Last month, the Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation Board, staff, volunteers, museum members, and esteemed guests gathered in Pantoja Park to honor and celebrate the contributions and accomplishments of California pioneer William Heath Davis, Jr. with the unveiling of a monument dedicated to him. The event was sponsored by the Kanaka Davis Trust Group and GQHF.
Mr. Davis, affectionally called “Kanaka Bill,” was born in Honolulu, Hawaii and through his grandmother, “Mahi,” was descended from Hawaiian nobility. His grandfather was Oliver Holmes, a governor of Oahu in the early 1800s. Kanaka Bill was born in 1821, the son of William Heath Davis, Sr., a ship’s captain, and Hannah Kalikolehua Holmes, Oliver Holmes and Mahi’s daughter. Holmes, William’s grandfather, had come to the islands from Boston, and served as Governor of Oahu under King Kamehamea I. His father died shortly after he was born, and Hannah subsequently married his stepfather, John Coffin Jones, Jr. who was the only real father young William knew. William first sailed to California as a cabin boy on the ship Louisa when he was nine years old. He traveled again to California in 1833, and finally in 1838, he returned to California to remain permanently in Yerba Buena (San Francisco).
He went to work for his uncle, Nathan Spear to learn the merchant skills of business and trading. One year later, because of his skill in navigating, he led John Sutter up the Colombia River to the area where gold was discovered, and the California Gold Rush began. With his newfound wealth and his brother Robert as his partner, William was able to operate a thriving trading business between California and Hawaii, dealing in a significant amount of military supplies. He acquired land in San Francisco, and subsequently became a member of the San Francisco Town Council.
In this position, Mr. Davis became a prominent businessman and civic leader. One of his many accomplishments was to build the first public and Catholic schools in San Francisco. He was even approached to run for Governor, but he declined the offer to pursue a Mexican – American partnership with three other business leaders.
Building a new town on the San Diego waterfront
Their intention was to build a new town on the waterfront in San Diego.
Mr. Davis’ wife, Maria de Estudillo, was the niece of Jose Antonio Estudillo, prominent civic leader and one of the first alcaldes (or mayors) of Old Town San Diego. Davis was familiar with the area because of his visits to Maria’s family.One of Davis’ partners was Andrew B. Gray, a surveyor for the National Boundary Survey between Mexico and the United States. He was joined by Jose Aguirre, Miguel Pedrorena and T.D. Johns.
The partners purchased 160 acres from the City Trustees for $2,304. The purchase included the area bounded by Broadway, Front Street, and the waterfront. Although he was only 28 years old, Davis was the wealthiest of the group, so most of the development of the property fell on him. Davis promptly built a wharf and warehouse at the foot of Market St. He additionally imported 10 modest saltbox-style, prefabricated houses to serve as homes for the anticipated residents of Davis’s New Town. The buildings had been brought around Cape Horn from Portland, Maine to be used for housing by the Gold Rush miners.Among the buildings originally erected was a home at the corner of State and F Streets for Davis, where his first child was born.
An identical building was built at the corner of State and Market Streets. This structure was later moved to 11th Street and finally, in 1980, to its current location at 410 Island Avenue, where it houses the Gaslamp Museum at the Davis-Horton House.
Disaster indirectly strikes a fledgling town
Everything was going well until disaster indirectly struck Davis’ fledgling town. A large fire destroyed the San Francisco warehouse where he kept his trade goods. The loss was in excess of $700,000. As he was now short of time and money, Mr. Davis was forced to abandon his dreams, and the once promising town developing around Pantoja Park became a ghost town.Mr. Davis went on to manage his father-in-law’s large cattle ranch, and also laid out most of the city of San Leandro.
He additionally sold real estate and appraised real property, as he was considered a recognized authority on land titles. Because of his many years in California under both Mexican and American rule, he was asked to write his memoirs, “Sixty Years in California,” which was published in 1889. William Heath Davis died on April 18, 1909, in Hayward, California at the age of 87.In 1867, fate smiled upon the sleepy little hamlet of San Diego in the form of Alonzo Horton, another San Francisco businessman. He was also determined to build a new city by the water.
However, timing is everything, and the Civil War was over, the Gold Rush had cooled, and people were coming west in droves looking for sunshine, a warm climate and new opportunities.
Horton purchased an additional 960 acres for $265, returned to San Francisco to promote his new city and prepared his wife, Sarah, to move to San Diego. When they arrived, they purchased the little house on State and Market and lived in it until the first of their five mansions was built. This modest house remains the only home that Horton lived in that is still standing. It is a living history museum, a tourist attraction and a community resource. The two-story structure has nine rooms, three fireplaces, and a modern basement/gallery and offices. Each room is decorated in period appropriate antiques, and each room celebrates the different inhabitants of the home. San Diego has grown to become America’s eighth-largest city and a worldwide tourist destination. Because of the vision of Davis and later Horton, we can all enjoy America’s Finest City.
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