With little formal education, he drifted in and out of the army before settling in Clinton, Indiana, where he was a contractor and lumber dealer.
Bassett moved to Fort Worth, Texas in 1879, where he started a lumber business.
On the way he stopped in St. Louis, Missouri to arrange financing for El Paso's first bank.
He had properties and banking interests in Oklahoma, Los Angeles and El Paso.
Charles Bassett died in Santa Monica, California and is buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in El Paso, Texas.
[5] In 1921, Josephine Workman won a lawsuit against Charles N. Bassett to recover an interest in the Rancho La Puente land.