Edmund Orson Wattis, Jr
Encyclopedia
Utah Construction Company
The Utah Construction Company was a construction company founded by Edmund Orson Wattis, Jr, Warren L. Wattis and William. H. Wattis in 1900.-History:...
.
Wattis was born in Uintah
Uintah, Utah
Uintah is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States. The population was 1,127 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Ogden–Clearfield, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, Utah Territory
Utah Territory
The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah....
, the second of seven children born to Edmund Orson Wattis and Mary Jane Corey. Edmund was 21 when he left his home in Uinta to start a career in heavy construction, working on bed grading for the Canadian Pacific and Colorado Midlands. With his brother William, he formed a firm to lay track for the expanding railroads. The fledgling Wattis Brothers firm was wiped out in the Panic of 1893
Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression in the United States that began in 1893. Similar to the Panic of 1873, this panic was marked by the collapse of railroad overbuilding and shaky railroad financing which set off a series of bank failures...
. While William continued to try to find construction projects, Edmund focused his energies on running a sheep ranch the brothers had established in the Weber Valley
Weber County, Utah
Weber County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah, occupying a stretch of the Wasatch Front, part of the eastern shores of Great Salt Lake, and much of the rugged Wasatch Mountains. As of the 2000 census, the population was 196,533, an increase of 24.1% over its population in 1990. By...
. This ranch would later provide the financial strength for the large construction projects to come.
In 1900, the Wattis Brothers again tried their hand as partners in contracting. They founded the Utah Construction Company
Utah Construction Company
The Utah Construction Company was a construction company founded by Edmund Orson Wattis, Jr, Warren L. Wattis and William. H. Wattis in 1900.-History:...
. A short four years after its founding, Utah Construction Company
Utah Construction Company
The Utah Construction Company was a construction company founded by Edmund Orson Wattis, Jr, Warren L. Wattis and William. H. Wattis in 1900.-History:...
was awarded the contract to build the Feather River
Feather River
The Feather River is the principal tributary of the Sacramento River, in the Sacramento Valley of Northern California. The river's main stem is about long. Its length to its most distant headwater tributary is about . Its drainage basin is about...
route between Oakland
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
and Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
. This $60 million contract was challenging, but after five years, very profitable. The Feather River
Feather River
The Feather River is the principal tributary of the Sacramento River, in the Sacramento Valley of Northern California. The river's main stem is about long. Its length to its most distant headwater tributary is about . Its drainage basin is about...
route was complete for the Western Pacific Railroad in 1911. The Utah Construction Company
Utah Construction Company
The Utah Construction Company was a construction company founded by Edmund Orson Wattis, Jr, Warren L. Wattis and William. H. Wattis in 1900.-History:...
thrived, and soon captured a large share of the tunneling, grading, and track projects in the rapidly expanding railroads in the mountain west. Seeing the end of railroad expansion, the Wattis Brothers looked for ways to diversify their construction risks.
Edmund Wattis married Martha Ann Bybee on June 25, 1879. They had five daughters and three sons.
In 1917, Utah Construction Company
Utah Construction Company
The Utah Construction Company was a construction company founded by Edmund Orson Wattis, Jr, Warren L. Wattis and William. H. Wattis in 1900.-History:...
was awarded the seven million dollar O'Shaughnessy Dam
O'Shaughnessy Dam
The O'Shaughnessy Dam is a curved gravity dam on the Tuolumne River in the Hetch Hetchy Valley of California's Sierra Nevada. The dam is located in Yosemite National Park, and creates the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. It is named for former San Francisco chief engineer and the original chief engineer of...
contract, a controversial project that impounds the Tuolumne River
Tuolumne River
The Tuolumne River is a California river that flows nearly from the central Sierra Nevada to the San Joaquin River in the Central Valley...
in the Hetch Hetchy Valley
Hetch Hetchy Valley
Hetch Hetchy Valley is a glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in California. It is currently completely flooded by O'Shaughnessy Dam, forming the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. The Tuolumne River fills the reservoir. Upstream from the valley lies the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne. The reservoir...
of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
's Sierra Nevada mountains. Success with the O'Shaughnessy Dam
O'Shaughnessy Dam
The O'Shaughnessy Dam is a curved gravity dam on the Tuolumne River in the Hetch Hetchy Valley of California's Sierra Nevada. The dam is located in Yosemite National Park, and creates the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. It is named for former San Francisco chief engineer and the original chief engineer of...
convinced the Wattis Brothers to bid on more dam projects. In 1922, Utah Construction Company
Utah Construction Company
The Utah Construction Company was a construction company founded by Edmund Orson Wattis, Jr, Warren L. Wattis and William. H. Wattis in 1900.-History:...
formed a partnership with the Morrison-Knudsen Company of Boise, Idaho. With Frank Crowe
Frank Crowe
Francis Trenholm Crowe was the chief engineer of the Hoover Dam. During that time, he was the superintendent of Six Companies, the construction company that oversaw the construction project....
as the chief engineer, the MK UC partnership successfully built dams throughout the American west.
In 1931, the Wattis Brothers spearheaded the formation of Six Companies
Six Companies
Six Companies, Inc. was a joint venture of construction companies that was formed to build the Hoover Dam across the Colorado River in Nevada and Arizona....
to build the Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam, once known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the US states of Arizona and Nevada. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President...
which was the largest construction project ever tackled by the US Government up to the time. He did not live to see it completed though; after serving as chairman of Six Companies
Six Companies
Six Companies, Inc. was a joint venture of construction companies that was formed to build the Hoover Dam across the Colorado River in Nevada and Arizona....
E.O. Wattis died in his Ogden, Utah
Ogden, Utah
Ogden is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States. Ogden serves as the county seat of Weber County. The population was 82,825 according to the 2010 Census. The city served as a major railway hub through much of its history, and still handles a great deal of freight rail traffic which makes it a...
home on February 3, 1934 of a heart attack.