William Bowers Bourn II
Encyclopedia
William Bowers Bourn II (31 May 1857 – 5 July 1936) was an American entrepreneur and builder of Filoli
the country estate in San Mateo County, California
.
, the second child of mining entrepreneur William Bowers Bourn I and Sarah Esther Chase. His classical education at Cambridge University was interrupted by his taking over the family businesses upon his father's accidental death by firearm discharge in July 1874, whereupon he was given charge of the Empire Mine, other mining interests, and significant real estate holdings. He significantly improved operations at the mine and used the resulting cashflow to initiate or expand other ventures.
In 1888 he partnered with E. Everett Wise and other investors to build the mammoth Greystone Cellar in Napa Valley. Bourn bought Wise out, but sold it entirely in 1894 in the midst of the phylloxera
scourge at a terrific loss.
In the 1890s he spearheaded the merger of electricity and gas companies in San Francisco, which would later become the Pacific Gas and Electric Company
, and in 1890 began significant investments in the Spring Valley Water Company, which would be bought by the city government of San Francisco in February 1929 and, with the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir
expansion which Bourn had opposed, become its water supplier. Bourn was regularly pilloried by the San Francisco Chronicle
as a thief and scoundrel for water rates, but Bourn replied that the company needed to earn a reasonable return on its investments and was also making provision for future population growth.
Bourn and his wife, Agnes Moody, built their country estate Filoli
beginning in 1915, which became one of the best-known examples of an American country estate, and in 1932 he made a gift of the Irish estate Muckross House
to the government of Ireland in memory of his late daughter, Maud. It was to become Ireland's largest national park.
William Bowers Bourn II died at Filoli and was buried with his wife and daughter on the property.
Filoli
Filoli is a country house set in of formal gardens surrounded by estate, located in Woodside, California, about 25 miles south of San Francisco, at the southern end of Crystal Springs Lake, on the eastern slope of the Santa Cruz Mountains....
the country estate in San Mateo County, California
San Mateo County, California
San Mateo County is a county located in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. It covers most of the San Francisco Peninsula just south of San Francisco, and north of Santa Clara County. San Francisco International Airport is located at the northern end of the county, and...
.
Biography
Bourn was born in San Francisco, CaliforniaSan 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...
, the second child of mining entrepreneur William Bowers Bourn I and Sarah Esther Chase. His classical education at Cambridge University was interrupted by his taking over the family businesses upon his father's accidental death by firearm discharge in July 1874, whereupon he was given charge of the Empire Mine, other mining interests, and significant real estate holdings. He significantly improved operations at the mine and used the resulting cashflow to initiate or expand other ventures.
In 1888 he partnered with E. Everett Wise and other investors to build the mammoth Greystone Cellar in Napa Valley. Bourn bought Wise out, but sold it entirely in 1894 in the midst of the phylloxera
Phylloxera
Grape phylloxera ; originally described in France as Phylloxera vastatrix; equated to the previously described Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, Phylloxera vitifoliae; commonly just called phylloxera is a pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America...
scourge at a terrific loss.
In the 1890s he spearheaded the merger of electricity and gas companies in San Francisco, which would later become the Pacific Gas and Electric Company
Pacific Gas and Electric Company
The Pacific Gas and Electric Company , commonly known as PG&E, is the utility that provides natural gas and electricity to most of the northern two-thirds of California, from Bakersfield almost to the Oregon border...
, and in 1890 began significant investments in the Spring Valley Water Company, which would be bought by the city government of San Francisco in February 1929 and, with the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir
Hetch Hetchy Reservoir
Hetch Hetchy Reservoir is a reservoir in Yosemite National Park, about northeast from the city of Merced, California. The reservoir has a capacity of and is formed by the concrete gravity O'Shaughnessy Dam in Hetch Hetchy Valley on the Tuolumne River...
expansion which Bourn had opposed, become its water supplier. Bourn was regularly pilloried by the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
as a thief and scoundrel for water rates, but Bourn replied that the company needed to earn a reasonable return on its investments and was also making provision for future population growth.
Bourn and his wife, Agnes Moody, built their country estate Filoli
Filoli
Filoli is a country house set in of formal gardens surrounded by estate, located in Woodside, California, about 25 miles south of San Francisco, at the southern end of Crystal Springs Lake, on the eastern slope of the Santa Cruz Mountains....
beginning in 1915, which became one of the best-known examples of an American country estate, and in 1932 he made a gift of the Irish estate Muckross House
Muckross House
Muckross House is located on the small Muckross Peninsula between Muckross Lake and Lough Leane, two of the lakes of Killarney, from the town of Killarney in County Kerry, Ireland....
to the government of Ireland in memory of his late daughter, Maud. It was to become Ireland's largest national park.
William Bowers Bourn II died at Filoli and was buried with his wife and daughter on the property.
External links
- Online guide to the William Bowers Bourn Family Papers, 1845-1985, The Bancroft Library