William Flinn
Encyclopedia
William Flinn was a powerful political boss
and construction magnate
in Pittsburgh
, Pennsylvania
, United States
. Along with Christopher Magee
(1848—1901), his political partner, the two ran the Republican Party
machine that controlled the city for the final twenty years of the 19th century.
immigrants there. The family next emigrated later that year to the United States and settled in Pittsburgh's Sixth Ward, famous for its hard-scrabble politics, where his father established a small contracting business.
Educated in the Pittsburgh Public Schools
, William Flinn dropped out at age 9 to deliver newspapers, shine shoes, and later apprentice in the gas and steam fitting trades.
as a ward boss collecting stray votes. He soon attained office in 1877 as a member of the Board of Fire Commissioners. Flinn quickly partnered with Christopher Magee (1848–1901), the city's Republican Party political boss. In 1881 Flinn was elected to the Pennsylvania General Assembly
at Harrisburg
. In 1882 he was appointed chairman of the city's executive committee of the local Republican party, a position he held for the next 20 years. In 1890 he was elected to the Pennsylvania State Senate
, where he sponsored the Good Roads Act, which became law in 1895. He remained incumbent there until his resignation in 1901. From 1884 until 1912 he served as a delegate to every Republican National Convention
.
was formed in 1876 in association with James J. Booth. As a result of politics and a "lowest responsible bidder" scheme, Booth & Flinn won most large construction and paving contracts in Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania
, where they built streets, trolley lines, and bridges, usually amid charges by competitors of graft. The firm built the Liberty Tunnel
s, Wabash Tunnel, and Armstrong Tunnels in Pittsburgh, and in the later years of the company's continuation, the Holland Tunnel
between New York City
and New Jersey
. (Booth retired from the firm in 1898; George H. Flinn, son of the founder, succeeded him, and in 1924 two other sons, William and A. Rex Flinn joined the company).
In The Shame of the Cities
, the landmark 1903 book by Lincoln Steffens
on political corruption in American cities, Steffens wrote about the alleged Flinn-Magee collusion: "Magee wanted power, Flinn wealth.... Magee spent his wealth for more power, and Flinn spent his power for more wealth.... Magee attracted followers, Flinn employed them. He was useful to Magee, Magee was indispensable to him. ... Molasses and vinegar, diplomacy and force, mind and will, they were well mated." Reformers eventually reined in Flinn by passing legislation to curb corruption and kickbacks.
William Flinn was also president of the Duquesne Lumber Company and the Pittsburgh Silver Peak Gold Mining Company. He sat on the board of directors of the Arkansas Fuel Oil Company, the Arkansas Natural Gas Company, the Gulf Oil Corporation, and the Pittsburgh Coal Company
.
district. Though raised Roman Catholic, Flinn was a member of Pittsburgh's Sixth United Presbyterian Church.
, director of public works. By the 1902 elections reformers held sway and citizens voted down the machine. Magee himself had died in 1901 after a short illness.
Flinn withdrew from local politics, as a result, and retired to a country estate north of the city called Beechwood Farm. He became a gentleman farmer of Guernsey cattle
, German police dogs, and Belgian hares.
He continued to manage his business interests and to dabble in Republican politics at the national life. In 1912, however, he abandoned the GOP in the support of Theodore Roosevelt
's nomination, and followed him into the Bull Moose Party.
During the winter months Flinn resided in Florida
, where at St. Petersburg
he died on February 19, 1924 at the age of 72. He is interred at Homewood Cemetery
in Pittsburgh. According the Register of Wills of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, J.N. Mackrell, Flinn's personal property and real estate at his death exceeded $11 million.
Flinn is honored with several monuments throughout the city of Pittsburgh and the Allegheny County
segment of Pennsylvania State Route 8 is named the William Flinn Highway. His country estate is now a nature reserve, Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve
, operated by the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania. Flinn's daughter Mary used some of her inheritance to build a country estate nearby Beechwood called Hartwood; today it is open to the public as a part of Hartwood Acres Park
.
Political machine
A political machine is a political organization in which an authoritative boss or small group commands the support of a corps of supporters and businesses , who receive rewards for their efforts...
and construction magnate
Business magnate
A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a capitalist, czar, mogul, tycoon, baron, oligarch, or industrialist, is an informal term used to refer to an entrepreneur who has reached prominence and derived a notable amount of wealth from a particular industry .-Etymology:The word magnate itself...
in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Along with Christopher Magee
Christopher Magee
Christopher Lyman Magee was a powerful political boss in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Along with William Flinn , his political partner, the two ran the Republican Party machine that controlled the city for the last twenty years of the 19th century.-Early life:He was born in Pittsburgh...
(1848—1901), his political partner, the two ran the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
machine that controlled the city for the final twenty years of the 19th century.
Early life
He was born in Manchester, England on May 26, 1851 to John Flinn and Mary Hamilton Flinn, IrishIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
immigrants there. The family next emigrated later that year to the United States and settled in Pittsburgh's Sixth Ward, famous for its hard-scrabble politics, where his father established a small contracting business.
Educated in the Pittsburgh Public Schools
Pittsburgh Public Schools
Pittsburgh Public Schools is the public school district in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA and adjacent Mount Oliver.The combined land area of these municipalities is with a population of 342,503 according to the 2000 census. In August 2005, the superintendent became Mark Roosevelt. His tenure ends...
, William Flinn dropped out at age 9 to deliver newspapers, shine shoes, and later apprentice in the gas and steam fitting trades.
Politics
Flinn became politically active in the Republican PartyRepublican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
as a ward boss collecting stray votes. He soon attained office in 1877 as a member of the Board of Fire Commissioners. Flinn quickly partnered with Christopher Magee (1848–1901), the city's Republican Party political boss. In 1881 Flinn was elected to the Pennsylvania General Assembly
Pennsylvania General Assembly
The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times , the legislature was known as the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly. Since the Constitution of 1776, written by...
at Harrisburg
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
. In 1882 he was appointed chairman of the city's executive committee of the local Republican party, a position he held for the next 20 years. In 1890 he was elected to the Pennsylvania State Senate
Pennsylvania State Senate
The Pennsylvania State Senate has been meeting since 1791. It is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such...
, where he sponsored the Good Roads Act, which became law in 1895. He remained incumbent there until his resignation in 1901. From 1884 until 1912 he served as a delegate to every Republican National Convention
Republican National Convention
The Republican National Convention is the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States. Convened by the Republican National Committee, the stated purpose of the convocation is to nominate an official candidate in an upcoming U.S...
.
Business
Flinn's chief business interest was large-scale contracting. His firm of Booth and FlinnBooth and Flinn
Booth and Flinn was one of the largest American general contracting companies of its era. It was established and headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
was formed in 1876 in association with James J. Booth. As a result of politics and a "lowest responsible bidder" scheme, Booth & Flinn won most large construction and paving contracts in Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania
Western Pennsylvania
Western Pennsylvania consists of the western third of the state of Pennsylvania in the United States. Pittsburgh is the largest city in the region, with a metropolitan area population of about 2.4 million people, and serves as its economic and cultural center. Erie, Altoona, and Johnstown are its...
, where they built streets, trolley lines, and bridges, usually amid charges by competitors of graft. The firm built the Liberty Tunnel
Liberty Tunnel
The Liberty Tunnels are a pair of tunnels located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that allow motorists to travel between the South Hills of Pittsburgh and the city, through Mt. Washington...
s, Wabash Tunnel, and Armstrong Tunnels in Pittsburgh, and in the later years of the company's continuation, the Holland Tunnel
Holland Tunnel
The Holland Tunnel is a highway tunnel under the Hudson River connecting the island of Manhattan in New York City with Jersey City, New Jersey at Interstate 78 on the mainland. Unusual for an American public works project, it is not named for a government official, politician, or local hero or...
between New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. (Booth retired from the firm in 1898; George H. Flinn, son of the founder, succeeded him, and in 1924 two other sons, William and A. Rex Flinn joined the company).
In The Shame of the Cities
The Shame of the Cities
The Shame of the Cities was a work published in 1904 by Lincoln Steffens that sought to expose public corruption in many major cities throughout the United States. The work consists of articles written for the magazine McClure's in one collection. His goal was to provoke public outcry and thus...
, the landmark 1903 book by Lincoln Steffens
Lincoln Steffens
-Biography:Steffens was born April 6, 1866, in San Francisco. He grew up in a wealthy family and attended a military academy. He studied in France and Germany after graduating from the University of California....
on political corruption in American cities, Steffens wrote about the alleged Flinn-Magee collusion: "Magee wanted power, Flinn wealth.... Magee spent his wealth for more power, and Flinn spent his power for more wealth.... Magee attracted followers, Flinn employed them. He was useful to Magee, Magee was indispensable to him. ... Molasses and vinegar, diplomacy and force, mind and will, they were well mated." Reformers eventually reined in Flinn by passing legislation to curb corruption and kickbacks.
William Flinn was also president of the Duquesne Lumber Company and the Pittsburgh Silver Peak Gold Mining Company. He sat on the board of directors of the Arkansas Fuel Oil Company, the Arkansas Natural Gas Company, the Gulf Oil Corporation, and the Pittsburgh Coal Company
Pittsburgh Coal Company
The Pittsburgh Coal Company was a bituminous coal mining company, controlled by the Mellon family. It later merged with Consolidation Coal Company, controlled by the Rockefeller family.-Coal Mines:...
.
Personal life
He married Nancy Galbraith in 1874 and the couple had six children: four boys, two girls. The sons—William, George, Ralph, and A. Rex—became prominent in business, three of them in their father's construction firm. The family home, called Braemar, was in the city Highland ParkHighland Park (Pittsburgh)
Highland Park is both a large municipal park and a racially diverse, mostly residential neighborhood in the northeastern part of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.The neighborhood has 6,749 residents according to the 2000 United States Census...
district. Though raised Roman Catholic, Flinn was a member of Pittsburgh's Sixth United Presbyterian Church.
Retirement
Flinn's political and business organization began to crumble in the late 1890s when a flap over the rigged bidding system came to a head with Edward Manning BigelowEdward Manning Bigelow
Edward Manning Bigelow , known as the "father of Pittsburgh's parks", was an American City Engineer and later Director of Public Works in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
, director of public works. By the 1902 elections reformers held sway and citizens voted down the machine. Magee himself had died in 1901 after a short illness.
Flinn withdrew from local politics, as a result, and retired to a country estate north of the city called Beechwood Farm. He became a gentleman farmer of Guernsey cattle
Guernsey cattle
The Guernsey is a breed of cattle used in dairy farming. It is fawn and white in colour, and is particularly renowned for the rich flavour of its milk, as well as its hardiness and docile disposition.-Milk:...
, German police dogs, and Belgian hares.
He continued to manage his business interests and to dabble in Republican politics at the national life. In 1912, however, he abandoned the GOP in the support of Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
's nomination, and followed him into the Bull Moose Party.
During the winter months Flinn resided in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, where at St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
he died on February 19, 1924 at the age of 72. He is interred at Homewood Cemetery
Homewood Cemetery
Homewood Cemetery is a historic, nonsectarian burial ground in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in Squirrel Hill and is bordered by both Frick Park and the neighborhood of Point Breeze....
in Pittsburgh. According the Register of Wills of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, J.N. Mackrell, Flinn's personal property and real estate at his death exceeded $11 million.
Flinn is honored with several monuments throughout the city of Pittsburgh and the Allegheny County
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Allegheny County is a county in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,223,348; making it the second most populous county in Pennsylvania, following Philadelphia County. The county seat is Pittsburgh...
segment of Pennsylvania State Route 8 is named the William Flinn Highway. His country estate is now a nature reserve, Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve
Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve
Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve is a protected area for flora, fauna, and wildlife in Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania, a Pittsburgh suburb. The site has served as the headquarters of the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania since 1977....
, operated by the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania. Flinn's daughter Mary used some of her inheritance to build a country estate nearby Beechwood called Hartwood; today it is open to the public as a part of Hartwood Acres Park
Hartwood Acres Park
Hartwood Acres Park is a county park in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania in the United States. Hartwood is considered the crown jewel of the county's network of nine distinct parks....
.