USA > California > Los Angeles County > Pasadena > History of Pasadena, comprising an account of the native Indian, the early Spanish, the Mexican, the American, the colony, and the incorporated city, occupancies of the Rancho San Pasqual, and its adjacent mountains, canyons, waterfalls and other objects of interest: being a complete and comprehensive histo-cyclopedia of all matters pertaining to this region > Part 41
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John H. Painter, who was justice of the peace at Spring Dale, and Brown's intimate and confidential friend. He boxed up the guns, sabres, pikes, etc., that Brown had gathered for his anticipated army of liberation, and shipped them to him at Harper's Ferry, labeled " carpenter's tools." For this he was unchurched by the Friends Yearly Meeting to which he be- longed ; but he believed he was doing God's service for the rights of man, and history since has fully vindicated the act. He is father to our prominent citizens M. D. Painter, A. J. Painter, Mrs. L. H. Michener, and Mrs. Dr. J. C. Michener.
Wm. H. Coffin, was associated with John Brown and his sons in the Kansas struggle for a free state against the slave-hunting border ruffians, in 1856-7-8-9.
Benjamin A. Rice, was taken prisoner by the border ruffians in Kansas, and was released by John Brown after hair-breadth escapes from the mur- derous vengeance of the ruffians. Mr. Rice served through the war of the rebellion, is an old citizen of Pasadena, and is now chaplain of the G. A. R. Post here.
Wilson T. Kirk, a nephew of James Townsend above mentioned, re- sided at Spring Dale, Iowa, and was intimate with John Brown and his men in the days when it was perilous to be known as their friend.
W. B. VanKirk is commander of the G. A. R. post in this city, and took part as the special representative of that patriotic order of men who marched to the music of "John Brown's soul is marching on."
These were the historic men who bore Owen Brown to his grave .* The hearse was followed by a long procession of vehicles, and four photographic instruments were trained upon the scene to take views of different incidents in the course of the day.
ASTRONOMICAL BANQUET DAY.
January 28, 1889, was made memorable by the astronomical banquet, because of what followed from it as the focal center of incentive and co- operation, with results that made Pasadena and Mount Wilson famous in the scientific world. The Pasadena Standard of February 2 contained a summary of facts and points in the case, from which I quote :
* It was Dr. H. A. Reid's plan, and by his special effort, that these particular men were gotten to- gether for this duty, and their historic relations to the deceased or his father made known to the public
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ASTRONOMY AND THINGS IN PASADENA.
Monday was a notable day. A body of eminent men were in Pasa- dena. In the evening a banquet was given them at the Carlton hotel, and 132 plates were served. The proposed astronomical observatory on the top of Mount Wilson, 5,800 feet above sea level, was the topic of all the after- dinner speeches. Everything centered on Wilson's peak. The speakers were: Rev. E. L. Conger, pastor of the Universalist church. Prof. W. H. Pickering, astronomer of Harvard University. Alvan G. Clark, the world- famed telescopic lens manufacturer of Cambridgeport, Mass. Dr. W. F. Channing of Pasadena, formerly of Boston. Capt. Thomas F. Fraser, super- intendent of construction of the great Lick observatory on Mount Hamilton, Cal. Rev. S. C. Bartlett, D. D., president of Dartmouth college. Prof. Brascher, astronomer and glass expert, of Pittsburg, Pa.
W. U. Masters, president of the Board of Trade, presided, and con- ducted the exercises in a prompt and sensible manner.
The outcome of it all is, that if Pasadena will proceed at once to con- struct a road to Wilson's peak, Prof. Pickering will locate a corps of observers there with a 23-inch telescope, and conduct observations on behalf of Har- vard University, to determine some scientific problems of this Pacific coast region.
On Tuesday the Board of Trade appointed a committee to see what can be done toward securing the Wilson's peak road to be made at once. The committee are : Col. O. S. Picher, H. W. Magee, Dr. W. F. Channing, T. P. Lukens, and C. S. Martin. Mr. Martin has a claim of 160 acres of land where the observatory is to be located.
It is stated at Los Angeles that the order was given Mr. Clark to go ahead and make his proposed 44-inch lens, the largest ever yet attempted, and Southern California will take it. It will require about two years of lathe and hand work to finish this marvelous glass ; and Mr. Clark has gone home to commence the work.«
LATER .- It is arranged for Judge Eaton and N. C. Carter to make the trail passable and pack-horseable to the peak, at once, so the photo-telescope can go up.
The 23-inch photographing telescope was conveyed up the old Wilson Trail in April, 1889, one portion of its iron base alone weighing 600 pounds. [See chapter 20 ; article, "The Telescope Episode." Also, chapter 19; article, "Harvard Telescope Point."]
CENTENNIAL INAUGURATION DAY,
Was observed in Pasadena on May 7th, 1888 ; and from the Daily Star's report published May 8th, I condense the following particulars :
The Tabernacle was elaborately decorated with flags, pictures, flowers, etc. The members of the city council, city officers, veterans of the Grand Army, and a detachment of the Sons of Veterans occupied the front seats on the floor. "A Hundred Years" was sung by Miss Peck and the choir. Rev. W. A. Wright offered prayer. Rev. A. W. Bunker read the passage of Scripture upon which George Washington placed his hand in taking the inaugural oath one hundred years ago- the 40th chapter of Genesis. The
*Southern California failed to raise the money for this biggest lens in the world ; and it was finally purchased in 1892 by Mr. Yerkes, for the Chicago observatory.
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President's proclamation of the act of Congress fixing the 30th of April as a national holiday was read by J. A. Buchanan.
A tableau of the thirteen original States was represented by pupils of the Washington school, as follows: Columbia, Cora Humphrey ; Delaware, Mabel Overmier ; Pennsylvania, Lena Seaman ; New Jersey, Maud Thorn- ton; Georgia, Blanche Allen ; Connecticut, Bessie Cook ; Massachusetts, Edith Hough ; Maryland, Flora Weimar ; South Carolina, Florence Coffin ; New Hampshire, Alice Lambert ; Virginia, Abbie Mohn ; New York, Helen Forbes ; North Carolina, Aggie Petrie; Rhode Island, Lydia Hiatt. All were dressed in white, with red-white-and-blue sashes, upon which was lettered the name of each State represented. In their hands the girls carried small flags, and all were gathered about the Goddess of Liberty, who bore a handsome American standard. Each girl read in turn a scrap of Colonial history appropriate to the State represented ; and all concluded with a patri- otic song, the "Star Spangled Banner," sung by Miss Peck and chorus, with orchestral accompaniment.
Rev. Dr. Bresee's address was preceded by a few introductory remarks by Judge Magee, who referred to the great event of one hundred years ago, showing that the inauguration really took place on the 30th of April, rather than the 4th of March, because Congress had no quorum until the April date. The key note to Rev. Bresee's address was, that true love of country is drawn from the altar. The past history of this country teaches above everything else, he said, that God has been over all. In closing, the speaker aroused great enthusiasm by stirring allusions to Washington, Lincoln, and other dead leaders, and asking if it is too much to expect that their spirits are with the people in the services of this day.
The program closed with the singing of America by the choir and the audience.
TERMINAL RAILROAD DAY.
March 12, 1890, was opening day of what was then known as "the Cross railroad," but now the Los Angeles Terminal railroad ; and it was celebrated with extraordinary vim and enthusiasm by the entire populace. The city official records show that all officers and employes of the city ex- cept police and firemen were excused from duty in order to take part in the public festivities. The daily papers of Pasadena and Los Angeles vied with each other to see which should give the most elaborate and gushing report of the affair. The Pasadena Standard of March 15 contained in brief space the chief historic points, and from it I quote :
GRAND OVATION TO CAPT. CROSS .- The opening of our new Rapid Transit railroad has taken place. The celebration of the event was a triumphal ovation to Capt. Cross, who showed such splendid pluck and tenacity in over- coming obstacles both natural and artificial, and finally won the day. It is not in our line to give any detailed report of the proceedings. Suffice to say, the city was full of holiday display. Four trainloads of visitors and invited guests came up from Los Angeles-three arriving at one o'clock, and one about four o'clock. A grand civic and military procession marched through Colorado street, where the stores and other buildings were all jubilantly deco- rated, and the sidewalks and balconies and open windows filled with thou- sands-probably not less than 15,000 people in procession and along the line
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of march. Gov. Waterman and wife were in the procession ; also Mayor Hazard of Los Angeles, Judges Van Dyke and Mckinley of the superior court, and about twenty-five other prominent men of the county. Free lunch, races and games were given at sportsman's park.
An historic episode of this historic day was a public protest by Rev. E. L. Conger, D. D., pastor of the Universalist church, which he published in the Daily Star, and from which I quote :
EDITOR STAR :- Is it fair for the committee on reception to compel the majority of our citizens to stay away from the Cross banquet, or else seem to put at defiance ordinance 125, which they have helped to make a law ? We do not want to do either. We are deeply interested in the effort to honor Mr. Cross for what he has done, and we want to do our part ; but if we help to buy the wine for the banquet (which we do when we pay $3 for a ticket) do we not defy the law of our city, at least by implication ? The
majority have sanctioned ordinance 125. Is it "square " to put so many of our public-spirited citizens in such an attitude as to compel them to stay away, simply to please some who want wine served at the banquet? If it were a question of "turning down the glasses" by those who did not want wine, that would be easy enough; but when a citizen pays $3, knowing that the money goes to help buy wine for the banquet, is he not "particeps criminis" if the question is ever raised ? Will my neighbor, just for a glass of wine, force me into this attitude or compel me to stay at home ?
E. L. CONGER.
Dr. Conger represented a large proportion of the citizens of Pasadena, (doubtless a vast majority of them, if women were counted) - but the liquor folks had their way, all the same.
PRESIDENT HARRISON DAY.
April 23-24, 1891, were made memorable by the visit of Presi- dent Benjamin Harrison and some members of his cabinet to Pasa. dena. A reception committee of about 200 persons had been appointed ; and the city turned out en masse to do honor to the distinguished visitors. Besides the president and his wife, and Mr. Halford, his secretary, the party consisted of Postmaster-General John Wanamaker ; Gen. Rusk, secretary of agriculture; Major Sanger, U. S. A., aid de camp to the presi- dent ; Mr. Russell Harrison and wife; United States Marshal, D. M. Rans- dell; Mr. Geo. W. Boyd, excursion manager, and wife; Messrs. Tibbetts and DeLong, stenographers; Mrs. McKee, the president's daughter ; Mrs. Dimmick, Carter B. Harrison, Lieut. Baker, James Horsburg ; and the offi- cial agents of the United Press, the Associated Press, and the Press News, three great news-gathering associations for the daily papers.
A grand arch of calla lilies spanned Marengo Avenue a little below Kansas street ; and a gate of flowers was erected down near California street to be swung open by the children as the president's carriage ap- proached. From Colorado to California street the avenue was filled two lines deep on each side with school children, besides thousands of people
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packed in behind them. And as the presidential party and the grand pro- cession moved slowly down the avenue between the double lines of crowded, eager humanity, handfuls of flowers, bouquets, wreaths and floral designs were tossed toward and into the vehicles until the roadway was literally carpeted with flowers. Near the lower end of this ovational line was located the Garfield school, Prof. A. L. Hamilton, principal ; and when the president's carriage arrived here it was halted for a moment to receive a large and exquisitely·prepared floral design representing an inverted wine glass-for it had been currently reported that at the banquet during the previous evening the president had turned down his glass and refused to al- low wine poured into it; and this supposed action of his met the school sentiment, and the best popular sentiment of Pasadena, on its warmest side - hence this special and particular thank token in flowers. This inci- dent, and the banquet malventure which led to it, became matters of warm dispute and of wide celebrity at the time. A correspondent of the Los An- geles daily Evening Express gave the fullest and fairest account of the whole matter that was anywhere published ; and as a famous episode in Pasadena history, I quote the entire article :
EDITOR EVENING EXPRESS : Pasadena is a good deal stirred up over a wine banquet which was thrust upon our Presidential guests, thus shutting off 2,000 citizens who were not admitted to the small dining room of the hotel, but had gathered outside the building, hoping to see the President and hear him speak a few minutes. If the banquet "bore" had not been forced upon him, he could have spoken ten minutes to the masses assembled to express their hearty and loyal good will, and then retired for rest -for he was much worn and wearied with the tax and strain upon his energies by responding to the continual popular ovations night and day for four days.
Last Sunday, Rev. D. D. Hill, pastor of the First Congregational church, publicly denounced the whole affair as a public insult to our dis- tinguished and noble visitors, and also an outrage upon Pasadena's fair name, for a wine banquet is in open violation of the city's police law, and has been fully and forcibly so declared by the courts ; and Mr. Hill said, after the chief guests had excused themselves and got away from the witless weariness of the thing, the " banquet " still went on and ended in a regular drunken debauch. Preacher Hill is a great friend of President Harrison, Secretary Wanamaker and Governor Markham. The governor's wife and three daughters, also a brother-in-law and wife, are all members of his church. His denunciation of the affair was bold, vehement, clear cut and powerful, like some of the ancient apostolic and pulpit orators whom we read about in history, so of course it made much talk. I found there was a report current that the President did drink wine at this banquet, and so gave his sanction to it. . But others said he did not. I set out to find authentic and reliable information, with responsible names to back up what I should say about it. B. F. Ball, vice-president of the First National Bank, and Rev. J. W. Phelps, pastor of the First M. E. church, were present, and said decidedly the Presi- dent did not drink any wine.
Dr. G. Roscoe Thomas, a former member of the City Council, was there, but did not know about the matter. At last, however, I got reliable
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particulars from Postmaster W. U Masters, who sat near Mr. Wanamaker. He says a waiter came along behind President Harrison and poured wine into his glass, but as soon as he noticed it the President took hold of the glass and with a very emphatic and decisive motion pushed or set it away from him, and did not touch or taste a drop of it. The waiter came to Mr. Wanamaker the same way, and that gentleman decisively kept his glass turned down, refusing to allow any wine poured into it. Mr. Masters did the same thing, as a courtesy due to the temperance sentiments of the guests. (As a member of the committee he had objected to the wine feature, for the same reason, as did others also, for they knew that the President and Wana- maker were church members, and did not approve of liquor drinking ; but the wine service was decided on when he [Masters] was absent.) The waiter next went to Secretary Rusk and tipped the wine bottle down to Mr. Rusk's glass, when that gentleman threw up his hand against the bottle, tilting it back and pushing it away. Thus each of the three chief guests were compelled to resist a discourtesy thrust upon them in the house of their friends, the Republican stronghold of Pasadena .*
But the next day when the people, free from the manipulations of any clique, had a chance to show their loyal regard for our chief magistrate, nearly every store in the city was closed, the people turned out by hundreds and thousands, and 2,000 school children in line literally strewed his path- way with flowers. They also presented him with an unusually attractive floral piece on which the chief emblem, richly wrought in fresh flowers, was an inverted wine glass. True, there was some other floral pieces; but in view of what had transpired the night before, this one alone touched the climacteric nerve of the occasion and became historic. It sent the visitors away with a much better opinion of Pasadena than they had been able to get from previous experience. OLD REPUBLICAN.
Pasadena, April 27.
The Pasadena Star of 23d and 24th gave an eight-column report of the honors to the President, without any hint of tribulation : but on the 25th it came out with an editorial, scoring the banquet as " a flat failure," "a fizzle," "most wretched," etc., laying some of the blame to drunken colored waiters imported from Los Angeles, and making sundry excuses for other shortcomings in that part of the overstrained program. It seems that five kinds of wine, besides Roman punch, had been lavishly provided, but was little used ; and the waiters, with a few others, undertook to "save it" by drinking it themselves.
The Pasadena reporter for the Los Angeles Times told me personally that "the President did drink wine, for I saw him drinking, just like the rest." But on further inquiry I learned that after the incident related by Mr. Masters to the Evening Express correspondent, the President and Mr. Wanamaker and Mr. Rusk each had a glass of Apollinaris water; and the Times man and others seeing them drink this, supposed it was wine they were "drinking just like the rest." These facts explain how it could
*Mr. Masters was the Democratic postmaster, still in office, but his successor, Geo. F. Kernaghan, had been appointed though not yet installed. Mr. Masters was also president of the Board of Trade, and was master of ceremonies for this hanquet occasion. Hence he had President Harrison sitting at his right hand and Governor Markham next; and at his left hand sat Postmaster-General Wanamaker, with the new appointee for Pasadena, Mr. Kernaghan, next.
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1
happen that such positive and yet so different statements were made in regard to the matter by different persons.
COLUMBUS DAY.
October 21, 1892, was elaborately celebrated as Discovery day, or Col- umbus day, it being the four hundredth anniversary of the discovery of America. The five different public schools of the city each had a program of literary exercises, tableaux, etc., appropriate to the day. The Grand Army of the Republic had detailed a squad of old soldiers for each school, to visit it in the forenoon and join in the ceremony of raising the national flag on the school building, then take some part with the children by short addresses, etc., in their program. An exceptional incident worth recording was this : In making a detail of old Union soldiers for the Wilson High School building, the G. A. R. unanimously agreed to tender the post of honor as flag-bearer to an ex-Confederate soldier, T. J. Martin, as a token of peace and good will now between soldiers who wore the blue and those who wore the gray in the great war of the rebellion. Mr. Martin accepted the gallant courtesy and took his place in the line-but being in poor health at the time, he found himself too feeble to carry the flag, and a comrade of the G. A. R. walked by his side carrying it for him. (This was I. N. Stevenson, of the 15th Pennsylvania infantry regiment.)
During the afternoon a general grand parade of school children, civic societies, and citizens generally, was indulged in. They marched to the Tabernacle, which was packed to the last inch of space, and a short speech was made by Mayor O. F. Weed, president of the day. Prof. C. H. Keyes, president of Throop Polytechnic Institute, gave the principal address ; and it was a learned and brilliant pictograph of great drift currents in the world's history which took their initial flow or their historic trend from the new-world discovery made by Columbus. Short speeches were also made by Rev. E. L. Conger, D. D., Judge Waldo M. York, Rev. O. D. Crawford, and W. U. Masters. The Pasadena Daily Star devoted seven columns to a report of this day's doings in Pasadena.
MOUNT LOWE ELECTRIC RAILROAD DAY.
August 23, 1893, was the first day ever formally and officially set apart by the city council of Pasadena as a public holiday of their very own. And the festivities indulged in were like Fourth of July, Thanksgiving day, and Tournament of Roses, all combined in one superlative ovation to Prof. T. S. C. Lowe, as a commemorative testimonial on the completion of the Mount Lowe electric railway to its half-way halt at the top of the " great incline " or cable section on Echo Mountain. [See Chapter 23.]
FATHER THROOP DAY.
December 21, 1893, was made historic as "Father Throop Day," by a great testimonial celebration in honor of the founder and the founding of
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the Throop Polytechnic Institute in Pasadena-the first educational institu- tion of its type west of the Mississippi river, and equipped in all respects equal to the best in the largest eastern cities. [See pages 193 to 197.]
In addition to the foregoing, there have been many days in the city when great parades, with band music and song, speeches, floral displays, etc., were indulged in on a liberal scale-such as Fourth of July, Decora- tion Day, Tournament of Roses, etc. ; but these occur annually in regular course, and do not have the exceptional historic quality which pertains to the notable days recorded in this chapter.
DIVISION FIVE-NAMES.
CHAPTER XVII.
THE NAME " WILSON."-Sketch of life of Hon. B. D. Wilson, after whom were named so many historic places and things within our borders.
THE NAME WILSON.
Pasadenaland has a Wilson Ditch, a Wilson School, a Wilson Avenue, a Wilson Lake, a Wilson Canyon, a Wilson Trail, a Mount Wilson or Wil- son's Peak, a Mount Wilson Toll-Road, and a Wilson Ranch, the old Lake Vineyard place. It therefore becomes a necessary part of Pasadena History to give a brief sketch of Hon. Benjamin Davis Wilson, from whom all these local "Wilson " names are derived.
Mr. Wilson was born at Nashville, Tenn., December 1, 1811. From 1833 to 1840 he was engaged in trading and trapping in New Mexico, and all that vast region of country tributary to Santa Fe. In 1841 he came to Los Angeles with a company of 25 men who crossed the mountains and desert from New Mexico. In 1843 he bought for $1,000 per league from Don Juan Bandini,* the Jurupa Ranch, where the city of Riverside is now located.t In 1844 he married a Spanish lady, Miss Ramona Yorba,
* Don Juan Bandini was a leading Spanish resident of San Diego. For his aid to the United States, see pages 80, 88, 91, etc.
t "Riverside was founded in 1870 ; name changed from Jurupa."-Hist. Cal., Vol. 6, p. 521.
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daughter of Don Bernardo Yorba, owner of the great rancho Santa Ana. [Miss Anna Picher, in her Pasadena Art Loan writings, says that Helen Hunt Jackson first met the title name of her famous story, "Ramona," while visiting Hon. J. DeBarth Shorb's family at San Marino, whose little daughter was named Ramona, after her grandmother, Dona Ramona Yorba deWilson ; and Mrs. Jackson then took a fancy to the name.] In the fall of 1844 Mr. Wilson went with a party in pursuit of a large bear that had destroyed many cattle on his ranch ; and in the final encounter the bear leaped upon him and bit him so that its tush penetrated clear into his lung. But the bear was killed, and he recovered, although he carried life-long scars from that bear's teeth. In 1845 the Mojave and other Indians made frequent raids upon the white settlers; and Mr. Wilson, under authority of Governor Pio Pico, organized a mounted force to pursue and punish them. In this expedition he was shot with a poisoned flint arrow, the point of which broke off and remained in his body all his life. A faithful Indian neophyte among his soldiers sucked the poison out and saved his life. In the same year, 1845, occurred the march of the Mexican governor, Micheltorena, down from Monterey, with a force largely composed of released convicts and outlaws from old Mexico, to subdue Los Angeles; for the southern district had re- belled against his rule, because of his using such troops to dominate them, and supported Pio Pico as still their rightful governor. Mr. Wilson was the Alcalde [Justice of the Peace, or Sub-Prefect] of his bailiwick, and as such raised a company and marched to Los Angeles, there joining the Pico army under Generals Jose Castro and Andres Pico .* They marched out to Cahuenga and took position to await the enemy's approach. About noon the next day the Micheltorena army came in sight, and the rest of the day was spent in an artillery duel at long range. This was renewed for a short time the next morning, before Micheltorena accepted terms of capitulation. Don Manuel Garfias was in this battle as a Lieut. Col. in Micheltorena's army, but did not go with them back to Mexico .; Micheltorena had three iron cannon in the fight, and two of them are now lying at the west front of the new court house in Los Angeles. The Pico army had one iron and one brass cannon, the latter afterward becoming famous as the "Woman's Gun." [See pages 84, 85, 93, 101.]
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