Ashmun Cooke Henry (1828–1907): Mayor of Oakland, Banker, Pioneer Entrepreneur

Ashmun Henry obituary and grave marker

 Plot 12

Ashmun C. Henry was a pioneering Californian businessman and civic leader whose political and entrepreneurial legacy helped shape 19th-century Oakland. Born on December 6, 1828, in Millersburg, Ohio, he was the eldest son of Samuel S. Henry, a merchant and early Ohio state legislator. Raised amidst the rigors of frontier enterprise, Ashmun benefited from both his father’s business experience and public service example.

In 1851, drawn by opportunity in the West, Henry sailed aboard the North American to San Francisco. After a brief stay, he established himself in Georgetown, El Dorado County, and soon after moved to Placerville. He prospered during the early gold rush economy, and when silver was discovered in Nevada's Washoe region, Henry organized a company that constructed a key wagon road linking El Dorado to Placerville and onward through the Sierra Nevada to the booming silver mines. This “River Road” would be praised as “one of the finest mountain highways ever constructed in the state.”

Henry’s contributions to transportation continued when he became one of the original founders and incorporators of the Placerville and Sacramento Valley Railroad, aiming to connect the mining regions with key markets and ports.

Following a return visit to his family in Ohio in 1856, Henry settled permanently in Oakland, California, then a small but growing city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay. Recognizing the city’s need for financial infrastructure, he established the Oakland Bank of Savings—the first banking house in Alameda County—with a capital of $150,000. He served as its president until 1869, when he helped organize both the Union Savings Bank and the Union National Gold Bank, presiding over the latter. His reputation as a prudent banker and civic leader grew in parallel with Oakland’s rise.

The Horton School opened during Ashmun Henry's mayorality

 

A committed Republican, Henry entered local politics during a time of fierce party competition. In 1884, he defeated the Democratic incumbent, J. West Martin, to become Mayor of Oakland, winning 2,531 votes to Martin’s 2,216. His victory was seen as a triumph for the city’s business-minded reformers. During his term Oakland's educational and cultural landscape began expanding, including the founding of the Horton School, a private school for girls (that later became coed).

 Following his mayoral term, he was elected as both city clerk and city treasurer from 1887 to 1888, continuing his public service with characteristic efficiency and integrity.

Throughout his adult life, Henry resided at 1221 Harrison Street, a home he occupied from before his election as mayor until his passing. He died on January 15, 1907