San
Joaquin County
Biographies
FREDERICK W. BUTTRICK
A prominent factor in the
development of the northwest section of Stockton has been Frederick W.
Buttrick, who was born near Lathrop, in San Joaquin County, on February 26,
1872, the son of William H. and Retta (Tyner) Buttrick, natives respectively of
Massachusetts and Missouri. Mr.
Buttrick, as a pioneer, crossed the Great Plains in an ox-team with Captain
Moss, and having done so well with his first venture, he and the captain made
four trips across the continent, on one of the journeys driving some 800 head
of horses, which they sold to Brigham Young at Salt Lake City. Later still these two men owned large tracts
of land, which they farmed to grain and where they raised cattle on land for
which they paid only $2.50 an acre, the low price being due to its swampy
character; and since this land has been drained and reclaimed, the value has
advanced to $1200 per acre. Mr. Buttrick
also farmed all of Staten Island, comprising some 10,000 acres for J. B. Haggin; he was active in politics, and became paymaster of
the California National Guard; and he died in 1905, highly esteemed by all who
knew him.
Frederick W. Buttrick was sent to
the Stockton schools, and he was graduated, after pursuing the excellent
courses of the high school at Stockton, with the class of ’90. He then entered the employ of the Stockton
Savings Bank, now the City Bank, where he remained nineteen years; and as
assistant cashier he resigned to enter the real estate field in 1911. In partnership with Charles Ray, he organized
the Tuxedo Land Company, which bought 800 acres northwest of Stockton on the
San Joaquin River; and having laid out fifty acres as a subdivision under the
name of the Tuxedo Park Company, they sold $460,000 worth of lots in twenty-two
months, the Tuxedo Golf and Country Club taking a part of the 800 acres. About $15,000 was spent in advertising the
property, and sixteen salesmen and eight autos were used in the selling
campaign. What the company did for the
investors may be realized from the fact that lots which sold six years ago for
$400 are selling today for $1,200, for the property is now built up, and
contains some of the best homes in the city.
Since selling off that fine
property, Mr. Buttrick has devoted his time to the development of small acreage
for suburban homes. These were put on
the market as the Stockton River Farms No. 1, and No. 2, and No. 3, in each of
which there were forty acres. These are
ideal garden farms, and about 100 acres have been subdivided into lots of from
two and one-half to five-acre places, in which pumping plants have been
established. Some fifty-two families
have been located on these properties in the past two years, and there are now
over 500 lot owners there. Mr. Buttrick
has himself erected a beautiful suburban residence on one of the seven-acre
places, having a pear orchard; and viewing his operations and successes as a
whole, it is evident that he has become on the important developers of the
district.
At Merced in 1918, Mr. Buttrick was
married to Miss Gena Metvedt,
a native of Wisconsin, a gifted lady who has added to Mr. Buttrick’s
popularity. He belongs to Lodge No. 218
of the Elks, and also the Yosemite Club.
Transcribed by Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Page
697. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 Gerald Iaquinta.
Golden Nugget Library's San Joaquin County Biographies
Golden Nugget Library's San Joaquin County Genealogy
Databases