Sarah Lim: Paying tribute to Merced founder Charles Henry Huffman

Modesto historian Colleen Stanley Bare was determined to write a biography of Merced founder Charles Henry Huffman when she discovered that “the dramatic stories of his remarkable life and achievements have become buried in the mists of history.”

Bare’s book, “Pioneer Genius: Charles Henry Huffman,” was published by the Merced County Historical Society in 2003 to answer the question, “Who was Charles Henry Huffman?”

Huffman was born in Germany in 1829. His family immigrated to the United States and settled on a small plantation in Louisiana. Coming to California during the Gold Rush, he was later hired by the Central Pacific Railroad Co. as a right-of-way agent to secure land for tracks as well as for new towns. As he was responsible for choosing the Merced site in 1872, he also acquired large tracts of land in the area and made Merced his home from 1872 to 1893.

Huffman did much to improve the life of Merced County residents and contributed greatly to the betterment of Merced while building his fortune as a capitalist and entrepreneur. However, when we look around town, there isn’t any significant monument, building, or street named in his honor. In comparison to his brother-in-law, Robert McHenry of Modesto, whose name is seen everywhere there, from McHenry Mansion and McHenry Museum to McHenry Avenue and McHenry Village, Huffman is almost unknown to Merced residents.

Here is why.

The buildings and landmarks that carried Huffman’s name no longer exist, and, thus, his achievements have not been memorialized. For example, Huffman’s warehouse for grain storage on 16th and J Streets by the railroad tracks was dismantled long ago. During the heyday of wheat in our valley, Huffman was known as the wheat king of the San Joaquin Valley and had warehouses in Stockton, Paradise City, Modesto, Turlock and Merced.

In addition to being a farmer, Huffman was also a banker and organized the First National Bank of Merced with his business partner Charles Crocker in 1887. The bank was housed in the Huffman Building at 413 W. 16th St. By this time, Huffman and Crocker’s monumental irrigation project, building the largest reservoir in California, Lake Yosemite, was near completion and their extensive irrigation system was well under the way. The Huffman Building was constructed in 1885 to serve as the headquarters of their company, the Merced Canal and Irrigation Co.

The bank was short-lived and went into voluntary liquidation in 1891. The Huffman Building went through different uses over the years before it was torn down in 1962 as part of a major 16th Street redevelopment project. The Merced County Historical Society has rescued some of the remains of the building and a sign with the date of construction is on display at the Courthouse Museum.

Then, there was the magnificent Huffman Mansion. Built in 1882, this house, which was almost identical to the McHenry Mansion in Modesto, featured 30 rooms, 32 fireplaces, and 10,000 square feet. Huffman sold the mansion along with all his interest in the Crocker-Huffman Land and Water Co. to Crocker’s heirs during the Panic of 1893. A fire in 1933 destroyed the mansion and only the white fence survived undamaged. A prominent local attorney named C. Ray Robinson built his house on the Huffman Mansion grounds in 1936. It remains on the northeast corner of M Street and Bear Creek Drive.

Across Bear Creek from the Huffman Mansion was a wooden bridge known as the Huffman Bridge. The road leading to the bridge was called Huffman Avenue, and the road running in front of the mansion and along Bear Creek was called Huffman Drive. Huffman planted cork elm trees and gum trees along the drive and made it a very scenic and shady ride since Huffman Drive to Six-mile Road (G Street) was often used by the townspeople traveling to Snelling.

Huffman Avenue became M Street, Huffman Drive was renamed Bear Creek Drive, and Huffman Bridge was replaced by the M Street Bridge. With the renaming of the streets and the loss of the buildings that carried his name, it is as if Huffman never even lived in Merced.

Only if you are familiar with Merced history, and know where to look, will you find traces of Huffman’s legacy.

For example, Huffman donated the fire bell now on display at the front entrance of Merced City Fire Department Central Station. The inscriptions on Lake Yosemite tower tablet and on the Merced Water System plaque by the Bear Creek water tower credit Huffman as a builder of the lake and the irrigation system. There is Huffman Lane in the middle of an orchard, the white fence where his mansion once stood, and, finally, Laura Fountain in Applegate Park.

Huffman constructed Laura Fountain in 1888 after the completion of Lake Yosemite. The fountain was originally located near the Central Pacific train depot. In addition to honoring his wife, the fountain was also used to promote Merced as a town with plentiful water. Because the fountain was turned on when trains pulled in the depot, travelers nicknamed Merced “Fountain City.” Their son, Jay Walton Huffman, moved Laura Fountain to Applegate Park in 1935.

To increase awareness of Huffman’s legacy, the Merced County Historical Society has published a 2016 calendar to present the extraordinary achievements of Charles Henry Huffman. Some of these achievements continue to benefit present-day Merced County residents.

If you would like to obtain a free copy of this pictorial history of Charles Henry Huffman, please join the Merced County Historical Society. For membership information and benefits, contact the museum office at 209-723-2401.

This story was originally published January 1, 2016 at 9:31 AM with the headline "Sarah Lim: Paying tribute to Merced founder Charles Henry Huffman."