The following is from a work-in-progress about the history of Fullerton. You can support my ongoing research and writing on Patreon.
William J. Wickersheim was born in Illinois in 1866. In 1894 he moved to California where he taught school and purchased two orange groves in Orange.
He moved to Fullerton in 1902 and opened a bicycle, vehicle, and implement store called the Wickersheim Implement Company. In 1913, he secured the franchise to sell Ford automobiles in the Fullerton area.
In Fullerton: a Pictorial History, Bob Ziebell writes, “Fullerton residents apparently were enamored of the automobile. From the first appearance of the automobile at the turn of the century, the popularity grew to where photos were taken in the mid-1920s show cars and trucks crowding the streets. Fullertonians liked to travel so much that they organized community outings, as seen in the photo above where residents are about to leave from in front of the Wickersheim Implement Company on an automobile trip. In another photo (below), also in front of the Wickersheim store, 100 block West Commonwealth, vehicles from P.E. Taylor’s “Stage” Line are lined up ready to take tourists on trips to several locations, ranging from the desert to the sea.”
Wickersheim married his first wife May in 1893. They had two children: Lyle and Mildred, both graduates of Fullerton High School. May died in 1898. In 1902, Wickersheim married Emma, and they had a son, Theodore J.
William served as a delegate to Republican state and county conventions. He was a member of the California Auto Trade Association and a charter member of the Fullerton Board of Trade.
He died in 1942.
Fullerton History 