Citrus Roots Preserving Heritage Foundation

VISIT OUR NEW WEBSITE Citrus Gold… A REFERENCE CENTER Indexes of: The Citrograph Compelling others 1917 to 1951 Statistics: California from 1891 to follow Wolfskill Plus: Photos of Packers... Citrus Labels + More Richard H. Barker

e have together covered the 1646 work of “Hesper- ides” (“The Golden Apple”) by Johannus Baptista WFerrarius, and William Wolfskill. Now let’s step back before we cover the men who followed Wolfskill. In the 1800’s, citrus was a compulsive interest to the California Franciscans. It is interesting to note that the friars were always calculating regarding the . They proffered that the tree only flourished within the sound range of the “silver bells” of the chapel. Bancroft’s remarks in “California Pastorial” were even more incisive: “... it is a singular fact that the padres discouraged the growth of oranges and lemons outside of the mission grounds, being apparently as jealous of monopolizing these, as Foothill Citrus Assn. What City? that of the whole king- dom of Christ should Question... Today AKA? be subject to their sole Donate to us your: Citrus Annual Reports, administration.” Books, Citrus Labels, Photos + Memorabilia & Credit is certainly due the Franciscans. LOWER YOUR INCOME TAXES... They had the cour- Check our website: www.citrusroots.com age, time and pa- tience to introduce Our “Mission” is to elevate the awareness of Califor- the orange, culti- nia citrus heritage through publications, education, vate it, and prove its and artistic work. adaptability to the climate and soil of Califor- We are proud of our accomplishments as a volunteer organiza- nia. Out of the mission gardens the citrus industry was tion, which means each donated dollar works for you at 100% [for we have no salaries, wages, rent, etc.]. All donations are tax de- to sprout through Wolfskill and others we will now cover. ductible for income tax purposes to the full extent allowed by law. Secularization accelerated the change. News passed from one town to the next in an easterly Citrus Roots – Preserving Citrus direction that Mr. Wolfskill was making more than $100 each Heritage Foundation from his bearing trees (1857). In 1858, a newspaper referred P.O. Box 4038, Balboa, CA 92661 USA to his orange trees as “...some (trees) have produced as many 501(c)(3) EIN 43-2102497 as 1,600 oranges in a season, and one of the trees not less than 2,000 which at 6 1/4 cents each, makes the handsome The views of the writer may not be the same as this foundation. May/June 2011 Citrograph 11 provided trees for 30 more acres. As earlier mentioned, other growers emerged with develop- ments of citrus (for profit). In 1857, L. VanLeuven started a citrus grove in old San Bernardino, and that same year L. F. Cram set out a grove in Highlands. In 1865, Myron H. Craft at Crafton planted 200 citrus seedlings, followed by Frank Kimball who in 1869 es- tablished a grove of oranges and lemons in National City (in San F. Kimball Diego County). Further, in 1873 Patterson Bowers developed a grove of orange seedlings near Orange [Orange County]. The first grove in Riverside County was planted in 1872 to 1873, and in Tulare County, Albert Henry in 1883 secured enough trees to plant a few acres of citrus in Porterville. The work of the early growers further proved the adapt- ability of the orange to their region or district on a commer- cial scale, and this accelerated additional entrepreneurial de- velopment. Little did these pioneers of citrus realize the foundation which each was establishing -- the continued growth of the California Citrus Industry. A man with a similar back- ground as Wolfskill became inter- ested. , a na- M. Keller and Dr. Halsey (seated), Gen. Phineas Banning tive of , was a fur trapper (standing). and trader. He came to California in 1841 with the Workman-Rowland little sum of $125 as the product of one tree.” A lemon in a Party seeking passage to China. Be- mining camp would command one dollar. ing detained, he decided to stay. In Benjamin (Benito) Stories like this made widespread fame and stimulated 1842, Wilson purchased a key por- D. Wilson the desire to view firsthand this subtropical area. Further, tion of the Rancho Rubidoux. (Today, Rubidoux is part of reports of living and working in a subtropical climate with downtown Riverside.) In 1844, he married Ramona Yorba the fragrance of orange blossoms filling the air peaked an whose father, Bernardo Yorba, was the prominent Spanish interest. These mental images grew stronger as one was landholder of Rancho Canon de Santa Ana. He also assisted further reinforced by additional stories not only regarding with Indian affairs and became the Justice of the Peace of Wolfskill but Benjamin Wilson and others. the Inland Territory. In 1853, and Dr. Halsey imported some In 1854, he purchased from the widow of Hugo Reid orange seeds from Central America and the Hawaiian Is- “Rancho Huerta de Cuati” and renamed the ranch “Lake lands. Keller’s property was across Alameda from Wolfskill’s Vineyard”. A portion of the property had the original or- property, and he started a nursery. His property was later chard of the San Gabriel Mission (and today is part of the purchased by Wolfskill. Dr. Halsey, a friend of Wolfskill, Huntington Library and Gardens; further, General George had planted his orange and lemon S. Patton was born in 1885 on the property and was the nursery on land of grantee Work- grandson to Wilson). man and Rowland along the San Through some lending of money to Manuel Garfias, the Gabriel River. Again, Wolfskill owner of Rancho San Pascual, Wilson came into possession purchased his land and nursery through some complicated land deals. In 1863, Wilson and Dr. in August 1855 for $4,000. John S. Griffin bought the entire rancho property outright, William was very proactive for both had lent funds on the same property. These two men and “street smart”. In 1854 on the had previously undertaken other business deals together. wharf, a schooner On Dec.18, 1873, Wilson and Griffin subdivided their commenced to unload a cargo of land (Griffin getting two thirds of the property with Wilson Hawaiian oranges with high spoil- retaining some better land near his Lake Vineyard property, age. Wolfskill purchased the fruit east of Fair Oaks Avenue). Griffin then sold the property for next to nothing and extracted to the “Indiana colony” (later known as Pasadena). The M. H. Craft the seeds; thus, eventually this colonists paid $25,000 with $6,250 down for 2,576.35 acres

12 Citrograph May/June 2011 Lake Vineyard Tract. The water was routed from this collecting reservoir to the three division reservoirs (one shown here) which supplied water by pipeline to the five- and ten-acre plots.Photo circa 1878. (between Fair Oaks and the Arroyo Seco to the crest of Mis- which resulted in a loss of life and sion Hills, South Pasadena). Wilson and Griffin also threw supplies. In 1860, he purchased the in as a goodwill gesture a total of 1,386 acres which was the westerly part of Rancho Santa land known today as Altadena. Primarily the colonists’ land Anita, 2,000 acres, at $2 an acre, was planted to citrus and vineyards. and he named it “Sunny Slope In 1876, Wilson set out 2,500 acres immediately adjoin- Farm”. Here he planted a large ing the Indiana colony on the eastern boundary and called grove of oranges and lemons and it “The Lake Vineyard.” This land was surveyed into 5-, 10-, added olive trees. His vineyard, and 20- acre parcels and offered at $75 to $100 per acre with “Sunny Slope”, also made him water. Water was brought in from the Arroyo Seco. (Wilson prominent, and he eventually be- owned 7/10 of the water.) “Benito” D. Wilson continued to came a California senator. plant citrus, and by 1875 he had become a close competitor He was also very successful in of Wolfskill who had 2,000 trees while Wilson had 1,650 trees. breeding fast horses on his ranch, Leonard John Rose was a native of Bavaria, and his fam- Rose-Meade (now Rosemead). L. J. Rose ily immigrated to New Orleans when he was 12 years old. In His famous stallion “The Moor” was stabled there. Eventu- 1857, he with his wife, Amanda, and their two children struck ally, Rose subdivided part of his estate, platting the town of out for California with a party he organized. After crossing Lamanda Park, named for his wife. In , he built a the Colorado River, they were attacked by an Indian tribe, palatial home, named “Charity”, in the Bunker Hill area. But,

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May/June 2011 Citrograph 13 from poor investing, he took his life In 1871, Major General George Stoneman, a West Point at the age of 72, through morphine graduate, purchased 400 acres from Wilson adjacent to Wil- poisoning, on May 17, 1899. son’s Lakeview Vineyard for $7,000 or $17.50 per acre. He set Luther Harvey Titus had origi- out his ranch, “El Molina”, a vineyard, and it was said to be “a nally arrived in California in the beautiful grove of citrus.” (Location: approximately east/west gold rush period, though became center line Huntington Drive and north/south center line El ill and returned to his home in Molina Avenue. The ranch house was located in the general New York. Now in 1869, some 20 area of El Molina Avenue and Mission Road.) In 1882, he years later, he returned to Califor- was elected Governor of California and served one term. nia as a wealthy man, for he had On July 17, 1885, fire destroyed his ranch house with a the first oil refinery near Titusville, total loss. He had allowed his insurance to lapse. His wife Pennsylvania (where the oil indus- left him over this, and in 1887 he asked for restoration to the L. H. Titus try began). military retirement and was denied on the basis that he was He brought his family including his son-in-law to es- perceived to be wealthy (irrespective of losing his home). tablish a ranch of citrus and to breed horses. (He located He died poor, having to live with relatives. between Lamanda Park and San Gabriel. It was a coinci- dence that he located near Rose’s well-bred stables with Another development which transformed the citrus “The Moor” and Titus’ celebrated stallion “Echo”). Titus industry: the pedigreed stock... developed a way to make concrete pipe for irrigation lines, Orchards were transformed through being budded from a moveable picking ladders, portable sprayers, and grove hand parent which was known to produce the finest fruit, to some tools. He died in 1900, and his ranch was subdivided as the hardy rootstock variety which was thought to be resistant to Gainsborough Heath Tract in San Marino. citrus diseases. This pedigreed stock ushered in a fruit with improved quality, good production, a more uniform grade, less seeds, and a globe-like tree shape (shorter than a seed- ling) – a quantum leap forward compared to the original seedling tree. Such was the case of the Washington navel trees sent in the early 1870’s to Mrs. Eliza Tibbets of Riverside from William Saunders, superintendent of gardens for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. Mr. Saun- ders had received the specimen from Bahia, Brazil, and as the story is told Mr. Saunders did not view the trees to be anything special. The outstanding difference was evident when they commenced to bear heavily of large quality fruit. From that point the “buds” commanded a good price ($15.00 per thousand, August 1889). The progenitor of the originated in the Azores and was first catalogued in 1865 as “Excelsior” by a nurseryman from London, Thomas Rivers. In the 1870s, it was introduced into California by at least three different sources. As to the lemon, the Lisbon lemon variety has vigorous rank, thorny upright branches, and came from Australia. The Eureka lemon is a development native to Los Angeles, being a progeny of a tree grown from a Sicilian lemon seed which produced a higher quality of fruit than its parent. The aforementioned business of pedigreed stock is just another Ranch house with Gen. Stoneman and children. linkage to the citrus-based economy. Nursery business flour- ished, adding employment and investment. In 1883, Albert and Oliver Henry planted a few acres of navel oranges north of Porterville, and they were the first to raise navels as a com- mercial venture in that area. Land developers secured large holdings in and around Porterville and secured water rights on the Tule River. They formed as a subsidiary, Porterville Water Company, to be held by Pio- neer Land Company of Porterville. In 1890, George Frost, a promi- Stoneman’s citrus and walnuts. Gen. G. Stoneman nent orange grower and nurseryman G. Frost

14 Citrograph May/June 2011 in Riverside, took a look at the land owned by Pioneer Land trend continued. Then we had a short frenzy, the “Boom of Company of Porterville and made them an offer. He would 1887”, and a trough was felt in 1889. (The aforementioned set out 100 acres of orange trees and care for them for two explains why Mr. Frost could not sell his nursery inventory years. (Can you imagine what was going on in Frost’s head and sought the new Porterville area.) We will cover the regarding the logistics of transporting by teams of mules “Boom of 1887” in the September/October issue, and the approximately 1,000 trees from Riverside to Porterville, years which followed (in the trough) were long and threat- a distance of over 200 miles, and keeping the trees from ening to the young citrus industry. going into shock during the journey? This journey was not Richard H. Barker is the founder and president of the accomplished in a couple of days.) Citrus Roots-Preserving Citrus Heritage Foundation. For a Frost was a businessman. He knew he had a very large number of years, he has been leading a drive to bring about inventory of nursery trees in Riverside and was unable to a higher awareness of the role citrus played in developing sell them there. At the end of two years, he would either California. Dick is a retired investment banker and was buy the land for $100 per acre, or the land company would a third generation Sunkist grower. He has published four pay him for the trees and the labor expended. Frost had volumes on citrus heritage, and he and his wife Pam have also observed that the fruit was ready to be harvested some devoted much time and effort to assembling and setting up six weeks earlier than the Riverside or Southern Califor- traveling exhibits showing at various California colleges, nia area, thus reaching the Eastern markets in time for universities and museums. Thanksgiving and Christmas. In 1893, Mr. Frost purchased All illustrations for this article were sourced by Richard the original acreage and proceeded to set out an additional Barker. Photo of M. Keller, Dr. Halsey and Gen. Phineas tract of 75 acres. Banning courtesy of the Huntington Library. Photos of M. During 1904, George Frost, with Messrs. Merryman, H. Craft, Benjamin Wilson, L. J. Rose, L. H. Titus, and Gen. Carney, Hamilton, Davis and others, set out 400 acres of Stoneman also courtesy of the Huntington Library. Photo of citrus and named the area Bonnie Brae Orchards in Exeter. F. Kimball courtesy of the National City Historical Society. Mr. Merryman later absorbed the share of his associates, Photos of the Stoneman ranch house and Stoneman’s citrus and his orange holdings were said to be 750 acres. It was a and walnuts courtesy of the Bancroft Library. Photo of G. “showpiece” for the area. Frost courtesy of the Riverside Metropolitan Museum. Photo In 1901, Porterville Citrus Associa- of W. E. Sprott courtesy of Sunkist Growers, Inc. Photo tion was organized, and the same year of Lake Vineyard Tract courtesy of Pasadena Museum of the Tulare County Fruit Exchange History. l was organized under what was later known as PACIFIC DISTRIBUTING, INC the California Distributor for Fruit Growers Orchard-Rite® Exchange. W.E. Sprott was the wind machines for first manager of frost protection & the Tulare County Tropic Breeze® W. E. Sprott Fruit Exchange and served on the board of the former, original parts representing Tulare. Then in 1910, the Exeter district organized as the Central Sales California Citrus Exchange, and in Service 1915 the Lindsay-Merryman Exchange (all under the California Fruit Grow- New ers Exchange. The writer also finds it Used interesting to note, it was the growers Portable of the north who requested from the California Fruit Growers Exchange the Stationary establishment of the Field Department to bring about a uniformity in the pack- ing of brands and marketing methods 24 Hour for each association.) Emergency The lust for gold brought thou- Service sands to Northern California, and Randy Quenzer, Sales this surge in population hastened 559-805-8254 California’s statehood (September 9, 559-564-3114 [email protected] 1850). After 1853, the “rush” turned to Woodlake, CA a “bust” and the gold yield declined, Jeff Thorning, Sales 559-972-9937 resulting in a decrease in gold revenue. [email protected] The population contracted, and this www.orchard-rite.com

May/June 2011 Citrograph 15