Read All About in the Los Angeles Weekly Express, 19 December 1872, Part Two

by Paul R. Spitzzeri

Continuing with our deep dive into the pages of the 19 December 1872 edition of the Los Angeles Weekly Express from the Museum’s collection, we turn to the inner two of the four pages of the issue, with one of the more interesting articles concerning the fact that “the movement for the establishment of a Public Library is now fairly inaugurated.” As with other important aspects undertaken during the first boom in the Angel City and environs, including the arrival of banks, a high school, numbering of buildings, the first city directory and suburban subdivisions, the creation of the library was hailed as a landmark event.

There’d actually been an effort in 1859 led by Jonathan Temple, but, with the local economy in the doldrums and what appeared to be tepid support from the populace, the effort withered away. A baker’s dozen number of years later, however, conditions were quite different, as the Express noted that “a large meeting . . . have satisfactory evidence that the public took a deep interest in the matter, and that a fine list of subscribers would be procured” for financial support because “a number of leading citizens were disposed to contribute freely toward starting the institution; and altogether it was felt that the effort to establish a Library would this time be successful.”

Heading the new Library Association was ex-Governor John G. Downey, who offered free space in his recently completed Downey Block, while the elected treasurer was Thomas W. Temple, cashier at the bank owned by his father, F.P.F. Temple, and grandfather, William Workman. In addition, the trustees included Judge Ygnacio Sepúlveda, soon-to-be Postmaster Henry K.W. Bent, attorney George H. Smith, Civil War General and future Governor George Stoneman.

A trustee meeting included the appointment of Temple and two others as a committee to plan for a fundraising concert and Downey’s wife, María de Jesús Jacinta Guirado, was chosen to be an honorary member of the Association, though women were not allowed in the reading room until one for them was established four years later. The paper reiterated that “the Library is now an established fact” and praised the trustees for being “well known and energetic gentlemen, who will enter heartily into the work of building it up on an enduring basis.” Downey was considered “the right man in the right place” in leading the Association, while the other officers “are of such character as to give assurance that the duties of those offices will be ably and usefully filled.”

John C. Littlefield was hired as librarian with his pay set at $75 dollars monthly and he was described as “excellently qualified for the position, and his attention, industry and intelligence will be found of great service.” The article concluded,

Having made so good a beginning, it only remains for those who are able to take life memberships and contribute such books, etc., as may be of value, and for our citizens generally to become active members. If this is done, we may rest assured that at last our pleasant city will have what it has long so greatly needed—a Public Library that shall be a good and enduring one.

Though it’s had its struggles over the years, the Los Angeles Public Library has endured, with 6 million volumes in its stacks and 72 branches throughout the sprawling metropolis, though its first purpose-built structure did not come until 1926, over a half-century after the institution was established. The Central Library, however, is a remarkable downtown landmark and a true civic treasure.

Some of the local news tidbits included in the edition concerned abnormally large pears raised in town, with the comment that they were “but samples of the choice fruit grown here;” the arrest of “a Chinaman for peddling cigars without a license,” for which the unnamed vendor as fined $9; new books, albums, musical instruments, stationery and more for the holidays at Brodrick’s store; and the planning of a building fund concert for the “new Catholic Cathedral,” which would become, in 1876, St. Vibiana’s.

A report from the Anaheim Southern Californian included discussion of the annual meeting of the stockholders of the Anaheim Lighter Company, which operated Anaheim Landing where the San Gabriel River empties into the Pacific and where Seal Beach and Long Beach now meet—William Workman was an investor in this enterprise—and with statistics of exports for the year from December 1871-November 1872. Also reported was the fall exams of the town grammar school; a failed attempt, for lack of a quorum, to hold elections for officers of the Anaheim volunteer fire company; the work of Irvine, Flint and Company to build an irrigation ditch in Santiago Canyon to water “the tract upon which the old ranch house is located” and which drew water from a high enough location to cover a wide area in the “San Joaquin plain;” and that “a Christmas Tree is to be erected in the lower part of the Masonic Hall” for the impending Yuletide holiday.

Speaking of the holidays, the Express noted that the aforementioned fair and festival from the Ladies’ Aid Society of the Fort Street [Broadway] Methodist Episcopal Church would include “tableaux and a pantomime” as well as “an old folks’ concert in costume” during the three days with the event being free. On the day after Christmas, “the first masquerade skating carnival of the season will take place at the Rink” with prizes for best characters and skill on the wooden rink. Lastly, The Turn-Verein Germania was hosting a New Year’s ball at its hall on Spring Street and “a large New year tree will be trimmed for the occasion” while music and singing were to be included and “a good supper will be provided.”

The first part of this post also noted that there was discussion about the location of the depot of the Southern Pacific Railroad, which several weeks prior was voted, in a special election, a subsidy of some $600,000 as part of a Congressional mandate on the company to build a line to Arizona through Los Angeles, with the deal also including the SP taking control of the local Los Angeles and San Pedro Railroad, which ran from a depot on Alameda and Commercial Street to the rudimentary harbor.

The Express briefly noted that “it is understood that an arrangement has been arrived at between members of the City Council,” including future Mayor William H. Workman, “and the representatives of the Railroad Company, whereby the Company’s depot will be located upon fifteen acres of land on the [Abel] Stearns estate [the prominent merchant died the prior year], situate a little this side of the former proposed location.” It was added that there was no issue with title and that the tract “is very suitable for terminal purposed,” though nothing officially had been executed. The River Station, where the Los Angeles State Historic Park is now, was completed in 1876 as the SP line arrived in the Angel City from the north.

Under the heading of “Bad Indians,” a report stated that the prior Sunday, the 14th, a half-dozen Indians went to a San Pedro Street saloon and asked for liquor and “a dispute arose about payment when some of the Indians drew knives and cut [the owner] badly about the head and face.” As the group fled, the proprietor’s son fired a shotgun and hit one of the attackers as he climbed over a fence and the brief piece concluded that there no arrests made.

Titled “Make A Note Of This,” the Express put in a plug for local business, exhorting readers in a message timely for us 150 years later in the Age of Amazon:

If you wish to make a purchase, don’t go away from home to do it. Encourage home industry, and give your trade to merchants and mechanics, especially those who advertise freely [such as in the Express]. That is the way to build up a lively business in your town, and benefit yourself as well as others. Every dollar spent in a place is beneficial, and every dollar spent abroad for articles which could be bought on favorable terms at home is like taking so much capital out of the business interests of the place.

On page two, there were some smaller notices of interest, including the understanding that H.K.W. Bent, a trustee of the new library, was to be announced as the next postmaster in town, while the matter of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, which ran the vessels to the port at San Pedro/Wilmington and thereby carried the imports and exports of local businesses, and its 15% surcharge to those sending material to cover losses on voyages was hoped to lead to the result that “the ill feeling between the Company and shippers may be speedily removed, and a good understanding arrived at.” Speaking of the harbor, a snippet related that “the [Southern Pacific] railroad company is said to have bought the Government buildings at Wilmington,” these erected during the Union Army’s presence during the Civil War.

A short piece on “Our Climate” noted that,

The hotels and lodging houses of Los Angeles are now, as usual, filled with permanent and transient guests. Upon our streets we see many strange faces showing that the influx of visitors continues. Our genial climate—the most delightful on the Coast, if not in the world—is becoming known all over the country. Throughout the year our county offers to all a delightful residence. Every one who visits us once will return often. Our health-renewing atmosphere is recognized as a boon and a blessing. Other localities are pleasant, but Los Angeles county is delightful.

Lastly, there is the reprinting of a letter from a correspondent only identified as “Mr. Hill” and from the Sacramento Record dating from the 2nd from the Angel City. There may have been a La Niña weather condition like this year as the missive began with a comment on “the very pleasant Indian summer weather” with midday temperatures making the writer “glad to keep in the shade” while evenings and mornings were cool.

It was added, however, that “the thick dust is still a serious drawback to comfort” and rain found elsewhere in California—again, not unlike our current situation—did not reach this area, so that “everything in field, valley and town has still the sombre [sic], dusty appearance of September.” Farmers, apparently, told Hill that they preferred the rain to come toward the end of the year than earlier in the fall, though, professing his ignorance of such matters, he noted that “a little rain would be agreeable.”

With respect to “Railroad Matters,” the correspondent commented on that recent subsidy vote for the Southern Pacific, even though a law allowing for such 5% subsidy elections was repealed the prior year, excepting Los Angeles County. Hill reported that “the good people now expect that the road . . . will be extended to this city, within a twelve month,” though, as noted above, it would be closer to four years. It was added that,

From here the road will turn at a right angle and pass almost due east through the rich and beautiful San Gabriel valley [with rights-of-way through Rancho La Puente given by its owners John Rowland and William Workman as the track parallels what is now Valley Boulevard] to San Bernardino . . . When the railroad is completed to this city, and beyond, it will be a noteworthy event. The bugbear of the ocean voyage being avoided, there will unquestionable be a large emigration to the rich valleys. A population of 100,000 could well be supported, south of the line of San Barbara, and it may not be many years before such a population is actually here.

Hill also addressed “The Beauties Of The Country,” advising guests to not limit their stay to their hotel or local streets, calling the San Gabriel Valley “one of the most lovely spots on the face of the globe” reached by “a charming drive” from town. Noting that the valley was some thirty miles long and fifteen wide, the writer added that “the climate is still more balmy and even than that of Los Angeles” and highly productive with agricultural products, while, from the Sierra Nevada [San Gabriel] Mountains “gush out refreshing springs and streams of the purest and softest water that can be possibly found.”

Moreover, such an abundance meant that there was plenty for irrigation, while it was asserted that “so gradual and peculiarly so is the slope of the land that almost every acre in the valley can be irrigated without danger of being washed away by the torrent, or the inhabitants troubled with miasma from stagnant water.” While this was not at all true with respect to flood damage, Hill noted that “the San Gabriel river . . . passes through the ‘El Monte’ portion” and through Los Nietos, where Downey, Pico Rivera and other river-adjacent towns would later arise, “fertilizing the land for scores of miles.”

The account also discussed the Mission San Gabriel because “the old padres who came to California a hundred and more years ago, had an eye to beauty as well as profit” and it is interesting to read his statement concerning “the 3,000 Indians who were their converts or slaves, whichever one chooses to call them.” Some four decades after the missions were secularized by the Mexican government, “this church is still standing and part of it in use, though all in dilapidation and ruins” and it was asserted that the silver in the bells was of higher content than any others elsewhere. Hill added that he enjoyed their pealing as “their silvery sound is even now sweeter than I ever before heard come from church bells.”

Nearby, moreover, “is the old Mission orchard and garden, still kept in cultivation and having the oldest orange, lemon, citron and olive trees in the State” and it was commented that “they were all in full bearing at the time of my visit.” This was said to be under the requirements of Bishop “Arnot,” this being Thaddeus Amat. After secularization, though, “the boundaries of this garden were sadly circumscribed” and “one can now see the remains of old olive trees a hundred rods distant [1,650 feet], that were once within the gardens.”

Hill visited the old mission mill, or El Molino Viejo, the residence of Edward J. C. Kewen, and remarked that, with timber for the church and mill obtained from the mountains, “the work [of construction at both] was well done, certainly so far as massiveness, strength and durability were concerned.” Kewen told him that, when he cut a doorway through a four-foot thick wall, the stone was easier to get through than the mortar and it was noted that the nearby mill dam, “made of cobble stone and the same kind of cement” was as sturdy as when it was built, some 75 years prior.

As to the indigenous persons, Hill reported that “there is an old man now living, who says he recollects when there were the names of 1,800 upon the Church Register” and that “these looked after the tens of thousands of cattle, that roamed over these fertile plains,” but he then opined, “how changes is all at present, and who will say that the country has not gained by the change?” What exactly he meant, however, was not stated, unless it was that mission lands were freed up for later settlement, leading to the increase in population and agricultural production that caused visitors like Hill to gush over what they witnessed in the San Gabriel Valley.

The letters concluded with the admonition that any visitor to the valley should see “the magnificent orchards and vineyards of the Messrs. [Leonard J.] Rose, [Benjamin D.] Wilson, etc., etc., who have literally made all bud and blossom as the rose.” Hill entreated potential travelers to the area that “to see the orange trees loaded with their golden fruit in midwinter, will well repay one of the ride of miles.” There were so many new “enterprising cultivators” who “beautified” the area that “it is no wonder that the inhabitants call it the ‘Garden of the State.'”

Hill ended with the forecast that,

Around the railroad depot, when established, a village will undoubtedly spring up, and then visitors, invalids and others can make a long stay, without feeling that they are encroaching upon the hospitality of the good people, whose doors are always open for the reception and entertainment of friends.

One such private estate that soon added a hotel in just such a fashion was the Sierra Madre Villa, recently discussed here in some detail. This summary of the contents of the Weekly Express is, along with other papers of the era in the Museum’s holdings, an instructive and interesting look at greater Los Angeles during its first boom, stretching from the late Sixties through the mid Seventies, and we’ll continue to highlight these in the “Read All About It” series.