Butte County
Biographies
MATT. B. PULLEY
MATT. B. PULLEY. – It is a credit to any community when such
men as Matt. B. Pulley of Butte County can foresee the possibilities of the
country and then back their judgment with cash. This is what Mr. Pulley did
when he purchased thirty-four hundred acres of land and engaged in raising
grain and stock, and at the same time experimented in growing rice. This proved
successful and he later sold out at a good profit.
Mr. Pulley was born in Big Creek, Calhoun County, Miss.,
March 19, 1859, a son of George Pulley, born in Tennessee, but who removed to
Mississippi where he became a planter. He served in the commissary department
during the Civil War. He died in Mississippi. Grandfather Pulley was born in
Tennessee, where he was a large planter. He served in the Revolutionary War.
George Pulley married Sarah Winton, who was born in Tennessee and died in
Mississippi, the mother of six children, three now living.
The fifth child born to his parents, Matt.
B. Pulley was reared on a plantation and received his education in the public
schools and at Oxford University, attending until he was eighteen, when his
father’s death necessitated his return home to take charge of the plantation
for his mother. He operated it until her death, in 1891. Meantime he had
purchased a farm adjoining and operated both places until he leased the
property to engage in the general merchandise business at Pitchboro,
Miss. He continued in business there for three years, then removed to Pheba, Clay County, and continued in business there for
fifteen years. While living there he was one of the organizers of the Pheba Bank, serving as president from the date of its
organization until he resigned to come to California. In June, 1912, Mr. Pulley
made his first trip to California as a tourist, and after traveling over the
state he arrived in Butte County. He was so much impressed with the outlook that
he invested in thirty-four hundred acres of land lying on Butte Creek west of
Nelson. He went back to Mississippi, sold his store and farm and closed up his
affairs and, with his family, came back to Chico. He began to develop his land,
planted grain and raised stock successfully, also experimented with
rice-growing on an acre of his ground. He used water for irrigation, pumped
from a well by means of a pumping plant. When the rice was about ready to cut
he called in a man, in the service of the United States government, who
estimated the yield would be forty-five sacks to the acre. In 1915, Mr. Pulley
sold the property to a Mr. Culver, who bought it for the Dodge Land Company,
and now rice is being raised on the entire acreage.
In Pitchboro, Miss., Mr. Pulley
was united in marriage with Miss Mary Gunn, a native of Georgia, and a lady of
culture and refinement. They are parents of five children: Ada,
George, Anna Fay, Mary Evelyn and Louise, all living at home with their
parents. The three oldest are students in the Chico High School. Fraternally,
Mr. Pulley is a member of the Woodmen of the World. In politics he supports the
principles of the Democratic party. To prove his
public spirit, Mr. Pulley gave the right of way, through his large ranch, to
the company that built the Western Canal. By so doing it became possible to
irrigate every acre of the land. He is a business man of strict integrity and
honor, and in his adopted home has demonstrated in many ways his worth as a
citizen.
Transcribed by Vicky
Walker, 1/2/08.
Source: "History of
Butte County, Cal.," by George C. Mansfield, Pages 598-601, Historic Record Co, Los Angeles, CA, 1918.
© 2007 Vicky Walker.
Golden Nugget Library's Butte County Biographies