by Paul R. Spitzzeri
Continuing with our deep dive into the pages of the 3 July 1875 edition of the Los Angeles Weekly Herald from the Museum’s collection, we briefly observe the full column and a little more devoted to the esoteric and secretive fraternal order, the Janissaries of Light and its Temple No. 1 and visits to the regular meeting from “members of the Grand Temple.” Considerable attention was paid to addresses given by such figures as Brother James J. Ayers, proprietor of the rival Los Angeles Express, who expostulated on the importance of such societies and
an earnest hope that as the order had become a power in Los Angeles, it should shortly spread over the whole State, and from State to State throng the nation and finally embody the intellectual and progressive of all other nations, creeds and languages until its influence as a progressive and intellectual order should restore by its vigor and united will the golden age of man, not only to a nation but the world.
Brother William S. Manning went farther into the fraternal reverie, speaking of “nature in all its wonderful branches, showing the wonderful work of development, in all things animate, their beautiful and wonderful designs, minute and perfect in all things, save perfection, which is the work of eternity only.” Not only that, but he asserted that “the stars which cover the canopy of heaven and twinkle over the whole human race . . . remain as marks and signs for ages past and to come, and with wonderful accuracy, by the aid of science, foretell wonderful changes in our destiny.”
Just as grains of sand and matter viewed under the microscope were evidences of “a thoughtful mind” and “an untiring and never ending nature, whose end is infinity,” Manning remarked, “so it was the Janissaries of Light, who owed their existence to the genius and master mind of Bro. Gray, who, with wonderful perception of the various conditions of the human race, their prejudices and virtues, had formed an order of principles of love, and benefit to the human race.”
So such orations went, in a broad and vague spiritual fashion, including an organ performance, which “had a peculiarly harmonious effect on all present . . . and the influence which guided the master souls of the evening permeated through every other being, blending in one sense of joy, pride and gratitude to the One Great Light who presides over all lesser lights, and from which they all gather beauty and brightness.” When the proceedings concluded near midnight, all departed from what was declared to be “an evening long to be remembered.”
“Local Intelligence” tidbits from the prior several days included the remarks that “the grape crop promises to be immense;” F.P.F. Temple’s oil well in Towsley Canyon north of town was drilled down to 175 feet; a mountain lion was killed in the Arroyo Seco; a “Spaniard and a Chinaman had a difficulty in Negro Alley,” or the Calle de los Negros, where Los Angeles Street heads north towards the Plaza today; a man was arrested for pulling a knife on a Chinese man; railroad ties for the Los Angeles and Independence Railroad, of which Temple was treasurer, arrived at a wharf and that the track was graded to Agricultural (Exposition) Park on its way to Santa Monica; the Southern Pacific’s main line east from Los Angeles reached Colton near San Bernardino; Elijah J. Workman was elected trustee of the Odd Fellows fraternal order lodge; the Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph line was to reach town in ten days; Chinese musician Fung Tie was to be in Los Angeles in August for a single performance; and Jackley’s Vienna Circus was to soon appear in town.
The committee planning the Fourth of July festivities reported the order of procession—but we’ll save that for a future Independence Day post, while the German-American Turn Verein society had its festivities for the 5th determined and the Herald praised the enthusiasm of that group for their adopted country. Of particular interest on the third page, however, were lengthy descriptions of two suburban areas of note, both of which were or ended up in other counties, but had Los Angeles ties.
Rancho Cucamonga, not far east of the county line with San Bernardino, had, stated the San Bernardino Guardian, “already attained a national reputation, as the banner wine district of California” and “the ‘Cucomonga’ is today, the favorite native wine.” There was, however, more agricultural potential than with grapes, asserted the eastern paper, as it visited the ranch with ex-Governor John G. Downey, whose Farmers’ and Merchants’ Bank partner, Isaias W. Hellman, held a controlling interest in the property, acquired from Merced Williams de Rains, as well as Charles Miles of the Los Angeles Water Company and John Bloom of the ranch store.
Upon reaching Cucamonga as night fell, a tour of “the mammoth cellar, in which is stowed away tier and tier of those generous wines, which have done so much to make the reputation of California as a second France in wine production” was in order. It was added that “in this cellar are stowed away, probably 200,000 gallons of that glowing Cucomonga, which is in such demand, that the wines of the North are doctored into imitation of its taste, and then fraudulently put upon the market, labelled ‘Cucomonga.'”
As for the general area, the reporter mentioned “the stream meanding [sic] down from the north its uniform motion making agreeable music,” groves of chestnut trees, the mountains “which enclose the valley almost in the vast amphitheatre, the famous vineyard, “the Chino lights twinkling through the gloom like unclouded stars,” and so, until supper served by “the genial and urbane” Pierre Sainsevain, whose brother was Jean-Louis and their uncle Jean-Louis Vignes—this trio were important French winemakers in greater Los Angeles for many years, including at Cucamonga, where they relocated in 1870.
The San Bernardino journalist returned to what made Cucamonga’s name and dated back to 1839 and the rancho grant to Tiburcio Tapia, remarking:
The celebrated vineyard of Cucamonga is enclosed in a field containing 360 acres. The soil is light and gravelly [thanks to runoff from the San Gabriel Mountains to the north]; a soil similar to that from which the best French wine is produced. At this season, this immense field of vines, with its verdant glitter, and encased in a brown frame of surrounding lands, is a gloriously picturesque picture . . . The vines are strong, mature and prolific.
Also mentioned was a row of chestnut trees, a grove of walnuts and a 200-acre place planted largely to “semi-tropical” trees. As for the Cucamonga Vineyard Company, Downey commented that the firm held 8,000 acres “including vineyard, on this incomparable ranch” and that it looked “to commence a new system of water-works upon the lands immediately” and then “it is his intention to sub-divide the tract into ten-acre blocks” which, it was claimed, “will be enough to support a family in competence; nay, in affluence.”
Adding that “the fertility of the soil is incredible, as evinced by the extraordinary growth of the parts already cultivated,” so “there will be no better opportunity for poor men in California than settlement on this property, when the water is turned on.” Moreover, “with men of such enterprise and unlimited means pushing the promising project, as Governor Downey and the Messrs. Hellman, [John] Archibald, Childs, etc., the Cucomonga ranch will soon develop into the proportion of a small county.” The vineyard company and the Cucamonga Homestead Association of Childs, Downey, Hellman and Benjamin Dreyfus of Anaheim as well as the Cucamonga Land Association headed by Archibald (whose namesake avenue is a major one in the area with Hellman Avenue just to the west), had some 100,000 acres and it was asserted that there was the potential that “we shall a new Riverside on the Cucomonga.”
The reporter also visited the recently completed “Cucomonga Station” on the Southern Pacific Company railroad line that gradually was moving east from Los Angeles on its way to the Colorado River at Yuma and which sat some 2 1/2 miles south of the southeast corner of the ranch. A company engineer stated that track was laid some 13 1/2 miles east of Spadra and that the Colton section would be completed by the first of July.
In concluding the detailed feature, the Guardian representative reiterated that,
In the hands of such men as Governor Downey and O[zro] W. Childs, Cucomonga will certainly have a great and immediate future. It is a section of splendid possibilities. Land, water, enterprise, wealth and liberal economy are all on the side of the Cucomonga? Who can picture its future? Ten years from to-day, it will be one of the most productive as well as beautiful sections in California. What now is a barren waste, will, by the vivifying virtue of water be converted into a smiling landscape where the orange grove will alternate with the vineyard, the alfalfa meadow with waving fields of grain. Where not there is not a habitation we will then probably see charming cottages nestled amid semi-tropical groves; churches, school houses, and a flourishing county town.
More than 40 miles to the southwest was the recently established town of Westminster, founded by Presbyterian Church minister, the Rev. Lemuel P. Webber, who came to the area in 1870, as a temperance (no alcohol) colony and named after the Westminster Assembly, which established Presbyterian principles in 1643.
A report in the 13 May 1872 edition of the Los Angeles Star observed that the community, located on the Rancho La Bolsa Chica which fronts the Pacific at the wetlands of that name which are only partially preserved due to intense activism, was inaugurated 18 months prior, or about November 1870, and the paper, in its 26 July issue (which said the town was 15 months old) had 30 families and 65 farms, along with a grocery store, school and wagon shop.
A “Letter from Westminster” by someone only identified as “W” began with,
The people of Westminster complain that they have been injured equally by the misrepresentations of enemies and friends. They say they live neither in paradise nor the other place, and they are always thankful when correspondents will tell the truth about their settlement. They have been at work near four years, and have certainly accomplished something worth speaking of, and they are perfectly satisfied with a true picture without any sky blue or rose-colored edging. There are seventy-five families in Westminster, settled on small farms, averaging about forty acres.
The soil, obviously very different from Cucamonga, was “a black, sandy loam, which, when left to itself, produces a heavy growth of grass, nearly all the year,” though an abrupt transition from light sand to heavy loam was characteristic. Given its location, it was hardly surprising that “the water rises to within a few feet of the surface, and the artesian flow is found at an average depth of one hundred feet,” with 70 wells in operation “and the supply is still abundant.” Alkali, however, was present throughout the settlement “and some of the unimproved land is ruined” by it, though, for the rest of the tract, it was a minor issue and, in some cases, “is generally regarded as a benefit.”
Yet, “W” continued, ” a real disadvantage that Westminster has to contend against is the early and late frosts,” which “is apt to destroy young and tender plants,” though mature trees survived just fine. This condition was considered “a nuisance and a drawback, but it does not hinder the people from prospering.” It was also remarked that, to date, the community was a farming one “and the experiment of raising the semi-tropical fruits has not been fully tested,” although “the older settlers think there is every probability of success, even in orange raising.” Others, however, felt that the near-surface level presence of water would be an issue, though the correspondent cited discussions with those who’d been to Florida where oranges were successfully grown in areas where water was similarly close to the ground level.
George Dunskin was cited for having 800 four-year old orange trees that “look nearly as well as any in the county,” while, despite concerns otherwise, he had 17 acres of white muscat grapes “that look as though they ought to do something.” Moreover, he did not irrigate and “yet, in the second year, they bore five, six, seven and eight pounds to the vine and Dunskin was hoping to have an Alden Dryer to process the products of his vineyard. The lemon trees were damaged by frost, but he hoped to bud with bearing orange tree stock “that stand the frost better.” Dunskin had his orchards, averaging some 2 1/2 acres each, surrounded with willow hedges “to protect from heavier winds that sometimes blow from the coast.”
As for field crops, “the barley crop this year will average over fifty bushels to the acre” while “the corn fields, which they are just beginning to irrigate,” are as flourishing as they could possibly be,” with stalks ranging from 7 to 10 feet in height and adjudged comparable to those raised in Gospel Swamp (southern Santa Ana and then spreading into modern Fountain Valley), Los Nietos (Downey, Santa Fe Springs, Whittier area). Potatoes reportedly did well and “are large and clan in appearance, and are delicious eating,” with one farmer selling $74 worth during the season so “the people here will not starve, at any rate.”
Other Westminster growers experimented with applies, cherries, peaches and other fruit, with, apparently, some success, while “the almond orchards look well, and altogether the fruit prospect is very encouraging.” Moreover, “W” observed that “there is a large Chinese vegetable garden here that keep three of four teams [of wagons for hauling] busy in all directions.
Westminster had a pair of businesses, the Co-operative Company, which was constructing a two-story building to house a store and lodge for a Masonic fraternal society, the Grangers farm society and churches. Robb and Marquis also operated a store and were described as “two gentlemanly and enterprising young men, who are fighting it out in the business line on their own hook, and are building up a large trade.”
With this, “W” closed by pronouncing,
Westminster is a success. The people are determined that their growth shall be substantial, and hence their determined stand against “puffing” [exaggerated claims of success, which was all-too-common in such accounts]. They want more settlers of the right kind, but they want every new-comer to look round carefully before purchasing. They want to Jonah’s gourd reputation [in other words, that of booming and busting in short order].
We’ll be back tomorrow with part three of this post, so check back in with us then.