Philip Woolley

Philip Woolley (February 17, 1831 – June 12, 1912) was a Canadian American businessman for whom the city of Sedro-Woolley, Washington, is partly named.

Philip A. Woolley
Born(1831-02-17)February 17, 1831
Malone, New York
DiedJune 12, 1912(1912-06-12) (aged 81)
Sedro-Woolley, Washington
Resting placeUnion Cemetery, Sedro-Woolley, Washington
Known fornamesake of city of Sedro-Woolley
Spouse(s)Catherine Loucks

Early life and education

Philip Woolley was born in Malone, New York, to an American father and Canadian mother.[1]

Career

Woolley moved to Russell, Ontario in the 1850s, where he worked as a lumberjack and opened a general store. In 1867 he relocated his family to Michigan and, later, to Elgin, Illinois. Building on his experience as a lumberjack and salesman in Ontario, Woolley began selling timber for railroad crossties to the Chicago & Alton Railway.[1]

In 1889 Woolley again moved, this time to Washington state, in hope of growing his railway contracting business by taking advantage of the expanding Northern Pacific Railroad, which had just established a terminus in Tacoma, Washington. Woolley settled in Sedro, Washington, in Skagit County, purchasing 84 acres of land just outside the town limits at a location where he felt the expanding rail lines would cross. Meanwhile, with his sons, he began constructing the Skagit River Lumber & Shingle Mill on his newly acquired property, growing his acreage into a company town named Woolley. A fire in neighboring Sedro prompted many businesses to relocate to Woolley and, in 1898, the two towns were merged as Sedro-Woolley.[2][3]

Woolley continued to enjoy business success in later life, supplying material to the Seaboard Air Line Railroad and taking up part-time residence in Georgia to service his new client.[1]

Personal life

Woolley married Catherine Loucks of Ottawa on January 23, 1857. They had at least five children. Woolley died at his home on Woodworth Street in Sedro-Woolley in 1912.[1] [1]

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References
  1. Bourasaw, Noel. "Woolley, Philip A. (1831–1912)". HistoryLink. HistoryInk. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  2. Prosser, William (1903). A History of the Puget Sound Country, Its Resources, Its Commerce and Its People. Lewis Publishing Company. p. 466.
  3. "History". Official Homepage of Sedro-Woolley Government. City of Sedro-Woolley. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
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