George Flavel
Captain George Edward Flavel (/fləˈvɛl/; November 17, 1823 — July 3, 1893) was an Irish American maritime pilot and entrepreneur. Born in 1823 to Irish parents, Flavel relocated to the West coast of the United States in 1849, working as a tugboat operator between Sacramento and San Francisco, California. In 1851, he settled in the northern coastal port city of Astoria, Oregon, where he became one of the first licensed bar pilots in the state.
George Flavel | |
|---|---|
Undated photo of Flavel (c. 1870) | |
| Born | November 17, 1823 Portadown, Northern Ireland, or Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. (sources differ) |
| Died | July 3, 1893 (aged 69) Astoria, Oregon, U.S. |
| Resting place | Ocean View Cemetery, Warrenton, Oregon, U.S. 46.1528°N 123.9393°W |
| Occupation(s) | Maritime pilot, businessman |
| Spouse |
Mary Christina Boelling
(m. 1854) |
Flavel would go on to amass a fortune with a business managing pilot boats on the Columbia River, making him a prominent local figure, and one of the first millionaires in Oregon. In addition to bar piloting, he was involved in several other entrepreneurial endeavors, including operating a wharf in Astoria, and managing a coal business from Australia. At the time of his death in 1893, Flavel had a net worth of nearly US$2 million (equivalent to $67,822,222 in 2023).
His family estate, known as the Captain George Flavel House, was donated to the Clatsop County Historical Society by his great-granddaughter after her inheritance of it in 1933, and contemporarily functions as a museum.