Upper Mojave Desert P. O. Box 2001, Ridgecrest, CA 93556

Vol. 23 No. 11 December 2008

COME ONE — COME ALL DEC. 16 7 p.m. Please note: half an hour earlier than usual HOLIDAY PARTY TIME at the Historical Society of the Upper Mojave Desert! With your presence, the Historic USO Building will be rocking!

" BRING your favorite dessert to share with everyone. We’ll furnish the hot cider, water, and coffee.

" Enjoy the fellowship and fun! " Have fun listening to Charlotte Goodson read something special! " Win door prizes! " Play a historical questions game! " Listen to the Immanual Baptist Choir!

This special event, our December meeting, is being arranged by Hospitality Chair Jim Lamb and Program Chair Jim Kenney

Last year’s HSUMD Christmas tree Photo illustration by Liz Babcock There’s Still Time for You To Be a Brick Santa! Help the USO Building restoration You will have an opportunity to review and approve effort by buying your favorite gift what you want the brick to say before it is engraved. recipient a special commemorative Please print your brick’s message on the appropriate part brick or give yourself a brick for of the form below, then send this entire page to Histori- the holidays! cal Society of the Upper Mojave Desert, P. O. Box You can get a 4- x 8-inch brick 2001, Ridgecrest, CA 93556, with your check made out for $100 or an 8- x 8-inch brick for to HSUMD. $250. The 4x8 brick has space for Questions? Call Andrew Sound at 371-1795 or e-mail three lines, with 21 characters per him at [email protected]. line, and the 8x8 brick has space for And for some great stocking-stuffers, stop by the USO six lines, 21 characters per line. Order by Dec.10 and we will Building Saturdays, Sundays, and Flex Fridays, 10 a.m.–4 send your recipient a card announcing the gift. p.m. and browse the goodies in our Gift Shop!

$250 for 8 x 8 BRICK • Any Symbol (Period, Comma, Dash) Is One Space

$100 for 4 x 8 BRICK • Any Symbol (Period, Comma, Dash) Is One Space

EXAMPLE • All Text Will Be Centered Unless Otherwise Noted

H I S T O R I C A L S O C I E T Y O F T H E U P P E R M O J A V E D E S E R T

Name: ______Address: ______City, State Zip: ______Phone: (____) ______E-mail: ______

This is a gift brick! Please send an announcement card to: Name ______Address______City, State Zip ______

Please sign gift card as follows: ______Amount Paid: $______

2 Our Historic USO Building Gets State Recognition —

Shown from left are State Historic Preservation Officer Milford Wayne Donaldson, John Di Pol, Bruce Werten- berger and California State Parks Director Ruth Coleman. John and Bruce traveled to Sacramento last month to receive a Governor’s Historic Preservation Award for our Historic USO Building.

Photo courtesy of the State Historic Preservation Office HSUMD Earns Historic Preservation Award The Historic USO Building Resto- generously, both financially and with sion, which has been open for tours ration Project of the Historical Society services and materials,” Bruce said. only since the 2005 completion of a of the Upper Mojave Desert earned He specifically noted the contribu- $22-million renovation. a prestigious award in Sacramento tions of Bill Nevins, immediate past Other recipients included the city last month when it was one of only president of HSUMD, who led the of Woodland for a guidebook to the 10 selected from among 50 applicant effort to rehabilitate one of our town’s city’s architecturally significant homes, projects to receive a 2008 Governor’s oldest and most historically significant the Mt. Washington Homeowners’ Historic Preservation Award. buildings; Kathy Armstrong, who is Association for stories captured about HSUMD President Bruce Werten- leading a series of fund-raising endeav- a hillside community of Los Ange- berger and John Di Pol, former ors; and of course John Di Pol, who les, the Department of boardmember and author of the award has contributed his writing skills to City Planning for its “Historic Hom- application, accepted the award cer- meet a variety of requirements includ- eowner Education Program,” the city tificate from Ruth Coleman, director ing creation of the winning documen- of Fresno for a rehabilitation study of of California State Parks, and State tation for this award. Hotel Fresno, San Diego State Univer- Historic Preservation Officer Milford John also gave credit to Andrew sity for a WPA-era mural restoration Wayne Donaldson in a ceremony held Sound and Bill Nevins, who contrib- and relocation project. in the Grand Ballroom of the historic uted the photos that accompanied the More were Los Encinos State His- Leland Stanford Mansion. award package. toric Park for restoration and rein- After introductory remarks by Bruce reported that the award terpretation of some badly damaged Coleman, Donaldson gave some ceremony also featured a PowerPoint interior walls of the de la Osa Adobe; background about the award, which presentation showing pictures and the Antioch Historical Society and since 1986 has recognized about 200 descriptions of each of the winning Museum for preservation of Riverview organizations and agencies for their applicants, detailing results and some Union High School building as a mu- outstanding commitment to preserv- of the difficulties in achieving their seum; the San Francisco Department ing California’s cultural and architec- goals. Some of these slides may be seen of Public Works, San Francisco Public tural legacies. on the Office of Historic Preservation Library and several other organizations “We were pleased to accept the website, http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/. for rehabilitation of a neighborhood li- award on behalf of the Historical The awardees and those accom- brary; and the San Francisco Maritime Society board and volunteers and all panying them were also given an National Historical Park for rehabilita- the contributors who have given so hourlong tour of the Stanford Man- tion of the schooner C. A. Thayer.

3 Los Angeles Aqueduct and the Land Syndicate By John Di Pol

n The prospect of “glorious water” flowing from the to the provided ample incentive for investment shenanigans. Photo from Nov. 6, 1913, front page n the early planning of the concept to move the water of Ithe Owens River down to Los Angeles, , the superintendent of the L.A. water department, faced a number of issues, one of which was where the southern terminal of the aqueduct would be located. He studied several options, with the San Fernando Valley as his choice. Now to the syndicate. In October 1903 L. C. Brand, then Board. Several months later, in July 1905, Sherman president of the Title and Trust Company of Los Angeles, ac- joined the syndicate while he was still a member of the quired an option for 16,200 acres in the northern portion of water board. San Fernando Valley known as the Porter Ranch. Ostensibly, In 1905 events were moving rapidly. Mulholland (via this was in anticipation of the extension into the valley of the Fred Eaton) was taking up options on Owens Valley interurban railway system owned by Henry land and water. Other aspects of the aqueduct project Huntington. Brand enlisted nine others, all leading movers were being formulated. On March 22, Mulholland and shakers of Los Angeles, as a syndicate group. briefed the water board, advocating the acquisition of Come 1904, the troika of Fred Eaton, William Mulhol- the Owens water and outlining initial actions being land, and Joseph Lippincott had begun serious investigations accomplished and the general concept of the acqueduct and surveys in the Owens Valley. They were satisfied that an for sending the water into the Los Angeles basin at the all-gravity flow to bring the water down to Los Angeles was San Fernando Valley. feasibile. (See last month’s article, “The Los Angeles Aqueduct – at the Board members gave their approval and directed Beginning.”) that a final plan be developed. On March 23, just one At that time Lippincott was employed by the U. S. Rec- day after this board decision, the San Fernando Mission lamation Service to develop an irrigation project within the Land Co. (the syndicate) exercised its option for the San Owens Valley, but he was lobbying hard with his superiors Fernando Valley land and purchased the 16,200 acres that the service should step aside and let Los Angeles have for $524,000. (In 1910, with the construction of the the water. This discussion culminated in a meeting on Nov. aqueduct well under way, several members of the origi- 22,1904, in which the Reclamation Service agreed to forego nal syndicate formed the Suburban Homes Company its project in favor of the city. The participants also agreed to and purchased 47,500 acres of land in the southern San keep this arrangement in strict confidence. The L.A. newspa- Fernando Valley for $2.5 million.) pers, which had learned the substance of this agreement and On May 22, 1905, the water board approved Mul- the formulation of the aqueduct project, also acquiesced in holland’s project plan to bring the water down to Los the stricture of confidence. Angeles at a cost of $23 million. On July 28 Mulhol- A week later, on Nov. 28, the syndicate acted to form the land reported to the water board, “All options secured; San Fernando Mission Land Co. and issued a $50,000 pay- last spike driven.” ment to hold a prior option for the Porter Ranch land. On The next day, July 29, the Los Angeles Times jumped this same day, Nov. 28, Moses Sherman, also a “mover and the gun and broke the news of the aqueduct project. shaker,” was appointed to the five-man Los Angeles Water Up to this time, all the actions of the prior six to seven 4 Continued on p. 5 Aqueduct and Our Business Members — Syndicate please patronize them! From p. 4 Allen County Public Library, JRP Historical Consulting months had been in secret, with no Genealogy Department Dick Lewis Domestic Water Systems public announcements. The tim- AltaOne Federal Credit Union Jack & Dana Lyons, Realtors ing (“coincidence”) of the syndicate’s Anna Marie Bergens, Realtor Netzer-Russell Consulting, LLC actions cited above, plus others not Baxendale’s Antiques Nevins Tech. Consultants addressed in this short article, provides BevLen Haus – Bed & Breakfast The News Review (Farris) strong circumstantial evidence that DeathValley.com The Pleistocene Foundation there was much “insider info” regard- The Flower Shoppe Kenneth G. Pritchard, Attorney ing the city’s actions in the Owens TJ Frisbee Bicycles, Inc. Ridgecrest Automotive, LLC Valley and aqueduct project and that George Import Service Ridgecrest Moving & Storage the source was very likely water board H & R Block Sierra Odyssey, LLC member Moses Sherman. L. R. Haugen, Realtor Sierra Wave Tank Sales Even the San Francisco Chronicle High Sierra Auto & Truck Southern Sierra Medical Clinic was moved to publish an editorial on Phyllis M. Hix, Attorney Spectrum Graphics Aug. 22, 1905: “Water project linked Hockett’s Building Supply Gary P. Staab & Assoc., Inc. to land development scheme.” IWV Insurance The Swap Sheet It must be said that Mulholland, Eaton, and Lippincott never had any M President’s Message M connection with the syndicate. Nor was there any conspiracy between The HSUMD these officials and the syndicate mem- board recently bers. None was needed. The public held a three-hour- and private interests were identical. long mini-retreat The aqueduct would deliver much in which we took more water than Los Angeles could the time to dis- use at the time. In order to retain the cuss a number of items of individual rights to all of this water, Mulholland and overall board had to use the surplus in a beneficial concern — items manner (i.e., he couldn’t just let it which, because of time constraints, we had not thoroughly discussed in our drain into the Owens Lake until he regular board meetings. was ready to use it). Hence his solu- We also had time to talk with the new board members about some of the tion from the very beginning was to history of HSUMD and about where we should be going. I feel it was a pro- apply this water to agricultural irriga- ductive meeting. Thank you to Jim Lamb, who arranged for the meeting space tion in the San Fernando Valley. And, at his church. The above photo shows the board in action at the retreat. as the city grew even more because of See page 3 for an article about the award John Di Pol and I received on the water, the agricultural lands would behalf of HSUMD from the State Historical Preservation Office. be coverted into suburban areas. In other HSUMD news: The syndicate couldn’t lose — as M We have recently received two donations, a significant bequest from the we now see in the sea of homes and estate of the late Helen McCall, an HSUMD member for several years, and a businesses in the length and breadth large donation given by John Ward in memory of the late Bobbie Ward. Both of the San Fernando Valley. Professor had previously been generous in their support of our projects. Hoffman’s title of his book “Vision M We mourn the passing of Ellen Carr, an honorary lifetime member of or Villainy” is still apropos. Take your HSUMD. She and her late husband, Clarence, generously loaned photos of pick. early times in the Indian Wells Valley for copying for our archives. Ref: WATER and POWER. The Conflict: M Fundraising had a very productive October. The yard sale netted more Los Angeles and Owens Valley, W. L. Kahrl, than $1,700, and the CLOTA Spook House netted more than $1,500. Thanks 1982. to the efforts of Kathy Armstrong, HSUMD had a booth at Santa’s Art Shop VISION or VILLAINY, Origins of Owens stocked mainly with the several hundred miniature angels recently donated to Valley-L.A. Controversy., A. Hoffman, 1981. HSUMD. — Bruce Wertenberger 5 DIRECTORS Bruce Wertenberger, President Mike Leming, Accessions 375-2369, [email protected]. 371-7270, VISIT OUR Doug Lueck, Vice President [email protected] GIFT SHOP! 375-8202, [email protected] Louis Renner, Membership Chris Cane/Prosser Joan Chartier, Secretary 375-4379, [email protected] and her helpers are 499-9119, [email protected] Wes Staples, Audiovisual staffing our Gift Shop Andrew Sound, Treasurer, Publicist 371-4214, [email protected], every Saturday, Sunday, 371-1795, [email protected] [email protected] and Flex Friday. They M M M COMMITTEE LEADERS have some great items Liz Babcock, Newsletter Editor Roger McEntee, Building Manager for sale, including USO 375-7900, [email protected] [email protected] Building sweatshirts, Chris Cane/Prosser, Giftshop Kathy Armstrong, Fundraising postcards, and other 793-0741, [email protected] USO memorabilia. Chuck Cordell, Building 375-2643 Janet Westbrook, Webmistress Great stocking-stuffers! [email protected] [email protected] Martha Jauregui [email protected] Jim Kenney, Field Trips & Programs 371-2458, [email protected] Important Reminders Jim Lamb, Hospitality M Annual dues are $20 per family for the calendar year. 375-2503, 793-2040 (cell), M Business Member dues are $30 for the calendar year. [email protected] M Please remember the Historical Society in your wills, trusts and other gift giving. We are a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.

Historical Society of the Upper Mojave Desert NONPROFIT ORG. P. O. Box 2001 U.S. POSTAGE PAID Ridgecrest, CA 93556 PERMIT NO. 9 RIDGECREST, CA ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

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DECEMBER 2008 HOLIDAY PARTY

Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2008, 7 p.m., Historic USO Building — NOTE Earlier Time!