The herald., 1897-04-25
LOS ANGELES COUNTY

Twenty-Five years have worked Won
derful changes In Los Angeles county
In 1870 this county, comprising what Is
now Los Angeles and Orange counties,
had but II, 800 men, women and children
and most of these were in Los Angeles
city, This was the only city In the county
and Anaheim and Wilmington were the
only towns. Pasadena, Azusa, Monro-
via, Covina, Pomona, Whittier. Downey.
Long Beach, San Pedro, Redondo, Comp
ton and Santa Monica were then un-
heard of. They have all been built up
since that date and today they furnish
happy homes for thousands of people.
Los Angeles then was but little more
than q Spanish pueblo. The Spanish pop
ulation was so great that within the past
quarter Of q century an interpreter has
been q necessity in transacting the
business of the board of supervisors of
Los Angeles county.
Twenty-Five years ago there was not
a foot Of paved street in Los Angeles
city, or In Southern California either.
for that matter. There was then hardly
a hundred feet of sidewalk in the city
made on the same grade and Of the same
material. The junction of Main and
Spring streets at the Temple block, then
a fine building just completed. was the
center of business and First street was
out in the country with horse corral
with an adobe wall around 1t, where the
Nadeau hotel now stands. Cottages and
vacant lots, and more vacant lots than
cottages, lined either side of Spring
street for several blocks below First.
while Fort street-now Broadway-was
considered the bon ton residence portion
of the city. There were a few residences
on the hillside just above the level of the
valley, but the hill section of the city
was used for sheep pasture. or was not
used at all. A railroad was built in 1871
from Los Angeles 10 Wilmington, where
by means of lighterage the limited COM
nerce of Southern California was trans
ferred from shore to ship. That was the
only railroad south of Tehachepi pass
snd 1t did not do very extensive husl-
ness. It's depot was at the junction Of
Alameda and Commercial streets.
In 1874 President Beaudry put In
cheap water system covering some of the
more available hill sections of the city,
pumping the water from a cienega on
Alameda street to a reservoir located on
one Of the highest hills. He also built
several cottages on the hills. and the
writer was the first to occupy one of
these first cottages on the corner of Sec
ond and Charity streets-now Grand
avenue.
In 1875 local company purchased a
200-acre tract of this hill property for
800 an acre and rented 1t to a French
man as a sheep range. Temple street Is
now extended entirely through that
tract
There were indications of oil on tina.
property. and the company had Prot.
Denton, very prominent geologist and
oil expert from the east, examine the
formation and report upon the oil ques-
ton. He reported that while there
might be large deposits Of brea there il
was impossible for oil to exist in that
formation. While in Los Angeles he
delivered a series Of lectures on geology
Today there is forest of derricks over
large portion of that tract of land such
as can be found nowhere else in the
world, and thousands of barrels of oil
are daily being pumped from that same
formation. where twas said to be inn
possible for 1t to exist twenty-five years
ago.
At that early date the orange industry
had been we'll started. The celebrated
WOllohlll oTCHdTu WdS tut great dttTdc-
tion In this city from fruit standpoint.
Strangers were driven through that or
chard and were told that the crop net
ted the owners $1,000 an acre-a state
ment that did not seem out of the way
when it was considered that the home
and San Francisco markets would take
all the oranges that this section then
produced at a market rate of about $40
q thousand, price equal to about SO
per box.
D. B. Wilson. ]. de Barth Shorb, L. j.
Rose and a few others had orchards In
the San Gabriel valley, and this was
about the extent of orange culture ct
that time in Southren California, al
though few sample trees were growing
in various other localities. The trees at
that time were all seedlings, and the bud
ded varieties were introduced after that
date. t
Only few lemon trees were then pro.