William Henry Wattis
Encyclopedia
Utah Construction Company
The Utah Construction Company was a construction company founded by Edmund Orson Wattis, Jr, Warren L. Wattis and William. H. Wattis in 1900.-History:...
in 1900.
History
Wattis was born in UintaUinta
-Places:* High Uintas Wilderness* Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation, Utah* Uintah County, Utah* Uinta County, Wyoming* Uinta Mountains, in the state of Utah* Uinta National Forest* Uintah, Utah, a town located in Weber County...
, Utah Territory
Utah Territory
The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah....
, the fourth of seven children born to Edmund Orson Wattis and Mary Jane Corey. With his brother E.O., he formed a firm to lay track for the expanding railroads. The fledgling Wattis Brothers firm was wiped out in the panic of 1893
Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression in the United States that began in 1893. Similar to the Panic of 1873, this panic was marked by the collapse of railroad overbuilding and shaky railroad financing which set off a series of bank failures...
. While William continued to try to find construction projects, Edmund focused his energies on running a sheep ranch the brothers had established in the Weber Valley. This ranch and others would later provide the financial strength for the large construction projects to come.
Wattis married his sweetheart, Anna Maria Dorothea Sophie (Marie) Stander, on January 9, 1889. They had three daughters and one son. In 1897, they lost Florence Louise, age 5, and Edmund (Teddy), age 1, within six months of each other while living in Astoria, Oregon
Astoria, Oregon
Astoria is the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Situated near the mouth of the Columbia River, the city was named after the American investor John Jacob Astor. His American Fur Company founded Fort Astoria at the site in 1811...
.
Utah Construction Company
In 1900, the Wattis Brothers (E.O., W.H. and Warren L.) again attempted to be partners in contracting. They founded the Utah Construction Company along with David EcclesDavid Eccles (businessman)
David Eccles was an American businessman and industrialist who founded many businesses throughout the western United States and became Utah's first multimillionaire.-Biography:...
and Thomas D. Dee
Thomas Duncombe Dee
Thomas Duncombe Dee was a Utah businessman.Dee was born in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales. His parents converted to the Mormon faith in 1856, and the family relocated to Ogden, Utah in 1860....
. A short four years after its founding, Utah Construction Company was awarded the contract to build the Feather River route between Oakland and Salt Lake City. This $60 million contract was challenging, but after five years, very profitable. The Feather River route was complete for the Western Pacific Railroad
Western Pacific Railroad
The Western Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1903 as an attempt to break the near-monopoly the Southern Pacific Railroad had on rail service into northern California...
in 1911. The Utah Construction Company also was a building contractor for the Utah State Capital.
In 1912, after the death of David Eccles, W. H. was elected President of The Utah Construction Company. The company thrived, and soon captured a large share of the tunneling, grading, and track projects in the rapidly expanding railroads in the mountain west. Seeing the end of railroad expansion, the Wattis Brothers looked for ways to diversify their construction risks.
Wattis Coal Company
In 1915, the Wattis brothers bought the Wattis Coal Company (160 acres from the federal government) and the Wattis mine shipped its first coal on April 11, 1918. The city of Wattis, located near Helper, UtahHelper, Utah
Helper is a city in Carbon County, Utah, United States about 120 miles southeast of Salt Lake City and northwest of the city of Price. It is also known as the "Hub of Carbon County". The population was 2,025 at the 2000 census....
, is named after the Wattis brothers. In 1919 the company merged with the Lion Coal Company, owned by the Eccles family.
Ogden Union Stockyard Company
On July 29, 1916, W.H. formed a partnership in incorporating the Ogden Union Stockyard Company (opened for business April 1, 1917), formerly known as the Ogden Packing and Provision Company, which proved to be quite profitable—by 1934 the company made over $2 million.Building dams
In 1917, Utah Construction Company was awarded the $7 million O'Shaughnessy DamO'Shaughnessy Dam
The O'Shaughnessy Dam is a curved gravity dam on the Tuolumne River in the Hetch Hetchy Valley of California's Sierra Nevada. The dam is located in Yosemite National Park, and creates the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. It is named for former San Francisco chief engineer and the original chief engineer of...
contract, a controversial project that impounds the Tuolumne River
Tuolumne River
The Tuolumne River is a California river that flows nearly from the central Sierra Nevada to the San Joaquin River in the Central Valley...
in the Hetch Hetchy Valley
Hetch Hetchy Valley
Hetch Hetchy Valley is a glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in California. It is currently completely flooded by O'Shaughnessy Dam, forming the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. The Tuolumne River fills the reservoir. Upstream from the valley lies the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne. The reservoir...
of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
's Sierra Nevada mountains. Success with the O'Shaughnessy Dam convinced the Wattis Brothers to bid on more dam projects.
In 1922, Utah Construction Company formed a partnership with the Morrison-Knudsen Company
Washington Group International
Washington Group International was an American corporation which provided integrated engineering, construction and management services to businesses and governments around the world. Based in Boise, Idaho, it had approximately 25,000 employees working in over 40 states and more than 30 countries...
of Boise, Idaho
Boise, Idaho
Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...
. With Frank Crowe
Frank Crowe
Francis Trenholm Crowe was the chief engineer of the Hoover Dam. During that time, he was the superintendent of Six Companies, the construction company that oversaw the construction project....
as the chief engineer, the MK UC partnership successfully built dams throughout the American west.
Politics and committees
In 1918, W.H. was nominated by 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...
to run for the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
. He also ran unsuccessfully for governor of Utah in 1928.
He was appointed to the Flood Relief Committee by Governor Mabey
Charles R. Mabey
Charles Rendell Mabey was an American politician and the fifth Governor of Utah. He served as governor from 1921 to 1925. He was a Republican.Mabey was born in Bountiful, Utah...
on August 17, 1923, and appointed to the Christmas Seal Sale Advisory Committee in 1924.
Other businesses
W.H. was also a prominent businessman in Ogden, UtahOgden, Utah
Ogden is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States. Ogden serves as the county seat of Weber County. The population was 82,825 according to the 2010 Census. The city served as a major railway hub through much of its history, and still handles a great deal of freight rail traffic which makes it a...
and known throughout Utah. He was director of The National Bank, director of the Utah-Idaho Central Railroad, and president of Dee Memorial Hospital
McKay-Dee Hospital Center
McKay-Dee Hospital Center is a not-for-profit community focused health system operated by Intermountain Healthcare. With 352 licensed beds , it is the 3rd largest hospital in the Intermountain system, and the 4th largest Hospital in Utah....
from 1917 to 1929. As president he oversaw the new L-shaped addition equipped with elevators, making Dee one of the most modern and up-to-date hospitals of its time at an estimated cost of $160,000.
In January 1921, Wattis was elected General Manager and President of Utah-Idaho Sugar Company
Utah-Idaho Sugar Company
The Utah-Idaho Sugar Company was a large sugar beet processing company owned and controlled by the LDS Church and its leaders, based in Utah. It was notable for providing a valuable cash crop to Utah and surrounding states, and also for being part of the Sugar Trust, leading to antitrust...
and Vice President and General Manager of the Canadian Sugar Company Ltd., the Canadian branch of Utah-Idaho Sugar Company. Due to political and legal troubles with the Utah-Idaho Sugar Company, Wattis was indicted on price fixing charges and was found in contempt of court
Contempt of court
Contempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority...
by Judge Tilman D. Johnson, which caused him to withdraw from a 1920 run for governor.
He was elected Captain of the Alta Club
Alta Club
The Alta Club is a private social gentlemen's club in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, named for a local mining district. It was founded in 1883, 13 years before Utah's accession as a state, and currently boasts 630 members...
, one of the oldest gentlemen's clubs in Utah, on April 22, 1921.
On September 27, 1927, Wattis was nominated and elected Vice President of the Associated General Contractors of America, and later nominated on October 20, 1927 to be the vice president over the states of Utah, Nevada, California and Arizona.
In 1929, the Wattis Brothers spearheaded the formation of Six Companies
Six Companies
Six Companies, Inc. was a joint venture of construction companies that was formed to build the Hoover Dam across the Colorado River in Nevada and Arizona....
to build the Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam, once known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the US states of Arizona and Nevada. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President...
, which was the largest construction project ever tackled by the US Government up to that time. W.H. was elected as the Six Companies' first President.
Death
On March 23, 1931, Time Magazine wrote:However, he did not live to see Hoover Dam completed; W.H. Wattis died in California, on September 13, 1931 of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
. Shortly before his death on June 9, 1931, the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
honored him with a Doctorate of Law degree.
Wattis loved life, family and friends. He was an avid golfer, hunter and traveler.
Sources
- Alta Club Photograph Collection, box 3, 235 W.H. Wattis, University of Utah Library Collection
- Arrington, Leonard J. Beet Sugar in the West: a History of the Utah-Idaho Sugar Company 1891-1966, p. 95-97, 109.
- Davis County Clipper
- Sessions, Sterling and Gene. History of Utah International: From Construction to Mining
Stevens, Joseph E. Hoover Dam: An American Adventure
- Inside the Hoover Dam Scrapbooks, WSU, Special Collections
- Powell, Allan Kent. Labor at the Beginning of the 20th Century: Carbon County, Utah Coal Fields, 1900 to 1905
- New York Times, June 28, 1911 / May 25, 1920
- Ogden Standard Examiner
- Time Magazine
- University of Nevada, Las Vegas Special Collections
- Utah State Historical Society
- Weber State University Special Collection and Archive departments
- Photo of W. H. and E. O. Wattis
- Western Mining and Railroad Museum, Helper, Utah
- Generous donations made to numerous universities in Utah, Nevada, California and Idaho by the Wattis family
Article originated by Stephanie Stander Combe, WSU research fellow for the Utah Construction Company, Summer 2007