H. D. Bacon Papers: Finding Aid mssBC
Finding aid prepared by Huntington Library Staff and updated by Diann Benti in 2016.
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Note
Finding aid updated on August 9, 2022, by Melissa Haley and January 31, 2024 by Brooke M. Black.
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: H. D. Bacon papers
Creator:
Bacon, Henry Douglas, 1817-1893
Identifier/Call Number: mssBC
Physical Description:
26 Linear Feet
(43 boxes)
Date (inclusive): approximately 1766-1906
Date (bulk): 1850-1900
Abstract: This collection contains letters, documents, and a few account books related to the business activities of American financier
H.D. Bacon (1817-1893). Items chiefly date between 1850 and 1900 and subject matter includes banking methods in the 1850s;
the failure of Page & Bacon and Page, Bacon & Co.; the financing of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad; land transactions in
Missouri and Illinois; mines and mining properties in the western United States; the wine and citrus industries in Southern
California; the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley Railroad; the purchase, boundaries, and subdivision of the Marengo Ranch
(now the city of South Pasadena, California); and the construction of the Raymond Hotel in Pasadena.
Language of Material: English.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more
information.
Conditions Governing Use
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and
obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item]. H. D. Bacon papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Most of the papers were purchased in January, 1945 from Edwin Grabhorn. The Marengo material was bought from Charles Yale's
Bookshop, Pasadena, in March, 1944.
Biographical / Historical
California financier Henry Douglas Bacon (1817-1893), the son of Joseph and Abigail Cleveland Bacon, was born in East Granville,
Massachusetts, in 1817. In 1835, he moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where he engaged first in the dry goods, then in the iron,
trade. He was married in 1844 to Julia Ann Page, daughter of Daniel Dearborn Page, miller, merchant, and owner of considerable
property in and around St. Louis.
Four years later, Bacon and his wealthy father-in-law formed the banking firm of Page & Bacon, Bacon being the active member.
The success of this enterprise led to the opening, in 1849, of Page, Bacon & Co.'s express office in San Francisco. The partners
were Page, his son
Francis W. Page,
Bacon
, Henry Haight, and David Chambers. Page, Bacon & Co. soon became primarily a banking concern, with branches in Sacramento,
Sonora, and Honolulu. Business flourished until January, 1855. Then various factors, among them falseness on the part of Page
& Bacon's New York correspondents, and involvement in the financing of the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad, compelled the St.
Louis house to close its doors. When the news reached San Francisco, a run on Page, Bacon & Co. also resulted in suspension.
Both firms resumed, but by May both were forced into liquidation. The failure of Page, Bacon & Co. served as a prelude to
the San Francisco crash of 1855.
Bacon devoted the next few years to settlements with creditors and to attempts to make the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad a
paying proposition. In the eighteen sixties, he turned his attention to mining. He invested in mines throughout the western
United States and Mexico. After about 1870, however, his primary interest lay in properties in California and Arizona.
Paralleling Bacon's mining ventures were numerous other business activities and investments. The chief of these was his purchase,
in 1871 and 1873, of the Marengo Ranch, 1036 acres of what is now South Pasadena. At first his son, Frank Page Bacon, managed
the raising of stock and the growing of citrus fruits, grapes and walnuts on the ranch. Then this task was taken over by Langston
C. Winston. In 1883, some of the land was bought by Walter Raymond for his hotel, later the entire ranch was subdivided and
sold.
Bacon himself is not identified with Southern California. In 1866 he moved to the bay area, setting up an office in San Francisco
and making his home in Oakland. He is remembered for generous gifts to the University of California at Berkeley, notably the
Bacon Art and Library Building. At his death early in 1893, he was survived by his widow, his son, and two daughters, Carrie
J. Bacon and Ella Etta Bacon Soulé.
Scope and Contents
This collection contains letters, documents, and a few account books related to the business activities of California financier
Henry Douglas Bacon.
Subject matter includes banking methods in the 1850s; the failure of Page & Bacon and Page, Bacon & Co.; the financing of
the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad; land transactions in Missouri and Illinois; mines and mining properties in the western
United States; the wine and citrus industries in Southern California; the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley Railroad; the
purchase, boundaries, and subdivision of the Marengo Ranch (now the city of South Pasadena, California); and the construction
of the Raymond Hotel in Pasadena, California.
Significant persons represented in the collection include Frank Page Bacon (19 items), Henry Douglas Bacon (164 items), Julia
Ann (Page) Bacon (54 items), Samuel Latham Mitchill Barlow (57 items), James Buckland (31 items), William Tell Coleman (31
items), R. A. Fisher (18 items), Samuel Gaty (273 items), Walton G. Hughes (117 items), William Birdie Hyde (19 items), J.
G. Mahany (19 items), Ormsby MacKnight Mitchel (76 items), Daniel Dearborn Page (33 items), Francis W. Page( 33 items), Henry
Starr (21 items), John D. Weems (15 items), Langston C. Winston(27 items), and Thomas M. Yerkes(100 items).
Some notable items include:
- Bacon, Henry Douglas. Letters to Daniel D. Page and
Francis W. Page concerning the failure of Page &
Bacon
and Page, Bacon & Co., and efforts to recoup. 1855, Jan. - May
- Barlow, Samuel L. M. Letter to Henry D. Bacon concerning attempts to avert southern secession. 1860, Nov. 30
- Shaffner, Taliaferro Preston. Letter to Henry D. Bacon explaining his use of military mines during the Schleswig-Holstein
War. 1864, Sep. 15
- Letters to Bacon from mining agents in Mexico, describing the political unrest and resultant obstacles to business. 1865-1866
- Gaty, Samuel. Letters to Henry D. Bacon concerning attempts to get a land bill through the Illinois legislature by means of
lobbying and bribery. 1866, Nov.-1867, June
- Carr, Jeanne C. and Winston, Elizabeth M. Letters to Henry D. Bacon concerning the Pasadena Library Society. 1883, Jan. -
Feb.
- Hyde, William Birdie. Letters to Henry Douglas Bacon about Leland Stanford and the Southern Pacific. 1873, Aug. 14 - 22
- Cambell, James and others. Letter to Henry D. Bacon differentiating between the Pasadena and San Pasqual school districts.
1879, Dec. 26
- Bacon, Henry Douglas. Incomplete manuscript of his dedicatory speech for the Bacon Art and Library Building. 1881, Aug.
- Grant, Ulysses S., City Point, Virginia. Endorsement of Shaffner's system of artillery mining, 1865 March 22, contemporary
copy (BC 2560, box 10)
Processing Information
This finding aid was updated in 2022 by Melissa Haley as part of the American Presidential Papers Project with enhanced description
of the presidential material present.
General
Individual call numbers in the collection: mssBC 1-2561.
Related Materials
-
Samuel L. M. Barlow papers, 1776-1905 (bulk 1885-1889)
(Call number: mssBW Boxes 1-202)
Arrangement
Organized in the following series: 1. Correspondence; 2. Page & Bacon and Page, Bacon & Co. accounts; 3. Land papers; 4. Mining
papers; 5. Marengo Ranch; 6. Miscellaneous business papers and receipts; 7. Ephemera; 8. Loose volumes.
Bibliography
Cross, Ira B. Financing an Empire. Banking in California. vol. 1. p. 67, 71, 181ff., 188-190
Ferrier, William Warren. Origin and Development of the University of California. p. 427-430
Jones, William Carey. Illustrated History of the University of California. p. 207, portrait of Henry Douglas Bacon on p. 210
Stevens, Walter B. History of St. Louis, the Fourth City. 1764-1909. vol. 1. p. 305-306, portrait of Henry Douglas Bacon on
p. 321
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Banks and banking -- California
Citrus fruit industry -- California, Southern
Land use -- California, Southern
Land use -- Missouri -- Saint Louis.
Mines and mineral resources -- Mexico
Mines and mineral resources -- West (U.S.)
Railroads -- California, Southern
Wine industry -- California, Southern
California, Southern -- History -- Sources
South Pasadena (Calif.) -- History -- Sources
Account books United States
Letters (correspondence) United States
Professional papers United States
Bacon, Julia Ann Page
Barlow, Samuel L. M. (Samuel Latham Mitchill), 1826-1889
Coleman, William Tell, 1824-1893
Gaty, Samuel
Page, Daniel D.
Page, Francis W.
Starr, Henry, 1819-
Yerkes, Thomas M.
Los Angeles & San Gabriel Valley Railroad Co.
Marengo Ranch (Calif.)
Ohio & Mississippi Railroad Co.
Raymond Hotel (Pasadena, Calif.)
Bacon, Julia Ann Page
Barlow, Samuel L. M. (Samuel Latham Mitchill), 1826-1889
Coleman, William Tell, 1824-1893
Gaty, Samuel
Page, Daniel D.
Page, Francis W.
Starr, Henry, 1819-
Yerkes, Thomas M.
Box 1
Correspondence.
1809-1851 November 29
Box 2
Correspondence.
1852 March 6-1853 December 13
Box 3
Correspondence.
1853 December 30-1855 January 31
Box 4
Correspondence.
1855 February 1-1855 December 22
Box 5
Correspondence.
1856 January 4-1857 October
Box 6
Correspondence.
1857 Nov. 13-1859 Apr. 25
Box 7
Correspondence.
1859 July-1863
Box 8
Correspondence.
1863 January 7-1864 May 2
Box 9
Correspondence.
1864 May 12-1865 February 28
Box 10
Correspondence.
1865 March 1-1865 September 30
Box 11
Correspondence.
1865 October 5-1866 August
Box 12
Correspondence.
1866 September 7-1867 March 15
Box 13
Correspondence.
1867 June 5-1867 December 13
Box 14
Correspondence.
1867 December 16-1868 September 29
Box 15
Correspondence.
1868 October 5-1869 April 28
Box 16
Correspondence.
1869 May 7-1871 February 16
Box 17
Correspondence.
1871 February 21-1872 June 19
Box 18
Correspondence.
1872 July 24-1875 September 21
Box 19
Correspondence.
1875 October 21-1879 January 9
Box 20
Correspondence.
1879 January 20-1884 November 12
Box 21
Correspondence.
1885 January 17-1906 November 12
Page & Bacon and Page, Bacon & Co. accounts
Box 22
Accounts. BC 1333-1334, 1342-1347, 1349
1850, 1853-1855
Box 23
Accounts. BC 1140, 1335-1336, 1338-1341, 1350-1357
1853-1855, 1864-1867
Box 24
Land Papers: St. Louis, Missouri BC 1416-1421
1766-1883
Box 25
Land Papers: Missouri and Illinois BC 998, 1139, 1275, 1361, 1408-1415
1811-1889
Mining papers BC 1553-2237
Box 26
Mining Papers.
1844 May 6-1864 August 16
Box 27
Mining Papers.
1864 August 25-1864 December 22
Box 28
Mining Papers.
1864 December 25-1865 March
Box 29
Mining Papers.
1865 April 1-1865 October 17
Box 30
Mining Papers.
1865 November 4-1866 April 28
Box 31
Mining Papers.
1866 May 8-1867 July 16
Box 32
Mining Papers.
1867 November-1870 August 29
Box 33
Mining Papers.
1871 January 12-1874 June 30
Box 34
Mining Papers.
1874 July 14-1880 May 24
Box 35
Mining Papers.
1880 circa June-1885 April 29
Box 36
Mining Papers.
1885 October 22-1902 January 19
Box 37
Mining materials: deeds and accounts. BC 1554, 1644, 1784, 1855, 1895, 1987, 2137
Marengo Ranch papers. BC 2240-2550
Box 38
Marengo Ranch.
1860 April 24-1877 January 22
Box 39
Marengo Ranch.
1877 January 27-1883 October 2
Box 40
Marengo Ranch.
1883 December 12-1886 June 11
Box 41
Marengo Ranch.
1886 September 20-1890 December 10
Box 42
Miscellaneous business papers and receipts.
Box 43, Folder 1
Newspaper clippings and other printed material; scraps and envelopes; plans and sketches for machinery.
Physical Description: 133 Items
Box 43, Folder 2
Bacon, Henry Douglas. Memorandum books, etc. BC 177 (volumes 1-5)
1857-1881
- Volume I- Memo book, 1857-1867
- Vol. II- Bank book, 1865
- Vol. III- Bank book, 1865-1866
- Vol. IV- Memo book, 1872
- Vol. V. Pasturage book for Marengo Ranch, 1879-1881
Box 43, Folder 3
Page, Daniel Dearborn Memorandum book [including family notes]. BC 1276 (vols. 1-2)
1866-1868
Box 43, Folder 4
Page, Francis W. Notes on Philip Rocheblave BC 1283
1848
Box 43, Folder 5
Page,
Francis W. Memorandum book relating to affairs of Page,
Bacon
& Co.
BC 1284
1855-1856
Box 43, Folder 6
Page, Francis W. Account and memorandum books [includes family notes] BC 1285 (vols. 1-2)
1871-1876
