Jump to content

Pacific Improvement Company

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pacific Improvement Company
Company typeHolding company
IndustryRailroad, Land development
PredecessorWestern Development Company
FoundedNovember 4, 1878
FounderLeland Stanford
DefunctFebruary 27, 1919
FateAcquired
Headquarters,
USA
Area served
Western United States, Monterey Peninsula
Productsrailroads, hotels, land
OwnerSouthern Pacific Railroad

The Pacific Improvement Company was a large California company that was part of the Southern Pacific Railroad. It was started in 1878 by four influential men known as the Big Four. These men were Leland Stanford, Collis Potter Huntington, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker. They were wealthy businessmen who helped build the Central Pacific Railroad.[1]: 586 

The Pacific Improvement Company was started in San Francisco, California, on November 4, 1878.[2] It had $5,000,000 in capital, divided into 5,000 shares worth $100 each. The company’s directors were J. H. Strobridge, F. S. Douty, Authur Brown, B. R. Crocker, and W. E. Brown.[3]

The Pacific Improvement Company was involved in many big projects, including building the Hotel Del Monte in 1880, a large resort hotel in Monterey, California. By the 1880s, it had grown into one of the largest companies in the Western United States. The company was in charge of businesses like shipping, mining, publishing, land development, resort hotels, electric streetcars, and water systems.[4][5]

In 1880, the Pacific Improvement Company purchased Rancho Pescadero from a businessman David Jacks. In 1919, the company was sold to Del Monte Properties.[4][6]

References

[change | change source]
  1. Tutorow, Norman E. (2004). The Governor: The Life and Legacy of Leland Stanford, a California Colossus, Volume 2. Spokane, Washington: The Arthur H. Clark Company. ISBN 0870623265.
  2. "Local Brevities". The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, California. 5 Nov 1878. p. 3. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  3. "Extensive Business". Oakland Tribune. Oakland, California. 13 Mar 1879. p. 3. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Fink, Augusta (2000). Monterey County: The Dramatic Story of its Past. Valley Publishers. p. 130-131. Retrieved 2024-08-12.
  5. Orsi, Richard J. (February 6, 2007). Sunset Limited, The Southern Pacific Railroad and the Development of the American West, 1850-1930. Univ of California Press. p. 115. ISBN 9780520251649. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
  6. "Del Monte Area To Be Developed". Oakland Tribune. Oakland, California. February 28, 1919. p. 15. Retrieved 2024-08-14.

Other websites

[change | change source]