Living History: John Boyer, banker and businessman

John Boyer, Dorsey Baker’s brother-in-law, will be talking about his life, his career, and several of his entrepreneurial peers who took advantage of the tremendous opportunities available during Walla Walla’s boomtown years. In 1849 Boyer opened a store in Sonora, California, the Queen City of the California goldfields, which he operated until the 1860s. He came to Walla Walla in 1862 and went into a mercantile business with Dorsey Baker, located on the corner of Second and Main. Since Baker and Boyer both had reputations for being honest businessmen, miners from the Idaho gold fields would leave their gold in the mercantile safe. This was the start of the Baker Boyer Bank enterprise, which officially opened in November 1869. John Boyer is portrayed by Dick Phillips.