Last bonanza kings [electronic resource] : the Bourns of San Francisco / Ferol Egan.

ISBN:

9780874178494

Title:

Author:

Egan, Ferol.

Personal Author:

Egan, Ferol.

Edition:

Pbk. ed.

Publication Information:

Reno : University of Nevada Press, 2009.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (289 pages, [10] pages of plates)

Contents:

Title Page; Copyright Page; Dedication Page; Contents; Chapter 1 -- Planting the Seed; Chapter 2 -- Westward Vision; Chapter 3 -- Bound for California; Chapter 4 -- San Francisco: A Rough City of Golden Dreams; Chapter 5 -- An Interlude of Family Happiness; Chapter 6 -- Bourn's Nevada Adventures; Chapter 7 -- Bourn's Luck; Chapter 8 -- Tragedy and Responsibility; Chapter 9 -- The Cambridge Years; Chapter 10 -- Young Bourn and the Empire Mine; Chapter 11 -- The Napa Valley Years; Chapter 12 -- San Francisco: City of Promise; Chapter 13 -- Expanding Horizons; Chapter 14 -- The New Century

Chapter 15 -- Growing FortunesChapter 16 -- Water, Land, and Politics; Chapter 17 -- The Changing Times; Chapter 18 -- The Final Years; Notes; Sources and Acknowledgments; Index

Local Note:

eBooks on EBSCOhost

Personal Subject:

Bourn, William, 1813-

Bourn, William, 1857-1936.

Bourne family.

Subject Term:

Pioneers -- California -- San Francisco -- Biography.

Businessmen -- California -- San Francisco -- Biography.

Geographic Term:

San Francisco (Calif.) -- Biography.

San Francisco (Calif.) -- History.

Format:

Electronic Resources

Electronic Access:

Click here to view

Publication Date:

2009

Publication Information:

Reno : University of Nevada Press, 2009.

Available:*

Shelf Number	Material Type	Copy	Shelf Location	Status
929.379461 22	1:E-BOOK	1	1:ONLINE	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Much of the wealth from the great mining bonanzas of the nineteenth century American West flowed into San Francisco and made possible the growth of the city and some fabulous personal fortunes. Among the wealthiest and most powerful of the Bonanza Kings were William Bowers Bourn I and his son and successor, William Bowers Bourn II. Their wealth came from rich mines in Nevada's Comstock Lode and Treasure Hill and California's Sierra foothills, as well as astute business ventures in the booming port city of San Francisco. Last Bonanza Kings tells their story with all the colorful detail and sweeping sense of epic drama that the characters and their times demand, setting them into the turbulent context of an age of rampant financial and civic growth, major technological advances in mining, lavish philanthropy, and opulent personal lifestyles.

Author Notes

Award-winning author Ferol Egan has written many books about the history of the West. He lives in Berkeley, California.

Reviews (1)

Choice Review

Thousands flocked to California during the halcyon years of the gold rush hoping to get rich, yet only a few achieved fabulous wealth and became known as Bonzana Kings. One such individual was William Bowers Bourn, who found initial success as a businessman in San Francisco shortly after the gold rush began. He later invested in gold mines in Grass Valley and in the Nevada Comstock, while also developing various business ventures. Following his sudden death, his son, William Bowers Bourn II, assumed control of the family enterprises, which he expanded and made more successful. He enlarged the Empire Mine in Grass Valley into one of the most advanced and productive hard-rock gold mines in California and a major source of the Bourn wealth. He also developed the Spring Valley Water Company, which later served as the basis of San Francisco's water system. Egan, an acclaimed California historian, makes use of the extensive Bourn family papers in this rich and lively history of the Bourn family and its influence on the development of San Francisco. Students of California history and role of the Bourn family in the Bay Area's growth will find this book informative reading. All levels. R. M. Hyser; James Madison University