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Beverly Hills - California - History |
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The history of Beverly Hills is the history of California itself. Quiet countryside populated by peaceful Indians was invaded by Spanish explorers. Families came in, land grants were made, and the Rancho became a way of life. Open grazing land became tilled fields; land booms came and went; oil fields were replaced by homes, and cities grew--among them, Beverly Hills. More than one hundred years ago, a grant, with limits almost identical with the limits of Beverly Hills, was assigned under the name of El Rancho Rodeo de las Aguas--"The Ranch of the Gathering of the Water". Streams cascading down Coldwater and Benedict Canyons (then known as Canada de las Aguas Frias and Canada de los Encinos), gathered near the southern boundary where clear springs bubbled and a "Cienega", or swamp, formed in the rainy season. These streams have subsided and the Cienega is gone but the beauty of the primitive area has a modern counterpart today. A short one hundred and thirty-seven years separated the first known white man's vision of the site of the City-to-be and the opening of the subdivision of Beverly Hills in January, 1907. In August of 1769 a contingent of men under the leadership of Captain Gasper De Portola, Spanish Governor of California, left their camping place, now known as Los Angeles, on the Rio De Nuestra Senora De Los Angeles De Porciuncula and travelled an Indian Trail, now Wilshire Boulevard to press their exploration of the province of Alta California for the King of Spain. Father Junipero Serra, destined to become one of the most famous men in California history, was a member of this expedition, but he had remained behind at San Diego to proceed northward by boat at a later date.
In 1852 Maria Rita Valdez De Villa petitioned for confirmation of patent granted in 1838 for one league (4539 acres) of the area. The house Maria had built stood somewhere near the present northwest corner of Sunset Boulevard and Alpine Drive. Maria had been widowed over twenty-five years before that time and had been left with a large family, the progeny of her soldier husband, Vincente Ferrer Villa. The name of Villa passes from the history of the immediate area in 1854 when Maria sold the Rancho for about $4,000, of which $3,000 was promised for payment in the future. However, the family maintained its "city" home in the pueblo of Los Angeles for some years thereafter on the present site of the federal building at Temple and Main Streets. Rancho Rodeo De Las Aguas was purchased from Maria by Major Henry Hancock, a New Hampshire attorney, who came to California in the gold rush of '49, and Benjamin Davis Wilson, a native of Nashville, Tennessee. "Don Benito" Wilson subsequently loaned his name to Mount Wilson and his talents, first to the City of Los Angeles as Mayor, and then to the State of California as a State Senator. Major Hancock donated his name to the present-day Hancock Park, served as the first Los Angeles County Surveyor and, later, as a State Assemblyman. Wheat, cattle, oil and wool, in that order, were the products of the Rancho until 1868 when Dr. Edward Preusss, a native of Louisville, Kentucky, purchased over 3600 acres of it at a price of $10,775 for the development of a city to be known as the "Town of Santa Maria". Lots were platted of about five acres each and placed on the market at $10 each, but dry weather came and the land reverted to the sheep. The land next passed into the hands of Charles Denker and Henry Hammel, proprietors of the United States Hotel at Main and Market Streets in Los Angeles, and became "one vast field of lima beans", supplying the culinary needs of the owners' Hotel. Many of the present residents of the city can remember the bean fields, cut through with a train tack to Santa Monica which passed a station called "Morocco" located in what is now Beverly Hills. The steam train was replaced by an electric trolley in 1896, but the era of peaceful bean fields survived until the turn of the century when the land was sold for oil development. In 1906, after the oil drilling ventures of the Amalgamated Oil Company proved unprofitable, the Rodeo Land and Water Company was formed under the guidance of Burton E. Green for the development of the property as a subdivision. A city was planned with wide streets of easy sweeping curves lined with Palm, Acacia, Eucalyptus, and Pepper trees. It was named Beverly Hills by Green and his associates, after Beverly Farms, Massachusetts. Settlement was slow at first, and in 1914, it was necessary for P.E. Benedict to allow his land in Benedict, Franklin and Higgins Canyons to be added to the community so that its population could meet the 500 figure required for incorporation as a city.
From a population of 29 at the time of the first census in 1836, 550 at time of incorporation in 1914, and 18,000 in 1930, the City has grown to over 32,000 at the time of the 1960 census. According to the United States Census Department, the 1990 population was 31,971. The period since World War II has seen the growth of an outstanding business and financial section which joins with beautiful homes to create a complete city. Imposing banks, exclusive shops, superlative hotels and brokerage houses stand side by side. Over 200,000 people work in the City. More than 1500 business licenses have been issued for doctors, lawyers and accountants. A full complement of service clubs and professional organizations serve the needs of these people. However, the growth of the commercial area has not lessened the beauty and desirability of the residential area. A high level of municipal services, parks, library, recreation programs, schools and churches all contribute to make Beverly Hills the "Garden Spot of the World". |
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For
almost forty years thereafter, the only happenings in the area were the
passage of Indians, explorers, and missionaries. Even the cession of
California to the United States by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, in
1848, and its admission to the Union as a State, in 1850, went relatively
unnoticed.
In 1919,
Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford launched the migration of motion
picture people into Beverly Hills when they purchased land and built their
famous home known as "Pickfair". In 1925, the citizens voted a
$100,000 bond issue to join with Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and Venice in
purchasing a 385 acre campus site for UCLA. Will Rogers became the first
and only honorary Mayor of the City in 1925, and in 1931 City Hall was
built. It is worthy of note that the property tax rate in the City was
$1.00 per $100.00 of value for the first seven years of its life. The
1961-1962 rate was $0.95 per $100.00 for a $7,500,000 City Budget.
