Francis Marion Smith (1846–1931) was known as the “Borax King” for his mining successes. Smith and his family bought a home on the island in 1892. He expanded it to more than 30 rooms and called his estate "Presdeleau" (French for "by the water"). By 1906 he owned more than on the south side of the island. Smith Cove and Smith Street were named for him. Smith shipped in deer from California to hunt in his “deer park”; their descendants roam some areas of the island.The remains of his estate are reinforced concrete retaining walls and a "Japanese" footbridge from the garden, built by Ernest L. Ransome about 1898, behind Merkle Lane.