Harry, born in Australia, was the eldest of the five children of Josiah and Emmeline Doulton. He was thirteen when his family came to Santa Barbara and two years later purchased the former cattle ranch on the Montecito coastline which would eventually become the Miramar Hotel. In 1889 he married Elizabeth Stevens ("Lizzie") of Santa Barbara. The couple had two sons, Harold Stevens (1890-1951) and Robert Henry (1892-1979). For several years, his grandson recalled (I Remember, by Harold Keeney Doulton, 1999) Harry was employed in the fuel and grain business, and raised cattle in the San Joaquin Valley. In 1907, he returned to Montecito to help his mother run the Miramar Hotel. When she died in 1910, Harry took over its management with a style that was long remembered by both staff and guests. One former staff member recalled: "Mr Doulton made Miramar a place that gave you the impression that you were simply making a visit to his home. His was not exactly an attitude of vaunted courtesy, but rather a kindly, warm, human desier to be hospitable. And when he passed on, I believe that those who knew him best felt as if a giant redwood had gone down with a crash in the forest, and left a lonesome place against the sky." (I Remember, 123)
Between 1906 and 1915, Harry served on the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, serving as its chair from 1908 until his resignation in 1915, when he was appointed to the newly formed Board of the Montecito Water District. The District's Toro Canyon Tunnel was named after him at its completion in 1928, a few weeks after his death.
Between 1906 and 1915, Harry served on the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, serving as its chair from 1908 until his resignation in 1915, when he was appointed to the newly formed Board of the Montecito Water District. The District's Toro Canyon Tunnel was named after him at its completion in 1928, a few weeks after his death.
Harry, born in Australia, was the eldest of the five children of Josiah and Emmeline Doulton. He was thirteen when his family came to Santa Barbara and two years later purchased the former cattle ranch on the Montecito coastline which would eventually become the Miramar Hotel. In 1889 he married Elizabeth Stevens ("Lizzie") of Santa Barbara. The couple had two sons, Harold Stevens (1890-1951) and Robert Henry (1892-1979). For several years, his grandson recalled (I Remember, by Harold Keeney Doulton, 1999) Harry was employed in the fuel and grain business, and raised cattle in the San Joaquin Valley. In 1907, he returned to Montecito to help his mother run the Miramar Hotel. When she died in 1910, Harry took over its management with a style that was long remembered by both staff and guests. One former staff member recalled: "Mr Doulton made Miramar a place that gave you the impression that you were simply making a visit to his home. His was not exactly an attitude of vaunted courtesy, but rather a kindly, warm, human desier to be hospitable. And when he passed on, I believe that those who knew him best felt as if a giant redwood had gone down with a crash in the forest, and left a lonesome place against the sky." (I Remember, 123)
Between 1906 and 1915, Harry served on the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, serving as its chair from 1908 until his resignation in 1915, when he was appointed to the newly formed Board of the Montecito Water District. The District's Toro Canyon Tunnel was named after him at its completion in 1928, a few weeks after his death.
Between 1906 and 1915, Harry served on the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, serving as its chair from 1908 until his resignation in 1915, when he was appointed to the newly formed Board of the Montecito Water District. The District's Toro Canyon Tunnel was named after him at its completion in 1928, a few weeks after his death.
