Fenton Mercer Eurice Slaughter (January 10, 1826 – May 29, 1897) was an American soldier, pioneer, gold miner, mechanical engineer, farmer and politician.

[2] After he was discharged from military service in Santa Fe in 1847, Slaughter returned to St. Louis until 1849, when he came to California by the overland route during the Gold Rush.

He spent a year mining for gold in what is now El Dorado County, California and then returned to St. Louis by the sea route to Panama and New Orleans.

[2] In 1851, he returned to the same area of California, where he worked as an engineer in the first steam-powered sawmill in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and again mined for gold.

He became successful, particularly in the sheep business, and purchased a piece of quality grazing land in western San Bernardino County not far from Los Angeles from Raymondo Yorba,[2] who was a member of a wealthy Californio family.

"[3] A community called Rincon grew around the adobe, which included a general store, a post office, a saloon, a blacksmith shop and a dairy.

[4] After his legislative service, Slaughter served as postmaster of Rincon, as a trustee on the local school board, and as a San Bernardino County Supervisor, initially appointed to the office after the death of his predecessor, and then elected to a new term by a large majority.