A divisive character in Portland’s streetcar history. He was responsible for the founding of company town of Kenton, the stockyards to the north and the streetcar line that joined the two together and managed a successful real estate business in north and northwest Portland.
On the other hand, he also tried to acquire a franchise for a standard-gauge streetcar line from Kenton into Portland in direct competition with the Portland Railway, Light & Power Company in 1912. This turned into a bitter and protracted dispute with the city council, PRL&P and many citizens of Portland, who believed that the terms of the franchise were too liberal and gave Mr. Heusner too much power to do as he pleased. The franchise was taken to a public referendum, where it was soundly defeated. While a franchise was eventually granted to Mr. Heusner with far stricter requirements, he never actually built anything, citing wartime shortage of materials.
In later years, he was a long-serving director for the Bank of Kenton and seems to have tried his hand at running mining and logging enterprises before dying in 1936.
| ‣ | President |
|---|---|
| ‣ | Franchise applied for in his name |