Silsby Spalding (May 29, 1886 – May 5, 1949) was an American businessman and politician. He served as the first

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. B ...

from 1926 to 1928.

Early life

Silsby Morse Spalding was born on May 29, 1886 in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

.Ancestry.com
/ref>Claremont Colleges Digital Library: Students on steps of the Fulkerson's house in Claremont, California, 1904
/ref>Digital Library: Student residence interior with students smoking pipes, Pomona College, 1904
/ref> His father was Salathiel Martin Spalding and his mother, Sarah Eglantine Camp. He studied at the

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalists who wanted to recreate a "college of the New England type" in Southern California. In 1925, it became ...

Preparatory School in

Claremont, California Claremont () is a suburban city on the eastern edge of Los Angeles County, California, United States, east of downtown Los Angeles. It is in the Pomona Valley, at the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. As of the 2010 census it had a popul ...

, and later at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

Career

Spalding was a sporting goods magnate.Ruth Ryon
Updated Estate Is Rich in History
''The Los Angeles Times'', January 27, 2002Cecilia Rasmusse
Tale of Wealth, Murder and a Family's Decline
''The Los Angeles Times'', August 20, 2000 He also served as one of the earliest Presidents of the Aero Club of Southern California, and was an executive at the

Mexican Eagle Petroleum Company Compañía Mexicana de Petróleo El Águila SA, (''El Águila'' for short, called in English the Mexican Eagle Oil Company or Mexican Eagle Petroleum Corporation, was a Mexican oil company in the 20th century. The company, established in 1909, pro ...

and the Pan-American Petroleum and Transport Co. Spalding served as the first Mayor of Beverly Hills, California from 1926 to 1928.Roots of Beverly Hills Streets Go Deeper Than Movie Era
''

The Los Angeles Times ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', February 03, 1994 During his tenure, he appointed

Will Rogers William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. He was born as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory (now part of Oklahoma ...

as honorary mayor, garnering worldwide publicity for Beverly Hills.OBITUARY -- Silsby Spalding, Beverly Hills Ex-Mayor, Dies, ''The Los Angeles Times'', May 7, 1949

Personal life

Spalding married Caroline Canfield (1890-1970), daughter of oilman

Charles A. Canfield Charles Adelbert Canfield (May 15, 1848 – August 15, 1913) was an American oilman and real estate developer. He pioneered oil drilling in California and Mexico. He also co-founded Beverly Hills and Del Mar, California. Early life Charles Adelbe ...

(1848-1913) in 1911.Marc Wanamaker, ''Early Beverly Hills'', Arcadia Publishing, 2005, pp. 42-4

/ref>Marc Wanamaker, ''Beverly Hills, (Ca): 1930-2005'', Arcadia Publishing, 2006, p. 6

/ref> They had a daughter, Deborah C. Spalding (1921-2011). In 1912, after Canfield's death, they moved into

Grayhall Grayhall is a historic mansion in Beverly Hills, California, U.S. History The house was built as a hunting lodge for Harry D. Lombard in 1909. The second owner, Silsby Spalding, added a ballroom to the house in 1919; Silsby went on to serve as th ...

, an estate located at 1100 Carolyn Way, formerly built by

Carole Lombard Carole Lombard (born Jane Alice Peters; October 6, 1908 – January 16, 1942) was an American actress, particularly noted for her energetic, often off-beat roles in screwball comedies. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Lombard 2 ...

's father as a hunting lodge and later owned by George Hamilton and

Bernard Cornfeld Bernard "Bernie" Cornfeld (17 August 1927 – 27 February 1995) was a prominent businessman and international financier who sold investments in US mutual funds, and who was tried and acquitted for mismanagement of the Investors Overseas Servic ...

.George Hamilton, William Stadiem, ''Don't Mind If I Do'', Simon and Schuster, 2008, p. 14

/ref> From 1918 to 1921, they lived in the Frank Flint Estate, a

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archi ...

-style mansion resembling a Southern plantation located at 1006 North Crescent Drive. He later purchased the Tecolote Ranch in

Goleta, California Goleta (; ; Spanish for "Schooner") is a city in southern Santa Barbara County, California, United States. It was incorporated as a city in 2002, after a long period as the largest unincorporated populated area in the county. As of the 2000 c ...

, where he raised purebred cattle and horses, and grew walnut and citrus trees.

Death and legacy

Spalding died on May 5, 1949 at his main residence at 1019 Laurel Way in Beverly Hills, California. ''Spalding Drive'' in Beverly Hills is named in his honor.Google Maps
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spalding, Silsby 1886 births 1949 deaths Politicians from Minneapolis Pomona College alumni Politicians from Los Angeles Mayors of Beverly Hills, California Businesspeople from Los Angeles 20th-century American politicians Businesspeople from Minneapolis 20th-century American businesspeople