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49-702: The bank traces its history to the Woolworth National Bank in San Francisco. Charles Crocker , who was one of The Big Four of the Central Pacific Railroad and who constructed America's first transcontinental railroad , acquired a controlling interest in Woolworth for his son William Henry Crocker . The bank was renamed Crocker Woolworth National Bank, later Crocker National Bank. In 1925, Crocker National merged with

98-409: A considerable collection of works of art. Through his son Charles, he was the grandfather of Mary Crocker (1881–1905), who married U.S. Congressman Francis Burton Harrison ; Charles Templeton Crocker (1884–1948); and Jennie Adeline Crocker (1887–1974). Through his daughter Harriet, he was the grandfather of Mary Crocker Alexander (1895–1986), who married diplomat Sheldon Whitehouse . Their son

147-545: A ledge for the Central Pacific has been repeated and exaggerated by uncritical historians. There is reliable, primary-source evidence stating that surveyors used safety ropes while staking out the route, but nothing about construction workers using ropes. Digging the cut was done downward from the top, and from each horizontal end of the cut. It is conceivable that a safety rope would have been useful when digging an initial footpath, that could then be enlarged into

196-492: A lien upon the railroads and all their fixtures, were repaid in full (and with interest) by the company as and when they became due. Sec. 10 of the 1864 amending Pacific Railroad Act (13 Statutes at Large, 356) additionally authorized the company to issue its own "First Mortgage Bonds" in total amounts up to (but not exceeding) that of the bonds issued by the United States. Such company-issued securities had priority over

245-825: A potential railroad route between Sacramento and Nevada City, California, a decade earlier, went with Judah into the Sierra Nevada Mountains. There they examined the Henness Pass Turnpike Company's route (Marsh was a founding director of that company). They measured elevations and distances, and discussed the possibility of a transcontinental railroad. Both were convinced that it could be done. In December 1860 or early January 1861, Marsh met with Judah and Daniel Strong in Strong's drug store in Dutch Flat, California , to discuss

294-481: A shelf, but there was no reason to be suspended by ropes to dig or drill into the face of the cut. It wasn't done that way. And, most of the Chinese labor was not hired until later. So, the gangs that did the digging at Cape Horn were probably Irish. Central Pacific Director Charles Marsh had extensive civil engineering experience in projects of this nature, both from planning an earlier proposed railroad into

343-460: A small, independent iron forge of his own. He used money saved from his earnings to invest later in the new railroad business after moving to California, which had become a boom state since the Gold Rush . His older brother Edwin B. Crocker had become an attorney by the time Crocker was investing in railroads. In 1861, after hearing an intriguing presentation by Theodore Judah , he was one of

392-504: A young businessman confidently using the machine, while speaking to it as if it were a person. He was followed by an elderly woman approaching it for the first time, and greeting it with a very uncertain "Hello." Crocker National Bank was purchased by the British financial institution Midland Bank in 1981, but after a series of financial losses, it was sold to Wells Fargo Bank in 1986. Crocker's executive vice president and two-thirds of

441-537: Is located in California's Sierra Nevada mountains. Central Pacific Railroad The Central Pacific Railroad ( CPRR ) was a rail company chartered by U.S. Congress in 1862 to build a railroad eastwards from Sacramento, California , to complete most of the western part of the " First transcontinental railroad " in North America. Incorporated in 1861, CPRR ceased independent operations in 1885 when

490-596: The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroads, completing the construction of the second transcontinental railroad in the United States. On September 5, 1876, at the Lang Southern Pacific Station , a California Historic Landmark, Crocker hammered a golden spike into a railroad tie , the ceremonial spike was driven to celebrate the completion of San Joaquin Valley rail line. The completion of

539-576: The Mariners' Museum at Newport News, Virginia . Alfred A. Hart was the official photographer of the CPRR construction. The Central Pacific's first three locomotives were of the then common 4-4-0 type, although with the American Civil War raging in the east, they had difficulty acquiring engines from eastern builders, who at times only had smaller 4-2-4 or 4-2-2 types available. Until

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588-606: The Old Sacramento State Historic Park . Nearly all the company's early correspondence is preserved at Syracuse University , as part of the Collis Huntington Papers collection. It has been released on microfilm (133 reels). The following libraries have the microfilm: University of Arizona at Tucson; and Virginia Commonwealth University at Richmond. Additional collections of manuscript letters are held at Stanford University and

637-547: The Southern Pacific Railroad . Crocker was born in Troy, New York on September 16, 1822. He was the son of Eliza (née Wright) and Isaac Crocker, a modest family. They joined the nineteenth-century migration west and moved to Indiana when he was 14, where they had a farm. Crocker soon became independent, working on several farms, a sawmill , and at an iron forge. At the age of 23, in 1845, he founded

686-502: The US Congress . They passed legislation in 1862 authorizing the central rail route with financing in the form of land grants and government railroad bond, which were all eventually repaid with interest. The government and the railroads both shared in the increased value of the land grants, which the railroads developed. The construction of the railroad also secured for the government the economical "safe and speedy transportation of

735-459: The 1970s and early 1980s, Crocker cultivated a reputation for customer service and convenience, including expanded hours. As a part of its promotional campaign, the bank gave various stuffed animals to new customers, including "Sunny", a teddy bear, "Crocker" Spaniel stuffed dogs, and a set of stuffed circus animal “Crockers”. It was also one of the first California banks to offer automated teller machine service. One early television commercial showed

784-748: The Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco to take and subscribe One Million Dollars to the Capital Stock of the Western Pacific Rail Road Company and the Central Pacific Rail Road Company of California and to provide for the payment of the same and other matters relating thereto" (which was later amended by Section Five of the "Compromise Act" of April 4, 1864). On May 19, 1863,

833-664: The Central Pacific Railroad was acquired by the Southern Pacific Company as a leased line. Technically the CPRR remained a corporate entity until 1959, when it was formally merged into Southern Pacific. (It was reorganized in 1899 as the Central Pacific "Railway".) The original right-of-way is now controlled by the Union Pacific , which bought Southern Pacific in 1996. The Union Pacific-Central Pacific (Southern Pacific) main line followed

882-490: The Central Pacific Railroad. While the Central Pacific was still under construction in 1868, Crocker and his three associates acquired control of the Southern Pacific Railroad . It built the westernmost portion of the second transcontinental railroad. Deming, New Mexico , is named after his wife, Mary Ann Deming Crocker. A silver spike was driven here in 1881 to commemorate the meeting of the Southern Pacific with

931-608: The City and County of San Francisco, and Wilhelm Lowey, Clerk 27 Cal. 655) directing that the Bonds be countersigned and delivered. In 1863 the State legislature's forcing of City and County action became known as the "Dutch Flat Swindle". Critics claimed the CPRR's Big Four intended to build a railroad only as far as Dutch Flat, California , to connect to the Dutch Flat-Donner Pass Wagon Road to monopolize

980-897: The Dutch Flat-Donner Lake Wagon Road Company. Frustrated, Judah headed off for New York via Panama to raise funds to buy out the Big Four from CPRR and build his trans-Sierra railroad. Unfortunately, Judah contracted yellow fever in Panama and died in New York in November 1863. A replica of the Sacramento, California , Central Pacific Railroad passenger station is part of the California State Railroad Museum , located in

1029-558: The First National Bank of San Francisco, founded by James D. Phelan , to form Crocker First National Bank. In 1956, Crocker First National Bank merged with the Anglo California National Bank (established by Herbert Fleishhacker ) to form Crocker-Anglo Bank. In 1963, Crocker-Anglo Bank merged with Los Angeles' Citizens National Bank, to become Crocker-Citizens Bank. and later, Crocker Bank. In

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1078-681: The Sierras, and from building ditches and flumes through those mountains for his water company. Construction of the road was financed primarily by 30-year, 6% U.S. government bonds authorized by Sec. 5 of the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 . They were issued at the rate of $ 16,000 ($ 265,000 in 2017 dollars) per mile of tracked grade completed east of the designated base of the Sierra Nevada range near Roseville, CA where California state geologist Josiah Whitney had determined were

1127-607: The Supreme Court of the State of California ordered them under Writs of Mandamus ( The People of the State of California ex rel the Central Pacific Railroad Company vs. Henry P. Coon, Mayor; Henry M. Hale, Auditor; and Joseph S. Paxson, Treasurer, of the City and County of San Francisco. 25 Cal. 635) and in 1865, a legal judgment against Loewy ( The People ex rel The Central Pacific Railroad Company of California vs. The Board of Supervisors of

1176-469: The business world. He drew on that and other business experience when creating the Dilbert comic strip. Charles Crocker Charles Crocker (September 16, 1822 – August 14, 1888) was an American railroad executive who was one of the founders of the Central Pacific Railroad , which constructed the westernmost portion of the first transcontinental railroad , and took control with partners of

1225-559: The completion of the Transcontinental rail link and the railroad's opening of its own shops, all locomotives had to be purchased from builders in the northeastern U.S. The engines had to be dismantled, loaded on a ship, which would embark on a four-month journey that went around South America's Cape Horn until arriving in Sacramento where the locomotives would be unloaded, re-assembled, and placed in service. Locomotives at

1274-410: The cornerstone was laid for Grace Cathedral . In 1852, Crocker was married to Mary Ann Deming (1827–1889). Mary was the daughter of John Jay Deming and Emily ( née Reed) Deming. Together, they had six children, four of whom survived to adulthood: Crocker was seriously injured in a New York City carriage accident in 1886, never fully recovered, and died two years later on August 14, 1888. He

1323-483: The electors of the City and County of San Francisco passed this bond by a vote of 6,329 to 3,116, in a highly controversial Special Election. The City and County's financing of the investment through the issuance and delivery of Bonds was delayed for two years, when Mayor Henry P. Coon , and the County Clerk, Wilhelm Loewy, each refused to countersign the Bonds. It took legal actions to force them to do so: in 1864

1372-482: The four principal investors, along with Mark Hopkins , Collis Huntington and Leland Stanford (also known as The Big Four ), who formed the Central Pacific Railroad , which constructed the western portion of the First transcontinental railroad in North America. His position with the company was that of construction supervisor and president of Charles Crocker & Co., a Central Pacific subsidiary founded expressly for

1421-479: The geologic start of the Sierras' foothills. Sec. 11 of the Act also provided that the issuance of bonds "shall be treble the number per mile" (to $ 48,000) for tracked grade completed over and within the two mountain ranges (but limited to a total of 300 miles (480 km) at this rate), and "doubled" (to $ 32,000) per mile of completed grade laid between the two mountain ranges. The U.S. Government Bonds, which constituted

1470-639: The head of the construction work force, hired the first Cantonese emigrant workers at Crocker's suggestion. The construction crew grew to include 12,000 Chinese laborers by 1868, when they breached Donner summit and constituted eighty percent of the entire work force. The " Golden spike ", connecting the western railroad to the Union Pacific Railroad at Promontory, Utah , was hammered on May 10, 1869. Coast-to-coast train travel in eight days became possible, replacing months-long sea voyages and lengthy, hazardous travel by wagon trains. In 1885

1519-746: The historic Overland Route from Omaha, Nebraska , to San Francisco Bay . Chinese labor was the most vital source for constructing the railroad. Most of the railroad workers in the west were Chinese, as they could be hired at a lower cost to do the difficult work. Fifty Cantonese emigrant workers were hired by the Central Pacific Railroad in February 1865 on a trial basis, and soon more and more Cantonese emigrants were hired. Working conditions were harsh, and Chinese were compensated less than their white counterparts, leading to far less white workers being hired. Chinese laborers were paid thirty-one dollars each month ($ 1,051 in 2023), and while white workers were paid

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1568-735: The line connected the City of Los Angeles with San Francisco and First transcontinental railroad line. Crocker was briefly the controlling shareholder of Wells Fargo in 1869 and served as president. After he sold down, he was replaced by John J. Valentine, Sr. Crocker also acquired controlling interest for his son William in Woolworth National Bank, which was renamed Crocker-Anglo Bank. In 1963, Crocker-Anglo Bank merged with Los Angeles' Citizens National Bank, to become Crocker-Citizens Bank and later, Crocker National Bank . The San Francisco-based bank no longer exists, as it

1617-464: The lucrative mining traffic, and not push the track east of Dutch Flat into the more challenging and expensive High Sierra effort. CPRR's chief engineer, Theodore Judah, also argued against such a road and hence against the Big Four, fearing that its construction would siphon money from CPRR's paramount trans-Sierra railroad effort. Despite Judah's strong objection, the Big Four incorporated in August 1863

1666-589: The mails, troops, munitions of war, and public stores". In the fall of 1860, Charles Marsh , a surveyor, civil engineer and water company owner, met with Theodore Judah , a civil engineer, who had recently built the Sacramento Valley Railroad from Sacramento to Folsom, California and was working on the California Central Railroad to extend the former from Folsom to Marysville . Marsh, who had already surveyed

1715-482: The new company, and on April 30, 1861, the eight of them, along with Lucius Anson Booth, became the first board of directors of the Central Pacific Railroad. Planned by Judah, the Central Pacific Railroad was promoted by Congress by the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 which authorized the issuance of government bonds and land grants for each mile that was constructed. Stanford served as president (at

1764-447: The original Government Bonds. (Local and state governments also aided the financing, although the City and County of San Francisco did not do so willingly. This materially slowed early construction efforts.) Sec. 3 of the 1862 Act granted the railroads 10 square miles (26 km ) of public land for every mile laid, except where railroads ran through cities and crossed rivers. This grant was apportioned in 5 sections on alternating sides of

1813-433: The project, which they called the Central Pacific Railroad of California. James Bailey, a friend of Judah, told Leland Stanford that Judah had a feasible route for a railroad across the Sierras, and urged Stanford to meet with Judah. In early 1861, Marsh, Judah and Strong met with Collis P. Huntington , Leland Stanford , Mark Hopkins Jr. and Charles Crocker to obtain financial backing. Papers were filed to incorporate

1862-482: The property by Yung's heirs to Crocker's family. Spite fences were thereafter made illegal in San Francisco. The mansion was destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake . Though the disaster rendered the infamous dispute and its resolution moot, Crocker's family donated the entire block of land to charity, in support of the Episcopal Diocese of California . In 1910, in the same plot where the fence stood,

1911-458: The purpose of building the railroad. Crocker bought train plows to plow the tracks of snow through the mountains, but they derailed due to ice on the tracks. He had more than 40 miles (65 km) of snow sheds built to cover the tracks in the Sierra Nevada mountains, to prevent the tracks from getting covered with snow in the winter. This project cost over $ 2 million. In 1864, Charles asked his older brother Edwin to serve as legal counsel for

1960-493: The railroad refused to buy engines from Baldwin, and three former Western Pacific Railroad (which the CP had absorbed in 1870) engines were the only Baldwin engines owned by the Central Pacific. The Central Pacific's dispute with Baldwin remained unresolved until well after the road had been acquired by the Southern Pacific. In the 1870s, the road opened up its own locomotive construction facilities in Sacramento. Central Pacific's 173

2009-601: The railroad was leased to the Southern Pacific Railroad . Its assets were formally merged into Southern Pacific in 1959. Following the completion of the Pacific Railroad Surveys in 1855, several national proposals to build a transcontinental railroad failed because of political disputes over slavery . With the secession of the South in 1861, the modernizers in the Republican Party controlled

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2058-644: The railroad, with each section measuring 0.2 miles (320 m) by 10 miles (16 km). These grants were later doubled to 20 square miles (52 km ) per mile of grade by the 1864 Act. Although the Pacific Railroad eventually benefited the Bay Area, the City and County of San Francisco obstructed financing it during the early years of 1863–1865. When Stanford was Governor of California, the Legislature passed on April 22, 1863, "An Act to Authorize

2107-424: The same time he was elected governor of California), Huntington served as vice-president in charge of fundraising and purchasing, Hopkins was treasurer and Crocker was in charge of construction. They called themselves "The Associates," but became known as " The Big Four ." Construction began in 1863 when the first rails were laid in Sacramento. Construction proceeded in earnest in 1865 when James Harvey Strobridge,

2156-748: The same, they were also given room and board. In time, CPRR came to see the advantage of good workers employed at low wages: "Chinese labor proved to be Central Pacific's salvation." The difficulties faced by the Central Pacific in the Sierra Nevada – particularly the extensive tunneling required – were far more formidable than those encountered by the Union Pacific Railroad in the Rocky Mountains. The story that Chinese workers were suspended in wicker baskets over vertical granite cliffs at Cape Horn, California, to drill and blast

2205-510: The time came from many manufacturers, such as Cooke , Schenectady , Mason, Rogers, Danforth, Norris, Booth, and McKay & Aldus, among others. The railroad had been on rather unfriendly terms with the Baldwin Locomotive Works , one of the more well-known firms. It is not clear as to the cause of this dispute, though some attribute it to the builder insisting on cash payment (though this has yet to be verified). Consequently,

2254-516: The top 70 executives lost their jobs because of the merger. On April 21, 1975, a Carmichael, California branch of the bank in the Sacramento area was robbed by several members of the Symbionese Liberation Army . SLA member Emily Harris accidentally fired her shotgun (as she later said in a plea deal) and killed Myrna Opsahl, a 42-year-old customer and mother of four. Scott Adams worked at Crocker during his first years in

2303-491: Was Charles Sheldon Whitehouse (1921–2001), the United States Ambassador to Laos and Thailand , and their grandson, Crocker's great-great-grandson, is U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island . Through his son William, he was the grandfather of Charles Crocker, William Willard Crocker, Helen Crocker (Russell) and Ethel Mary Crocker (de Limur). Mount Crocker is named in his honor. It

2352-404: Was acquired by Wells Fargo in 1986. Crocker built a mansion on Nob Hill , San Francisco. When his attempts to buy Nicholas Yung's adjacent property were rebuffed, he built a 40-foot spite fence around three sides of the neighbor's property. Legal challenges to the fence were unavailing. The feud lasted many years, and the fence was only removed after the death of Mrs. Yung, and the sale of

2401-609: Was buried in a mausoleum located on "Millionaire's Row" at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California . The massive granite structure was designed by the New York architect A. Page Brown , who later designed the San Francisco Ferry Building . Crocker's estate has been valued at between $ 300 million and $ 400 million at the time of his death in 1888. During his lifetime Charles Crocker amassed

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