Wandering Lizard

Biographical Notes

George Hearst

In 1859 word began to circulate to the effect that silver had been discovered in Nevada. Hearst went to investigate. Based on what he found, he sold his share of the LeCompton and purchased a one sixth interest in the Ophir Mine in the Washoe region of Nevada (then western Utah Territory). The town of Ophir quickly grew up around the mine, but soon changed it's name to Silver City, and then to Virginia City. Hearst took up residence and focused on solving the problem of how to separate the silver and gold from the ore. Silver processing was different from gold processing and once again he was involved in a process which was new to the mining industry in Nevada and California. In March 1860, the first silver was smelted from Ophir ore in San Francisco and it touched off the "Washoe Rush." California virtually closed up shop and rushed to Nevada to obtain a piece of what was called the "Comstock Load." Many important developments in mining grew out of Hearst's experience in the Ophir. In 1859 mine's stock sold for as much as $1,200 a share.

In 1860 Hearst received word that his mother was ill. In June 1860 he returned to Missouri. His mother died the following spring and on June 15, 1862, he married a young neighbor and long time acquaintance, Phoebe Elizabeth Apperson (nicknamed "Puss"). They had to elope to Steelville, Mississippi, for the marriage because of the opposition of her parents who thought George too old for Phoebe. In September 1862 George and Phoebe left Franklin for New York. They sailed to Panama, crossed the Isthmus, and sailed again to San Francisco where they took up residence in the Lick House, a famous hotel of the time. Hearst was deeply involved in litigation related to the Ophir, but he managed to acquire stock in a number of other profitable mines during this period. On April 29, 1863, Phoebe gave birth to a son - William Randolph. After their son's birth, Phoebe remained in San Francisco most of the time and George spent the majority of his time in the new state of Nevada dealing with his various mining interests..

In 1865 the Democratic Party nominated Hearst to the State Assembly and he won a seat representing San Francisco. His only previous political experience had been when, at the age of twenty-six, he had served as a delegate to the Missouri State Convention. Earlier in California he had been associated with the southern wing of the Democratic Party which was dominated by Gwinn. It was not a popular relationship during the civil war. Lee surrendered to Grant in April 1865 and it was a stormy year in California politics. Hearst's election surprised him. While in the state legislature he voted with his party and served on the Assembly Committee of Mines and Mining Interests. In 1866 he was a delegate to the State Convention of Miners. In 1867 revenue from the Ophir Mine declined and it was thought by some that the Comstock Load had finally been exhausted. Hearst returned to San Francisco to look after his real estate investments. He did well in real estate, but he also maintained his primary interest in mining.

From that point forward Hearst applied his expertise to assisting others in assessing the value of prospective mining ventures. In the process he travelled all over the western portion of the country. He was highly regarded as a mining expert and received high fees for his services. Sometimes he invested his own money if he thought the prospects of a given mine bright enough. James B. Haggin frequently invested with Hearst in these ventures and eventually they formed a mining partnership. Their first rich mine was named Ontario and was located in Utah. It was expensive to develop and operate, but between 1872 and 1876 it netted over one million dollars and from 1877 to 1891 it paid close to twelve and a half million dollars in dividends. In 1873 Phoebe took their son William Randolph to Europe on an extensive tour. Hearst lived at the Ontario and continued to purchase interests in mines. In 1874 the Hearst family had to scale back their lifestyle due to the pressing need to devote all available monies to the development of the mines. They dismissed their servants , sold their Chestnut Street residence, and moved to a San Francisco boarding house.

Their financial strictures lasted about one year after which the Ontario Mine started paying enough for them to resume a luxurious life style. In 1875 gold was discovered in the Dakotas and the Black Hills Gold Rush was on with its center at the town of Deadwood. Hearst went to Deadwood and, together with Haggin, bought the mine that he called the Homestake, a name that his wife had suggested. (By 1899 it was to become the leading producer of gold in the United States.) At this point in his career he had become one of the leading mining experts in the world and some thought that he was the very best. He went on to invest in other mines some of which made money and some lost money. One that made money was the San Luis Mine in Mexico. Ore from the San Luis Mine was packed to Mazatlan by mule and protected by armed guards furnished by President Porfirio Diaz. In 1878 Hearst began developing the Piedra Blanca Ranch in southern California which he had purchased in 1865. (His son would develop the site further into the palatial retreat known as San Simeon.)

In 1881 Marcus Daly contacted Hearst and asked his help in developing a silver mine that he had located on Anaconda Hill near Butte, Montana. Hearst respected Daly and purchased a quarter interest in the Anaconda without actually seeing it. Haggin also invested. The mine produced silver and gold, but it's real riches were in copper. Here again Hearst was faced with a new challenge. He learned how to mine copper and developed the mine into one of the world's largest and most profitable copper mines. (By 1898 the Anaconda was producing one fifth of the world's annual supply of copper.)

On June 21, 1882, George Hearst's name was presented at the Democratic Party Convention for the position of Governor of California. He lost out to General George Stoneman who went on to win the election. In 1885 he received the Democratic vote for Senator but lost to Leland Stanford. Early in 1886 Senator John F. Miller died in office and on March 8, 1886, Governor Stoneman appointed Hearst to fill the vacancy. George and Phoebe went to Washington D.C. to serve until July 3, 1886, when Abraham P. Williams was elected to complete the Miller term. Hearst returned to the Senate following the November 1886 elections in which Democratic candidate, Washington Bartlett, was elected Governor with a Democratic majority in the state legislature. Even though he was in the minority party during a Republican administration Hearst spent his six years in the Senate effectively working with his colleague, Senator Stanford, on behalf of California. Hearst died in Washington February 28, 1891. His body was escorted across the country and he was buried at Laurel Hill. Later his body was moved to Cypress Lawn.

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