William Bowers Bourn II
William Bowers Bourn II (born May 31, 1857 in San Francisco , † July 5, 1936 in Woodside (California) ) was an American entrepreneur.
Life
William Bowers Bourn II was the second child of William Bowers Bourn I, an early gold mining pioneer in California, who bought and expanded the Empire Mine in Grass Valley, California in 1869. Son William II grew up in San Francisco and attended Cambridge University in England from 1875 . After his father died in 1874 and mining operations at the Empire Mine stalled, Bourn returned to California and at the age of 21 took over the management of the mine and the Madroña Ranch in St. Helena, California . Together with his cousin George Starr, a mining engineer, they managed to continue operating the Empire Mine successfully.
In 1881 Bourn married Agnes Moody in New York.
Bourn used his wealth and reputation to acquire additional businesses and perform corporate functions. In 1890 he became president of the San Francisco Gas Company , which later developed into the utility company Pacific Gas and Electric .
After the strong earthquake in San Francisco in 1906 , which caused destruction and spread fear, wealthy families on the peninsula moved south. The Bourn family rented the so-called Sky Farm near Crystal Springs Lake in San Mateo County from 1908 . In the same year Bourn bought the Spring Valley Water Company , which supplied the city of San Francisco with water.
Bourns suffered two strokes in 1921 and 1922. After the death of his only offspring, daughter Maud, he sold his holdings in 1929. The Empire Mine was taken over by the Newmont Mining Corporation and the Spring Yalley Water Company by the City of San Francisco.
In 1936 both Bourns and his wife Agnes died on their Filoli estate .
Acquired country estates
Greystone Cellars, Napa Valley, California
In St. Helena, at the northern end of the well-known Napa Valley , Bourn had the imposing stone building of the Greystone Cellars built from 1888–1889 on a further acquired winery . The purpose was not only to press their own wine, but also to temporarily store the wines of other winegrowers in the region in order to achieve better sales prices. It was the largest wine cellar in California at the time. A decade later, the winery passed into other hands. From 1945 to 1989 the Catholic brother order Christian Brothers took over the winery and produced well-known wines as well as brandy. The building now houses the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone as well as a Wine Spectator restaurant .
Muckross House, Republic of Ireland
After daughter Maud met the Englishman Arthur Rose Vincent on a transatlantic voyage, they married in 1910. In the same year Bourns bought a large estate with the Muckross House as an elegant mansion in a spacious garden near Killarney in the Republic of Ireland as a wedding gift for them Newlyweds. He invested in modernizations and gardens. Bourn's parents were also frequent guests there. After their daughter Maud died in 1929, the Bourns and son-in-law Vincent ceded this estate to the Irish state in 1932. This later became the country's first national park, the Killarney National Park .
Filoli, Woodside, California
Bourn subsequently wanted a facility similar to Muckross House in California close to his business interests. In 1915, for example, he bought a plot of land adjacent to the property of his Spring Valley Water Company, on which he had the Filoli estate and gardens built. From 1917 the Bourns lived mainly on Filoli.
Filoli has been owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation since 1975 and is open to the public. The garden is considered one of the most beautiful in the world and has won several awards.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Family history of the owners of Filoli Gardens ( Memento from September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Collection of the Bowers Bourn Family Writings, 1848-1985. University of California, Berkeley, Bancroft Library
- ↑ a b c d Bourns build Filoli ( Memento from July 16, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Napa Valley Register: Greystone Cellars. September 5, 2009
- ^ Wine Spectator Greystone Restaurant
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bowers Bourn, William II |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American entrepreneur |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 31, 1857 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | San Francisco |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 5, 1936 |
| Place of death | Woodside (California) |