Clarence Dayton Hillman (1870-1935) was a prominent businessman and real estate developer in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

at the beginning of the 20th century. Born in

Birmingham, Michigan Birmingham is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a northern suburb of Detroit located along the Woodward Corridor ( M-1). As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,103. History The area comprising what is now the c ...

, his parents both died before he was ten years old. Quitting school after the second grade, he and his brother sold newspapers in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

before heading west in 1891 to seek their fortunes in California. Hillman headed north to Seattle in the late 1890s as the city was recovering from the

Panic of 1893 The Panic of 1893 was an economic depression in the United States that began in 1893 and ended in 1897. It deeply affected every sector of the economy, and produced political upheaval that led to the political realignment of 1896 and the pres ...

. Soon after his arrival the Klondike Gold Rush brought a surge of visitors and commerce to the area. By purchasing large tracts of land that had been recently logged around the city, and then sub-dividing that land and selling it to individuals, Hillman soon became one of the most successful businessmen in Seattle. In 1910 a Seattle newspaper began printing stories about land buyers who were disgruntled with Hillman's sales tactics. There were instances in which the land's development potential had been exaggerated, and in some cases the land was sold to more than one person or was at the bottom of a lake. When Hillman started to use the mail to conduct these questionable practices, he was charged with the federal offense of mail fraud. He was convicted and, after the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

refused to hear the case, served 18 months of a 30-month sentence before rejoining his family in California and developing land in

Paso Robles Paso Robles ( ), officially El Paso de Robles (Spanish for "The Pass of Oaks"), is a city in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Salinas River approximately north of San Luis Obispo, the city is known for its hot ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, and

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its ...

. He died in 1935 while visiting his ranch at Paso Robles. He was buried in Seattle.Clarence Dayton Hillman - Find a Grave entry.

References

Sources

*Wilma, David, "Hillman, Clarence Dayton (1870-1935)"
HistoryLink.org
Essay 3080, March 10, 2001.

Additional Resources

*McAbee, J. Clark, "White River Rapscallion: An Insight into C. D. Hillman

October 2003. *Wilma, David, "Hillman, Clarence Dayton (1870-1935)"
HistoryLink.org
Essay 3080, March 10, 2001 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hillman, Clarence Dayton 1870 births 1935 deaths American real estate businesspeople Businesspeople from California People from Birmingham, Michigan Businesspeople from Seattle American businesspeople convicted of crimes

See also

References

Sources

Additional Resources