Clarence H. Geist

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. 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. Geist then set himself up as a natural gas distributor, where he supplied gas to Blue Island, Morgan Park, then a suburb of Chicago, and Illinois suburbs south of Blue Island that included Harvey and Chicago Heights. He was associated with Charles G. Dawes and Rufus C. Dawes in the business of electric and gas utility companies. He also founded, in 1910, the company today known as South Jersey Industries, when the Atlantic City Gas and Water Company merged with Atlantic City Gas Company. His association with water supply earned him the nickname "Waterboy". He served on the board of trustees of Jefferson Medical College and the board of directors of Bryn Mawr College.

Boca Raton development When Addison Mizner's Mizner Development Corporation went bankrupt in 1926 after trying to build the new resort of Boca Raton, Geist bought its assets in 1927 via an anonymous bid of $76,350. Included were the Cloister Inn, fifty houses, and of land. He commissioned the New York architectural firm Schultze and Weaver to create an addition to the 100-room Cloister Inn, resulting in the 450-room Boca Raton Club, which was formally opened in January 1930.

Geist made a low-interest loan to Boca Raton to finance its first municipal water plant (which he had convinced Boca Raton it needed) and provide water for the guests at his new hotel. He built it in Mizner's style, for visual harmony. At the time, the Mediterranean-style plant was the most modern in the state. He also paid for a Spanish-style train depot on the Florida East Coast Railway. Geist allegedly bought stock in the railroad in order to build the depot for guests in his hotel to arrive. He built bridges over the Boca Raton inlet and other waterways to facilitate traffic to his resort.

Personal life He married Florence Hewitt Geist and together they had three daughters.

He owned the Godfrey Residence, a mansion in Radnor, Pennsylvania, and Launfal, a mansion in Villanova, Pennsylvania. and was interred at West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. His estate was valued at over $54 million.

Geist Reservoir, a water source for Indianapolis, is named for him.

The Clarence H. Geist Memorial Organ was installed by the M. P. Moller company in 1939 at the Overbrook Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia.