The Mystery of the Golden Cane

Why was North Reading shoemaker Ebenezer Tilden Abbott given a cane (pictured below) made with gold from the Golden Spike that connected the Transcontinental Railroad? The answer—as Matthew T. Page reveals here—may surprise you.

David Hewes—one of the most successful businessmen in California in the mid-to-late nineteenth century gave the cane to his brother-in-law Abbott, a humble North Reading shoemaker who lived at 109 Haverhill Street (pictured below).

Hewes’ sister Ruth married Abbott (no connection to the well-known Abbott Shoe factory) in 1835 and they were active members of North Reading’s Baptist Church throughout their lives. In 1844, Abbott served as a town selectman.

Along with her brother David, Ruth was born and raised in Lynnfield, not far from the North Reading town line. Their parents hailed from two Massachusetts dynasties: the Hewes and the Tapleys. Their father was a prosperous farmer and served as a colonel in the state militia during the War of 1812.

Ebenezer Tilden Abbott and his wife Ruth (née Hewes).

David Hewes in his prime.

After graduating from Philips Exeter and Yale, David Hewes moved out to Sacramento during the 1849 Gold Rush. Starting a store that catered to the town’s growing population, he became so successful, that he invested in the construction of commercial buildings and a hotel. After fires and floods wiped out his Sacramento businesses in 1852, Hewes relocated to San Francisco, where he started a new business that graded land for new construction. Exploiting Chinese immigrant earth diggers whom he paid just $2 a day, Hewes made a fortune over the next two decades and earned the nickname “The Maker of San Francisco.”

By the 1870s, Hewes was one of California’s richest men. He sold his company and moved to one of Oakland’s finest mansions. Hewes took various family members—including the Abbotts—on trips to Europe. In 1881, he built a Greek-Revival home (below) in Tustin, California where his wife Matilda, who suffered from chronic bronchitis, could convalesce.

Purchasing large tracts of land (which he named Anapauma or “resting place” in Greek), Hewes later became one of the largest orange and lemon growers in California. He also started a fruit packing company that operated until 1939.

After Matilda passed away in 1887, Hewes returned to live in San Francisco. He married Anna Lathrop, the sister-in-law of his friend Leland Stanford. An avid collector of Old World statuary and art, as well as Egyptian mummies (which he later gave to [Leland] Stanford [Junior] University—better known today as simply “Stanford”), Hewes took Anna on an epic honeymoon trip to Europe and the Mideast. Just a few years into their marriage, however, Anna passed away.

In 1897, Hewes relocated and acquired property in Los Angeles, where he built the sprawling Hewes Market. In 1905, he turned one part of his estate into a public recreational area—Hewes Park (below)— that was later expanded to include a Japanese tea garden and mini golf course. It was a popular weekend destination for locals that operate until the 1930s.

Hewes continued to manage his ranch and develop real estate deals right up until his death in 1915 at age 93. Even though Hewes hoped his ranch would be kept intact, Anapauma was sold for $1 million in 1920 and the area was subdivided.

Whither the Golden Cane?

Think of it as some very high-end ‘merch.’ After finding out that his friend Leland Stanford—president of the Central Pacific Railroad and namesake of Stanford University—had no plans to commemorate the 1869 completion of the Transcontinental Railroad (below), Hewes decided to plan a headline-grabbing event.

Using $400 worth of his own gold, he commissioned a goldsmith to make a5-5/8 inch long, 14 ounce, 17.6 carat spike (similar to one below) to be used at the ceremonial unification of the railroad at Promontory Summit, Utah.

Hewes later had part of the spike melted down and made into four small rings and seven inch-long watch fobs. He presented the rings to President Ulysses S. Grant, Secretary of State William H. Seward, Stanford, and Union Pacific Railroad President Oliver Ames. Other dignitaries and relatives received watch fobs; the one Hewes gave to Ebenezer Tilden Abbott is on display at the Golden Spike National Historical Park in Utah. Hewes also made a cane using gold from the “Golden Spike,”wood from the connecting railroad tie, and walrus ivory. He gave it to his brother-in-law Ebenezer (initials “ETA”). The cane later passed out of the Abbott family’s possession. It was later sold at auction in 2011. Mystery solved!