Instigator: The Troubled Life of Lorenzo Dow Kinney

by Richard Wagner, Judith Wagner

196 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2008

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name

Reviews

[Judy Egnew Ness · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating history of a troubled, often manic, persuasive promoter and speculator during the era of "empire building." L. D. Kinney attempted to make his fortune in the East, then turned toward real estate speculation in Salt Lake City, moved on to Canada and Alaska during the Klondike gold Rush, and then set his sights on making Coos Bay Oregon the largest railroad and shipping metropolis on the entire west coast. With little capital and exaggerated confidence he convinced investers and buyers to support him in numerous schemes. But everything he promoted eventually collapsed as people discovered his insolvency and mental instability. He donated land to build a high school in North Bend, which was named after him in appreciation, but only one year later they discovered Kinney didn't own the land he "donated" and they had to spend community funds to clear the title. The school was renamed North Bend High School. This is one example of how his dealings ended up. His manic-depressive exploits filled newspaper reports throughout Portland, Roseburg, and Coos Bay. However, Kinney's name is now absent from most historical accounts of the area, and he died in 1920 in a mental hospital in Salem Oregon.