William Jones (1884–1968), a seasoned veteran of the steam era who established the Wildcat Railroad in Los Gatos, California, was born the son of a teamster in the town of Ben Lomond, California.
Jones found employment as an engine wiper at the age of 13 with the 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge South Pacific Coast Railroad at Boulder Creek, California. At 17, Jones was promoted to fireman, and later became an engineer. The South Pacific Coast Railroad, which had been acquired by the Southern Pacific Railroad, was converted to a standard gauge road by 1909. Jones was among the first to work the first standard gauge portions of the line out of San Jose, ultimately advancing to the Coast Daylight run between San Francisco and San Luis Obispo. After World War II, he was in charge of the reassembly of the preserved locomotive Gov. Stanford for Stanford University; the locomotive is currently on display at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento.[1]
Jones married Geraldine McGrady, the schoolteacher at Wright's Station, located south of Los Gatos. After settling down in Los Gatos on a 9-acre (3.6 ha) prune orchard known as "The Ranch", the Jones family grew to include two sons, Robert and Neal, and two daughters, Betty and Geraldine. The Ranch was located at the corner of Daves Avenue and the Santa Clara-Los Gatos Road (today's Winchester Boulevard).