Aldwell, Thomas T., 1868-1954

Thomas Theobald Aldwell, born in Toronto on June 14, 1868, was trained as a banker and became a public official, businessman, power company executive, and civic leader. In 1890 he moved to Port Angeles, Washington, where he became a successful real estate investor and between 1894 and 1908 served as Clallam County auditor, deputy customs collector, and chairman of the Clallam County Republican Party. Aldwell founded (and was the vice president and general manager of) the Olympic Power and Development Company, whose earnings funded Aldwell's dream project, the building of a dam on the Elwha River. The Elwha Dam was completed in 1913 and provided power to Port Angeles, Port Townsend, and the Bremerton Navy Yard. Aldwell was president of the Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce and the district's first port commissioner; he also was a leader in the fight to return some of Olympic National Park's land to the national forests. At age 82 he published his autobiography, "Conquering the Last Frontier." Aldwell died several years later in 1954.

From the description of Thomas T. Aldwell scrapbooks, 1893-1944. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 263979346

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