Silsby Spalding

Silsby Spalding
Born May 29, 1886
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Died May 5, 1949(1949-05-05) (aged 62)
Beverly Hills, California
Residence Grayhall
Frank Flint Estate
Tecolote Ranch
Education Pomona College
Occupation Businessman, politician
Spouse(s) Caroline Canfield
Children Deborah C. Spalding
Parent(s) Salathiel Martin Spalding
Sarah Eglantine Camp
Relatives Charles A. Canfield (father-in-law)

Silsby Spalding (May 29, 1886 May 5, 1949) was an American businessman and politician. He served as the first Mayor of Beverly Hills, California from 1926 to 1928.

Early life

Silsby Morse Spalding was born on May 29, 1886 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.[1][2][3] His father was Salathiel Martin Spalding and his mother, Sarah Eglantine Camp.[1] He graduated from Pomona College in Claremont, California.[2][3]

Career

He was a sporting goods magnate.[4][5][6] He also served as one of the earliest Presidents of the Aero Club of Southern California, and was an executive at the Mexican Eagle Petroleum Company and the Pan-American Petroleum and Transport Co..[6]

He served as the first Mayor of Beverly Hills, California from 1926 to 1928.[2][3][4][5][6][7] During his tenure, he appointed Will Rogers was honorary mayor, garnering world-wide publicity for Beverly Hills.[6]

Personal life

He married Caroline Canfield (1890-1970), daughter of oilman Charles A. Canfield (1848-1913) in 1911.[5][8][9] They had a daughter, Deborah C. Spalding (1921-2011).[1]

In 1912, after Canfield's death, they moved into Grayhall, an estate located at 1100 Carolyn Way, formerly built by Carole Lombard's father as a hunting lodge and later owned by George Hamilton and Bernard Cornfeld.[4][8][9][10][11] From 1918 to 1921, they lived in the Frank Flint Estate, a Colonial Revival-style mansion resembling a Southern plantation located at 1006 North Crescent Drive.[8] He later purchased the Tecolote Ranch in Goleta, California, where he raised purebred cattle and horses, and grew walnut and citrus trees.[6]

Death

He died on May 5, 1949 at his main residence at Grayhall in Beverly Hills, California.[1][2][3][6]

Legacy

Street sign of Spalding Dr on Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, California.

Spalding Drive in Beverly Hills is named in his honor.[7][12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Ancestry.com
  2. 1 2 3 4 Claremont Colleges Digital Library: Students on steps of the Fulkerson's house in Claremont, California, 1904
  3. 1 2 3 4 Digital Library: Student residence interior with students smoking pipes, Pomona College, 1904
  4. 1 2 3 Ruth Ryon, Updated Estate Is Rich in History, The Los Angeles Times, January 27, 2002
  5. 1 2 3 Cecilia Rasmussen Tale of Wealth, Murder and a Family's Decline, The Los Angeles Times, August 20, 2000
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 OBITUARY -- Silsby Spalding, Beverly Hills Ex-Mayor, Dies, The Los Angeles Times, May 7, 1949
  7. 1 2 Roots of Beverly Hills Streets Go Deeper Than Movie Era, The Los Angeles Times, February 03, 1994
  8. 1 2 3 Marc Wanamaker, Early Beverly Hills, Arcadia Publishing, 2005, pp. 42-43
  9. 1 2 Marc Wanamaker, Beverly Hills, (Ca): 1930-2005, Arcadia Publishing, 2006, p. 69
  10. George Hamilton, William Stadiem, Don't Mind If I Do, Simon and Schuster, 2008, p. 144
  11. Mary Ann Bonino, The Doheny Mansion: A Biography of a Home, Pioneers, 2008, p. 180
  12. Google Maps
Political offices
Preceded by
Incumbent
Mayor of Beverly Hills, California
1926-1928
Succeeded by
Paul E. Schwab
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