“If You Once See the Property, You Will Desire a Portion for Yourself”: Correspondence Regarding the North Whittier (Hacienda) Heights Subdivision, 6 October 1914

by Paul R. Spitzzeri

On the 26th of this month, the Los Angeles County Planning Department will host a public workshop at the Homestead for a historic context study relating to unincorporated communities in the East San Gabriel Valley. One of the many and among the largest of these is Hacienda Heights, which began life some 110 years ago as North Whittier Heights, an agricultural subdivision of former Rancho La Puente land once owned by William Workman and then by Elias J. “Lucky” Baldwin and promoting avocados, citrus, walnuts and field crops on tracts ranging from five to fifty acres.

Prior posts here have covered much of the early history of the community, most of them sharing remarkable original documents compiled and saved by Grover T. Russell, the on-site agent for developer Edwin G. Hart (who also established the adjacent La Habra Heights in the 1920s) on behalf of the Whittier Extension Company, which laid out the property.

This one features a septet of pieces of correspondence, dated 6 October 1914, from Russell’s archive, which was acquired by John and Barbara Clonts when the bought Russell’s 1916 house after his death nearly a half-century later. In turn the Clonts’ had been in the residence for about the same period of time when, in 2017, they donated this remarkable rich collection to the Homestead.

Three of the pieces are copies of letters sent by Russell to prospective buyers who were in contact and were requesting more information about North Whittier Heights. Writing to J.S. Sayre, who resided in eastern Alhambra, the agent replied that, in addition to sending, under separate cover, a descriptive folder,

The North Whittier Heights subdivision is divided into tracts of 5, 10, 15, and 20 and up to 50 acres in size and these unplanted tracts with water are being sold at prices ranging from $400.- to $800.- per acre according to the location and lay of each particular subdivision. The cheaper properties are the low rolling foothill portion of the holdings and the higher priced properties are some particularly choice locations for scenic homesites in addition to their being excellent citrus lands.

We have a few choice 5, 10, 15 and 20 acre tracts which we planted to Valencia oranges, Eureka lemons, and Marsh seedless grape fruit in the Spring of 1913 and these young planted orchards are being sold at prices ranging from $70.- to $1025.- per acre. We also have about 150 acres of grafted softshell walnut orchards of the present Spring’s planting which we are offering on the market at prices ranging from $700.00 to $850.- per acre. The water stock which goes with each acre of our planted and unplanted lands is salable outside our tract at $150.- per share.

We expect to subdivide a modern townsite [Hillgrove] on a portion of our property which faces on the Salt Lake [now Union Pacific] Railway during the coming Fall and with the completion of the boulevard [Turnbull Canyon Road] from Whittier through Turnbull canyon of the Whittier Hills and the North Whittier Heights property to the Pomona [Valley] boulevard, which road is now under construction by the County supervisors and the Whittier Board of Trade, the demand and value of the North Whittier Heights subdivision are certain to increase materially.

Sayre was also informed that “some of the most successful orange and lemon growers and nurserymen are investing” and shows that the climate, location, soil and water were such that the motto of “citrus groves that pay” was amply demonstrated. Some of these investors were named and were said to be more than willing to testify to “the conditions and merit of our property and the reliability of the owners and agents.” The Quaker City board of trade and the powerful Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce could also be resorted to for testimonials.

Lastly, the recipient was urged, if investment was being considered to call on Russell or others for an auto tour or to receive further information about North Whittier Heights with the letter concluding that “we are confident that if you once see the property, you will desire a portion for yourself.” Another letter, to Errett Allen of Lancaster, north of Los Angeles, took a different tack in terms of its wording while covering much of the same ground.

One variation is that Allen was told that “we will either plant out orange, lemon, grapefruit, avocado or grafted softshell walnut groves on any of the unplanted tracts . . . at a minimum cost or we have young one year old groves and groves which we planted during the present season” available on easy terms, as well.

Costs for the company to manage such properties were $25 for the first year and at increases of $5 for the following two years and included cultivating, irrigating and pruning, though not water or fertilizer. The latter was not recommended as “our property is particularly rich in all necessary elements and to ad[d] fertilizer while the grove was young, would be a waste of money.

As for water, it “is to cost . . . just the actual cost of production—that is—for the electric power to run the pumps, the general repairs on the plants, reservoirs, and pipe lines and the engineers and Zanjero [supervisor of the open ditches, or zanjas] for the water system.” It was claimed that the system was “one of the best in the country of its kind.” As to orchard maintenance, this was offered “on the day labor plan” with owners “paying the going scale of wages for the actual labor” involved.

After repeating the prices quoted to Sayre, Allen was notified that, as a general proposition, “it costs about $125.00 per acre to prepare the ground, install an irrigation distributing system, buy the trees, and plant a young citrus orchard,” though there were the expected variations with respect to the cost of trees during different seasons and the grading required to get a parcel ready for planting. Otherwise, the letter repeated the information about the town, the experienced buyers an references and the offer to visit or receive more details.

A missive to B. Joseph of Birmingham, Alabama noted that the inquirer requested a list of property from ten to fifty acres already planted to citrus, but also good for vegetables. Joseph was told by Russell that, broadly speaking, “this office subdivides and develops tracts of considerable size and sells off in tracts of 5 acres and up to any size one cares to buy.”

With respect to those “foothill citrus lands” mentioned above, it was added that these “are always high-class for all kinds of berries and vegetables,” while it was typical for orchard owners to “use the space between the trees for interculture until they reach the age of 6 or 7 years when they have reached the point of production and profits to make it unnecessary to grow crops between the trees.” A few years later, when Walter P. Temple bought the 75-acre Workman Homestead adjacent to North Whittier Heights, he planted crops between his walnut trees as the latter matured.

Moreover, Russell continued, “the climate of a foothill citrus district is particularly desirable for raising chickens and turkeys as they will not be bothered with the disease caused by the cold damp conditions of the lower lands, and it will also benefit the orchard to have them run between the rows of trees.” Presumably, this meant that the fowl would provided the natural fertilizer beneficial to the grove.

After noting that lands could be acquired with planting done by the company for “non-resident purchasers” like Joseph, or that unplanted tracts could also be purchased on easy terms, the agent noted that “the general terms of sale are 20% down in cash, another 20% before two years and the rest within five years at 7% interest on deferred payments. Much of the same information cited above was also contained in this letter, though some material was left out.

A couple of specific pieces of correspondence were to and from Whittier recipients. J.F.F. Baeyertz received a brief missive stating that the company “has possibly 125 to 150 tons of baled bean straw . . . which we would like to sell” and which Russell though Baeyertz could use in his citrus groves. Because of the imminent completion of Turnbull Canyon Road, expected to be finished in about a month, this “will make the haul to your ranch by auto truck or [animal-drawn] team quite an easy grade.” If Baeyertz was interested, the letter ended, a quote would be provided whether picked up or delivered.

Harley M. Jordan was one of those experts cited in some of the documents here and he was the owner of The Jordan Citrus Nurseries in the Quaker City, though, as his letterhead stated, there were “nurseries located in North Whittier. He wrote to Russell acknowledging receipt of a check and interest on a water account, while he was ready to send payment on interest for an unstated parcel. Moreover, he added, in a mix of business and pleasure,

[I] am looking for final settlement on oranges, some walnut money or some bean money if Lawrence ever gets to them to thresh. Will settle for water soon as I can get some from these sources which I think will be soon. We intend to have you & your wife out to dinner in a couple of weeks or so.

Jordan concluded by telling his correspondent, “say, Grover, if you see any one who wants my 5 [acres?] of Lemons at $1500 per acre, 1/2 of nursery stock thrown in, let it go.” There were also two postcards, one from downtown Los Angeles and another from Monrovia, addressed to Hart at his offices in the Union Oil Building at Spring and 7th streets and seeking the kind of information Russell referred to in his responses.

Newspaper references during October 1914 tie nicely in to these documents. The edition of the Whittier News from the 2nd stated that,

There is increasing sentiment in Whittier that North Whittier Heights should be made part of this city. The residents and property owners in the new addition are many of them, in fact most of them, citizens and property owners here. North Whittier Heights lies just over the hills from the present city limits, and with the opening of the Turnbull Canyon [Road] even these limits will be removed as a barrier.

The impending opening of the thoroughfare was accompanied by the fact that “plans are underway to make this canyon a natural park for Whittier” and it was added that “the roadway will be lighted and many homes will be built along the county highway.” With such a park developed, “North Whittier Heights and Happy Valley,” this being a section largely to the west of what is now Hacienda Boulevard, “will be given the benefits” of it.

Moreover, electricity and telephone service came from the Quaker City, while mail delivery, road maintenance and fire protection would be further outgrowths of annexation and the paper asserted that “within the next years Whittier must expand in some direction and over the hills and through the canyon is one feasible direction.”

Reiterating that Whittier folks were largely responsible for the development of North Whittier Heights and that “their interests are here and always will be here” because the former was the “trading center” for the latter, the News called consolidation “most feasible” and quoted from an unnamed “Whittier Booster” who told the paper the prior day,

I have been talking to a number of residents and land owners in North Whittier [Heights] and all are enthusiastic over the prospect of coming in with this city. As the section fills up fire protection, gas, telephone, libraries, parks, etc., must come from this direction. They are willing to consider some plan of joining forces right now.

The Los Angeles Express of the following day briefly reported on the Hillgrove townsite project, observing that the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad (sold about a decade later to the Union Pacific) just completed a side track between 9th and 10th streets—this latter later becoming Turnbull Canyon Road—”at which location Edwin G. Hart . . . has made preliminary plans for subdividing” during the fall.

After reiterating some of the content found in the aforementioned letters with respect to the North Whittier Heights property and its potential, as well as successful orchardists investing there, the paper remarked that there were about 800 acres of citrus and 250 in walnuts there with about the same amount expected to be planted in the coming spring. Turnbull Canyon Road was also cited as nearing completion to conclude the piece and the same general info was reiterated in the Los Angeles Times of the 4th.

The News of the 26th noted that, as the highway was almost finished, “daring drivers can pass through over the partially made roadway,” citing John Jones as achieving “the honor of hauling the first load of produce over the new route” as he carried watermelon and eggplant, having driven the 15 miles the old route, presumably up Workman Mill Road and then east to his North Whittier Heights, while the return through the canyon was but five miles.

Drivers in a Ford and an Overland then plied the canyon road after taking the “Whittier Narrows” route and this was commemorated as being “the first time the summit of Puente Hills in the Turnbull canyon was visited by an automobile.” Grades were handled without any issue while careful maneuvering took place on some “rough spots and down some of the steep inclines not yet smoothed out.” Completion was pegged at another month and the summit view “in both directions of the fertile fields and rich citrus groves is perhaps unsurpassed in Southern California.”

To conclude, it is not commonly known that the singer Fergie (Stacy Ann Ferguson) of the Black-Eyed Peas was born and raised in Hacienda Heights and is a graduate of Wilson High School. Perhaps this was preordained as the Express of the 17th reported that the raising of black-eyed peas in those spaces between young citrus and walnut trees was undertaken in North Whittier Heights, while lima and string beans were also being cultivated with profits of about $100 an acre said to have been realized. Other produce included chile peppers, cucumbers, lettuce and peas were being raised this way, as well.

We will continue highlighting letters and other documents from the remarkable Russell/Clonts collection in future posts and definitely bring these up for the historic context statement at the public workshop on the 26th—which will be held from 10 to 11:30 a.m., so local residents are encouraged to join us and learn more about what the Los Angeles County Planning Department and its consultants are developing for the statement.