Frederick A. Hihn or F.A. Hihn (August 16, 1829 – August 23, 1913) served in the California legislature and was a prominent landowner.

History

Born Friedrich August Ludewig Hühn in the

Duchy of Brunswick The Duchy of Brunswick (german: Herzogtum Braunschweig) was a historical German state. Its capital city, capital was the city of Braunschweig, Brunswick (). It was established as the successor state of the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel ...

in modern-day Germany, Hihn emigrated to California during the

Gold Rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...

in 1849. After an unsuccessful stint as a miner, Hihn returned to

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 ...

, where over the next several years he tried a handful of entrepreneurial activities, including selling candy, operating hotels, and owning both a drug store and a soap factory. In 1851 he moved to Santa Cruz, where he would remain for the next sixty years.Stevens, Stanley D and Benjamin Schwantes
"Frederick Augustus Hihn."
In ''Immigrant Entrepreneurship: German-American Business Biographies, 1720 to the Present'', vol. 2, edited by William J. Hausman. German Historical Institute. Last modified October 21, 2015. Hihn became the leading land developer in

Santa Cruz County, California Santa Cruz County (), officially the County of Santa Cruz, is a county on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 270,861. The county seat is Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz County comprises the Santa ...

. In the 1860s, he acquired much of the former

Rancho Soquel Rancho Soquel was a Mexican land grant in present-day Santa Cruz County, California given in 1833 by Governor José Figueroa to María Martina Castro y Amador. In 1844, Martina Castro was granted by Governor José Figueroa a further grant k ...

, including the beach resort area that became

Capitola, California Capitola is a small seaside town in Santa Cruz County, California. Capitola is located on the northern shores of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. The city had a population of 9,938 at the 2020 census. Capitola is a popular tour ...

. With partner

Claus Spreckels Adolph Claus J. Spreckels (July 9, 1828 – December 26, 1908) (his last name has also been misspelled as Spreckles) was a major industrialist in Hawai'i during the kingdom, republican and territorial periods of the islands' history. He also in ...

, Hihn built the

Santa Cruz Railroad The Santa Cruz Railroad was a Narrow-gauge railway, narrow gauge railroad that ran from Santa Cruz, California, Santa Cruz to Pajaro, California. It started operation in 1874, running from the east bank of the San Lorenzo River to Soquel, Califor ...

, first railroad into Santa Cruz County, completed in 1876. Starting in 1865, Frederick A. Hihn and

Elihu Anthony Elihu Anthony (November 30, 1818 – August 15, 1905) was an American '' alcalde'', blacksmith, industrialist, abolitionist, postmaster, and minister. He is considered a founding father of the city of Santa Cruz. He also served as a member of t ...

built the first private water supply network in the city of Santa Cruz and serving nearby communities. In 1869, he ran for the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The A ...

as an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

. He served only one term, but continued to be involved in local and regional politics, often to the advantage of his own businesses. The Hihn Company was a family timber business and owned 15,000 acres of land in Santa Cruz County of which 2,000 acres was redwood forests. When he died in 1913, Hihn owned a wide variety of businesses, from lumber yards to hotels. His personal business empire increased the infrastructure and economic development of Santa Cruz.

References

1829 births 1913 deaths Members of the California State Assembly California Independents People from the Duchy of Brunswick People from Santa Cruz County, California {{california-CAAssembly-stub