American politician
Thomas Robert Bard
(December 8, 1841 – March 5, 1915) was an American political leader in
California
who assisted in the organization of
Ventura County
and represented the state in the
United States Senate
from 1900 to 1905 as a
Republican
. He is known as the "Father of
Port Hueneme
" for his efforts in building and expanding the city, as well as the first and
only deep water port
in the area. He is one of the founders of the
UNOCAL
company.
Early life
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Born in
Chambersburg
,
Franklin County
,
Pennsylvania
, on December 8, 1841, Bard attended the common schools, and graduated from the Chambersburg Academy in 1858. He studied law in school, and before his graduation, he secured a job with the
Pennsylvania Railroad Company
. Later, he became an assistant to the superintendent of the
Cumberland Valley Railroad
. Other business ventures included the grain business in
Hagerstown
,
Maryland
. During the early part of the
Civil War
, Bard served as a volunteer Union scout during the invasions of Maryland and Pennsylvania by the Confederates.
In 1865, Bard arrived in
Ventura County, California
, to develop his uncle
Thomas A. Scott
's properties in
Ojai
. In 1867, Bard would become the
first person in California to produce oil from a drilled well
.
[1]
The official Congressional Directory for 1903 notes that Bard "has engaged in wharving and warehousing, banking, petroleum mining, sheep grazing, and dealing in real estate".
[2]
Political career
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Thomas R. Bard moved to
Ventura County
,
California
, in 1864 and served as a member of the board of supervisors of
Santa Barbara County
from 1868 to 1873. In 1871, he was appointed as a commissioner to organize Ventura County. During this time, he purchased and subdivided
Rancho El Rio de Santa Clara o la Colonia
and laid out the plans for
Port Hueneme
,
California
, the future site of his
Berylwood
estate.
Bard was the California delegate to the
1884 Republican National Convention
, and later served as the director of the
California
state board of agriculture from 1886 to 1887. In 1887, Bard became a founding board member of
Occidental College
. Elected as a
Republican
to the
United States Senate
on February 7, 1900, to fill a vacancy created by the death of Senator
Stephen M. White
, he served until March 3, 1905.
[2]
Bard was unsuccessful in his 1904 reelection bid. During his term Bard served as the chairman of the Committee of Fisheries (for the Fifty-seventh Congress) and served on the Committee on irrigation (for the Fifty-eighth Congress). One of Thomas R. Bard's notable acts during his time in office was to appoint
George S. Patton
to
West Point
.
[3]
Family and later life
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Thomas R. Bard became a successful business man, and held profitable interests in several oil companies. Thomas R. Bard and his brother, Dr.
Cephas Little Bard
, established the
Elizabeth Bard Memorial Hospital
in
Ventura
as a memorial to their mother.
[4]
His son, Archibald Philip Bard, became a noted
physiologist
and the dean of
Johns Hopkins Medical School
.
He died at his Berylwood home in
Port Hueneme, California
, on March 5, 1915, and was interred in the family cemetery on his estate. His remains were moved to Ivy Lawn Cemetery in
Ventura, California
, by the military.
[5]
See also
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References
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Further reading
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External links
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