Joshua Green | |
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.jpg) Joshua Green as a young man | |
| Born | (1869-10-16)October 16, 1869 Jackson, Mississippi, U.S.[1] |
| Died | January 24, 1975(1975-01-24) (aged 105) Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Occupations | sternwheeler captain, businessman, banker |
Joshua Green (October 16, 1869 – January 24, 1975[2]) was an Americansternwheeler captain, businessman, and banker. He rose from being a seaman to being the dominant figure of thePuget Sound Mosquito Fleet, then sold out his interests and became a banker.[2][3][4] Living to the age of 105 and active in business almost to the end of his life, he became an invaluable source of information about the history ofSeattle and thePuget Sound region.[2][3][4] According toNard Jones, Green was one of the city of Seattle's last fluent speakers ofChinook Jargon, thepidgin trade language of thePacific Northwest.[5]
Born inMississippi, Joshua Green relocated with his family to the Puget Sound region ofWashington in 1886 when he was 17 years old. The family formed a connection with Seattle mayorBailey Gatzert, who helped Green begin his career.
Green worked as a chainman,surveying for theSeattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway, then on the sternwheeler Henry Bailey, a Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet vessel that also went up theSkagit River.[4] In late 1889, using a $5,000 loan from Seattle bankerJacob Furth, an associate of Gatzert's, Green and three fellow officers of theHenry Bailey purchased their own sternwheeler,[3][4] theFanny Lake[4] (orFannie Lake[3]).Bill Speidel describes it as "…a funny little thing… She looked like ascow with a big box, topped by a smaller box, topped by a deluxe model outhouse."[6]
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Green's innovative business practices[7] soon allowed him to become a fleet owner, president of what was named theLa Conner Trading and Transportation Company,[4] owning some rather more elegant vessels, such as thesidewheelerGeorge E. Starr.[8] He established Seattle's dominance of the Mosquito Fleet, relative toOlympia orTacoma,[9] which Speidel considers to be a key factor in Seattle's emerging and continued dominance of the Puget Sound region.[3] He continued to be a master and captain, serving on several of his own company's sternwheelers.[4]
The company survived several ship fires, as well as the Depression that followed thePanic of 1893, then prospered greatly in theKlondike Gold Rush, transporting miners and their gear toAlaska. Green continued to invest his profits. In 1903 he merged his firm withCharles E. Peabody's Alaska Steamship/Puget Sound Navigation Company, which soon brought the Mosquito Fleet to a new level. Ships were retrofitted to be able to carry automobiles, notably for theSeattle-Bremerton route.[4] From 1913, the company was known as thePuget Sound Navigation Company.[2][10]
In 1925, Green purchased the distressed Peoples Savings Bank forUS$200,000, and in 1927,[2][4] believing that the rise of the automobile limited the future of Puget Sound area water transport,[2][10] he resigned from the Puget Sound Navigation Company to dedicate himself fully to banking.[4] Puget Sound Navigation would continue to dominate Puget Sound transportation until it was bought out in 1951 by the state of Washington, as the centerpiece ofWashington State Ferries.[2][4]
He changed the name of the bank to Peoples Bank and Trust Co,[2][4] later People's National Bank of Washington.[11] Withbranch banking not allowed at the time, he began or acquired several other banks as wholly owned subsidiaries. In 1949, when he passed the presidency of the bank to his son Joshua Jr., deposits stood at $128 million. By 1969, when Joshua Green turned 100, deposits had reached $400 million. In 1988, the bank was purchased byU.S. Bancorp and renamed U.S. Bank of Washington.[2][4]
On April 24, 1901, Joshua Green married Laura Moore Turner,[12] from Winona, Mississippi.[13] They had three children, Bentonia, Francis, and Joshua, Jr.[12]
Joshua Green died at age 105 in Seattle in 1975.[2][4] His wife died at age 101, predeceasing him by three weeks.[14][15]
In 1968 Seattle named Green its "man of the century."[11]Joshua Green River andJoshua Green Peak, both inAlaska, are named after him.[11]
In 1966 theJoshua Green Fountain, by renowned sculptorGeorge Tsutakawa, was installed at the entry to Washington State Ferries' facility on the Seattle waterfront.
Green's residence (beginning in 1914, has become the Stimson-Green Mansion. It islisted on theNational Register of Historic Places[11] and hascity landmark status.[16] Green made few alterations to the 1901 house, and lived there until his death, making it one of the fewFirst Hill mansions to survive largely intact to the present time.[11] The house is now owned by the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation and is also used to host events.[17]
The Joshua Green Building, 1425 Fourth Avenue, Seattle, has city landmark status.[18] Still owned and managed by the Joshua Green Corporation,[19][20] the 1914 building[21] underwent major renovations in 2008–2009.[19]
The Joshua Green Foundation is focused on major capital campaigns of501 (c)(3) non-profit organizations headquartered and operating in the Seattle/King County area, primarily private secondary and higher education, social services and the arts.[22]
His family continues his business interests as the Joshua Green Corporation / Green Family Enterprises, operating numerous retail properties in the region and inSpokane, Washington,[23] as well as investing in "banking and insurance," and "diversified portfolios of managed equities." Reflecting Green's interests as a sportsman,[11] they also own several manufacturers offly fishing equipment.[24]
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