Filoli is an unusual, but not well known, American country house set in sixteen acres of formal gardens surrounded by a 654 acre(2.6 km²) estate, located about 25 miles (40 km) south of San Francisco. 40,000 people visit the estate every year. My wife and I visited there last week on a guided tour. It. was built between 1915 and 1917 for William Bowers Bourn II and his wife, Agnes Moody Bourn. The Bourn family earned its money in gold mining and a water and power company that was part of the roots of Pacific Gas and Electric. The house they built is a 36,000 square foot two story mansion that was later used in many movies and television programs including Dynasty (Carrington mansion). http://www.dakan.net/filoli.htm
The name of the estate is an acronym formed by combining the first two letters from the key words of William Bourn’s credo: “Fight for a just cause; Love your fellow man; Live a good life.” The truth is that there is no evidence that he had any good cause except living the good life.
The estate was sold to Mr. and Mrs. William P. Roth, owners of the Matson Navigation Company, in 1937. The Roth family built Filoli’s botanic gardens. In 1975, Mrs. Roth donated the estate in its entirety to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. There is no evidence that this family had a good cause either.
Perhaps that is America’s problem. How many of us Americans have a good cause or really love our fellow man? Well there are many who do have both of these qualities. Unfortunately the Bourns and the Roths are too prevalent.
I believe I do have some good causes (read the entries in this blog and http://www.coastcontact.blogspot.com/) and I believe I do love my fellow man. Perhaps that is the reason I do not live in a 36,000 square foot home. I like the credo enough to adopt it for my own.
Coast Contact 