The president of the Portland Railway, Light & Power Company from 1907 to 1913, a period of expansion and consolidation for the company. Under his stewardship, PRL&P’s interurban network reached its maximum length, hundreds of new streetcars were added to the company’s fleet, car barns were modernized with clubhouses for the carmen, and the massive Center Street repair facility was constructed. The power generation capacity of the company also greatly increased during his presidency, and new corporate headquarters in the Electric Building on Sixth and Alder were also built.
In 1910, Mr. Josselyn purchased the Crystal Springs Sanitarium near Mount Tabor—which had originally been the Massachusetts Building at the Lewis & Clark Exposition—and turned it into his residence, christening it as “Josselyn Hall.”
He resigned after almost exactly six years in the role, saying that “he was greatly in need of a rest or change,” but continued to live in Portland after brief stints in New York and Chicago.
After an aborted sale in 1915 when the purchaser died before the completion of the transaction, Josselyn Hall was finally sold to A. P. Henningsen—a produce wholesaler—in June 1917, just after Josselyn finished third in Portland’s mayoral election behind the infamous George Baker.
Mr. Josselyn died suddenly of heart failure in May 1925, aged 67.
| ‣ | President (1907–1913) |
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