William Ferguson (1822–1910) was a pioneer American settler of Los Angeles, California, after it became a part of the United States in 1847. He was an extensive property owner and a member of the
Common Council, the city's governing body.
Ferguson was born in 1822, came West as a young man "and interested himself in mining," in which he prospered. He later established a
livery
A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery will often have elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...
business in the
old Plaza, then became a large investor in the
Los Angeles Water Company and finally "went into the
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 ...
business." He was estimated to be a
millionaire.
["Dons Clothes and Dies," ''Los Angeles Times,'' April 10, 1910, page II-1]
/ref>
In 1892–93 Ferguson was the complainant in an unsuccessful suit against the City of Los Angeles to halt the sale of bonds that financed the purchase of the private Los Angeles Water Company, eventually turning it into a municipal utility
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
.
He was on the first 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 ...
of the Union Bank of Savings in Los Angeles, in 1893.
In March 1897 Ferguson announced he would give "$20 per month for the next five or six months, or more, if necessary, for the construction of a boulevard" between Los Angeles and Pasadena, through Elysian Park, "provided no railway franchise be granted on said boulevard."
Ferguson purchased the Cahuenga Oil Company Cahuenga may refer to:
* Campo de Cahuenga, California
* Cahuenga, California
* Cahuenga Boulevard, California
* Cahuenga Branch, California
* Cahuenga Pass, California
* Cahuenga Peak, California
* Rancho Cahuenga Rancho Cahuenga was a Mexican la ...
, with its ten acres of land and three wells, in 1901 for $14,000.
He died of heart failure on April 8, 1910, in his home at 758 Rampart Street.
Location of the Ferguson home on ''Mapping L.A.''[
]
Notes and references
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, William
Businesspeople from Los Angeles
1822 births
1910 deaths
19th-century American businesspeople