Silsby Spalding

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.

Silsby Spalding
Born	May 29, 1886 Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Died	May 5, 1949(1949-05-05) (aged 62) Beverly Hills, California
Education	Pomona College Preparatory School Stanford University[1]
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)

Early life

Silsby Morse Spalding was born on May 29, 1886 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.[2][3][4] His father was Salathiel Martin Spalding and his mother, Sarah Eglantine Camp.[2] He studied at the Pomona College Preparatory School in Claremont, California,[3][4] and later at Stanford University.[1]

Career

Spalding was a sporting goods magnate.[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..[7]

Spalding served as the first Mayor of Beverly Hills, California from 1926 to 1928.[3][4][5][6][7][8] During his tenure, he appointed Will Rogers as honorary mayor, garnering worldwide publicity for Beverly Hills.[7]

Personal life

Spalding married Caroline Canfield (1890-1970), daughter of oilman Charles A. Canfield (1848-1913) in 1911.[6][9][10] They had a daughter, Deborah C. Spalding (1921-2011).[2]

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.[5][9][10][11][12] 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.[9] He later purchased the Tecolote Ranch in Goleta, California, where he raised purebred cattle and horses, and grew walnut and citrus trees.[7]

Death and legacy

Spalding died on May 5, 1949 at his main residence at 1019 Laurel Way in Beverly Hills, California.[7]

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

Spalding Drive in Beverly Hills is named in his honor.[8][13]

References

1. Osterdahl, Andy (6 May 2015). "Silsby Morse Spalding (1886-1949)". The Strangest Names In American Political History. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
2. Ancestry.com
3. Claremont Colleges Digital Library: Students on steps of the Fulkerson's house in Claremont, California, 1904
4. Digital Library: Student residence interior with students smoking pipes, Pomona College, 1904
5. Ruth Ryon, Updated Estate Is Rich in History, The Los Angeles Times, January 27, 2002
6. Cecilia Rasmussen Tale of Wealth, Murder and a Family's Decline, The Los Angeles Times, August 20, 2000
7. OBITUARY -- Silsby Spalding, Beverly Hills Ex-Mayor, Dies, The Los Angeles Times, May 7, 1949
8. Roots of Beverly Hills Streets Go Deeper Than Movie Era, The Los Angeles Times, February 03, 1994
9. Marc Wanamaker, Early Beverly Hills, Arcadia Publishing, 2005, pp. 42-43
10. Marc Wanamaker, Beverly Hills, (Ca): 1930-2005, Arcadia Publishing, 2006, p. 69
11. George Hamilton, William Stadiem, Don't Mind If I Do, Simon and Schuster, 2008, p. 144
12. Mary Ann Bonino, The Doheny Mansion: A Biography of a Home, Pioneers, 2008, p. 180
13. Google Maps

Political offices
Preceded by Incumbent	Mayor of Beverly Hills, California 1926-1928	Succeeded by Paul E. Schwab