Shall Be Our Children

1824 - 1893

Raised on a farm in Albany, New York, Leland learned the value of hard work early in life and studied relentlessly to soon become an attorney.

He moved west to Port Washington, Wisconsin, in search of greater opportunity by opening up his own law practice. It was there that he met his wife, Jane Lathrop, the daughter of a well-to-do merchant.

Stanford’s law practice soon flourished, but then, a terrible fire burned his office and $3,000 library to the ground. This prompted his pioneering spirit to move further west to California and join his five brothers in their mercantile business in Sacramento. Pioneer life was rough on a person in gold rush country. Eventually, he saved up his money and bought out his brother’s portion of the store.

With the early formation of the Republican Party in California, Stanford became one of the most active members of their small group. He became the party candidate for California State Treasurer in 1857 and then for governor in 1859, although he did not win. In 1861, Stanford was again nominated for governor and he and his wife Jane went from one end of the state to the other end campaigning and won the nomination. Stanford later served two terms as senator.

In a high-risk high-reward venture, Stanford teamed up with fellow Sacramento merchants to build the Central Pacific Railroad Company. He was elected president of the venture along with robber baron legends, Collis P. Huntington, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker who became known as the “big four.”

Their goal was to do what was said to be impossible. That was to build a railroad through the high mountains and snow-covered terrain of the West and to connect it with the Union Pacific railroad.

On May 10, 1869, the two rails met in Promontory, Utah. In victory, Stanford took a sledgehammer made of Nevada silver and hammered in a spike of California gold into the tie. The telegraph message said it all - “Done!” The partners soon became fabulously wealthy.

The Stanford’s had only one son, Leland Jr., whom they loved dearly. He was fond of playing at their sprawling Palo Alto ranch, especially on his miniature railroad with 400 feet of track.

In 1884, while the family was vacationing in Europe, young Leland, just two weeks shy of his 16th birthday contracted typhoid fever and died. The family was devastated.

That tearful morning Leland Sr. turned to his wife Jane and said, “The Children of California shall be our children.”

With that passionate thought, the Stanfords decided to donate their millions in remembrance of their young son who never reached his 16th birthday. Today, we are all fortunate to be blessed with an American Treasure - Stanford University. Since 1891, Stanford has helped thousands of graduates build successful and meaningful lives. Without Stanford University, the Silicon Valley, as we know it today, might never have come into existence.