James Pieronnet Pierce
Encyclopedia
James Pieronnet Pierce (c. 1825 – 1897) was a California
pioneer entrepreneur.
history. His father, Henry Miller Pierce, was born in Axminster
, Devon
shire, England. His mother, Susan Pieronnet, whose parents were both French, was born in Wayford
, England. In 1820, she, with her parents, moved from England to Friendsville, Pennsylvania
., and was soon followed by Henry Miller Pierce, whose father, John Harvey Pierce, had offered $10,000 to any of his sons who would go to America to live, having great faith in the future of this country. Therefore, Henry M. got both the money and the girl he had wanted before she left England.
, where he remained until he reached his majority, when he moved west and there engaged in the business of general merchandising at Constantine, Michigan
. There he met Miss Amelia Ann Pease, a native of Ann Arbor, whom he married in Jackson, Michigan
on August 25, 1852; he was then just twenty-seven years of age and she seventeen, and together they came to California in 1854, reaching San Francisco, California
by way of the Isthmus. Almost immediately, they went to Yuba County and there at Smartsville, California, Mr. Pierce engaged in hydraulic mining becoming a leading operator before he sold out in 1878.
& Lloyd Tevis
, and others. His interest in this deal amounted to $600,000.
naming the place “New Park,” after the country home of his grandfather in England. The price paid Mr. Lent was $48,500, a very large sum for those days. It abutted on Franklin Street and included what is now the country home of R.T. Pierce. It also included New Park House a fruit orchard nursery, a winery, servants quarters, pasture and stables. Upon his death this property was sold to Judge Hiram Bond who continued to operate it. After Judge Bond's death the property was sold to Senator James D. Phelan
who constructed a Discalced
Carmelite Nunnery which is still there as of 2009. While they were living there the Bonds hosted the author Jack London
who had been their tenant handyman during much of the Klondike Gold Rush
used the estate as the opening scene of the novel The Call of the Wild
.
in Santa Clara and changed its name of Enterprise Mill to the Pacific Manufacturing Company, and incorporated it in 1879. He purchased some timber lands in the Santa Cruz Mountains
and built a saw-mill at Ben Lomond, California
and put in the first band saw to be operated in California. Mr. Pierce at one time owned the Empire Gold Mine in Grass Valley, California
which he sold in 1872 to the father of W.B. Bourn for $150,000. This mine was developed by the Bourns to one of the largest and most profitable in the state. Soon after organizing the Pacific Manufacturing Company, Mr. Pierce became quite active as a lumberman and in addition to the Ben Lomond Mill he purchased timber lands and built a sawmill at Ash Creek at the foot of Mount Shasta
. At this time he was a pioneer in the sugar and white pine industry. He founded the Bank of Santa Clara County and erected the building which it occupied on the corner of Main and Franklin streets. He served as trustee of Mills Seminary, afterwards Mills College
, for many years, devoting a great deal of time to its interests and making it many gifts.
; he married Marion P. Thurston, and they had two daughters, Edith, the wife of J.G. Kennedy of Palo Alto, California
, and Mildred, now deceased, who was the wife of George Corner Fenhagen, a prominent architect in Baltimore, Maryland. Richard T. was the treasurer of the Pacific Manufacturing Company and resided on one of the finest fruit ranches in the Santa Clara Valley and has a beautiful home. Caroline L became Mrs. W. J. Case, and is deceased. Annie A. married F.D. Goodhue, and resided in Pasadena, California
. Grace I. became Mrs. F.D. Madison and is deceased. Florence became Mrs. F. H. Beaver, and resided in San Francisco, where her sister, Frande, Mrs. L.L. Morse, also lived. Mr. Pierce died on February 26, 1897, and was buried beside his wife in Laurel Hill Cemetery, San Francisco.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
pioneer entrepreneur.
Intro and ancestors
Prominent among the noted captains of industry who have contributed greatly toward the development of the resources of the Golden State, the late James Pieronnet Pierce will ever be given an enviable place in CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
history. His father, Henry Miller Pierce, was born in Axminster
Axminster
Axminster is a market town and civil parish on the eastern border of Devon in England. The town is built on a hill overlooking the River Axe which heads towards the English Channel at Axmouth, and is in the East Devon local government district. It has a population of 5,626. The market is still...
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
shire, England. His mother, Susan Pieronnet, whose parents were both French, was born in Wayford
Wayford
Wayford is a village and civil parish on the River Axe, south-west of Crewkerne, in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England. The parish contains the hamlets of Oathill and Clapton.-History:The parish was part of the hundred of Crewkerne....
, England. In 1820, she, with her parents, moved from England to Friendsville, Pennsylvania
Friendsville, Pennsylvania
Friendsville is a borough in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 91 at the 2000 census. The community was named for the colony of Quakers settling here.-Geography:Friendsville is located at ....
., and was soon followed by Henry Miller Pierce, whose father, John Harvey Pierce, had offered $10,000 to any of his sons who would go to America to live, having great faith in the future of this country. Therefore, Henry M. got both the money and the girl he had wanted before she left England.
Early life
James P. Pierce was born at Friendsville, PennsylvaniaFriendsville, Pennsylvania
Friendsville is a borough in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 91 at the 2000 census. The community was named for the colony of Quakers settling here.-Geography:Friendsville is located at ....
, where he remained until he reached his majority, when he moved west and there engaged in the business of general merchandising at Constantine, Michigan
Constantine, Michigan
Constantine is a village in St. Joseph County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,095 at the 2000 census. The village is located within Constantine Township. It is on U.S. Highway 131, leading to Kalamazoo to the north and to the Indiana Toll Road six miles to the south. The...
. There he met Miss Amelia Ann Pease, a native of Ann Arbor, whom he married in Jackson, Michigan
Jackson, Michigan
Jackson is a city located along Interstate 94 in the south central area of the U.S. state of Michigan, about west of Ann Arbor and south of Lansing. It is the county seat of Jackson County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 33,534...
on August 25, 1852; he was then just twenty-seven years of age and she seventeen, and together they came to California in 1854, reaching San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
by way of the Isthmus. Almost immediately, they went to Yuba County and there at Smartsville, California, Mr. Pierce engaged in hydraulic mining becoming a leading operator before he sold out in 1878.
San Francisco Sea Wall
He might have continued uninterruptedly in that important field, had not the death of a brother-in-law, A.H. Houston, drawn him back to San Francisco to take charge of an entirely different enterprise. Mr. Houston, as early as 1867, had undertaken to build part of the seawall along the San Francisco waterfront, under contract with the board of state harbor commissioners, and when he died he had finished only a part of that great undertaking and had gone to great expense in quarrying and cutting granite. Mr. Pierce succeeded to Mr. Houston’s interests and successfully completed 1130 feet of the new sea wall under a new and enlarged contract, receiving as his compensation $240 per lineal foot.Mining Interests
From 1868, for seven or eight years, Mr. Pierce’s family lived in San Francisco, and during that time he established general offices there, although his main interests continued to be the exploitation of hydraulic mining properties in Yuba County, which he still operated for many years after finishing the sea wall. He continued to own and operate the Blue Gravel Mine, which was enlarged to include a water proposition and a large lot of land, and renamed it The Excelsior Water and Mining Company, under which title it was conducted until sold in 1881 to a syndicate composed of James Ben Ali HagginJames Ben Ali Haggin
James Ben Ali Haggin was an Turkish Americanattorney, rancher, investor and a major owner/breeder in the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing...
& Lloyd Tevis
Lloyd Tevis
Lloyd Tevis was a banker and capitalist who served as president of Wells Fargo & Company from 1872 to 1892.-Early life:...
, and others. His interest in this deal amounted to $600,000.
New Park Estate, Santa Clara
In 1866, he purchased from Mr. Lent a very beautiful country home, occupying eighty-eight acres on the west side of Santa Clara, CaliforniaSanta Clara, California
Santa Clara , founded in 1777 and incorporated in 1852, is a city in Santa Clara County, in the U.S. state of California. The city is the site of the eighth of 21 California missions, Mission Santa Clara de Asís, and was named after the mission. The Mission and Mission Gardens are located on the...
naming the place “New Park,” after the country home of his grandfather in England. The price paid Mr. Lent was $48,500, a very large sum for those days. It abutted on Franklin Street and included what is now the country home of R.T. Pierce. It also included New Park House a fruit orchard nursery, a winery, servants quarters, pasture and stables. Upon his death this property was sold to Judge Hiram Bond who continued to operate it. After Judge Bond's death the property was sold to Senator James D. Phelan
James D. Phelan
James Duval Phelan was an American politician, civic leader and banker.-Early years:Phelan was born in San Francisco, the son of an Irish immigrant who became wealthy during the California Gold Rush as a trader, merchant and banker. He graduated from St...
who constructed a Discalced
Discalced
Discalced is a term applied to those religious congregations of men and women, the members of which go entirely barefoot or wear sandals, with or without other covering for the feet. These congregations are often distinguished on this account from other branches of the same order...
Carmelite Nunnery which is still there as of 2009. While they were living there the Bonds hosted the author Jack London
Jack London
John Griffith "Jack" London was an American author, journalist, and social activist. He was a pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction and was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwide celebrity and a large fortune from his fiction alone...
who had been their tenant handyman during much of the Klondike Gold Rush
Klondike Gold Rush
The Klondike Gold Rush, also called the Yukon Gold Rush, the Alaska Gold Rush and the Last Great Gold Rush, was an attempt by an estimated 100,000 people to travel to the Klondike region the Yukon in north-western Canada between 1897 and 1899 in the hope of successfully prospecting for gold...
used the estate as the opening scene of the novel The Call of the Wild
The Call of the Wild
The Call of the Wild is a novel by American writer Jack London. The plot concerns a previously domesticated dog named Buck, whose primordial instincts return after a series of events leads to his serving as a sled dog in the Yukon during the 19th-century Klondike Gold Rush, in which sled dogs...
.
Pacific Manufacturing Co.
In 1877 Mr. Pierce bought a small planing millPlaning mill
A planing mill is a facility that takes cut and seasoned boards from a sawmill and turns them into finished dimensional lumber. Machines used in the mill include the planer and matcher, the molding machines, and varieties of saws...
in Santa Clara and changed its name of Enterprise Mill to the Pacific Manufacturing Company, and incorporated it in 1879. He purchased some timber lands in the Santa Cruz Mountains
Santa Cruz Mountains
The Santa Cruz Mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are a mountain range in central California, United States. They form a ridge along the San Francisco Peninsula, south of San Francisco, separating the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco Bay and the Santa Clara Valley, and continuing south,...
and built a saw-mill at Ben Lomond, California
Ben Lomond, California
Ben Lomond is a census-designated place in Santa Cruz County, California, United States, and also the name of the mountain to the west. The population was 6,234 at the 2010 census.-History:...
and put in the first band saw to be operated in California. Mr. Pierce at one time owned the Empire Gold Mine in Grass Valley, California
Grass Valley, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Grass Valley had a population of 12,860. The population density was 2,711.3 people per square mile . The racial makeup of Grass Valley was 11,493 White, 46 African American, 208 Native American, 188 Asian, 9 Pacific Islander, 419 from other...
which he sold in 1872 to the father of W.B. Bourn for $150,000. This mine was developed by the Bourns to one of the largest and most profitable in the state. Soon after organizing the Pacific Manufacturing Company, Mr. Pierce became quite active as a lumberman and in addition to the Ben Lomond Mill he purchased timber lands and built a sawmill at Ash Creek at the foot of Mount Shasta
Mount Shasta
Mount Shasta is located at the southern end of the Cascade Range in Siskiyou County, California and at is the second highest peak in the Cascades and the fifth highest in California...
. At this time he was a pioneer in the sugar and white pine industry. He founded the Bank of Santa Clara County and erected the building which it occupied on the corner of Main and Franklin streets. He served as trustee of Mills Seminary, afterwards Mills College
Mills College
Mills College is an independent liberal arts women's college founded in 1852 that offers bachelor's degrees to women and graduate degrees and certificates to women and men. Located in Oakland, California, Mills was the first women's college west of the Rockies. The institution was initially founded...
, for many years, devoting a great deal of time to its interests and making it many gifts.
Descendants
Seven children survived Mr. and Mrs. Pierce. The eldest son, James H. Pierce, was president of the Pacific Manufacturing Company, he resided on the Alameda in San Jose, CaliforniaSan Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
; he married Marion P. Thurston, and they had two daughters, Edith, the wife of J.G. Kennedy of Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...
, and Mildred, now deceased, who was the wife of George Corner Fenhagen, a prominent architect in Baltimore, Maryland. Richard T. was the treasurer of the Pacific Manufacturing Company and resided on one of the finest fruit ranches in the Santa Clara Valley and has a beautiful home. Caroline L became Mrs. W. J. Case, and is deceased. Annie A. married F.D. Goodhue, and resided in Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
. Grace I. became Mrs. F.D. Madison and is deceased. Florence became Mrs. F. H. Beaver, and resided in San Francisco, where her sister, Frande, Mrs. L.L. Morse, also lived. Mr. Pierce died on February 26, 1897, and was buried beside his wife in Laurel Hill Cemetery, San Francisco.