William Bowers Bourn II

William Bowers Bourn II (1857-1936) was a noted American entrepreneur and builder of the well-known country estate Filoli.

Born on 31 May 1857 in San Francisco, California, second child of mining entrepreneur William Bowers Bourn I and Sarah Esther Chase Bourn, his classical education at Cambridge University was interrupted by his taking over the family businesses upon his father's accidental death by firearm discharge in July 1874, whereupon he was given charge of the Empire Mine, other mining interests, and significant real-state holdings. He significantly improved operations at the mine and used the resulting cashflow to initiate or expand other ventures.

In 1888 he partnered with E. Everett Wise and other investors to build the mammoth Greystone Cellar in Napa Valley. Bourn bought Wise out, but sold it entirely in 1894 in the midst of the phylloxera scourge at a terrific loss.

In the 1890s he spearheaded the merger of electricity and gas companies in San Francisco, which would form the basis of PG&E, and in 1890 began significant investments in the Spring Valley Water Company, which would be bought by the city government of San Francisco in February 1929 and, with the Hetch Hetchy expansion which Bourn had opposed, become its water supplier. Bourn was regularly pilloried by the "San Francisco Chronicle" as a thief and scoundrel for water rates, but Bourn replied that the company needed to earn a reasonable return on its investments and was also making provision for future population growth.

He and his wife, Agnes Moody Bourn, built their country estate Filoli beginning in 1915, which became one of the best-known examples of an American country estate, and in 1932 he made a gift of the Irish estate Muckross House to the government of Ireland in memory of his late daughter, Maud. It was to become Ireland's largest national park.

William Bowers Bourn II died at Filoli on 5 July 1936 and was buried with his wife and late daughter on the property.

References

Egan, Ferol - "Last Bonanza Kings: The Bourns of San Francisco" - University of Nevada Press, Reno & Las Vegas, 1998

ee also

*Sunol Water Temple - A structure commissioned by Bourn

External links

* [http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/tf3n39n6hj/ Guide to the William Bowers Bourn Family Papers, 1845-1985 ] at content.cdlib.org - Guide to the William Bowers Bourn Family Papers, 1845-1985
* [http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/events/bancroftiana/113/plumbing.html Bancroftiana, Number 113 Fall 1998: Plumbing the Depths of the Spring Valley Water Company ] at bancroft.berkeley.edu - Article on Bourn and his papers
* [http://www.filoli.org/history.html Filoli Center ::: History of Filoli ] at www.filoli.org - History of Filoli
* [http://www.muckross-house.ie/library_files/former_owners.htm Muckross Research Library - Former Owners of Muckross House ] at www.muckross-house.ie - Former owners of Muckross House
* [http://www.verlang.com/sfbay0004ref_19thc_017.html#2550_webster VLN: S.F. Architecture 1895-1897 ] at www.verlang.com - Architectural Analysis of Bourn home (designed by Willis Polk) in San Francisco