by Paul R. Spitzzeri
The acquisition from the Southern Pacific Railroad of land in San Bernardino County just south of that transportation giant’s main line east from Los Angeles allowed for marble works owner William Déclez and his business partner, former Angel City mayor Prudent Beaudry, to develop a quarry that would provide ample material for their business in a burgeoning city, even as the recent Boom of the 1880s had just gone bust.
The quarry also included something of a company town, named Declezville, now part of the Southridge section of Fontana. The earliest found reference to the community was in the 26 August 1888 issue of the Los Angeles Times, part of which was cited in part one of this post. When the article appeared, the economic downturn alluded to above was underway, but the paper, in its discussion of massive pieces of stone on a railroad car in downtown Los Angeles, informed readers that,
These granite blocks all came from the big quarry of Beaudry & Declez, 50 miles away, near Riverside. There, at Declezville, they have their big plant costing $30,000 and employing 50 men. They own the only the ledge of granite to be found in that locality, and run a railroad three miles long to the Southern Pacific railroad tracks from their shop, and their quarry is the only one in this part of the State having railroad facilities for transportation. Hence they furnish most of the granite used in Los Angeles, including the big retaining wall of Mr. Beaudry on New High street.
The Los Angeles Herald of 29 March 1889 highlighted the Los Angeles Marble and Granite Company, the firm Beaudry and Déclez ran and for which they issued a certificate of partnership in July, and observed that the Declezville quarries “have been recently opened up, and are equipped with all of the latest appliances and improvements and machinery,” while also noting the convenience of the SP’s spur line.
The paper remarked that “the quality of the marble produced from these quarries is most superb, excelling anything now known in the United States, in beauty of grain, color, finish, and the manner of taking a polish.” The piece continued that “for monumental work, this stone should take a high place” and it added “many monuments, vaults, etc., have been constructed with this granite already.”
In May 1890, the Beaudry and Déclez partnership ended, with the former withdrawing and the latter continuing with the enterprise, which, two-and-a-half years later, evolved into the Declez Granite Company, with stock taken out. One of the incorporators of the new firm was a young lawyer, Earl A. Rogers, who went on to be the preeminent defense lawyer of Los Angeles. As to memorials constructed with material from Declezville, a couple of reported examples included, reported the Times of 24 September 1890, “the largest monument ever erected in Southern California,” comprising a 24-foot tall, 36-ton shaft for merchant David A. Stern and placed at Evergreen Cemetery in the Boyle Heights section of Los Angeles.
The 27 April 1891 edition of the Los Angeles Express reported that Déclez was the contractor for a memorial, to be dedicated at Evergreen on Memorial Day, in honor of the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.), comprised of veterans from the Union Army during the Civil War. The monument comprised a sub-base, base, shaft and apex and was later to have a statue of a soldier, so that the 20-foot height was to grow once that addition was made. Some $3,000 was to be expended and United States Senator Leland Stanford was said to be a major contributor.
Speaking of finances, Déclez incurred debts during the downturn, including a $2,300 mortgage from Stephen C. Hubbell, a prominent lawyer and banker in Los Angeles, which was foreclosed on in 1892. In early 1897, a contractor filed a mechanics’ lien on Déclez for an unpaid bill of $199, while later that year the marble works owner was delinquent with taxes due on his residence and Los Angeles Street business property. Also in 1897, Albert P. Halfhill, a partner in the Declez Granite Company and who owned a tuna company at the Port of Los Angeles, foreclosed on a trust deed for more than $13,000 and involving what looks like the entirety of the Declezville quarries.
Despite these difficulties, it was briefly remarked in the Los Angeles Record of 4 February 1897 that the operations there “produce some very fine granite which is extensively used for building purposes, for pedestals and other things.” Moreover, it was commented that “a late examination of these properties by experts has resulted in their product being pronounced as some of the very best produced in the state.” Additionally, in 1896, he constructed a three-story brick building with a sandstone front, expending $20,000, on his marble works property on Los Angeles Street.
The result of the foreclosure is the Declezville passed into the hands of the Southern Pacific and, as the 19th century came to a close, the San Bernardino Times-Index of 10 August 1900, reported to readers that “Declezville . . . is at present the scene of unusual activity” as “nearly 300 men are at work for the Southern Pacific at its rock quarry at that point.” The major project being undertaken was the shipment of a carload every hour of rock used for a new breakwater at the Port of Los Angeles, which three years before was selected as the region’s main point of ocean-bound shipment following the Free Harbor Fight. The paper continued,
The Declez rock has been found to be the most satisfactory for the purpose, as the [Southern Pacific] company tried the product of Catalina quarries [at the east end of the island, then owned by the Banning family of Port of Los Angeles renown] but found it wanting in durability.
The Southern Pacific is extremely fortunate in possessing the finest and most accessible rock deposits in Southern California, which are especially adapted for heavy construction work.
The rock from the Declez quarries is said to be particularly adapted for harbor material, as it is less susceptible to the action of water than any other material found in Southern California.
While Déclez and his wife remained in Los Angeles and the 1900 census recorded them at their Sand Street [this is now where U.S. 101 runs through downtown] residence and William’s occupation was given as a stone cutter, the couple decamped to México as the 20th century dawned, with the Times of 12 January 1901 printing correspondence from that nation’s capital and the paper told readers, “William Declez, well known here in connection with the Declez quarry, is there, and doing well in the same business.” Reportedly, the contractor built several public buildings there in the waning days of the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz, though he faced another suit in 1902 over an $18,000 promissory note on his home, marble works and other property.
By summer 1904, Déclez was back in Los Angeles and he and his wife built a house on their Fort Moore Hill property, while he was listed in the following year’s city directory as one of a half-dozen stone contractors in the Angel City. The 15 August 1905 edition of the Express reported that he reacquired his Los Angeles Street marble works property with the structure said to be valued at $10,000 and the lot at four times that amount. Five days later, the Times added that “the old Declez stone yard was there for many years, where granite blocks from the Declez quarry near Riverside were fashioned into building stones.”
The financial rollercoaster continued for Déclez, however, as the end of the decade brought another court case involving a judgment against him for $600 rendered in 1896, but not adjudicated for thirteen years. When a sheriff’s sale was ordered in fall 1909, his Los Angeles Street business property and the California Street house were encumbered and put up for sale at the courthouse.
Little could be found about the later years of Déclez. In 1912, he was living with a member of the prominent Ducommun family on Grand Avenue south of Pico Street when he applied for a passport and, notably, the 64-year old gave his occupation as sculptor. The reason for the trip appears to have been a return visit to his native France as later in the year he and his wife returned to the United States by steamer from Liverpool, England and, again, his profession was given as sculptor.
In fall 1913, Déclez relocated to Algeria, then a French colony, in North Africa, where, according to a 1916 registration form with the United States consul, he stated [and listed a Ducommun as his personal attorney] that the reason for the move, which followed his wife’s death, was for “health & settlement [of an] estate,” though he added that he intended to return to the U.S. in two years. Whether he did so is not known, but the 8 April 1921 issue of the Times briefly reported that Déclez died two months prior at Le Cannet, adjacent to Cannes on the French Riviera. The obituary observed,
He was for many years engaged in the marble and granite business here, his place of business being on Los Angeles street, north of First street. He opened the Declezville quarries in San Bernardino county on the Santa Fe [sic] in the early sixties [sic].
Mr. Declez had interests in Mexico and built, under contract, some of the Mexican public buildings.
Along with Jacob Miller, William Déclez played an important part in the development of Los Angeles during the last few decades of the 19th century as the Angel City grew by leaps and bounds with material from their enterprises used for houses, business buildings and cemetery gravesites, including those of John Rowland and Mattie Drown at El Campo Santo. Quarries for stone like theirs in San Bernardino County, as well as those for sand and gravel in such locales as nearby Irwindale are often seen as ugly scars in our landscape, though their essentiality for the growth of our region is undoubted.
As our staff continues to develop new exhibits in the Workman House, including for El Campo Santo, take the opportunity to visit us on our regular tour days, Friday through Sunday, excepting the fourth weekend, and, if you do so during this month, you can check out our Christmas season displays, including the Holiday Open House this coming Sunday the 7th from Noon to 4 p.m.