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Lamon V. Harkness

Lamon Vanderburgh Harkness (Jan 6, 1850 - January 17, 1915) was an American businessman and one of the largest stockholders in Standard Oil . Lamon V. Harkness became involved with Standard Oil through his father Stephen V. Harkness who was a primary silent investor in the formation of Standard Oil.Born in Bellevue, Ohio, he was the son of Stephen V. Harkness and his first wife, Laura Osborne. He lived in Bellevue until 1860 when they moved to Monroeville, OH. In 1865 they moved from Monroeville to Willoughby, Ohio outside of Cleveland. At the age of 16 he bought a ranch outside of a young man of 19 he entered the cattle business in Kansas. He later moved to Kansas City, Missouri where he dabbled in the banking business. In 1891 after his fathers death in 1888 he decided to come back east and settled in Greenwich, Connecticut where he bought the William Avery Rockefeller mansion in 1891, The mansion sat on 34 acres and had 22 bedrooms.Following a trip to Kentucky in 1892, Lamon Harkness acquired a 400-acre (1.6 km2) farm in Donerail, Kentucky named Walnut Hall Farm. There, he developed a Standardbred horse breeding operation of major importance to the harness racing industry. In 1904, Walnut Hall had expanded to 2,000 acres and 100 mares. The farm became one of the best-known Standardbred farms in the world. The farm’s Big Barn built by Harkness in 1897 is 476 feet long, and has 52 stalls, a sales area and auctioneer’s block – and it’s still in service 113 years later at the Kentucky Horse Park.When Harkness died in 1915, the then-5,000-acre farm was passed to his heirs. Although sub-divided several times, a part of which is now home to the Kentucky Horse Park, Walnut Farm remains in the hands of his descendants.Harkness was well known as a yachtsman who owned the SS Wakiva which became part of the United States Navy during 1917 and 1918 and had war service during World War I.He was a member of The New York Athletic Club, Columbia Yacht Club and TheNew York Yacht Club.In recognition of his contribution to the industry, in 1958 Lamon Harkness was inducted posthumously in the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame.Harkness had two daughters, Lela and Myrtle, and a son, Harry. Daughter Myrtle married California businessman A. Kingsley Macomber, a major Thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder.In addition to the home at Walnut Hall Farm, Lamon Harkness owned several homes including a mansion at 933 Fifth Avenue in New York City, and a home in East Hampton (town), New York. He died at his daughter's ranch Rancho Cienega de los Paicines in San Benito County, California in 1915, leaving an estate of approximately $100 million. Predeceased by his wife, they are buried together in Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York.