-Historic Survey-

VI. Historic Context Statement

Introduction

The purpose of this context study is to provide a historical narrative and context for an architectural survey for the City of West Covina. A historic context, as defined by the National Register's Guidelines for Local Surveys, "is a broad pattern of historical development in a community or its region, that may be represented by historic resources."¹⁰ This context statement's purpose and application will be to assist in the assessment of historic resources by providing categories of significant periods of development within the city.

A historic context is often the first major survey task as it provides an organizational framework of information that is based on a specific area, theme, and period of time. This framework is recommended as a way to organize information that is pertinent to survey results.¹¹

The Mission Era (1771-1845)

The archeological record shows that the eastern San Gabriel Valley was populated by the Tongva-Gabrielino Indians prior to the entry of the Spanish into California.¹² It is believed that these native people lived in villages and occupied round frame structures that were covered with native grasses and other plant material. These structures are often referred to as "jacales," which is a Spanish word meaning "huts with thatched roof." The jacales are very similar in structure to the wigwam, which was a portable structure used by Indian tribes throughout the East Coast and Mid-west (See Fig. 1).


Figure 1. Wigwam, Source: Mark Gelernter

The San Gabriel River and its ecosystem was a critical sustaining factor for these villages whose subsistence was based on acorns, roots and berries that were collected in the area.

In 1771 the Mission at San Gabriel, called San Gabriel Arcangel, was established in present-day El Monte and was given jurisdiction by Spain over the entire San Gabriel Valley, this included the area where West Covina was eventually realized.¹³ During the Mission period, the Indian tribes of the San Gabriel Valley lived under the administration of the Mission priests. The Mission lands remained under Spain's control until 1810 when Mexico gained its independence. The Spanish lands in California transferred to Mexican sovereignty. Land grants were granted preferentially to Mexican Citizens. Non-citizens often got around this barrier by marrying into Spanish landholding families. The largest land grant at the time was The Rancho La Puente that measured approximately 48,000 acres.

The Rancho La Puente (1842-1902)

The Mission lands of present-day West Covina were divided into Rancho La Puente in 1842. The Rancho encompassed approximately 48,000 acres east of the river and south of San Bernardino Road.¹⁴ Governor Don Pio Pico owned the land until 1845 when he sold it to William Workman and John Rowland.



John Rowland was a trapper and surveyor born in Maryland and William Workman was a British fur trader. The two men enjoyed a long friendship and close business relationship after meeting in New Mexico in the 1820s.¹⁵

Workman and Rowland arrived in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1823. They both married daughters of Spanish land holders and in 1841 they headed west to California together.¹⁶ Enticed by the opportunity for land and a fresh start on the frontier, they traveled the difficult journey of 1,200 miles to California. Once in California, they explored the San Gabriel Valley and found that its soil, water supply, and terrain would fit their needs nicely.¹⁷

Discovery of Gold

Beyond the area's agricultural potential, mineral resources also led to settlement in the San Gabriel Valley by Americans. The discovery of gold in 1849 was a driving force behind a sudden influx of population. Although not as frantic as northern California's gold rush, the San Gabriel Valley saw its fair share of prospecting. A small mining town called Eldoradoville sprang up in the hills above the present-day City of Azusa.

Initially this town was established by individual miners, some of whom, it is speculated did not have enough funds to make the trip all the way to northern California. Eventually, though, these miners were replaced by larger mining operations that used machine technology to mine the ore. By 1870 these large mining companies had mined all the easily accessible gold and Eldoradoville was abandoned.¹⁸

Rise of Agriculture

The 1850s was a time of growth and experimentation on the La Puente Rancho. Workman and Rowland planted vineyards and wheat, tended cattle, and improved the irrigation systems. Their original homesteads can be found in the present day city of La Puente.


Figure 4. The Workman Adobe after its remodel (1875), Source: Leonore Rowland



Figure 5. Rowland's Home (1870), Source: Leonore Rowland

Agricultural development of the area was difficult. Environmental conditions often complicated early settlement. For example, in the summer of 1859 the region experienced a severe drought. This drought did significant harm to the region's agricultural economy. The 1859 drought was followed by floods in the winter of 1861-1862. A history of the area documents these events.

The San Gabriel River became a raging torrent, much damage was done to crops, and many cattle were either drowned or killed by exposure. The worst flood season in the history of the valley was in the winter of 1861-62, when the total rainfall reached fifty inches...the Arroyo Seco became a mighty river, over-flowing its banks and cutting new channels as the water tore on its fury. Many cattle and horses were lost.¹⁹

Despite these difficulties, Workman and Rowland remained co-owners of the Rancho for over twenty years. In 1868, they agreed to divide up the land. Workman, who by then was a wealthy Los Angeles banker, took the western section of the lands and the remaining eastern portion was deeded to Rowland.²⁰

The 1870s was a time of economic depression in California. The completion of the transcontinental railroad was widely anticipated. The rail, however, led to an increase in competition for western merchants. Overestimating the demand for goods and land led to the decade-long depression that began in 1869. Labor was also at a surplus and many faced unemployment.²¹

In 1876, Workman's business went bankrupt and his portion of the Rancho La Puente was mortgaged to Elias "Lucky" Baldwin, one of the San Gabriel

Valley's early real estate developers. Subsequently, Workman committed suicide and Baldwin foreclosed on the land. A savvy early entrepreneur, Baldwin's land holdings eventually grew to become the single largest rancho in Southern California.²² Until the turn of the century, Baldwin used the land acquired from Workman for cattle ranching and also leased portions of it to wheat farmers.

Influence of the Railway

In 1869, the Southern Pacific Railroad came to Los Angeles and was later joined by the Santa Fe Railroad in 1886. Fierce competition between the Santa Fe Railroad and the Southern Pacific led to a rate war: "the result of this war was to precipitate such a flow of migration, such an avalanche rushing madly to Southern California as I believe has no parallel."²³ This rate war triggered large-scale migration to the area by lowering the costs of bringing agricultural products to markets in both California and the rest of the US. Much of this growth was driven by immigration from the Midwest. For example, McWilliams notes: "Learning of the great boom in Southern California, the town-site sharks of the Middle West began to descend on the region in droves."²⁴

While much of Southern California was experiencing a boom in the 1880s, the area of West Covina experienced more subdued growth. Local growers lived in large residences surrounded by expansive crops and orchards. During this time, West Covina was not yet a city. The nearest early town was Covina. In the 1880s, Joseph Swift Philips helped Covina grow when he bought 2,000 acres of land in the area and started to subdivide it. Fred Eaton, Phillips' surveyor, coined the term "Covina." Phillips recognized that water was one of the area's main obstacles to growth. The water that had been sufficient in early years was no longer adequate to serve a growing population. Fights over water rights were a commonplace challenge for early developers of the valley.²⁵

Agriculture and Community Building (1903-1920s)

In the early nineteenth century, the warm, dry climate of the area proved to be a fertile environment for the growth of an agricultural industry. The beginnings of Southern California's citrus culture can be traced to the Mission San Gabriel; an orange grove encompassing six acres was planted on mission lands in 1804. In 1841, William Wolfskill used seedlings from the San Gabriel orchard to plant his own larger orchard. Wolfskill is credited with establishing citrus commercially. By the late nineteenth century, citrus was a thriving Southern California enterprise.²⁶

Agriculture was a prominent feature and way of life for the area in the early part of the century. The first settlers cleared the land and planted a variety of crops. Large floods in 1913 and 1914 greatly affected the wheat fields, which were then the area's main crop. But West Covina survived and farmers in the area continued their agricultural pursuits along with efforts to strengthen the community support system. By 1908, West Covina had its main streets laid out - Cameron, Vine, Merced, Service, Orange, and Irwindale (now Sunset) Avenues. Early photographs of main streets show wide boulevards lined with trees.

By 1909, West Covina had its own one-room school on South Sunset Avenue with an enrollment of eleven students.²⁷ In 1916, a community group called the West Covina Improvement Association was founded and eventually became the West Covina Chamber of Commerce.

The introduction of the streetcar in 1887 influenced the development of many of the country's suburbs. This effect was felt in Southern California later than in the rest of the country. It allowed for people to travel much further in a more reasonable amount of time, making it easier to live farther from city centers. The Pacific Electric Railway reached the Covina area in July of 1907 and ran until after World War II. Its presence helped to foster continued suburban development in the area.

One of West Covina's strongest crops in the early part of the century was the walnut. West Covina had a strong contingent of walnut growers and the area was referred to as "Walnut Center" until 1909 when it became known as West Covina. It grew as an attractive agricultural area. In fact, a contemporary publication called the area "one of the loveliest valleys in all the country."²⁸ Walnuts grew especially well and the 1920 crop was a landmark year for walnuts.

San Gabriel Valley walnut growers, in conjunction with the balance of the members of the California Walnut Growers' Association, report that their 1920 crop, second largest in the history of the industry, is sold out slick and clean.²⁹

By 1922, the walnut industry in the valley was at its maximum and the crop that year totaled 25,000 tons. Mayor Benjamin Maxson and others became part of the California Walnut Growers Association, which marketed local walnuts under the "Diamond" brand name. A large packinghouse was built to accommodate the burgeoning industry next to the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks. This packinghouse was the largest walnut packing house in the state. Built by the areas local growers, at a cost of almost $200,000.³⁰

Unfortunately, by the late 1920s walnut crops were not doing so well. Disease and other circumstances encouraged local growers to switch from walnuts to oranges. The orange groves persisted until the 1940s.

West Covina Incorporates (1923-1940)

West Covina was incorporated February 5th of 1923 to escape being used as a "sewer farm" for the City of Covina. The area referred to as West Covina was not heavily populated, with only 535 residents at the time, but they organized to prevent the construction of a sewage treatment facility that they felt would ruin their community. Prominent citizens like Benjamin Maxson and C.J. Hurst canvassed the City to gain support for the cause. The City of Covina sold the land in question to West Covina, but continued to seek an appropriate location for the wastewater facilities. West Covina continued to expand its borders via annexation in the subsequent years to avoid giving up control over adjacent land to Covina.³¹

Population growth was relatively slow for the new city. By 1929, the population had reached 800 people, but was still quite small compared to surrounding cities. Economically, West Covina did not feel the sting of the stock market crash of '29 the way many cities did. Newspapers of the time neglected to even mention it in great detail. However, by the early 1930s the effects of the economic downturn were beginning to show.

A major change occurred to West Covina in 1935 when US Highway 99 (also known as Garvey Blvd.) was cut through the small city.³² Before the addition of the highway, West Covina was considered a very rural place, without much noise or traffic. The new highway had no stop signs, no lights, and traffic speeded unimpeded through the previously quiet landscape. The City hired police officers to patrol and give speeding tickets, of which they gave many. The City developed the reputation as a speed trap. But, the strict enforcement of the traffic laws led to an increase in the City coffers. The money was used to maintain the roads and other community needs.³³

West Covina Families

West Covina's early families were politically active and community oriented. The names Maxson, Hurst and Jobe are consistently prominent in the history of the City. As community leaders, they tended to be less focused on development of the City itself, and more on farming the land and supporting the new school system.

Maxson Family

One of the first families to settle in West Covina was the Maxsons, who arrived in 1905. The Maxsons contributed greatly to West Covina's school system over the years by donating land for schools and by being actively involved as educators in the classroom as well. Benjamin Maxson was a very influential and community-minded citizen. He was among the first to plant walnut trees and was instrumental in organizing the La Puente Valley Walnut Grower's Association and the West Covina Improvement Association. He also worked as the general manager of the packinghouse and even served as the city's mayor.

The Maxson residence was located at 1541 Sunset Avenue. It was a two-story Craftsman-style building.


Figure 7. Maxson Home in 1939, 1541 Sunset Avenue, Source: "Our Town" Community News Demolished

Hurst Family

In 1906, the Hurst Family purchased fifty acres of land on the corner of Orange Avenue and Merced Avenue. Commonly referred to as "The Hurst Ranch," the property included a barn, pump house, engine house and the family home. The house also included a swimming pool (built 1924) that was open to children in the community during the summer months. This pool was also the site of numerous community events.

Charles Hurst, like many West Covina landowners, grew walnuts and eventually diversified to oranges and seasonally rotated crops. He was also a member of the La Puente Walnut Growers Association and served on the City Council in the 1940's. Mr. Hurst also served as mayor from 1952-56, which was one of West Covina's most transformative periods.³⁴

In the short four-year period from 1952 to 1956 more than 25,000 people moved into West Covina - more than six times as many people as the city had acquired in it's 27 year history prior to 1950".³⁵

Figure 8. West Covina prior to WWII showing acres of orange groves, Source: Los Angeles Herald



Figure 9. West Covina in the mid-1950s after its population boom, Source: Los Angeles Herald

The Hurst Family was therefore in the unique position to witness the city's dramatic transformation from rural agricultural lands to bustling suburban development.

The Jobe's

Edwin Jobe, veteran citrus grower, came to West Covina with his family in 1913. The Jobe family, like others in the area, focused their lives on agriculture and education. Edwin Jobe left West Covina in the 1950s when the rampant growth of subdivisions infringed on his ranch lands. A newspaper article entitled "Quick Decline, Subdivisions Too Much for Covina Rancher, 80" captures the feeling of ranchers in this time period.

The inroads of 'quick decline' and 'creeping subdivisions' on the Jobe citrus lands are driving the venerable rancher, like so many of this area's veteran citrus growers, to seek greener pastures. 'Valencia Park,' the pleasant old house...may soon be standing empty watching the bulldozers, push down the surrounding orange grove.³⁶

The Jobe house still stands at 1440 E. Rowland Avenue and is an example of ranch homesteads that were once the norm in the area-large residences surrounded by acres of crops or orchards.


Figure 10. The Jobe House at 1440 E. Rowland Avenue (present day)

Early Suburbs (1941-1950)

This era marked the beginning of an identity change for West Covina. With the establishment of Highway 99 and with the walnut groves overrun with pests and disease, West Covina began to shift from an agricultural center of rural farmsteads to an opportunity for real estate speculation. By this time, the walnut industry was in decline and ranchers began to look for other crops. Many abandoned agricultural production and switched their efforts to real estate development and speculation in anticipation of future demand for housing.

George Meeker developed one of West Covina's first large residential subdivisions in 1941. The development was named Sunkist Village and occupied a western portion of the City, now just south of the I-10 Freeway. The subdivision was marketed as affordable family homes with large backyards. Many of the new residents of the subdivision commuted to Los Angeles.

The end of World War II had initiated a population increase and demand for housing across California. "Hundreds of thousands of California veterans and those who had chosen to become Californians were flooding back into the Golden State, anxious to restart, repossess, reinvigorate, or, if need be, reinvent their lives."³⁷ West Covina was located at a strategic point and had the ability to offer easily covetable agricultural land and was therefore able to capture much of this development.

Tremendous Growth (1950-1960)

Like much of the rest of Southern California, West Covina experienced significant growth in the post-war era. The city's location in the eastern San Gabriel Valley and the availability of developable agricultural land made the community an attractive location for new residential development. West Covina itself experienced rates of growth that were significantly greater than Los Angeles County as a whole during this time period. Between 1950 and 1960, the city's population grew from 4,499 to 50,645 persons. West Covina's population growth was so exceptional during this period that it was identified as one of the nation's fastest growing communities in 1955.³⁸ This represented an order of magnitude in growth, which required additional infrastructure, public services and commercial development to support the new population.

By 1950, the area's walnut groves were in steep decline due to an outbreak of a blight that was killing the trees. Some farmers attempted to switch their groves over to oranges during this period, but in general most landowners opted to convert their holdings from agricultural to residential use. There was strong market demand for new housing throughout Southern California at this time and the availability of developable land in West Covina reinforced the conditions that led to the community's rapid growth during this era. New infrastructure that was required to meet the requirements of the growing community also supported additional rounds of growth and development. In 1955, the San Bernardino Freeway was constructed through West Covina, which facilitated commuting from the city to employment centers through the San Gabriel Valley and beyond.

It was during this era that West Covina developed its first commercial district. The first major commercial development was the West Covina center, which was completed in 1952. The center originally contained a grocery market, a pharmacy, a liquor store, a shoe store, a bakery and a TV and radio shop³⁹. The center was located on Glendora Avenue.

The next major phase of commercial development was oriented towards the then new San Bernardino Freeway. The primary catalyst for this development was the Batchelder family who had operated a 47-acre ranch in the area from the 1930s. Their home "Valley Vaquero" was a noted local property, which included five bathrooms, a ballroom and many other estate- type amenities. With the arrival of the freeway, the Batchelders sought to convert their land into a site for a large-scale commercial development and petitioned to have their land annexed into West Covina. The West Covina Center merchants, concerned about the ability of a new development to overwhelm their new town center, opposed this. Nevertheless, the Batchelder's land was annexed into the city and by 1955 their home was demolished as part of a firefighting exercise, and construction began on the Eastland Center. The mall was anchored by a May Co. Department Store. This project established the freeway corridor and the frontage along Garvey Street as West Covina's commercial core.

________________________________________
¹⁰ Derry, "Guidelines for Local Surveys: A Basis for Preservation Planning"

¹¹ Derry, "Guidelines for Local Surveys: A Basis for Preservation Planning"

¹² Carey McWilliams, Southern California: An Island on the Land (Layton: Gibbs-Smith, 1973) 25 and William McCawley, The First Angelinos: The Gabrielino Indians of Los Angeles (Banning: Malki Museum Press/Ballena Press, 1996).

¹³ The San Gabriel Mission was established on September 8, 1771 according to Rexford Newcomb, The Franciscan Mission Architecture of Alta California (New York: The Architectural Book Publishing Co., 1916) n.p.

¹⁴ Harry Peacock, West Covina 1771-1969 and Leonore Rowland, The Romance of La Puente Rancho (Covina: Neilson Press, 1958) 8-9.

¹⁵ Leonore Rowland, The Romance of La Puente Rancho (Covina: Neilson Press, 1958)

¹⁶ James J. Rawls and Walton Bean, California: An Interpretive History (Boston: McGraw Hill) 80.

¹⁷ Leonore Rowland, The Romance of La Puente Rancho (Covina: Neilson Press, 1958)

¹⁸ Barbara Pronin, West Covina: Fulfilling the Promise (Windsor Publications, 1989)

¹⁹ Carew, History of Pasadena (Vol. 1) 341.

²⁰ Rowland, The Romance of La Puente Rancho, 41.

²¹ Kevin Starr's lecture on the History of California

²² Kevin Starr, Inventing the Dream: California Through the Progressive Era (New York: Oxford University Press, 1985) 38.

²³ Local historian quoted in McWilliams, Southern California 118.

²⁴ McWilliams, Southern California 118.

²⁵ Barbara Pronin, West Covina: Fulfilling the Promise (Windsor Publications, 1989)

²⁶ Starr, Inventing the Dream 140.

²⁷ Carol Lundstrom, 75 Years of Education in West Covina (West Covina, n.p.) n.p.

²⁸ Historical Society of Southern California Pub. Vol. 14, 1929

²⁹ "Walnut Growers in Splendid Shape," (1920 newspaper article)

³⁰ Pronin, West Covina: Fulfilling the Promise, 45.

³¹ Pronin, West Covina: Fulfilling the Promise

³² Harry Peacock, West Covina 1771-1969 (n.p.)

³³ Pronin, West Covina: Fulfilling the Promise, 43.

³⁴ Hurst Ranch History on West Covina City website

³⁵ Clyde Leech, "West Covina 'Explodes from Orange Groves," Los Angeles Herald & Express, (Feb. 10, 1961)

³⁶ Dorothy Emmons, "Quick Decline, Subdivisions Too Much for Covina Rancher, 80," The Progress Bulletin: Sunday Review (July 12, 1953)

³⁷ Kevin Starr, Embattled Dreams: California in War and Peace 1940-1950 (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2002) 185.

³⁸ Leech, "West Covina 'Explodes from Orange Groves"

³⁹ Pronin, West Covina: Fulfilling the Promise, 72.

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