Among the many qualities of mind and character which render men useful and worthy citizens that of public spirit stands preeminent, for it takes success beyond the ranks of individual benefits and places it among valuable and important public assets. Generously endowed with this quality is Herbert F. Brown, who more than any other individual has built up the city of Richmond, promoting its civic, moral, industrial and financial development and accomplishing along with his own prosperity a valuable work of public service. His name has come to be regarded as a synonym for progress and advancement in the community which numbers him foremost among its men of worth and substance.
Mr. Brown is a native of Wisconsin and came to California in 1889, engaging in the hardware business in Los Angeles and San Francisco. He continued at this occupation until 1907, when he came to Richmond, where he has since been numbered among the representative and valued citizens. His interests here have extended to many fields touching closely the general good of the community, a fact which is plainly evident from a list of his important accomplishments and his business connections. In 1907 he bought the New Richmond addition of fifty-nine lots, erected houses and later sold the entire tract. He has the remarkable record of having since that time put about thirty tracts of Richmond property upon the market. He is a member of the Richmond Industrial Commission and served two years as president of this organization, in the work of which he still takes an active part. In August, 1912, he founded the Western States Porcelain Company of Richmond, which under his able management as president and treasurer has become one of the most prosperous industrial concerns in the city. Mr. Brown is vice president of the Mechanics Bank of Richmond, former president of the Sterling Fixture Company and of the Herbert F. Brown Company, Incorporated. He has important banking interests in San Francisco, was the organizer of the Calistoga National Bank of Calistoga and owns apartment houses and homes in Richmond valued at over one hundred thousand dollars. He has the utmost faith in the future of this city, a faith testified to by many investments and made stronger by the successful completion of various projects of advancement. A keen and resourceful business man, he has worked steadily along lines of progress and growth with the result that many of the most important business concerns in Richmond owe their foundation to his initiative spirit and their continued prosperity to his ability and insight.
Past and Present of Alameda County California, Vol. II
Published in Chicago by The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company
1914
Transcribed by Linda Jackson 8/5/2008, Pages 530-531
Alameda County Biographies ~ Archive Biography Index ~ Archive Index
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