Charles A. Jenkins

 

Charles A. Jenkins, proprietor of the State House Hotel. ---Perhaps in no country in the world do so large a proportion of the people live at hotels as in America; certainly in no country do so large a proportion of the population spend their time in traveling from place to place for business and pleasure; men and women of all classes travel; and the necessity for ample, commodious hotel accommodations is yearly increasing; nor are the travelers of to-day satisfied with such accommodations as were furnished in the past; the elegant structures which are being erected in every town for the accommodation of her transient guests testify to this fact, and men of large means and ample experience are found at the head of establishments of this character. It has been truly said that hotel men “are born, not made;” the meaning being, that no matter how elegant a structure, or the appointments or surroundings of a hotel may be, to make a success, requires a man of peculiar characteristics; he must have all the qualifications of a thorough business man, including a ready tact, a thorough intuitive knowledge of human nature, united with great urbanity of manners, and a never failing supply of patience and goodfellowship. If, with these characteristics, he has at his command a commodious and pleasantly located house, success becomes assured, and the reputation of his hostelry established. In the hotel known as the State House, in this city, located on the corner of Tenth and K streets, it “would seem, the qualities above referred to, are carefully considered.  The house was established in 1868 by one Barton, who was its first proprietor, and it then had fifty-six rooms; additions were however made from time to time until in 1882 it had 112 rooms, thus taking rank as the second largest hotel in the city. It was at this time owned by Hod. Eldred, Esq. In 1886 it came into the possession of its present proprietor, and for three years past it has been under the popular management of Mr. B. B. Brown. At this writing, the entire premises are being remodeled and enlarged by an addition of twenty-four rooms, besides a large dining-room, store-room, kitchen, etc., at an expenditure of from $30,000 to $40,000; no expense will be spared to make it the largest and finest hotel in the city; its location, one square from the Capitol, the center of the up-town traffic, its patronage equaled only by one other house in the city, and the personal popularity of its present owner and proprietor can warrant us in saying that when finished, the new State House will be second to none in Sacramento, and equaled by few on the coast. A short sketch of the owner and proprietor of this well-known house cannot but be interesting to his many friends and acquaintances. Charles Asbery Jenkins is practically a native of Sacramento County, for, although born in the city of Cincinnati, in 1848, he came to this county when but ten years old, being brought up by his maternal uncle, Charles Warner Pierce, a prominent rancher of the Cosumnes River, and later a resident of this city, where he died in October, 1887. Young Jenkins was raised under the fostering care of this uncle, to whose example and precept he is indebted, largely, for the qualities of head and heart which so distinguish him; his education, began at the public schools in this city, was acquired partly at Vacaville College, in Solano County (since destroyed) and partly at the business and commercial college of San Francisco. A part of his uncle’s teaching was of self-reliance, to depend upon himself, and before he reached his majority he was encouraged to engage in stock-raising, and other enterprises; and such was his uncle’s confidence in his integrity and ability, that when he came to embark on his journey to the “Great Beyond” he left the management of his affairs in the hands of his favorite nephew, who was appointed sole executor without bonds, of an estate valued at $187,500. Mr. Jenkins was President elector for Mr. Cleveland, and has ever been an interested student of political economy, a straight-out Democrat, as was his uncle; he has yet always been an “independent,” upholding and supporting the best man, and averse to “boss-ism” and party chicanery, out-spoken is his preferments, and firm in his convictions. A practical farmer, for four years an active and influential member of the “Patrons of Husbandry,” he is the owner of one of the finest ranches on the Cosumnes River, eighteen miles southeast of Sacramento, where he takes pride in raising the finest stock. The value of this farm of 800 acres has been greatly enhanced by the erection of commodious buildings and other improvements at an out-lay of not less than $20,000, and is considered a model farm.  Mr. Jenkins is a member of the Masonic fraternity, a Knight Templar, a member of Sacramento Lodge, No. 40, F. & A. M. His estimable wife, whom he married in 1876, is a daughter of James A. Elder, a well-known rancher and prominent Democrat. The family consists of three girls. In concluding this brief mention of one of the representative men of the Capital City, it is safe to predict that the new State House, under its present management will exceed in popularity its record of the past; and that as a Boniface our subject will be a success.