Hulett Clinton Merritt (August 17, 1872 – January 13, 1956) was an American real estate developer, investor, rancher and art collector. He sold real estate in his hometown of

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

, developed

Texas City, Texas Texas City is a city in Galveston County in the U.S. state of Texas. Located on the southwest shoreline of Galveston Bay, Texas City is a busy deepwater port on Texas's Gulf Coast, as well as a petroleum-refining and petrochemical-manufacturi ...

, with other businessmen, and invested in real estate in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wo ...

, where he built the

Merritt Building The Merritt Building is a historic building on the corner of Broadway and 8th Street in Downtown Los Angeles, California, U.S.. It was built in 1915 for Hulett C. Merritt Hulett Clinton Merritt (August 17, 1872 – January 13, 1956) was an Ame ...

. He was a director and large shareholder of

U.S. Steel United States Steel Corporation, more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an American integrated steel producer headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with production operations primarily in the United States of America and in several countries ...

. As a majority shareholder of the United Electric and Power Company, he installed electricity and gas in 17 cities in California, including Santa Barbara and

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

. He owned a large ranch in

Tulare County Tulare County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 473,117. The county seat is Visalia. The county is named for Tulare Lake, once the largest freshwater lake west of the Great Lakes. ...

Early life

Hulett C. Merritt was born on August 17, 1872, in

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

. His father, Louis J. Merritt, discovered the

Mesabi Range The Mesabi Iron Range is a mining district in northeastern Minnesota following an elongate trend containing large deposits of iron ore. It is the largest of four major iron ranges in the region collectively known as the Iron Range of Minnesot ...

with others. He was also a business partner of

John D. Rockefeller John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American business magnate and philanthropist. He has been widely considered the wealthiest American of all time and the richest person in modern history. Rockefeller was ...

, with whom he invested in mining, railroads and steamships in the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five la ...

. Merritt had a brother, Lewis N. Merritt, and two sisters. Merritt Building-1

Career

Merritt began his career by working for his father at the age of 16. Father and son built the Mesabi, Duluth and Northwestern Railway. Upon his father's death, Merritt inherited the entire Mesabi Range, and he became Rockefeller's partner. The two men subsequently sold the range to

for US$81 million. Merritt sold real estate in Duluth, and he developed

, with other investors. Upon moving to California in 1897, he invested in real estate in

. He built the

in Downtown Los Angeles in 1915. He also built a racing

speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta *Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race cours ...

, and as an amateur he once won a race against

Barney Oldfield Berna Eli "Barney" Oldfield (January 29, 1878 – October 4, 1946) was an American pioneer automobile racer; his "name was synonymous with speed in the first two decades of the 20th century". After success in bicycle racing, he began auto ...

. Additionally, he owned an antique store in Pasadena, California. Merritt joined the board of directors of

at the age of 28, and he became its largest

common stock Common stock is a form of corporate equity ownership, a type of security. The terms voting share and ordinary share are also used frequently outside of the United States. They are known as equity shares or ordinary shares in the UK and other Com ...

holder. He also served as its chairman. In 1900, Merritt purchased 70% of the United Electric and Power Company, and he installed electricity and gas in 17 cities in California, including Santa Barbara and

. He subsequently sold the company to

Southern California Edison Southern California Edison (or SCE Corp), the largest subsidiary of Edison International, is the primary electricity supply company for much of Southern California. It provides 15 million people with electricity across a service territory of ap ...

. Merritt was the owner of the 7,000-acre Tagus Ranch in

, where he grew peaches. One year, he sold 10% of the world's output of

canned Canned may refer to: * " Canned", an episode of ''Rocko's Modern Life'' * Canning of food * Dismissal (employment) * Drunkenness * produced and conserved to be released on demand, e.g. ** Canned air ** Canned hunt ** Canned laughter ** Cann ...

peaches. He also invested in gold, silver, iron, coal and chromium mines as well as paper mills, banks, hotels, restaurants, merchandising, manufacturing, steamships, sugar, cattle-raising, and fisheries.

Personal life and death

Merritt married Rosaline Ollivier of

Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County, Michigan, Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township, Michi ...

, in July 1892. She was the granddaughter of

Démosthène Ollivier Démosthène Ollivier (25 February 1799 – 22 April 1884) was a French businessman and politician. He was a staunch democrat and Republican, and was opposed to the Bourbon Restoration and the monarchy of Louis Philippe I. In the 1830s he was a fr ...

, a businessman from

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fran ...

, France, and the niece of French Prime Minister

Émile Ollivier Olivier Émile Ollivier (; 2 July 182520 August 1913) was a French statesman. Starting as an avid republican opposed to Emperor Napoleon III, he pushed the Emperor toward liberal reforms and in turn came increasingly into Napoleon's grip. He en ...

. They resided at the

Hulett C. Merritt mansion The Hulett C. Merritt mansion, also called the "Villa Merritt Ollivier", is a historical landmark residence located in Pasadena, California. The Hulett Merritt estate "Villa Merritt Ollivier" in Pasadena was built on four acres for $1,100,000 i ...

in Pasadena, California. They had a son, Hulett C. Merritt Jr., who served in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and managed the Tagus Ranch; he predeceased them in 1945. His wife predeceased him in 1954. Merritt was a large art collector. He also collected French and English

antique furniture A piece of antique furniture is a collectible interior furnishing of considerable age. Often the age, rarity, condition, utility, or other unique features make a piece of furniture desirable as a collectors' item, and thus termed an antique. ...

and Napoleonic papers. He was a member of the Annandale Golf Club, the

Bolsa Chica Gun Club Bolsa or Pelota may refer to * Bolsa de Valores (disambiguation), a stock exchange in Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries * Bank of London and South America * La Bolsa, a town in Uruguay *Juan Bolsa, a character in the US TV series ''Breakin ...

, and the

California Club Based in Los Angeles, California, the California Club is an by-invitation-only private club established in 1888. According to Los Angeles Times, "The people who ''run'' Los Angeles belong to the Jonathan Club; the people who ''own'' Los Angel ...

. He was also the chairman of the board of the Pasadena Methodist Church. He supported the

Rose Parade The Rose Parade, also known as the Tournament of Roses Parade (or simply the Tournament of Roses), is an annual parade held mostly along Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, California, United States, on New Year's Day (or on Monday, January 2 if New ...

and the

East–West Shrine Game East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *''East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salma ...

. Merritt died on January 13, 1956, in Santa Barbara, at the age of 83. He was buried in the Mountain View Cemetery in

Altadena, California Altadena () ("Alta", Spanish for "Upper", and "dena" from Pasadena) is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in the Verdugo Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, approximately 14 miles (23 km) from the downto ...

. He was survived by his brother Huntington of

Stockton Stockton may refer to: Places Australia * Stockton, New South Wales * Stockton, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region New Zealand *Stockton, New Zealand United Kingdom *Stockton, Cheshire *Stockton, Norfolk *Stockton, Chirbu ...

, his sister Evelyn Reed of El Cerrito, four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Merritt was worth an estimated by the time of his death. His estate was inherited by his four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. However, they were required to file

affidavit An ( ; Medieval Latin for "he has declared under oath") is a written statement voluntarily made by an ''affiant'' or '' deponent'' under an oath or affirmation which is administered by a person who is authorized to do so by law. Such a statemen ...

s saying they had not smoked or drunk alcohol in 90 days before receiving their share on a quarterly basis. The male heirs would also have to change their surnames to Merritt before the age of 22 if they had a different name at the time of his death.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Merritt, Hulett C. 1872 births 1956 deaths People from Duluth, Minnesota Businesspeople from Pasadena, California People from Tulare County, California Businesspeople from Minnesota American businesspeople in real estate American mining businesspeople American corporate directors U.S. Steel people Ranchers from California American art collectors