Thomas Edwin Hughes

Last updated

Thomas Edwin Hughes
Thomas E. Hughes.jpg
Photo circa 1891
Born(1830-06-06)June 6, 1830
Morgantown, North Carolina
DiedApril 19, 1919(1919-04-19) (aged 88)
Resting place Mountain View Cemetery
36°45′01″N119°49′41″W / 36.750150°N 119.827990°W / 36.750150; -119.827990
Other namesFather of Fresno
Spouse(s)Mary J. Rodgers (m. 1850-her death in 1859)
Annie E. Yoakum (m. 1866-her death in 1911)

Thomas Edwin Hughes (1830-1919) was a nineteenth century real estate developer and investor who, through business ventures and civic involvement, contributed to the initial development of Fresno, California.

Contents

Early life

Thomas Edwin Hughes was born on June 6, 1830, in Morgantown, North Carolina. [1] [2] His father, also named Thomas, was born in Macclesfield, England and came to the United States in 1819. The family moved from North Carolina to Arkansas when the younger Thomas was five years old. [2] He was one of five children.

Thomas Edwin Hughes married and, at twenty three years old, traveled to California with his wife and other family members. They rode in wagons drawn by cows and drove a herd of cattle across the country, ending in Murphy's Camp in October 1953. [3] In Murphy's Camp, he attempted to grow wheat but did not turn a profit. He switched to cattle and sheep raising. [4] [1]

In 1856, Hughes, his wife and their two sons traveled back to Arkansas via steamship but soon decided to return to California. His wife died en route and he buried her in Stockton, California, where he settled with his sons after the journey back west with 400 head of cattle. [3]

Business career

Northern California

Beginning in 1859, Hughes made a life in Stockton enduring the ups and downs of farming and raising cattle. In 1866, he married again, to a woman from Alameda County named Annie Yokum. By 1867, he became Stanislaus County clerk and ex-officio recorder via a popular vote. At the end of his term, he turned back to sheep raising. [5] [3] [6]

Hughes rented thousands of acres in Merced to raise the sheep and to grow grain. He and his wife also gave birth to a daughter in August 1872. However, his Merced-based enterprise met with unfavorable conditions and Hughes found himself deeply in debt. He went to Baja California to explore the potential of colonizing a Mexican land grant and came back to find his assets sold via bankruptcy as his creditors assumed he had left the country for good. [6] [5]

With almost no money, Hughes moved with his family to San Francisco in spring 1874. He dealt in real estate, supporting his family and growing his business connections. He became a real estate agent for the Central Pacific Railroad company which, at the time, was expanding into the San Joaquin Valley. Central Pacific's simple wood frame depot, then called Fresno station, anchored what became the city of Fresno. [6] [5]

On behalf of Central Pacific Railroad, Hughes managed excursions of home seekers from the San Francisco Bay Area to Fresno station. Wealthy men were also given special trips to the area to entice them to rent or buy land. By facilitating these property transactions, Hughes saw the large profits to be made. [1]

While in San Francisco, Hughes met a businessman named Dr. Edward B. Perrin who owned land in the valley. Hughes agreed to raise sheep on Perrin's land in exchange for half the wool and for increasing the flocks. Hughes assigned this task to his sons, William Marshall Hughes and Major Joseph Edward Hughes and sent them to live in Fresno. [4] Hughes continued to operate as a real estate agent for Central Pacific and moved to Fresno himself in June 1878. [5] [2]

Fresno growth

Already acting as a promoter of Fresno, Hughes noticed the success of the Central California Colony led by W. S. Chapman, Bernhard Marks and Martin Theodore Kearney. The Central California Colony, formed in 1875, inspired many similar agricultural colonies in the area. Following the trend, Hughes formed what was called the Fresno Colony. [7]

The four-story Hughes Hotel circa 1890 Hughes Hotel Fresno.jpg
The four-story Hughes Hotel circa 1890
Postcard of the remodeled Hotel Hughes in the 1930s Hotel Hughes, On U. S. 99, Fresno, Calif (80883).jpg
Postcard of the remodeled Hotel Hughes in the 1930s

He purchased 2880 acres of barren land in 1880 at $6.50 an acre. After dividing the land into twenty and forty-acre lots irrigating them, they could be sold for $50 an acre. The colony was situated just south of the growing downtown, so close that residents of his colony could send their children the Fresno school district. Easy access to city amenities was a selling point for potential buyers. [7]

The success of the Fresno Colony created a financial windfall for Hughes and he reinvested it all into business ventures in the growing Fresno area. In 1881, he helped to establish the Fresno County Bank, another success story. [1] Fresno County Bank was renamed First National Bank of Fresno in 1885 and continued to grow. In 1919, it was bought by the San Francisco-based Bank of Italy. [8]

However, Hughes also encountered business failures, such as his Fresno Fruit Packing Company, the Fresno Gas Works and the ill-fated railroad extension towards Friant led by Marcus Pollasky. [9] [1] [5]

Later in the 1880s, he financed the erection of two buildings in downtown Fresno. One was a three-story, Renaissance Revival style office and retail building designed by James M. Seadler, an architect from San Francisco. It began operation beginning in 1887 located on the northwest corner of Tulare and I Street, in the heart of Fresno's central business district.

On the southwest corner of that same Tulare and I Street intersection, Hughes built a hotel. [1] [10] It was also in a Renaissance Revival style and consisted of a four-story brick structure finished in a sandstone color. The hotel contained 200 rooms and featured a large central court, a dining room, a reading room, a billiard room and saloon and a steam laundry. At the time of its completion the Hughes was the largest hotel between San Francisco and Los Angeles. It was the first building in Fresno to have an elevator and the first Fresno hotel to have electric lights and a telephone in each room. [11]

In 1887, Hughes invested in a horse-drawn streetcar operation, a predecessor to the Fresno Traction Company. Hughes sought to ensure the streetcar route ran past his hotel on I Street. [6]

Thomas Hughes promoting a Madera agricultural colony which never came to fruition Promoter Thomas Hughes.png
Thomas Hughes promoting a Madera agricultural colony which never came to fruition

In 1893, Hughes participated in the drive to slice off a northern portion of Fresno County to form Madera County. The drive was successful and Madera County was formed during a special election in May 1893. Hughes had a business interest in the change, having purchased a 3,300 acre ranch in the Madera area which he hoped to turn into an agricultural colony, similar to his earlier Fresno colony. [9]

Crash and Mexico

1893 saw a large economic crash which forced Hughes into bankruptcy and he had to abandon many of his business interests in Fresno. He was forced into bankruptcy in January 1894 with liabilities totaling $176,520 ($6.22 million in 2023 [12] ) and he was sued by many of his creditors in the years following the crash. [13] The Hughes Hotel was turned over to the San Francisco Theological Seminary as a secured creditor. He moved with his family to Mexico. [1] [6]

In Mexico, he undertook a land development enterprise under a Mexican grant, but he disliked the exploitative peonage-style labor methods of the land owners. He shifted his efforts to mining development, with some success. However, the development of any business interests in Mexico were halted upon the start of the Mexican Revolution and Hughes decided to leave. [5]

Death

Hughes returned to California around 1908, residing near Los Angeles. During this time, he came back to Fresno for short visits or reunions and made sure to express to his children his wish to be buried in Fresno. He was in ill health for several years due to his advanced age.

Thomas Edwin Hughes died at his daughters home near Los Angeles on April 19, 1919, at the age of 88. [4] His remains were transferred to Fresno and are interred at Fresno's Mountain View Cemetery. [14] His headstone includes an inscription that reads "lovingly known as the Father of Fresno." [6]

Impact

Development of Fresno

Annie Hughes, wife of Thomas E. Hughes Annie Hughes.png
Annie Hughes, wife of Thomas E. Hughes

As a real estate agent for the Central Pacific Railroad, Hughes acted a booster for the Fresno area, hoping to entice potential renters and buyers. Hughes continued to promote Fresno widely when he formed his agricultural colony. These efforts saw Fresno grow from a tiny village to an incorporated city of thousands.

In addition to his business ventures, Hughes participated in many community-boosting civic pursuits. He led the construction of a Masonic temple. In 1883, Hughes partnered with Dr. Lewis Leach and others to form the "Fresno Fair Grounds Association." Hughes sold a tract of land to the group and furnished funds to construct a horse racing track at the site. Over the years, the horseraces at track developed into the modern Big Fresno Fair, attracting around 600,000 people in 2019. [15] [6] Hughes was also one of the first city trustees when Fresno incorporated in 1885. [4]

After Hughes had lost ownership, the Hughes Hotel declined. By 1917, the building had become a hub for prostitution. [16] The building was ultimately destroyed by an arson fire in 1953. Chukchansi Park was built on the land where the Hughes Hotel once stood.

The Fresno Morning Republican wrote the following about Hughes: "Indeed, it is but voicing the general sentiment of the people of Fresno...to say that no one among them has done so much for the improvement, growth and prosperity of that place, has given so much of his time, means and personal attention to public work and enterprises as he." [6]

The Fresno Weekly Expositor expressed the following in January 1890: "While he has amassed $1,000,000 or more in the past 10 years, he has not aquired [sic] a dollar of it by oppressing creditors or taking advantage of those with whom he has dealings. Always approachable and unassuming, ever ready to help on a good cause or enterprise, he is preeminently the leading spirit and useful man of Fresno County." [6]

Legacy

Annie Hughes, the wife of Thomas E. Hughes, was responsible for the organization of a free kindergarten which afterward was incorporated in the public schools. [17]

His son William Marshall Hughes died at age 87 in Madera in 1945. He was Madera County treasurer from 1924 through 1938. [17] [18] His other son Major Joseph Edward Hughes finished his life as a real estate broker and died in his 90s. [17] His great-grandson Joseph B. Hughes became the Madera County road commissioner. [17]

The north-south thoroughfare Hughes Avenue in Fresno is named after Thomas E. Hughes. [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fresno County, California</span> County in California, United States

Fresno County, officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populous city in California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madera County, California</span> County in California, United States

Madera County, officially the County of Madera, is a county located at the geographic center of the U.S. state of California. It features a varied landscape, encompassing the eastern San Joaquin Valley and the central Sierra Nevada, with Madera serving as the county seat. Established in 1893 from part of Fresno County, Madera County reported a population of 156,255 in the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Valley Project</span> Flood control, energy production, and water conveyance infrastructure in California

The Central Valley Project (CVP) is a federal power and water management project in the U.S. state of California under the supervision of the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR). It was devised in 1933 in order to provide irrigation and municipal water to much of California's Central Valley—by regulating and storing water in reservoirs in the northern half of the state, and transporting it to the water-poor San Joaquin Valley and its surroundings by means of a series of canals, aqueducts and pump plants, some shared with the California State Water Project (SWP). Many CVP water users are represented by the Central Valley Project Water Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claus Spreckels</span> Biography of sugar maven

Adolph Claus J. Spreckels was a major industrialist in Hawai'i during the kingdom, republican, and territorial periods of the islands' history. He also involved himself in several California enterprises, most notably the company that bears his name, Spreckels Sugar Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central California</span> Region of California in the United States

Central California is generally thought of as the middle third of the U.S. state of California, north of Southern California and south of Northern California. It includes the northern portion of the San Joaquin Valley, part of the Central Coast, the central hills of the California Coast Ranges and the foothills and mountain areas of the central Sierra Nevada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Big Fresno Fair</span> Annual fair held in Fresno, California, USA

The Big Fresno Fair, founded in 1884, is an annual fair held at the Fresno County Fairgrounds. The Big Fresno Fair is managed by the 21st District Agricultural Association, an entity of the California Department of Food and Agriculture Division of Fairs & Expositions. It is the largest annual event in the San Joaquin Valley, attracting around 600,000 people each October during its twelve-day run featuring exhibits, a livestock show, live horse racing, musical entertainment, educational programs and more. The Fair provides a link between urban and rural California, serving as a tool to educate visitors on the region's rich agricultural industry. The mission of The Big Fresno Fair is to "Educate, Celebrate and Have Fun".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Millerton, Madera County, California</span> Former settlement in California, United States

Millerton was a settlement located on the San Joaquin River and was the original county seat of Fresno County. Millerton was populated from about 1853 to the 1880s and is now inundated by the waters of Millerton Lake.

Indian Lakes Estates is an unincorporated community in Madera County, California. It borders the Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino to the east, and is south of Coarsegold. As of 2000, it was a wooded enclave of 485 homes to working families and retirees, using the two-lane Road 417 as their main residential road. It lies at an elevation of 2247 feet.

Sumner Hill is an unincorporated community in Madera County, California. Lying at an elevation of 535 feet, it is 6+1⁄2 miles north of Woodland Park in Fresno. It was created in 1985 as a 49-lot subdivision on a bluff on the eastern section of Peck Ranch, on the Madera County side of the San Joaquin River. The gated community developed a reputation for its high-priced homes. In the 1990s, the entire 15,000-acre area south of Little Table Mountain and east of Highways 41 and 45, including Sumner Hill, started being called "Rio Mesa".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolitan Fresno</span> Combined Statistical Area in California, United States

Metropolitan Fresno, officially Fresno–Hanford–Corcoran, CA CSA, is a metropolitan area in the San Joaquin Valley, in the United States, consisting of Fresno and Madera counties. It is the third-largest metropolitan region in Northern California, behind the San Francisco Bay Area and Greater Sacramento. It is also the 49th-largest CSA in the U.S. as of 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Helm</span> American sheep farmer

William Helm was an American sheep farmer and among the early pioneer settlers of Fresno County, California. He was instrumental in the growth and prosperity of the San Joaquin Valley. Helm was vice-president of the Fresno Bank of Central California, and the president of the Fresno Canal and Irrigation Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific Improvement Company</span> Holding company of the Southern Pacific Railroad

The Pacific Improvement Company (PIC) was a large holding company in California and an affiliate of the Southern Pacific Railroad. It was formed in 1878, by the Big Four, who were influential businessmen, philanthropists and railroad tycoons who funded the Central Pacific Railroad, (C.P.R.R.). These men were: Leland Stanford (1824–1893), Collis Potter Huntington (1821–1900), Mark Hopkins (1813–1878), and Charles Crocker (1822–1888). They owned the company, each with 25% interest. Archived records date from 1869 to 1931.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James McMillan Shafter</span> 19th century American politician

James McMillan Shafter was an American lawyer, politician, and pioneer of Wisconsin and California. He was the 13th Secretary of State of Vermont and the 5th speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly (1852). Later in life he was a California state senator and superior court judge. Near the time of his death, his large dairy ranch in Marin County, California, was described as one of the largest ranches in the world—over 23,000 acres. His name was abbreviated in different ways over the course of his life, including J. McM. Shafter, Jas. M'm. Shafter, and other permutations.

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Fresno, California, USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madera Sugar Pine Company</span> Defunct logging company in Madera County, California, US

The Madera Sugar Pine Company was a United States lumber company that operated in the Sierra Nevada region of California during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The company distinguished itself through the use of innovative technologies, including the southern Sierra's first log flume and logging railroad, along with the early adoption of the Steam Donkey engine. Its significant regional impact led to the establishment of towns such as Madera, Fish Camp, and Sugar Pine, as well as the growth of Fresno Flats and the formation of Madera County.

J. L. Schleimer was an American politician from Arizona. He served a single term in the Arizona State Senate during the 5th Arizona State Legislature, holding the seat from Santa Cruz County. He was a real estate developer, first in California, then in Nogales, Arizona. Later in life he became the vice-council for Venezuela in Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Theodore Kearney</span> Californian agriculturist (1842 – 1906)

Martin Theodore Kearney (1842–1906), also known as M.T. Kearney or M. Theo Kearney, was a nineteenth century English immigrant to the United States and a pioneer land developer. In a biography of Kearney, Rehart and Patterson referred to him as "one of the most powerful and prosperous agricultural leaders in the state of California."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mountain View Cemetery (Fresno)</span> Cemetery in Fresno County, California

Mountain View Cemetery is a cemetery in Fresno, California, opened in the 1880s.

Charles Porter Converse was a mid-19th century Californian businessman who was the director of the Kings River Lumber Company and the namesake of Converse Basin Grove. He was involved in various controversies and legal issues during his lifetime and died by drowning in San Francisco Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harlow Fire</span> 1961 wildfire in Central California

The Harlow Fire was a large wildfire in Central California's Mariposa and Madera counties in mid-July, 1961. The fire ignited on July 10 and burned rapidly, covering 43,329 acres before it was fully surrounded by containment lines on July 13 and fully controlled on July 15. During those six days the Harlow Fire destroyed 106 buildings, devastating the rural communities of Ahwahnee and Nipinnawasee in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada to the west of Yosemite National Park and the Sierra National Forest. Two residents of Ahwahnee were killed while fleeing the fire in their car.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Rehart, Catherine Morison (1996). The Valley's Legends and Legacies. Fresno, California: Quill Driver Books. p. 94.
  2. 1 2 3 ""Father of Fresno" dies at ripe old age of 89". Modesto Morning Herald. April 22, 1919. p. 8. Retrieved October 20, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  3. 1 2 3 "One of the representative men from Fresno". Overland Monthly. A. Roman & Company. 1887. p. 49. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 ""Father of Fresno" dies in Los Angeles". Stockton Evening and Sunday Record. April 22, 1919. p. 11. Retrieved October 20, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Vandor, Paul E. (1919). History of Fresno County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present. Los Angeles, CA: Historic Record Company.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Patterson, William K. (March 18, 1956). "'Father of Fresno' amassed, lost fortune in brief span". Fresno Bee. p. 12. Retrieved October 21, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  7. 1 2 Thickens, Virginia E. (June 1946). "Pioneer Agricultural Colonies of Fresno County". California Historical Society Quarterly. 25 (2): 171. doi:10.2307/25155973. JSTOR   25155973 . Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  8. ↑ "First National control goes to Bank of Italy". Fresno Morning Republican. July 15, 1919. p. 18. Retrieved October 24, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  9. 1 2 "The traitorous mutineer, Thomas E. Hughes". The Madera Tribune. March 3, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  10. ↑ "The Hughes Block". The Daily Morning Republican. November 18, 1888. p. 3. Retrieved October 21, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Thomas E. Hughes". California Homes and Industries and Representative Citizens. The Elliott Publishing Company. 1891. p. 35. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  12. ↑ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–" . Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  13. ↑ The Pacific Reporter. Vol. 86. West Pub. Co. 1906. p. 908.
  14. ↑ "Loved Fresno; to be buried here". Fresno Morning Republican. April 22, 1919. Retrieved October 20, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "Incorporated". The Sacramento Bee. February 13, 1883. p. 3. Retrieved July 27, 2022– via Newspapers.com. Articles of incorporation have been filed with the secretary of state of the Fresno Fair Grounds Association. Directors—Lewis Leach, M. I. Donahou, Frederick A. Woodworth, A. B. Butler, T. M. Hughes
  16. ↑ "Police tolerate social evil in lodging houses". Fresno Morning Republican. February 3, 1915. p. 11. Retrieved October 24, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 Laughnan, Woody (September 15, 1986). "Hughes family". The Fresno Bee. p. 5. Retrieved October 21, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ "Madera Biographies: HUGHES". Madera County, California GenWeb. Retrieved October 24, 2022.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.