The Daulton Project 1988-89
The Daulton Project was conducted in the 1988-89 school year. Students from the following schools worked on the project: Central Elementary School, Betty Ham’s 6th-grade class (Hannibal Missouri); James Monroe Elementary School, Bill Coate’s 6th-grade class (Madera, California); Millview Elementary School, Oscar Dragon’s 6th-grade class and Carol Lawrence’s 6th-grade class (Madera, California).
No one could ever charge that Henry Clay Daulton was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Born in 1829, on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River, his debt-laden parents emigrated to Hannibal, Missouri, before he was a year old. The change in scenery did nothing to alter the economic conditions of the Daulton family; therefore, by the time he was 20 years old, Henry was primed to go in search of his fortune.
When news of the California gold discovery hit Hannibal, Henry was one of the first to hit the trail. Within two years, he was back home, no better off financially than when he started.
In 1853, Henry Clay Daulton hit the California trail again. There he began to buy inexpensive government land in Fresno County. By 1870, he had put together a 17,000-acre ranch. which he called Shepherd’s Home.
In 1893, at the apex of his success, Henry Clay Daulton was killed in a tragic accident. More than 100 buggies lined up to form his funeral cortege.
