Arthur T. Walker Estate Corporation

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The Arthur T. Walker Estate Corporation was an American holding company based in Kittanning . The company has its origins in one of the greatest inheritances of the 1920s.

history

In 1887 the architect Edward F. Searles married the widow of the shareholder of the Central Pacific Railroad , Mark Hopkins . Mary Frances Hopkins was considered one of the richest women in the world at the time. Mary Hopkins died in 1891, leaving Searles with a fortune of approximately $ 30,000,000.

Searles invested the money in the construction of railroads and coal mines, including the Brookville and Mahoning Railroad founded on July 21, 1903 (later renamed Pittsburg and Shawmut Railroad ). Their mining company Allegheny River Mining Company was founded in 1907 and operated coal mines along the railway line, while the Pittsburgh and Shawmut Coal Company was responsible for sales.

In 1920 Searles died, leaving almost all of its fortune (around $ 50 million) to his private secretary, Arthur T. Walker. Searle's nephew brought an action against the will, which was dismissed in early 1927. Arthur T. Walker himself died on August 7, 1927. His seven siblings inherited the entire property.

In order not to split the ownership of the railway company and the other companies (also known as Shawmut Companies) between the heirs and possibly create the possibility of a hostile takeover, the community of heirs was founded on January 27, 1930 as the Arthur T. Walker Estate Corporation. As a result, the company acted as a kind of holding company. However, the leading company in the group was the railway company.

As part of a reorganization of the railway company, the Shawmut Development Corporation was founded in 1957 for property development and marketing.

In 1966 the heirs sold the shares to a group of investors supported by the Dumaine Trust ( Amoskeag Company ) (American Australian Fund) under the direction of J. Harold Stewart. On February 1, 1970, the Dumaine Family Foundations took full control of the Arthur T. Walker Estate Corporation.

With the decline in coal and steel production in the northeastern United States, the profitability of the coal mines declined, so they closed in the early 1970s.

The railway company and the land development company operated economically. In particular, the marketing of the disused coal mines benefited the business of Shawmut Development Corporation.

In 1988, the Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad was founded together with Genesee and Wyoming . In 1990 and 1991, two subsidiaries of Pittsburg & Shawmut were organized with the Red Bank Railroad and the Mountain Laurel Railroad. In 1996, Genesee and Wyoming took over the Pittsburg and Shawmut Railroad. The Arthur T. Walker Estate Corporation's assets were largely sold, so that no active business is currently taking place.

subsidiary company

  • Pittsburg and Shawmut Railroad (1903-1996)
  • Shawmut Development Corporation (since 1957)
  • Walker Management Company (served as a consulting and operations management company)

Corporate management

From 1972 Clarence A. Dobson was President and Chief Operating Officer. Until his retirement in 1991 he still sat on the board of directors.

The last chairman of the board was Walter E. Travis. He also worked for the Dumaine Trust. The last president was Arthur Bush.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 17 Oct 1907, 4 - The Jeffersonian-Democrat at Newspapers.com. Accessed March 26, 2019 .
  2. ↑ 17 Aug 1927, 5 - The Windsor Star at Newspapers.com. Accessed March 26, 2019 .
  3. ^ Open Corporates. Retrieved March 25, 2019 .
  4. ^ Clearfield Progress Newspaper Archives, Dec 22, 1966, p. 5. Retrieved March 25, 2019 .
  5. ↑ 16 Dec 1966, Page 1 - Simpson's Leader-Times at Newspapers.com. Accessed March 26, 2019 .
  6. ↑ 5 Aug 1988, Page 11 - Democrat and Chronicle at Newspapers.com. Retrieved March 25, 2019 .