurdon Wallace Wattles (May 12, 1855 - 1932) was an early businessman, banker and civic leader in Omaha, Nebraska who became responsible for bankrolling much of early Hollywood. [(2006) [http://www.hollywoodheritage.org/news/HHI_Newsletter_09-06.pdf "Gurdon Wattles"] , "Hollywood Heritage". September. Retrieved 2/6/08.] Wattles was said to possess "all the right credentials to direct Omaha's fortunes for the twentieth century in the post-pioneer era: humble beginnings, outstanding ability, a fine intellect, impeccable manners, driving ambition, and a ruthless streak." [Larsen, L. and Cottrell, B. (1997) "The Gate City: A History of Omaha." University of Nebraska Press. p. 132.]

Personal life

Gurdon was the third son of James and Betsy Ann (Whiting) Wattles, born in the town of Richford, New York. After serving in the American Civil War, father Wattles decided to move the family and they traveled in a covered wagon to Glidden, Iowa in 1868. Gurdon graduated from high school there, soon after becoming a teacher. He attended in the Iowa Agricultural College in 1876, joining the Delta Tau Delta fraternity and a debate team.

Wattles married Jennie Leete on October 20, 1882 in Jennie's hometown of Clarksville, Iowa. After completing college and joining the bar, Wattles joined a firm in Carroll, Iowa. Soon after he convinced his parents to move there, and at their behest he donated a lot to the local Episcopalian congregation to build a church. Jennie died suddenly on May 25, 1916. He remarried on June 26, 1918 to Julia Vance. She gave birth to a son, Gurdon Wallace Wattles, Jr., on May 5, 1920. [(2006) [http://www.hollywoodheritage.org/news/HHI_Newsletter_09-06.pdf "Gurdon Wattles"] , "Hollywood Heritage". September. Retrieved 2/6/08.]

Career

Wattles first venture into banking happened in 1882 when he worked with silent partners to found the Farmer's Bank in Carroll. By focusing directly on assisting the many German immigrants who wanted to farm in eastern Iowa during this time the Farmer's Bank "prospered beyond our greatest hopes." [Wattles, G.W. (1928) " [http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/FH4&CISOPTR=18517&REC=2 Autobiography of Gurdon Wallace Wattles] ." p. 48.] After arriving in Omaha in 1892 Wattles became the vice-president of the city's Union National Bank. [Larsen, L. and Cottrell, B. (1997) p 86.]

By 1901 Wattles consolidated all the independent streetcar lines in Omaha into one company called the Omaha and Council Bluffs Streetcar Company, which later became the Omaha Traction Company. In 1903 he helped organize the Omaha Grain Exchange and the Omaha Business Men's Association, a group vowed to keep labor unions out of Omaha and maintain open shops. [ [http://casde.unl.edu/history/counties/douglas/omaha/ "Omaha-Douglas County"] , "Our Towns." University of Nebraska. Retrieved 2/6/08.] In 1905 Wattles became the president, and then the chairman of the board of the United States National Bank of Omaha, serving until 1920. Also in 1905 Wattles was the lead of Nebraska's exhibit at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri. It was there that he pioneered the usage of filmed footage for advertising.

Wattles was a director of the Chicago Great Western Railroad, and was responsible for the construction of the Omaha landmark Hotel Fontenelle in 1914. [Larsen, L. and Cottrell, B. (1997) p 134.]

Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition

In 1897 Wattles became the organizer and chairman of the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition and Indian Congress. His leadership is attributed with bringing over 2.6 million people to Omaha to view the 4,062 exhibits during the four months of the Exposition. When President William McKinley visited, Wattles introduced him to the crowd of nearly 100,000 assembled on the plaza. Wattles' expo stretched over a convert|180|acre|km2|sing=on tract in North Omaha and featured a convert|2000|ft|m|sing=on-long lagoon encircled by 21 classical buildings that featured fine and modern products from around the world. During the grand parade for the expo Wattles rode alongside William Jennings Bryan, a three-time candidate for president of the United States, who was also a close friend. [ [http://www.nebraskahistory.org/publish/publicat/timeline/trans_miss_expo_parade.htm Trans-Mississippi Exposition Parade."] Nebraska State Historical Society. Retrieved 2/6/08.] This event is attributed with launching Wattles' influence across Nebraska and throughout the Midwestern United States. [Larsen, L. and Cottrell, B. (1997) p 43.] [ [http://casde.unl.edu/history/counties/douglas/omaha/ Omaha Notes] , University of Nebraska at Omaha. Retrieved 2/12/08.]

Politics

Wattles was elected delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1904. There he voted for Theodore Roosevelt for president, and when he became a member of the notification committee fromNebraska, he visited Roosevelt at his home in Oyster Bay, New York. Their friendship lasted until Roosevelt died in 1919. Gurdon was appointed the Federal Food Administrator for Nebraska by Herbert Hoover during World War I.

Honors

In an elaborate ceremony Wattles was crowned King of the Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben in 1905. The Iowa State College awarded him an honorary degree in the 1910s. [Larsen, L. and Cottrell, B. (1997) p 132.]

Wattles House

Noted Omaha architect Thomas R. Kimball designed the Wattles House in the popular historical revival Chateauesque style. It was built in 1895. Today the majority of the house retains its historical significance. It has been listed as an Omaha Landmark and is a contributing building in the Gold Coast Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Wattles lived in the residence from 1896 to 1921, when he moved permanently to Hollywood, California. [Gerber, K. and Spencer, J.S. (2003), "Architecture for the Ages", Landmarks, Inc. p. 77.]

Wattles Mansion

The Wattles Mansion and Gardens in Los Angeles, California was built by Gurdon as a summer home at the turn of the century. Today "Jualita," as he called the forty-nine acre estate, is the last remaining intact mansion from that time period. The mansion was sold to the City of Los Angeles in 1965, and currently houses a Hollywood historical organization.

ee also

*History of Omaha
*History of Hollywood

References

External links

* Wattles, G.W. (1922) " [http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/FH4&CISOPTR=18517&REC=2 Autobiography of Gurdon Wallace Wattles.] "
* [http://www.seeing-stars.com/OC/WattlesPostcard1.jpgHistoric postcard] of the Wattles Mansion in Hollywood.