William Helm was the largest individual sheep farmer and noteworthy among the early pioneer settlers of Fresno County, California. He was instrumental in the growth and prosperity of the San Joaquin Valley. Helm was vice-president of the Fresno Bank of Central California, and the president of the Fresno Canal and Irrigation Company.
Early life
Helm was born in the province of Ontario, Canada on March 9, 1837, about forty miles above Montreal, on the St. Lawrence River. He is the son of George and Mary, both of whom were born in Scotland. Brought up on the home farm, Helm acquired an education in the district schools, and under his father's instruction. Helm left home in 1856 to Wisconsin for three years engaged in lumbering and operating a sawmill on the Chippewa River. In 1859, Helm sailed from New York City to San Francisco, California by way of Panama. He traveled to Sacramento and searched for gold in Placer County but soon found it unprofitable. He spent the next three years as a butcher, first in Foresthill, Todds Valley, and then in Bear river in Placer County. He saved his money and decided to raise sheep for a living.
Marriage and children
On November 13, 1861, Rev. N. R. Peck married William Helm and Francis Sawyer Newman in Ophirville, Placer County, California. Ophirville was the center of the local gold mining industry, and the most populous town in the county. The Helms had seven children:
In 1865, Helm brought his wife and his sheep to Fresno county, which was then a vast space of open land, before the railroad came through the valley. By 1877, Helm made Fresno his home with a five-acre tract of land at the corner of Fresno and R streets. Helm was the largest individual sheep grower in Fresno County. In carrying his wool to market at Stockton, he used three wagons, each drawn by ten mules, and spent twelve days in making the round trip. When the railroad came through the valley in 1872, it was a great boon to Helm. At Dry Creek, on section four, Helm bought a ranch six miles northeast of Fresno. He acquired up to 2,640 acres, paying 1 dollar an acre from William S. Chapman, a pioneer landowner and developer of the Fresno area. He bought additional land to establish a winter camp for his sheep on the present site of the Fresno court house. His heard increased rapidly, at one time owning 22,000 head of sheep. In 1881, because of a growing family, Helm bought the block bounded by Fresno, R, Merced and S Streets from Louis Einstein. He built his home there in 1881 where it stood for 71 years. As their daughters married, Helm gave them parts of the block on which to build their homes. This block is now the site of the Fresno Community Hospital in 1959. The cityHelm, California was named after William Helm.
Death
Helm died on April 10, 1919 at the home of his daughter, Jessie Marie Helm, wife of Cary S. Cox. He was buried at the Mountain View Cemetery, 1411 W Belmont Ave, Fresno, California.
