William H. Carlson
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and land developer from California
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...
.
Personal
William "Billy" Carlson was born 1864 in SwedenSweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. He immigrated to the U.S. by 1870 and grew up in San Francisco
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...
.
Carlson, a fast-talker, would later often deny he was an immigrant.
By 1885 he had moved to San Diego.
On October 3, 1887 Carlson married Carmen Ferrer, of the wealthy Estudillo
José María Estudillo
José María Estudillo , was an early settler of San Diego, California and was a governing official during San Diego's Mexican period.-Life:...
family.
Ocean Beach
In San Diego he became editor for the San Diego Sun.Then, with San Francisco associate Frank Higgins, he opened a real estate firm, Carlson & Higgins, just when the real estate boom of 1886–1888 took off.
The firm developed Ocean Beach
Ocean Beach, San Diego, California
Ocean Beach is a beachfront neighborhood of San Diego, California.-Geography:Ocean Beach is located in San Diego on the Southern California coast. It lies on the Pacific Ocean at the estuary of the San Diego River, at the western terminus of Interstate 8. It is approximately from Downtown San...
in 1887. They bought 600 acres (2.4 km²) of pueblo
Pueblo
Pueblo is a term used to describe modern communities of Native Americans in the Southwestern United States of America. The first Spanish explorers of the Southwest used this term to describe the communities housed in apartment-like structures built of stone, adobe mud, and other local material...
land and gave it the name Ocean Beach. They laid out and named the streets, sold lots, and constructed a fancy Victorian-style hotel called the Cliff House. They sold 2200 lots in the first few weeks. To lure buyers they promised to build a rail line to downtown, since the development was 2½ hours from downtown by carriage.
Carlson and Higgins actually did develop a short rail line from Roseville (Point Loma
Point Loma, San Diego, California
Point Loma is a seaside community of San Diego, California. Geographically it is a hilly peninsula that is bordered on the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, the east by the San Diego Bay and Old Town and the north by the San Diego River...
) to Ocean Beach in 1888. They also attempted to build a rail line from Old Town to Roseville, but the project foundered in legal troubles after less than a mile of construction.
Meanwhile San Diego's real estate boom had ended and the development was in financial trouble.
His partner Higgins committed suicide in 1889.
Carlson sold the Ocean Beach development to an Eastern financier, and its development would wait another 20 years when permanent rail service arrived.
Political career
Carlson became quite well known because of the failed development, and politically successful.He was first elected as a City Trustee around 1888.
He ran for County Assessor in 1890 and lost.
Next, he studied law and passed the bar.
He was elected to the California State Assembly
California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...
in 1893.
Then, after the legislature adjorned, he ran for mayor in March 1893 as an independent, a last-minute candidate in a five-way race.
Carlson was a tall, dapper, lanky, good-natured young man with no political connections or party affiliation.
He won with less than 34% of the vote. At 28, Carlson is still the youngest person ever elected mayor in San Diego.
He was elected and reelected on the promise to provide all sorts of civic improvements, although he did not deliver all or most of what he promised.
His biggest promise, ultimately unfulfilled, was to build a railroad east of San Diego.
Reportedly many people voted for him "just to see what he would do."
Carlson served as mayor of San Diego during 1893–1896.
He pledged to remove unneeded city jobs, but the council resisted,
setting a pattern of conflict for the rest of the term.
Many of Carlson's public works projects were rejected by the council.
Carlson also raised funds for a railroad to Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
.
He raised funds from thousands, but only had enough to lay 10 miles (16.1 km) of track.
Not until John D. Spreckels
John D. Spreckels
John Diedrich Spreckels , the son of German-American industrialist Claus Spreckels, founded a transportation and real estate empire in San Diego, California in the late 19th and early 20th centuries...
' San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway
San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway
The San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway is a short-line American railroad originally founded in 1906 as the San Diego and Arizona Railway by sugar heir, developer, and entrepreneur John D. Spreckels...
was this plan realized 25 years later.
Towards the end of his Mayoral term, Carlson ran unsuccessfully for Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, promising a new Post Office in every town.
Sure he would win, he had his friend David C. Reed
David C. Reed
Daniel C. Reed was an American Republican politician from California.D. C. Reed was born 1847 in Wisconsin.In 1870, he came to San Diegowhere he became an attorney and real estate and insurance agent....
run for mayor, but after he lost the race for Congress, he kept his name on the mayoral ballot.
However, Carlson lost and his friend Reed won in a 3-way race.
After losing, Carlson staged his own mock political funeral.
Carlson's successes as mayor include obtaining federal funds for a jetty at the entrance to San Diego Bay
San Diego Bay
San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port adjacent to San Diego, California. It is 12 mi/19 km long, 1 mi/1.6 km–3 mi/4.8 km wide...
,
first interesting the Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
in San Diego,
obtaining state funds for a Normal School (later San Diego State University
San Diego State University
San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...
),
and getting a Mexican right-of-way for a railroad to Yuma, mentioned earlier, which Spreckels would later exploit.
Real estate scams
After his defeat, Carlson left town for several real estate and railroad schemes in Los Angeles, Alaska, and Cuba.In 1917 Carlson was caught in a scheme where he sold desert land multiple times to different people and was convicted of mail fraud. He served half of his sentenced time in federal prison, gaining an early release in 1920.
Carlson died 1937 in Los Angeles while in the middle of another shady real estate deal.