Cameron, Richard A.

Richard A. Cameron, born in Santa Barbara County on May 12, 1863, became a prominent rancher and dairyman in Central California. His father, Alexander M. Cameron, was a Tennessee native, Mexican War veteran, and teacher who traveled to California in 1850 to pursue mining and the stock business before eventually passing away in Mexico. His mother, Margaret Glenn, was an Arkansas native who shared stories of crossing the plains in 1852. Richard grew up assisting his father in livestock enterprises until he moved to Fresno County on July 12, 1881. He settled on 180 acres of land along the Kings River, three miles east of Fresno, where he established a long-standing career in stock-raising and dairying.

On New Year’s Day in 1898, Mr. Cameron married Annie Douglass at Centerville. Annie was a Texas native who had moved to California in 1887 with her parents, Theodore Douglass and his wife from the Darden family, who developed the thirty-acre Sunny South Orchard. This marriage blessed the couple with two children, Douglass and Margaret Cameron. Through his dedicated agricultural and dairy efforts, Richard achieved material success and a high place in local history. Today, the family name stands as a respected testament to the foundational growth and community development of Fresno County.