by Paul R. Spitzzeri
Greater Los Angeles’ first boom came to a spectacular and stark end in late August 1875 when a Virginia City, Nevada silver mining stock bubble burst and led to the collapse of the Bank of California, the Golden State’s largest. When the news traveled the telegraph wire to Los Angeles, a panic erupted and that resulted in the failure of the Temple and Workman bank not long after the dawn of 1876.
As part four of this post observed, a list of “solid men” in Los Angeles County in March 1875 showed Temple and Workman as the two wealthiest individuals at a collective $2.5 million, but that was nearly all wiped away by the financial disaster. Far down the list, but still at the not insignificant sum of $100,000, was Edward John Cage Kewen, a colorful orator, well-known attorney—especially in criminal defense, and proprietor of El Molino Viejo, an estate around the old mill of Mission San Gabriel in what is now the tony suburb of San Marino.
In early 1876, Kewen had a recently opened law practice with Stephen M. White, a young man whose speaking abilities and courtroom mastery led to him to rise all the way to service in the United States Senate and distinction for procuring federal appropriations for the development of the Port of Los Angeles after the “Free Harbor Fight” was won by proponents of that harbor over the Southern Pacific’s Santa Monica. Ironically, Kewen got into no small amount of trouble when running for Congress in 1872 for reportedly telling a crowd in San Diego that federal support for what was generally known as Wilmington Harbor was a waste of money and a “mythical advantage” for Los Angeles.
Kewen, however, was occasionally highlighted for his skills before the bench in criminal defense cases, as one briefly reported on by the Los Angeles Express of 13 March 1876 indicated. Mary Connolly, in a rare instance of a woman tried on a serious assault charge, was on trial for shooting a man named Dunn in the store of Edward Germain. In a first proceeding earlier in the year, she, represented by Kewen and White, as well as John D. Bicknell, claimed self-defense and the jury was hung.
This led to the district attorney, Rodney Hudson, filing for a retrial, and it was during this proceeding that the paper reported that,
Colonel Kewen made a very brilliant address in the Connolly case yesterday. The effort is spoken of by those who heard it (we did not happen to be of that number) as a masterly thing. Mary Connolly was acquitted.
About a month-and-a-half later, Kewen was praised for a speech he gave to a group called The Dashaways, but, notably, he used a script, which he acknowledged he had not done for many years. Still, the Express noted in its edition of 29 April, he “delivered in his best vein and happiest style of elocution, one of the most remarkable and eloquent lectures ever presented to a Los Angeles audience.”
The content was not summarized, but Kewen’s style and structure were hailed with the talk said to have “abounded in passages of the most beautiful imagery” and his “swells and tropes” were “sustained throughout in a matchless and wonderful manner.” The talk did refer to the battle between vice and virtue, with the former vividly described in all of its “execration” and the latter garbed in “the eternal robes of a glorious triumph.” Kewen spoke for north of an hour “and was listened to with rapt attention.”
The 12 July issue of the Express, however, informed readers that “we regret to learn of the illness of Col. E.J.C. Kewen, who is confined to his house by a paralytic attack,” meaning a stroke, though he was said to be improved. Perhaps health issues is what led Kewen to write out his aforementioned speech and it was noted that White handled more cases in the courtroom as well as filled in for his partner at an anti-Chinese rally, of which there were many during this era leading to the 1882 exclusion act passed by Congress.
It is not known why, but, in 1877, Kewen and White parted ways, with the younger attorney ascending to the upper ranks of his profession and in politics, while the older lawyer went back to practicing on his own (he got into another physical tussle in a courtroom in June and was knocked on his back by his counterpart), though his son Perrie shared the office for his real estate, loans and bill collection office. The junior Kewen was studying at a San Francisco college when he was called back to help his father at El Molino after the stroke the prior year.
Speaking of the ranch, it was mentioned briefly in “A Glance At Our Fruit Belt,” an article appearing in the 30 May 1877 edition of the Express, as a “drive into the country” by an unidentified journalist, including to young Pasadena and its 500 residents, which were given some ample space in the piece. As to the “fruit belt” of San Gabriel, it was seen to be “luxuriant with all kinds of growth,” including “miles and miles of vineyards . . . all in a state of high prosperity.” The account continued,
On the Kewen estate we found the trees and vines looking splendidly, and the sylvan approach to the quaint old mansion of the Colonel never was in more attractive garb than it is at present. Everywhere we found streams of running water, copious in quality and so widely distributed as to afford irrigation for far more land than has been brought under subjection.
A couple of months prior, the region’s first stocking of trout took place when Jonathan D. Dunlap, a deputy federal marshal, brought the fish down from an experimental breeding station run by the University of California in Berkeley and distributed many in the local mountain streams. The Express of 30 March added that he “deposited a number of the trout in Colonel Kewen’s, Wilson and Shorb’s and General Stoneman’s streams, and what were left he took to Baldwin’s place [the lake where the county arboretum is today] at Santa Anita.”
Despite his losses in the political campaigns of 1872 and 1875, Kewen felt ready to reenter the ring again in 1877, more than three decades after he first cut his teeth in Whig Party politics in his native Mississippi. This time, he aimed for a seat in the California Senate, announcing that he was a candidate subject to the vote of his fellow Democrats (who largely ruled the political roost regionally for about a quarter century, but whose dominance would end with the next big boom in the latter half of the eighties.)
At least one paper, however, poured ice-cold water on his candidacy, with the Los Angeles Star, his champion under different proprietors in 1872, of 11 April commenting,
We personally admire the Colonel. He is a noble, whole-souled gentleman, and entertains more liberally than all the rich men in the county put together. He is a life-long Democrat [actually, not, as noted above], and a famous orator, and has served the State in many ways. But the Colonel can hardly expect the nomination after his poor run for Congress five years ago, and his defeat by McConnell and Lambourne [Frederick Lambourn, the Workman family tutor and Rancho La Puente foreman] two years ago. Could he secure the nomination, even, he could not be elected.
True enough, Kewen was not nominated. Though his famous hospitality continued, such as the hosting at El Molino of a Thespian Society of which Perrie Kewen was a key figure, health problems worsened, including a bout of pleurisy, comprising an inflammation of the lining of the lungs.
Moreover, his liberality in spending on the adornment of his house, the costs of running the ranch with its vineyards, citrus trees, barley crops and more, and what was undoubtedly a loss in his client list with the dour economy and his poor health all were contributory to financial stress.
At the beginning of 1878, Kewen advertised for the lease of “El Molino Farm,” as he informed readers that he was doing so “for business and educational reasons, desiring to remove into Los Angeles.” The arrangement, to last two to three years, was to include the house, outbuildings, animals, wagons and harnesses, and farm equipment.
The 204-acre ranch including more than 40,000 grape vines, 2,000 orange trees, 700 English walnut trees, 600 lemon and lime trees and a host of others, including those of almond, apple, apricot, banana, fig, peach, pear, pecan, plum and Black walnut. A few acres of alfalfa and some 50 more suited for cultivation were also noted as was the fact that “the whole tract [is] abundantly watered.”
Attached to the old mill dwelling was “a spacious bath-room, supplying hot, cold and shower baths” as well as a billiard room with “table and appurtenances.” Noting that El Molino is “most eligibly situated in the FRUIT BELT of the San Gabriel Mission Valley,” Kewen added that he would sell the ranch for a third down in cash and the rest due in up to four years at 10% interest payable semi-annually. He also asked a pair of San Francisco papers to copy the ad.
Kewen and his family took up a summer residence at Santa Monica, which was an added expense and he did make an increasingly rare public appearance in late September by speaking at a wine-growers meeting at the county courthouse (built by Jonathan Temple as a Market House in 1859), in which he provided “a very eloquent statement” concerning a proposed treaty with France on wine.
When, however, the ever-growing list of delinquent tax payers was published in the Los Angeles Star in early February 1879, Kewen was among those in default. The following month, the paper announced that “arrangements have been made by Col. E.J.C. Kewen, for the publication of his first volume of the history of the filibuster war of Nicaragua” led by William Walker nearly 35 years before and in which Kewen had a significant role before the scheme collapsed disastrously. It may have been that Kewen thought he could ameliorate his financial distress through the project, which was never realized.
Three days after the delinquent tax list was made public, an advertisement was taken out for “A Beautiful Home For Sale” in which it was stated,
The well-known El Molino Farm is offered at a great bargain, located in the most healthful part of Southern California and in the Fruit Belt, near the Old Mission San Gabriel . . . Persons looking for an investment or for a home would do well to examine this valuable property before purchasing.
Applicants were requested to see Kewen at the ranch or John E. Hollenbeck at the Los Angeles Commercial Bank. Hollenbeck (1829-1885) was on his way to the California gold fields by ship when he was stranded in Nicaragua and, among other ventures, operated a hotel with his wife when it was burned by the Walker filibusterers in February 1857. Later that year, the Hollenbecks were taken by Costa Rican allies of Walker and more of their property was destroyed—American and Nicaraguan forces who captured Walker freed the couple.
Despite all of this and after more years in Central America, interspersed with stints in the United States, Hollenbeck, who came to Los Angeles in 1875 for his health (and deposited $20,000 in the Temple and Workman bank which was lost in its collapse), was a wealthy man. He invested heavily in Boyle Heights, which William Workman’s nephew, William Henry, developed, and acquired thousands of acres of the Rancho La Puente. Whether Kewen had anything to do with Walker’s actions against Hollenbeck, he was able to secure a loan with the Commercial Bank, using El Molino as security.
There was, however, no immediate sale, so Hollenbeck filed suit against Kewen later in 1879 to initiate foreclosure proceedings. Hollenbeck took possession of El Molino and sold it to Edward Mayberry, a recent settler in the area, moving from San Francisco for his wife’s health. A prior post here includes a detailed look at an article on El Molino by Mayberry’s wife, Emily.
On 26 November, Kewen, who had just turned 54 years old, died at the old mill residence with an 1880 federal census mortality listing showing that he (whose occupation was given as “ex-Colonel of U.S. Army,” which was not the case, succumbed to “Paralysis & Bronchial Consumption,” from those strokes and that scourge of so many Americans at the time, tuberculosis.
We’ve already cited fairly extensively for this post from his former law partner, James G. Howard’s somewhat florid reminiscences of Kewen and, the day after his demise, the Los Angeles Herald provided what it called “a brief biographical sketch” comprising almost two full columns and drawn from a book called Universal Biography, to which, presumably, Kewen paid to be included. There are, however, a few notable additional points to highlight.
One is that, during the Civil War, Kewen was said to be “in favor of peace, and thought the arbitrament of the sword, the worse remedy for the evils then existing.” Yet, the account continued, Union-supporting Republicans, “to overcome the Democratic ascendancy in this county . . . determined to unite the military in the privilege of suffrage, regardless of law or precedent.” It was added that Kewen, in the 1862 election, went to Camp Latham, then situated near today’s Culver City, and challenged all votes by Union soldiers, though on what grounds was not mentioned, though it was recorded that,
Pistols were flourished and threats of every kind made, but amid all the turmoil Col. Kewen stuck to his post and performed the task he had prescribed for himself [an interesting phrase for unauthorized poll watching]. Notwithstanding the polling of over three hundred illegal votes [how this was so when the soldiers were, because of their army service legal residents of the camp], Col. Kewen was elected by a clear and decisive majority.
As for his arrest and detention at Alcatraz, this was attributed to his “political enemies” and the sketch stated that he was released, but did not mention the required loyalty oath nor the $5,000 bond associated with it.
With respect to the last quarter century or so of his life, however, almost nothing was said, other than that “Col. Kewen has been actively engaged in the duties of his [legal] profession and in conducting his ranch at San Gabriel—’El Molino’—taking little part in politics.” That last statement was somewhat disingenuous, not mentioning his three failed efforts for elective office and the disastrous “Wilmington Breakwater-gate” affair that marked the 1872 campaign for Congress.
Edward John Cage Kewen was an almost exact contemporary of another triple-monikered Angeleno, F.P.F. Temple (1822-1880), who, having lost also his fortune, albeit far larger, in the aforementioned bank failure, likewise suffered from a series of strokes (and may have had tuberculosis, which afflicted many members of his family, including son Francis, who died from the malady in 1888), which caused his death. Temple, however, was a Union supporter and Republican, which did not apparently prevent his son, Thomas, from being friendly with Kewen, including his purchase of some El Molino land and the bestowing of a 25th wedding anniversary gift to Kewen.
In any case, Kewen’s story is a remarkable one in many ways in Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley and El Molino Viejo (including its ties to William Workman) remains today as a historic site in San Marino and is operated by the Old Mill Foundation.
(I submitted the following comments two days ago, but it seems they did not go through successfully, so I am making another attempt.)
E.J.C. Kewen shared many similarities with F.P.F. Temple and L.J. Rose. All three were prominent figures in the San Gabriel region of Southern California in the second half of the 19th century, owning ranches, groves, and vineyards, and were entrepreneurs involved in multiple trades. They were also deeply engaged in politics, actively running for public office and serving as community leaders. However, their shared characteristics of risk-taking, excessive ambition, and over-optimism led them to overextend their business ventures on credit, which ultimately contributed to their financial difficulties.
While it is easy to analyze their missteps in hindsight, and many might conclude that their stories should serve as warnings against repeating their mistakes, I personally don’t believe there is a clear right or wrong in their actions. They represented those who did nothing wrong but worked hard and aimed high. They only lacked sufficient luck and fell victim to the fluctuations of economic cycles. In fact, I still see them as role models for young people – good examples of how to lead an exciting and ambitious career, regardless of the outcome.
Talking about luck, I’d like to share an interesting observation here. In the 19th century, loans were typically secured against collateral, unlike today, where it is possible to leverage credit lines to many times the value of one’s assets. As a Chinese saying goes, “There’s no more worry when you are in huge debt (債多不愁).” This means that when you owe far more than you possess, it is the lenders – banks or other financial institutions, who should be concerned. They don’t want you to go out of business, file for bankruptcy, or take any drastic actions. As long as you can hang in there continuing your operation, their bad debts can remain off the books, preserving their reputations and jobs.