In 1888, John Donovan came to Bellingham from Tacoma. He'd lived there for only a short while after resigning from his former job as a civil engineer for the Northern Pacific Railway. Which was his first railroad experience. The railroad had already been built into Fairhaven.
Donovan, or "J.J." as he was known in later years, helped greatly in forming the first city council of Fairhaven. He also served as president of the first and second councils.
J.J. was also the chief engineer for the Fairhaven Land Company and the Skagit Coal and Transportation Company.
One of his first acts was to call in Benzette Williams, a sanitary expert from Chicago, to plan the sewer system for Fairhaven.
To Donovan was assigned the task of resurveying and planting the Fairhaven townside.
The railway, known as the Fairhaven and Southern, had big plans to extend the line to Vancouver, B.C., Canada and south of Portland, Oregon. James J. Hill, president of the Great Northern railway, got wind of the impending deal. He hired J.J. Donovan as his agent to purchase the Fairhaven and Southern Railroad. Donovan accomplished the purchase without any trouble.
Two new companies were formed in 1891. These were the Bellingham Bay and Eastern Railway and the Blue Canyon Mining Company. Donovan became engineer for both companies.
Mr. Donovan was the most active man in these parts and undoubtedly had more to do with the shaping of the present City of Bellingham than any other one individual.
A few of his other buisness connections included being vice-president of the Lake Whatcom Logging Company and Larson Lumber Company, cheif engineer of the BB and BC Railway, and he held official positions with Copper River Mining Company. He held positions with the Bellingham Bay Transportation Company and with the Fairhaven Water Company. I don't doubt but what he engineered the first route of the first water line to Lake Padden for Mr. Gillette, who was president of that company.
There were many other men that had much to do with the first government of Fairhaven and I will cover their activities from time to time in this book. No other man that I know of could compete with J.J. Donovan for the diversity of activities that he was engaged in through the years. The writer worked for him at the Larson Mill Plant for fourteen years and has sat in with him in our bi-monthly shop commitee meetings. I have found him to be a remarkable person.
Mr.Donovan is gone now, but he surely left his mark in the City of Bellingham.
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