Clarence Henry Geist (1866 – June 12, 1938) was an American financier who played an important role in the early history of

Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...

Biography

Clarence Geist was born and raised on a farm in

LaPorte County, Indiana LaPorte County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 111,467. The county seat is the city of La Porte, and the largest city is Michigan City. This county is part of the Northwest Indiana and Michia ...

. When he was 18 he left Indiana and spent five years in the far West working in cattle ranching, but returned East when he realized he "could not make money where there wasn't any". He settled in

Blue Island, Illinois Blue Island is a city in Cook County, Illinois, located approximately south of Chicago's Loop. Blue Island is adjacent to the city of Chicago and shares its northern boundary with that city's Morgan Park neighborhood. The population was 22,55 ...

and worked for a year on the

Rock Island Railroad The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RW, sometimes called ''Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway'') was an American Class I railroad. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock. At the end ...

as a conductor, and subsequent to that entered the

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more genera ...

business and served as president of the Cottage Building and Loan in Blue Island. Geist then set himself up as a natural gas distributor, where he supplied gas to Blue Island, Morgan Park, then a suburb of Chicago, and Illinois suburbs south of Blue Island that included Harvey and Chicago Heights. His wife was Florence Hewitt Geist. He walked with a cane and was an avid golfer, participating in tournaments. From 1912 to 1938 he was the principal owner of the

Indianapolis Water Company Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mario ...

Geist Reservoir Geist Reservoir is a reservoir in the northeastern part of metropolitan Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It was constructed in 1943 by damming Fall Creek to provide water for Indianapolis. Upon completion, Geist Reservoir was the second-lar ...

(1943) is named for him. He also founded in 1910 the company today known as

South Jersey Industries South Jersey Industries (NYSE: SJI) is a publicly held energy services holding company for a natural gas utility and other, non-regulated companies. SJI's family of companies include: *South Jersey Gas - delivering natural gas to more than 380,00 ...

, when the Atlantic City Gas and Water Company merged with Atlantic City Gas Company. He eventually owned over 100 utilities. Geist was a friend of Charles G. Dawes, who in 1925 became

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a Republican lawyer from New England who climbed up the ladder of Ma ...

's Vice-President. Geist left Indiana first to work for the Dawes family in Chicago. In 1924 he had built in Palm Beach La Claridad, a mansion designed by Palm Beach architect

Marion Sims Wyeth Marion Sims Wyeth (February 17, 1889 – February 4, 1982) was an American architect known for his range in styles such as Art Deco, Mediterranean Revival, and classical Georgian, French, and Colonial. He designed numerous mansions in Palm Bea ...

, who also designed

Mar-a-Lago Mar-a-Lago ( from the Spanish for ''sea to lake'') is a resort and national historic landmark in Palm Beach, Florida, owned by former U.S. president Donald Trump. Trump acquired Mar-a-Lago in 1985 and referred to it as his " Winter White House ...

. He was a member of the

Everglades Club The Everglades Club is a social club in Palm Beach, Florida. When its construction began in July 1918, it was to be called the ''Touchstone Convalescent Club'', and it was intended to be a hospital for the wounded of World War I. But the war ended ...

, and the mansion was built on the club grounds (which covered several blocks). When

Addison Mizner Addison Cairns Mizner (December 12, 1872 – February 5, 1933) was an American architect whose Mediterranean Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival style interpretations left an indelible stamp on South Florida, where it continues to inspire archi ...

's Mizner Development Corporation went bankrupt in 1926 after trying to build the new resort of Boca Raton, Geist bought its assets in 1927 via an anonymous bid of $76,350. Included were the Cloister Inn, fifty houses, and 15,000 acres of land. He commissioned the New York architectural firm

Schultze and Weaver Schultze & Weaver was an architecture firm established in New York City in 1921. The partners were Leonard Schultze and S. Fullerton Weaver. History Leonard B. Schultze was born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 5, 1877. He was educated at the Cit ...

to create an addition to the 100-room Cloister Inn, resulting in the 450-room

Boca Raton Club The Boca Raton is a luxury resort and club in Boca Raton, Florida, founded in 1926, today comprising 1,047 hotel rooms across 337 acres. Its facilities include two 18-hole golf courses, a 50,000 sq. ft. spa, seven swimming pools, 30 tennis court ...

, which accepted its first guests in December, 1929, ahead of its 1930 formal opening. Geist made a low-interest loan to Boca Raton to finance its first municipal water plant (which he convinced Boca Raton it needed) and provide water for the guests at his new hotel. He built it in Mizner's style, for visual harmony. At the time, the handsome, Mediterranean-style plant was the most modern in the state. (It was replaced by a much larger plant in 1956, parts having become unavailable for the original equipment. The building was demolished and the site currently houses Boca's City Hall.) He also paid for an elegant, Mediterranean-style depot on the

Florida East Coast Railway The Florida East Coast Railway is a Class II railroad operating in the U.S. state of Florida, currently owned by Grupo México. Built primarily in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, the FEC was a ...

(in 2017 operated by the Boca Raton Historical Society as a museum). Geist allegedly bought stock in the railroad in order to influence its choice of Boca Raton depot. Clarence H

He died at his home in

Villanova, Pennsylvania Villanova is a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It straddles Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County and Radnor Township in Delaware County. It is located at the center of the Philadelphia Main Line, a series of Philadelphia suburbs lo ...

on June 12, 1938 and was interred at

West Laurel Hill Cemetery West Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1869, is 200 acres in size and contains the burials of many notable people. It is affiliated with Laurel Hill Cemetery in neighboring Ph ...

Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania Bala Cynwyd ( ) is a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania. It is located on the Philadelphia Main Line in Southeastern Pennsylvania, bordering the western edge of Philadelphia at U.S. Route 1 (City Avenue). It was originally two separa ...

. At the time of his death it was reported at one time that Geist was reputed to be worth $100,000,000 ($1.93 billion in 2021)

Legacy

The bridge over the

Intracoastal Waterway The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Massachusetts southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, then following t ...

on Mizner's Camino Real is officially the Clarence H. Geist Memorial Bridge (1939), replacing a temporary swing bridge built by Geist. A Clarence H. Geist Memorial Organ (1940) is located at the Overbrook Memorial Church in Overbrook, New Jersey. Geist was the founder and owner of the New Jersey Seaview Country Club (1914). He was on the Board of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company at the time of his death. He owned a

Philadelphia Main Line The Philadelphia Main Line, known simply as the Main Line, is an informally delineated historical and Social class in the United States, social region of suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Lying along the former Pennsylvania Railroad's onc ...

mansion.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geist, Clarence H. 1866 births 1938 deaths American financiers People from Palm Beach, Florida People from Boca Raton, Florida American hoteliers Addison Mizner Businesspeople from Indianapolis Businesspeople from Florida Businesspeople from Philadelphia People from LaPorte County, Indiana Water supply and sanitation in the United States Philadelphia Main Line People from Blue Island, Illinois