The Hollister family's legendary impact on the Central Coast
The town of Hollister has been enshrined by the so-called “Hollister Riots” at the American Motorcyclist Association’s “Gypsy Tour” motorcycle rally over the July 4th holiday in 1947.
As many as 4,000 motorcyclists overwhelmed the small town east of San Juan Bautista, nearly doubling its population. What followed was sensationalized by the press and became part of the theme for the iconic 1953 motion picture, “The Wild One” starring Marlon Brando.
The Hell’s Angels followed as violent imitators of the 1947 event, returning to Hollister with dire results as recently as 2013.
These events detract from the legendary history of the Hollister family.
William W. Hollister and his brother, Hubbard, have left their mark on the place names of the Central Coast, from the San Benito county town to Goleta Valley’s Hollister Avenue.
In San Luis Obispo County, the 1,404-foot Hollister Peak confronts us as we drive toward Morro Bay on Highway 1. Its ridge resembles the back of a stegosaurus, towering above Chorro Valley and the ocean. Bishop's Peak is 154 feet higher, but because Hollister rises up so close to the highway, it stands out as the dominant precipice of our region.
William W. Hollister came to California from Ohio in 1852 at the height of the Gold Rush. Food prices were at a premium. Hollister and his younger brother, Hub, decided to drive sheep from Ohio (!) all the way west.
Once they got their herd to the top of Tehachapi Pass, they formed what became one of the most important partnerships in the development of California. They joined with their sister, Lucy Brown, the widow of a wealthy businessman, Thomas and Benjamin Flint, and Llewellyn Bixby in purchasing the nearly 35,000-acre San Justo Ranch surrounding the present day town of Hollister.
In 1855, Hub and Will entered into partnership with Albert Dibblee to purchase land in Goleta Valley from the estate of Nicholas Den.
During the Civil War, the price of wool rose. The Hollisters needed an agent to sell all the wool produced at the San Justo and Goleta ranches. A New York employment agency sent them Robert Edgar Jack, who in 1870 married Hub Hollister’s daughter, Lucy Ellen “Nellie” Hollister.
W. W. Hollister leased the Cholame Rancho in northeastern San Luis Obispo County in 1857 with a 10-year option to purchase the land, which he did in 1867. In 1869, W.W. sold half of the Cholame to Jack, who in turn bought out W. W.’s remaining interest from his widow.
I am grateful to Thomas H. Sinton of Placerville for giving me these details as well as pointing out that I had erroneously stated that R. E. Jack had married W. W.’s daughter in an earlier column.
Hub Hollister’s wife, Ellen, arrived in San Luis Obispo in May 1866. She placed a deposit of $5,000 for the Cañada del Chorro property. The sale was finalized on July 25, 1866. In 1884, the mountain that the padres and soldados at Mission San Luis Obispo called “Cerro Alto” (‘high mountain') was renamed Hollister Peak.
The Hollisters left their mark on the city of San Luis Obispo. The donation of the Victorian era Jack House to the City of San Luis Obispo marked a new era in the city’s concern for its rich history.
Katchy Andrews asks that I correct the frequent misunderstanding that Howard Jack, R. E. and Nellie’s son, donated the Jack House. When Howard Jack died in 1974, his estate (including his share of the Jack House) was distributed to the family members.
The heirs of Robert Edgar and Nellie Hollister Jack (plus a second wife), who unanimously decided to donate the Jack House and Gardens to the City of SLO, are Virginia Jack Tynan Sinton, Phyllis Jack Sinton, Margaret Kaetzel, Kathleen (Kay) Kaetzel, Katchy von Stein Andrews, Judith Jack Kaetzel, and Meyer Melba Reticker Kaetzel.
This story was originally published May 30, 2015 at 7:04 PM with the headline "The Hollister family's legendary impact on the Central Coast."