1. Paul Shoup was an American businessman, president and later vice-chairman of the Southern Pacific Railroad in the 1920s and 1930s, a founding board member of the Stanford University School of Business, and founder of the community of Los Altos, California.
Paul Shoup was the third of five children of Timothy and Sarah Sumner Shoup.
Paul Shoup's siblings included older twin brothers, Carl and Guy, a younger brother, Fred, and a younger sister, Faith.
From San Bernardino, Paul Shoup was given a position in San Francisco in the Passenger Department, which began his personal relationship with the San Francisco Bay area.
Paul Shoup was given the responsibility for overseeing the complete integration and conversion of the newly combined interurban system from steam to electric trains.
Paul Shoup was one of the first to ascend Table Mountain in California with his brother Fred Shoup and Gilbert Hassell on August 25,1908.
Beyond Southern Pacific, Paul Shoup was very active in other social and business interests.
Paul Shoup became a founding member of the San Jose Chamber of Commerce and worked to promote the Santa Clara Valley as an ideal place to live and establish business interests.
Paul Shoup joined all the influential social clubs of the time, including the Pacific Union Club and the Bohemian Club in San Francisco, as well as the Bankers Club in New York.
In 1906, Paul Shoup was named Assistant General Manager of Southern Pacific's local municipal and interurban lines.
Paul Shoup gathered his business associates and purchased the excess property from Southern Pacific.
Paul Shoup is considered the founder of Los Altos because of his personal and professional contributions to the ongoing economic health of the fledgling settlement.
Paul Shoup sold his interest in the company only to buy back the company in 1913 to prevent it from going into bankruptcy.
The Paul Shoup House was the first property in Los Altos to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the Department of the Interior on September 23,2011, based on the significance of the original owner, Paul Shoup.