Lucius Pond Ordway
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Lucius Pond Ordway (January 21, 1862 – January 10, 1948) was an American businessman prominent in
St. Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...
,
Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
whose investments and leadership helped create the modern 3M corporation.


Early life

Ordway was the son of Aaron Lucius Ordway (1822-1903), a businessman from a family long settled in and near
Essex County, Massachusetts Essex County is a County (United States), county in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the total population was 809,829, making it the third-most populous county in the stat ...
, and Frances Ellen Hanson (1831-1873). His father was a coal and iron dealer and salesman during Ordway's childhood, but by 1883 had become a business executive for the wealthy Sayles family of Rhode Island. His uncle John Pond Ordway (1824-1880) was a well-known composer and music publisher of the Civil War era. ("Pond" was the maiden name of their grandmother, Catherine Pond Ordway (1787-1851).) His brother Samuel Hanson Ordway (1860-1934) graduated from Brown University and Harvard Law School and became a prominent New York City lawyer and civil service reformer; he married painter Frances Hunt Throop in 1894. Lucius was born
Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
; graduated from Brown in 1883 and went west to
St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...
to find work. He became a salesman for the firm of Wilson and Rogers, which sold tools and plumbing supplies.


Career

By 1892 he had become a partner in the firm and then bought out his remaining partner, Charles Rogers. In 1893 he merged the firm with some of the Minneapolis manufacturing interests of
Richard Teller Crane Richard Teller Crane I (May 15, 1832 – January 8, 1912) was the founder of R.T. Crane & Bro., a Chicago-based manufacturer, later Crane Co. Biography Richard T. Crane was born on May 15, 1832, in Paterson, New Jersey (on the Tottoway Road ...
to create Crane & Ordway. By 1897 they were the leading manufacturer of steam engine parts in the region. Ordway had become a wealthy man and he made several outside investments. In 1908 he bought property in St. Paul and constructed
The Saint Paul Hotel The Saint Paul Hotel is a landmark hotel in downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. It was built in 1910 overlooking Rice Park during the "First Great Age" of skyscraper construction. The Renaissance revival style building was one of th ...
, opened with much fanfare in 1910. But his most significant investment was the money that he put into the infant and seemingly ill-fated Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, now known as 3M. From 1904 to 1906 Ordway sunk more than $200,000 in the floundering enterprise and then became the company president from 1906 to 1910. In 1910 he moved the company's headquarters to St. Paul and built a new sandpaper plant there where he could watch over his investment. The company started to turn a profit during World War I and Ordway's share of the company became the source of a considerable family fortune. By the 1930s Ordway owned a villa in
Palm Beach, Florida Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from West Palm Beach, Florida, West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach, Florida, ...
, designed by fashionable architect
Maurice Fatio Maurice Fatio (1897–1943) was a Switzerland, Swiss-born United States, American architect. Biography Maurice Fatio was born in Geneva, Switzerland, on March 18th, 1897, originating from a prominent family. He graduated from the Polytechnical S ...
. During World War I Ordway served on the Priorities Commission of the
War Industries Board The War Industries Board (WIB) was a United States government agency established on July 28, 1917, during World War I, to coordinate the purchase of war supplies between the War Department (Department of the Army) and the Navy Department. Becaus ...
.


Private life and family

Ordway married Jesse Cornwell Gilman (1864-1944) on April 29, 1885; she was the daughter of
John M. Gilman John Melvin Gilman (September 7, 1824 – September 26, 1906) was an American politician and lawyer. Born in Calais, Vermont, Gilman was admitted to the Vermont bar in 1846. He moved to New Lisbon, Ohio in 1846 and practiced law. He served i ...
, a prominent St. Paul lawyer and Democratic politician. They had five children: John Gilman Ordway (1886-1966), Samuel Gilman Ordway (1887-1942), Lucius Pond Ordway Jr. (1890-1964), Katharine Ordway (1899-1979), and Richard Ordway (1903-1976). Lucius Jr., a stockbroker, owned the
West Palm Beach Indians The West Palm Beach Indians were a minor league baseball team based in West Palm Beach, Florida. The team played its home games at Connie Mack Field. History Through its existence, the Indians were mostly an independent team playing in the Flori ...
minor league baseball team at one point; the Ordway Building, part of a cluster of buildings at
Florida Southern College Florida Southern College (Florida Southern, Southern or FSC) is a private college in Lakeland, Florida. In 2019, the student population at FSC consisted of 3,073 students along with 130 full-time faculty members. It offers undergraduate, gradua ...
designed by
Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...
, is named in his honor. Katherine Ordway studied botany and late in her life gave millions of dollars to purchase and preserve undeveloped land, principally Midwestern prairies. The Ordway family were friends with
F. Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940), widely known simply as Scott Fitzgerald, was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and exces ...
. The Ordways' first home, at 257 Summit Avenue in St. Paul, was designed by architect
Cass Gilbert Cass Gilbert (November 24, 1859 – May 17, 1934) was an American architect. An early proponent of Early skyscrapers, skyscrapers, his works include the Woolworth Building, the United States Supreme Court building, the state capitols of Minneso ...
, a personal friend of Lucius'. Lucius Ordway himself was an avid sailor, being one of the founders and the first commodore of the White Bear Yacht Club. He owned a Gus Amundson 20-foot boat named "Mahto" with which he won that division in the 1898 Inland Lake Yachting Association Regatta. He purchased another Gus Amundson boat, the "Minnesota", and raced it unsuccessfully in the 1900 race for the Seewanhaka Cup. In 1904 he again raced in the Seewanhaka Cup race, this time with a boat named "White Bear" designed by
Bowdoin B. Crowninshield Bowdoin Bradlee Crowninshield (October 13, 1867 – August 12, 1948) was an American naval architect who specialized in the design of racing yachts. Early life Crowninshield was born on October 13, 1867, in New York City. He grew up in Marblehea ...
, leading for much of the race. Ordway died at his son Lucius Jr.'s home in Palm Beach, Florida, on January 10, 1948."Lucius P. Ordway Sr. Dies at Son's Home", ''The Palm Beach Post'', January 12, 1948, p. 1


Legacy

The
Ordway Center for the Performing Arts The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, in downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota, hosts a variety of performing arts, such as touring Broadway musicals, orchestra, opera, and cultural performers, and produces local musicals. It is home to several l ...
in St. Paul was built largely with Ordway family money and was named in his honor. Katherine Ordway gave money for
The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in ...
's Lucius Pond Ordway Devil's Den Preserve in
Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
and named it for her father.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ordway, Lucius Pond 1862 births 1948 deaths 19th-century male tennis players Businesspeople from Brooklyn Brown University alumni Businesspeople from Saint Paul, Minnesota 3M people American male tennis players American male sailors (sport)