Warren A. Bechtel

Warren Abraham Bechtel (September 12, 1872 – August 28, 1933) was the founder of the Bechtel Corporation, the largest construction company in the United States as of 2017.[1]

Warren Abraham Bechtel
BornSeptember 12, 1872
Freeport, Illinois, US
DiedAugust 28, 1933(1933-08-28) (aged 60)
Moscow, Soviet Union
Cause of deathAccidental insulin overdose
Resting placeMountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California
NationalityAmerican
OccupationBusinessman
Spouse(s)Clara Alice West (1873–1941)
Children4, including Stephen D. Bechtel Sr. and Kenneth K. Bechtel
Bechtel mausoleum. Mountain View Cemetery, Oakland, California.

Biography

Early life

Warren was born September 12, 1872 in Freeport, Illinois, as the fifth child of Elizabeth and John Moyer Bechtel in a family of two boys and five girls.[2] In 1891, Warren graduated from Peabody High School in Peabody, Kansas.[3] In 1897, Warren married Clara Alice West, from Aurora, Indiana, whom he met while she previously visited her uncle (E.F. Davison) in Peabody.[4]

Career

In 1898, Bechtel and his wife moved from their farm near Peabody, Kansas, to the Oklahoma Territory to construct railroads with his own team of mules.[5][6] Bechtel moved his family frequently between construction sites around the western United States for the next several years, eventually moving to Oakland, California in 1904, where he worked as the superintendent on the Western Pacific Railroad.[5] In 1906, W. A. Bechtel won his first subcontract to build part of the Oroville-to-Oakland section of the Western Pacific Railroad.[5] That same year, he bought his own steam shovel, becoming a pioneer of the new technology.[7][8] He painted "W.A. Bechtel Co." on the side of the steam shovel, effectively establishing Bechtel as a company, though it was not yet incorporated.[6]

Over the next 20 years, Bechtel built a sizable contracting business that specialized in railroad and highway building. One of Bechtel's earliest major contracts was grading the site of the Oroville, California depot for the Western Pacific Railroad, then under construction. In 1919, Warren Bechtel and his partners (including his brother Arthur) built the Klamath Highway in California, and in 1921 Warren Bechtel partners won a contract to build the water tunnels for the Caribou Hydroelectric Facility in that state. In 1925, Warren, his sons Warren Jr, Stephen, Kenneth (Ken), and his brother Arthur (Art) joined to incorporate as W.A. Bechtel Company. In 1926, the new company won its first major contract, the Bowman Lake dam in Nevada County, California. The firm would later partnership with other companies to form Six Companies, Inc. to help engineer the famous Hoover Dam over the Colorado River, still considered the largest civil engineering project in U.S. history.

Death

Bechtel died of an accidental insulin overdose while on a business visit to Moscow, Soviet Union in 1933.[9]

Legacy

His son, Stephen D. Bechtel Sr., took over the firm upon his father's death.

Today, the Bechtel Corporation is still owned and operated by the Bechtel family. Its current CEO is Brendan Bechtel.

References
  1. "ENR 2017 Top 400 Contractors 1-100". www.enr.com. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  2. Obituary of John M. Bechtel; Peabody Gazette; February 11, 1915.
  3. List of Peabody High School Alumni from 1881 to 1913; The Gazette; May 21, 1914.
  4. Marriage announcement of Bechtel-West; Peabody Gazette-Herald; January 28, 1897.
  5. Donald E. Wolf (2010). Big Dams and Other Dreams: The Six Companies Story. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0806141626. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
  6. Michael Hiltzik (2011). Colossus: The Turbulent, Thrilling Saga of the Building of Hoover Dam. Free Press. ISBN 978-1416532170. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
  7. Reinhardt Krause (September 14, 2004). "He Built It -- And They Came; Be Diligent: Bechtel's hard work powered his drive to build the frontier". Investor's Business Daily. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  8. Robert Wright (October 3, 1973). "Company, 75, Still Is Family-Owned; Director of Companies Corporate Profile: Family-Owned Bechtel Is a World Builder at the Age of 75 Steamshovel Pioneer". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
  9. Announcement of death of Warren Bechtel; Peabody Gazette-Herald; August 31, 1933.
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