Gilbert, Elon James, 1897-1978

Elon James Gilbert was born at Genesco, Illinois, in 1897--one of seven children--to Horace M. and Marion Richey Gilbert. The Gilbert family moved to Yakima from Illinois in the late 1890s. There Gilbert developed a diversified series of businesses based in the fruit industry. The Gilberts soon became one of the prominent families in Yakima, figuring largely in both social and civic affairs. As a boy Elon Gilbert formed a close friendship with William O. Douglas, which he maintained throughout his life.

Gilbert received his B.A. from the University of Washington in 1920 and his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1923. After his graduation from Harvard, he was given a position in one of his father's businesses--the Richey & Gilbert Company, a fruit brokerage house--and quickly became a successful businessman in his own right. The Gilberts were hit hard by the Great Depression, as were most growers in Yakima. By the time of Gilbert's death in 1934, the family business had acquired substantial debts. This was due in part to large investments in capital goods and commodities with little liquidity, e.g., orchards, equipment and warehouses. In these circumstances Elon and Curtis Gilbert set out to recover their losses. The Depression years were very difficult for the Gilbert brothers. When Curtis died in 1947 Elon became the principal owner of a still debt-plagued business.

During the mid and late 1950s, Gilbert began to sell and subdivide many of his orchard-land properties. During these years, he developed three subdivisions: Viewmont, Hilltop and the Uplands, all of which became part of Yakima proper. While in his early sixties, Gilbert invested in Charolais cattle, Arabian horse and Welsh ponies, and he settled into a life not unlike that of a country gentleman on his "Snow Mountain Ranch" on Cowychee Creek. His love for animals and for the outdoor life--shared with Justice Douglas -- continued up to the time of his death in 1978.

From the guide to the Elon James Gilbert Papers, 1890-1977, (Washington State University Libraries Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections)