William Heeser was a German-American newspaper publisher and banker in Mendocino County, California

Mendocino County, California

Mendocino County is a county located on the north coast of the U.S. state of California, north of the greater San Francisco Bay Area and west of the Central Valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 87,841, up from 86,265 at the 2000 census...

.

Heeser emigrated from Germany to Baltimore

Baltimore

Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

 with his brother, Augustus H. Heeser, following the death of his father, and then moved to Providence, Kentucky

Providence, Kentucky

Providence is a city in Webster County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 3,611 at the 2000 census. The city is named after Providence, Rhode Island....

 where he opened a general store in 1844. He arrived in the town of Mendocino

Mendocino, California

Mendocino is a census-designated place in Mendocino County, California, United States. Mendocino is located south of Fort Bragg, at an elevation of 154 feet...

 in the 1850s, and purchased in 1858 from H. Kelly a farm consisting of most of the land west of Lansing Street in Mendocino. He soon became a justice of the peace

Justice of the Peace

A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

 and notary public

Notary public

A notary public in the common law world is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with estates, deeds, powers-of-attorney, and foreign and international business...

; he was a county supervisor from 1864 to 1867 and from 1877 to 1880. He operated a general store in Mendocino, and chose the names for many of Mendocino's streets. As a United States deputy surveyor, Heeser constructed Little Lake road, a wagon road from Mendocino to Willits

Willits, California

Willits is a city in Mendocino County, California, United States. Willits is located north-northwest of Ukiah, at an elevation of 1391 feet . The population was 4,888 at the 2010 census, down from 5,073 at the 2000 census. Willits is at the center of Mendocino County and its redwood forests...

, and another road from Mendocino to Ukiah

Ukiah, California

The average high temperature is 73.5 °F . Average low temperature is 46.1 °F . Temperatures reach 90 °F on an average of 65.6 days annually and 100 °F on an average of 14.4 days annually. Due to frequent low humidity, summer temperatures normally drop into the fifties at night. Freezing...

. In 1870 and 1871 he founded the Bank of Mendocino and the Mendocino Discount Bank. Heeser founded the Mendocino Beacon

Mendocino Beacon

The Mendocino Beacon is a weekly newspaper for the community of Mendocino, California, owned by MediaNews Group.The Mendocino Beacon was founded on October 6, 1877 by W. H. Meacham and William Heeser, an immigrant from Germany who also founded the Fort Bragg Advocate-News and three other local...

in Mendocino, California

Mendocino, California

Mendocino is a census-designated place in Mendocino County, California, United States. Mendocino is located south of Fort Bragg, at an elevation of 154 feet...

 with W. H. Meacham in 1877 and the Fort Bragg Advocate-News in Fort Bragg, California

Fort Bragg, California

Fort Bragg is a city located in coastal Mendocino County, California along State Route 1, the major north-south highway along the Pacific Coast. Fort Bragg is located west of Willits, at an elevation of 85 feet...

 in 1887; he also founded newspapers in the Mendocino County communities of Kibesillah

Kibesillah, California

Kibesillah is an unincorporated community in Mendocino County, California. It is located south of Westport, at an elevation of 138 feet .A post office operated at Kibesillah from 1874 to 1889....

, Rockport

Rockport, California

Rockport is an unincorporated community in Mendocino County, California. It is located north-northwest of Westport, at an elevation of 30 feet ....

, and Westport

Westport, California

Westport is an unincorporated community in Mendocino County, California. It is located on the Pacific Ocean north of Fort Bragg, at an elevation of 125 feet ....

. In 1892, he purchased the Point Arena Record, which had been founded in 1888 by H. B. Cartnell.

Heeser married Laura A. Nelson on December 18, 1865; they had one son, Augustus A. Heeser, who continued his father's businesses.

Heeser Addition

Heeser Addition, California

Heeser Addition is an unincorporated community in Mendocino County, California. It lies at an elevation of 312 feet . It is southwest of Fort Bragg, on California State Route 20, approximately east of the terminus of Route 20 at California State Route 1....

, a community near Fort Bragg

Fort Bragg, California

Fort Bragg is a city located in coastal Mendocino County, California along State Route 1, the major north-south highway along the Pacific Coast. Fort Bragg is located west of Willits, at an elevation of 85 feet...

, and Heeser Road in Mendocino Headlands State Park

Mendocino Headlands State Park

Mendocino Headlands State Park is a California State Park in Mendocino, California. It consists of of undeveloped seaside bluffs and islets surrounding the town of Mendocino, two beaches , and the much larger Big River Unit stretching for eight miles along both banks of the nearby Big River.The...

bear his name.