Frederick Mears

Colonel Frederick Mears (May 5, 1878 – January 11, 1939) was an American military officer in the US Army and railroad engineer and executive. He was the son of a career army officer and his brother Major Edward C. Mears was also in the US army. Mears was principal engineer of the Alaska Railroad. Mears took advanced engineering courses at the Infantry and Cavalry School, located at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and became a cavalry officer in the US Army.

Panama Canal In May 1906, Mears went to work relocating portions of the Panama Railroad. In 1907, Mears received a promotion to first lieutenant. That same year he married Jennifer (also known as Jennie, Jane, or Johnnie) Wainwright at Fort Clark, Texas. having been next in authority to General Goethals in the work of constructing the canal. Colonel Mears died on January 11, 1939, at the age of 60 at Seattle, Washington, from pneumonia.

Legacy The US Army honored Frederick Mears’ service in Alaska by dedicating one of its posts in his memory during World War II. Fort Mears was built on Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands during the summer of 1941. At its peak, the number of troops stationed at Fort Mears reached 10,000 people.