Profiles in History: James A. Folger: The California Coffee Rush
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James A. Folger (1835–1889) was the second youngest of nine children. Born on Nantucket to a well-to-do family whose roots went back to the earliest of colonists, he would soon get the chance to make it on his own as a businessman. When word spread across the continent that gold had been found in California in 1848, he and his two older brothers, Edward and Henry, decided to make the voyage that would be approximately the same distance their forebears had made to reach America from England, if they went strictly cross country.
In the fall of 1849, the three decided to take a safer, though longer route to the West coast. They hopped a ship―a form of transportation they were familiar with since their father owned two―and sailed down the Atlantic Ocean into the Gulf of Mexico toward the Isthmus of Panama. Arriving in the small Latin American country, the three rafted and then hiked their way into Panama City. Unfortunately, there was no ship arriving in the capital city that had a destination near San Francisco, so they were stuck there for some time.
Finally, on April 10, 1850, the three boarded the steamer ship, Isthmus, and sailed up the Pacific Ocean toward the California coast. On May 5, the three disembarked into the city of San Francisco. The lure of gold had brought them thousands of miles to what must have seemed like the other side of the world; indeed, it was the complete opposite end of their original home.
Edward, 20, and Henry, 16, compiled the remainder of their money to go work the mines, but James, 14, due to the limited amount of money left over, agreed to arrive later. He decided to remain in San Francisco, get a job, save his money, and then join his brothers. His plan would eventually strike gold.
He got a job as a carpenter to help build a mill for The Pioneer Steam Coffee and Spice Mills company. His entrepreneurial spirit would connect with that of the company’s owner, William Bovee, which would lead to his position as a salesman. Bovee had the ingenious idea to revolutionize how people made themselves a pot of coffee. Coffee had typically been sold as whole beans, where the purchasers had to roast and grind it themselves. Bovee offered pre-packaged ground coffee.
Folger saved up enough money to finally join his brothers, but he told Bovee that he would continue to work for him in the mining communities. Folger took samples to store owners, jotted down their orders, and sent them back to Bovee in San Francisco, all while he and his brothers continued to pan for gold.
The income from both ventures―gold mining and selling coffee―provided Folger with enough capital to purchase his own store in a mining camp called Yankee Jim’s. After managing his store for four years, Folger decided to sell it, move back to San Francisco, and become a partner in Bovee’s business.
A few years later, Bovee decided to sell his interest in the company to James, who also bought out the rest of the partners. He then renamed the company J.A. Folger & Co. More than 150 years later, Folger, now known as Folgers, is one of the most well-known names in coffee and is currently a billion dollar business.
