Doña Casilda Iturrizar (1818-1900). went from being a small commercial village of about 18,000 inhabitants in 1860 to a city that housed 80,000 residents in 1900. Her husband, Tomás José Epalza Zurbaran (1798-1873) was a wealthy rentier, merchant and banker, as well as a politician, who had made a fortune with his business in Cuba and was one of the founders of the Bank of Bilbao. After marrying in 1859, Casilda had great support from her husband's family. However she became a benefactor of society and continued this work after her husband's death when she became the richest woman in Bilbao. She contributed money to build a hospital, land for the construction of public schools, and for Casa de la Misericordia, a home for indigents. At her death she had no descendants and left her property to be distributed among a variety of charitable, religious and philanthropic works