Pueblo County Biographies

Pueblo County, Colorado
CARLETON A. ORR

Contributed by Karen Mitchell.

Carleton A. Orr, superintendent of the power plant and shops of the Arkansas Valley Railway, Light & Power Company of Pueblo, was born in Del Norte, Colorado, on the 3d of January, 1877, and is a son of Charles Andrew and Mary G. (Rundle) Orr. The parents became residents of this state in 1876 and the father followed ranching in order to promote his fortunes and provide for the support of his family. Carleton A. Orr was a pupil in the public and high schools of Del Norte, Colorado, while later he became a student in the State University of Illinois and also studied for a time in the Armour Institute. He took up the machinist's trade and for some time was associated with the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railroad Company. He afterward had charge of the machine shops for the Griswold Steel & Wire Company of Sterling, Illinois, covering the years 1897 and 1898, after which he removed to Peoria, Illinois, to accept the position of chief engineer with the Avery Manufacturing Company. In 1900 he made a still further step in advance by becoming chief engineer of the Peoria Gas & Electric Light Company, with which he remained until 1906, when he was made master mechanic of the Morrell Packing Company and given charge of all of their plants and headquarters at Ottumwa, Iowa. He continued in that position of responsibility until 1913, when in July of that year he returned to Colorado to accept his present position as superintendent of the power plant and shops of the Arkansas Valley Railway, Light & Power Company. He is now serving in this position, for which his previous experience has well qualified him, enabling him to carefully and correctly meet the heavy duties and responsibilities that devolve upon him. On the 1st of February, 1904, Mr. Orr was united in marriage to Miss Erma James, a native of Nebraska, and to them has been born a daughter. Donna Maxine. Politically Mr. Orr is a republican, giving stalwart support and unfaltering allegiance to the party. He is a third degree Mason and a member of the Tuesday Evening Club, a literary organization. He is fond of hunting and outdoor life and turns to these for needed rest and recreation. His time and attention are largely and profitably concentrated upon his business activities and besides his work as superintendent of the power plant and shops of the Arkansas Valley Railway, Light & Power Company he is interested in various enterprises of a nature beneficial to the development of the state. A native son of Colorado, he has witnessed much of its growth and progress and wherever possible he has given substantial aid to interests and activities that are of worth and benefit to the commonwealth. History Of Colorado Illustrated Volume II Chicago The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company 1918

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