Charles Fillmore
Charles Fillmore at work.
Business Life
Business was Charles’ primary focus early in his adult life. He began working in his mid-teens and had a variety of jobs while in Minnesota: printer’s apprentice, grocery clerk, and bank cashier. In 1874, Charles moved to Texas, where he had a cousin, and eventually landed in Denison where he met Myrtle Page. He worked for the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railway Company (MK&T) as a clerk and cashier. Looking for more opportunities, Charles went to Colorado in 1879, studied metallurgy, and became a mining assayer in Gunnison City. During this time, he maintained an active correspondence with Myrtle, and they were married in 1881.
When the mining industry waned, he moved to Pueblo, became a notary public, and opened Charles Fillmore & Co., a small real estate and insurance business. His focus on real estate continued for many years. When the real estate business slowed in Colorado, he and Myrtle moved with their two sons to Kansas City, Missouri, where the real estate market was better and where Charles had dreamed he was to be.
