William Henry Fulcher, president of the Fulcher Concrete Block & Paving Company, is at the head of one of the younger enterprises of Oakland that promises to become one of the most important productive industries of the city. The old saying that necessity is the mother of invention has found verification through all the ages. There is no individual in the United States who does not recognize the fact that forest preservation has become imperative, and that other things must take the place of lumber as a building material. An understanding of this need has led William Henry Fulcher, inventor and mechanician, to perfect the Fulcher Concrete Block & Paving Machine for the manufacture of concrete monolithic building blocks and cement brick, and today the business is one of growing importance. Mr. Fulcher was born in San Francisco August 18, 1856, a son of William and Hannah (Dunphie) Fulcher. The father, born in Manchester, England, in 1825, was educated there and in 1853 arrived in San Francisco, where he became bookkeeper for a large wholesale flour mill. Later he mined in Sacramento county until his death, which occurred in 1872. His wife has also passed away.
William H. Fulcher attended the public schools of Sacramento county to the age of fourteen years, after which he engaged in herding sheep for a year and a half. Subsequently he took charge of a fruit-drying factory, remaining its manager to the age of twenty-one years. At that time he went to Folsom, California, where he engaged as blacksmith helper in the Folsom prison. Soon afterward he had charge of men in the contract to put up all doors in the prison, which work was successfully executed. When about twenty-five years of age his interest in all phases of mechanics led him to take up mechanical drawing at Sacramento and to continue his work in Oakland, where he completed the course. In 1880 he went to Tucson, Arizona, where he entered the employ of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company as brakeman. He afterward became conductor, but resigned his position in 1886 and returned to California, settling at Lodi, where he became inspector of locomotives for the San Joaquin & Sierra Nevada Railroad Company, which has since been merged into the Southern Pacific. He filled that position for seven years, or until 1893, when he opened a hotel in Woodbridge, but the following year sold out and organized a company for the manufacture of pottery at Stockton, California, where he continued until 1895. He built there the Stockton Terra Cotta Works, thus establishing the first plant making glazed pottery on the Pacific coast. Selling out, he came to Oakland and engaged as bridge tender for the Southern Pacific Railroad until 1900, when he incorporated the National Ditching & Dredging Company, selling stock in an excavating machine which he had invented. In 1904 he invented and exhibited a pulverizing machine, upon which he received a gold medal at the St. Louis World's Fair, and also a personal gold medal for his ability. In 1906 he disposed of his interest in the ditching company and invented a mining machine which he sold.
He then turned his attention to the perfecting of a machine to manufacture concrete blocks and on the 22d of March, 1913, he organized the Fulcher Concrete Block & Paving Company under the laws of the state of Arizona. He complied with the law of California April 24, 1913, being authorized to do general contracting and manufacturing in all of its branches. He is now president and mechanical engineer of the company, with Dr. C. F. Allardt as vice president and D. G. Donahue as secretary, treasurer and attorney. Thorough understanding the fact that some other building material must supplant lumber, and also the fact that natural stone is too costly for the majority of builders, he set to work to study the prices of concrete manufacture and became impressed with the possibilities in that line. He determined to find a way to manufacture concrete blocks and bricks very cheaply, and invented an automatic rotary press in such form that it not only turns out the finished product, but also produces it in such large quantities automatically as to render its cost non-competitive.
The machine which developed from the inventive genius of Mr. Fulcher will produce over thirty-six thousand standard sized bricks per day of eight hours, and by changing the molds in the machine will produce over seventy-two thousand building blocks of monolithic design, which have also been standardized to meet the universal requirements of the trade. These blocks can be laid on any curve or angle, the whole structure being laced and anchored together, forming a compact, air-tight wall, proof against fire, water and earthquake. Their system of interlocking the corners of the blocks not only insures the solidarity of the walls, but also largely does away with the need of reinforcing material and lessens the cost of concrete construction. The provision made for anchoring the ceiling and floor joists in the walls is another factor in securing rigidity of structure. The adamant coat of plaster is applied directly on the blocks without the use of lathes and without the preliminary coating of rough plaster. This is a point worthy of notice, as it means considerable saving in the building of a residence; moreover, the blocks themselves form a beautiful exterior finish which does away with the expense of painting. The company also manufacture a splendid imitation and substitute for Spanish tiling and tiling for bathrooms, kitchens, etc. They have also perfected plans whereby they can imitate in colored brick the Persian rugs, with the beautiful colorings of the orient harmoniously blended. All their bricks are perfect and they can be made in any shape and size desired. They are likewise able to reproduce all forms of natural stone in colors, glazed and otherwise. It is their contention that they are in a position to produce at least fifty per cent of the material that goes into the construction of a building at a saving of at least thirty per cent of the gross cost of construction. In addition to the cement blocks being used for the most handsome residences and public buildings, they can be utilized for paving, for riffraffing for river banks, for railroad bridges, viaducts, dams, tunnels, piers, sewers and many other purposes, and can be manufactured at about half the cost of brick making. As a paving material the blocks leave little if anything to be desired, as they are cheaper than any other paving and last for many years. Already the blocks are coming into popular favor and the sale of the machine for manufacturing the same is constantly increasing. One fact notable is that the building blocks and brick made by the means of Mr. Fulcher's invention remain in perfect alignment after being laid for an indefinite period of time and can easily be removed for repairs. They also offer unusual resistance to the wear and tear of the elements and withstand enormous strain, as they are manufactured under great pressure and have a cohesiveness almost equal to that of the original rock.
In addition to his other interests, Mr. Fulcher is president of the Teddy Jam Pulveriser Machine Company, in which the rock is crushed to a sand. This will produce a material superior to any other kind, for seaside sand rounded by the waves does not hold, while the crushed rock, having a rough edge, does, sustaining fifty tons' pressure, and this quality of the sand made from crushed rock insures the solidarity of the building materials made therefrom. The sand is pure, all vegetable matter being removed. Twenty million dollars is now invested in the manufacture of concrete blocks in the United States and no competition exists in this line except in the hydraulic press. What Mr. Fulcher has accomplished along business lines places him with the foremost representatives of industrial and commercial activity upon the Pacific coast, and his efforts are of untold value, not only as a source of individual success, but as a feature in the prosperity of the district.
Mr. Fulcher was united in marriage, in Lodi, to Miss Mary McGill, a native of California, and unto them were born four children: Ruth, who is now deceased; William H. acting as surveyor in Alameda county; Jeannette, who is head stenographer with a lumber company, which position she has occupied for four years; and Marguerite, who is attending the Fremont high school.
In politics Mr. Fulcher is a republican of the progressive type. His study of political conditions has led him to take this advanced step, and he keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day, yet does not seek nor desire public office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his business interests, which are of growing importance.
Past and Present of Alameda County California, Vol. II
Published in Chicago by The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company
1914
Pages 182-187
Transcribed by Linda Jackson 6/03/2008
Alameda County Biographies ~
Archive Biography Index ~
Archive Index
This Web page is sponsored on behalf of the California portion of The USGenWeb Project by Richard S. Wilson. Although believed to be correct as presented, if you note any corrections, changes, additions, or find that any links provided on this page are not functioning properly please contact the Archive Coordinator for prompt attention to the matter.