HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-04-10 - John F. ParkinsonProclamation
__________________________
Lydia Kou
Mayor
HONORING JOHN F. PARKINSON
Palo Alto Day 2023
WHEREAS, John F. Parkinson came to California in 1888 for his health and was living in Palo Alto by 1892.
He owned a lumberyard and hardware store, had an interest in the Bank of Palo Alto, and supported the well-
being of the new town in any way he could; and
WHEREAS, he was Palo Alto’s first Postmaster when the post office operated out of his lumberyard office.
In 1904, the new Carnegie Library opened in Palo Alto after Parkinson traveled to New York and convinced the
Carnegie Foundation that Palo Alto was deserving of a Carnegie Library, though the town was not quite big
enough to qualify for full funding; and
WHEREAS, John F. Parkinson was the mayor of Palo Alto at the time of the 1906 earthquake. He led local
efforts to gather and send relief supplies to the people of San Francisco; and
WHEREAS, in November 1906, his streetcar line opened on University Avenue, eventually extending onto
the Stanford campus; southward on Waverley Street, and briefly into San Mateo County; and
WHEREAS, John F. Parkinson’s lumberyard burned in a 1914 fire, after which he suffered significant
financial losses, but he never gave up. Late in his life, he remarked that he had lost two fortunes in Palo Alto, and
there was no finer place to make and lose one’s fortune. He died in 1956.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Lydia Kou, Mayor of the City of Palo Alto on behalf of the entire City Council do
hereby recognize John F. Parkinson as a notable individual who contributed to the founding of Palo Alto.
Presented: April 10, 2023