Dr. Samuel Hopkins Willey (1821-1914): Co-Founder of the University of California

Dr. Samuel Hopkins Willey

Plot 2, Lot 154

Dr. Samuel Hopkins Willey was a pioneering clergyman, educator, and civic leader whose vision and determination played a decisive role in the establishment of the University of California. A man of faith as well as scholarship, Willey devoted his long life to building institutions that would shape the intellectual and moral character of California. 

Born in Campton, New Hampshire, on April 22, 1821, Willey was raised in a deeply religious family that valued education and public service. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1844 and pursued theological studies at Union Theological Seminary in New York, where he was ordained as a Presbyterian minister. Shortly thereafter, he accepted a call that would define the rest of his life: a mission to the distant Pacific Coast.

In 1849, at the height of the California Gold Rush, Willey traveled by ship around Cape Horn to San Francisco. Unlike thousands who came in search of gold, Willey came to serve the spiritual and educational needs of the rapidly growing population. He became one of the earliest settled Protestant ministers in the city, preaching to a frontier community marked by both opportunity and lawlessness.

College of California in Oakland

From the beginning, Willey believed California needed more than churches—it needed institutions of learning that would provide moral guidance and intellectual rigor. He helped organize the College of California in Oakland in the 1850s, a private religiously influenced institution intended to bring New England–style higher education to the West. Willey served as the College’s first president and worked tirelessly to recruit faculty, secure land, and attract students, despite persistent financial challenges.

As the College of California struggled to survive, Willey and his colleagues sought a broader base of support. Their efforts converged with the federal Morrill Act of 1862, which provided land grants to states to establish public universities. Willey, together with his colleague Dr. Henry Durant, played a pivotal role in negotiating the merger of the College of California with the state’s new land-grant institution. This partnership produced the chartering of the University of California in 1868. [Read about Dr. Henry Durant HERE]

Founders' Rock at Hearst Avenue and Gayley Road

The College’s Oakland land became the first site of the new university before it moved to Berkeley. Willey was appointed Acting President of the University in its earliest days, ensuring the institution got off to a stable start. Durant later became the University’s first official president, further cementing their shared legacy as co-founders of California’s premier institution of higher learning.

After his work with the University, Willey continued his ministry and educational pursuits throughout California. He served as pastor of churches in San Francisco, Oakland, and Monterey, and remained active in civic life. Known for his eloquence and moral conviction, he influenced both religious and secular communities for decades.

Willey lived to the remarkable age of 93, passing away in 1914. By then, the University of California had already grown into a respected institution of national significance, a living legacy of his faith in education as a force for social good. 

Sources: Oakland Tribune, Find a Grave, Wikipedia, University of California Berkeley, San Francisco Chronicle