William Martin Mendenhall

William Mendenhall was an American landowner who founded and named the city of Livermore, California in 1869. Biography He was born in Greene County, Ohio in 1823, and grew up in the Territory of Michigan. Livermore was platted and registered on November 4, 1869, as a railroad town. Mendenhall also donated 20-30 acres (the exact number is disputed) The land for the tracks had already been signed over by Robert Livermore from his ranch in 1855, as surveyors had determined it was the best place to build.

Mendenhall built a mansion on College Ave. in 1876.

In his old age he bred Angora goats, having at one point 1,200 of them, which at the time made him the largest Angora goat breeder in California.

He died in November 1911.