Alvinza Hayward
Alvinza Hayward | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1821 Vermont, United States |
| Died | Error: Need valid birth date (second date): year, month, day San Francisco, California, United States |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, financier, mining magnate |
| Known for | California Gold Rush mining, Bank of California shareholder, founder investor of San Francisco City Gas Company |
Alvinza Hayward (1821 – February 14, 1904) was a prominent American entrepreneur, financier, and mining magnate. He accumulated significant wealth through gold mining during the California Gold Rush and resided in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Early life
Born in Vermont in 1821, Hayward relocated early in life to Canton, New York. Although he pursued legal studies, he also became involved in ventures related to lumber and lead mining in Michigan.
California
After moving to Amador County, California, in 1851 with his wife and eldest son, Hayward applied his mining expertise to acquire a stake in the Eureka Mine. He subsequently merged this with the adjacent Badger Mine, creating the Hayward Mine under the Amador Mining Company. His mining operations produced in excess of US$12 million worth of gold, reaching depths of up to 1,700 feet. The Old Eureka Mine changed ownership multiple times before its closure in 1881.
Hayward also held ownership of the Utica/Selkirk mine near Angels Camp, known for its quartz and gold extraction. Following substantial investments, this mine yielded over $7 million in gold by 1901, with monthly outputs reaching $900,000. In his later years, Hayward diversified into silver mining. By 1865, he had become a significant shareholder and board member of the Bank of California and was among the founding investors of the San Francisco City Gas Company in 1870, which later evolved into Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
In 1867, alongside financiers such as Darius Ogden Mills and William Sharon, Hayward helped establish the Union Mill and Mining Company to support the Bank of California following a foreclosure event. He was also involved with a notable group responsible for converting San Francisco’s Lone Mountain Cemetery into Laurel Hill Cemetery around the same time.
Frequently dubbed California's "first millionaire" and often recognized as “the richest man in California,” Hayward gained a reputation for eccentricity. Later in life, he became interested in Spiritualism and occultism, consulting mediums for business insights with limited success.
Death and legacy
Alvinza Hayward passed away on February 14, 1904, in San Francisco and was laid to rest at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in Colma, California.
After his death, his San Mateo estate known as Hayward Park was transformed into the Peninsula Hotel, which was destroyed by fire in 1920. Around 1912, the property was subdivided to form the Hayward Park neighborhood, now served by a Caltrain station bearing the same name. The Alvinza Hayward Building (also called the Kohl Building; constructed in 1901), designed by George Percy and Willis Polk, remains standing at 400 Montgomery Street in San Francisco.
According to the US Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System, the city of Hayward was named after him; however, this attribution is contested by some historians.
Family life
Hayward married Charity Hathaway (1826–1905) during the 1840s in Wisconsin. Their marriage experienced difficulties; they had eight children but only two survived into adulthood. Their eldest son James, born in 1846, died at age 27 from tuberculosis. The couple divorced in 1878 but remarried later that year before finally separating permanently.
During the 1860s, the family moved to San Mateo, California, where Hayward established his expansive 800-acre Arts and Crafts-style estate named Hayward Park (1880), which included a lake, racetrack, and deer park.