Peter Donahue (businessman)
| Peter Donahue | |
|---|---|
| File:Peter Donahue.jpg | |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | Co-founder of San Francisco and San Jose Railroad; built first railroad to go to Santa Rosa, California |
Peter Donahue, a founder of industrial San Francisco, made his way to gold-rush San Francisco aboard the steamship Oregon from Ireland by way of Peru.
In 1849, Peter and his brothers (Michael and James) opened a blacksmith's shop at First and Mission Streets. Later, they expanded it into a foundry (which became known as the Union Iron Works) and added a gas works,[1] the San Francisco Gas Company, a forerunner of Pacific Gas and Electric Company.[2]
In 1860, Donahue organized the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad, and in the 1870s he built a North Bay line from Donahue, California (at Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. on Petaluma Creek[3]) to Cazadero, California which eventually became the Northwestern Pacific Railroad.[1] Donahue built the first railroad to serve Santa Rosa, California.[4]
The Mechanics Monument in San Francisco, unveiled in 1901, was a tribute to the Donahue brothers' contributions, commissioned by his son James Mervyn Donahue, and designed by Douglas Tilden.[2][5]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Donahue
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ []http://www.timeshutter.com/image/donahue-monument-san-francisco-california brief article on monument, with images]
- Pages with broken file links
- Articles with hCards
- 19th-century American railroad executives
- American blacksmiths
- Rail infrastructure manufacturers
- Year of birth missing
- 19th century in San Francisco, California
- History of Sonoma County, California
- 1885 deaths
- American people of Irish descent
- Businesspeople from San Francisco, California
- Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923)
