Simeon Gannett Reed

Biography

Simeon Gannett Reed built a transportation and mercantile business that tied Portland to wider Pacific trade, demonstrating the vision and tenacity of Oregon’s early entrepreneurs. His partnerships and investments helped lay the foundation for the city’s commercial rise in the 19th century.

With a deep sense of civic responsibility, Reed and his wife invested in the intellectual future of the region, endowing the institution that would become Reed College and assuring that their name would be associated with learning and generosity for generations.