William H. Carlson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
William H. Carlson
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Carlson c. late 1880s
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| 7th Mayor of San Diego | |
| In office May 1, 1893 – May 3, 1897 |
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| Preceded by | Matthew Sherman |
| Succeeded by | Daniel C. Reed |
| Member of the California State Assembly from the 79th district |
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| In office January 2, 1893 - January 7, 1895 |
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| Preceded by | John C. Lynch |
| Succeeded by | Wilfred R. Guy |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 11, 1864 Sweden |
| Died | July 7, 1937 (aged 73) Los Angeles, California |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse | Carmen Ferrer (m. 1887) |
| Children | 2 |
William H. "Billy" Carlson (April 11, 1864 – July 7, 1937) was an American land developer and Independent politician from California. He served in the state government. He also served two terms as Mayor of San Diego. He was the first person to develop the San Diego neighborhood of Ocean Beach.
Contents
Early Life and Family
William "Billy" Carlson was born in 1864 in Sweden. He moved to the United States by 1870. He grew up in San Francisco, California.
By 1885, he had moved to San Diego. On October 3, 1887, Carlson married Carmen Ferrer. She came from the wealthy Estudillo family.
Building Ocean Beach
In San Diego, Carlson became an editor for the San Diego Sun newspaper. Later, he started a real estate company with Frank Higgins. Their company, Carlson & Higgins, opened during a big real estate boom from 1886 to 1888.
Carlson and Higgins developed the area known as Ocean Beach in 1887. They bought 600 acres of land. They named the area Ocean Beach. They planned and named the streets. They sold many land lots.
They also built a fancy hotel called the Cliff House. It was built in a Victorian style. They sold 2,200 lots in just a few weeks. To attract buyers, they promised to build a train line to downtown San Diego. Ocean Beach was about 2½ hours from downtown by carriage.
Carlson and Higgins did build a short train line in 1888. It went from Roseville to Ocean Beach. Roseville was a town near San Diego Bay. They also tried to build a line from Old Town to Roseville. But this project faced legal problems.
The real estate boom in San Diego ended. The Ocean Beach development ran into money troubles. The Cliff House Hotel burned down in 1898. Carlson's partner, Higgins, died in 1889. Carlson sold the Ocean Beach development. The area would not be fully developed until 1909. That's when D. C. Collier built a permanent train line.
Becoming a Politician
Carlson became well-known because of his development projects. He also became successful in politics. He was first elected as a City Trustee around 1888.
In 1890, he ran for County Assessor but did not win. Next, he studied law and became a lawyer. He was elected to the California State Assembly in 1892. He served from 1893 to 1895.
Mayor of San Diego
After his time in the state assembly, Carlson ran for mayor in March 1893. He ran as an independent candidate. He was a last-minute choice in a race with five candidates.
Carlson was a tall, friendly young man. He had no strong political connections or party. He won with less than 34% of the votes. At 28 years old, Carlson is still the youngest person ever elected mayor in San Diego.
He was elected and reelected because he promised many city improvements. However, he could not deliver on all of them. His biggest promise was to build a train line east of San Diego. This promise was not fulfilled during his time. Many people reportedly voted for him "just to see what he would do."
Carlson served as mayor of San Diego from 1893 to 1896. He wanted to remove city jobs that were not needed. But the city council disagreed with him. This led to many disagreements during his time as mayor. Many of his public projects were rejected by the council.
Carlson also raised money for a train line to Arizona. He collected funds from many people. But he only had enough money to lay 10 miles of track. This plan was finally completed 25 years later. It was done by John D. Spreckels with his San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway.
Towards the end of his mayoral term, Carlson ran for Congress. He promised a new post office in every town. He was sure he would win. He had his friend David C. Reed run for mayor. But Carlson lost the race for Congress. He then kept his name on the mayoral ballot. However, Carlson lost the mayoral race too. His friend Reed won instead. After losing, Carlson even held his own pretend political funeral.
Carlson had some successes as mayor. He got money from the government for a jetty. This jetty was at the entrance to San Diego Bay. He also helped get the Navy interested in San Diego. He secured state money for a Normal School. This school later became San Diego State University. He also got permission from Mexico for a train route to Yuma. This route was later used by Spreckels.
Later Years
After his time as mayor, Carlson left San Diego. He worked on several real estate and train projects. These projects were in Los Angeles, Alaska, and Cuba.
In 1917, Carlson faced legal issues related to his business deals. He was found guilty of a crime related to selling land. He spent some time in federal prison. He was released early in 1920.
Carlson died in 1937 in Los Angeles. He was involved in another real estate project at the time.
Quote
"A man is honest as long as he intends to be honest."
