1875 (1871)(1874)(1876)(1869)(1880)(1870-1880)(1880-1890) Table of Contents
Fred E. Basten Santa Monica Bay: The First 100 Years, A pictorial history of Santa Monica, Venice, Ocean Park, Pacific Palisades,Topanga and Malibu, Douglas-West Publishers: Los Angeles, CA, 1974, 227 pp., 1875, 1878 See Text
Donald M. Cleland A History of the Santa Monica Schools 1876-1951, Santa Monica Unified School District, February 1952 (Copied for the Santa Monica Library, July 22, 1963). 140 pp., 1875 See Text
Mark E. Kann Middle Class Radicalism in Santa Monica, Temple University Press: Philadelphia, 1986. 322pp., 1875 See Text
James W. Lunsford The Ocean and the Sunset, The Hills and the Clouds: Looking at Santa Monica, illustrated by Alice N. Lunsford, 1983, 1977, 1923, 1900, 1882, 1875 See Text
Regina V. Phelan The Gold Chain: A California Family Saga, The Arthur H. Clark Co.: Glendale, CA, Illustrated, 1987, 432 pp., See Text
Jack Smith The Big Orange Ward Ritchie Press: Pasadena, CA, 1976. Santa Monica 1933, 1928, 1900, 1875, 1869, 1769, 1542 See Text
Jeffrey Stanton Santa Monica Pier A History from 1875 to 1990, Donahue Publishing: Los Angeles, CA, 1990, 1907, 1875 See Text
Les Storrs Santa Monica Portrait of a City Yesterday and Today, Santa Monica Bank: Santa Monica, CA, 1974, 67 pp. 1875 See Text
Betty Lou Young and Randy Young Santa Monica Canyon: A Walk Through History Casa Vieja Press: Pacific Palisades, CA, 1997, 182pp., 1875, See Text
Documents
Fred E. Basten Santa Monica Bay: The First 100 Years, A pictorial history of Santa Monica, Venice, Ocean Park, Pacific Palisades, Topanga and Malibu, Douglas-West Publishers: Los Angeles, CA, 1974, 227 pp., 1875, 1878
"On July 10, 1875, a map of 'Santa Monica' was recorded in the office of the County Recorder in Los Angeles. The town site fronted on the ocean and was bounded on the northwest by Montana Avenue, on the southeast by Railroad Avenue (now Colorado) and on the northeast by 26th Street. . . .
[Santa Monica's first wharf, "Shoo Fly Pier, was completed in April, 1875 at the foot of Colorado Avenue. Steamers arrived from San Francisco with passengers for the first land sale. It was a loading point of tar from the La Brea pits and was condemned in 1878 by the Southern Pacific Railroad.]
Donald M. Cleland A History of the Santa Monica Schools 1876-1951, Santa Monica Unified School District, February 1952 (Copied for the Santa Monica Library, July 22, 1963). 140 pp., 1875
Formation of the District
The Santa Monica School District was organized as a political unit of the state in 1875, eleven years before the town was first incorporated. The school district originally included the vast stretch of valleys, plains, and mountains, embracing La Ballona Rancho on the southwest and the Malibu Rancho on the northwest and everything in between. Out of this broad domain numerous other school districts were formed from time to time, and it has only been in recent years that the geographical boundaries of the Santa Monica School District have been reduced to the area of the city, with the addition still of a stretch of twenty-six miles of seashore and mountains lying between Topanga Canyon and the Ventura County Line, with the exception of the Decker Elementary School District which is only a part of the Santa Monica High School District. [1. School District Organization in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles: Office of the County Superintendent, 1937, p. 47.]
" . . . The organization of the district came about through the desires of the early townspeople to provide a suitable education for their children. A public meeting was called on December 5, 1875, and a petition signed by thirty-four citizens of Santa Monica was sent immediately to the county superintendent of schools as a request to form a school district in Santa Monica." [2. School District Organization in Los Angeles County, p. 47.]
" . . .
Ingersoll's Century History Santa Monica Bay Cities (Being Book Number Two of Ingersoll's Century Series of California Local History Annals), 1908, 1908a, 1875
[p. 144] . . . Consequently, when in January, 1875, it was announced that Senator Jones had purchased a two-thirds interest in the San Vicente rancho, paying therefore about $150,000, and that a new railroad was assured, there was rejoicing long and loud throughout Southern California.
The Los Angeles and Independence railroad was organized in January, 1875, with F.P.F. Temple, a banker of Los Angeles; John P. Jones, Robert S. Baker, T.N. Park, James A. Pritchard, J.S. Slauson of Los Angeles, and Col. J.U Crawford, as directors.
Right of way between Los Angeles and Santa Monica was secured at once and without difficulty, it may be added, and Col. Crawford, the engineer and general manager of the road, at once began active operations. It was announced that the road would be pushed through to Independence, where were located the Panamint mines, owned by Senator Jones, and then supposed to rival the Gold Hill district in richness. There were rumors also that the line wold be carried across Nevada to Salt Lake and the papers frequently referred to it as the beginning and ocean terminus of a transcontinental line.
As soon as the railroad work was fairly started the construction of a wharf was begun. [p. 145] This was located near the old "Shoo Fly" landing and near the present foot of Colorado street, where a stub of the old wharf still remains. The first pile wa driven April 22nd, 1875, and the first boat landed at the wharf in June. The wharf was 1700 feet in length and reached a depth of thirty feet at low tide. It was substantially built, with [the LA & I RR] depot, and warehouses at its terminus and cost abot $45,000.
The U.S.C. Special Collections has photographs of the downtown Los Angeles terminal of the Los Angeles and Independence Railroad before 1888, and a photograph of a drawing of the Baker and Jones Wharf, c. 1877. The Los Angeles Terminal of the Los Angeles and Independence Railroad burned in 1888. I don't know when the Southern Pacific Railway changed the name on the building if it ever did. The link to the photo is given here. The link tothe photo of the drawing is given in 1877.]
In the meantime, Messrs. Jones and Baker had laid out a townsite which extended from the bluff back to Twenty-sixth street and from Montana avenue on the north to the arroyo, or Railroad street, as it was then called, on the south. The original plat of Santa Monica was planned on a generous scale. The blocks were 320 by 600 feet; lots 150 by 50, with twenty foot alleys. A plaza, the present Seventh-street park, blocks for hotels, one on the ocean front, the present location of Miramar, and one on Eighth street, facing the plaza; for public buildings, the block between Fifteenth and Sixteenth, Nevada and California; also blocks for a university and a young ladies' seminary, were reserved on the map. The ocean front was kept intact and Ocean avenue was made 200 feet in width, the other streets and avenues 80 and 100 feet in width. A water system had already been planned and work begun on a large reservoir to be filled from San Vicente springs. The slope of the land gave ample water pressure and provided excellent natural drainage. Much of the present desirability of Santa Monica as a residence town is due to the liberal allotment and unequaled natural advantages of this original townsite.
The establishment of this new "commercial center of the southwest" and the ambitious plans of its projectors, together with much wild conjecturing by the Los Angeles papers, had attracted wide attention. On the day announced for the first sale of lots, July 15, 1875, several hundred people gathered about the stand on the bluff. Many of these were from Los Angeles and Southern California points, although the only way to reach the spot was by a long and dusty drive. The steamer, Senator, which is remembered by all old settlers, came in from San Francisco that day with a number of parties who had come down especially to attend this sale. This was the first landing of the Senator at Santa Monica. It was also the last boat to land at the "old wharf."
A dry and barren plain rolled away from the bluff and there was no shade from the blazing July sun. One board shack-the beginning of the Hotel Santa Monica, and a few tents were the only "improvements" aside from the partially-built wharf, visible. The Honorable Tom Fitch, the "silver-tongued" orator, made the great speech of the day-a speech in which he let his rich imagination run riot, as may be gathered from the following extract:
"On Wednesday afternoon at one o'clock we will sell at public outcry to the highest bidder, the Pacific ocean, draped with a western sky of scarlet and gold; we will sell a bay filled with white-winged ships; we will sell a southern horizon, rimmed with a choice collection of purple mountains, carved in castles [p. 146] and turrets and domes; we will sell a frostless, bracing, warm, yet unlanguid air, braided in and in with sunshine and odored with the breath of flowers. The purchaser of this job lot of climate and scenery will be presented with a deed to a piece of land 50 by 100 feet, known as 'lot A, in block 251.' The title to the land will be guaranteed by the present owner. The title to the ocean and the sunset, the hills and the clouds, the breath of the life-giving ozone and the song of the birds, is guaranteed by the beneficient God who bestowed them in all their beauty and affluence upon block 251, and attached them thereto by almighty warrant as an incorruptible hereditament to run with the land forever."
Of this same effort, L.T. Fisher said in the Outlook, of July 13th, 1887: "Under his eloquence many were led to believe that Santa Monica woud at once leap to the front as a full-fledged seaport and commercial center. In fact, so strong was the impression that not a few prominent men of Los Angeles, who had large possessions there, were actually afraid that the precedence of the "city of the Angels" would slip away from her and be transferred to the seacoast. And, if we may be allowed the suggestion, it would have been a good thing for the country if it had. Here would have sprung up the great commercial city of Southern California. It had all the advantages of climate, drainage and all of the best elements that should exist where a large population is concentrated."
Hon. Joseph Lynch, Major Ben Truman and Col. J.J. Ayers, the historic trio of Los Angeles editors, were present and also made glowing speeches as to the future of Santa Monica and Southern California.
The first lot sold, lot M in block 173, the northeast corner of Utah and Ocean avenue, went to E.R. Zamoyski for $500. Other lots on Ocean avenue brought from $400 to $500, and the prices ran down to $75.00 for lots back from the shore. Among the first purchasers were Major Hancock, Judge O'Melveny, W.J. Broderick, I.W. Hellman, George Boehme, W.D. Vawter and sons, H.T. Giroux and others. The sale continued on the ground for three days and on Saturday an auction was held in Los Angeles. Probably about $100,000 worth of lots were disposed of during the week.
The first building in Santa Monica was a rough board shack put up in April by J.C. Morgan, next to the Santa Monica Hotel and used as a boarding place for workmen. The first business house completed was that of H.T. Giroux on Second street, still occupied by him. The first general store was opened by W.D. Vawter, who purchased three lots on the last day of the auction on Fourth street between Utah and Oregon, paying $125.00 apiece for them. Two weeks from that day his store was ready for occupancy. Later this building was removed to Third street, where it is still used. The first brick building in the town was built by William Rapp, on Second street, between Utah and Oregon. It is still in use. A postoffice was established at once and [p. 147] W.H. Williams served as the first postmaster, the office, being located in a building on Second street where the Union livery stable now stands.
The growth of the new town was most promising. A Los Angeles paper of September 14th thus summarizes the advances made:
"Two months since the site of Santa Monica was a plain under the dominion of a sheepherder. Today nearly one hundred substantial houses line its broad streets. Two hotels are overflowing with guests. Its lumber yards are doing the business of a metropolis and dealers in coal, wood, drygoods and groceries are rushing about in energetic ardor to keep up their stock of goods which are bought out as rapidly as exposed for sale. The price of town lots continues. The fare from San Francisco is $12.00 by boat, while it is $20.00 by continuous. (The fare from San Francisco is $12 by boat, while it is $20 by rail, including a stage ride of 110 miles (the S.P. was not yet completed)."
Allowing for newspaper exaggeration, we may conclude that the first two months of the new town's existence were certainly lively ones. While buildings and businesses sprang up so magically, the new town also provided for the mental and moral needs of its citizens. On October 13th, 1875 appeared the first number of the Santa Moica Outlook, a neat and well-filled four-page weekly, with L.T. Fisher, as editor. He began at once that consistent and persistent support of the interests of the town which can only be supplied by a first class local newspaper.
He records in his first number the business houses and advance already made and the prospects for the future. Some extracts from early numbers of the Outlook will give a clear idea of the new town. "On the 15th of July, 1875, the first lot was sold at Santa Monica. At the date of this writing, October 11th, 1875; six hundred and fifteen lots have been erected. The water of San Vicente springs has been collected in two large reservoirs, forming pretty lakes in the proposed park, and the flow of half a million gallons per day is in process of being distributed in iron mains all over the townsite." -Outlook, October 13th, 1875
"Santa Monica continues to advance. We now have a wharf where the largest Panama steamers have landed; a railroad completed to Los Angeles; a telegraph station, a newspaper, postoffice, two hotels, one handsome clubhouse, several lodging houses, eight restaurants, a number of saloons, four groceries, three drygoods stores, two hardware stores, three fruit stores, one wool commission house, one news depot and book store, one variety store, one bakery, one jeweler and watchmaker, one boot and shoe maker, one tin shop, two livery stables, one dressmaker, two tin shops, several contractors and builders, three real estate agencies, one insurance agency, one coal yard, one brick yeard, two lumber yards, two private schools and in a short time we shall have two churches and a public school." -Outlook, November 24th, 1875
[p. 148, Rev. J.D. Crum, 1908b]
[p. 149] Among the merchants of the first year we find W.D. Vawter & Sons, Fourth street, dealer in dry goods, clothing, etc.; M.J. Bundy, dealer in paints, oils, glass; tin shop, Boehme & Kilgariff; M. Boufosky, groceries, liquors, etc.; H. Giroux & Bros., groceries, liquors, etc.; Wilson news depot, which handled everything form eastern periodicals to gents' furnishing goods, drugs and medicines; Tell's "Lookout," which combined "native wines and brandies, fresh fruit, vegetables and fish," with a "livery and feed stable." The hotels were the Santa Monica House, kept by J.C. Morgan and C.M. Monroe for a few months and then by J.W. Scott and the Ocean View House, corner of Oregon and Seccond, kept by Malcom & Harper.
The first child born in Santa Monica was Earnest Majors, who made his appearance on August 2nd and who grew to manhood in this city . . . The first sermon was preached by the Rev. A.F. White in September. In October, the Rev. Mr. Crum began holding Methodist services in Brady's hall, over a store on the corner of Oregon and Fifth streets . . . A private school, known as the Santa Monica Academy, was opened by D.G.C. Baker and wife, November 8th, 1875.
October 17th, 1875, the first railroad left Santa Monica for Los Angeles, flat cars being used, as the passenger coaches had not arrived. Three trips were made that day and passengers from the steamer Senator were landed in Los Angeles, twelve hours in advance of those who went on to San Pedro. On November 3rd the Outlook exults over: "A Busy Scene. We watched a lively scene on Santa Monica wharf last Thursday that is decidedly encouraging. On one side the schooner John Hancock was discharging a large cargo of lumber; on the opoposite side the schooner Newton Booth had just arrived with railroad ties; further along the barkentine Ella was unloading coal. The Senator was discharging a large cargo of passengers and freights, including several race horses. A train of cars was waiting to transport the whole into the back country. And it must be remembered that only a few months ago the site of this growing town was a sheep pasture and the spot occupied by wharf and vessels a lonely waste of waters."
The same month the coast steamers began to make regular stops at the new town, and the Outlook states that at one time 28 mule teams were loaded with freight for San Bernardino. On Sunday, December 5th, the new road was so far completed that an excursion of 400 people, the first one entering Santa Monica, was brought in. Two trains a day were put on and the fare was $1.00; freight $1.00 per ton between Los Angeles and Santa Monica. The Southern [p. 150] Pacific, when the Jones road and wharf were assured had dropped the freight rate between Los Angeles and San Pedro from $5.00 per ton to $2.50 and on the completion of the line it dropped to $1.00 for freight and 50 cents for passengers, thus forcing the new road to begin operating at losing rates. The people of Los Angeles in their gratitude for the loosening of the Southern Pacific monopoly, declared that they would stand by the Jones road and handle their trade over the Santa Monica wharf.
" . . .
In this connection [the threat of the LA & I railroad to the Central Pacific], some extracts from letters written by Crocker and Huntington will show the odds against which the promoters of the L.A. & I. railway struggled. On May 18th, 1875, Charles Crocker wrote: "I notice what you say of Jones, Park, etc. I do not think they will hurt us much, at least, I should rather be in our places than theirs. I will ventilate their "safe harbor."" And on May 25th, Huntington responded: "I shall do my best to cave him (Jones) down the bank."
" . . .
[p. 161] Chapter II Laying the Foundations. 1870-1880.
In 1875 he [W.D. Vawter] came to California and was one of the original members of the Indiana colony which was the forerunner of the city of Pasadena. Mr. Vawter purchased a sixty-acre ranch in that colony, which is now occupied by the business portion of that city. Drawn by report of the great advantages offered by the new settlement of Santa Monica which was to become the commercial metropolis of Southern California, he with his sons located here and opened the first general store in the town, in a building on the lots on Fourth street still occupied by the Vawter . . .[p. 161] Mary Ellen Vawter, [1836- ], the first child of W.D. and Mary C. Vawter, was born at Vernon, Ind., October 28th, 1836. At the age of eighteen she began teaching school. At twenty-three, she married Ward Leavitt [ -1896] of Chatauqua, N.Y. In the spring of 1875, Mr. and Mrs. Leavitt with their daughter, Florence, removed to California. They were stockholders in the Indiana colony, but after . . . [Page 162] a brief residence there located in Santa Monca. In 1880 they returned to Pasadena and lived for some years upon their orange ranch. In 1887 they again located in Santa Monica, where Mr. Leavitt died, October 23th, 1896.
[p. 162] May Vawter [1838-1884] was born in Vernon, Ind., March 4th, 1838. She was educated in the schools of her native town and received a special musical training. After teaching school and traveling through the southern and eastern states and Canada, she accompanied her family to California in 1875. In the spring of 1876 she married Switzer S. Harwood, M.D. Dr. and Mrs. Harwood lived at San Pablo and in San Francisco and Yreka. They finally removed to Sydney, Australia, where they made their home. Mrs. Harwood was a self-reliant woman, adventurous from childhood, and she several times made the voyage between Sydney and California. She [ May Vawter] early united with the Vernon Presbyterian church and was a charter member of the First Presbyterian church of Santa Monica. She died in Sydney, Australia, March 1st, 1884.
[p.162] Jane Cravens Vawter [ - ] is a native of Vernon, Ind. She received her education in private and public schools of her native town and later studied under Dr. J.C. Burt, following a college course. She also took a special course of reading extending over several years. When very young she was interested in political and national questions and became a staunch abolitionist. She was for several years a teacher in the public schools of Indianapois.
She [Jane Cravens] united with the Presbyterian church at Vernon and was the projector and one of the founders of the first Sunday-school in Santa Monica. This was organized and carried on for some weeks in the home of W.D. Vawter. Miss Vawter was a charter member of the First Presbyterian church and served for some time as its Sunday-school superintendent. She was long a teacher in this school, taking children from their tenth year and holding them until they reached majority. She was one of the two solicitors who collected funds for the present beautiful Presbyterian building.
[p. 162] William S. Vawter [1845- ], the eldest son of W.D. and Mary C. Vawter, was born near Vernon, Ind., April 1st, 1845. He passed through the graded schools of the town and graduated from a commercial college in Cincinnati, Ohio. Returning to his native place, he was appointed deptuy county clerk of Jennings county. Later he became editor and proprietor of the Vernon Banner, a weekly [p. 163] paper, which he conducted with success for a couple of years. He then entered the manufacturing business, which he continued until he came to California in 1875.
[p. 163] After making investments in the Indiana colony, now Pasadena, the Vawters, father and two sons [W.S. and E.J.], opened the first general store in Santa Monica and conducted an extensive mercantile business for ten years [1875-1885]. They remained here during the long period of depression, succeeding the abandonment of the wharf by the Southern Pacific Company and, in spite of the most discouraging conditions, retained their faith in the future of this region.
" . . .
[p. 160 E.J. Vawter, 1908b]
[p. 164] Edwin James Vawter [1848- ] was born in Vernon, Ind., November 25th, 1848. After being educated in the public schools, he showed a decided tendency for business and made his first venture as a newspaper man, on the Vernon Banner. He was soon taken into partnership with his father W.D. Vawter, in his general merchandise business, at the old "Vawter's Corner," in Vernon. On the removal to California in 1875, the partnership between father and son was continued, and he was also one of the stockholders in the Indiana colony. He located in Santa Monica when the family decided upon this as a residence. . . .
" . . .
[p. 164 ] Emma Knowlton Vawter [1853- ] was born in Vernon, Ind., August 21st, 1853. She received her education in the public schools of Vernon, Ind., and in the Western Seminary and Oxford College, where she graduated in 1873. She came to California with her father's family and has since that time been a resi- [p. 165] dent of Santa Monica. Having received a good musical education, she acted as organist for the First Presbyterian church from its organization until 1903. She resides with her sister, Jane Cravens, in the old home at Santa Monica.
[p. 164 ] Charles Knowlton Vawter [1855-1879] . . .
" . . .
. . . [p. 164] Edwin Jackson Vawter, Jr. [1871- ], son of Edwin James and Laura Dixon Vawter [ -1886], was born in Vernon, Ind., June 10th, 1871. He came to California with his parents and after his mother's death in 1886, lived for a time with his grandfather, W.D. Vawter. At sixteen [1887] he entered Purdue University, Indiana. In 1888, he entered the State University at Berkeley, but owing to an attack of typhoid fever did not complete the course.
" . . .
[p. 244] Chapter VI South Santa Monica and Ocean Park
" . . . and in 1875 she [Mrs. Nancy Lucas] erected a house on the highest point of her ranch-the hill between what is now Strand and Hill streets and Third and Fourth. The house was an ambitious two-story affair, costing some $12,000, and was for years the finest residence in the vicinity of Santa Monica and a landmark of note until its destruction by fire in December, 1904.
" . . .
[p. 245] In 1875 Mrs. Lucas sold a fifty-acre tract, adjoining the new town and fronting the ocean, to Ivar A. Weid, a well-known Los Angeles capitalist. He at once advertised, "South Santa Monica-Five minutes' walk from the new Wharf. Block No 4, with Ocean Frontage of 370 feet." Later he changed his ad to "SOUTH SANTA MONICA, Lots 60 x 150 feet. Villa Sites purchased by Judges Bicknell and Glassell, Captain Thom, and others."
" . . .
Schools
As in every other American community, one of the first interests of the new settlement of Santa Monica, in 1875, was to provide school advantages. The first shack to house the men working on the wharf was put on the ground in April , 1875; the first lots in the new town site were sold in July. On November 3rd, the citizens of the town held a meeting in the dining-room of the Hotel Santa Monica to discuss school matters and take steps to secure the formation of a school district. As a result of this effort, the Santa Monica School District was formed by the board of supervisors. It included within its limits the San Vicente, Santa Monica and Malibur ranchos, the tract of land belonging to Mrs. Lucas, and a portion of the Ballona grant-a somewhat extensive domain.
On December 3rd the first school election was held and John Freeman, L.T. Fisher and J.W. Scott were chosen as trustees; at the same time it was reported that there were seventy-two children in the new district.
" . . .
[p. 278] Santa Monica Fire Department
[p. 279] Newspapers
The newspaper history of Santa Monica is practically the history of the Santa Monica Outlook. The first number of this paper was issued October [p. 281] 13th, 1875, with L.T, Fisher as editor. Outside of the Los Angeles Express, started in 1871, and the Herald, first published in 1873, it is the oldest newspaper in the county and one of the oldest papers in Southern California.
The editior had published a paper at San Pedro before locating in the then embryo city of Santa Monica. His first number was a -four-page, seven-column sheet, well filled with news and advertisements. The office of the Outlook at this time was on Third street between Arizona and Nevada, the property now known as the General Sargeant place. The editor rejoices, in his early numbers, in the fact that he-for the first time in his life-owns his own home, and in the rapid growth of his trees and shrubbery. The magnificient trees on this place will bear mute testimoy to Mr. Fisher's energy.
The Outlook boosted Santa Monica manfully during those early years of existence. The editor as convinced that the progress of Santa Monica, the completion of the Los Angeles and Independence road and the supremacy of Santa Monica as a commercial port, were the most important subjects to himself and his readers and he wrote editorials on these which were masterpieces in their way.
" . . .
[p. 282] PostOffice
The first postoffice in Santa Monica was located in a building still standing on the east side of Second street, near Colorado. The first postmaster was W.H. Williams [ -1877], who held the office until his death in January, 1877.
" . . .
[p. 288] Chapter VIII Churches and Societies: Methodist Church
The oldest record of the Methodist church of Santa Monica reads: "Minutes of the First Quartlerly Conference for Santa Monica, held October 26th, 1875, at the residence of D.G.C Baker. The presiding elder, A.M. Hough, in the chair. The session was opened with a prayer by the presiding eleder. On motion Rev. J.D. Crum was appointed secretary. Organization: The following named persons, members of the Methodist Episcopal church, being present, proceeded to organize a society: J.D.D. Crum, pastor; O.A. Snow, local preacher; D.G.C. Baker, A. Dutton, M.J.D. Baker, Eliza Corey, Ida May Atkinson, Margaret Atkinson, Minnie Atkinson and Mary A. Crum. Abner Dutton was appointed class leader. Stewards: D.G.C. Baker, O.A. Snow and Margaret Atkinson. D.G.C. Baker, recording secretary. Trustees: O.A, Snow, R.M. Widney, Samuel Atkinson, D.G. C. Baker and J.D. Crum. [p. 289] It was resolved that the trustees be instructed to incorporate and secure lots from the Santa Monica Land Company and erect a church building thereon, Margaret Atkinson and Mrs. M.J.D. Baker were appointed a committee to secure subscriptions to aid in the erection of a church."
[p. 289] The Reverand Crum preached for the first time in Santa Monica, October 15th, 1875, in an upper room of the building, then occupied as a hardware store, on the corner of Oregon and Fifth street. On October 29th, Rev. Hough preached.
" . . .
[p. 290] Chapter VIII First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica
[p. 290] The history of the Presbyterian church of Santa Monica dates back to September 12th, 1875, when a Sunday school was organized at the house of W.D. Vawter, on Fourth street, in the present home of the Misses Vawter. Later this school met in a hall on the corner of Fifth and Oregon, generously offered to them by Mr. J.O. Brady.
On September 24th, a petition signed by twelve persons, was sent to the [p. 291] Rev. Dr. White, chairman of the committee of the Presbytery, asking him to come to Santa Monica and organize a Presbyterian church. On Tuesday, September 28th, Dr. White met with the petitioners and organized them in accordance with their request into the "First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica." The names of the petitioners were as follows: Mr. R.S. Bassett, Mrs. E. Bassett, Miss Rose Bassett, Mr. T.H. Clark, Mrs. E. Mountain, Misses Mattie A. Mountain, Mr. L.M. Perkins, Mrs. S.P. Perkins, Mrs. C.A. Vawter, Miss May Vawter, Miss Jennie Vawter, Miss Emma Vawter. The trustees of the new organization were: Y.S. Grinshaw, E.J. Vawter, G.W. Brady, W.S. Vawter.
[p. 291] The new society proceeded at once to provide themselves with a permanent place of worship. Messrs. Jones and Baker presented the church with two lots at the corner of Third and Arizona, and on these were erected the chapel which for eleven years [1875-1886] was used, and was then moved to the rear of the lots, enlarged, and used for infant classes, mid-week meetings and socials.
" . . .
Mark E. Kann Middle Class Radicalism in Santa Monica, Temple University Press: Philadelphia, 1986. 322 pp., 1875
"In 1875, Jones laid out the town of Santa Monica, registered it with the government, and hired noted auctioneer Colonel Tom Fitch to begin selling lots. He also began construction on his wharf and docking facilities, and on his Los Angeles and Independence Railroad that would link the Santa Monica harbor to Los Angeles and then to the Panamint mines. Before the year was out, his 1,740-foot wharf was operational, complete with warehouse and depot; excursion trains were running between Santa Monica and Los Angeles; and advertisements appeared in newspapers throughout the United States inviting West Coast steamers to dock at the new harbor and businessmen to invest in the new seaport city. The promotional literature called Santa Monica "the Zenith City by the Sunset Sea." p. 30
James W. Lunsford The Ocean and the Sunset, The Hills and the Clouds: Looking at Santa Monica, illustrated by Alice N. Lunsford, 1983, 1977, 1923, 1900, 1882, 1875
"At one o'clock we will sell at public outcry to the highest bidder, the Pacific Ocean, draped with a western sky of scarlet and gold; we will sell a bay filled with white-winged ships; we will sell a southern horizon, rimmed with a choice collection of purple mountains, carved in castles and turrets and domes; we will sell a frostless, bracing, warm, yet languid air, braided in and out with sunshine and odored with the breath of flowers. The purchaser of this job lot of climate and scenery will be presented with a deed of land 50 by 50 feet. The title to the ocean and the sunset, the hills and the clouds, the breath of life-giving ozone and the song of birds is guaranteed by the beneficient God who bestowed them in all their beauty."
Tom Fitch, announcing the auction of the first Santa Monica lots in 1875
Ocean Park
"41. Former First Methodist Episcopal Church Building, 2621 Second Street. Now a private residence, the north portion of this building was originally built in 1875 at the southwest corner of Sixth and Arizona and may be the oldest standing wood-frame building in the city. In 1882 it was moved to the southwest corner of Fourth and Arizona, then in 1900 to Ocean Park, where it became the Ocean Park Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1923 the church built a new brick structure and the old church became a meeting hall known as Patriotic Hall. It was purchased by the Stephen Jackson Women's Relief Corps No. 124 of the Grand Army of the Republic Auxiliary and used as a meeting hall until 1971, when it was sold and became a residence. It was designated a Santa Monica City Landmark in 1977.
Regina V. Phelan The Gold Chain: A California Family Saga, The Arthur H. Clark Co.: Glendale, CA, Illustrated, 1987, 432 pp.
(p. 303) Chapter 26 (Drawing: Weinshank Beach Cottage)
"Jenny Weinshank [1860 - ] returned from Sacramento because she felt she was needed at home after her father's death (Andrew Weinshank [1835 -18 February 1874]). She tried to get her mother (Regina Weinshank [ - ]) interested in new activities. A man by the name of J.P. Jones was selling lots at Santa Monica. He went to San Francisco to spread the word and he put an ad in the Los Angeles paper. Jenny saw the ad and the idea of haing a cottage at the seashore was more appealing, especially because her mother had always loved the ocean so.
"Jones arranged to have the steamship The Senator transport 150 eager buyers from San Francisco to participate in the land sale. It was on July 14th when the sidewheeler chugged into the harbor and dispatched its passengers.
"At daylight the next morning, the road from Los Angeles over the hot, dust mesa was a continuous line of Angelenos, driving their buggies through the wide-open pasture lands, as stages and hacks began shuttling citizens to the auction sale. Los Angeles livery stables were empty by noon, and the horse cars were the only moving vehicles on the streets.
"Jenny and her mother stood in the crowd, along with all the others, waiting for the bidding to begin. Then the autioneer, Jim Fitch, mounted the platform, stoood with his back to the ocean.
""Just visualize, if you will, several wharfs projected out into the (p. 304) bay, a gigantic smelting works erected to refine the Cerro Gordo and Panamint ores. Think of all the activity this will bring."
"One man from the crowd asked, "What about drinking water?"
""You can dig an Artesian well. Fresh water is close to the surface," answered Jim. "Now, can we get on?"
"Nearby stood a temporary bar, a row of beer kegs with a sign on it saying, "Grand Palace Saloon."
"Jim Fitch got right down to business. "We'll start with the first lot. Can I hear "two hundred?" Fine, how about "two-twenty-five?" and so it went.
"A few minutes later, one of the kegs of beer exploded, the beer sprayed out over the spectators. One of the witty onlookers remarked, "One of the Artesian wells just came in," and the crowd howled. It took a little doing to get the crowd back under control, but when the day was over, four thousand dollar's worth of lots had been sold, and Regina had hers.
Santa
Monica Planning Division Santa Monica Landmarks Tour,
2003.
46.
Third Street Neighborhood Historic
District
Bounded by Ocean
Park Boulevard, Second, Hill and Third Streets.
Designation:
1 July 1990
"The
Third Street Neighborhood Historic District is the City's first
Historic District. It consists of 38 contributing buildings
constructed between 1875 and 1930. This small Ocean Park neighborhood
illustrates many of the historical and architectural patterns that
characterized the larger community. Historically, the neighborhood
has ties to some of Santa Monica's most prominent early residents.
Architecturally, the buildings chronicle the evolution of design from
the Victorian era through the revival styles of the 1920s and 1930s,
with an emphasis on hipped roof, turn-of-the-century cottages and
Craftsman bungalows."
48. First
Methodist-Episcopal Church, 1875-1876
2621
2nd Street
Architect:
Unknown
Designation:
4 January 1977
"A simplified variation of a Gothic Revival style, the building was the first church erected in Santa Monica. The site was donated by the Santa Monica Land Company of City founder John P. Jones. Located originally at Sixth and Arizona, the church was moved to Hill and Lake Streets in 1899 and occupied by the Ocean Park Methodist-Episcopal Church. Lake Street became Washington Boulevard, and is now Second Street.
"In 1923, the old church was sold to the Stephen Jackson Women's Relief Corps, No. 124 and was renamed "Patriotic Hall." In 1971, it became a private residence." p.20
Amanda
Schacter (ed.) Santa Monica Landmarks Santa Monica Landmarks
Commission, 1990.
11.
First Methodist-Episcopal Church
2621 2nd Street
Built: 1875
Designated 4 January 1977
"This building, a simplified variation of a Gothic Revival style, was the first church building erected in Santa Monica. The site was donated by the Santa Monica Land Company, the development company of Santa Monica founder John P. Jones. Located originally at Sixth and Arizona, in 1883 it was moved two blocks west to the southwest corner of Fourth and Arizona. At that time a bell tower was added. In 1899, the church was moved to Hill and Lake Streets and occupied by the Ocean Park Methodist - Episcopal Church. Lake Street became Washington Boulevard, and is now Second Street. In 1923, the old church was sold to the Stephen Jackson Women's Relief Corps, No. 124 and was called Patriotic Hall. In 1971, it became a private residence.
Grant H. Smith The History of the Comstock Lode 1850-1920, Geology and Mining Series No. 37, University of Nevada Bulletin: Reno, Nevada, vol. XXXVII. 1 July 1943, no. 3, (revised 1966), Ninth printing, 1980. 305pp., 1875,
p. 162] Chapter XVIII Sharon Starts the Boom-A Wild Market-The Consolicated Virginia Boom-The Chronicle Boosts the Bonanza-The Market Reaches the Top-Extravagant Forecasts
[p. 171] The Market Reaches the Top-Extavagant Forecasts
" . . .
[p. 172] "The following editorial from the [San Francisco] Chronicle of January 4, 1875, illustrates the exuberance of its ethusiasm. Under the [p. 173] caption "Millionaires of San Francisco," the editor quotes the following paragraph from the Chicago Inter-Ocean: "No city upon this continent can show more men of solid wealth than San Francisco. Mines of fabulous possibilities pour their dividends into the pockets of the Licks, the Sharons, and the Haywards. Many of her citizens could sell out at a month's notice for $5,000,000 each. Palaces have risen from silver bricks, and the proudest buildings in the City owe their origin to ores and bullion."
[p. 173] "Followig which the editor of the Chronicle proudly comments: "This was true enough three months ago, but the Inter-Ocean is one of those fogy journals who do not keep pace with the times. Lick, Latham, Sharon, and Hayward are all poor men. Worth $5,000,000? Well, yes, they may be worth that paltry sum. So are Reese, Mills, Baldwin, Lux, Miller, Jones, Ralston, and Stanford. These are only our well-to-do citizens, men of comfortable incomes-our middle class. Our rich men the Inter-Ocean has not named. They are Mackay, Flood, O'Brien, and Fair. Twenty or thirty million each is but a moderate estimate of their wealth. Mackay is worth from sixty to a hundred millions.
"They have not heard of our new bonanza in Chicago-a lump of silver ore as big as their Grand Pacific Hotel, worth from $100 to $20,000 per ton, so far as ascertained, while its depth, breadth, and thickness have not yet been reached."
[p. 173] "Nothing like this ore body had ever been seen in the world, so most of them thought. [Footnote: Although there had been greater and richer deposits of silver ore at Potosi and in Mexico.] . . .
" . . .
[p. 174] "The stock brokers were almost exhausted by the rush of business, and on December 24 the Exchange declared a recess until January 2. But there was no holding back the flood. Stocks continued to mount in street trading, and on January 7, 1875, the market value of 31 of the leading mines was $262,669,940. [Lord's Comstock Mining and Miners, p. 409 (1883).] A tabulation of the 65 others would increase the amount to $300,000,000. The market value of Con. Virginia was $76,680,000, of California $85,380,000 and of Ophir $31,748,000. What that sum meant at the time may be illustrated by the fact that the total assessment value of the real estate in San Francisco was only $190,000,000.
" . . .
[p. 174] "Thousands of men and women of all classes had rushed into the market to purchase stocks in Comstock mines. Few of them could afford high-priced stocks and so bought the cheaper ones which were being manipulated by the "insiders."
". . .
[p. 175] "[Footnote: King's History of San Francisco Stock Exchange, p. 153 (1910): The only stocks that had not materially advanced in price were the Crown Point and the Belcher, and they were the only mines on the Lode that were paying dividends with the exception of the Con. Virginia. Evidently they had not been manipulated.]
[p. 176] Chapter XIX The fateful Year of 1875-The Market Crashes in January-Mackay Thought the Panic Was Temporary-The Chronicle Attacks "The Bank Crowd"-Partial Recovery in the Spring-The New York Tribune Correspondent Visits the Comstock-Prof. Rogers and the Director of the U.S, Mint Overestimate the Bonanza-The Firm Organizes the Nevada Bank-The Bank of California Suspends in August 1875-Ralston's Death Stuns the Coast-Virginia City Destroyed by Fire October 26, 1875-Fair's Misleading Reports
[p. 176] "Suddenly the speculators came to their senses. Practically all stocks had been bought on margin account and there was not enough money in the West to finance more than a fraction of the purchases. [Footnote: . . . all stocks on the Pacific exchange . . . footed up to . . . $350,000,000.]
" . . .
[p. 182] The New York Tribune Correspondent
" . . .
[p. 183] "His visit to the Con. Virginia was the highlight of his experience. At the assaying and melting department he saw bars of silver and gold stacked up like cordwood and 'thrown about as if they were so many pigs of iron;" their weight ranging from 90 to 110 pounds and the value from $3,000 to $4,000 each. The trip through the steaming underground workings filled him with wonder-the hive of industry. The perfection of the arrangements and the masses of ore everywhere were beyond anything he had imagined.
[p. 183] "The correspondent was unrestrained when he came to describe Virginia City:
"Here is a city of about 25,000 inhabitants, about 7,000 (6,200) feet above the level of the sea, with inhabitants in the garb of laborers, but with the habits of Parisians. Here are restaurants as fine as any in the world, though not so extensive as some, nor as elaborate in appointments; here are drinking saloons more gorgeous in appointment than any in San Francisco, Philadelphia, or New York; and here are shops and stores which are dazzling in splendor. The peope here seem to run to jewelry. I have never seen finer shops than are here, and the number of diamonds displayed in the windows quite overwhelms one's senses. The Washoe club is nearly as well furnished as any in New York, except in pictures, books, and bronzes, and the manner of living of the inhabitants generally is upon a high scale . . . I have never been in a place where money is so plentiful nor where it is spent with so much extravagance and recklessness . . .[p. 183] "The houses are mostly brick on the business streets, and the sidewalks swarm with people. It is as difficult to get along C street in the evening as it is to go along Broadway in the neighborhood of Fulton in the middle [p. 185] of the afternoon. Every young blood in the city, and every old one too, for that matter, has his fast horse or his pair . . . I doubt if there is a city of 200,000 people in the United States which has as much wealth as Virginia City. "
[p. 185] "The famous Washoe Club, of which the correspondent speaks, was formed by sixty promient citizens on February 20, 1875. The Club's first luxurious quarters on "B" Street were burned in the fire of that fall, after which it was permanently located in the Douglass Building on "C" Street There the members, most of them were mine superintendents, bankers, brokers, lawyers, and leading business men, gathered of nights in good fellowship-drinking, playing cards, and swapping yarns. Stories were current of poker games for high stakes. The register of the Club, upon which all of the noted men and women who visited the Comstock during the succeeding twenty years inscribed their names, is still on exhibition at Virginia City.
" . . .
Jack Smith The Big Orange Ward Ritchie Press: Pasadena, CA, 1976. Santa Monica 1933, 1928, 1900, 1875, 1869, 1769, 1542
Santa Monica
"'Title to the ocean, the sunset, and the air is guaranteed by God.'
"It seemed incredible that only a hundred years ago there was nothing here but land, sea and sky. An Easterner, writing years later of a visit he made to this shore in 1869, recalled that it was 'an unpeopled waste - no light (dressed) brigade of sportive bathers charged the angry surf; neither keel nor oar vexed the breakers that broke on the desolate shore.'
"Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo and his crew were the first white men to see Santa Monica Bay, on their voyage of 1542. Then two hundred and twenty-seven years passed before Gaspar de Portolá and his soldiers camped at a spring above the bay. It is said that one of Portolá's men named the place Santa Monica, likening the spring water to the saint's tears for her wayward son, Augustine.
"It was another century before John P. Jones, a Nevada senator, and Colonel R.S. Baker, a cattleman, who had bought the old Mexican land grants, formed a township, filed maps and started selling lots. The sale was held on a hot day in 1875. They hired Tom Fitch, an orator and auctioneer of note. Hundreds of people buggied down from Los Angeles to hear Fitch and to see the ocean. Both were magnificent.
"Fitch promised that anyone who bought a lot in Santa Monica would have the Pacific Ocean as a backdrop, with a daily sunset of 'scarlet and gold' and 'a bay filled with white-winged ships.'
"He went on to say that the title to the land was guaranteed by his employers, but the title to 'the ocean, the sunset and the air is guaranteed by God.'" p. 251
Jeffrey Stanton Santa Monica Pier A History from 1875 to 1990, Donahue Publishing: Los Angeles, CA, 1990, 1907, 1875
Chapter 1: Santa Monica's North Beach (1875-1907)
"By February 1875, road gangs of Chinese laborers were cutting through the soft palisade at the end of a Santa Monica arroyo to create rail acccess to a 1,740 foot long wharf. A freighter arrived at the Shoo Fly Landing on April 19th to unload a shipment of Oregon fir logs. Three days later workers, using a steam driven pile driver, began pounding piles for the wharf into the bay's sandy bottom. Construction was also started on the Santa Monica Hotel located on the bluff north of the wharf. It served as lodgings for the railroad workers and later became Santa Monica's first tourist hotel.
"Senator Jones travelled to New York City to negotiate with Union Pacific president, Jay Gould, for purchase of rails and rolling stock. Despite pressure by Southern Pacific for Gould not to cooperate, they were too late. By June, the pier was completed and the first ship landed. Rails were laid from Santa Monica to Los Angeles at a rapid pace.
"Collis P. Huntington, who was the principal owner of the Southern Pacific, next began to pressure shipping companies to allow only half their ships to dock at Santa Monica. Jones counterattacked by purchasing the Panama Railroad to gain leverage on Atlantic-Pacific trade as it crossed the narrow isthmus. He insisted that the Pacific Mail Steamship Company schedule regular stops at Santa Monica.
"Meanwhile the two partners [Baker and Jones] hired J.E. Jackson, a civil engineer to survey their townsite. It was initially a modest town that stretched eight blocks along the shore atop the bluffs just north of the railroad terminal, and inland twenty five blocks. They filed a subdivision map for their city with the county recorder on July 10, 1875.
"Advertisements announcing a land auction on Thursday July 15th were placed in Los Angeles and San Francisco newspapers. They boasted that Santa Monica was to be the site of two transcontinental railroads. Senator Jones hired Tom Fitch, a former Congressman and persuasive orator as auctioneer. Fitch stirred up enthusiasm in San Francisco and accompanied prospective buyers on one of two side-wheel steamers that left San Francisco in time to arrive at Santa Monica on the morning of the sale. Hundreds more eager investors traveled by carriage and stage over a crude road from Los Angeles to attend the sale.
"The crowd of nearly two thousand bidders converged at the foot of Wilshire Blvd., where Senator Jones had set up bleachers facing the bay. A makeshift tavern called Grand Palace Saloon was set up nearby and stocked with kegs of beer. After denying rumors that the Los Angeles and Independence Railroad was nothing more than a "paper" route and the city's title was in question, Senator Jones opened the bidding.
"The first parcel, now at the corner of Broadway and Ocean Av., started at $250, and sold for $510. Others on that block went for $300, while those further inland sold for as little as $75. By the end of the day $40,000 in lots were sold, and another $43,000 were auctioned off the following day.
"Work continued steadily on the railroad. A brass-trimmed locomotive accompanied by a string of flat cars and gondolas arrived by side-wheel steamer at the town's new pier in late September. It's maiden voyage on October 17, 1875 over ten miles of track took just 19 minutes. Travellers rode in open cars because of a shortage of passenger coaches, but the tremendous improvement over stagecoach times was worth the inconvenience. The train mostly hauled freight at a dollar a ton, but by December they had regular passenger service twice daily for a dollar fare.
"At first, Santa Monica sought to capitalize on its seaside location and blossoom into a commercial port. The new town experienced a building boom. By the end of the year there were more than one hundred buildings completed or under construction. The railroad brought quick prosperity, and weekend visitors spent freely on beach outings."
Les Storrs Santa Monica Portrait of a City Yesterday and Today, Santa Monica Bank: Santa Monica, CA, 1974, 67 pp. 1875
"[Senator Jones] set about organinzing [a railroad], and the Los Angeles and Independence Railroad sprang into existence in 1875. Directors were Senator Jones*, F.P.F. Temple, for whom the street in Los Angeles was named; Colonel Baker*, T.N. Park, James A. Pritchard, J.S. Slauson, whose name also has been perpetuated on street signs; and Col. J.U. Crawford, an engineer who became general manager.
" . . .
"In 1875 Charles Crocker, the San Francisco magnate, wrote to Huntington: "I notice what you say of Jones*, Park, etc. I do not think they will hurt us much, at least, I would rather be in our place than in theirs."
"Collis Huntington's reply: "I shall do my best to cave him (Jones) down the bank."
" . . .
"Senator Jones*' intent was to carry his rail lines from Los Angeles to Independence, where he owned the Panamint mines, but this never occurred.
"Meanwhile, Senator Jones* had joined forces with Colonel Baker* on another project: the establishment of the town of Santa Monica.
"Accordingly, they laid out the area from Colorado Avenue to Montana Avenue, and from the top of the bluff to Twenty-Sixth Street in blocks 320 by 600 feet in dimensions.
"With few exceptions, each block consisted of 24, 50 by 150 foot lots, a pattern which remains today. The developers set aside the present Palisades Park and Lincoln Park for that use.
"They also reserved entire blocks for such purposes as two hotels, public buildings, a university, "a young ladies' seminary." Only the parks became facts.
" . . . the first lots wer sold at public auction July 15, 1875 . . .
"Ingersol says that the steamer Senator put in at Shoo Fly Landing for the first visit to the new town, and that a large crowd of Los Angeles residents gathered under the hot July sun. No trees had been planted, no buildings erected except for one board shack and a number of tents.
" . . . Tom Fitch, known as "the silver-tongued orator," [is reported to have said, "On Wednesday afternoon at one o'clock we will sell at public outcry to the highest bidder, the Pacific Ocean, draped with a western sky of scarlet and gold; we will sell a bay filled with white winged ships; we will sell a southern horizon, rimmed with a choice collection of purple mountains, carved in castles and turrets; we will sell a frostless, bracing, warm, yet languid air, braided in and in with sunshine and odored with the breath of flowers. The purchaser of this job lot of climate and scenery will be presented with a deed to a piece of land 50 by 100 feet, known as 'Lot A in Block 250.' The title to the land will be guaranteed by the present owner The title to the ocean and the sunset, the breath of the life-giving ozone and the song of the birds, is guaranteed by the beneficient God who bestowed them in all their beauty and affluence upon Block 251, and attached them thereto by almighty warrant as an incorruptible hereditament to run with the land forever."
" . . .
" . . . it is recorded that the first lot went to one E.R. Zamoyski for $500. It was at the corner of Utah and Ocean Avenue, now Ocean and Broadway. Other first day buyers included such names as Hancock, O'Melveny, Hellman, Vawter*, Boehm and Giroux, . . . names . . . well-known . . .
"Other lots on Ocean Avenue brought from $400 to $500; those further inland went for as little as $75. W.D. Vawter* built the first general store in Santa Monica on three lots in the 1400 block on Fourth St., bought for $125.50 each. Three weeks after the sale, Ingersoll relates, the store was open for business.
" . . . by October, population had increased to the point where a newspaper was considered neecessary, and on the 13th of the month the first edition of the Santa Monica Outlook appeared with Lemuel T. Fisher as editor. It was a [four-page] weekly. . . .
"[Quoted from the first issue of the Outlook,] "On the 15th of July, 1875, the first lot was sold in Santa Monica. As the date of this writing, October 13, 1875, six hundred and fifteen lots have been sold by the land company for $131,745; 119 houses and shops have been erected. The water of San Vicente spring as been collected in two large reservoirs, forming pretty lakes in the proposed park, and the flow of half a million gallons per day is in process of being distributed through iron mains all over the townsite."
"[The Outlook, Nov. 24, 1875] "Santa Monica continues to advance. We now have a wharf where the largest of the Panama steamers have landed; a railroad completed to Los Angeles; a telegraph station, a newspaper, post office, two hotels, one handsome clubhouse [the tennis club in the 1000 block on Third St.], several lodging houses, eight restaurants, a number of saloons, four groceries, three drygoods stores, two hardware stores, three fruit stores, one wool commission house, one news depot and bookstore, one variety store, one bakery, one jeweler and watchmaker, one boot and shoe maker, one tin shop, two livery stables, one dressmaker, several contractors and builders, three real estate agencies, one insurance agency, one coal yard, one brick yard, two lumber yards, two private schools, and in a short time we shall have two churches and a public school."
" . . .
P.2 {Photo caption: "These buildings at Ocean and Railroad (Colorado) Avenue were the early pride of Santa Monica. Built by Jones and Baker as the Santa Monica Hotel in 1875, they burned to the ground in 1889. Sign "Santa Monica Hotel".}
"Transportation . . . on October 17 [1875] the first train left Santa Monica for Los Angeles . . . passengers rode on flat cars . . . made three trips that day . . .
" . . . Nov. 3, the Outlook reported . . . at the Shoo Fly Landing. On one side of the pier, the schooner John Hancock was discharging lumber; another schooner across the pier from it unloading railroad ties; the barkentine Ella was delivering coal; passengers and freight from the Senator, along with several race horses.
"By December, two trains daily . . . to Los Angeles . . .
Betty Lou Young and Randy Young Santa Monica Canyon: A Walk Through History Casa Vieja Press: Pacific Palisades, CA, 1997, 182pp., 1875
" . . . Jones and Baker laid out the townsite of Santa Monica and scheduled a land auction for July 15, 1875. On July 14 the steamer Senator arrived at the pier, carrying 150 passengers from San Francisco, bringing . . . Tom Fitch . . . [to] conduct the proceedings . . .
""On Wednesday afternoon at one o'clock we will sell at public outcry to the highest bidder, the Pacific Ocean, draped with a sky of scarlet and gold; we will sell a southern horizon, rimmed with a choice collection of purple mountains, carved in castles and turrets and domes; we will sell a frostless, bracing, warm, yet inlanguid air, braided in an in with sunshine and odored with the breath of flowers."
" . . . .
"The new railroad began passenger service on December 1, 1875 . . .
"Santa Monica Canyon was perceived by developers and customers as a scenic extension of the town itself. . . ."