Frank J. Hecker

Frank Joseph Hecker (July 6, 1846 – June 26, 1927) was an American businessman in the railroad-car manufacturing business. Hecker was from Detroit, Michigan. Early life Frank J. Hecker was born in Freedom, Michigan (in Washtenaw County) on July 6, 1846. His family moved to St. Louis, Missouri in 1859, where Frank was educated. During the American Civil War, he joined the Union Army in 1864, and was appointed first sergeant. Business After the conclusion of the Civil War, he was hired on as an agent for the Union Pacific Railroad. In the 1870s, a group of investors from Detroit decided to build a rail line near Logansport, Indiana; they hired Hecker to manage their project. Hecker took on the project, taking a younger Charles Lang Freer with him. Although the project fell through, the Detroit investors were pleased with Hecker's work and invited him to Detroit. There, in 1879, Hecker and Freer organized the Peninsular Car Works, which in 1884 was renamed into the Peninsular Car Company. Hecker was president of both companies, and business made both Hecker and Freer wealthy. Hecker also was on boards of the Detroit Copper and Brass Rolling Mills, Michigan Fire and Marine Insurance Company, and the Detroit Lumber Company.