San Luis Obispo County Biographies

REUBEN HART

Submitted by Carolyn Feroben

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REUBEN HART- One of the pioneers and prominent developers of Santa Maria, is the 
subject of this sketch, who was born in Derbyshire, England, in 1843. He was 
educated in England and learned the trade of carriage builder at the Stubbs 
Manufacturing Company at Derby City, where he remained five years. He then went 
to Swansea, Wales, and worked in a large manufactory, after which he came to the 
United States and began his American life at the Cummings Railway Contract shop 
in New Jersey, remaining about four years. While there he sent for his brother, 
also a machinist, and together they came to California in 1866. Our subject 
first worked for D. S. Mills at San Jose, as manager of his large manufactory of 
wagons and agricultural implements, and then went to Castorville, and with his 
brother established a general blacksmith and machine shop under the firm of Hart 
Bros., which they continued up to 1872 and then moved their stock and machinery 
to the new town of Guadalupe, where they started the town by establishing a 
large blacksmith and machine shop and also built a block of business houses; 
also acting as sub-agents of the Guadalupe ranch. After three years, in 1875, 
Reuben Hart came to Santa Maria; bought property at the corner of Maine and 
Broadway and started the town by building extensive shops for blacksmith, repair 
and machine purposes, also a feed mill with steam power and later a store and 
several residences, and carried on a large business in feed and barley and in 
general trade with the farmers. In 1879 the firm dissolved and our subject 
retained the Santa Maria property, his brother continuing at Guadalupe. In 1879 
our subject started a lumber yard, and in 1880 established the water-works 
piping the town and pumping the water by steam power from a well eighty-five 
feet deep to an elevated tank. In 1882 and 1883 he was in partnership with M. P. 
Nicholson in farming 4,000 acres in wheat and running a steam thresher. In 1884 
he built a one story brick building 50 x 88 feet, corner of Main and Broadway, 
for store purposes. He continued his shop interest up to 1888, then sold 
business and building, which were removed, and he began erecting his present 
spacious and comfortable hotel being a two-story brick 100 x 120 feet, 
containing forty-three sleeping rooms with spacious parlor, smoking , reception 
and billiard rooms and a dining room, 30 x 60 feet, with hot and cold baths; in 
fact, a hotel complete in every appointment and managed by a genial host makes a 
pleasant place to reside.
   Mr. Hart was married at Santa Maria in 1879 to Mrs. Harriet Sharp, a native of 
Pennsylvania, and with her two daughters and one by the last union the home 
circle seems complete and happy.
 
A memorial and biographical history of the counties of Santa Barbara, San Luis 
Obispo and Ventura, California - Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co., 1891, page 614-615