Baker, Charles H. (Charles Hinckley), 1864-

Born in 1864, civil engineer Charles H. Baker began working for Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railroad in 1887. After viewing 276-foot Snoqualmie Falls, Baker persuaded his father to finance his idea for a Snoqualmie Falls Power Company. His father, William T. Baker, was president of the Chicago Board of Trade and organizer of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. Work began in 1898 and the plant was opened in July, 1899. In 1908, the Snoqualmie Falls Power Company was sold to the Seattle-Tacoma Power Company, forerunner of Puget Sound Energy. The Commercial Club of Chicago was founded in 1877 by a small group of businessmen who wanted to help shape the development of Chicago. In the early 1900s, the club played an instrumental role in the development of an urban plan for the city. In 1907, the club commissioned internationally renowned architect and city planner Daniel H. Burnham to develop the plan, which was published in 1909 as the Plan of Chicago.

From the description of Snoqualmie Falls in harness: souvenir of the visit of the Commercial Club of Chicago, 1901 [graphic]. 1901. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 55526069

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