E. H. Dyer

Dyer had previously run lumber and quarry companies, and as an 1883 biography states, "Seeking a wider field he came to California.

"[3] He arrived in 1857 and determining that the situation was favorable, returned to Maine for his wife Marion Wallace Ingalls, whom he had married in 1850,[4] and two children.

[3] To determine if the land was suitable for growing sugar beets, he ordered seeds from Germany to plant on his farm.

The Germans, who were tapped to manage the mill's operation based on their previous experience, turned out to be less than competent, and the enterprise failed.

This attempt also was a failure, but Dyer persisted and, in 1879, finally found the right formula when he formed the Standard Sugar Manufacturing Company.