Henry Mayo Newhall (May 13, 1825 – March 13, 1882) was an American businessman whose extensive land holdings became the
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
communities of
Newhall,
Saugus and
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
, and the city of
Santa Clarita
Santa Clarita (; Spanish for "Little St. Clare") is a city in northwestern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. With a 2020 census population of 228,673, it is the third-largest city by population in Los Angeles County, the 17t ...
.
Life
Born in
Saugus, Massachusetts
Saugus is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. The population was 28,619 at the 2020 census. Saugus is known as the site of the first integrated iron works in North America.
History
Native Americans ...
, Henry Newhall came to California, like many others, in search of
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
during the
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...
. He had been working as an
auction
An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...
eer when news of the gold rush reached the East Coast. He left by ship, arriving on the West Coast in 1850. However, he had been forced to stop in the
Isthmus of Panama
The Isthmus of Panama ( es, Istmo de Panamá), also historically known as the Isthmus of Darien (), is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, linking North and South America. It contains the country ...
for six months to recover from an illness he contracted. Upon his arrival in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, many of the good mining sites had already been claimed, so he opened an auction house instead. H.M. Newhall & Company became extremely successful.
Newhall's next business interest was
railroad
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
s. He invested in rail companies that would connect San Francisco to other cities and became president of the
San Francisco and San Jose Rail Road
The San Francisco and San Jose Railroad (SF&SJ) was a railroad which linked the communities of San Francisco and San Jose, California, running the length of the San Francisco Peninsula. The company incorporated in 1860 and was one of the first rai ...
. In 1870, when he and his partners sold the company to
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...
, he joined its
board of directors
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
.
After railroads, Newhall turned his eye to auctioneering,
real estate
Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...
and ranching. He purchased of
Mexican land grant
The Spanish and Mexican governments made many concessions and land grants in Alta California (now known as California) and Baja California from 1775 to 1846. The Spanish Concessions of land were made to retired soldiers as an inducement for ...
s, including
Rancho Todos Santos y San Antonio Rancho Todos Santos y San Antonio was a Mexican land grant in present-day Santa Barbara County, California given in 1841 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to William Edward Petty Hartnell. The grant extended along San Antonio Creek and encompassed ...
, and
Rancho Suey Rancho Suey was a Ranchos of California, Mexican land grant in present-day southern San Luis Obispo County, California, San Luis Obispo County and northern Santa Barbara County, California given in 1837 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to María Ramona ...
in
Santa Barbara County
Santa Barbara County, California, officially the County of Santa Barbara, is located in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 448,229. The county seat is Santa Barbara, and the largest city is Santa Maria.
Santa Barba ...
, and
Rancho El Piojo and
Rancho San Miguelito de Trinidad Rancho San Miguelito de Trinidad was a Mexican land grant in present day southern Monterey County, California given in 1841 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to José Rafael Gonzalez. The grant extended along the Nacimiento River and Stony Creek, wes ...
in
Monterey County
Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is Salinas.
Montere ...
.
The most significant acquisition was the historic
land grant
A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...
Rancho San Francisco
Rancho San Francisco was a land grant in present-day northwestern Los Angeles County and eastern Ventura County, California. It was a grant of by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Antonio del Valle, a Mexican army officer, in recognition for his ser ...
in the
Santa Clarita Valley
The Santa Clarita Valley (SCV) is part of the upper watershed of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. The valley was part of the Rancho San Francisco Mexican land grant. Located in Los Angeles County, its main population center is th ...
of northern
Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...
, which he purchased for $2/acre. It included portions of the
Santa Clara River and the
Santa Susana Mountains
The Santa Susana Mountains are a transverse range of mountains in Southern California, north of the city of Los Angeles, in the United States. The range runs east-west, separating the San Fernando and Simi valleys on its south from the Santa Cla ...
, the former homeland of the
Tataviam
The Tataviam (Kitanemuk: ''people on the south slope'') are a Native American group in Southern California. The ancestral land of the Tataviam people includes northwest present-day Los Angeles County and southern Ventura County, primarily in th ...
Native Americans. The ranch became known as
Newhall Ranch Newhall may refer to:
__NOTOC__ Places in England
*Newhall, Cheshire
*Newhall, Derbyshire
* Newhall, Essex, an area within Harlow
* Newhall, South Yorkshire, an area within Sheffield
in the United States
* Newhall, Santa Clarita, California, a ...
after Newhall's death. Within this territory, he granted a right-of-way to Southern Pacific Railroad through what is now
Newhall Pass
Newhall Pass is a low mountain pass in Los Angeles County, California. Historically called Fremont Pass and San Fernando Pass, with Beale's Cut, it separates the Santa Susana Mountains from the San Gabriel Mountains. Although the pass was visite ...
, and he also sold them a portion of the land, upon which the company built a town they named after him:
Newhall. He named the first station on the line
Saugus after his hometown of
Saugus, Massachusetts
Saugus is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. The population was 28,619 at the 2020 census. Saugus is known as the site of the first integrated iron works in North America.
History
Native Americans ...
.
Newhall split his time between his ranch in the Santa Clarita Valley and his auction house and residence in San Francisco, but after a bout of
food poisoning
Foodborne illness (also foodborne disease and food poisoning) is any illness resulting from the spoilage of contaminated food by pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites that contaminate food,
as well as prions (the agents of mad cow disease) ...
in 1880, he retired to his ranch. In March 1882, while horseback riding around his property, he was thrown from the horse. Taken back to San Francisco for treatment, he died a few days later on March 13, 1882.
Henry Newhall's heirs incorporated the
Newhall Land and Farming Company
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
, a
master-planned community
A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...
in the Santa Clarita Valley adjacent to Saugus and Newhall. Henry Mayo Newhall is memorialized by the
Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital
Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital (commonly referred to as Henry Mayo Hospital) is a 357-bed not-for-profit community hospital and trauma center in Valencia, Santa Clarita, California. It was founded in 1975. Named after businessman Henry Mayo Newhal ...
, several street names in the area once part of the Newhall Ranch (including Newhall Ranch Road and Newhall Avenue), and the Henry Mayo Newhall Foundation.
Henry Mayo Newhall Foundation
/ref>
References
External links
Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society website
Newhall Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Newhall, Henry
1825 births
1882 deaths
People from Greater Los Angeles
People from Saugus, Massachusetts
Deaths by horse-riding accident in the United States
Accidental deaths in California
Santa Susana Mountains
Ranchers from California
People from Santa Clarita, California
American auctioneers
19th-century American businesspeople