Chester Rowell
Chester A. Rowell | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 17, 1844 |
| Died | May 9, 1912 |
| Parent(s) | Jonathan B. Rowell, Cynthia Hay Abbott Rowell |
Dr. Chester A. Rowell (Oct. 17, 1844 - May 9, 1912) was a Fresno physician, California state senator (1880-1882, 1899-1901, 1903–1905), University of California regent (1891-1912), and mayor of Fresno (1909-1912).
Before moving to California, Dr. Rowell was a Union soldier in the Civil War.[1] He took part in several battles between 1861 and 1864, including the Battle of Shiloh and the Siege of Vicksburg.[2]
Dr. Rowell arrived in Fresno in 1874 to practice medicine. In September 1876, he established the Fresno Republican newspaper. It was purchased by and eventually merged into the present-day Fresno Bee.
In 1879 he was elected to the state senate in California as a Republican. The county was heavily Democratic at the time, and Rowell was the first Republican to win an election in Fresno County.[2]
In 1912 he received an overwhelming share of the vote to win the mayoral election.[3]
Rowell commissioned the construction of Fresno's first skyscraper, now known as the Rowell building. It is six stories tall and located in downtown Fresno at the southeast corner of Tulare and Van Ness streets.[4]
In 1914, Fresno commissioned Haig Patigian to create a memorial sculpture. The base of the memorial contains a relief where Rowell is shown seated at a patient's bedside. It can be found in the Fresno County Courthouse park, across the street from the Rowell family home in downtown Fresno.[5]
References
- ^ "Regents of the University of California". Retrieved 10 October 2014.
- ^ a b Guinn, James Miller (1905). History of the State of California and Biographical Record of the San Joaquin Valley, California. Chapman Publishing Company. p. 1591.
- ^ "Dr. Chester Rowell Is Elected Fresno's Mayor". No. Vol. 105, #134. San Francisco Call. 13 April 1909. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
{{cite news}}:|issue=has extra text (help) - ^ Reynolds, John; Semas, Michael J. (2013). Fresno. Arcadia Publishing. p. 47. ISBN 0738596205.
- ^ "Fresno County Courthouse Park Walking Tour". Retrieved 10 October 2014.
 | This article about a California politician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- California Republicans
- 1844 births
- 1912 deaths
- Mayors of Fresno, California
- University of California regents
- California State Senators
- Physicians from New Hampshire
- American newspaper founders
- People of New Hampshire in the American Civil War
- Union Army soldiers
- 19th-century American politicians
- California politician stubs