Clarence H. Geist
golfer (1866-1938)
Clarence Henry Geist (1866 – June 12, 1938) was an American businessman who owned over 100 public utility companies and was the largest individual stock holder of public utility companies in the United States. His association with the water supply, including ownership of the Indianapolis Water Company and Philadelphia Suburban Water Company, earned him the nickname "Waterboy". He was president of the C. H. Geist Company, and director of several other companies including the United Gas Improvement Company and the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company. He owned the Seaview golf club in Galloway, New Jersey, and the Boca Raton Club. He played a major role in the development of Boca Raton, Florida, including construction of a water plant, bridges, and train depot to support his resort.
Early life and education
Geist was born and raised on a farm in LaPorte County, Indiana. He was educated at Valparaiso Normal School. When he was 18, he worked as a horse trader in the Western United States, but returned East when he realized he could not make enough money there. He settled in Blue Island, Illinois, and worked for a year on the Rock Island Railroad as a conductor.
Career
He entered the real estate business and served as president of the Cottage Building and Loan in Blue Island.
The public source identifies “Clarence H. Geist” as golfer (1866-1938). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Clarence, Geist and golfer.
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This entry incorporates text from “Clarence H. Geist” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.