USA > California > Los Angeles County > History of Los Angeles county, Volume I > Part 54
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MONTEBELLO OIL FIELD AND ORANGE GROVE
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HISTORY OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY
of how to control the oil when once it came spouting to the surface and higher. Strange to say, former geologists gave no promise of this being an oil field ; but the thing that "could not happen" did occur-in this instance, at least.
To give a better idea of the results locally of this great oil discovery the following is extracted, by permission of the editor of the Montebello News, from his paper of May 24, 1918: "Prior to the discovery of oil in the Montebello field the ambition of this locality was to become a com- munity of fruitful and beautiful suburban homes. The location is prac- tically frostless and for the growing of oranges, lemons and the rarer semi- tropical fruits, and for commercial flower growing and plant propagation probably no other section of Southern California is so favorable. Owing to these conditions, the owners of two to ten acre farms and groves here placed a high value on their holdings-as much as $1,000 to $2,000 per acre. Such values, less than two years ago, were considered high enough, and sales at such figures for cash were few and far between.
"It is different now, especially in and near about the proven oil district, where it is difficult if not impossible to find land for sale at any price. Every owner of land so located seems to be imbued with the spirit of the sport, and would rather gamble on the chance of becoming part owner of a well-or two or three wells-than to accept a sure thing in the way of a comparatively small amount of money in hand as a purchase price.
"In one instance the owner of a fifteen-acre citrus grove-Mrs. S. W. Burrows-priced her place before oil was discovered here at $30,000- because she was "not anxious to sell." Her place was leased to the Union Oil Company on the terms of $10,000 bonus and one-sixth of all oil pro- duced on the property. And now, on the line between her place and an adjoining tract there is a well which is producing 800 barrels high-gravity oil daily, and another 'line well' which is almost ready to be put on the pump and which promises at least to equal the first in production. These two wells will yield her an income of fully $60,000 a year-and this is but a starter. Additional wells will follow, and it is very probable that by the end of 1918 Mrs. Burrows' one-sixth royalty will be yielding her an income of $100,000 per year."
Nothing is more indicative of the condition of a town or community than its postal receipts. Montebello was made a postoffice in 1913. In 1916, it was still doing a moderate business, the same being so small that the postmaster, Fred H. Darcy, had plenty of time to attend to a mercan- tile business besides being postmaster. One year later-1917-a material increase was shown, and only a few months later the business had so increased that the office became a higher class postoffice and the postmaster has since been paid a regular salary. It is still a third class office. The parcel post business is very large at present, on account of the home grown seeds, the mail order system of selling them being indeed very great.
MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT
In 1916. Montebello united with Ramona Acres and the two communi- ties, together with intervening territory, became incorporated as a city of the sixth class, under the name of Monterey Park, and the extent of terri-
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HISTORY OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY
tory covered was equal to twelve square miles. But on October 16, 1920, a new city organization was effected, known as Montebello, which today has a population of not far from 3,000 souls. The first board of trustees was as follows: John M. Dutcher (president), Truman Cole, C. Y. James, B. E. Coffman and William D. Stephens. The first set of officers were : Fred T. Beaty, clerk; Charles W. Schaack, treasurer ; Thomas A. Berkbile, attorney ; L. G. Herr, marshal; Dr. N. J. Brown, Jr., health officer ; F. J. Rice, recorder ; W. L. Taylor, street superintendent.
The present (1922) officers and Board of Trustees are as follows : Trustees, Fred T. Beaty (president), William D. Stephens, George H. Wilber, Truman Cole and F. H. Olds ; George S. Dodge, clerk ; J. I. Caneer, treasurer ; Frederick Baker, attorney; L. H. Herr, marshal; Dr. N. J. Brown, Jr., health officer, and W. L. Taylor, street superintendent.
The last schoolhouse erected at Montebello in 1921, cost $140,000. Its schools are always up to the State standard. The only indebtedness the cor- poration has now is that voted in bonds for school purposes. The water supply is obtained through a mutual water company by the use of deep wells, affording a standard quality of pure water. The local Chamber of Commerce is an active force in the development of the industrial city. That organization, with the aid of the Montebello News, keeps the people thoroughly posted as to all that is transpiring. The two banks, mentioned in chapter on Banks and Banking, include the origin and development of the First National Bank and the Montebello Savings Bank.
The churches of Montebello are the Roman Catholic, Friends, Meth- odist Episcopal, Christs Church, and Christian Science churches; also a Nazarene society that rents a building for meeting purposes. The secret societies include the Masons and Odd Fellows.
Concerning the Chamber of Commerce, already noted, it should be said that the present officers are : E. T. Cochrum, president ; Fred T. Beaty, secretary ; George S. Dodge, treasurer ; Ernest Beech, vice president ; J. H. Prescott, second vice president. The board of directors are: G. A. Buchanan, Frank J. Dore, Charles A. Graham, Alfred S. Roach, Rev. George Steed, C. E. Stivers, H. M. Stanfield, A. H. Southworth, J. W. Steele and George H. Wilber. The motto carried by the Chamber of Commerce is "The city of flowers, with an oil-field pay-roll."
Recently the city has entered into another great business boom which bids fair to build up the place as nothing else could do-the obtaining of extensive railway shops, round house and division, for the Union Pacific railroad lines entering the Los Angeles district. More than five hundred acres of land of the old Gates estate have just been purchased by the company. Work is soon to begin, and it is believed it will not stop until at least $500,000 have been expended for these improvements, after which all Union Pacific trains in this section of the state will be made up and depart from the Montebello division shops and round-house. This naturally brings to the city a large force of wage-earners of the better type. Indeed, the future of this sprightly new city seems bright and we now leave the interests of the place in the hands of some future-day historian, after pausing long enough to give a few reminiscences concerning the first settlers, the first discovery of oil and gas in this section, etc., the facts having been furnished by other writers.
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HISTORY OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY
HISTORICAL REMINISCENCES
The story of how oil and natural gas were first discovered and by whom, is best told by a special correspondent of the Montebello News and the author of this work is given permission to take such extracts as here follow: Inseparably woven into the story of the discovery and development of oil in the Montebello field is the name of Walter P. Temple, a descendant of one of the old pioneer families of California, among whom were empire builders and community-makers. The discovery just mentioned was made one day, in the spring of 1912, by a boy then nine years of age, Thomas Workman Temple, son of Walter P. and wife Laura G. Temple.
Just after a gentle rain, the boy went to the hill, the farthest east of the La Merced ranch, to gather flowers. While stooping to pluck a bunch of golden poppies he espied a tiny pool of rain water, basined in the rocks. Its surface was bubbling and he smelled gas. He hurried home to his father, told him what he had seen and guided him to the spot. Mr. Temple struck a match and lit the gas which burned brightly until extin- guished. Frequently thereafter, Mr. Temple lighted the gas and in one instance Mrs. Temple fried an egg upon the blaze, and he showed the phenomenon to friends and visitors. Mr. Temple was convinced that the oil-sands were underneath, and this conviction haunted him until he took steps which led to a thorough testing of the field ; which opened the enviable way to early wealth for himself, for a goodly increase in the oil resources of the United States in the hour of its sorest need, and gave steady employ- ment to seven hundred unusually well paid workmen.
The great discovery was on a sixty-acre tract of land on the La Merced hills, purchased some five or six years before by Walter P. Temple from the late H. A. Unruh, executor of the "Lucky" Baldwin estate, the price being $100 per acre. Now this property has a value beyond estimate. In acquiring this sixty-acre tract of land there seemed a providence, for it brought affluence to the son of a man who once owned a vast acreage around this newly discovered oil region, which he lost through a stroke of adversity more than forty years ago. This land, with fifty acres more, was all that had been kept in the family out of the tens of thousands of acres once held by the senior Temple. This included the old Temple homestead tract on the banks of the Rio Hondo, almost within a stone's throw of the nearest oil well of today. On this place stands the oldest and tallest palm tree in all California-150 feet high-one of the most famous landmarks in the San Gabriel Valley. In 1910 the ranch, then enriched by a valuable walnut grove, was sold by Walter P. Temple for the sum of $25,000, and, with a part of the proceeds, he bought the sixty acres on the La Merced hills and put in a pumping plant and other improvements. Oil has enabled W. P. Temple to buy back the old homestead from strangers, at La Puenta, thus restoring to the family that sacred spot once the home of his grand- father, William Workman-a seventy-five acre walnut ranch, with a com- modious dwelling thereon, the purchase price of which was $40,000. It became the permanent homestead of W. P. Temple and family.
Mr. Temple also restored the old Catholic Chapel, which William Work- man erected within the walls of the cemetery, established on his rancho, and which he had dedicated to Bishop Amat, of Monterey, in 1858. The
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chapel was accidentally destroyed by fire in 1903. To go back a little earlier in the genealogy of the Temple family, it may be said that John Temple, the uncle of Walter P., erected the old historic Temple Block in Los Angeles. He was a man of marked prominence, and by birth was a Bostonian. He came to California in 1827, embarked in the cattle business and became immensely wealthy. He invested largely in the City of Mexico where he had great influence and was among the richest of its citizens. He was a brother of the late F. P. F. Temple, father of W. P. Temple. At one time he owned the land where the present city of Long Beach is situated. He it was who sold eighty thousand acres of land in this county for eighty-five cents per acre.
Of F. P. F. Temple it may be said that he was one of the famous groups of American pioneers who settled in the San Gabriel Valley, years prior to the American conquest. He came to Los Angeles County in 1841, via Cape Horn, when but a youth of nineteen years of age. Joining with his brother in the mercantile business at Los Angeles, later he became inter- ested in six large ranches, becoming half owner of the Rancho Tajon which contained twenty-two leagues of land. He married Senorita Antonia Margarrita Workman, only daughter of the pioneer, William Workman. After being highly successful in the stock-breeding business for many years, Mr. Temple engaged with Workman in banking at Los Angeles. Finally, they failed in the latter and lost all save their honor, which none ever questioned. F. P. F. Temple died on the La Merced ranch, in 1880.
THE STORY OF THE FIRST SETTLER
The first permanent settler in these parts was A. Germain, who, with his family, settled between Whittier and the town of El Monte, in 1895. The 135 acres purchased by Mr. Germain was then in a perfect wilderness of willows, but, by hard work upon the part of his wife and sons, he managed to clear twenty-five acres annually. They grubbed out the willow grubs and snags, planting a large amount of the land thus cleared to alfalfa. The price paid for this land was $26 per acre, and in 1918 it was worth at least $400 per acre for agricultural and horticulture purposes ; but the discovery of oil has increased the land to a price unbelievable to any but actual residents. Mr. Germain was born in Canada, is a French-Cana- dian, and made this country his home by choice. For a number of years he lived in Minnesota, of which four of his children are natives, while the fifth son was born at the old homestead in Los Angeles County.
CHAPTER XLII ALHAMBRA CORPORATION
The Town of Alhambra was founded in 1885. It is between eight and nine miles from the city of Los Angeles and has an elevation of a little less than five hundred feet. The population is now about 14,000. It has fifty or sixty miles of excellent paving, all illuminated by ornamental street lamps. The three factories of the town, in 1915, were working four hun- dred men. At that date there were daily and weekly newspapers and a Chamber of Commerce. As a city of the sixth class, Alhambra was incor- porated in 1903. The general appearance of the business and residence portions of the place reflects well the character and refinement of the people who call it their home. It is connected with Los Angeles and San Gabriel by both steam and electric roads, and has in its immediate vicinity some of the finest groves of oranges in the entire county. About 2,000 car loads of citrus fruits are shipped from Alhambra yearly. The banking business is treated in the Banking chapter of this work. The schools are the pride of the neighborhood. Near Alhambra was located the celebrated San Gabriel Wine Company's winery, which was the largest in the world. The rural scenes hereabouts are indeed charming and ever a feast to the eye.
There is perhaps no other city in America which has grown so rapidly and which has so greatly increased in population in the past few years. Originally, the spot was simply a part of the vast estates of the Mission. Later, when the secularization of the Franciscan establishments occurred, Alhambra was a big rancho. Later, a few clustered their homes together and the semblance of a village began to appear. Finally the village leaped into the proportions of a town, then became classed as a city. It is the history of Southern California that the sites that possessed the greatest beauty, the best soil and the most prolific natural water supply, were the ones the longest to resist invasion of newcomers. Those who owned such spots in the form of ranches were loth to see their priceless lands cut up into town lots. Long after Los Angeles had become a large city, Alhambra, lying only a few miles away, maintained its broad acres of uninhabited ranch lands, defying the eager grasp of the onward rushing settlers from the East. But, of course, the invasion could not be kept out forever. For instance, the population of Alhambra, in 1900, was 808. In 1910 it was 5,027, a gain of over five hundred per cent for the decade.
It was not so many years ago that the only way to reach Alhambra was by horseback or wagon road, unless one should desire to walk. Today three steam railroads and three trolley lines have placed Alhambra in close touch with Los Angeles, the distance between the two cities being covered in a few minutes.
The following appeared in one of the Chamber of Commerce folders of
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MAIN STREET, ALHAMBRA
ALHAMBRA CITY HALL
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HISTORY OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY
the place recently, and shows some important features of this gem of San Gabriel Valley: "Throughout the year the orange groves of Alhambra are either resplendent with sweet scented orange blossoms, or are veritable gold-mints of luxurious sun-kissed oranges. Figs, grapes, grape fruit, strawberries-in fact, every and all kinds of fruits and vegetables-are found in the garden plots and adjacent to almost every home in Alhambra."
Concerning the municipality of Alhambra-it was incorporated on July 11, 1903, and had for its first board of trustees: N. WV. Thompson (presi- cent), Elmer E. Bailey, R. F. Bishop, A. C. Weeks and S. T. Wuest. The presiding officers, or presidents, since organization, have been : A. C. Weeks,
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PUBLIC LIBRARY, ALHAMBRA
1908; R. M. Wallace, 1910; G. W. Cameron, 1912; J. B. Sexton, 1914. The new charter for the city was approved January 29, 1915, and the first president of the Commission was James Stuart. In 1919, E. A. Neiger was president and the present head of the Commission is N. W. Thompson. The 1922 commissioners are: N. W. Thompson (president), P. E. Gib- boney, C. C. Garrison, W. P. Battelle and Elmer E. Bailey. The city treasurer is Adele L. Burnham, who is also tax collector ; R. B. Wallace, clerk and auditor; T. C. Gould, city attorney; Dr. F. E. Corey, health officer. The city manager is Grant M. Lorraine. Since 1914, the cor- poration has been governed under what is termed "Commissioner-Manager" form of municipal rule. It has five commissioners and a manager-all paid officials.
Alhambra has a beautiful public park of twenty acres which has been improved to the amount of $49,000. The present city indebtedness is $899,750 in bonds, of which $403,000 was issued for water works and supply, the same coming from the mountains and from wells. The magnifi-
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HISTORY OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY
cent city hall building was completed in 1914 and cost $43,000, and the land on which it was built cost $10,000. The last reliable figures on the population gives the city (July 1, 1922) 14,769.
The city is well cared for in a business sense by a live Chamber of Commerce, whose fine offices are in the corner rooms of the first floor of the City Hall. Its present officers are: W. M. Northrup, president ; H. J. Boudge, W. L. Moulder, H. M. Pease, J. W. Sharpless and Mrs. M. Gillenwater, vice presidents; and Frederic J. McIntosh, secretary. The membership is 400.
The public library is of an excellent character-a feature of the city. It is between Fourth and Fifth streets on West Main Street. The present librarian is Artena M. Chapin. The total number of books is 80,281.
Alhambra has ever been a church-going city and its denominations now include the Baptist, Christian, Christian Science, Congregational, Episcopal, Methodist Episcopal, Presbyterian, Nazarene and Roman Catholic churches.
The lodges are numerous, but the standard secret orders will here only be referred to-the Elks, Knights of Pythias and "Sisters"; the Odd Fel- lows and Rebekah degree lodges and all bodies of Free Masonry.
The Industrial District, as it is properly called, has within its limits three hundred and one acres of land, entirely separate from the residential section of the city. The City Government has established a boundary line which gives industries a chance and still the beauty of the city is in no sense injured. No other city in Southern California has had the wisdom to carry out this innovation.
Much of the water used in the city comes in pipes from the Kewen Canyon, and it has proven free from any poisonous minerals; and no surface pollution can possibly get to the water, the crystal-like fluid flowing clear and sparkling from the faucet after leaving the deep drilled wells. The streets are well paved and over their fine, even surface travel hundreds of thousands annually, between Los Angeles and San Gabriel, to see the impressive Mission Play-a pageant and drama. It beautifully tells the story of the white man's struggles and final triumphs on the Western shores of America. It goes without saying that no one visits San Gabriel unless they admire Alhambra and on the other hand no one goes to Alhambra without running on to San Gabriel and including the Mission Play.
The schools of Alhambra are among her prides. No means has ever been spared to bring the public school system up to the high State standard. Her buildings are the best and her instructors as good and efficient as money will procure from the best institutions of learning. One group of the city's school buildings has cost $250,000 for a period covering a number of years. At the high school there are seven distinct buildings. Three 'buses transport children and youth from remote districts and a fine cafe- teria serves well cooked meals and lunches to pupils. The total school enrollment, in 1920, was 3,017.
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REAL
SAN FERNANDO BOULEVARD, BURBANK
CITY HALL, BURBANK
CHAPTER XLIII
BURBANK, LANKERSHIM, VAN NUYS AND OWENSMOUTH
Burbank is nestled up close to the foothills north of Los Angeles, at an elevation of from six to twelve hundred feet. It has a population of about 2,500. The good residences and fine business blocks are seen on every hand as indexes to the enterprise of her people. It is nine miles by rail-the Southern Pacific-from Los Angeles, the seat of justice, and was platted in 1887. At first it had the promise of becoming a much larger place than it has come to be. In 1888, an extensive furniture factory was established there, but has long since been defunct, although other enterprises have come to take its place. There was a free public library in Burbank before 1913, and Mrs. Elizabeth Harriet Baldwin, in 1914, completed a handsome home for aged ministers and their wives. It is conducted on the endow- ment plan.
In excess of two thousand acres in peaches, apricots, berries, melons, garden truck, etc., look after the wants of the citizens of the place. More than a dozen years ago it boasted of its poultry industry, with its 12,000 laying hens ; the egg output was then 36,000 dozen per year and they were valued at almost $100,000. Also there were then fifteen dairies with one thousand cows. Again the records of 1913 credited Burbank as having 2,000 acres in wine and table grapes. The keeping of honey bees has also come to be one of the paying industries, especially along the foothills. Alfalfa and vegetables were early produced in the district by irrigating from private wells, from 65 to 150 feet deep, the water costing about $5 per acre per year. In 1913 there were growing more than 3,000 acres of alfalfa, yielding about nine tons an acre per year. Such lands were then worth from $700 to $800 per acre.
But within a few years the place has been materially transformed, in both size and appearance. The best estimates now give the population at nearly 6,500 souls, even a greater percentage of increase than is found in its sister city (Glendale), although the actual increase in persons is not so great, of course.
The municipal incorporation took place here, on September 11, 1911, when it became a city of the sixth class. The first board of trustees were : Thomas Story (president), Martin Pupka, J. A. Swall (clerk), C. J. Forbes, F. A. Halburg and J. T. Shelton. In 1912 C. J. Forbes was presi- dent and F. E. Craig, clerk. In 1913 the president was Charles H. Kline and clerk, J. E. Kendall. In 1914 the president was W. A. Blanchard, who served until 1922, and the city clerk was Emily Peyton, who served until 1920, when F. S. Webster, present incumbent, was elected. The present (1922) president is James C. Crawford, with trustees as follows : I. S. Watson, John Neilsen, E. J. Jackson, C. E. Hams. The present treasurer is Charles H. Fischer ; engineer, F. Curt Miller ; health officer, Dr.
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Van Meter; recorder, A. A. Crawford, who is also police judge of the city ; marshal, George R. Cole. The city owns its own water works which are self-sustaining ; also the same is true of the electric lights which are provided by the city for the people at actual cost. The water found in the deep well system is as fine and pure as the county affords.
The churches of Burbank include these: Presbyterian, Methodist Episcopal, Episcopal, Roman Catholic, Seventh Day Adventists, Holiness, Church of Christ and Baptist (still without a building). The Masonic and Odd Fellows Lodges are strong and wide-awake.
The city supports two weekly newspapers-Pathfinder and the Review. For banking history see special chapter on Banks and Banking.
Burbank was named in honor of the pioneer, Dr. Burbank, who lived in the section now platted as a city, but later moved to Los Angeles, where he died a few years since. The city owns a park of 108 acres in the edge of the near-by mountains, but no improvements have been made there. A city hall and Library, as well as a hall for the Commercial organization styled the Chamber of Commerce, was erected in 1916 at a cost of $20,000.
The industries were mentioned in the commencement of this chapter on Burbank, but it should be continued, bringing this topic down to the present date-July, 1922. A list of the industrial plants found at Burbank are inclusive of these: American Aluminum-Metal Products Company, Bur- bank Planing Mill, door and window screen factory, Empire China Com- pany, Jaeger-Nickerl Candy Company; Health Foods Institution, toilet preparations, Libby, McNeil & Libby Company, canned fruits and vege- tables ; Moreland Truck Company, poultry founts, the Mayo Company, surgical specialties.
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