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His family moved to [[Worcester, Massachusetts|Worcester]] and [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]], where he attended school.
In 1888 Fletcher, age 15, came to [[San Diego, California|San Diego]] alone, and with $6.10 in his pocket began selling produce.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Black |first1=Samuel T. |title=San Diego county, California; a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement |date=1913 |publisher=Chicago, S.J. Clarke |pages=128 |url=https://archive.org/details/sandiegocountyca02blac/page/128 |
He was a born salesman and soon had his own business with a partner. In 1901, he entered the real estate business as a land agent, and started a partnership in 1908 with William J. Gross, silent film actor and producer. That partnership developed Grossmont, [[Casa de Oro-Mount Helix, California|Mt. Helix]], and [[Del Mar, California|Del Mar]]. Fletcher donated land on Mt. Helix where Easter Sunrise services are held.
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Fletcher was later active in having state and U.S. highways built to San Diego.
Fletcher also took an interest in developing projects delivering water to San Diego, including creating [[Lake Hodges]]. Fletcher and Montana businessman James A. Murray purchased the San Diego Flume Company on June 1, 1910, renaming it the [[Cuyamaca Water Company]]. Fletcher and Murray owned and operated the company for 15 years, making or planning improvements to the water system of [[San Diego County, California|San Diego County]] including the construction of the [[San Vicente Dam]] and Reservoir, among others.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Register of Cuyamaca Water Company Records - MSS 503|url = http://libraries.ucsd.edu/speccoll/findingaids/mss0503.html|website = libraries.ucsd.edu|
Fletcher was a director of the [[Panama-California Exposition (1915)]] and [[California Pacific International Exposition (1935)]]. After the 1915 Expo, he raised funds to save the well-received temporary buildings from destruction. He also raised funds to buy land for the [[Naval Training Center San Diego|Naval Training Station]] in San Diego, and for building the YMCA.
In 1934 Fletcher was elected to the [[California State Senate]], and served until 1947. Sometime while in the Senate, he switched his party affiliation from Republican to Democratic. He authored laws creating the San Diego County Water Authority and transferring ownership of [[Mission Bay, California|Mission Bay]] to the city. While in the Senate he was able to acquire for San Diego a heroic statue of [[Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo]], donated to the state in 1939 by the government of [[Portugal]] and claimed by both San Diego and [[Oakland, California|Oakland]]. Fletcher personally "kidnapped" the statue from its storage in a garage at a private residence in Oakland; the statue is now on display at [[Cabrillo National Monument]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.utsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080803/news_lz1mc3cabrill.html|title=Cabrillo statue's journey to San Diego marked by legal twists|last=Crawford|first=Richard|date=August 3, 2008|work=San Diego Union Tribune|
Fletcher married Mary C. Batchelder April 8, 1896 at [[Ayer, Massachusetts]].
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==References==
*{{cite book|author=Fletcher, Ed|year=1952|title=Memoirs of Ed Fletcher
*{{cite book|author=Black, Samuel T.|year=1913|title=San Diego County California; a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement|url=https://archive.org/details/sandiegocountyca01blac|publisher=The S. J. Clark Publishing Company, Chicago}}, vol. 1, pp. 346-350: "[https://archive.org/details/sandiegocountyca01blac/page/346 Roads, by Ed Fletcher]"; and vol. 2, pp. 128–132: "[https://archive.org/details/sandiegocountyca02blac/page/128 Ed Fletcher]", includes portrait.
* {{cite book|author=Heilbron, Carl|year=1936|title=History of San Diego County|publisher=San Diego Press Club}} Biography. Also has biography of his wife.
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| pages = 142
|issn=0036-4045
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}}</ref>
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