Simon Jones Murphy Sr. (April 2, 1815,

Windsor, Maine Windsor is a town in Kennebec County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,632 at the 2020 census. Windsor is included in the Augusta, Maine micropolitan New England City and Town Area. History The territory was first incorporated M ...

– February 5, 1905 ) was an American businessman. Murphy was born in

and was a lumberman there, beginning as a logger on the

Penobscot River The Penobscot River ( Abenaki: ''Pαnawάhpskewtəkʷ'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 22, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Maine. Including the river's ...

and working his way up. In 1866, he moved to

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

and worked in lumber there as well. Operating out of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, his company logged thousands of acres of Michigan pine forests. Murphy was one of the first millionaires in Detroit. In 1887, Murphy began wintering in

Whittier, California Whittier () is a city in Southern California in Los Angeles County, part of the Gateway Cities. The city had 87,306 residents as of the 2020 United States census, an increase of 1,975 from the 2010 census figure. Whittier was incorporated i ...

after purchasing the Ramirez Rancho. While there, he was an irrigator, citrus farmer, oilman, and real estate developer. He was founder of both the East Whittier Land and Water Company and the Murphy Oil Company, which drilled for oil in the

Puente Hills The Puente Hills are a chain of hills, one of the lower Transverse Ranges, in an unincorporated area in eastern Los Angeles County, California, in the United States. The western end of the range is often referred to locally as the Whittier Hills. ...

. Murphy was an early benefactor of

Whittier College Whittier College (Whittier Academy (1887–1901)) is a private liberal arts college in Whittier, California. It is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and, as of fall 2022, had approximately 1,300 (undergraduate and graduate) students. It w ...

. A hospital in Whittier bore his name, as does the neighborhood of Murphy Ranch, which was built on Murphy's citrus orchard. In 1905, Murphy completed the process of gaining control of the

Pacific Lumber Company The Pacific Lumber Company, officially abbreviated PALCO, and also commonly known as PL, was one of California's major logging and sawmill operations, located 28 miles (45 km) south of Eureka and 244 miles (393 km) north of San Francis ...

, which, under Murphy's control and stewardship, would become a storied and one of the largest

Coast Redwood ''Sequoia sempervirens'' ()''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607 is the sole living species of the genus '' Sequoia'' in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast redwood, coast ...

lumber and milling operations to ever exist. At least five generations of Murphys, including Simon's son Simon Murphy Jr, Grandson Albert Stanwood Murphy, Great Grandson Stanwood Albert Murphy, and then Great great Grandson Warren Murphy managed and controlled with main offices and the bulk of its massive log decks and milling operations in the historic company town of

Scotia, California Scotia, formerly known as Forestville until 1888, is a census-designated place in Humboldt County, California. It is located on the Eel River along U.S. Route 101, southeast of Fortuna and north of San Francisco. Scotia has a population of 8 ...

through 1985. Murphy and his company built several buildings in the

Detroit Financial District The Detroit Financial District is a United States historic district in downtown Detroit, Michigan. The district was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on December 14, 2009, and was announced as the featured listing in the ...

. These include the Marquette Building, the

Murphy Power Building Murphy () ( ga, Ua Murchadha) is an Irish surname and the most common surname in the Republic of Ireland. Origins and variants The surname is a variant of two Irish surnames: "Ó Murchadha"/"Ó Murchadh" (descendant of "Murchadh"), and "Ma ...

, and the first Penobscot Building A memorial commemorating Murphy exists in the second Penobscot Building.

Family

In September 1845, Murphy married Ann Montgomery Dorr (May 21, 1828,

Bradley, Maine Bradley is a town in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. It is part of the Bangor Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,532 at the 2020 census. The village of Bradley is in the northwest corner of the town. History Bradley wa ...

-May 30, 1903,

). Ann was the daughter of Charles M. and Ann (Morse) Dorr of Bradley and Milford, ME. Simon and Ann Murphy had 12 children, of which five sons and a daughter survived infancy: * Charles Edmund (1846 – 1929) took over Murphy's real estate developments * Simon Jones (1851 – 1926) a lumberman and became mayor of

Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The county seat of Brown County, it is at the head of Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It is above sea l ...

. * Albert Montgomery (1852 – 1915) * William Herbert (1855 – 1929) went into business making car bodies for luxury cars * Annie Dorr (1857 – 1917) * Frank Emery (1862 – 1934) also lumberman, and four terms alderman of Green Bay WI Son Simon J. Murphy, Jr. was a lumberman and Mayor of Green Bay, Wisconsin. Son Frank E. Murphy, was a Lumberman, 4 term Alderman of Green Bay Wis, VP of The Morley- Murphy Company, and Developed Horse Shoe Bay Farms, in Door County Wisconsin, Frank E. Murphy Park was Donated to the Door County OF Wisconsin. In 1911 Bay View Beach was sold to Frank E. Murphy and Fred Rahr, who was owner of the Rahr's Brewing Company of Green Bay Wisconsin. In 1920 they donated the 11 acres, along with all its buildings and attractions, to the city of Green Bay.(5) The City Of Green Bay, then commemorated Murphy Park, on Green Bay's Far West Side, to his honor of Civil Service. Son Charles, took over Murphy's real estate developments. Son William went into business making car bodies for luxury cars. Simon. J. Murphy’s son William would thus be the main backer of Cadillac

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Simon 1820 births 1910 deaths American businesspeople in the oil industry American real estate businesspeople Businesspeople in timber Citrus farmers People from Scotia, California People from Whittier, California People from Bangor, Maine Businesspeople from Detroit People from Kennebec County, Maine 19th-century American businesspeople