Peter Donahue (businessman)
Peter Donahue | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Glasgow, Scotland |
| Died | November 26, 1885 (aged 63) |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, industrial innovator |
| Known for | Founding San Francisco Gas Company; establishing Union Iron Works; founding San Francisco and San Jose Railroad; developing San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad; introducing Omnibus Railroad in San Francisco |
Peter Donahue (January 11, 1822 – November 26, 1885) was an Irish American entrepreneur and industrial innovator, recognized together with his brothers James and Michael as key figures in the establishment of industrial San Francisco. Born in Glasgow, Scotland to parents of Northern Irish descent, the family relocated to Paterson, New Jersey, where the brothers acquired skills as machinists.
In December 1847, Donahue participated in delivering the gunboat Rimac to Peru, arriving at Callao in July 1848. While in Peru, he learned about the California Gold Rush and subsequently returned to San Francisco in 1849. After an unsuccessful attempt at gold mining, he joined his brother James—who ran a blacksmith shop at First and Mission Street—and later their brother Michael, to expand this business into the Union Iron Works foundry.
With financial support from contacts in Paterson and approval from city authorities, Donahue established the San Francisco Gas Company in 1852, which later evolved into Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
By 1860, he introduced the Omnibus Railroad, San Francisco’s inaugural horse-drawn streetcar service operating on major routes across the city. This line was eventually absorbed by the Market Street Railway (transit operator), which later became part of the Municipal Railway (Muni). In that same year, Donahue founded the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad, now functioning as commuter rail Caltrain, with freight operations managed by Union Pacific Railroad.
In 1869, after acquiring rights previously unattained by Asbury Harpending, Donahue developed the San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad, constructing a rail line northward from Petaluma Creek to Cazadero. He subsequently relocated the rail terminus to Point Tiburon, where he established railroad ferry connections between San Francisco and Northern Counties and built the first railroad serving Santa Rosa, California.
Donahue’s Union Iron Works manufactured numerous well-known double-ended railroad ferries that operated on San Francisco Bay into the early 1900s. Among these vessels is the ferry Eureka, constructed after Donahue’s death at Tiburon, which is preserved at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park.
Peter Donahue passed away on November 26, 1885, shortly after becoming ill during an inspection of his Tiburon rail yard.
The Mechanics Monument in San Francisco, unveiled in 1901 and created by Douglas Tilden, honors the industrial achievements of the Donahue brothers. This monument was commissioned by Peter’s son James Mervyn Donahue.