USA > California > Los Angeles County > Los Angeles > Men of achievement in the great Southwest Illustrated. A story of pioneer struggles during early days in Los Angeles and Southern California. With biographies, heretofore unpublished facts, anecdotes and incidents in the lives of the builders > Part 17
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20
Securing an appointment as freight agent for the old Du- buque and Sioux City Rail- road, now merged into the Il- linois Central system, he re- mained with the company until it had extended its lines to Fort Dodge, lowa, resigning to make a trip East in the inter- est of some private business matters. His first introduc- tion to the West, in the de- velopment of which he was destined to take so active a part, was in 1870, shortly after the completion of the Union Pacific Railroad to the Coast.
-
C. HENRY THOMPSON.
In 1877 he came to this State to assume charge of the old El Capitan mine, in Nevada county. He remained in com- plete charge of the property for the ensuing three years, finally resigning to become identified with the new territory just being opened in Colorado, near the vicinity of Lead- ville. The mine which he accepted the management of was located about twenty miles north of Leadville, in the Eagle River country. Under the system of active development work inaugurated by Capt. Thompson, it was soon placed upon the list of shippers, but unfortunately the railroad was not accessible. Nothing daunted, Capt. Thompson at once opened negotiations for the extension of the Denver and Rio Grande system from its Leadville terminus to the mining dis- trict in which he was interested. This was accomplished
by one of the finest pieces of railroad engineering ever at- tempted, and the railroad crossed the Rocky Mountains at an altitude of 10,670 feet, over the famous Tennessee Pass, to the mines of the Eagle River country.
In the year 1881 the captain built and operated a smelter in Summit county, Colorado. While the plant was built primarily for the ores of the Belden mine, a general custom work was done. After getting the plant upon a paying basis, Capt. Thompson disposed of his interest, and shortly after became owner of the old Elgin smelter in Leadville. While on a business trip to New York, he received a telegram from Mr. J. B. Grant, the millionaire smelterman of Colorado, to the effect that a smelter he had been operating in Leadville had burned, and offering the captain $1000 a month for a lease of his plant. The deal was closed by wire, and for the following year the plant was operated by Mr. Grant.
It is not our purpose to fol- low Capt. Thompson through the dozens of camps which claimed his attention for the ensuing few years. Suffice to, say his experience brought him into close touch and per- sonal relations with the most prominent and successful min- ing operators on the continent. During this time he visited the principal camps of Colorado, Utah, Montana, Idaho, Ore- gon, Washington and British Columbia, making reports on properties for eastern capital- ists and examinations and in- vestments on his own account. Among the business connec- tions he had formed during this period were Gen. Russell A. Alger, former Secretary of War in President McKinley's Cabinet, and other Detroit cap- italists. In the spring of '94 he made a trip to British Co- lumbia to examine some prop- erties in which they were in- terested, among them being the now famous Ironsides, the Stemwinder, the Knob Hill and the Rawhide. He reported that these would prove among the greatest producers of the country, when supplied with railroad transportation and equipped for treating the immense ore bodies. Owing to the total absence of transportation and the uncertainty as to when it could be had, Gen. Alger finally decided not to pur- chase the property. It was purchased and is now managed by the Minor-Graves syndicate.
The mines lie midway between Greenwood and Grand Forks, and the properties are in a highly developed stage of production. The Northwest, at that time, was attracting min- ing men from all over the country, and Capt. Thompson, becoming interested in the wonderfully-rich Slocan district, of British Columbia, made Spokane his headquarters for the ensuing ten years. His investments in that district he still
121
MEN OF ACHIEVEMENT IN THE GREAT SOUTHWEST.
retains, as well as others in various parts of the mining coun- try tributary to Spokane.
The famous old Virtue mine of Baker City, Ore., which in its day had produced millions' and been the star mine of the State, had been given up by the owners as practically worked out. Capt. Thompson made an examination of the property on his own account and was so firm in his belief that the mine still contained hidden treasures that he purchased the prop- erty from its San Francisco owner, George W. Grayson. After making a series of changes and improvements in the mine, he disposed of it to a Canadian company, composed largely of Toronto men. They are engaged in sinking a new shaft to a depth of 1000 feet, after which a large amount of work is contemplated in opening up the different levels. There is no doubt among well-informed mining men of the North- west that the Virtue mine can again be placed upon the list of dividend-payers, where she so long held first place.
In the Sumpter district, the captain organized the Bunker Hill Mining Company, disposing of a large share of his interest in the property to a Toronto syndicate, although he still retains an interest in the company. The Bunker Hill consists of the old Bunker Hill, the Lilac and the Myrtle, and owns valuable claims in the richest mineralized zone of the district. Among Spokane's little coterie of successful min- ing men, Capt. Thompson was always actively energetic. His properties always received the attention they merited, and development was prosecuted vigorously. As a conservative expert on properties his services were in frequent demand, and it was while engaged in reporting on a mine in Sonora, Mex., that he made his first appearance in the section trib- utary to Los Angeles.
Upon making his home in this city, Capt. Thompson in- vested generously in both Southern California and Arizona,
and spent his money freely in the development of his prop- erties. Among the most recent of his purchases and incor- porations may be mentioned that of the Cedar Valley Mining and Smelting Company, whose property is located at Cedar, Mohave county, Arizona. There is a historic old mine among the group of sixteen claims acquired by the company, nine of which are patented. It is the old Arnold mine, known to the old-timers of Arizona because of its remarkable rich- ness during the early days when labor cost $10 a day and supplies had to be hauled in overland. A drive of twenty miles east from Yucca, on the Santa Fé, brings one to the property, which is a flourishing little camp, known to the postal authorities as Cedar, and the postoffice, which is the only one within a radius of twenty miles, is located in the general merchandise store which the company maintains at its mines.
Work on the property is prosecuted through 250-foot shaft, well equipped with a steam hoisting plant. Develop- ment work on the various levels is progressing satisfactorily, and mill returns demonstrate that the owners of the old Arnold mine, operated under the most serious disadvantages, had a bonanza with a wonderful future. The company is operating a fifteen-stamp mill, and an enlargement of the plant is contemplated for the immediate future. Capt. Thompson has many other mining interests in Southern and Lower California and Mexico.
Any properties coming under the influence of his manage- ment are rapidly developed, and the interests of all con- cerned religiously conserved. Capt. Thompson is a man of great executive ability and keen perception, and these quali- fications have combined with his sterling integrity to estab- lish a most enviable reputation for him in mining circles throughout the West.
W. W. D. TURNER.
T HE men who have made fortunes in the mining regions of the West are striking examples of the possibilities offered in mining, and the great number who have entered the field as investors must stand for the attractive nature of this most alluring of all pursuits. Almost without exception, men who have applied sound business principles to mining have been rewarded far beyond the possibilities offered in any other field of investment. It is, therefore, appropriate to present a brief sketch of the career of the above well-known operator.
Few of the host of Col. Turner's friends will realize that his birth took place sixty-seven years ago in Knox county, Missouri, and here the lad passed his boyhood days and grew to young manhood. Missouri in the early '30's was a frontier State and educational advantages were rare, indeed, but young Turner early determined upon securing a legal education, and with but two terms in the district school to his credit, nothing daunted, entered a law office near his native place and was admitted to the bar after passing the required examination.
Shortly after having received his "sheepskin," he removed to Southwestern Missouri, where he engaged in the practice of his profession. It was while there that he was elected a member of the Missouri State Convention that deposed the Rebel State government and inaugurated a loyal government. Fired with patriotic enthusiasm, he enlisted in the Twentieth Missouri carly in '61, and served four years, during which
time he was in numerous engagements and saw service in all parts of the South. Step by step he won promotion during the series of campaigns in which he participated, and upon being mustered out at the close of the war, was colonel of the Twentieth Missouri.
In association with an old friend, and later Governor of Louisiana, he commenced the practice of law in New Orleans under the firm name of Turner & Warmoth. The young attorneys were accorded immediate recognition and established themselves in a lucrative practice. Mobile, Alabama, was the next scene of Col. Turner's legal work, and here he remained until the fall of 1877, when, influenced by the greater oppor- tunities then available in the North, he removed to Wisconsin, where he won prominence for his knowledge of the law and for his untiring efforts in behalf of clients. While a resident of Wisconsin he served as a member of the State Legislature and was active in promoting the best interests of the State in many ways.
The year 1885 marked a great migration to the newly developed country opened up by the Northern Pacific Railroad, and Col. Turner, ever alert for opportunities to advance, and realizing that legal difficulties develop early in mining com- munities, swung his shingle in the little town of Spokane, Washington, on the 26th of September, 1885. Spokane at that time boasted of a population of less than three thousand, but the immensely rich country tributary to it gave promise of a
122
MEN OF ACHIEVEMENT IN THE GREAT SOUTHWEST.
great future, and time has demonstrated the wisdom of Col. Turner's choice. He was favored with a handsome clientage, and such was his success in mining law suits that business grew beyond his power, and for a number of years he was associated with his brother, United States Senator George Turner, and Geo. M. Forster, in the legal firm of Turner, Forster & Turner, a firm whose reputation was by no means confined to the limits of the State in which it was located.
It was along in 1892 that Col. Turner, in association with his law partner, Col. Patton, Maj. Armstrong, L. F. Williams, Col. Ridpath, and other well-known residents of Spokane, purchased the Leroi mine, situated at Rossland, British Col- umbia. The Leroi, famous the world over as the big bonanza of the boundary country, was at that time a mere prospect, and was acquired for the sum of $30,000. Its value will best be appreciated when it is announced that seven years later the owners disposed of it for . practically $4,000,000. As a history maker there has been no equal to it in the British possessions north of us. F. August Heinze, the Montana copper king, se- cured a contract to treat 75,000 tons of its ores, and to accomplish it built the celebrated Trail Creek smelter on the Columbia River, seven miles from the mine, and connected the two with a railroad that for engineering triumphs ex- ceeded anything noticeable upon the Canadian Pacific. After the expiration of this contract with Mr. Heinze, the management of the Le- roi erected its own smelters at Northport, Washington. where the ores of the mines are treated today.
After disposing of his in- terest in the famous Leroi, and his other mining prop- erties in the Northwest, Col. Turner, in association with his brother, the Sena- tor, turned his attention to the building of the Yellow- stone Park Railroad in Montana. He made his home at Bozeman, Mon- tana, for five years, and devoted the greater portion of his time to the construction and operation of the road, which leaves the main line of the Northern Pacific about 100 miles east of Helena and runs southeast to immense deposits of coal which are now being marketed in Butte, Great Falls, Anaconda and many other smelting centers of the great copper State. The Amalgamated Copper Company has been operating a 100-ton coking plant on the line of the road with such success that a new plant of equal capacity is now being constructed at the town of Storrs.
Having retired from the practice of law to attend to the numerous details of his other extensive interests, Col. Turner for the past five years has been spending the winters in Los Angeles, and since 1901 has made his home here. Although he intended to retire from further mining business, he has
made liberal investments in city realty, and is upon the direc- torate of the Broadway Bank and Trust Company. Recently he has become interested in some Arizona properties which have been incorporated under the title of the Cedar Valley Mining and Smelting Company. The property consists of some twenty claims in Mojave county, Arizona, some twenty- three miles from Yucca, a station on the main line of the Santa Fé system. The mines are old producers, and the ores average high. Formerly they were worked when labor cost $10 a day, and everything else was in proportion. With improved facilities and modern methods the properties have a bright future before them. As president of the company, Col. Turner will bring to the corporation a wealth of mining lore and legal knowledge that will auger well for the rapid devel- opment of the mines. Immense sums are now being expended in opening up the property, twenty-five miles of road have been built from the railroad to the mines, and new and improved machinery in- stalled for the mining and milling of the ores. Assay returns are highly satisfac- tory, and with ample capital at its disposal the manage- ment is prosecuting work most actively. Col. Tur- ner's mining investments in the Southwest have been made judiciously and only after careful investigation of the merits of a proposi- tion. His experience in mining has been extended over a period of nearly twenty years and brought him in close association with many of the most suc- cessful operators of the West, of whom he is one. Success has attended the Colonel in his mining ven- tures for the past twenty years, and the measure of his success may be attrib- uted to meritorious effort. Perseverance, patience and tenacity of purpose have forced fickle Dame For- tune to smile upon him.
COL. W. W. D. TURNER.
Col. Turner attributes his success in life to hard work, and at the age of sixty- seven he enjoys a vigorous manhood which well befits the part he has taken in the development of the West.
Col. W. W. D. Turner, like many other Colorado, Montana and Western mining men, has been attracted to Los Angeles by the geniality of its climate. Coming here with the desire to spend his time in the enjoyment of a well-earned rest after forty years of practice before the bar in many parts of the United States, Col. Turner has taken advantage of the oppor- tunities awaiting the investor in this section and has re-entered active life. He has a beautiful home on West Adams street, in one of the most exclusive residence sections of Los Angeles. The grounds are among the most attractive in the city, and are laid out with a wealth of tropical and semi-tropical plants and shrubs.
RESIDENCE OF C. HENRY THOMPSON.
RESIDENCE OF W. W. D. TURNER.
RESIDENCE OF F. C. FENNER.
124
MEN OF ACHIEVEMENT IN THE GREAT SOUTHWEST.
HENRY JOHN WOOLLACOTT.
H ENRY J. WOOLLACOTT was born in Salt Lake City in 1858. His parents were among the little band of pioneers who emigrated to Utah during the early '50's from England. His father was a stone cutter by trade, and young Woollacott's boyhood was spent like that of most boys of that time. After reaching his twelfth year the lad never had the advantages or opportunities of further schooling except in the greatest of all schools presided over by Experi- ence - from her he learned the lesson well. Having reached the age of twelve, he secured employment in the retail grocery department of the Walker Brothers' immense general mer- chandise store in his native city, receiving the sum of $3 a week as compensation. He remained with the firm for over
HENRY JOHN WOOLLACOTT.
five years, during which time he was transferred to the liquor department and received better wages. He learned the business thoroughly. In 1876, when he had just passed his eighteenth birthday, young Woollacott, ever alert for an opportunity to better his condition, decided to come to Los Angeles, then a little Spanish town of less than 6000 population, but showing signs of an awakening that was to arouse the favorable comment of all parts of the world. With a capital of $20 cash he immediately looked about for employment in the vocation in which he had served so faithful an apprenticeship. His quest was gratified by securing a position with Alex. Mckenzie at the monthly wage of $50. Mr. Woollacott remained in the employ of Mr. Mckenzie for the ensuing four years, when he embarked in business upon his own account, at the age of twenty-two. The time honored house of H. J. Woollacott enjoys the distinction of being the only business house in this city that has continued under one ownership and man- agement for a period of twenty-three years; while a feature
that is worthy of comment and one in which Mr. Woollacott takes a pardonable pride is the fact that his wholesale liquor business has been conducted as quietly and unoffensively as that of any other reputable house in the city. The business of the establishment grew from its very incipiency, and for the quarter of a century that it has been in existence has built up a trade that extends not only throughout the southern portion of the State, but throughout adjacent and Eastern States as well.
For sixteen years Mr. Woollacott gave his undivided time and attention to the upbuilding of the business and establish- ing the enviable reputation his brands of wines have won. In 1889 Mr. Woollacott was associated with the original organizers and founders of the State Loan and Trust Com- pany. In 1896, after having served upon the board of direct- ors since the organization of the bank, and as both second and first vice-presidents, Mr. Woollacott was tendered the presi- dency, which he accepted and has held ever since, devoting his undivided attention to the duties imposed by the responsi- bilities of the office. Aside from being the head of the State Bank and Trust Company, Mr. Woollacott enjoys the distinc- tion of being the only one of the original incorporators of the bank still connected with it in an official capacity.
When but a young man in his twenties he became impressed with the future of the city, and made a number of judicious investments which serve to show his faculty for looking into the future. One instance will serve as an illustration of his method of operating. In 1883 he purchased property at the corner of Sixth and Spring streets for $1400, selling it five years later for nearly $20,000, and immediately invested that amount in Spring street property between Second and Third, which now could not be purchased for $150,000. Mr. Wool- lacott relates his first experiences in Los Angeles, when as a boy he worked for $50 a month, making it a rule to save $42 every month, and letting that out at interest. The result was inevitable - a merchant at twenty-two, and a bank presi- dent at thirty-eight.
Aside from his mercantile and banking interests he is con- nected with the California Warehouse Company as treasurer and director, and has done much to advance its interests. In the oil fields he is treasurer of the Western Union Oil Company. The company owns valuable property in the Santa Maria district, and under the present able manage- ment development work is progressing rapidly and satisfac- torily. The Butte Lode Mining Company, of the famous Randshurg camp, is one of the mining companies in which Mr. Woollacott displays the most active interest. This young bonanza has paid dividends of fifty cents a share for the twenty-eight months preceding the labor disturbance of 1903 at Randsburg, and a continuance of this remarkable record followed its settlement.
Often the best test of business sagacity is shown by the ability to grasp an opportunity which may seem to others hazardous, and to bring it to a successful issue. This rare and unmistakable talent is possessed to a remarkable degree by Mr. Woollacott, if we are to judge from the success which has attended the efforts of the poor boy who came to Los Angeles but a few short years ago, and has gained the confi- dence of the public in all his business relations, and a uni- versal respect for his unqualified success, and esteem for the manner in which it has contributed to the development of the city's prosperity. .
SOME ATTRACTIVE HOMES IN LOS ANGELES.
-
7
-
W. C. PATTERSON'S RESIDENCE. E. P. CLARK'S RESIDENCE.
I. N. VAN NUYS' RESIDENCE. KASPARE COHN'S RESIDENCE.
126
MEN OF ACHIEVEMENT IN THE GREAT SOUTHWEST.
MRS. R. O. BUTTERFIELD.
W HILE California first won distinction as a gold- producing State, and has since maintained her repu- tation as a producer of the precious metal, it is not alone from this mineral that her source of wealth is derived. Until within the past few years comparatively little was known of the lepidolite mines of San Diego county, but today they have been sufficiently exploited and developed to have aroused the interest of capital and mining men in various parts of the United States. A brief recital of the discovery and development of the lepidolite mines near the historic old Mission Indian town of Pala, in San Diego county, touches upon the life and career of Mrs. R. O. Butterfield, one who has been among the most energetic and ac- tive workers in San Diego for the past seventeen years.
Mrs. R. O. Butterfield has been so intimately con- nected with the best inter- ests of San Diego for so many years that doubtless many may think her a western woman. A west- ern woman she most cer- tainly is, but not by birth. She owes her nativity to Cleveland, Ohio, where she was brought up surroundel with every advantage, edu- cational and otherwise. A keen student of human na- ture, Mrs. Butterfield has profited by her powers of observation, and today pos- sesses a happy faculty for gathering about her men and women of character and worth. Always an ex- tensive traveler- and travel is a great educator-Mrs. Butterfield first became in- terested in the Pacific Coast and its great natural re- sources early in the spring of 1887. Together with as- sociates she conceived the idea of colonizing thousands of acres of the rich and fer- tile soil of Lower California.
A company was formed under the corporate title of "The International Company," and large land grants were secured from the Mexican government which stretched along the coast of Lower California for many miles. Mrs. Butterfield acted as agent for the company and purchased in her own right a large tract of land which she brought under cultiva- tion through the building of immense irrigation canals. Colo- nists were brought over from European countries, and Mrs. Butterfield's indefatigable efforts and energy were so well directed that when the plans were consummated over 210 colonists had been brought into that region through her indi- vidual efforts.
After so successful a campaign in Lower California, and
having made San Diego her headquarters during this period of time, it was quite natural that Mrs. Butterfield should have become interested in that most alluring of pursuits - mining. Her first ventures in Arizona, just across the river from San Diego county, proved successful, and the Arizona Giant Company that was organized proved one of the most pro- ductive properties in that mining district. Disastrous litiga- tion during a number of years has greatly retarded its development, but few properties of equal age can show a more gratifying result than that found in the assay returns and records of the Arizona Giant Copper Company.
Since first she cast her fortunes with San Diego, more than seventeen years ago, Mrs. Butterfield has been one of the staunchest and most loyal supporters of the resources of the Bay City. She has invested her means freely in the devel- opment of the various in- dustries that have appealed to her, and has not turned a deaf car to a plea for anything designed for the public weal.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.