William Heeser (August 28, 1822, in Koblenz,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

– April 9, 1906) was a German-American newspaper publisher and banker in

Mendocino County, California Mendocino County (; ''Mendocino'', Spanish for "of Mendoza) is a county located on the North Coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,601. The county seat is Ukiah. Mendocino County consists whol ...

. Heeser emigrated from Germany to

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

with his brother, Augustus H. Heeser, following the death of his father, and then moved to

Providence, Kentucky Providence is a home rule-class city in Webster County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 3,193 at the time of the 2010 United States Census. History In 1820, Richard B. Savage arrived from Virginia with his wife and his elder s ...

, where he opened a general store in 1844. He arrived in the town of Mendocino in the 1850s, and purchased in 1858 from William H. Kelly a farm consisting of most of the land west of Lansing Street in Mendocino. He soon became a justice of the peace and notary public; he was a county supervisor from 1864 to 1867 and from 1877 to 1880. He operated a general store in Mendocino, and chose the names for many of Mendocino's streets. As a United States deputy surveyor, Heeser constructed Little Lake road (a wagon road from Mendocino to Willits), and another road from Mendocino to Ukiah. In 1870 and 1871 he founded the Bank of Mendocino and the Mendocino Discount Bank. Heeser founded the ''

Mendocino Beacon ''The Mendocino Beacon'' is a weekly newspaper for the community of Mendocino, California, owned by MediaNews Group. History ''The Mendocino Beacon'' was founded on October 6, 1877 by W. H. Meacham and William Heeser,. an immigrant from Germany ...

'' in

Mendocino, California Mendocino ( Spanish for "of Mendoza") is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Mendocino County, California, United States. Mendocino is located south of Fort Bragg at an elevation of . The population of the CDP was 9 ...

, with W. H. Meacham in 1877. and the '' Fort Bragg Advocate'' in

Fort Bragg, California Fort Bragg, officially the City of Fort Bragg, is a city along the Pacific Coast of California along Shoreline Highway in Mendocino County. The city is west of Willits, at an elevation of . Its population was 6,983 at the 2020 census. Fort ...

, in 1889; he also founded newspapers in the Mendocino County communities of Kibesillah, Rockport, and Westport. In 1892, he purchased the '' Point Arena Record'', which had been founded in 1888 by H. B. Cartnell.. Heeser became a Freemason in 1850, and joined the California lodge of the Masons around 1952. He was one of the founders, initially warden and later master of the Mendocino lodge, #179, which began in 1865 and met above Heeser's general store until its own building, the Mendocino Masonic Hall, was completed in 1872. He married Laura A. Nelson on December 18, 1865; they had one son, Augustus A. Heeser, who continued his father's businesses. Heeser Drive in

Mendocino Headlands State Park Mendocino Headlands State Park is a California State Park in Mendocino, California Mendocino ( Spanish for "of Mendoza") is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Mendocino County, California, United States. Mendocin ...

is named after William's son, August Heeser, who inherited the newspaper publishing business and who donated some of the headlands to form the park in 1957.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heeser, William 1822 births 1906 deaths County supervisors in California American justices of the peace People from Mendocino County, California People from Koblenz People from Providence, Kentucky 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges Immigrants to the United States