Charles Francis Adams (banker)

• American

A native of Baltimore, Charles Adams arrived on the Portland scene in 1890 and became influential in banking circles as president of both the Security Savings and Trust Company and the First National Bank of Portland. He is equally remembered as an important Oregon collector of fine art and a longtime patron of the Portland Art Museum.

Charles Francis Adams, a descendant of the Adams family famous in early American history, was born in Baltimore on March 8, 1862. He was educated as a civil engineer and received his degree from Yale in 1881. He began work as a surveyor on a railroad which was being built west of the Mississippi. In 1883 he was offered a position in a bank at Colfax, Washington, where he remained until 1890, when he came to Portland to aid in the organization of the Security Savings and Trust Company. He became President of this bank, which was later merged with the First National Bank. In 1914 he was made Vice President of the First National Bank. In 1927, he was elected President, and in 1932 he became Chairman of the Board, retaining this position until his death in 1943. Mr. Adams is remembered particularly for his civic involvements. The Portland Art Museum will be forever grateful to Mr. Adams for his interest, enthusiasm, and helpfulness. The final contribution of Mr. Adams to the Art Association was the bequest of his entire collection of paintings. His paintings were collected for the most part between 1913 and 1919 and consist mainly of French painters of the Barbizon group. NRHP form