William Henry Spurgeon, also known as ''Uncle Billy'', (October 10, 1829 – June 20, 1915) is credited with founding the city of
Santa Ana, California
Santa Ana () is the second most populous city and the county seat of Orange County, California. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census, making Santa Ana the List of ...
. Spurgeon was also the first mayor of the city.
Early life and frequent travel
William Henry Spurgeon's father was Granville Spurgeon, a farmer from
Henry County, Kentucky
Henry County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky bordering the Kentucky River. Its county seat is New Castle, but its largest city is Eminence. The county was founded in 1798 from portions of Shelby ...
. Spurgeon was born in October 1829. The family left Kentucky to relocate to
Bartholomew County, Indiana
Bartholomew County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 82,208 at the 2020 census. The county seat is Columbus. The county was determined by the U.S. Census Bureau to be home to the mean center of U.S. population ...
in 1830. In 1840, the family relocated to
Clark County, Missouri
Clark County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, its population was 6,634. Its county seat is Kahoka. The county was organized December 16, 1836 and named for William Clark, leader of the Lewis and Cla ...
. The family continued to farm and Spurgeon attended school. When he turned 16, he worked as a store clerk in
Alexandria, Missouri
Alexandria is a city in eastern Clark County, Missouri, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 105.
Alexandria is part of the Fort Madison– Keokuk, IA-MO Micropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Alexandria was founded i ...
. He expressed strong interest in relocating to California when the
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...
happened. He left Missouri and traveled to
. From there, he traveled to the
Isthmus of Panama
The Isthmus of Panama ( es, Istmo de Panamá), also historically known as the Isthmus of Darien (), is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, linking North and South America. It contains the country ...
before arriving in California. While in California, he worked in the
gold mine Gold Mine may refer to:
*Gold Mine (board game)
*Gold Mine (Long Beach), an arena
*"Gold Mine", a song by Joyner Lucas from the 2020 album '' ADHD''
See also
* ''Gold'' (1974 film), based on the novel ''Gold Mine'' by Wilbur Smith
*Gold mining
...
s. He fought in the
Rogue River Wars
The Rogue River Wars were an armed conflict in 1855–1856 between the U.S. Army, local militias and volunteers, and the Native American tribes commonly grouped under the designation of Rogue River Indians, in the Rogue River Valley area o ...
. He left California in 1856, after making decent money in gold mining. He traveled back through Panama and ended in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. He then returned to Missouri, settling in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
. Spurgeon married Martha Moreland at some point during his life outside of California.
Life in Santa Ana
In 1864, Spurgeon helped his family relocate from Missouri to
Solano County, California
Solano County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 453,491. The county seat is Fairfield.
Solano County comprises the Vallejo–Fairfield, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is ...
. In 1867, he went to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. His wife died in Los Angeles. He went back to Clark County, Missouri. He went back to California in 1869. He settled in the area now known as
Santa Ana. He founded the city with approximately $1,000. He acquired 76-acres of land from the
Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana was a Spanish land concession in present-day Orange County, California, given by Spanish Alta California Governor José Joaquín de Arrillaga in 1810 to Jose Antonio Yorba and his nephew Pablo Peralta. The grant exten ...
. From there, he designed and founded the city of Santa Ana. He remarried, Jennie English, on April 14, 1872.
He was frustrated with the lack of
tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
s and excessive amounts of high growing
mustard plant
The mustard plant is any one of several plant species in the genera ''Brassica'' and ''Sinapis'' in the family Brassicaceae (the mustard family). Mustard seed is used as a spice. Grinding and mixing the seeds with water, vinegar, or other liqui ...
s throughout the area. To rectify the problem, Spurgeon purchased
sycamore
Sycamore is a name which has been applied to several types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. The name derives from the ancient Greek ' (''sūkomoros'') meaning "fig-mulberry".
Species of trees known as sycamore:
* ''Acer pseudoplata ...
trees for Santa Ana. In order to transport the trees, he built his own road, cutting through the mustard plants. After that, he built the first
general store in Santa Ana, out of
redwood
Sequoioideae, popularly known as redwoods, is a subfamily of coniferous trees within the family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affini ...
lumber. The general store started out with a very small inventory, but over time, as the population grew, the store became larger and more successful. The store and starting area of Santa Ana made Spurgeon a well-known figure in the region. Spurgeon worked as an agent for
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and intern ...
and also was
postmaster
A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...
for the town. Eventually, the first board meeting was held for Santa Ana. Spurgeon was chosen as the president of the board.
Spurgeon founded the First National Bank of Santa Ana. He served as president of the bank, the Santa Ana Gas Company, and the Santa Ana Valley Irrigation Company. He donated the land for the depot where the
Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center
Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center is a passenger rail station and transportation center in Santa Ana, California. It is used by Amtrak's ''Pacific Surfliner'' and Metrolink's Orange County Line and Inland Empire–Orange County Line trai ...
now exists. He had a
walnut
A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''.
Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true ...
farm. He was a
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
. He represented
Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...
on 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 ...
for the 78th district from 1887 to 1889. He was also county supervisor, prior to the founding of
Orange County
Orange County most commonly refers to:
*Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Orange County may also refer to:
U.S. counties
*Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando
*Orange County, Indiana
*Orange County, New ...
. After the creation of Orange County, he served as supervisor for that county, too.
Later life and death
On February 24, 1909, Spurgeon incorporated his properties as W.H. Spurgeon Realty Company. The company created the W.H. Spurgeon Block in downtown Santa Ana.
That building was the largest building in Santa Ana at the time. He served as president until his death. He died on June 20, 1915.
Further reading
*
*
See also
*
William H. Spurgeon III
References
External links
*
Presentation of William Spurgeon Portrait
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spurgeon, William H.
1829 births
1915 deaths
American city founders
Mayors of places in California
People from Santa Ana, California
Orange County Supervisors
People from Henry County, Kentucky
19th-century American politicians
Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly