John Percival Jones (January 27, 1829 – November 27, 1912) was an American politician who served for 30 years as a Republican United States Senator from Nevada.

[2] In 1868, Jones moved to Gold Hill, Nevada, where he was superintendent of the Crown Point silver mine which was part of the Comstock Lode.

When a body of silver ore was stuck in 1870, Jones and Alvinza Hayward acquired shares and were able to gain control of the Crown Point mine.

"[8] In 1874, Jones and fellow Nevada senator, William M. Stewart, invested in the Panamint silver mines near Independence, Inyo County, California.

[10] Jones visited Los Angeles in 1874 and bought a three quarter interest in Colonel Robert S. Baker’s ranch in Santa Monica.

Gillette rarely visited the house, and after a brief spell towards the end of World War I as a boys military academy, the estate was sold to hotelier Gilbert Stevenson and it became the Hotel Miramar in 1921.

Since then, it has been run by various hoteliers — except for during World War II, when the Army Air Corps took over the Miramar and used it as a redistribution center for officers and enlisted men returning from overseas.