In recording the names
of Imperial County men, special mention should be made of Harvey McCollough,
who is a pioneer of this community. He merits the title of self-made man,
since he has depended on his own resources from his youth up. Mr. McCollough
was born in Fayette County, Alabama, September 3, 1862, son of Jasper and
Elizabeth McCollough, who were both natives of that state. In the parents'
family there were four children. Harvey acquired a limited education in the
public schools. His father was a farmer and blacksmith and Harvey learned
the trade of blacksmith while living at home, and he also took an active
part in farm work. At the age of seventeen he started out in life. For
seventeen years he was connected with the Southern Pacific Railroad in the
track department. In 1906 Mr. McCollough came to Imperial Valley. He was in
Calexico before the town started and was employed by the water company for
seven years. In 1913 he engaged in the blacksmith business, in a small way,
and under his management it grew until he now has one of the largest and
best equipped shops in the Valley. In 1914 George Anderson became identified
with Mr. McCollough. The firm does all kinds of automobile, machinery, wagon
and buggy work. Mr. McCollough has a ten-acre ranch one mile from Calexico,
which has been brought up to a high state of cultivation. Here he makes his
home. Politically he is a Democrat. Fraternally he is a member of the
I.O.O.F. He was married to Della McClendon, a native of Mississippi, and to
this union have been born six children: Henry, Myrtle, William, Minnie, John
and Grace. Personally, Mr. McCollough owns three valuable lots and the firm
owns two lots on Imperial Avenue, where the shop is located.
Source: "The History of Imperial County, California,"
Elms and Franks Publ. Co., 1918, p. 397.
Transcribed and submitted by Sally Kaleta, January, 2007.
Charles B. Folsom is one
of the progressive and successful business men of El Centro, California, and
has made many friends in a business and social way who esteem him for his
business ability and personal characteristics. He is a native of Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, and was born March 7, 1868, a son of N. R. and M. O. Folsom. He
received his education in Nebraska, where his parents removed, and they were
numbered among the pioneers of their locality, settling in Tekamah, Burt
County, Nebraska, where Mr. Folsom's father and grandfather founded the town
and county in 1854. At the age of seventeen Mr. Folsom started to learn the
plumbing business. He resided in Omaha, Nebraska, for a period of twenty
years where he successfully carried on a business. He made several trips to
California and settled in Santa Monica. He came to El Centro in 1909. At
that period the sanitary conditions were very crude and it was largely
through his efforts and his broader knowledge along lies of sanitation that
he did much to improve the health of his chosen community and especially in
El Centro, where he brought health conditions up to a high state of
development. In 1910 he installed the cast iron water mains in the City of
El Centro. He did the plumbing in all the schools in El Centro, the
California Central Creameries, which is the most modern in Southern
California, as well as many of the business blocks and handsome residences
in this city. He has always taken an active part in the civic development of
El Centro. He has held membership in the Chamber of Commerce since its
organization. He is at present chief of the El Centro Fire Department.
Fraternally he is affiliated with the Masonic Lodge, holding membership in
the Blue Lodge and Chapter, and is also a Knights Templar and Shriner. The
ancestors of Mr. Folsom are among those who came to this country in the
Mayflower and settled in the New England states and their offspring settled
in New York State.
Source: "The History of Imperial County, California,"
Elms and Franks Publ. Co., 1918, pp.397-398.
Transcribed and submitted by Sally Kaleta, January, 2007.