W.K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Ranch Records 00190019
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http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c82231gn No online items The Finding Aid of the W.K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Ranch Records 00190019 Alexis Adkins, Lissa Lopez, and Neelam Patel The processing of this collection and the creation of this finding aid was funded by the generous support of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Special Collections and Archives February 2019 3801 West Temple Avenue Pomona, CA 91768 [email protected] 909-869-3775 The Finding Aid of the W.K. 0019 1 Kellogg Arabian Horse Ranch Records 00190019 Title: W.K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Ranch Records Creator: Kellogg, W.K. (Will Keith), 1860-1951 Creator: W.K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Ranch Identifier/Call Number: 0019 Contributing Institution: California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Special Collections and Archives Language of Material: English Physical Description: 84.53 Linear Feet (102 boxes and 6 drawings) Date (inclusive): 1910-1949 Language of Material: English Abstract: The W.K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Ranch was established in 1925 in Pomona, California by cereal magnate W.K. Kellogg to fulfill his long-held dream of breeding Arabian horses. The ranch served as Kellogg's winter home until 1932, when he donated the horses and property to the University of California. The University operated the ranch as the W.K. Kellogg Institute of Animal Husbandry until 1943 when the ranch was transferred to the United States government for use by the United State Army Remount Service. The Army operated the ranch as the Pomona Quartermaster Depot (Remount) and bred horses for the cavalry. In 1949, the ranch was transferred a final time to the California state Department of Education and ultimately became the campus of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. The university has continued the Arabian breeding program to the present day. The collection includes correspondence, financial records, guestbooks, scrapbooks, legal agreements, ephemera, and realia documenting the operation of the ranch as Kellogg's private home and its subsequent transfer to various institutions. Sponsor The processing of this collection and the creation of this finding aid was funded by the generous support of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Conditions Governing Access Advance notice required for access. Conditions Governing Use Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder. Preferred Citation [Box/folder# or item name], W.K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Ranch Records, Collection no. 0019, W.K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Library, Special Collections and Archives, University Library, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Biographical / Historical W.K. (Will Keith) Kellogg was born in Battle Creek, Michigan in 1860. When he was twenty years old, he went to work for his brother Dr. John Harvey Kellogg at the Battle Creek Sanitarium where he would remain for the next 25 years. W.K. wore many hats while running the growing Sanitarium, including developing foods for the Sanitarium patients. One of the Kelloggs' inventions, flaked cereal, proved to be wildly popular and the Kellogg brothers began to sell it to customers outside the Sanitarium by mail order. W.K. wanted to capitalize on the product but his brother felt that becoming too involved in the business would harm his professional reputation. In 1905 W.K. bought out his brother's interest, left the Sanitarium, and launched what would become known as the Kellogg Company. Kellogg was 45 years old at this point and he threw himself into the business, advertising its products aggressively and pioneering marketing strategies like free samples. By the 1920s, Kellogg was a multi-millionaire. In late 1924, Kellogg traveled to Palm Springs with a friend to take in the California sun. While there, they made a day trip to Indio to inspect Chauncey Clarke's Arabian horse ranch. According to his biographer, Horace Powell, Kellogg's fascination with the Arabian breed dated back to his childhood when he and his siblings had a pony named Old Spot. Whether or not Old Spot had any Arabian blood in unknown; the term "Arabian" was used as a shorthand at the time to impart an aura of glamour to a horse regardless of its pedigree. In any case, Kellogg decided at the age of 64 that it was time to fulfill his dream and he purchased eleven horses from Clarke in March 1925. Realizing he needed a place to keep them, he began making plans to build a ranch in California which would also serve as his winter home. In May 1925, Kellogg purchased 377 acres near Pomona from Spadra rancher Frank Cecil George for $250,000. He then hired Los Angeles architect Myron Hunt to design stables, a mansion, and other buildings on the Ranch. The horses were boarded at the nearby Los Angeles County Fairgrounds until temporary stables were constructed. While construction was still underway, Kellogg bought ten more Arabians from F.E. Lewis in nearby Diamond Bar and twelve from Crabbet Park Stud in England. The permanent stables were completed in July 1926 and the Kellogg Mansion in early 1927. The Finding Aid of the W.K. 0019 2 Kellogg Arabian Horse Ranch Records 00190019 Kellogg briefly hired Carl Raswan, then known as Carl Schmidt, away from the Chauncey ranch to act as an agent to obtain horses from Crabbet Stud. H.H. (Herbert Harshman) Reese was hired to manage the Ranch and Kellogg's son Dr. Karl Kellogg lived at the ranch with his wife and children to supervise operations and construction in his father's absence. Kellogg's daughter, Elizabeth K. Williamson, would also come to live at the ranch with her family. The Kellogg Arabians had garnered public interest from the beginning. Kellogg's purchases were covered in the newspapers and people visited the ranch while it was still under construction to admire the horses. Kellogg embraced this attention and saw it as an opportunity to promote Kellogg Company products as well as the Arabian breed. He began offering free horse shows to the public on the first Sunday of the month and installed large sign advertising the Kellogg Company on the west wall of the stables, well within view of the crowd. Kellogg horses were also on display in the Tournament of Roses parade, further raising their profile and by extension, that of the Kellogg Company. Sunday show attendance grew steadily and by 1930, 85,000 visitors had come to the ranch in total. Kellogg hired advertisers and marketers, including Spide Rathbun, to encourage attention from Hollywood and thereby, more publicity. Movie stars of the day were frequent guests at the Ranch and posed for publicity photos with the famous Arabians. The horses also appeared in several films. Most notably, the stallion Jadaan co-starred with Rudolph Valentino in his last film Son of the Sheik. Kellogg loved aviation as much as he did horses and had an emergency airstrip built at the ranch in hopes that aviator Charles Lindbergh would stop there while en route from Los Angeles to San Diego in September 1927. Lindbergh declined to make a landing, but he did circle over the crowd that had gathered at the ranch. The airstrip was enhanced and dedicated as the W.K. Kellogg Airport in 1928. It would not last long—it was converted to alfalfa fields in 1933. From the beginning, Kellogg wanted his ranch to prove a lasting legacy. As early as 1926, he had been in conversation with the University of California about the possibility of arranging a transfer so that the breeding program would continue. A trust agreement was drafted in 1931 and was approved by then governor James Rolph, Jr. in spring of 1932. The agreement stipulated that the state continue the breeding program, the Sunday shows, and that Kellogg would be consulted on important matters. The ranch was formally presented to the state on May 17, 1932. Actor and humorist Will Rogers served as Master of Ceremonies and 22,000 people attended. The ranch was operated by the University of California's College of Agriculture as the W.K. Kellogg Institute of Animal Husbandry from 1932 until 1943. The University continued to breed and sell Arabian horses, put on Sunday shows, and welcome celebrity guests. However, Kellogg would visit periodically and was not satisfied with how his gift was being used. Facilities were falling into disrepair and the University began charging admission to the previously free shows. Distressed, Kellogg began exploring different ways to regain control of the ranch so that it could be transferred to a different institution. The University of California's Board of Regents blocked his attempts and the situation was at a stalemate for several years. The United States' entry into World War II presented an opportunity for Kellogg. He lobbied to have the ranch turned over to the Army Remount Service to support the war effort. After two years of negotiations, the ranch was officially transferred to the Army in October 1943 and operated as the Pomona Quartermaster Depot (Remount). The Remount continued operations for two years following the end of the war in 1945. In 1947, the Army announced that it was abandoning its horse breeding program and that entire Remount, including the Pomona depot, was transferred to the Department of Agriculture in April 1948. The Department of Agriculture's decision proved to be unpopular with the public and deeply troubling to W.K. Kellogg, who was by that time 88 years old. The planned sale was cancelled under increasing public and political pressure. The ranch was finally transferred to the California State Department of Education via the Kellogg Foundation in 1949 and became part of the southern branch of California Polytechnic College in San Luis Obispo.