H.J. Whitley
| Hobart Johnstone Whitley | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
October 7, 1847 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | June 3, 1931 (aged 83) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Education | Toronto Business College |
| Known for | Hollywood |
| Spouse(s) | Margaret Virginia Whitley |
| Parent(s) | Joseph Whitley Eleanor Johnstone |
Hobart Johnstone Whitley (October 7, 1847 – June 3, 1931), also known as H.J. Whitley, was the "Father of Hollywood." He was a real estate developer who helped create the Hollywood subdivision in Los Angeles, Southern California. He and his wife Margaret Virginia Whitley named the town while on their honeymoon in 1886.
Hobart Johnstone (H.J.) Whitley was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the seventh and youngest son of Joseph Whitley and Eleanor Johnstone. He attended Toronto Business College. Whitley became a naturalized citizen of the United States in the 1870s. Whitley moved to Chicago and owned a hardware store and candy store. He became interested in land development and was elected to the board of directors of the Chicago Rock Island Railroad. In the spring of 1886, Whitley married his second wife, Margaret Virginia Whitley.
Whitley became one of the nation's most successful land developers. During the westward construction of frontier railroads from the late 1870s to the early 1890s, he founded scores of towns in the Oklahoma Territory, the Dakotas, Texas and California. Whitley was a good friend of Theodore Roosevelt while in the Dakota Territory. Whitley was at the first Oklahoma Land Run of 1889, April 22, where he claimed property. He built the first brick block building in the territory and was asked by the local people to be the first Governor of Oklahoma. He plotted the towns and built brick and stone business buildings in Oklahoma City, El Reno, Chickasha, Enid, Medford, and other cities on the Rock Island Railroad. Whitley traveled to Washington D.C. where he persuaded the U.S. Congress to allow the City of Guthrie, Oklahoma to be the new capital of the state of Oklahoma. It is estimated that Whitley founded over 140 towns in his lifetime.
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