Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1901-11-27
A WESTERN HUSTLER
Former Marshall County Resi-.
dent Gains Prominence in
California.
Sam W. Ferguson at the Head Of
a New Railway Project From
San Diego.
A California Newspapers Ref.
A California Newspapers Ref.
erence to His Work as a
Promoter.


county remember Sam w. FERGUSON
but few people are aware that he has
/ become a successful promoter of big
enterprises since moving from Marshall.
town to California. AT the present time
| he is at the head of railway enter
| prise and hopes to build a line from
| San Diego to a connection with an east
ern road. The Los Angeles Herald OF
recent date says of Mr.. Ferguson and
his work:
IF San Diego is to have a new line
| of railriad connecting her port with the
east, it will be very likely to be achieved
| thru the gentleman who is now at the
| head of that enterprise. and who is one
| of those who have no failures to look
| back upon. Every real estate man in
Central California. at least, and a great
| many of them In the southern part OF
| the state, Is acquainted directly or in
directly with s. w. Ferguson. He lie
| now the general manager OF the pro-
| posed San Diego and Eastern railroad
and has pushed the work of his COM
pany so far that the subject is we'll
worthy of discussion.
catine, Ia. He began his railroad career
while still a boy, but an accident, re-
sulting in the loss of an arm, caused
him to change his ideas of business life
and he engaged in the study and prac-
tice of law in Iowa and Indiana. for a
number of years. At Sic age of &c. how
ever, he found his health falling, and
determined to spend the remainder of
his life in California 1t was fifteen
years ago. therefore, when he arrived
here and settled at San Luis Obi1po. He
took up a government claim and i'm
proved it to the limit, meanwhile look
ing out for outside opportunities In
real estate way. He was the founder
of the town of Paso Robes, now Va pref.
ty place of almost 5000 Inhabitants, fine
public buildings and schools, prosperous
trade and beautiful homes. which serve
as monument to the enterprise OF Its
founder. He subsequently became iden-
titled with the Pacific Improvement
Company. and ultimately had charge OF
the location and sale OF the numerous
townsites for that corporation and
founded Mill Valley, which is one Of the
most prosperous suburbs of San Fran
cisco, in which property values have
trebled since the first locations were
sold. He also laid out and sold the coll
ony of Fruityale and built the famous
Chateau Fresno avenue, said to be the
most beautiful boulevard in the entire
state. After several years service with
the Pacific Improvement Company, Mr..
Fergussons services were sought by
Lloyd Tevis and ]. B. Haggin and he
engaged with them to manage their
vast land interests in Kern county, with
headquarters at Bakersfield, where
there is nov the largest successful irri.
cation system in the United States, wat
ering almost half million acres of
farming land which therefore were
practically desert. On this tract today
there are about $4,000 acres OF growing
alfalfa and the herds of cattle and sheep
number far into the tens of thousands
of head. During his sojourn in Bakers
field, he organized and was president
of the Producers bank He was also
appointed major on the staff of Briga-
der General Muller, and organized the
present militia company at Bakersfield.
In 1898 he was appointed member of
the California commission to the world S
fair, associated with Hon. Irving NJ. |
Scott and others, in body which will
be plea sanity remembered because Of |
the fact that nothing but merit ever at
tached to 1t.
After closing up his business inter-
est5 in Bakersfield, Mr.. Ferguson be-
came identified in a managerial capac-
ity with the Imperial Land Company,
in gigantic project for the reclamatloS
Of the delta of the Colorado river, re-
signing his position with them last June
for purely personal reasons, after the
project had been proven entirely sue
cessful. He is now devoting his ener-
gies to the San Diego and Eastern rail-
road and has already got matters in a
more prosperous shape than has been
attained by any other similar project.
AS general manager of fully organ
zed company of San Diegans he has
equipped an engineering crops, which is
low at work in the field The engineer
ng department, under the direction OF H
Consulting Engineer Hawgood, is push
ng actual survey toward the east and
Mr. Ferguson has assured that there is
lot the slightest intention of his COM
,any ceasing active work until the line
s completed
Two men named Griffith and Robin
on We're killed while boring a well
lear Camden, Mo-, by the accidental
explosion of a charge of dynamite.