Transcribed from "An Illustrated History of The
Big Bend Country, embracing Lincoln, Douglas, Adams and Franklin counties,
State of Washington", published by Western Historical Publishing
Co., 1904.
ORVILLE H. KIMBALL has certainly
passed a very active career as will be seen by the the following.
He was born in Chittenden county, Vermont, on February 3, 1842, the son
of Charles and Caroline (Stevens) Kimball, natives of New Hampshire and
Vermont, respectively. The father was a cloth dresser. The
mother descended from an old English stock and the family can be traced
back for over three centuries. Our subject was educated in the public
schools of Chittenden county and remained there until 1869. He began
railroad life in 1860, by working on the construction of the Vermont and
Canada, and Montreal & Vt. Junctions as paymaster, from which position
he was promoted to that of passenger conductor. Later, he did construction
work on the Vermont Central, after which he was on the Lebanon Spring Railroad
as paymaster. After 1869, he came west to Portland, Oregon and worked
on the California and Oregon road and remained with this company until
the spring of 1872, during which time he served in various capacities as
conductor, ticket and freight agent and so forth. Next we see him
in the construction department of the Northern Pacific, on the Pacific
division between Kalama and Tacoma. In the spring of 1873 he returned
to the Oregon and California, where he remained in the operating department
between Portland and Roseburg until the spring of 1875, when he opened
the Clarenden Hotel in Portland. He sold this in 1876 and returned
to the Northern Pacific as assistant superintendent of the construction
and paymaster of the branch in the Wilkinson gold fields. In 1877,
he was agent at Kalama and two years later, was paymaster on the Pend Oreille
branch. He next went to the O. R. & N. company and worked as
general superintendent of track in the construction until 1882. After
this, he was general road master on the Northern Pacific, until the spring
of 1883, when he came to Douglas county and settled upon a pre-emption
about three miles south of Waterville. For twelve years, he remained
there, dwelling on the farm, and also at various times was out on the railroad.
In 1900, he moved to his present place about ten miles southwest from Waterville,
which estate he has carved out from the wilderness. He has about
eight hundred acres of fine land and over one hundred head of graded stock,
good orchard, comfortable residence, barns and so forth. Mr. Kimball
is one of the pioneers who remained in Douglas county and has achieved
success equal to any of the most prosperous men who have lived here.
During the latter part of his railroad career, Mr. Kimball was closely
associated with A. M. Cannon, well known over the northwest and was a warm
friend of that gentleman. Mr. Kimball has two brothers and two sisters,
Charles, Andrew S., Mrs. Sarah F. Joslyn, and Mrs. Jane A. Jackson, all
living at Westford, Vermont.
Mr. Kimball has displayed great executive
ability in his life and has manifested a self reliance and spirit which
combined with keen wisdom and conservatism, have brought him the abundant
success which he enjoys to-day.
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