by Paul R. Spitzzeri
Digging further into some of the early history of the city of Irwindale, we look at the first years of the 20th century and note that the San Gabriel Valley community is best known for its massive sand, gravel and rock pits that provided raw material for so much of our built environment, including roads and structures, it was originally more like its neighbors, such as Azusa, Baldwin Park, Covina and Duarte in that agriculture was the economic backbone, specifically citrus as well as truck farming in fruits and vegetables.
One of Irwindale’s chief advantages was access to water from the San Gabriel River and underground supplies that, as with the granitic materials that washed down from the mountains, were found in great abundance. The end of part one cited a press account of successful water tests in 1903 that demonstrated what the future of the community could be and this was followed by a comment in the Los Angeles Times of 2 August that,
The water development of the past two years at Irwindale has given a great impetus to the growing of vegetables. Hundreds of tons of potatoes, green peas and cucumbers are shipped annually. One thousands dollars a week is a conservative estimate of the returns now received by the ranchers of this section for vegetables.
The community’s position along the Covina branch of the Southern Pacific Railroad with a depot at Azusa Canyon Road enabled the shipment of one or two rail cars a day of these crops, including the detail that about 125 sacks of cucumbers were transported daily, though one recent day approached twice that number at net profit of $20 per ton.
A little over a week later, the Covina Argus of the 8th, under the heading of “Evidences of Growth” reminded its readers that “no safer criterion of the growth of a community can be secured than from the postoffice receipts and the average monthly business of the transportation companies.” In fact, it was routine for governments, newspapers, chambers of commerce and others to report on these statistics, along with bank clearings and deposits and others info, to tout the economic improvement of any given place.
The paper remarked that business at the post office was 55% more than the same time the prior year, while passenger traffic at the Southern Pacific station was up 150%. The Orange Avenue Land and Water Company’s recent test, after $4,500 of investment in pumping machinery, was deemed successful. Shipment of vegetables were at record levels, with corn and string beans added to the above list, leading the Argus to proclaim,
These figures in themselves are the best evidence that Irwindale is enjoying a rapid growth and its citizens are correspondingly prosperous.
The unasked question was: which citizens enjoyed the boost of recent years? Although the early settlers of what became Irwindale were Latinos, as noted in part one, they were all but invisible when it came to media accounts. When they were mentioned, it was generally in negative terms or situations, such as outbreaks of smallpox noted in the Argus of 17 August 1901 and 12 April 1902 and, notably, the paper added that strict guarded quarantines were imposed on those living in the affected residences.
Another query that comes to mind is: who did the field and grove labor that provided the fiscal returns to the owners? Latinos and Asians were very rarely mentioned in this regard, though the Covina paper in its 22 August 1903 edition did briefly observe that “Japanese [are] being largely employed, dependable white help being practically unobtainable.” This was in the context of another laudatory piece that “the settlement of Irwindale . . . has sprung into prominence during the past year for its heavy vegetable shipments,” including cucumbers shipped to a Los Angeles pickle factory.
Not much over a year-and-a-half prior, though, the Times of 23 December 1901 ran a feature under the title of “Mob Rule At Covina,” though the incident was actually at Irwindale with the paper’s “resident correspondent” at the larger town to the east reporting,
Because Ruddock, Trench & Co. saw fit to employ a small party of Chinese at their packing house at Irwindale, it having been impossible for the firm to secure other workmen, an armed mob of twenty or more persons, the identity of some of whom is known, attacked the place at 9 o’clock last night and drove off the Chinamen.
The account added that rumor of such an action was bandied about in the area for days prior “but no attention was paid to the grumbling,” especially because it was thought it was understood that white laborers were working at other packing houses, so the hiring of Chinese laborers was considered necessary.
The Times went on to observe that,
Last night about twenty men, none of them masked, appeared at the quarters of the Chinese and demanded that they leave the country [area]. The Chinese were badly frightened but refused to leave. The mob then attacked the cook house, and taking the terrified Chinese into custody escorted them a mile or more up the railroad track and there left them, warning them that if they returned they would be lynched. In order to frighten them the more about [sic] twenty shots were fired.
Significantly, the Chinese went back to their destroyed lodgings and asked the company for protection, which was promised if the sheriff was contacted. The paper continued that “tonight they are being guarded and any further attempt to drive them from the place will result in serious trouble,” which indicated that some measures were being development by the firm to protect the Chinese labor force.
A Ruddock, Trench and Company representative told the Times,
It is not the policy of our firm to employ Chinese when we can secure the services of whites, but just now we find that unless we employ the Chinese we cannot get our work done. We have made every effort to secure white help . . . We have repeatedly said that if we could get six reliable packers we would be willing to discharge the Chinese. If the members of that mob think they will gain anything by such tactics, however, they are mistaken, for we will not be dictated to in any such fashion and we have already taken the necessary steps to protect our help.
Other notable reports from this period include the denial of a request to establish an Irwindale School District, though this was later reversed and a school built—in 1909, however, the district was absorbed into that of Covina. From May 1901, the Argus ran a regular “From Irwindale” column with news from that community, mostly of a personal or social nature.
In February 1903, the Pacific Electric Railway, after intense lobbying, began surveys for a streetcar line to Covina, including through Irwindale and, about this time, the Home Telephone Company, based in Covina, began offering service to its western neighbor. About nine months prior, there were discussions in that latter town concerning a proposal to merge it, Azusa, Glendora and Irwindale into a single metropolis, though the concept was soon dropped.
Yet, in the pages of the Argus, the growth of Irwindale was given some significant attention in succeeding years. The 8 September 1906 edition commented that, “Irwindale, the beautiful and productive agricultural district adjoining Covina on the west, is rapidly assuming importance as a grower and shipper of farm produce.” This not only involved corn and potatoes, but raspberries and strawberries in growing quantities, while it was separately reported that the Pacific Electric streetcar bridge south of the railroad depot was under construction.
In its 27 October edition, the paper reported a few items from “Covina’s Richest Suburb” including the move of the PERY surveyor camp from the community to El Monte as work continued on the rail extension project, the latest meeting of the Irwindale Land and Water Company and that,
P.R. Fr[a]ijo has shipped this week three cars of boulders to the Pacific Rock [and Gravel] Company of Los Angeles. The rock is secured in the wash north of the Mexican settlement, the gathering of which has proved a very profitable industry to the Mexicans in the past year.
Here then is an early, and basic, reference to the use of the abundant granitic material washed down from the mountains for use in construction, though here was manual loading rock onto cars for shipment into the Angel City rather than the on-site processing plants that later became the norm in Irwindale.
A remarkable feature in the edition of 5 October 1907 was titled “Beautiful Irwindale: ‘The Egypt of the San Gabriel Valley.'” The moniker was assigned because of the fertility of the soil and access to the abundance of water from the adjoining river. The piece began with the remark that “when one thinks of Southern California the thought generally uppermost in the mind is oranges, but when those who know conditions as they are think of Irwindale, the thought of oranges . . . is overshadowed by the thought of vegetables in abundance—vegetables such as are grown nowhere else.”
The account continued,
A more beautiful place is not in existence and a more prosperous one we have never seen. While citrus fruits are grown to a certain extent, vegetables are the mainstay of the community—and such vegetables! The prize winners at the old-fashioned back east country fair would stand but a small chance if compared with these. Rightly is Irwindale called “Egypt of the San Gabriel valley. Justly is it famed for the quality of its soil. And as a home place it has no superior.
The strawberries, in particular, were praised as “the most delicious . . . obtainable” with 300 crates shipped out daily and sold retail at five cents per box. As for other produce, 15 cars of cabbage, 30 tons of peaches, 150 cars of potatoes and 243 more of oranges were sent from Irwindale. Given its small population, this production was considered prodigious and the paper added, “the farmer of the East who is seeking a better living with less work and from a smaller acreage can make no mistake by investigating conditions at Irwindale.”
The issue of 19 September 1908 reported on more signs of progress, including the commitment of the Pacific Electric to have a streetcar station in Irwindale (today the A Line stop is on the Santa Fe Railroad line at the north end of town), while the three water companies, the Irwindale, Cypress Avenue and Orange Avenue, were absorbed by the Azusa Irrigation Company, which dated back to 1886. The water merger was deemed “an important step in the progress of the village” and Azusa Irrigation acquired two acres on the Snodgrass ranch for a reservoir to serve the local community.
Daniel Reichard, an officer in the Azusa firm and a landowner of prominence in Irwindale for years, told the Argus that he was negotiating with the Pacific Electric for its purchase of land on 50 acres he owned for its local station on the recently extended line to Covina. It should be noted that the PERY didn’t just ferry passengers, as freighting was a major part of its revenues, so much of the agricultural produce at Irwindale was shipped on the streetcar line.
Another new element to the area was introduced by Dietrich Mensing, another longtime landowner in Irwindale. This was adapting what was long common practice for the protection of orchards, groves and farms in “breaking the wind . . . with as many rows of eucalyptus and fir [trees] as is expedient.” The planting of these trees was also to mitigate the danger of frost, low as this generally was, although some cold winters could lead to significant agricultural losses in greater Los Angeles.
A change also of significance was that “within the last ten years great individual holdings have disappeared in the Irwindale district” as most tracts were of 5 to 15 acres “planted to oranges and lemons and walnuts,” as well as other fruits and vegetables. It was also declared that “scattered through the district are some of the finest homes in the valley” and the paper averred that, “it will not be many years before this settlement will be recognized as one of the principal shipping points on the Southern Pacific and Pacific [Electric] railroads.”
Not only that, but Irwindale, it was boasted, “has probably the richest land of any section” so much so that, for the millions of dollars worth of produce grown there, “it was only a few years ago that fertilizer was known in the locality.” The account also observed,
Irwindale is in a unique position compared with other communities in this section. It practically has no central point, but is a village scattered prettily among oranges and walnut groves, having long avenues flanked with eucalyptus and cypress [trees,] a village which has devoted itself to the soil without thought of civic organization, but nevertheless one of the most delightfully situated places in the valley.
The day after Christmas, a special section in the Argus was devoted to “Man’s Discovered Eden” with the opening comment that “the great waste of land piled up in an incongruous heap” that is what was still often called the Sierra Madre Mountains was there “to be the bulwark on the north for this natural hot-house of vegetation, the San Gabriel valley.” It offered this assessment to any reader who would “wish to criticize or ask reasons for the workings of the inscrutable Providence.”
Exclaiming that “the scene is a wondrous one,” the paper pointed out Irwindale’s place in this Edenic environment as not an organized settlement but “a big community of houses scattered about in the forest of the groves.” Moreover, the natural beauty was realized in “the beauty of actual and natural wealth,” with the remarkable fertility of the soil actualized by “one of the best systems of irrigation” in the region.
After discussing the value of the land for a variety of crops, the article noted that 600 acres in the Irwindale area were devoted to citrus with the two brands best known being the Stag and Pointer, distributed across the country. An accompanying photo showed the interior of the Irwindale Citrus Association packing house, while it was remarked that, the prior year, the entity reorganized with new bylaws and policies for operation, as well an overhaul of the equipment and machinery which helped reduce loss to the mishandling of fruit. Also addressed was a more careful handling of fruit by pickers focused on the price paid per box and less on proper cutting and placement in boxes, so workers were paid a daily rate instead.
With the high soil quality ad improved methods of growing, picking and handling, the profits on Valencia oranges rose to close to $2 per box and this, in turn, would enhance values of grove lands. It was noted that, as tourists approached by rail from Los Angeles, the crossing of the San Gabriel immediately brought the visitor to Irwindale, where “the oranges begin to take shape in green ranks on each side of the track,” but “the great fields of strawberries and small fruits, potato lands and truck gardens are of as much interest to the traveler” as the nearby mountains. Guests “will be shown the beauties of the village until a day has been delightfully expended” and especially significant was the intricate irrigation network.
While pickers were briefly mentioned in very general terms and as part of a picturesque image embraced by citrus culture, nothing was said about who actually did the work. Then again, the focus was almost entirely on the grower and the prospective orchardist and G.T. Brown was the resident example and he told the paper, “I do not know of any place in the world where a man can build such a fine home as in Irwindale.” He continued that he settled there “when the lands were barren plains” but “I have lived to see it covered with the finest groves in the world.” Finally, he acknowledged that his investment was well-realized and would be for others.
Dietrich Mensing was another instance cited in the piece and was on the same property since 1882, though he was down to 33 of the original 60 acres, 23 in oranges and 10 in alfalfa. He reminisced that “for a long time we were obliged to fight against prejudice in Irwindale” over the probability of success in raising citrus as opposed to alfalfa and other field crops. William Aschenbrenner came from Oregon in 1900 and made more money during that eight years the more than a half-century prior to that in Illinois, Iowa and our northern neighbor.
Daniel Reichard possessed the oldest orange trees in Irwindale and, like Mensing, was an early Eighties settler, but he realized financial success from selling land as well as in cultivating it and in being an investor in associations, water companies and packing houses. Edgar R. Coffman purchased 105 acres in 1876, though he was down to under 40, with about 60% in oranges and the rest in alfalfa. He helped form the Azusa Irrigating Company as well as the Irwindale Citrus Association, while he was also a partner in the Camp Rincon resort in San Gabriel Canyon and the article remarked,
He is familiar with the entire state, but saves his best praise for the San Gabriel valley, and as he looks from the windows of his comfortable home toward the distant water-sheds of the Sierra Madre mountains, he gives thanks for the inscrutable Providence that directed him to this garden spot . . .
Lastly, the 11 July 1909 edition of the Times reported that Pacific Rock and Gravel Company, mentioned above in its dealings with a member of the Fraijo family, secured a 100-acre lease on a royalty basis for five years with a ten-year option along the Pacific Electric line a mile west of Azusa and near the San Gabriel River. The firm built a $40,000 crushing plant for work in what may have been the first, or at least one of the earliest, plants in the Irwindale area.
With this, we’ll halt and return in a few days with part three, so be sure to check back then!
It’s interesting to learn from this post that Irwindale was once a thriving agricultural city, thanks to its fertile soil and abundant water supply. Over the past century, however, its fruits and vegetables have almost all gone and Irwindale has shifted dramatically toward rock, sand, and gravel operations, which now dominate its landscape and economic base.
When it comes to the rock, sand, and gravel industry, a strong negative image comes to mind. In many Asian countries including China, Taiwan, India, Cambodia, and Indonesia, these construction material industries are always notoriously linked to organized crime and corruption.
A somewhat similar situation seemingly have existed in the United States during the mid-20th century. However, after the 1980s, the influence and control of the mafia and other organized crime groups declined sharply, thanks to major law enforcement crackdowns, stricter regulations on the publicly traded corporations that are now key players in this sector, and more stringent environmental protection requirements.