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Finding Aid to the Llano del Rio Records, 1911-1969MS 1304

Finding aid prepared by Finding aid written by California Historical Society staff; revised by David Krah. California Historical Society 678 Mission Street San Francisco, CA, 94105 415-357-1848 [email protected] URL: http://www.californiahistoricalsociety.org/ 2001, revised 2009

Finding Aid to the Llano del Rio MS 1304 1 Records, 1911-1969MS 1304 Title: Llano del Rio records Date (inclusive): 1911-1969 Collection Number: MS 1304 Creator: Llano Colony (Secular community) Repository: California Historical Society 678 Mission Street San Francisco, CA, 94105 415-357-1848 [email protected] URL: http://www.californiahistoricalsociety.org/ Language of Materials: Collection materials are in English. Extent: 5 boxes, 1 oversize folder(2.0 Linear feet) Physical Location: Collection is stored onsite. Abstract: Most of the collection was collected by longtime colonist, Walter Millsap, and includes papers from the early years of the colony in California and Louisiana (1911-1930), correspondence between Millsap and other colonists (1920-1958), and files from the assets recovery attempt (1959-1969). Board of directors' files (1959-1969) include minutes and papers, meeting proxies, and other documents. Correspondence is chiefly between Millsap and over 100 other colonists. Access Collection is open for research. Publication Rights Copyright has not been assigned to the California Historical Society. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Research Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the California Historical Society as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader. Preferred Citation [Identification of item], Llano del Rio Records, MS 1304. California Historical Society, Manuscript Collection. Alternative Formats Available Collection also available on microfilm (NEG 23: 1-5). Photographs transferred to Photography Collection--Restricted Materials--General Subjects--Utopian Communities. Related Materials Paul Kagan Papers MS 3121 Indexing Terms The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog. Collective settlements--California, Southern. Collective settlements--Louisiana. Millsap, Walter, 1886-1971. Minutes. Utopian socialism--California, Southern. Utopian socialism--Louisiana. Acquisitions Paul Kagan collected most of this material from Walter Millsap before his death in 1971. See Series 2 folder 28, Series 3 folder 147 for material given by Mellie Calvert. All of this was transferred to CHS in 1972. Accruals No additions are expected. Processing Information Collection processed by CHS staff. History of the Llano del Rio Cooperative Colony

Finding Aid to the Llano del Rio MS 1304 2 Records, 1911-1969MS 1304 The colony of Llano del Rio was formed in 1914 by Job Harriman, a socialist lawyer and politician from Los Angeles. Harriman sought to provide an economic underpinning to the ideas of socialism by organizing a cooperative colony. Harriman and a group of associates sought land for the site of the colony, settling on 10,000 acres in the Antelope Valley, north of Los Angeles. They incorporated the Llano del Rio company in California in 1914, and later reincorporated under Nevada law in 1916. Harriman placed advertisements in Western Comrade and the California Social-Democrat, soliciting individuals and families interested in participating in the venture. Membership was achieved through a $500 purchase of 2,000 shares of stock in the company, the balance to be paid in labor at a variety of jobs available at the colony. The colony grew quickly, burgeoning to a thousand members by 1917. The first year saw colonists living in tents while permanent structures were built - adobe houses and a hotel boasting electricity and indoor plumbing. The colony sought to be as self-sufficient as possible, and in addition to the cultivation of fruit trees, melons, potatoes, beans and other crops produced dairy, poultry and pork products, and had an apiary and a rabbitry. Colonists earned four dollars a day for their work, a dollar of which paid off the balance of membership, and the rest going toward living expenses. By 1917, it became clear that the choice of site had been a mistake. Though hydrological surveys indicated that sufficient water supplies existed to irrigate up to 40,000 acres, the colony soon experienced a serious shortfall in water. Small rainfall, an insufficient resevoir, and limited rights to water from Big Rock Creek forced the colony to abandon the site and seek greener pastures elsewhere. The Llano colonists boarded a chartered train, transporting themselves, machinery and livestock to Stables, Louisiana, an anbandoned mill town, renaming it Newllano. Some colonists were to remain in California, and develop the land to focus on fruit tree production. The following year however, creditors began involuntary bankruptcy proceedings against Llano, and the colony's California assets were foreclosed upon. Job Harriman returned to California, where he died in 1925. George Pickett stepped in to lead Newllano until it declared bankruptcy in 1936, falling apart completely by 1938. An attempt to recover their assets was begun in 1959 by Pickett and others. Sources Hoffman, A. (1961) A look at Llano: Experiment in Economic Socialism. California Historical Society Quarterly. 40(3), 215-236 Huxley, A. & Kagan, P. (1972) A Double Look at Utopia: the Llano del Rio Colony. California Historical Society Quarterly. 51(2) 117-154 Scope and Content The collection is divided into two time periods. The first includes papers collected by Walter Millsap from the early years in California and Louisiana, 1911-1930. The second involves an attempt beginning in 1959 by George Pickett, Job Harriman's successor, to reaquire the assets the Newllano, LA colony lost in 1936 bankruptcy preceedings. Administrative files from the first time period include documents pertaining to incorporation and the issuance of stock, employment agreements and organizational chart, memos and official correspondence, expense reports from the move by rail from Palmdale, CA to Stables, LA. Other materials representative of daily life in Llano include meal tickets, pamphlets written by members pertaining to personal experiences and the economic and organizational hardships of the colony, newspaper clippings, and other ephemera. A survey of the Big Rock Creek Irrigation District is located in oversize map case storage.Correspondence is from members and researchers such as Clark Kerr and Upton Sinclair interested in the goings-on of the colony. The second time period, 1959-1969, consists largely of minutes and meeting papers, stockholder papers, and a proposed charter for the reorganization of the colony. Correspondence from this period includes letters from ex-members, as well as those desiring to continue with the colony. Arrangement Arranged into 4 series: The first two series includes materials dating from 1911 to 1959. Series 1: Administrative Files Series 2: Correspondence The second two series include materials from 1959 to 1969, when George T. Picket attempted to regain the assests of Llano Colony after a 1936 bankruptcy filing. Series 3: Board of Directors' Files Series 4: Correspondence

Finding Aid to the Llano del Rio MS 1304 3 Records, 1911-1969MS 1304 Series 1 Administrative Files 1911-1930 Physical Description: 16 folders, 1 oversize folder

Box 1, Folder 1 Correspondence 1911-1927 Box 1, Folder 2 Job Harriman 1916-1925 Box 1, Folder 3 Board of Directors 1917 Box 1, Folder 4 Nevada Agreement 1916-1917 Box 1, Folder 5 Bill of Sale, 6A application for membership 1916 Box 1, Folder 6 Agreements of employment 1914-1915 Box 1, Folder 7 Notes on working duties 1917 Box 1, Folder 8 Crews and employment department 1919 Box 1, Folder 9 Personal agreement 1918 Box 1, Folder 10 Petition to La. Attorney General, copy 1928 Map-case 7, Big Rock Creek Irrigation District Plan [See map case] 1917 Drawer 25 Box 1, Folder 11 Real estate 1917 Box 1, Folder 12 Meal tickets circa 1912 Box 1, Folder 13 Llano as I saw it 1922 creator: Woodland, Richard

Box 1, Folder 14 Development of the labor union 1910 Box 1, Folder 15 The Crisis in Llano Colony, manuscript and printed copy 1935-1936 creator: Young, Sid

Box 1, Folder 16 Newspaper clippings 1919-1924 Series 2 Correspondence 1920-1958 Physical Description: 121 folders

Box 1, Folder 17 Aiton, John 1935 Box 1, Folder 18 Allen, Esther 1931-1932 Box 1, Folder 19 Archer, Sydney R. 1953 Box 1, Folder 20 Atworth, Mary H. 1928 Box 1, Folder 21 Atworth, Theodore 1943 Box 1, Folder 25 Bartram, Horace 1932-1935 Box 1, Folder 23 Benz, Rose Matz 1942-1946 Box 1, Folder 24 Brinton, J.W. 1940 Box 1, Folder 25 Busiek, Bon and Dorothy 1952 Box 1, Folder 26 Callaway, Carrington 1935 Box 1, Folder 27 Calvert, Herbert 1957 Box 1, Folder 28 Calvert, Mellie 1957-1958 Box 1, Folder 29 Campbell, George 1935 1953-1958 Box 1, Folder 30 Campbell, Vernon 1936 Box 1, Folder 31 Cantrell, George E. 1922-1931 Box 1, Folder 32 Carlson, C. C. 1938 Box 1, Folder 33 Carnaghan, Frank 1935 Box 1, Folder 34 Carr, Mary B. 1937 Box 1, Folder 35 Carver, George 1936 Box 1, Folder 36 Caton, Dorothy 1935 Box 2, Folder 37 Chaney, Mrs. B. 1932 Box 2, Folder 38 Chapin, Myrtle and Burrell 1949-1957 Box 2, Folder 39 The Chemical Foundation, 1937 Box 2, Folder 40 Clark, E. F. 1932-1933 Box 2, Folder 41 Clark, E. H. circa 1935 Box 2, Folder 42 Clark, F. F. 1935

Finding Aid to the Llano del Rio MS 1304 4 Records, 1911-1969MS 1304 Series 2Correspondence 1920-1958

Box 2, Folder 43 Cole, Ida S. 1947-1962 Box 2, Folder 44 Coleman, J. Covington 1939 Box 2, Folder 45 Conliffe, Frederick 1933-1937 Box 2, Folder 46 Cooper Lumber Co. 1937-1938 Box 2, Folder 47 Coster, Ruth 1937 Box 2, Folder 48 Cowcery 1933 Box 2, Folder 49 Craig, S. N. 1934-1936 Box 2, Folder 50 Crump, Curtis 1940 Box 2, Folder 51 Crutcher, Ernest 1927 Box 2, Folder 52 Curnow undated Box 2, Folder 53 Dallas, Charles, E. 1934 Box 2, Folder 54 Daly, Cassia 1932 Box 2, Folder 55 Daly, Mike 1933 Box 2, Folder 56 Davis, Etta J. 1934 Box 2, Folder 57 deBoer, William 1935 Box 2, Folder 58 Deets, Lee E. 1931 Box 2, Folder 59 deJong, E. 1934 Box 2, Folder 60 Dillon, Anna H. 1933 Box 2, Folder 61 DeMers, Hilda 1928 Box 2, Folder 62 Dobson, C. B. 1939 Box 2, Folder 63 Dodd, John 1929 Box 2, Folder 64 Donahue, John L. 1933-1934 Box 2, Folder 65 Dun, R. G. & Co. 1929 Box 2, Folder 66 DuProz, Chauncey 1934 Box 2, Folder 67 Dwindle, M.A. 1927 Box 2, Folder 68 Eldridge, W. E. 1935 Box 2, Folder 69 Emery, Harold 1935 Box 2, Folder 70 Gaddis, Louise and Joe H. 1947-1954 Box 2, Folder 71 Gaylord, W. R. 1933 Box 2, Folder 72 Glesser, Carl Henry 1927 Box 2, Folder 73 Groth, Walter and Helen 1924 Box 2, Folder 74 Hermann, E. 1939 Box 2, Folder 75 Hiatt, Edward 1945 Box 2, Folder 76 Hilliard, H. J. 1935 Box 2, Folder 77 Hopkins, E. 1945 Box 2, Folder 62 Hough, Eugene 1929 Box 2, Folder 79 Irvine, V. S. 1935 Box 2, Folder 80 Irwin, Enoch E. 1947-1955 Box 2, Folder 81 Joynes, E. O. 1945 Box 2, Folder 82 Kapotsky, Albert 1936-1944 Box 2, Folder 83 Keator, Scott T. 1946 Box 2, Folder 84 Kerr, Clark 1938 Box 2, Folder 85 Klissner, William 1934 Box 2, Folder 86 Kneeland, Clarissa A. 1932-1945 Box 2, Folder 87 Kobstrup, Victor 1934 Box 2, Folder 88 Kottmeyer, D. M. 1933 Box 2, Folder 89 Kunzelman, Charles L. 1933-1934 Box 2, Folder 90 Landrum, Ted 1946 Box 2, Folder 91 Layman, J. D. 1945 Box 2, Folder 92 London, Bertha 1926 Box 2, Folder 93 Loutrel, Anna 1944-1958 Box 2, Folder 94 McCombs, Paul 1932-1935 Box 2, Folder 95 McCorkle, G. P. 1920 Box 2, Folder 96 McCulloch, Walter A. 1932-1933 Box 2, Folder 97 McDonald, A. James 1920-1960 Box 2, Folder 98 Makar, John 1957-1958 Box 2, Folder 99 Martin, J. J. 1939 Box 2, Folder 100 Millsap, Walter 1917-1938

Finding Aid to the Llano del Rio MS 1304 5 Records, 1911-1969MS 1304 Series 2Correspondence 1920-1958

Box 2, Folder 101 Millsap, Walter, work Organizer material 1922 Box 2, Folder 102 Millsap, Walter, material on other colonies undated Box 3, Folder 103 Moore, Albert H. 1945 Box 3, Folder 104 Nelson, H. E. 1935 Box 3, Folder 105 Pickett, George T. and Minnie E. 1928-1958 Box 3, Folder 106 Pier, Lewis A. 1920 Box 3, Folder 107 Reed, H. B. 1935 Box 3, Folder 108 Ressell, William J. 1935 Box 3, Folder 109 Roberts, Joel H. 1948 Box 3, Folder 110 Roode, Dirk 1932 Box 3, Folder 111 Sanford, Marvin 1932-1957 Box 3, Folder 112 Shaw, A. W. 1926 Box 3, Folder 113 Shoemaker, R. V. 1934-1945 Box 3, Folder 114 Shutt, Emma B. and Harriett 1945 Box 3, Folder 115 Sinclair, Upton 1939 Box 3, Folder 116 Soderberg, O. 1932 Box 3, Folder 117 Solomon, Irl 1932 Box 3, Folder 118 Sprinkle, R. W. 1945 Box 3, Folder 119 Stevens, Bernie 1944 Box 3, Folder 120 Stone, Dr. Hallam C. 1932 Box 3, Folder 121 Sturman, Alfred N. 1931 Box 3, Folder 122 Swartz, Alec B. 1932 Box 3, Folder 123 Thomas, L. C. 1922 Box 3, Folder 124 Trautman, William E. 1939 Box 3, Folder 125 Turano, Anthony 1945 Box 3, Folder 126 University of California, Berkeley 1935 Box 3, Folder 127 U.S., Department of Agriculture 1935 Box 3, Folder 128 Van Nuland, A. P. 1940-1945 Box 3, Folder 129 Van Nuland, John circa 1947-1957 Box 3, Folder 130 Wagner, Charlotte 1944-1945 Box 3, Folder 131 Weatherly, Gerald 1948 Box 3, Folder 132 Williams, Robert K., Dr. 1919-1931 Box 3, Folder 133 Williams, C. C. 1922 Box 3, Folder 134 Wooster, Ernest S. 1920-1935 Box 3, Folder 135 Young, Sid 1936 Box 3, Folder 136 Unidentified 1935-1940 Board of Directors' Files Series 3 1959-1969 Physical Description: 16 folders

Minutes and meeting papers Box 3, Folder 137 1959 Box 3, Folder 138 1962 Box 3, Folder 139 1963 Box 3, Folder 140 1964 Box 3, Folder 141 1965 Box 3, Folder 142 1966 Box 3, Folder 143 1967 Box 3, Folder 144 1968-1969 Box 3, Folder 145 undated Box 3, Folder 146 Notices of stockholders' meetings 1962-1963 Meetings--proxies Box 4, Folder 147 1963 Box 4, Folder 148 1964-1965 Registration records Box 4, Folder 149 1963-1964 Box 4, Folder 150 1959-60 Box 4, Folder 151 Federal Supplement, copy undated Box 4, Folder 152 Proposed charter circa 1965

Finding Aid to the Llano del Rio MS 1304 6 Records, 1911-1969MS 1304 Series 4Correspondence 1959-1969

Series 4 Correspondence 1959-1969 Physical Description: 69 folders

Box 4, Folder 153 Bell, Alma Wilson 1957-1969 Box 4, Folder 154 Bradshaw, Nellie Kemp 1963 Box 4, Folder 155 Brainard, Ben R. 1962-1964 Box 4, Folder 156 Brannon, Anita N. 1965 Box 4, Folder 157 Breuer, Mrs. L. C. 1960-1963 Box 4, Folder 158 Brown, Earl D. 1964 Box 4, Folder 159 Calvert, Mellie 1963-1964 Box 4, Folder 160 Clement, W. E. 1963-1965 Box 4, Folder 161 Connor, George A. 1963-1969 Box 4, Folder 162 Delavan, Frank and Margaret 1960-1963 Box 4, Folder 163 Fuljenz, Raymond D. 1962-1966 Box 4, Folder 164 Ginsburg, Steve 1963-1964 Box 4, Folder 165 Glassen, A. M. 1963-1965 Box 4, Folder 166 Hefner, Rose 1962 Box 4, Folder 167 Hill, Emma 1963 Box 4, Folder 168 Jepson, Melvin E. 1956-1964 Box 4, Folder 169 Jones, Vera 1960-1969 Box 4, Folder 170 Joynes, E. O. 1963 Kapotsky, Albert Box 4, Folder 171 Kapotsky, Albert--Walter Millsap 1960 Box 4, Folder 172 Kapotsky, Albert--Walter Millsap 1961-1962 Box 4, Folder 173 Kapotsky, Albert--Walter Millsap 1963 Box 4, Folder 174 Kapotsky, Albert--Albert Moore 1960 Box 4, Folder 175 Kapotsky, Albert--Albert Moore 1962 Box 5, Folder 176 Kapotsky, Albert--Albert Moore 1963 Box 5, Folder 177 1964 Box 5, Folder 178 1965 Box 5, Folder 179 1966 Box 5, Folder 180 Keator, Scott 1963 Box 5, Folder 181 Kennedy, Leigh 1960-1965 Box 5, Folder 182 Kland, John 1960 Box 5, Folder 183 Kling, Robert 1960 Box 5, Folder 184 Layman, Everett S. 1963 Box 5, Folder 185 Leithead, James A. 1966 Box 5, Folder 186 Loutrel, Anna 1959-1969 Box 5, Folder 187 Marhefka, Steve 1965 Box 5, Folder 188 McCorkle, Gentry 1962 Box 5, Folder 189 Merrell, Sally 1963-1965 Box 5, Folder 190 Mickey, C. C. 1962-1966 Box 5, Folder 191 Millsap, Walter 1962-1965 Box 5, Folder 192 Mitchell, Gloria 1964 Box 5, Folder 193 Moore, Erma M. 1963-1967 Box 5, Folder 194 Phillian, Alex J. 1959-1966 Box 5, Folder 195 Phillian, Alex J., drafts 1962-1965 Box 5, Folder 196 Pickett, George B. 1963-1965 Box 5, Folder 197 Powers, Russell W. 1965 Box 5, Folder 198 Rogers, Nell Foster 1964-1965 Box 5, Folder 199 Ruellan, Mrs. L. 1963 Box 5, Folder 200 Schlaifer, Mildred 1962-1966 Box 5, Folder 201 Shad, Herbert C. 1962 Box 5, Folder 202 Shapero, Martin M. 1966 Box 5, Folder 203 Shoemaker, R. V. 1962-1969 Box 5, Folder 204 Spector, Shirley 1963 Box 5, Folder 205 Stevens, Bernie 1963-1965 Box 5, Folder 206 Stewart, Royal A. 1962-1966

Finding Aid to the Llano del Rio MS 1304 7 Records, 1911-1969MS 1304 Series 4Correspondence 1959-1969

Box 5, Folder 207 Svenson, Victor 1963 Box 5, Folder 208 Synoground, Ole 1962-1963 Box 5, Folder 209 Tabb, Ann 1960 Box 5, Folder 210 Vacik, James 1964 Box 5, Folder 211 Van Nuland, Anton and Maud 1963-1964 Box 5, Folder 212 Wexler, Sylvia M. 1962 Box 5, Folder 213 Will, Mrs. John 1962-1966 Box 5, Folder 214 Wilson, Mary Erma 1964 Box 5, Folder 215 Wilson, Pauline 1960 Box 5, Folder 216 Wright, Mrs. Leo J. 1967 Box 5, Folder 217 Wooster, Ernest 1958-1963 Box 5, Folder 218 Wunderlich, Lenore 1969 Box 5, Folder 219 Zeitlin, Jacob undated Box 5, Folder 220 Zimmerman, A. E. 1962 Box 5, Folder 221 Zimmerman, Mrs. F. 1962

Finding Aid to the Llano del Rio MS 1304 8 Records, 1911-1969MS 1304