Person Record
Metadata
Name |
Atherton, Faxon Dean |
Notes |
One of the first to build at Fair Oaks had been Faxon Dean Atherton. He spent many years as a trader in hides and tallow, the products of the old California ranchos of the 1830s and 1840s. He had lived in Chile and Hawaii, and then moved to the San Francisco area. By then Atherton had already become a rich and successful man. He bought 640 acres of the old Rancho de las Pulgas and in 1860 built a modest summer home that he called Valparaiso Park, after his wife's former home in Chile. When the railroad was built, transportation facilitated travel down the Peninsula. Other rich men began to build country estates in the area. In 1877, ten men owned all the land that makes up today's town of Atherton. Only five actually lived on their property. In 1911, an attempt to incorporate the Fair Oaks area into a town failed. Another try was made in 1923, and 130 registered voters succeeded. When the application was made in Sacramento, however, it was discovered that a town of Fair Oaks already existed. A hasty decision was made to honor that early settler, Atherton, and name the town after him. Faxon Dean Atherton's own land was divided among his seven children after his death in 1877. (Joan Levy/2006) |
Born |
1815 |
Birthplace |
Massachusetts |
Deceased |
1877 |
Occupation |
Capitalist, pioneer founder of Atherton, known then as Fair Oaks |
Places of residence |
Massachusetts Chile Hawaii San Valparaiso (estate at today's Atherton) |
Spouse |
Dominga de Goni |
Children |
Alejandra (Rathbone) Frank Elena (Macondray) George (m. Gertrude Horn) Isabella (Garriga) Faxon Jr. (m. Jeannie Selby) Florence Eyre |
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