"Colonel" Ed Fletcher (December 31, 1872 – October 15, 1955) was a real estate developer and

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

and Democratic

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

from

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

. Fletcher was born 1872 in Littleton, Massachusetts, son of Charles Kimball Fletcher. His family moved to

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

and

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, where he attended school. In 1888 Fletcher, age 15, came to

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

alone, and with $6.10 in his pocket began selling 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 J. Gross, silent film actor and producer. That partnership developed Grossmont, Mt. Helix, and

Del Mar Del Mar is Spanish for "of the sea" or "from the sea". It may refer to: Places in the United States * Del Mar, California * Del Mar High School, located in San Jose, California * Del Mar racetrack, located in Del Mar, California * Del Mar Fai ...

. Fletcher donated land on Mt. Helix where Easter Sunrise services are held. In 1907, Fletcher was appointed Lieutenant Colonel of the

California National Guard The California National Guard is part of the National Guard of the United States, a dual federal-state military reserve force. The CA National Guard has three components: the CA Army National Guard, CA Air National Guard, and CA State 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 , photo = Salton Sea from Space.jpg , photo_caption = The Imperial Valley below the Salton Sea. The US-Mexican border runs diagonally across the lower left of the image. , map_image = Newriverwatershed-1-.jpg , map_caption = Map of Imperial ...

, thence a plank road across the desert to

Yuma, Arizona Yuma ( coc, Yuum) is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. The city's population was 93,064 at the 2010 census, up from the 2000 census population of 77,515. Yuma is the principal city of the Yuma, Arizona, M ...

. 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 Lake Hodges is a lake and reservoir located within the city limits of San Diego, California. It is about north of Downtown San Diego, just north of the Rancho Bernardo community, and just south of the city's border with Escondido. When full, th ...

. Fletcher and Montana businessman James A. Murray purchased the San Diego Flume Company on June 1, 1910, renaming it the Cuyamaca Water Company. Fletcher and Murray owned and operated the company for 15 years, making or planning improvements to the water system of

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the f ...

including the construction of the San Vicente Dam and Reservoir, among others. Fletcher was a director of the Panama-California Exposition (1915) and

California Pacific International Exposition (1935) The California Pacific International Exposition was an exposition held in San Diego, California during May 29, 1935–November 11, 1935 and February 12, 1936–September 9, 1936. The exposition was held in Balboa Park, San Diego's large c ...

. 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. He authored laws creating the San Diego County Water Authority and transferring ownership of Mission Bay to the city. While in the Senate he was able to acquire for San Diego a heroic statue of

Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

, donated to the state in 1939 by the government of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and claimed by both San Diego and Oakland. Fletcher personally "kidnapped" the statue from its storage in a garage at a private residence in Oakland; the statue is now on display at

Cabrillo National Monument Cabrillo National Monument ( es, Monumento nacional Cabrillo) is at the southern tip of the Point Loma Peninsula in San Diego, California, United States. It commemorates the landing of Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo at San Diego Bay on September 2 ...

. Fletcher married Mary C. Batchelder April 8, 1896 at

Ayer, Massachusetts Ayer () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Originally part of Groton, it was incorporated February 14, 1871, and became a major commercial railroad junction. The town was home to Camp Stevens, a training camp for Massa ...

. They had ten children: Catherine, Edward Jr., Congressman

Charles K. Fletcher Charles Kimball Fletcher (December 15, 1902 – September 29, 1985) was an American banker and United States Republican Party, Republican politician from San Diego, California. Early life Fletcher was born 1902 to "Colonel" Ed Fletcher and ...

, Lawrence, Willis, Stephen, Ferdinand, Mary Louise, Eugene, and Virginia. Fletcher died in 1955 in San Diego.

Recognition

Ed Fletcher's legacy includes a number of landmarks in the San Diego area. These include: *Fletcher Parkway in La Mesa, * Fletcher Hills in

El Cajon El Cajon ( , ; Spanish: El Cajón, meaning "the box") is a city in San Diego County, California, United States, east of downtown San Diego. The city takes its name from Rancho El Cajón, which was in turn named for the box-like shape of the va ...

*Fletcher Chimes of

Hardy Memorial Tower Hardy Memorial Tower at San Diego State University, constructed as a Works Progress Administration project in 1931, is 11 stories (119.1 ft / 36.3 m) tall; it contains the Fletcher Symphonic Carillon (also known as the Fletcher Chimes) (instal ...

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

*Fletcher Cove in

Solana Beach Solana Beach (''Solana'', Spanish for "warm wind") is a coastal city in San Diego County, California. Its population was at 12,941 at the 2020 U.S. Census, up from 12,867 at the 2010 Census. History The area was first settled by the San Dieg ...

*Fletcher Point on the southern shore of

Colonel Fletcher Building

The Fletcher Building, located at Sixth and Broadway in San Diego, housed the Barnett-Stine department store and later the

Owl Drug Company The Owl Drug Company was an American drugstore retailer with its headquarters in San Francisco. It was a subsidiary of Rexall stores at its peak in the 1920s through 1940s. The company sold medicines and pills, and later ventured into cosmetics, pe ...

, was built by Fletcher in 1906 along with Frank Salmans, and designed by Edward Quayle. it was being remodeled by Champion Development Group.

References

* *, vol. 1, pp. 346–350:
Roads, by Ed Fletcher
; and vol. 2, pp. 128–132:
Ed Fletcher
, includes portrait. * Biography. Also has biography of his wife. *, pp. 27–47:
A Colony for Artists: 1902-1917
; photos.

Notes

External links

(San Diego Historical Society). Based on Heilbron's biography (above)

MSS 81
Special Collections & Archives
UC San Diego Library.
Join California Edward Fletcher
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fletcher, Ed California state senators Politicians from San Diego 1872 births 1955 deaths Businesspeople from San Diego California Republicans California Democrats People from Littleton, Massachusetts 20th-century American politicians