Hewes, David, 1822-1915

Hewes was a Calif. businessman and railroad contractor who graded and leveled many of San Francisco's hills and sand dunes.

David Hewes presented the gold spike used as the "last spike" connecting the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads.

David Hewes came to California in 1850 and worked as a storekeeper. In 1852, he moved to San Francisco and entered into a contracting business, grading and leveling hills and filling in the bay. In 1881, he moved to Tustin, California, where he operated a fruit ranch.

David Hewes (1822-1915) was born in Lynnfield, Mass., graduated from Phillips Academy in 1847, and entered Yale University with the class of 1852. In 1849, he sailed for California, settling first in Sacramento and then in San Francisco. An astute businessman, he accumulated a large amount of money. His later years were spent developing an eight hundred twenty acre fruit ranch in Orange County, in southern California.

Hewes and Eben Putnam (1868-1933), a Massachusetts genealogist, met while Putnam was preparing a genealogy of the Hewes family. Hewes asked Putnam to help him write his reminiscences.

Biography

David Hewes was born May 16, 1822, in Lynnfield, Massachusetts. He came to California in 1850 and worked as a storekeeper. In 1852, he moved to San Francisco and entered into a contracting business, grading and leveling hills and filling in the San Francisco Bay. In 1881, he moved to Tustin, California, where he operated a fruit ranch. He died in Orange, California, July 23, 1915.