Inventor Name
Cooley, Charles W.
Repository
Montana Historical Society
PO Box 20121
225 N. Roberts Street
Helena, MT 59620-1201
406-444-2694
http://www.his.state.mt.us/research/library/archcoll.asp
Summary
Charles W. Cooley was born on 10 May 1894 in Laurin, Mont., the son of Mr. and Mrs. James L. Cooley. His father was from Ohio, and his mother's parents came to Virginia City, Montana Territory, looking for gold. Charles Cooley's great-grandfather was a boyhood friend of Abraham Lincoln in Kentucky, and his grandmother was the "accepted" doctor of the Virginia City community, even though she had no formal training. Charles's family moved to Virginia City where was nine years old, and he lived there until he was twenty. During his early years, Charles worked in the Butte mines, and later in the office of Goodyear Tire Company. He traveled for various tire and car companies for several years. He became the owner of Cooley Chevrolet in Lewistown, Mont., in 1939. He was an active participant in many business and economic development projects in Lewistown. He served on several local boards, and served as chairman of the Montana Citizens Committee on the State Legislature from 1966 to 1972. He raised and bred Arabian horses and served as chairman of the board of the Central Montana Fair in Lewistown for three decades. Charles W. Cooley died in Lewistown on 14 Nov. 1980. Transcripts of interviews (1969, 1973) in which Cooley discusses his activities in the Lewistown Chamber of Commerce, the Yogo Inn, the Associate Inventors of Montana, the Central Montana Fairboard, the Montana Citizens Committee, and the Montana Industrial Development Board; together with a letter (1964) by Cooley to Gov. Tim Babcock.
