Byington Ford

Lewis Byington Ford (November 1, 1890 – January 19, 1985) was a Monterey Peninsula real estate developer. He was a major force in developing Pebble Beach and Carmel Woods. Ford established the Carmel Valley Airport and a nearby business district.[1] He created the Carmel Realty Company; was a cartoonist, poloist, baseball player, coach in the Carmel Abalone League, and acted in and directed over 45 plays. Ford was a major part of the social circle and society leader in the Monterey Peninsula.[2] His ancestry dates back to the French Huguenots.[3]

Byington Ford
Lieutenant Byington Ford, ca. 1942
Personal details
Born
Lewis Byington Ford

(1890-11-01)November 1, 1890
Downieville, California, U.S.
DiedJanuary 19, 1985(1985-01-19) (aged 94)
Ventura, California, U.S.
Spouse(s)Marion Boisot
Ruth Arlen
Children3
ParentsTirey L. Ford
Mary Emma Byington
OccupationCarmel Valley Developer
Known forDeveloped the Carmel Valley Airport and Carmel Valley Village
Military service
Allegiance United States of America
Branch/service United States Army
United States Air Force
Years of service1917–1919
1942–1943
RankCaptain (armed forces) 1917
Lieutenant colonel (US) 1942
Commands26th Infantry Division (United States)
Battles/warsMeuse-Argonne Campaign

Early life

Byington Ford was born on November 1, 1890 in Downieville, Sierra County, California to Tirey L. Ford and Mary Emma Byington. His family moved to San Francisco in 1895. He experienced the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire when he was fifteen years old.[2]

Ford graduated from Santa Clara College in 1910 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. At Santa Clara College, he acted in the Nazareth The Passion Play and was elected president of the debating team. He went on to get his masters from the University of California at Berkeley, graduating in 1913, where he earned his degree of Master of Arts.[4] The thesis for his master's degree was A History Of The County Court Of England From 1066-1307.[5] Ford studied law at St. Ignatius Jesuit College, now the University of San Francisco, but gave up the idea of practicing law and instead went into the real estate.[6]

On November 17, 1920, Ford married Marion Boisot in Pebble Beach. In 1922, he built their home on 17-Mile Drive in Pebble Beach. He and his wife Marion had three children, Mary Jane, Patricia, and Audrey Ford. On February 19, 1925.

On Feb 23, 1937, Ford married his second wife, Ruth Austin Arlen in Reno, Nevada.[7]

Animated Film Corporation

In 1916, Ford was Director of the Animated Film Corporation in San Francisco, of which his father, Tirey L. Ford, was president.The endeavor ended with the entry of the U.S. into World War I.[2]

Military

In 1917, Ford enlisted in the California National Guard and went to Officers Training Camp at the Presidio of San Francisco where he was commissioned and then sent to France during World War I. He was Captain in the 26th "Yankee" Division. In France, he trained at the Saint-Cyr cavalry school.[8] He was in the engagements of Château-Thierry, Saint-Mihiel and the Toul sector. On March 10, 1919, Ford returned home after recuperating from a poison gas attack suffered during an advance in Troyon, France. Ford saw active service practically the whole time he was in France. He brought a detachment of soldiers to New York from France.[9]

In 1941, Ford enlisted in the Air force during World War II and became a Lieutenant colonel (United States).[10][11]

Politics

While living in Carmel, Ford got involved in local politics. On August 25, 1934, speakers of the Carmel citizens' committee directly accused the John Reed Clubs of being a communistic organization. Ford chairman of the committee, read reports from the national committees and showed charts seized in recently raided communist headquarters. Ford headed the citizens' committee to oppose the JRC and their activities.[12]

Real estate

In 1919, working with Samuel Finley Brown Morse, Ford became manager at the Del Monte Properties in Pebble Beach, California, heading their real estate department for twelve years. He rode horseback through the undeveloped parts of Del Monte Forest to survey the land for development.[2] In 1931 he formed the Carmel Realty Company.[13]

Carmel Valley Airport

Ford developed the first airpark in Carmel Valley. According to the Carmel Valley Historic Airport Society, "Convinced that mass production of small aircraft would put a plane within the reach of anyone who could afford a car, in the late 1930s Byington bought the northeast corner of Rancho Los Laureles for an airpark.[14] He and his brother Tirey Ford developed the Carmel Valley Airport for pilot-owners who would want to be at home a minute or two after getting out of their plane. A nearby road was named after him called Ford Road.[15] Ford constructed the first two "hangar homes" when he opened the air park to the public on December 7, 1941. His timing that proved unfortunate as this was the same day Pearl Harbor was bombed.[16]

In 1954, Ford retired and Peter Delfino purchased the Carmel Valley airport property for $35,000.[17]

In 1946, Byington and his brother, Tirey Ford, Jr., developed the Carmel Valley Village and Airway Market, first known as the General Store, a barber shop, a drug store and soda fountain, a beauty shop, and a liquor store. All were in walking distance of the Airpark. Artist Bruce Ariss painted murals on each store to resemble a Spanish village.[18][19]

Later life

In 1955, he wrote a sketch book called "A Cartoon Sketch Book for Beginners"[20]

Death

On January 19, 1985, at age 94, Ford died of pancreatic cancer at his home in Ventura, California.[21]

References
  1. Fink, Augusta (2000). Monterey County: The Dramatic Story of its Past. Valley Publishers. p. 202. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
  2. Eisner, Judith A. (September 24, 1970). "The fabulous career Byington Ford". archive.org. Carmel Pine Cone. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  3. Burdette, Robert J. (1910). American Biography & Genealogy, California Edition, Volume I. Chicago, New York: The Lewis Publishing Company. pp. 201-207.
  4. University of California Register, Berkeley, 1912-13, University of California Press Berkeley, 1913.
  5. Ford, Byington (1913). A History Of The County Court Of England From 1066-1307. California: University of California.
  6. "Byington Ford". Carmel Pine Cone. January 31, 1985. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  7. The Monterey County Herald, December 6, 2009, Page 4
  8. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
  9. San Francisco Chronicle; "Captain Byington Ford, Son of Tirey L. Ford, Among Men to Arrive"
  10. "Maj. Ford Name Troop Executive". Dayton Daily News. Dayton, Ohio. November 21, 1943. p. 11. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  11. "Four Wright Field Appointments Made". Dayton Daily News. Dayton, Ohio. July 20, 1945. p. 14. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  12. "Carmel Citizens Attack Reed Clubs". Salinas Morning Post. Salinas, California. August 25, 1934. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  13. "Announcement". archive.org. Carmel Pine Cone. 1933. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  14. "Carmel Valley Vintage Airfield Museum" (PDF). Carmel Valley Historical Society. February 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
  15. Carmel Valley Air Park, Carmel Magazine, 2014
  16. "Living at Runway's Edge, LA Times, 2001.
  17. The Californian (Salinas, California), February 15, 1954, Page 9
  18. Monterey County California Regional Guide
  19. Monterey Country The Dramatic Story of Its Past, Augusta Fink
  20. Ford, Byington (1955). A Cartoon Sketch Book For Beginners. Carmel Valley, California.
  21. California Death Index and Social Security Death Index.
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