Sacramento County
Biographies
EDWARD S.
MASON
EDWARD S. MASON.--Well-known among the experienced, successful builders of Sacramento County, who have displayed unusual ability in general contracting, Edward S. Mason, of 3258 Sixth Avenue, Sacramento, may very properly be regarded as entitled to a full share of the credit for the wonderful progress made in and around the capital city, in recent years, in the matter of architectural construction and improvement. He was born on a farm in Dubuque County, Iowa, on January 18, 1860, the son of Robert C. and Priscilla (Dean) Mason, who came out from Pennsylvania and settled in the Hawkeye State; they were hard-working and honest pioneers, doing their duty in hastening the day when Iowa should come to its own, and there they lived and died, esteemed by all who knew them.
Edward S. Mason went to the public schools until his services were demanded on the home farm, and at the age of seventeen, he commenced to learn the carpenter trade. Becoming a full-fledged journeyman, he moved to Nebraska; and in 1889, when southern California had given the whole state a tremendous advertisement abroad, he came to Sacramento, and for five years worked as a carpenter for the usual wages.
About 1894, however, convinced that he could do better when operating for himself, Mr. Mason set up as a contractor, and since then he has usually had all that he could do, and sometimes a good deal more. He has made a specialty of the frame building, and has also constructed some of the most attractive flats; and in all this work he has been successful, while frequently lending a hand to assist some one else to attain success. He has done a large amount of building at Oak Park; and having lived here more than thirty years, has witnessed the almost phenomenal growth of that suburb to what it is today.
In politics a Republican, Mr. Mason has ever stood ready to boost the section, in an admirable non-partisan manner, in which he has prospered, and where he believes that there is plenty of room and opportunity for others; and in between times, he has managed to get away for hunting and fishing, being fond of the great outdoors, and thinking that Sacramento County has more than the usual natural attractions.
Transcribed by: Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
Source: Reed, G. Walter, History of Sacramento County, California With Biographical Sketches,
Pages
953-954. Historic Record Company, Los
Angeles, CA. 1923.
© 2007 Jeanne Taylor.