15 Facts About Bernard Goldsmith

Bernard Goldsmith was a Bavarian-American businessman and politician.

Bernard Goldsmith is best remembered as the 19th mayor of Portland, Oregon, serving from 1869 to 1871, and as the first Jew to hold that position.

Bernard Goldsmith was born November 20,1832, in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria.

Bernard Goldsmith emigrated to New York City with his brother Solomon at the age of 15, working in the city as an apprentice to a watchmaker.

Bernard Goldsmith's jewelry store was a prosperous one and he began to expand his business empire, opening three stores in Northern California and Southern Oregon.

Bernard Goldsmith moved to Portland in 1861, where he opened a mercantile store together with some of his seven brothers.

Bernard Goldsmith began to engage in speculative investments, playing the currency market, speculating on wheat and cattle, and making investments in Idaho mines.

In 1864, Bernard Goldsmith became one of the original directors of the Library Association of Portland, founded in that year.

Bernard Goldsmith was a backer of the Willamette River Navigation Company, as well as the Willamette Falls Locks and Canal Company, which was responsible for building the Willamette Falls Locks.

Bernard Goldsmith was one of twelve founding members of the elite Portland Stock and Exchange Board in 1865.

Bernard Goldsmith was a Democrat before the Civil War, then shifted to the Republican party in opposition to slavery and in support of Abraham Lincoln, following the national pattern.

Bernard Goldsmith ran for mayor on the Union ticket, then switched back to the Democratic party in 1875.

Bernard Goldsmith's accomplishments include adding downtown park blocks and public squares to the city's domain, and in 1871, purchasing 40 wooded acres in the hills above downtown Portland, which would become the nucleus of what is Washington Park.

Bernard Goldsmith was the driving force behind the building of locks to navigate around the Willamette River falls across from Oregon City, which allowed boats to travel from the Pacific Ocean to Eugene, Oregon, cutting the cost of shipping Willamette Valley goods to Portland by half.

Bernard Goldsmith was 68 years old at the time of his death.