Barringer, Alexander Hamilton

Alexander H. Barringer, born near Holly Springs in Marshall County, Mississippi, on September 28, 1855, was a pioneer rancher who helped reclaim the desert lands of Fresno County, California. The son of Nancy A. Davis and W. F. Barringer, a Confederate Civil War veteran, Alexander moved with his family to California, arriving on November 7, 1871. His father preempted 160 acres of land in the Round Mountain district, which Alexander later took charge of and eventually owned. Leaving school at age sixteen to assist with the family ranch, he managed stock-raising, hay, and grain production before introducing the first vineyard and orange orchard to the district.

On January 1, 1884, Alexander married Amanda H. Elliott, the daughter of California pioneers Joseph S. and Jane B. O’Connell Elliott, and the couple had two children, William W. and Anna Josephine. Deeply committed to community growth, Barringer joined the Round Mountain district school board at age twenty-one and served for over twenty years, helping oversee the construction of new educational facilities. He witnessed major local historical events, including the moving of the county seat to Fresno in 1874, and actively supported the region’s agricultural development as a member and stockholder of the California Associated Raisin Company. His long residency and industrious leadership established him as one of the most significant early builders of his district.