Charles Crocker

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American railroad executive

title: "Charles Crocker" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1822-births", "1888-deaths", "american-railway-entrepreneurs", "19th-century-american-business-executives-in-rail-transportation", "businesspeople-from-san-francisco", "southern-pacific-railroad-people", "businesspeople-from-troy,-new-york", "nob-hill,-san-francisco", "new-york-(state)-republicans", "california-republicans", "burials-at-mountain-view-cemetery-(oakland,-california)", "crocker-family"] description: "American railroad executive" topic_path: "people/1820s" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Crocker" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American railroad executive ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

FieldValue
nameCharles Crocker
imageCharles_C_Crocker_by_Stephen_W_Shaw.jpg
captionc. 1872
birth_date
birth_placeTroy, New York, U.S.
death_date
death_placeMonterey, California, U.S.
spouse
children6, including Charles, George, William
partyRepublican
relationsEdwin B. Crocker (brother)
Henry J. Crocker (nephew)
Harry Crocker (grand-nephew)
::

| name = Charles Crocker | image = Charles_C_Crocker_by_Stephen_W_Shaw.jpg | caption = c. 1872 | birth_name = | birth_date = | birth_place = Troy, New York, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = Monterey, California, U.S. | known_for = | occupation = | spouse = | children = 6, including Charles, George, William | party = Republican | relations = Edwin B. Crocker (brother) Henry J. Crocker (nephew) Harry Crocker (grand-nephew)

Charles Crocker (September 16, 1822 – August 14, 1888) was an American railroad executive who was one of the founders of the Central Pacific Railroad, which constructed the westernmost portion of the first transcontinental railroad, and took control with partners of the Southern Pacific Railroad.

Early years

Crocker was born in Troy, New York on September 16, 1822. He was the son of Eliza (née Wright) and Isaac Crocker, a modest family. They joined the nineteenth-century migration west and moved to Indiana when he was 14, where they had a farm. Crocker soon became independent, working on several farms, a sawmill, and at an iron forge.

At the age of 23, in 1845, he founded a small, independent iron forge of his own. He used money saved from his earnings to invest later in the new railroad business after moving to California, which had become a boom state since the Gold Rush. His older brother Edwin B. Crocker had become an attorney by the time Crocker was investing in railroads.

Founding a railroad

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/San_Francisco_Pacific_Railroad_Bond_WPRR_1865.jpg" caption="Pacific Railroad Bond, City and County of San Francisco, 1865"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Truckee_River_at_Verdi,_east_of_the_Sierra_Nevada_mountains,_Nevada,_Central_Pacific_R.R,by_Thomas_Houseworth&_Co..jpg" caption="language=en-US}}"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Isaiah_West_Taber_(1830-1912)_Charles_Crocker's_Residence,_San_Franciscoca._1880_SFMOMA.jpg" caption="language=en}}"] ::

In 1861, after hearing an intriguing presentation by Theodore Judah, he was one of the four principal investors, along with Mark Hopkins, Collis Huntington and Leland Stanford (also known as The Big Four), who formed the Central Pacific Railroad, which constructed the western portion of the First transcontinental railroad in North America. His position with the company was that of construction supervisor and president of Charles Crocker & Co., a Central Pacific subsidiary founded expressly for the purpose of building the railroad.

Crocker bought train plows to plow the tracks of snow through the mountains, but they derailed due to ice on the tracks. He had more than 40 mi of snow sheds built to cover the tracks in the Sierra Nevada mountains, to prevent the tracks from getting covered with snow in the winter. This project cost over $2 million.

In 1864, Charles asked his older brother Edwin to serve as legal counsel for the Central Pacific Railroad.

While the Central Pacific was still under construction in 1868, Crocker and his three associates acquired control of the Southern Pacific Railroad. It built the westernmost portion of the second transcontinental railroad. Deming, New Mexico, is named after his wife, Mary Ann Deming Crocker. A silver spike was driven here in 1881 to commemorate the meeting of the Southern Pacific with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroads, completing the construction of the second transcontinental railroad in the United States. On September 5, 1876, at the Lang Southern Pacific Station, a California Historic Landmark, Crocker hammered a golden spike into a railroad tie, the ceremonial spike was driven to celebrate the completion of San Joaquin Valley rail line. The completion of the line connected the City of Los Angeles with San Francisco and First transcontinental railroad line.

Banking

Crocker was briefly the controlling shareholder of Wells Fargo in 1869 and served as president. After he sold down, he was replaced by John J. Valentine, Sr. Crocker also acquired controlling interest for his son William in Woolworth National Bank, which was renamed Crocker-Anglo Bank.

In 1963, Crocker-Anglo Bank merged with Los Angeles' Citizens National Bank, to become Crocker-Citizens Bank and later, Crocker National Bank. The San Francisco-based bank no longer exists, as it was acquired by Wells Fargo in 1986.[[File:Muybridge SF pan 1878 portion showing spite fence.jpg|thumb|Nob Hill [[Spite fence]]]]

Nob Hill and the 40 foot tall spite fence

Crocker built a mansion on Nob Hill, San Francisco. When his attempts to buy Nicholas YungNicholas Yung's adjacent property were rebuffed, he built a 40-foot spite fence around three sides of the neighbor's property. Legal challenges to the fence were unavailing. The feud lasted many years, and the fence was only removed after the death of Mrs. Yung, and the sale of the property by Yung's heirs to Crocker's family. Spite fences were thereafter made illegal in San Francisco. The mansion was destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Though the disaster rendered the infamous dispute and its resolution moot, Crocker's family donated the entire block of land to charity, in support of the Episcopal Diocese of California.{{cite web |url=https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-man-who-built-a-40-foot-spite-fence-around-his-neighbor-s-home |work=Pocket worthy: Stories to fuel your mind. |title=The Man Who Built a 40-Foot Spite Fence Around His Neighbor's Home |quote=When Nicholas Yung wouldn't sell his land to railroad baron Charles Crocker, Crocker built a 40-foot fence around his house and blotted out the sun.|publisher=Mental Floss |first1=Jake |last1=Rosse |access-date=May 2, 2020}} In 1910, in the same plot where the fence stood, the cornerstone was laid for Grace Cathedral.

Personal life

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Harriet_Valentine_Crocker_Alexander,_by_Giovanni_Boldini.jpg" caption="Painting of Crocker's daughter, Harriet, by [[Giovanni Boldini]], 1887"] ::

In 1852, Crocker was married to Mary Ann Deming. Mary was the daughter of John Jay Deming and Emily (née Reed) Deming. Together, they had six children, four of whom survived to adulthood:

Crocker was seriously injured in a New York City carriage accident in 1886, never fully recovered, and died two years later on August 14, 1888. He was buried in a mausoleum located on "Millionaire's Row" at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California. The massive granite structure was designed by the New York architect A. Page Brown, who later designed the San Francisco Ferry Building. Crocker's estate has been valued at between $300 million and $400 million at the time of his death in 1888.

During his lifetime Charles Crocker amassed a considerable collection of works of art.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Charles_Crocker_Tomb,_Oakland,_CA.jpg" caption="Mountain View Cemetery"] ::

Honors

Mount Crocker is named in his honor. It is located in California's Sierra Nevada mountains.

References

References

  1. (15 August 1888). "Obituary. Charles Crocker". [[The New York Times]].
  2. "Merced County Sun 10 December 1909 — California Digital Newspaper Collection : GEO. CROCKER IS DEAD IN NEW YORK".
  3. "Home{{!}}Verdi History".
  4. "Crocker Mansions Historical Marker".
  5. [https://web.archive.org/web/20010309181724/http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/a_c/crocker.htm "Charles Crocker"], ''The West'', PBS-WETA
  6. (1999–2003). "People & Events: Edwin Bryant Crocker (1818-1875)". Public Broadcasting Service.
  7. "Deming, NM (DEM)".
  8. "CHL # 590 Lang Southern Pacific Station Los Angeles".
  9. Fradkin, Philip L.. (2002). "Stage Coach, The History of Wells Fargo". Simon and Schuster.
  10. (August 27, 1965). "Banking: The Urge to Unrmerge".
  11. (8 February 1986). "Crocker Takeover Left Him Behind : Executive Out in the Cold in Surprise Wells Fargo Deal".
  12. (February 8, 1986). "Wells Fargo to acquire Crocker National Corp.". Eugene Register-Guard.
  13. (April 30, 1986). "Wells Fargo acquires Crocker". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  14. (2016-03-07). "History".
  15. "Home".
  16. (30 August 1888). "Charles Crocker's Will.". The New York Times.
  17. (July 18, 1897). "C. F. Crocker Dead. Vice President of the Southern Pacific Railway Expires in San Mateo, California". The New York Times.
  18. . (18 July 1897). ["Clasped in the Arms of Death"](https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SFC18970718.2.3). *San Francisco Call*.
  19. . (December 5, 1909). ["George Crocker Dies of Cancer"](https://www.nytimes.com/1909/12/05/archives/georgeerocker-dies-of-cancer-malady-that-killedhis-wie-fatal-tol.html). *The New York Times*.
  20. "Merced County Sun 10 December 1909 — California Digital Newspaper Collection : GEO. CROCKER IS DEAD IN NEW YORK".
  21. (30 July 1920). "MISS ALEXANDER TO WED S. WHITEHOUSE; Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles B. Alexander Engaged to Diplomatist. FIANCEE NOW IN EUROPE Mr. Whitehouse Is Chief of the New Eastern Division, Department of State.". The New York Times.
  22. Lawrence Kestenbaum. "Index to Politicians: Whitehouse". The Political Graveyard.
  23. (26 September 1937). "W. H. Crocker Dies, Banker On Coast". The New York Times.
  24. (21 April 1886). "Thrown from His Wagon.; Millionaire Crocker Seriously Hurt While Driving.". The New York Times.
  25. (12 August 1888). "Charles Crocker Dying.". The New York Times.
  26. "Crocker Monument".
  27. "The Tombs of Charles Crocker etal.". Central Pacific RR Photographic Museum.
  28. "For May Day, Remembering Vincent St. John". LaborStandard.org.
  29. "Archives Directory for the History of Collecting : Crocker, Charles, 1822-1888".
  30. Erwin G. Gudde, ''California Place Names'', University of California Press, 1969, {{ISBN. 9780520266193, page 96.

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1822-births1888-deathsamerican-railway-entrepreneurs19th-century-american-business-executives-in-rail-transportationbusinesspeople-from-san-franciscosouthern-pacific-railroad-peoplebusinesspeople-from-troy,-new-yorknob-hill,-san-francisconew-york-(state)-republicanscalifornia-republicansburials-at-mountain-view-cemetery-(oakland,-california)crocker-family