El Dorado County
Biographies
NICHOLAS FOX
Nicholas Fox, who came to California from the middle west, has made his home in Placerville for a quarter of a century and is well known capitalist and influential citizen who has exerted a vital force for progress in this locality. He was born on a farm in Wisconsin on the 26th of December, 1863, a son of Leonard and Margaret (Smith) Fox, who cast in their lot with the pioneer settlers of that state and resided within its borders until called from this life.
The advantages of a public school education were accorded Nicholas Fox, who remained in Wisconsin until 1888, when he came to California. He worked in lumber mills and in the timber district of Siskiyou county for a year and in 1889 made his initial venture in the commercial world. In 1891 he came to Placerville and here he achieved gratifying success in all of his activities. For a number of years he was vice president of the Eldorado County Bank and when it was taken over by the Bank of America he was made chairman of the advisory board of that institution, becoming an outstanding figure in financial circles of this part of the state. In 1906 he disposed of his various business interests and has since been occupied with the supervision of his property holdings and other interests. Liberally endowed with that quality which has been termed the “commercial sense,” he has advantageously placed all of his investments, from which he derives a substantial income, and has aided in financing a number of important business projects, contributing materially towards the development and prosperity of his city and to the surrounding locality. He was a director of the Eldorado irrigation district for four years, rendering valuable public service in that connection.
Mr. Fox was united in marriage to Miss Anna L. George, of Oregon, who presides with grace and dignity over his beautiful home, which is one of the show places of Placerville. Like most Californians, Mr. Fox finds keen enjoyment in outdoor life and fishing is his favorite sport. He has passed through all the chairs in the Knights of Pythias, is a blue lodge Mason and also belongs to the Eastern Star, the Fraternal Order of Eagles and the Foresters of America. During the war he was chairman of the Liberty Loan committee and also of the Red Cross and was vice chairman of the local Council of Defense. He is greatly attached to Placerville and has manifested his devotion to its interests in many ways. He was city trustee for twenty years and mayor for four years, performing his public duties with a thoroughness, fidelity and efficiency that won for him high commendation. Mr. Fox is broad in his views, progressive in his standards and high in his ideals—a citizen who would be a real acquisition to any community.
Transcribed
by Craig Hahn.
Source: Wooldridge, J.W. Major History of the Sacramento Valley
California, Vol. 2 pgs. 52-53. Pioneer Historical Publishing Co. Chicago
1931.
© 2005 Craig Hahn.
Golden Nugget Library's El Dorado County Biographies