[p. 101] Chapter II. Stock Raising and Agriculture.
Stock raising, which was practically the only industry of Southern California at the time the country passed into the hands of the United States, continued to be the chief source of wealth for Los Angeles county until the severe drought of 1863-4. According to the census report of 1850, the great county of Los Angeles had but 2648 acres of improved land and in 1860 but 20,000 acres was under cultivation. The great influx of gold-seekers provided a new market for cattle and horses, which largely increased prices, and the rancheros of Southern California were as "flush" as the miners of the north, for a time. The value of live stock steadily increased and in 1860 it is given as $1,451,000, although there had been heavy losses, many cattle dying of starvation during the drought of 1857. But the long dry spell, lasting two years and over, almost wrecked the business. Stock died, or was killed to save the hides, until almost none was left. After this time, the rancheros devoted more attention to sheep and the flocks were greatly increased, while cattle were handled in smaller bunches and improved stock was introduced by the Americans. The breaking up of the big ranchos began and a number of new settlements were made during the seventies. As early as 1844 José Palomares, owner of the San José rancho, where Pomona is now located, sold off a number of small tracts of land to Mexicans, who took water from the San José creek and formed a prosperous little settlement. About the same time Juan Bandini induced a party of New Mexicans to settle on his Jurupa grant, now the site of Riverside, and the village of Agua Mansa, with flourishing orchards and grain fields resulted. In 1851 the Mormon settlement of San Bernardino was begun and these industrious people soon demonstrated that small farms could be made profitable in this country. In 1851 a number of immigrants, mostly from the southern states, settled in El Monte. Here was a natural cienega and the low damp lands were especially adapted to the growing of corn and hogs. In 1860 this settlement had a population of over a thousand and was a noted place in the early history of the county. In 1874 it had a newspaper, the Observer, and a hotel. At Spadra, Ruebottom's hotel, was a stopping point for all stages to the east and a noted hostelry in the sixties. This was also one of the earliest American settlements. About 1865 Governor Downey began to break up his Santa Gertudes rancho and the settlement of Downey followed. Here, too, corn yielded marvelous crops and the raising of hogs and of dairy cattle was profitable. Thus gradually small farms, with diversified farming, took the place of the old-time exclusive stock raising and Los Angeles lost her distinction as a "cow" county; although the raising of stock and dairying is still a profitable business. [p. 102] Much attention in later years has been given to the production of blooded stock, especially horses; while the value of the dairy products for 1905, according to the state agricultural report, reached a million dollars.
In 1857 a party of Germans, mostly artisans resident in San Francisco, purchased a tract of land near the Santa Ana and established the settlement of Anaheim. At first more of the tract was set to vineyards and the colonists engaged extensively in wine making. This was the first horticultural settlement. Mission grapes had been set extensively during the sixties and seventies and wine-making became one of the most important resources of the county. In 1879 two million gallons were produced besides 50,000 gallons of brandy. There were then thirty distilleries in the county. The cultivation of the wine grape began with the "mother" vineyard at San Gabriel, which was planted from slips brough from Lower California. In 1831 Los Angeles city had over 100 acres of grapes and there were 50,000 vines growing on Los Nietos rancho. The Californians began early to manufacture wines and aguadiente and in 1850 the county is credited with 57,000 gallons of wine. This was shipped to San Francisco and brought good prices. In 1855 Sansevaine brothers shipped the first California wine to New York city and by 1861 L.J. Rose, B.D. Wilson and the Sanservaines were making large shipments to the east. L.J. Rose, Don Mateo Keller, Kohler and Frohling, and others were among the earlier manufacturers who spent much time and money experimenting, introducing new varieties of grapes and improved methods of wine making. The cultivation of the white muscat grape for raisins promised to become one of the greatest crops of the county, but the appearance of the vine disease about 1885 destroyed many vineyards and greatly discouraged both wine and raisin makers.
In the early seventies attention was turned to wheat raising on an extensive scale. J.B. Lankershim was one of the first growers, planting a large acreage on the San Fernando rancho. He was also one of the owners of the first large four mill erected in the county. Dan Freeman was another large wheat grower, on the Centinela rancho. In 1879 Los Angeles county produced 752,000 bushels of wheat, from 22,000 acres of land, according to Bancroft. Corn was also largely cultivated and barley was raised for hay on a large scale. But as the possibilities of irrigation and horticulture developed, land became too valuable for wheat culture, as it had already advanced beyond the possibility of profitable use for grazing purposes.
During the eighties the chief feature of agricultural development was the extension of the irrigation systems. Irrigation had been practiced to some extent since the first settlement of the country. The San Gabriel and San Fernando missions and the settlers of Los Angeles had irrigated considerable areas and built somewhat elaborate works. The waters of the San Gabriel and Los Angeles rivers had been utilized by means of open ditches for many years; but now [p. 103] began the formation of water companies who improved upon the old crude methods and developed water from unused sources. In 1867 the first artesian well was put down by Downey and Hellman about six miles from Wilmington. Artesian water was found to be available in many districts and has been developed until now probably half, at least, of the water used for irrigation in this county comes from this source. In 1876 the land under irrigation in the county was estimated at 26,900 acres; in 1890 70,164 acres were under irrigation, mostly devoted to citrus culture.
The mission fathers planted orange trees at San Gabriel soon after its establishment. In 1834 Louis Vignes, a Frenchman, who was one of the first foreigners to locate in Los Angeles, planted an orange garden on his place, known at that time as "El Aliso." This garden, surrounded by a high adobe wall, contained not only oranges, but all the fruits then known in the country. He also had a considerable vineyard and established a winery, under the great sycamore tree, which gave the name of "El Aliso" to the place. In 1841 William Wolfskill set out two acres of oranges, procuring the stock from San Gabriel. These trees bore the first oranges that were ever put on the market in this state and yielded such large profits that in 1858 Mr. Wolfskill set out thirty acres on land lying between Alameda and San Pedro, Third and Seventh streets. In 1852, B.D. Wilson set a grove at San Gabriel; but in 1856 there were only 100 orange bearing trees in the country, these surrounded by walls to keep out wandering cattle. The total yield was 100,000 oranges, which were sold by the hundred and brought a net income of $100 per tree, so Mr. Wolfskill stated. From this time the planting went on rapidly. About 1873 Thomas A. Garey, the pioneer nurseryman of the county, and L.J. Rose, B.D. Wilson and others began to introduce different varieties of citrus fruit, importing them from Europe, South America and Florida. The most valuable of these varieties proved to be the Mediterranean Sweet. About 1880 the Washington Navel was brought into the county from Riverside and its excellent qualities soon made it the favorite. Between 1880 and 1890 the planting of citrus fruit was at its height. Stimulated by the ready money and the exurberant hopes of boom times, large areas were put under irrigation and planted out. Pomona, Alhambra, Whittier, Sierra Madre and many other districts were thus started by people who looked forward to making an easy fortune from citrus culture. In 1874 there were 34,700 bearing orange trees in the county; in 1880, 192,000 bearing trees, and in 1892 1,500.000 trees were growing.
In 1857 scale made its first appearance; but its inroads were not serious until the appearance of the cottony cushion scale about 1890. This especially affected trees near the coast and in a single year the crop in Los Angeles county fell from 2212 cars to 718 cars. But the introduction of the Australian "ladybug" proved an effectual remedy and the groves were saved by this parasite. Many of the earliest seedling orchards have now passed out of existence, the [p. 104] land being used for town lots, or for alfalfa or truck farming. Yet Los Angeles county still leads in the production of citrus fruits, the value of the crop for 1906 being estimated at $4,000,000 and there being 1,738,213 bearing orange trees in the county.
The introduction of alfalfa from San Bernardino county in the later fifties gave a valuable crop for suitable lands and proved a great boon to the dairy farmer. The culture of the sugar beet was attempted about 1879 and in 1880 Messrs. Nadeau and Gemmert planned to build a sugar factory at Florence. This did not materialize, but later the location of sugar factories at Chino, Alamitos and Oxnard supplied a market and a considerable acreage is annually planted to beets. The growing of vegetables and small fruits has become an important branch of our agriculture and large quantities are raised for home use and for shipping.
Diversified farming and the small farm, intensively cultivated, is the rule in the vicinity of Los Angeles now. Oranges, lemons, walnuts, olives and deciduous fruits are raised with profit in many districts; grain and hay are produced on "dry" farms and the northern portion of the county still furnishes range for cattle and sheep. Los Angeles is now one of the leading agricultural counties in the state, her horticultural and garden products, in 1902, being valued at $10,307,290, and her cereals and hay at over $1,000,000, with dairy produces of equal value. And the possibilities are by no means exhausted. There is yet much valuable land which can be utilized and much room for increased production in lands already under cultivation.
[p. 106 Don Abel Stearns, 1908e]
The first carriage in California, Bancroft states, was purchased by Temple and Alexander of San Pedro in 1849, the price, including horses, being $1000. Its appearance created a sensation in Los Angeles. In 1853 Anderson and Mathews advertised as carriage makers, and soon afterward John Coller began business as a blacksmith and wagon maker. Warner says that his first wagon remained in hand a good while, the native people gazing on it with curiosity and distrust and then going back to their carretas. A number of firms now turn out vehicles-to the amount of $751,720, in 1906.
In 1851 the first flour mill was put up in Los Angeles; there had long been "el Molino" at San Gabriel. In 1855 Don Abel Stearns and Jonathan R. Scott built a brick flour mill. About the same time Henry Dalton had a flour mill on his Azusa rancho. The Eagle mills were built in Los Angeles in 1865 and destroyed by fire in 1874. There are now a number of flouring and grist mills in the county and their product for 1906 is given as $3,038,855.
In 1857 James Woodworth started a broom factory; in 1861 Perry and Woodworth established their planing mill and also manufactured beehives, furniture, etc. In 1873 Barnard brothers built a woolen mill on Pearl street. At this time the annual wool clip was very large and for some years this mill made [p. 107] blankets and woolen cloth; but it seems never to have been very successful and at last shut down, while the mill was used for the first ice plant in the city.
Within the last few years many new ventures in the way of manufacturers have been made. In 1903 the model town of Dolgeville was established. Here felt is made and piano hammers and other articles for which felt is used. There are now several shoe factories in the county, one being located at San Pedro and one at Venice. The meat packing industry is one of the most important in the county, the product of packed meats, lard and by-products reaching $4,000,000.
Los Angeles does not claim pre-eminence as a manufacturing region, yet the last report of the state agricultural board lists her manufactured products as reaching a total of $20,000,000, which is not bad for a beginning.