F. Nelson Blount
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F. Nelson Blount | |
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Born | Francis Nelson Blount May 21, 1918 Warren, Rhode Island, U.S. |
Died | August 31, 1967 | (aged 49)
Resting place | Dublin Cemetery |
Occupations |
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Years active | 1946–1967 |
Spouse |
Ruth Palmer (m. 1942) |
Children | 5 |
Signature | |
Francis Nelson Blount (May 21, 1918 – August 31, 1967) was an American businessman, railroad enthusiast and president and founder of
Biography
Francis Nelson Blount was born May 21, 1918, in Warren, Rhode Island, to Willis and Ruth Blount. Willis had established an ice company in neighboring Barrington in 1919. As a child, Nelson (as he would be called) and brother Luther assisted their father at the family business. When he was not doing so, Nelson frequented the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad yard located near his home. It was here that his deep appreciation for railroads, and particularly steam locomotives, was formed.
On May 23, 1933, just after his fifteenth birthday, Blount skipped school to see the famous British steamer,
Fred Richardson enlisted in the
Blount's family had been involved in the
In the 1950s, Blount relocated his family from Rhode Island to the
Locomotive Collection
Blount used some of the money that he made in the seafood industry to purchase the
Monadnock, Steamtown & Northern Railroad
Subsequently, on April 26, 1961, Blount and his associates founded a separate standard-gauge tourist excursion railroad, the Monadnock, Steamtown & Northern, to provide the steam train rides.
Steamtown, U.S.A.
Blount envisioned his collection as the cornerstone to a grand museum at North Walpole, to be called "Steamtown, U.S.A". He first planned to open this museum at his North Walpole facility, but soon diverted his attention to Keene to allow for a larger museum space. Blount hoped to commit the state of New Hampshire to fund the museum's construction and offered 20 of his steam locomotives as an incentive; meanwhile, he would control the Monadnock, Steamtown & Northern, which was to be the separate excursion operator on the B&M Cheshire Branch. Local and state support was initially strong, but delays on a sale of the Cheshire Branch and some negative press in the state led to the newly elected state government killing the Keene plans in early 1963. Promised support for Steamtown from the state of New Hampshire never materialized, leading to yet another move back to North Walpole in 1963. This was the first year that the collection was open to the public (as opposed to just MS&N train rides), and soon it was decided that the North Walpole site was too small for the many visitors who came.[2]
With state interest waning, Blount established the "Steamtown Foundation for the Preservation of Steam and Railroad Americana", a non-profit charitable, educational organization to acquire his collection and operate the museum. This also allowed donations of locomotives and rolling stock to be accepted, such as
By 1967 Blount planned to distance himself from the business affairs of the Steamtown Foundation, hoping to find a replacement as chairman and focus mainly on being a steam locomotive engineer. His sudden death on August 31, 1967, was unexpected and, without his personal funds, Steamtown fell on hard times. Nearly all of his development plans for the site in Vermont went unfulfilled and the harsh winters helped speed deterioration of much of the collection. Steamtown moved to Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1984 and soon after went bankrupt. In 1986, the federal government stepped in and established the Steamtown National Historic Site to save the collection; the park officially opened in 1995.
Religion
In the 1960s, Blount became a devoted
Death
After operating a day of steam excursions on August 31, 1967, Blount was flying from Steamtown to his home in Dublin when his Maule Rocket, a new plane with only thirty hours of flying time, crashed near Marlborough, New Hampshire, during an emergency landing caused by fuel exhaustion.[4] Nelson was an experienced flyer and had owned many aircraft; he had performed a pre-flight check and is believed to have planned to stop at Keene Airport for refueling. Around noon the next day, September 1, two local girls—Dawn Antilla, age 14, and Laurie St. John, age 13—came across the field and ran immediately to a nearby home to call the police. The crash had been found near the border of the village of Chesham, New Hampshire, and the town of Marlborough, about 5 miles (8.0 km) from Nelson's home in Dublin.[2]
As the plane descended its rear landing gear had buckled. The plane had bounced up and continued flying for 88 feet (27 m) down the field and into a large pine tree at the crest of the clearing. Dr. James Ballou, Cheshire County medical referee, later found no evidence of a heart attack or other illness. The possibility of major mechanical issues on the brand-new plane was investigated and ruled out.[2]
Blount's funeral was held September 4, 1967, at 1:30 p.m. in the National Guard Armory in Peterborough, New Hampshire, just next door to Dublin. Nearly 500 people turned out to pay their respects. Following the funeral, Nelson was interred in Dublin Cemetery.[2]
References
- ^ a b "Ruth Blount Obituary (2012) - Barrington, RI - the Providence Journal". Legacy.com.
- ^ ISBN 9780578878034.
- ^ Adair, James R. "The Man From Steamtown: The Story of F. Nelson Blount" (1967, Moody Press).
- ^ "Accident Maule M-4 N9869M, 31 Aug 1967".