William "Billy" Chapman Ralston (January 12, 1826 – August 27, 1875) was a San Francisco businessman and
financier
An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital most of the time the investor purchases some species of property. Type ...
, and the founder of the
Bank of California
The Bank of California was opened in San Francisco, California, on July 4, 1864, by William Chapman Ralston and Darius Ogden Mills. It was the first commercial bank in the Western United States, the second-richest bank in the nation, and considered ...
.
Biography
William Chapman Ralston was born at
Wellsville, Ohio
Wellsville is a village in southern Columbiana County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River. Its population was 3,113 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Salem micropolitan area, north of Steubenville and south of Youngstown. In its hey ...
,
son of Robert Ralston III and Mary Wilcoxen Chapman. He was known as "Chap" when he was young.
With riches derived from
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
's
Comstock Lode
The Comstock Lode is a lode of silver ore located under the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range in Virginia City, Nevada (then western Utah Territory), which was the first major discovery of silver ore in the United ...
,
he became one of the richest and most powerful men in California. He founded the
Bank of California
The Bank of California was opened in San Francisco, California, on July 4, 1864, by William Chapman Ralston and Darius Ogden Mills. It was the first commercial bank in the Western United States, the second-richest bank in the nation, and considered ...
and was known for having a nothing-is-impossible attitude.
Projects
He built
Ralston Hall
Ralston Hall Mansion located in Belmont, California, was the country house of William Chapman Ralston, a San Francisco businessman, a founder of the Bank of California, and a financier of the Comstock Lode. It is an opulent Italianate Villa, mo ...
in
Belmont, California
Belmont is a city in San Mateo County in the U.S. state of California. It is in the San Francisco Bay Area, on the San Francisco Peninsula about halfway between San Francisco and San Jose. Known for its wooded hills, views of the San Francisco ...
, as a summer home; however his wife Elizabeth "Lizzie" Fry and their four children lived there all year round.
Listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
, it is now part of the campus of
Notre Dame de Namur University
Notre Dame de Namur University (NDNU) is a private Catholic university in Belmont, California. It is the third oldest college in California and the first college in the state authorized to grant the baccalaureate degree to women. In 2021, the u ...
.
He built the
California Theatre on Bush Street in San Francisco, which opened on January 18, 1869.
![Palace Hotel Fire April 18, 1906](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Palace_Hotel_Fire_April_18%2C_1906.jpg)
His dream was the construction of the
Palace Hotel in San Francisco at the corner of
New Montgomery and
Market
Market is a term used to describe concepts such as:
*Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand
*Market economy
*Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market
Geography
*Märket, an ...
. He spent $5M on its construction, draining his banking empire in the process.
John Painter Gaynor was the architect and had been instructed by Ralston to study European luxury hotels for inspiration.
The hotel opened on October 2, 1875.
The hotel had early elevators or "rising rooms" and electric call buttons in the rooms. The hotel survived the
1906 earthquake but was destroyed in the fire that followed. It was rebuilt and reopened in 1909.
There is still a Ralston Room in the hotel, off the main corridor to the left.
In 1871, following a severe drought in California, he initiated work on the surveying for an irrigation scheme in the
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven c ...
, and his lobbying was successful in securing the passage through Congress in 1873 of an act to set up a Water Commission to advise on the
irrigation
Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...
of California.
He was also involved in
Philip Arnold
Philip Arnold (1829–1878) was a confidence trickster from Elizabethtown, Kentucky, and the brains behind the legendary diamond hoax of 1872, which fooled people into investing in a phony diamond mining operation. He managed to walk away from t ...
's
diamond-mining hoax of 1872.
Collapse of his financial empire
In 1875, his financial empire collapsed as a result of the combination of the expense of building the Palace Hotel, the failure of his attempt to buy and then resell the
Spring Valley Water Company
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) is a public agency of the City and County of San Francisco that provides water, wastewater, and electric power services to the city and an additional 1.9 million customers within three San Franc ...
, the after-effects of the
Panic of 1873
The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the "Lon ...
, and a crash in the stock value of the Bank of California. The crash occurred just weeks before the opening of the Palace Hotel.
[Smith, G.H., 1943, The History of the Comstock Lode, 1850–1997, Reno: University of Nevada Press, ]
Personal life
In 1858, he married 21-year-old Elizabeth "Lizzie" Fry (born Elizabeth Red, in Illinois, 1837-1929), the niece and adopted daughter of Colonel (by courtesy) John D. Fry, who had been sheriff of
Greene County, Illinois
Greene County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 United States Census, it has a population of 11,843. Its county seat is Carrollton.
A notable archaeological area, the Koster Site, has produced evidence of ...
, and a member of the
Illinois General Assembly
The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in 181 ...
, before moving to California in 1849 with
William Sharon
William Tang Sharon (January 9, 1821November 13, 1885) was a United States senator, banker, and business owner from Nevada who profited from the Comstock Lode.
Early life
Sharon was born in Smithfield, Ohio, January 9, 1821, the son of Willi ...
and was associated with Ralston in various businesses.
They had four children together.
Death and legacy
The day after the collapse, his body was found in the San Francisco Bay on August 27, 1875. He was the victim of either a
stroke
A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...
during his regular swim, or
suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
.
[ About 50,000 people were said to have watched his funeral procession, and 8,000 of his friends were said by Robert Brereton to have attended the public meeting held in Union Hall on September 8, 1875 to express the community's loss. His partner, U.S. Senator ]William Sharon
William Tang Sharon (January 9, 1821November 13, 1885) was a United States senator, banker, and business owner from Nevada who profited from the Comstock Lode.
Early life
Sharon was born in Smithfield, Ohio, January 9, 1821, the son of Willi ...
, acquired many of his assets, including the Palace Hotel and Ralston Hall. He was buried at Lone Mountain Cemetery
Lone Mountain Cemetery was a complex of cemeteries in the Lone Mountain (California), Lone Mountain neighborhood of San Francisco, California on the land bounded by the present-day California Street, Geary Boulevard, Parker Avenue, and Presidio ...
(which had recently been renamed Laurel Hill Cemetery) in San Francisco, and later moved to Cypress Lawn Memorial Park
Cypress Lawn Memorial Park, established by Hamden Holmes Noble in 1892, is a rural cemetery located in Colma, California, a place known as the "City of the Silent".
History
Cypress Lawn Memorial Park is the final resting site for several membe ...
in Colma.
Namesakes
Ralston Avenue is one of the principal roads in Belmont, California. Ralston Street in Reno
Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the c ...
, Nevada is named for William Ralston. There are Ralston Avenue exits from both Highway 92 and Highway 101
Highway 101 was an American country music band founded in 1986 in Los Angeles, California. The initial lineup consisted of Paulette Carlson (lead vocals), Jack Daniels (guitar), Curtis Stone (bass guitar, vocals), and Scott "Cactus" Moser (drums) ...
. Ralston Middle School, Ralston Hall
Ralston Hall Mansion located in Belmont, California, was the country house of William Chapman Ralston, a San Francisco businessman, a founder of the Bank of California, and a financier of the Comstock Lode. It is an opulent Italianate Villa, mo ...
, and the William Chapman Ralston Award are all named for him. A small mining town in southwest New Mexico was named Ralston City in honor of William Ralston, its largest investor, but has since been renamed Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
. A very small (pop. 70) town in Iowa is named Ralston. Ralston Lane in Redondo Beach,CA, 90278. is named for him.
The town of Modesto
Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton- ...
was to be named for Ralston; he declined, however, and it was called Modesto as one of the Spanish-speaking workers at the naming ceremony for that town said he was "''muy modesto''" or very modest. Modesto is home to Ralston Tower, an 11-floor building for the elderly. It is the second-tallest building in the city.
Popular culture
Ralston was portrayed by Ronald W. Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
in a 1965 episode of ''Death Valley Days
''Death Valley Days'' is an American old-time radio and television anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program ...
'', "Raid on the San Francisco Mint." The episode dramatizes an 1869 event in which Ralston gets the head of the mint drunk in order to persuade him to authorize an exchange of bullion for coins. Vaughn Taylor
Vaughn Joseph Taylor (born March 9, 1976) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and Web.com Tour.
Born in Roanoke, Virginia, Taylor was raised in Augusta, Georgia, from infancy. After attending Hephzibah High School ...
was cast as financier and adventurer Asbury Harpending
Asbury Harpending (September 14, 1839 – January 26, 1923) was an adventurer and financier in San Francisco, California, Mexico, and New York City.
Early life
Harpending was born in Hopkinsville in Christian County in southwestern Kentucky. At th ...
.
In a 1968 ''Death Valley Days'' episode, "The Great Diamond Mines", narrated by Robert Taylor, the role of Ralston was played by Tod Andrews
Tod Andrews (born Theodore Edwin Anderson; November 9, 1914 – November 7, 1972) was an American stage, screen, and television actor.
Early years
Tod Andrews was born as Theodore Edwin Anderson in El Paso, Texas, to Henry Anderson and Lydia ...
, who is deceived by two prospectors who claim to have a functioning diamond mine in the desert.
References
External links
ThePalaceHotel.org (An online illustrated history of the Palace Hotel.)
Photographs of W.C. Ralston and His Mansion in Belmont, Calif., 1872–1874
taken by Eadweard Muybridge
Eadweard Muybridge (; 9 April 1830 – 8 May 1904, born Edward James Muggeridge) was an English photographer known for his pioneering work in photographic studies of motion, and early work in motion-picture projection. He adopted the first ...
, from The Bancroft Library
The Bancroft Library in the center of the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, is the university's primary special-collections library. It was acquired from its founder, Hubert Howe Bancroft, in 1905, with the proviso that it retai ...
Guide to the William Chapman Ralston Correspondence
at The Bancroft Library
The Bancroft Library in the center of the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, is the university's primary special-collections library. It was acquired from its founder, Hubert Howe Bancroft, in 1905, with the proviso that it retai ...
The William Chapman Ralston Award
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ralston, William Chapman
1826 births
1875 deaths
People from Wellsville, Ohio
Businesspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area
American bankers
American company founders
19th-century American businesspeople
Burials at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park
Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (San Francisco)