USA > California > San Diego County > San Diego county, California; a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 35
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53
The San Diego Land & Town Company was founded by a party of Boston capitalists under the direction of Colonel W. G. Dickinson. From the beginning a policy of work along general lines of improvement was followed. The com- pany built the California Southern Railroad and developed a large tract of land which was donated to them for the purpose. Gradually more land was acquired and added to the original tract until the company owned over forty thousand acres in the old Pueblo Rancho. In order to facilitate the development of this property the National City & Otay Railroad was constructed from San Diego to Tia Juana, Mexico, with a branch to the Sweetwater dam. This railroad has since
336
HISTORY OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY
been sold to the Spreckels interests. In 1886 the company commenced what was probably its most important work when judged by its far-reaching effects. It built the Sweetwater dam which furnished water for irrigation purposes to National City and Chula Vista and did more than any other one thing to make the land suitable for fruit-growing. In 1892 lemon and orange trees were planted on the property belonging to the company and by 1896 fourteen hundred acres were under cultivation. From time to time portions of this land have been sold but it is still one of the finest tracts in San Diego county. In 1902 the increased extent and volume of the business done by the San Diego Land & Town Company necessitated the installing of a new system of operation. The various interests were separated and each organized as an individual concern. The Sweetwater Water Company took charge of all the water interests, the San Diego Fruit Company was organized to develop the fruit lands and the San Diego Land Company to manage all of the property holdings. Since that time this method of operation has been followed and has proved to be very effective. In 1912 the company handled three hundred cars of lemons taken from their own orchards and from 1910 to 1911 the Sweetwater Company added seventy per cent to its capacity and the dam when full contains eleven and one-half billion gallons of water. The San Diego Land & Town Company has indeed been the greatest factor in the development of National City and Chula Vista and indeed of all of San Diego county. Upon its board of directors are the real business leaders of the section, men of power and force in the handling of important affairs, who have instituted a policy of broad expansion and development of local institutions and resources and have been very successful in carrying out their plans.
HUTCHINSON BROTHERS.
A great deal of the wealth of southern California lies in the extensive and profitable fruit ranches which are every year producing more abundant crops of what is considered the finest fruit in America. Consequently, the men who develop this important industry, who study details and improve methods are among the real promoters and upbuilders of this part of the state and are justly entitled to prominence in business circles. In San Diego county George S. and Ezra P. Hutchinson, who are operating in partnership an eleven acre fruit ranch in Paradise valley, are among the best known and most successful fruit ranchers of this section, since the eleven years of their residence in California have been spent in this work. Upon their property they raise each year large crops of lemons, apricots, peaches, pears, oranges and fancy fruits and are rapidly extend- ing their interests.
The Hutchinson brothers are natives of Wayne county, Ohio, and they remained in that section until 1881, when they came to Sedgwick county, Kansas. Both are veterans of the Civil war, having served their country in the Federal army. George S. Hutchinson enlisted in 1863, in the One Hundred and Second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and saw active service for two years in Alabama, Geor- gia and eastern Tennessee. He was mustered out at Huntsville, Alabama, in 1865 with honorable discharge. His brother, Ezra, was a member of the Home
337
HISTORY OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY
Guards in Ohio when President Lincoln issued a call for volunteers in 1864. His company of the One Hundred and Sixty-ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry was mustered in at Cleveland, Ohio, in response to this summons and served for four months, although the call was for one hundred day recruits. They did guard duty in Washington for some time and were mustered out at Cleveland.
In 1881 the two brothers went to Sedgwick county, Kansas, and there pur- chased four hundred acres, which they operated as a stock and grain ranch. They raised all kinds of cattle and hogs and were successful also in general farming for twenty years. Gradually, however, the growth of the town reached to their property, which was but two and a half miles from the city's center. Being shrewd business men, they at once recognized an unusual opportunity and divided their land into twenty-five foot town lots, which they sold at a great profit. In 1901 they came to California and bought from Moses C. Kimball an eleven acre fruit ranch in Paradise valley, near National City. By steadily adhering to the most progressive and approved methods they made their ven- ture a success. They raise many varieties of fruits, giving special attention to apricots and lemons. The latter fruit is picked every five weeks and at eachı picking the trees yield an abundant crop. Twenty-five apricot trees have been set out and in 1911 the fruit was sold for ten cents a pound. The rest of the property is planted in peaches, pears and oranges, all of which are a profitable source of income to the Hutchinson brothers. Their ranch is one of the finest and most productive in San Diego county and its excellent condition is almost entirely due to the efficient management of its owners, who are expert in their line and important forces in the development of the fruit industry in this part of the state.
George S. Hutchinson married, in Ohio, in 1874, Miss Viola Clepper, a native of that state, and they have four children: Ollie H., who married M. J. McGarigle, of San Diego, by whom she has one son, Robert ; Lillian C., who lives at home; Frances, who married Alexander J. Burnside, of Chula Vista; and Lucile G., who is the wife of Harry L. Fuque, of San Diego. The three eldest were born in Ohio and the youngest is a native of Kansas. The harmony which has always existed between the two Hutchinson brothers is an important factor in their success, and added to their progressive and scientific methods, their enterprise, hard work and knowledge of fruit raising, it has contributed to a prosperity which places the brothers among the representative citizens of San Diego county.
ALFRED J. McVEAN.
Alfred J. McVean, special agent for the Union Oil Company of San Diego and one of the most enterprising and successful young business men of the city, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in October, 1875, and is a son of J. F. and Isabelle (Bruce) McVean. He attended the public and high schools of his native city until he was sixteen years of age and then laid aside his books, securing a position as office boy in the employ of the New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio Railroad. Through successive stages of progress and advancement he worked
338
HISTORY OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY
his way upward in the railroad business, his ability and energy making his pro- motion rapid. He resigned from the employ of the New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio Railroad as division clerk in order to accept the position of private secre- tary to the president of the Big Four Railroad, an office which he held for one year. At the end of that time he made an entire change of occupation, engaging with the Globe Iron Works as manager of the ship outfitting department. That he should have been entrusted with the affairs of this responsible position is sufficient proof of the way he was regarded in business circles of Cleveland and his able work did much to justify public opinion. In 1907 he left Ohio and came to California, settling in San Francisco, where he was employed by the Pacific States Refineries Company as salesman. When he had been in this position two years he came to San Diego as special agent for the Union Oil Company and is now in the third year of his service in this capacity. The fact that during all the changes in interests and activities which have marked his career he has never made a movement which has not advanced his interests is characteristic of the quality of his business acumen and of his discerning judgment. His former work has been an excellent preparation for his present duties and has undoubtedly influenced and hastened his success.
Mr. McVean married in Riverside, May 21, 1912, Miss Edith Cooley, a daughter of James and Flora (Fassett) Cooley, and both are well known in social circles of San Diego. He gives his allegiance to the republican party but is not especially active in public life, preferring to devote his entire attention to his business affairs. He is still a young man but he has grasped the progressive spirit of his times so that his future success seems to be merely a question of time and perseverance.
WARREN C. KIMBALL.
Warren C. Kimball is called the "father of National City" by virtue of the fact that he once owned the entire town site; that upon it he made the first white settlement and through the years has been one of the most powerful influences upon the growth and expansion of the city, as he is today one of its most honored residents. He was born near Concord, New Hampshire, July 19, 1829, and has the distinction of having lived under all presidents but the first six. He was reared upon his father's farm near Concord and in 1861 came to California by way of Panama. In San Francisco, his first stopping point, he worked at his trade of contracting and building and was identified with the construction of many of the important buildings of the old times, erecting the city alms house and many of the schools and churches. In May, 1868, he landed in San Diego and was carried ashore on the backs of sailors. Since that time his history has been closely interwoven with that of San Diego county. When he landed he found the tract upon which the city of San Diego now stands entirely unsettled. With his brother Frank he bought twenty-seven thousand acres just south of the San Diego town site and directly upon the spot upon which National City has since been built. The land belonged to an old Spanish grant and was the only tract to which the brothers could get a clear title. They were the third owners
339
HISTORY OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY
of the property, which originally belonged to the Mexicans. It extended six miles along the bay, back to the San Miguel mountains on the east and from San Diego on the north to Otay on the south, and for this vast domain Mr. Kimball and his brother paid thirty thousand dollars. They put it to various uses. For a number of years they ran an average of five thousand sheep annually upon the land. Later it was surveyed and cut up into lots, from ten to one hundred and sixty acres in extent, and gradually by a process of normal develop- ment National City formed and evolved. Since that time Mr. Kimball's work has been along constructive lines of expansion and growth. Through the years he has given his energies and activities to the establishment of local institutions and to the promotion of public growth, and practically every phase of activity in the city has been aided in its advancement by his able cooperation. The citizens of National City hold him in high honor and esteem, proportionate to the work he has accomplished in their interests, and they regard him today as one of the vital forces in municipal life.
In Warren, New Hampshire, in 1857, Mr. Kimball married Miss Flora M. Morrill, a granddaughter of a soldier in the Revolutionary war. Mrs. Kimball died in 1898 and to her memory Mr. Kimball has erected a beautiful club house for the women of National City. Over the door is this inscription: "The Flora M. Kimball Olivewood Club House." The property has been deeded free and entirely clear of incumbrances to the women of National City. His first vote for president was given for Pierce, and with the exception of Garfield he has always voted the democratic ticket. He is independent, however, as regards local affairs and for sixty years has been a champion of woman suffrage.
Forty-four years ago Mr. Kimball built for himself a home in the city which he founded-a beautiful dwelling set in the midst of lawns, shaded with palm trees and beautified by flowers and well kept walks and driveways. In this attractive home, which he calls Olivewood, he is spending the declining years of a life which in its prime was given to lasting, useful and worthy work and in its later years has been made peaceful by the loving thought of his many friends.
EDWARD WILLOUGHBY.
Edward Willoughby, president of the National City State Bank, president of the Board of Trade and one of the most important figures in the business devel- opment of the community, was born in England, March 11, 1864, and received his education in private schools of that country. There. also he learned the miller's trade and when he came to America in 1883 he secured employment in a flour mill in Richland county, Wisconsin. He later moved to South Dakota, where he still followed his trade and became proficient and successful in it. By economy and strict attention to business he saved a small sum of money, with which he built a flour mill in Windsor, Missouri, and he conducted this enterprise from 1892 to 1908 with steadily increasing prosperity. While in Wind- sor he became very active in the public life of the city and served as a member of the board of aldermen for a number of years. He was later appointed by Governor Hadley state fish commissioner and he did conscientious and able work
340
HISTORY OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY
in this capacity. Gradually as his financial resources grew he extended his interests until he was identified with almost every phase of business life in that city. He was connected with the local electric light company and was well known in banking circles. He was president of the Missouri Union Telephone Company and successful in the conduct of a large retail furniture store. He still has important interests in the state, owning seven hundred acres of produc- tive corn land near Windsor.
In 1910 he left Missouri and came to California, settling in National City, where his force of character and ability soon carried him forward into important business relations. As president of the National City State Bank he holds an important place in financial circles, since he dominates and controls the policy of one of the most conservative houses in San Diego county, and as president of the Board of Trade he has his hand upon the pulse of commercial activity in the district. He is a firm believer in the future of the California fruit indus- try and has recently bought a tract of land of two and a half acres within the city limits, upon which he has planted twenty different kinds of fruit trees and is giving a great deal of his attention to their cultivation. He has erected upon his property a beautiful modern home, artistic and complete in every detail. Set in the midst of a level lawn and shaded by the fine trees, this forms one of the most beautiful residences in National City and attracts the attention of many visitors in the community.
Mr. Willoughby married, in 1891, Miss Stella Sisson, of South Dakota, and they have two children, Charles and Harold. Fraternally Mr. Willoughby belongs to the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America. He gives his allegiance to the republican party without desire for public office. He stands as a representative of the best type of modern business men, of broad interests, each effective in general development, possessed of determination, perseverance and steady purpose, and his genuine worth, liberal mind and business ability make him invaluable as a director of public thought and action.
H. F. SCHNELL.
In the Tia Juana valley the name of H. F. Schnell stands as a synonym for all that is scientific, progressive and sanitary in modern dairying, for he has made a lifelong study of the industry and has put his knowledge into effect in the opera- tion of his dairy business at Sixth and K streets in San Diego. He was born in Glencoe, Minnesota, June 8, 1878, and is a son of August M. and Margaret A. (Poehler) Schnell.
H. F. Schnell came to San Diego when he was only ten years of age and, after completing his education in the local public and high schools, began at once to study dairying, determining to master completely the sanitary and scientific aspects of the occupation. In order to facilitate his work he purchased a large tract of land in the Tia Juana valley and installed the necessary modern equipment and became one of the pioneer dairymen in this section of the state. At a great expense he established upon his farm an irrigating plant, the first of its kind in the Tia Juana valley installed for farm purposes, which benefited not
H. H Schwell.
343
HISTORY OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY
only himself but the ranchers and farmers throughout the entire section and did a great deal for the improvement and upbuilding of the valley. Mr. Schnell's dairy is today second to none in southern California, the buildings being modern, clean and in good repair and the stock of the best breeds obtainable. Mr. Schnell pays particular attention to cleanliness and sanitation, for he realizes the deep and heavy responsibilities which rest upon him, knowing that to a great extent the lives of thousands of children are in his hands. The company is now engaged ' in the construction of a creamery and milk handling plant in San Diego that will be a model of its kind in advanced methods of handling and distributing dairy products, particular attention being given to conditions of perfect sanitation and absolute purity of all products produced. He has done great, lasting and benefi- cial work in the Tia Juana valley, not only by reason of the tangible results he has accomplished but also by raising the standards of the business in the sec- tion and by awakening a public demand for more strict commercial conscientious- ness in this regard. He has devoted his entire life to his work, having few outside interests beyond his connection with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Knights of Pythias, and he has accomplished that success which follows earnest striving with singleness of purpose toward a worthy goal. His activity has made him personally prosperous, but this is the least important of its many effects, for it has come to be a great public asset since it is influenced by broad and practical humanitarianism.
S. S. JOHNSTON.
S. S. Johnston has been appointed by three presidents of the United States postmaster of National City and is in the fourth consecutive year of his service. His systematic and progressive methods and his shrewd business ability have made him very efficient in the discharge of his duties and are among the most powerful elements in a general business success. He was born in Dubuque, Iowa, August 3, 1844, and is a son of Charles and Catherine (Smith) Johnston, natives of Ohio. The father was in many respects a truly remarkable man. He was one of the very early pioneers in Iowa and fought in the Black Hawk war. On April 12, 1852, he crossed the plains from Iowa to California in a caravan con- sisting of four wagons drawn by ox teams. Charles Johnston was captain of this train and the party consisted of eight able-bodied men and many women and children. They were not molested by Indians upon the way but they saw many traces of their occupation and encountered large herds of buffaloes in various localities. In California they first stopped in Spanish Flats, Sierra county, and here the father of our subject engaged in mining for a number of years. He was a splendid example of the California pioneer and a worthy representative of the sturdy western settlers who blazed the way in early times for the genera- tions of civilization which were to follow. He had a large family of children, three of whom besides the subject of this review are still living, namely, Mrs. C. A. Miner, W. C. and C. A.
S. S. Johnston came to San Diego, September 2, 1882, traveling to this city from San Francisco on the old steamer Orizaba. Here he bought ten acres of Vol. II .- 18.
344
HISTORY OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY
land and was successful as a fruit raiser until 1884, when he abandoned that occupation in order to become agent for the Russ Lumber Company. His advancement was rapid and eventually he was able to purchase his employer's business, which he conducted for himself for four years. In 1898 he assumed his duties as postmaster of National City under appointment by President McKinley and was reappointed under the Roosevelt and Taft administrations. Under his management the affairs of the office have been conducted ably and to the general satisfaction. He has kept things upon a business basis and has done excellent work in systematizing and improving methods. Aside from his duties as postmaster Mr. Johnston has extensive real-estate holdings in the city and in San Diego county and conducts a profitable business along this line.
In 1878 Mr. Johnston was united in marriage to Anna Russ Hooper, a native of Maine, and both are well known in social circles of National City, where they have a wide acquaintance and many friends. Mr. Johnston is a charter member of the Knights of Pythias, has passed through all the chairs in that organization and has served as a delegate to the grand lodge. As president of the board of trustees of National City he did able and conscientious work for three terms. He has lived in San Diego county for thirty years and during that time his integrity, honesty and straightforward business methods have gained him widespread respect and esteem. The public trust reposed in him has never been neglected in any way and in his business affairs he has made steady and substantial progress, so that his labors have not only been a source of profit to himself but have also constituted an element in the general prosperity.
RUSSELL CARPENTER ALLEN.
Russell Carpenter Allen, manager for the Sweetwater Fruit Company of Bonita, has since 1883 been connected with horticultural interests in southern California and the success which he has made in this connection enables him to speak with authority upon many phases of the culture of citrus fruits. He was born January 27, 1859, in Boston, Massachusetts, a son of Joseph Henry and Anna Minot (Weld) Allen. The family are directly descended from James Allen. who settled in Dedham, Massachusetts, in 1639. The father was a Harvard graduate in the class of 1840 and became a Unitarian minister and lecturer on ecclesiastical history in Harvard University. In collaboration with Professor Greenough he wrote a Latin grammar and series of Latin text-books which have been in common use throughout the country.
Harvard also became the alma mater of Russell C. Allen, who there won his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1880. He also spent a year as a student in the Columbia Law School but after studying law for two years in New York city came to California and in March, 1883, purchased a ranch in Sweetwater val- ley near El Cajon. There he planted a raisin vineyard and olive orchard and for many years was interested in packing and shipping raisins from El Cajon. In 1890 the Sweetwater Fruit Company was organized with Boston capital and Mr. Allen became its manager. This company planted lemon, orange and grape fruit orchards and engaged in the general business of shipping citrus fruits.
345
HISTORY OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY
For twenty-two years Mr. Allen has continued in active control of the field and is numbered among the prominent horticulturists of southern California, long experience, wide study, experimentation and investigation having brought him both a practical and scientific understanding of the business that places him among the foremost citrus fruit raisers of San Diego county. His busi- ness activities extend also to the Southern Trust & Savings Bank and the San Diego Securities Company, of both of which he is a director.
On the 28th of February, 1888, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Mr. Allen was married to Ella Bradford Copeland, a daughter of Robert Morris and Josephine Gannett (Kent) Copeland, the former an eminent landscape artist of Boston. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Allen are Morris Copeland, Richard Minot, Eleanor Bradford and Mary Ware.
Mr. Allen in politics is an independent republican, usually supporting party principles yet reserving to himself the right of exercising franchise according to the dictates of his judgment and belief. He belongs to the Unitarian church and is well known in the leading club circles of the city, having since 1890 been a member of the Cuyamaca Club, while of the University Club he was a director and the president during the first two years of its existence. He stands as a high type of American manhood and citizenship, progressive and public-spirited in his relation to the general welfare, alert and enterprising in business, reliable and loyal in social relations.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.