Frank Joseph Hecker (July 6, 1846 – June 26, 1927) was an American businessman in the

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

-car manufacturing business. Hecker was from

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, Michigan.

Early life

Frank J. Hecker was born in Freedom, Michigan (in

Washtenaw County Washtenaw County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the population was 372,258. The county seat and largest city is Ann Arbor. The county was authorized by legislation in 1822 and organized as a county ...

) on July 6, 1846.Colonel Frank Hecker House
from the National Park Service His family moved to Waterloo, Illinois in 1859, where Frank was educated. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, he joined the Union Army in 1864, and was appointed

first sergeant First sergeant is typically a senior non-commissioned officer rank, used in many countries. Singapore First sergeant is a Specialist (Singapore), specialist in the Singapore Armed Forces. First sergeants are the most senior of the junior spe ...

Business

After the conclusion of the Civil War, he was hired on as an agent for the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

. In the 1870s, a group of investors from Detroit decided to build a rail line near

Logansport, Indiana Logansport is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, Indiana, United States. The population was 18,366 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Logansport is located in northern Indiana at the junction of the Wabash River, Wabash an ...

; they hired Hecker to manage their project.Charles Lang Freer Home
from Detroit1701.org Hecker took on the project, taking a younger

Charles Lang Freer Charles Lang Freer (February 25, 1854 – September 25, 1919) was an American industrialist, art collector, and patron. He is known for his large collection of Asian art, East Asian, Visual art of the United States, American, and Middle Eastern a ...

with him. Although the project fell through, the Detroit investors were pleased with Hecker's work and invited him to Detroit. There, in 1879, Hecker and Freer organized the Peninsular Car Works, which in 1884 was renamed into the Peninsular Car Company. Hecker was president of both companies, and business made both Hecker and Freer wealthy.Hecker Home
from Detroit1701.org. Hecker also was on boards of the Detroit Copper and Brass Rolling Mills, Michigan Fire and Marine Insurance Company, and the Detroit Lumber Company.

Politics

Hecker was appointed Police Commissioner in 1888. He unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 1892, and was later a delegate to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15 ...

.The Political Graveyard
/ref> During the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

, Hecker joined the Army once more, where he was put in charge of transporting Spanish prisoners. In 1899, he was commissioned as a colonel. This service brought him to the attention of President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

, who in 1904 appointed Hecker to the

Panama Canal Commission The Panama Canal Zone (), also known as just the Canal Zone, was a concession of the United States located in the Isthmus of Panama that existed from 1903 to 1979. It consisted of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending on each side o ...

Home

Hecker is perhaps best known for the construction of the

Col. Frank J. Hecker House The Col. Frank J. Hecker House is a historic home in Detroit built in 1888 for local businessman and railroad-car manufacturer Colonel Frank J. Hecker. Located at 5510 M-1 (Michigan highway), Woodward Avenue, it was designated a Michigan State Hi ...

, located on

Woodward Avenue A woodward is a Game warden, warden of a wood. Woodward may also refer to: Places ;United States * Woodward, Iowa * Woodward, Oklahoma * Woodward, Pennsylvania, a census-designated place * Woodward Avenue, a street in Tallahassee, Florida, which b ...

in Detroit. The mansion is on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

's home is next door. In 1868, Hecker married Anna M. Williamson of

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

. The couple had five children: Frank Clarence, Anna Cynthia, Louise May, Christian Henry, and Grace Clara. Frank Hecker died from heart failure at his home in Detroit on June 26, 1927, and was buried at

Woodlawn Cemetery Woodlawn Cemetery is the name of several cemeteries, including: Canada * Woodlawn Cemetery (Saskatoon) * Woodlawn Cemetery (Nova Scotia) United States ''(by state then city or town)'' * Woodlawn Cemetery (Ocala, Florida), where Isaac Rice and fa ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hecker, Frank J. 1846 births 1927 deaths American people in rail transportation Businesspeople from Detroit American manufacturing businesspeople Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Detroit)