Legacy
Supporting his first wife's desire to provide homelike accommodations for orphaned girls, Smith used part of his fortune to finance the construction and operation of 13 residential homes. Each home had a house mother selected by Mrs. Smith, who was directed to provide as close to a normal homelife for the girls under her care as possible. In addition to the homes, Smith provided a social hall called The Home Club, that was located on the site of the current Oakland High School. Only the stairway from Park Blvd. remains today. The homes continued in operation for many decades, and several are still standing. As the State took over providing for orphans, the funds in the Mary R. Smith Trust were redirected to providing nursing education for qualified young women.
The Western Railway Museum's archives wing is named for Francis Marion "Borax" Smith. The museum, located in Solano County, California on California State Route 12, includes several operating street cars and transbay trains that operated on the Key System lines in Oakland and adjacent cities on the east side of San Francisco Bay.
The Francis Marion Smith Park, on land from a portion of his former estate donated by he and his wife, is on Park Boulevard in Oakland.
In Death Valley, Smith Mountain, a 5,915 feet (1,803 m) peak in the Amargosa Range, is named in his honor.
On Shelter Island, NY, Smith Street and Smith Cove are named for him.
"Borax" Smith is a character in the historical fiction novel Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold (ISBN 0-7868-8632-3) and the main character in Jack London's novel Burning Daylight was partially based on his life.
Read more about this topic: Francis Marion Smith
Famous quotes containing the word legacy:
“What is popularly called fame is nothing but an empty name and a legacy from paganism.”
—Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536)