USA > California > Los Angeles County > Los Angeles > Men of achievement in the great Southwest Illustrated. A story of pioneer struggles during early days in Los Angeles and Southern California. With biographies, heretofore unpublished facts, anecdotes and incidents in the lives of the builders > Part 6
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MEN OF ACHIEVEMENT IN THE GREAT SOUTHWEST.
DANIEL FREEMAN.
S INCE the days of '49, tales of which are familiar to every school boy in the United States, California has been looked upon as an enchanted land. The very word " Cal- ifornia " is enticingly attractive, and literature descriptive of California and her charms is as much in demand today as it was half a century ago. Among the most attractive features of Cali- fornia, and especially the southern portion of the State, are the immense ranchos which compare favorably with princes' domains, when their productiveness is considered. There is a natural romance attached to them that time but serves to increase. It may truthfully be stated, also, that much of the interest is manifested in the owners, many of whom are thrifty Yan- kees transplanted from cold, bleak States to the semi-tropical fairness of this portion of the "Gold- en State." The pur- pose of this book is to acquaint the readers with life as it was and is in this sunny land, and incidentally give credit where credit is due to the men of fore- sight and energy who have been instrumental in developing this por- tion of the State. Among the princely domains that are tributary to Los Angeles, few have a more romantic history than the famous old Sausal Redondo and Centinela ranchos, owned for the past thirty years by Daniel Free- man, than whom there are few more enterpris- ing and progressive land owners in the
State.
DANIEL FREEMAN.
A brief résumé of the history of the famous old property from the time it was owned by Señor Avila in the early '50's to the present time, will prove most interest- ing. Fifty years ago, when 25,000-acre grants from the Mex- ican government were not uncommon occurrences, Southern California was pretty well divided up among a few of the aristocratic old Señores, who led a life of indolent ease and depended for an income upon their flocks and herds. Along in 1850 an adventurous young Scotchman, Sir Robert Burnett, acquired the famous old Sausal Redondo 22,000-acre and the 4400-acre Centinela ranchos from Señor Avila, and proceeded to follow the usual customs of the country, and raise sheep. Sheep were sheep in those days, when, during the war, the
unwashed wool brought $1 a pound, and was sent to Boston by way of the "Horn." Sir Robert had been conducting the rancho for over ten years when Daniel Freeman, a barrister from the Province of Ontario, came down to the southern portion of the State, searching for a suitable property-and thereby hangs a tale.
Daniel Freeman, owner of the famous Centinela and Sausal Redondo ranchos, owes, his nativity to Ontario, Can- ada, where he was born in June, 1837. His grand parents were natives of New Jersey, where the family had been prominent since 1660. His grandfather, Samuel Freeman, was a Methodist minis- ter, and had been sent to Canada as a missionary. Canada was in those days on the frontier, and the pioneers who hewed their way through the forests of the lake region were men of strong sinews and sturdy attributes of character. To Rev. Daniel Freeman belongs the distinction of having preached the first Protestant sermon in the city of Detroit, while in many other re- spects he was the ad- vance guard of the civ- ilization which has de- veloped one of the rich- est portions of the coun- try. Daniel Freeman's father was born on a farm in Ontario, and followed that vocation through life. His son, Daniel, being of a stu- dious and ambitious turn of mind, early deter- mined to attain an edu- cation, and succeeded against odds that would have quenched the ardor of a less-determined youth than he. After having taught school for a number of years, and having thereby accumu- lated sufficient to permit him to take a course at law, he graduated from a private academy and later from Osgood Hall, the law school of Toronto. Having been admitted to the bar in 1865, he imme- diately returned to his native town, Simcoe, Ontario, and commenced the practice of his profession.
He was accorded immediate and gratifying success, extend- ing over a period of a number of years, when, owing to the failing health of his wife, he found it necessary to seek a less rigorous climate. California then, as now, had a reputation world-wide for its climatic conditions, and accordingly the
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MEN OF ACHIEVEMENT IN THE GREAT SOUTHWEST.
year 1873 found him a resident of this State. Having decided to purchase a landed property, Mr. Freeman went about it in the same careful, deliberate manner in which he would have investigated a point at law. He spent nine months in traveling over the entire State, visiting San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and San Diego counties, and look- ing at over one hundred ranchos that were offered for sale. It is a compliment to this section that after so thorough an investigation of the merits of those offered he decided upon the property owned by Sir Robert Burnett.
The magnificent property at that time embraced over 26,000 acres and extended along the shores of the Pacific for a dis- tance of seven miles, while the extreme eastern limits of the ranch ran back as far as the present site of Hyde Park.
Sir Robert had immense flocks of sheep pasturing upon the rich grasses of the ranch, and of these Mr. Freeman pur- chased 10,000 head. For the ensuing three years he devoted
22,000 of the 26,000 acres in the ranchos into wheat and barley. That year over 280,000 sacks were raised on the ranchos; much of the barley was shipped to Arizona, where he had a con- tract with the government to supply all the grain and hay used by the troops engaged there in fighting the Indians and protecting settlers, the larger part of the wheat going direct to Liverpool, being shipped from the near-by port of San Pedro. So much for the shipping facilities enjoyed by the grain ranchers along the coast, as compared to the high freight charges demanded from inland ranchers.
The year 1885 marked the first influx of eastern settlers in Southern California in any considerable numbers, and in that year Mr. Freeman disposed of the south half of his property to different parties, who divided it up into small plots. The present site of Inglewood was a portion of this famous old rancho, and this, too, was sold in 1889. The Redondo branch of the Santa Fe road and the electric lines
DANIEL FREEMAN'S HOME ON THE CENTINELA RANCHO.
his entire time to the sheep, with the result that when the disastrous dry year of '76 came the flocks had increased to 26,000 head. Of this number, 10,000 head were lost in the one season; the balance Mr. Freeman disposed of to "Lucky " Baldwin, owner of the Santa Anita Rancho. But in dispos- ing of the sheep Mr. Freeman was but putting the fertile acres to a better use, in the growing of grain, which up to that time was a neglected industry. An experiment he made on 640 acres of the land during the fall of '75 and spring of '76 resulted in a crop of grain which averaged twelve sacks to the acre, despite the fact that the season's rainfall amounted to but 41/2 inches. Since that date Mr. Freeman has never lost a crop.
Eastern farmers with quarter-sections can scarcely com- prehend the extent of California's vast ranchos. So success- ful were Mr. Freeman's grain crops that in '82 he had over
of the Redondo road cross the ranch and afford unexcelled facilities for marketing the immense crops of hay and grain which Mr. Freeman now raises on his 10,000-acre property. Much of the land he has leased out to responsible parties, and the places that once resounded with the laughter of the gay vaquero on the semi-annual round-up are now scenes of bustling activity and twentieth-century progress.
Mr. Freeman has always evidenced an active interest in public affairs, and was for two successive terms president of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, an organization whose influence has done more for the upbuilding of Southern California than many agencies generally credited with a greater influence. For the past seventeen years he has been a director of the Southern California Railway, a branch of the Santa Fé system, and few citizens have taken a more promi- nent part in the upbuilding of Southern California than he.
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MEN OF ACHIEVEMENT IN THE GREAT SOUTHWEST.
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RUSSELL JUDSON WATERS.
A NATIVE of the "Green Mountain " State, Russell Jnd- son Waters made his entrance upon life's stage on the 6th day of June, 1843. While a child of four years of age the lad lost his father, and the mother with thirteen chil- dren to support moved to the sister State of Massachusetts. Here at Colerain, Franklin county, young Waters spent his early boyhood, and upon attaining the age of eight was obliged to enter a cotton factory to assist in the support of the father- less family. The little fellow worked for two years in the mill, receiving compensation at the rate of $1.25 a week. At the expiration of that time his health had been so seri- ously impaired by the close confinement that he was sent to a farm near Deerfield, Massa- chusetts, where he remained until twelve years of age, attending the village school when the opportunity af- forded, but learning more of the lessons of life than of books. At twelve he en- tered the cutlery mills and secured a job as operator on one of the machines. Another two years found him with depleted health. and the slender lad joined his family Richville, New York, where they had moved during his employ- ment in the mill. Here he secured work on a farm at fifty cents a day, and dur- ing the winter months cut cord wood at fifty cents a cord. But the ambition and spirit in the boy were not to be crushed by circum- stances that would have cansed many a stonter heart to quail. He had it in him and nothing could keep it down. Returning to Massachusetts he learned the machinists' trade, and found time to pursue his neglected studies. His musical tastes also became pronounced, and he mias- tered the violin, piano and cornet, securing a posi- tion as solo baritone in a local band. Later he taught a term or two of school at Charlemont Center, and finally achieved the ambition of his early years and graduated from Franklin Institute. Securing a position as professor of Latin and mathematics in his alma mater, young Waters at the age of twenty-four had mastered and overcome the difficulties which had beset his path as a boy, and secured the much desired education which was to fit him for his career in life and in the halls of Congress in the nation's Capitol.
Removing to Chicago in the spring of 1868, he determined upon the study of law, and acting upon this impulse with an energy characteristic of the youth and man, he entered a law
office, where for the following two years he devoted himself to reading law. Success attended his efforts, and May 12, 1868, at the age of twenty-six, this persevering young man with the indomitable will found himself admitted to the bar and privileged to practice in all the courts of the great com-, monwealth of Illinois, and Federal courts all over the land. Eighteen years of untiring efforts in their behalf found his health giving way under the strain of a too confining law practice, and he was compelled to relin- quish his clientage and seek a less rigorous climate. He determined upon California, and 1886 found him a chair- man and commissioner of the California-Chicago Colonization Association, which is, as its name implies, a colonization enterprise on a scale seldom before attempted in this country. With rare business foresight a tract of land was purchased in what is now the city of Redlands, and water rights secured and the enterprise launched. The success of the under- taking is to be seen in one of the most highly produc- tive and beautiful spots in the world - a city of world- wide fame-and one that claims Mr. Waters as its father - Redlands. He was one of the original incor- porators of the city, and for a year acted as its attorney. He was instrumental in in- ducing the Santa Fé Rail- road to extend its tracks from San Bernardino to Redlands, comprising what is now known as the " Kite- Shaped Track." At various times he was a director of the Union Bank, the First National Bank, the Crafton Water Company, the East Redlands Water Company, the Redlands Hotel Company, and many other notable business en- terprises, the success of which meant much to the city of Redlands. As secre- Company, he built . Red-
RUSSELL JUDSON WATERS.
tary of the Redlands Hotel lands' famous old hostelry, the Hotel Windsor. He was president of the local street railway and secured its franchises, etc. During the time he served as general man- ager of the Bear Valley Irrigation Company he performed an invaluable service for that greatly-troubled company, reducing its indebtedness a half million, leaving $110,000 in its treasury, giving it a practically unlimited credit, and raising its stock to $160, where previously it had ranged far below par. During the eight years that he was identified with the' city it was considered impossible to promote any enterprise for the public good without first enlisting Mr.
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MEN OF ACHIEVEMENT IN THE GREAT SOUTHWEST.
Waters' assistance. As " the father " of Redlands he per- formed the duties of parent most conscientiously, and left a thriving, prosperous offspring where formerly there had been naught but sheep ranches.
Since 1894 Mr. Waters has made his home in this city. He has a beautiful home on Adams street in one of the finest residence sections of .the city, which is famed for her beautiful homes. He at once assumed a prominent part in the city's best interests, and invested his private fortune generously and judiciously. As president of the Citizens' National Bank, he has made of that institution one of the most respected and substantial banking houses in the State. His influence is felt upon the directorate of the Columbia Savings Bank, while he is interested in a number of other financial institutions in this portion of the State. He is also president of the State Bank of San Jacinto, a live little bank with deposits approximating $175.000. He is president and principal owner in the San Jacinto Valley Water Company. This company is now constructing sixteen miles of cement ditches to distribute the water to the fruit growers and dairy men of that beautiful valley, and the future prosperity of San Jacinto depends largely upon this water system. He is president of the Colum- bia Commercial Com- pany, whose operations and property are in Or- ange countv. and on a paying basis. He is president of the Cali- fornia Cattle Company, whose holdings are principally in Riverside county. He is presi- dent of the Bay Island Club, a social organiza- tion, uniquely located on an island in New- port Bay. He is presi- dent of the Shepherd Auto-Engine Company, one of our latest manu- facturing enterprises. This Company is turn- ing out a high grade of automobiles. He - - has been closely identi- fied with the Chamber of Commerce since his adoption of this city as his home, and served as treasurer of that body for two years. In 1897 the Council selected Mr. Waters as one of the Park Commissioners, and owing to his intimate knowledge of horticulture and the flora of California, it was a most wise selection. After serving for a year, press- ing business compelled him to tender his resignation.
Mr. Waters' financial cares and business responsibilities, however, never blinded him to the duties imposed by good citizenship, and when in 1898 his friends sought the use of his name as a candidate for Congress from the Sixth District, he finally consented to permit its use. At the Congressional convention in Sacramento he was nominated by acclamation with no dissenting votes. The nomination speech was made by his old-time friend, Ex-Gov. John L. Beveridge, of Illinois, and was the subject of much favorable comment at the time.
After a vigorous campaign during which the Democrats and the Populists " fused," Mr. Waters carried his district by a plurality of 3542 votes, taking it out of the Fusion ranks. Upon assuming his place in the halls of Congress he made
his presence felt and respected, not as a politician, but as a successful banker, lawyer and financier, who served the dis- trict he represented. Among the many bills he introduced and had passed by both houses, all were of particular and vital interest to his constituency. He took an active part in the introduction of certain measures approved by the Southern California Forestry Commission, thereby making it a criminfal offense to leave camp fires burning and endan- gering the forests. He introduced a bill appropriating over half a million for improvements in San Pedro Harbor, and was especially active in defending the Nicaragua Canal Bill.
One of the most important measures which he passed sustained the order of Commissioner General of the Land Office, Hon. Binger Hermann, suspending the filing of lien scrip upon land until after a full and complete investigation by special agents of the department. This was especially valuable to oil men of Southern California. Another bill introduced and passed authorized the entry and patenting of lands containing petroleum and other mineral oils under the placer mining laws of the United States.
In establishing additional free delivery rural mail routes in his district, Mr. Waters was especially active. These are
a great benefit to the residents of this dis- trict who have hitherto been removed from postal facilities, and much appreciated by his constituency. Eleven new postoffices were es- tablished in his district during his term of of- fice, and in behalf of war veterans and their widows Mr. Waters was successfully active. Mr. Waters is a man of strong character, and, as such, has won distinction as a jurist ; he is a man of com- prehensive indement. and, as such, has con- ducted vast business enterprises with ability and success; he is a man of exalted ideas, and loyal and unflinch- ing in all his relations to those associated with him.
RESIDENCE OF RUSSELL JUDSON WATERS.
It is not given to any large number of men to leave be- hind them such a monument as the beautiful city of Redlands. There was little there when Mr. Waters first visited the place to indicate what it might be made. Many eyes had rested on the hillside without gaining a vision of what would be. Waters saw the city in the unimproved site and resolutely set about evolving the city of the orange groves in all its wealth of beauty.
Redlands is without doubt one of the most beautiful and progressive cities in all Southern California. The products of its orange groves have no superiors. The growth of the city and the high excellence of the fruits are a lasting testimony to the sagacity of the men who selected this as the scene of their achievements.
No one who has read the story of bravery in adversity, of struggle and determination, of perseverance in the face of despair, and of the surmounting of obstacles in the life of Russell Judson Waters, can but rejoice in the reward which has come to him.
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MEN OF ACHIEVEMENT IN THE GREAT SOUTHWEST.
JOTHAM BIXBY.
F IFTY years ago the Argonauts had but just commenced the founding of a civilization in California, and the vast territory between the California line and the Missouri River was yet given over to the plain's tribes of Indians. In the conquest of the Western wilderness the sons of New England bore their part. One of these was Jotham Bixby. The stock from which he came was sturdy and patriotic, the first representative having come from England and set- tled in Massachusetts in early Colonial days. Later generations re- moved to Maine, where the family was promi- nent for years.
Jotham Bixby, who enjoys the distinction of being one of the heaviest individual land owners of the Southwest, where 25 .- 000-acre ranches are not uncommon, was
horn in Norridgewock, Maine, in 1831. His early years ran in the usual channels of farm life, combining a good deal of work, a little pleasure and attendance at the district schools when opportunity af- forded. Tales of the wonderful wealth of the California gold mines were in the early '50's heard upon evcry hand, and it was not strange that young Bixby upon attaining his majority
should turn his eyes in the same direction and see alluring promise in the golden sunset. At the age of 21 he set sail for California, by way of Cape Horn, arriving after an uneventful pas- sage in San Francisco Bay, while the metrop- olis of the Pacific Coast was yet in swaddling clothes. Working for a salary was never part of a man of young Bixby's stamp. He had resolved at the earliest pos- sible moment to commence independent operations. He found gratification for this ambition upon arriving at the placer mines in the central part of the State. As a miner he did not meet with the success he desired, and after following that pursuit for a few years and acquiring a "stake," he went to Monterey county, where he became interested in sheep raising. Later
he worked south into San Luis Obispo county, where in 1866 his flocks had increased to such an extent that it became imperative for him to seek new ranges, and accordingly the same year he made his first appearance in Los Angeles.
Mr. Bixby's initial purchase in this portion of the State was the famous old Los Cerritos rancho, which he pur- chased with associates in 1866, forming the firm of J. Bixby & Co., Mr. Bixby securing a one-half interest in the magnifi- cent property. From a historical stand point this is one of the most interesting of the old Spanish grants in Southern California. The present towns of Long Beach, Clear- water and Hynes are located on portions of the old ranch, which faced the ocean on the south and the San Ga- briel River on the west to the lands now owned by Senator W. A. Clark at Llewellyn. In all the ranch embraced some 27,000 acres of highly productive land. Mr. Bixby has disposed of a large part of the original holdings, but still retains some 5000 acres of the old ranch, on. which he maintains three dairies and raises alfalfa, grain and beets. When he purchased the property he used it ex- clusively for
JOTHAM BIXBY.
sheep raising, and at times had over 25,000 head on the ranch, producing 175,000 pounds of wool annually. Later on the growth of Southern California made sheep raising on so produc- tive a tract of land not as profitable as farm- ing, and the sheep were gradually disposed of and the ranch tilled for grain and for some other farm products. Of the original 27,000 acres the company sold off in the early '70's a few farms toward Downey. Again six years later it sold to the Wilmington Colony tract 1400 acres for colonization purposes, and in 1884 another 4000 acres embracing the present site of Long Beach. At the same time the California Co-Operative Colonization Company purchased 6000 acres, subdividing it for colonization purposes
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MEN OF ACHIEVEMENT IN THE GREAT SOUTHWEST.
and including in the tract the present farming settlements of Clearwater and Hynes. The last big sale was made to Senator Clark, who purchased 8000 acres located near his sugar factory at Los Alamitos.
In 1875 J. Bixby & Co. purchased the larger part of the Los Palos Verdes ranch of 17,000 acres in the hills between Redondo and San Pedro. This was immediately stocked for a cattle ranch, and is still used for that purpose. Since the death of Mr. Bixby's old partner and brother, Llewellyn, Bixby & Co. have incorporated their holdings in this ranch under the title of the Palos Verdes Company. Later J. Bixby & Co., associated with the late John W. Bixby and I. W. Hellman, the eminent financier, purchased the Los Ala- mitos ranch of 27,000 acres situated partly in Orange and partly in Los Angeles counties. After the death of John W.
Fork, its interests being formerly managed by his son, Harry L. Bixby, who died October 20, 1902, since which time Messrs. W. R. and E. I .. Patterson have conducted the affairs of the company at that point.
The Pacific Creamery Company, doing business at Buena Park, Orange county, is one of the most important concerns in the rich New River Valley. They manufacture the cele- brated Lily brand of condensed milk and cream, buying directly from the farmers. The factory has a capacity of over 9000 cases of evaporated milk and cream per month, the larger part of which is disposed of in California and Arizona.
Mr. Bixby, while probably the largest individual land owner in Southern California, has acquired his interests in every instance by direct purchase. Mr. Bixby's interests are by no means confined to country property. He is an
THE SCENE OF JOTHAM BIXBY'S BOYHOOD IN MAINE.
Bixby, in 1887, that part of the ranch near Long Beach was incorporated under the name of the Alamitos Land Company.
Some years ago Mr. Bixby also purchased 6000 acres of the Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana, in Orange county, running from Santa Ana River to Santiago Creek; also an orange orchard property at Temescal, Riverside County; besides several small ranch properties in Tulare and San Luis Obispo counties. Mr. Bixby is also the president and principal stockholder in the Loma Vista Ranch Company, a corporation owning about 800 acres near Summit Station, on both the Redondo and San Pedro electric railways.
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