January 15, 1972(1972-01-15) (aged 86) St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.January 15, 1972(1972-01-15) (aged 86)
🏳️ Nationality
Irish-American
💼 Occupation
Sand and Gravel contractor
👩 Spouse(s)
Mary Elizabeth Shiely
👶 Children
5
Joseph Leo Shiely (January 30, 1885 - January 15, 1972 ) was a American contractor known as "The Gravel King." He was the founder and chief executive officer of The Shiely Company, which stretched from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean and contributed to the construction of the Fort Peck Dam, the Garrison Dam and the Hanford Atomic Site
“In 1900, Joseph Shiely worked from 7 to 8:30 a.m. in Butler Brothers & Ryan stone cutting blacksmith shop during construction of the state capitol. He attended Mechanic Arts high school the balance of the morning and returned to the blacksmith shop at 1:30 p.m. to work until 6:00 p.m., all for 50 cents a day. He left high school after three years to continue with Butler Brothers on the Minnesota Iron Range.”[3]
Photo of James Shiely (center) at the Shiely Barns. Features some of the horses used to marble from railroad to Capitol building and Cathedral.
Young businessman
In 1901, he was timekeeper for Butler Brothers in Hibbing, Minn. A year later he became clerk and estimator for Newman & Hoy, St. Paul contractors, with whom he stayed until 1908.
From 1905 to 1908 he was job foreman and superintendent of construction of buildings, bridges and dams for Newman & Hoy in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Montana. In 1908, Shiely became assistant engineer for the Northern Pacific Railway on the double-tracking from Garrison to Missoula in Montana.
He became roadmaster, inspector and concrete supervisor for the Great Northern Railway in 1909, During the following four years he supervised work on double-tracking from Summit to Java in Montana; oversaw work on Basin and Woodville tunnel linings in Montana and Collins bridges in the same state. He also was engaged in the replacement of wooden bridges and culverts on the Great Northern main line.[3]
Shiely often joked that he and J.J. Hill built the Great Northern Railroad. His work suppling ballast for the railroad tracks led to him amassing on of St Paul's "most substantial fortunes."[4]
With a loan of $1000 along with seven horses and seven wagons, Joe founded the JL Shiely Company alongside Dan Bell and Ray Meehan in 1916.[4]
In 1924 the company secured a contract to build and operate eight ballast producing plants for the Great Northern Railroad. These plants were located at New London and Brookston, Minnesota; Verendrye, North Dakota; Chinook, Nimrod and Warland, Montana; Olds and Gold Bar, Washington. The contract was completed in about 1932.[3] The company built the first ready mix concrete plant in St Paul in 1929. Shiely secured his spot among St Paul's elite when he purchased the residence at 1335 Summit on St Paul's famous Summit Avenue in 1928.
"The Gravel King"
As the U.S. entered The Great Depression, Shiely looked outside of Minnesota for work for his employees. In 1932, he entered into a partnership with E.W. Hallett of Crosby, MN to bid on the contract to move gravel from Cole, MT to the site of the Fort Peck Dam. Shiely was elected the permanent chair of the newly formed National Sand and Gravel Association.[5]
Support for Saint Paul
Joe Shiely was a one manned chamber of commerce for the City of St Paul through the 1920's and 1930's. "He is known as St. Paul’s “goodwill ambassador” to communities throughout the nation and in Alaska."[3] When the St Paul Winter Carnival went in hiatus, Shiely continued his booster efforts in the Midway neighborhood, organizing a new carnival starting in 1928.[6] Shiely was "the biggest booster of the Midway events and the ultimate revival of a city-wide carnival in 1937".[7] He would serve as King Boreas for the St Paul carnival after its rival in 1940, drawing over 300,000 people to the Capitol City.[8] Shiely was a long-time supporter of Cretin High School, The March of Dimes, the St Paul YMCA and many other philanthropic endeavors.
The long standing rumor of a tunnel between the Minnesota Club and Nina Clifford's brothel started when Shiely ran for President of the prestigious men's club in 1931. "After the stock market crash and the onset of the Depression, the club was broke and then-president Joe Shiely tried getting creative in hopes of saving the club. It is said that he proposed digging a tunnel to Nina’s and creating a turnstile system to charge a fee for its use."[9]
Many believe that the tunnel stunt was a joke, while others claim the members wives put a stop to it. Shiely won election anyway[10] and saved the Club by paying off the Club's debts, which had escalated through the Great Depression.[11]
Fort Peck Dam
In 1934, the War Department award the largest ever contract for sand and gravel to the Shiely- Becker County Sand And Gravel consortium as the start of the Fort Peck Dam project.[12] The Shiely company supplied almost all of the material for the concrete for the dam, employing thousands of workers throughout the Great Depression. [13]
Atomic Bomb Site at Hanford
At the start of the Atomic Era as part of the World War II war effort, Shiely joined another joint venture with United Construction Company, of Winona, Minnesota for the production of aggregate and ready mixed concrete for the DuPont Atomic Energy Plant at Hanford, Washington, where the first atomic weapon was built. Shiely and partner EW Hallett received certificates of merit from the War Department for finishing the project a year ahead of schedule, leading to a swifter end of the war.[14]
Garrison Dam
In February 1949, the company was awarded the contract for all the coarse aggregate for Garrison Dam in North Dakota, under the U. S. Corps of Engineers. The source was designated and owned by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and located on the Upper Souris Wildlife Refuge between Greene and Grano, North Dakota. Four miles of railroad were required to be constructed to the Soo Line railroad connection at Greene, North Dakota. The first shipment from the plant was on August 8, 1949 and the last shipment August 28, 1956. Over 27,000 carloads moved to the damsite by rail.
In 1951, the company was awarded a second contract by the Corps of Engineers for blanket gravel to be placed under the riprap at Garrison Dam. This contract was accomplished with the use of portable equipment from a source in Minot, North Dakota.
With dwindling reserves at their Snelling plant, in January 1950, the company entered into a long—term lease on 2,200 acres of land underlain with sand and gravel on Grey Cloud Island, 15 miles downstream on the Mississippi River from St. Paul.[3]
In 1951, the Shiely Company unsuccessfully attempted to lease land in Bloomington, Minnesota for a new quarry along the Mississippi. After being refuted by the Bloomington City Council,[15] Shiely turned to expanding his existing plant in Mendota, Minnesota instead. The town of Mendota refused Shiely a permit to expand the existing Nelson Plant in 1952. Undeterred, Shiely offered the affected landowners in Mendota $5000 each to secede and incorporate as a new town. The vote passed 47-45. The town of Mendota sued to stop the succession but the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled in favor of Shiely and the town of Lilydale was born.[16]
Family life
In 1867, Shiely married Mary Elizabeth Jenny, born in 1884, in St Paul. They had five children:[17]
Joseph Leo Shiely Jr (1914–1995) - Went on to become President of the Shiely Company
Mercedes M Shiely - Attended Trinity College and married the head of Murphy Motor Freight
James F Shiely (1919 - 1969)- Sales Manager for Winton Lumber in Minneapolis
Vincent R Shiely (1920–1977) - Became CEO of Briggs and Stratton
Gertrude R Shiely (1920–1999) - A social worker who worked with many charities in St Paul
Death
Shiely died in his home in St. Paul, Minnesota, on January 15 1972 at the age of 86.[18][19]
↑ 4.04.1Lethert Wingerd, Mary (2003). Claiming the City: Politics, Faith and the Power of Place in St Paul (1st ed.). Cornell University Press. pp. 34–36. ISBN9780801488856. Search this book on
Lethert Wingerd, Mary (2003). Claiming the City: Politics, Faith and the Power of Place in St Paul (1st ed.). Cornell University Press. pp. 34–36. ISBN9780801488856.
McClure, Jane (Fall 1994). "The Midway Chamber and Its Community: The Colorful History of an 'Unparalleled Feature'" (PDF). Ramsey County History. Ramsey County Historical Society
Orr Baker, Robert (1984) "The Minnesota Club: St Paul's Enterprising Leaders and Their 'Gentlemen's Social Club' Ramsey County History. Ramsey County Historical Society
Towne, Oliver (1972) "Joe's Last Hurrah." St Paul Pioneer Press Jan. 1972
External links
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