What else did he find down there?

Our Founder

Alexander Dennis Blake

(1834 – 1923)

There had never been a man like mining magnate, scholar, and philanthropist Alexander Dennis Blake before, and there has never been one since. When he sought out to build SOU, he imagined a bright and thoughtful future for California and all of its residents.

In 1850, a young Alexander Blake of 16 moved west from his quiet home in New Jersey to California to seek out his fortune during the gold rush. While much of readily accessible gold had already been picked clean by then, rumors of riches still untouched in the more dangerous spots kept his spirits high. Blake spent his first year working as a laborer for a number of large mining operations, all the while learning their tricks and familiarizing himself with the land, until he felt confident enough to strike out alone. His keen instinct and iron will drove him to places that the more experienced miners knew better than to risk their lives navigating, yet it was in one of these exceptionally dangerous places that Blake discovered a large untapped cache of gold, veins deep and ripe for the taking. By 1852 he had made quite the fortune, which he in part reinvested into the local economy by aiding in the development of blossoming townships and kickstarting small businesses. He even went on to establish his own mining company, the A. D. Blake Mining Co., which still operates to this day.

Once his fortune had been secured and the gold had mostly dried up, he set his affairs to be self-sustaining in his absence and went out to explore the world. From 1855 to 1859, he toured each continent and spent his days immersing himself in the hundreds of unique cultures he encountered along his journey. His world tour came to an end in 1860 when he returned home to California and immediately began drafting his plans for an institution of higher learning. He wished to build a place where all of the knowledge he had collected on his travels could be stored and shared with kindred spirits, those just as curious and bold as he was. The university’s campus was built in Lowhart, California, a town that he had personally funded the development of almost a decade prior. He personally oversaw the matriculation of the university's first twelve students, and four years later their graduation in 1864.

Blake served as the university’s first dean and president and stayed a member of the board of directors for most of his remaining years. With his generous spirit and adventurous mind, he tended to Santa Obscura University until he had nothing left to give.

Blake died in 1923, at the age of 89. He is buried in Lowhart County Cemetery in a plot next to his wife of 60 years, Ana Blake.