Leonor Fresnel Loree was an executive of railroads in the United States.

• Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
  Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
  The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
  
  : president 1901 - 1904
• Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad
  Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad
  The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock.-Incorporation:...
  
   president - 1904
• Kansas City Southern Railway
  Kansas City Southern Railway
  The Kansas City Southern Railway , owned by Kansas City Southern Industries, is the smallest and second-oldest Class I railroad company still in operation. KCS was founded in 1887 and is currently operating in a region consisting of ten central U.S. states...
  
  : president 1918 - 1920
• Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad
  Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad
  The Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad was incorporated May 23, 1870. In its earliest days the MKT was commonly referred to as "the K-T", which was its stock exchange symbol; this common designation soon evolved into "the Katy"....
  
  : chairman 1926 - 1928
• Delaware and Hudson Railroad: president 1907 - 1938

Loree was born on April 23, 1858, at Fulton City, Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

, the son of William Mulford and Sarah Elizabeth Marsh Loree. He died September 6, 1940, at West Orange, New Jersey

West Orange, New Jersey

West Orange is a township in central Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 46,207...

. He obtained a Bachelor of Science

Bachelor of Science

A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...

 degree from Rutgers College in 1877, a Master of Science

Master of Science

A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...

 from Rutgers in 1880, Civil Engineering

Civil engineering

Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...

 degree from Rutgers in 1896 and a Doictor of Law degree from Rutgers in 1917. He also obtained a Doctor of Engineering

Doctor of Engineering

The Doctor of Engineering is an academic degree awarded on the basis of advanced study and research in engineering or applied sciences...

 degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Stephen Van Rensselaer established the Rensselaer School on November 5, 1824 with a letter to the Rev. Dr. Samuel Blatchford, in which van Rensselaer asked Blatchford to serve as the first president. Within the letter he set down several orders of business. He appointed Amos Eaton as the school's...

 in 1933. He was President of the Delaware & Hudson Railroad; had interests in Kansas City Southern, Baltimore and Ohio, New York Central, and the Rock Island Railroads. Was a Trustee at Rutgers University

Rutgers University

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...

 from 1909–1940 and was Chairmain of the Rutgers Board of Trustees Committee on New Jersey College for Women (now Douglass College) until 1938. He was the donor of the New Jersey College for Women Athletic Field (which is now Antilles Field). Rutgers has a building named after Leonor Fresnel Loree. The Loree Building was erected in 1963 and is on the Cook/Douglass campus. More information about Loree including a picture can be found in the book "New Jersey - A History" Volume 5 which is available in the Rutgers University Special Collections and University Archives. There is also information on Loree in the book "Who's Who in New Jersey" from 1939.
This information was provided to me, a living descendant of Leonor F. Loree, by Rutgers University. If there are any further questions, please feel free to contact me at: aqualynaz@yahoo.com

In 1923, Loree was a principal founder of The Newcomen Society in North America

Newcomen Society of the United States

The Newcomen Society of the United States was a non-profit educational foundation for "the study and recognition of achievement in American business and the society it serves." It was responsible for more than 1,600 individual histories of organizations, from corporations to colleges, which were...

, a learned society

Learned society

A learned society is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline/profession, as well a group of disciplines. Membership may be open to all, may require possession of some qualification, or may be an honor conferred by election, as is the case with the oldest learned societies,...

 promoting engineering, technology and free enterprise.

Historical contributions

The New Jersey College For Women- There is quite the history behind this particular college. To fully explain the pivotal role my great great Grandfather played in the creation of the New Jersey College For Women, I need to begin with World War One. At the outbreak of World War One in 1914, many wealthy Americans traveling in Europe were cut off from safe passage home including L. F. Loree. He himself, along with his family, were vacationing in the French Alps. Under many difficulties many other Americans faced that summer, my Great Great Grandfather and his family made their way through Switzerland to Genoa. Upon arrival, they found no prospects of ships or ships traveling to the United States. By cable, Leonor chartered the Southern Pacific Steamship "Antilles," in coastwise service at the time, to bring all of the 252 stranded Aimericans from Genoa that wanted to return home. There were many others that requested passage but the ship had already been re-equipped to provide accommodations to the largest number of people that could be carried aboard. The ship, on its way home, was crowded with all of the passengers. In fact it was so crowded that Grandfather Loree and half a dozen other men slept on benches in the pilot house. After returning the Americans home, the ship was used by the government as a mode of transportation until the day it was out of commission. My grandfather, at the time, had the idea of starting a college for women. As a Trustee for Rutgers University, he finally was able to sway the Board towards allowing him to establish one such college. The authorization, however, was approved upon the condition that no monies or funds would come from the Rutgers budget. This, of course, did not stop him. When my grandfather wanted something, he always found a way to make it happen. He placed Marie Katzenbach, wife of the State's Attorney General, as his secretary and also enlusted Mabel Smith Douglass, chosen to be the college's first Dean. Both ladies were able to gather considerable support and influence of the State Federation of Women Clubs, coincidentally an organization that Mrs. Katzenbach chaired. One year after returning to the states, the passengers of the "Antilles" had arranged for a dinner in Leonor's honor and wished to present him with the Antilles Bowl. Ever the opportunist, my grandfather asked to invite some friends. Of course, they gave their permission. Taking advantage, every guest he himself invited became past, present and future contributors to the college. At the dinner, the ballroom was filled to capacity when he approached the stage to make his acceptance speech. After giving the speech my grandfather gazed significantly at the bowl and stated, "Unacceptable! I want it returned full of money. The ladies at NJC need our help!" Of course, he got what he wanted. The bowl was returned to him with sizable checks from each guest in attendance. In recognition of their generosity, he asked that the athletic field at NJC which they helped him build be named Antilles Field. Ten years later in 1925, the field was dedicated.

"This is a helluva way to run a railroad!"

In 1906 a committee of creditors asked Leonor to take charge of the Kansas City Southern Railroad. At the time it was considered no more than "two streaks of rust, its engines lost steam the men were disheartened and the stations were shacks." After Mr. Loree gave his initial inspection, in a speech in front of the financial community, he ended his professional and technical description of the railroad line by stating, "This is a helluva way to run a railroad". Within three years after accepting the Chairmanship my Grandfather turned it into what they call a banner railroad of the Southwest. All information was provided to me by other family members and living descendants of Leonor F. Loree however the notes gathered and provided to me were written by one, Loree Collins on June 11, 1984.

Memorials

• The Loree Building at Rutgers University
  Rutgers University
  Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
  
   is named after him.
• There was a coal colliery named after him in Larksville, PA.
• There were several locomotives named after him.

External links

• Biographical Sketch