Timothy Allen Riordan was born in 1858 and moved to
Flagstaff in 1886 at 27. Timothy worked as manager of an Ayer branch mill just west of Flagstaff, and was also a democratic delegate for the Rogers Lake district. In 1887 Timothy became superintendent of
Arizona Lumber Company the position he held until
Dennis Riordan sold his stake in the company ten years later. At that time Timothy and Michael renamed it
Arizona Lumber & Timber Company with Timothy as the President. Soon after the sale, tragedy struck, and the entire mill burned to the ground. However, this didn’t stop the Riordan brothers. Instead, they used it as an opportunity to build a bigger and better mill.
Timothy had several more important accomplishments in his lifetime. In 1904 he spearheaded an effort to build a dam in Clark Valley to provide water for his lumber operations. He named the resulting lake after his eldest daughter, Mary. This is the Lake Mary that has come to provide Flagstaff with the majority of its water supply to this day. Timothy and Michael were also involved in Flagstaff’s first lighting company, which first brought electricity to Flagstaff.
Timothy died in 1946 at 88.