CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY Sacramento And UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Santa Barbara Harvesting Suburbs: Recalling the Suburban Side of California’s Agricultural Colonization A Dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Public History by Paul Jason Prescott Sandul Committee in charge: Professor Lee M. A. Simpson, Chair (CSUS) Professor Randolph Bergstrom (UCSB) Professor Christopher J. Castaneda (CSUS) Professor Mary Hancock (UCSB) June 2009 The dissertation of Paul Jason Prescott Sandul is approved. _____________________________________________ Randolph Bergstrom, UCSB _____________________________________________ Christopher J. Castaneda, CSUS _____________________________________________ Mary Hancock, UCSB _____________________________________________ Lee M. A. Simpson, Committee Chair, CSUS June 2009 iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many people helped me while I worked on my dissertation. Professors and faculty at California State University, Sacramento (CSUS) and University California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) at every point provided me with support and vital insights. Professors Mona Siegel and Harold Marcuse, for example, introduced me to memory studies while Professor Charles Postel took time to read early essays and drafts and make important suggestions. My committee members were, to be sure, especially important. Professor Christopher J. Castaneda, I swear, never leaves his office. Anytime I ever needed advice, council, or simply to talk, I could always find Professor Castaneda’s door open and, regardless of how busy he seemed, an open chair. He always provided keen insight, critical and helpful commentary, and, most important for a secluded graduate student, many lunches at a good restaurant. Professor Randolph Bergstrom first introduced me and guided my original inquires into the intersection of place, memory, and history. With the quickest and sharpest wit of any person I have ever known, his guidance was indispensable, his support unwavering, and direction always needed. Professor Mary Hancock provided me direction regarding social theory and place. While my time at UCSB was short, Professor Hancock immediately opened up and kept open the lines of communication, her office door, and, most importantly, guidance. Without her, much of my dissertation, particularly concerning life history, power, place, and theory, would have never happened. Finally, Professor Lee M. A. Simpson, my committee chair, has been my mentor. She has not only guided me through this dissertation, but also much of my academic and intellectual life. She has seen this project through from when it was just a graduate seminar essay four years ago to today. It was her insights and suggestions that first prompted me to ask more and tougher questions regarding iv my research, which, ultimately, blossomed into a dissertation. I am truly privileged to have her as a mentor and a friend. Maybe now, as she has told me to, I can finally call her Lee. Of course, my family and friends all encouraged me too. They afforded me numerous opportunities to be appropriately distracted and never waffled in their belief I would finish. For all of them, I am grateful and proud to know I have such good friends and loving family members. My mother and father have always been kind, giving, and loving. They always supported me and, even when I did not deserve it, praised and celebrated me. I love them. Also, my father, a brilliant writer who inspires me always, took time to work with me in the editing process as he greatly helped and challenged me to produce a better product. Beyond anybody else, I love and thank Tosha the most. She gave me her love and support and I will forever be grateful to her. She made sure I remained sane and reasonable, gave me encouragement or scorn whenever I needed it, and ultimately made sure I finished. I acknowledge all she has done to help me not only finish a dissertation, but also to be happy person. I dedicate this dissertation to her. v VITA OF PAUL JASON PRESCOTT SANDUL MAY 2009 Education • Ph. D. University of California, Santa Barbara and California State University, Sacramento (Public History; 2009 — expected). • M.A. California State University, Sacramento (History, 2003, 4.0 GPA). • B.A. California State University, Sacramento (History, 2001, Magna Cum Laude). Professional Employment • Assistant Professor of History, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, TX (appointment to begin in Fall 2009). • Teaching Associate (Lecturer), California State University, Sacramento, 2004 – 06; and 2007 – 2009. • Part-Time Faculty (Lecturer), Sierra College, Rocklin, CA, 2008 – 2009. Publications • “The Agriburb: Recalling the Suburban Side of Ontario, California’s Agricultural Colonization.” In Agricultural History. Publication forthcoming; spring 2010. • Review of Gyan Prakash and Kevin M. Kruse, eds., The Spaces of the Modern City: Imaginaries, Politics, and Everyday Life. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2008. The Public Historian 31, no. 1 (February 2009): 143-45. • Orangevale, California. Coauthored with Tory D. Swim. Images of America Series. San Francisco: Arcadia Publishing, 2006. • “California Celebrates 50 Years of the Interstate Highway System: The History of Interstates in California,” State of California, Department of Transportation (Caltrans). Sacramento: Caltrans, 2006. URL: http://www.dot.ca.gov/interstate. • “Review of Iris Engstrand, San Diego: California’s Cornerstone,” H-California, H-Net Reviews, March 2006. URL: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.cgi?path= 197711145559413. • Fair Oaks, California. Coauthored with Lee M. A. Simpson. Images of America Series. San Francisco: Arcadia Publishing, 2006. Fields of Study • Major Field: Public History with Dr. Christopher J. Castaneda (CSUS) • Sub-Field 1: American History with Dr. Randolph Bergstrom (UCSB) • Sub-Field 2: Urban/Suburban History with Dr. Lee M. A. Simpson (CSUS) • Cognate Field: Social Theory with Dr. Mary Hancock (UCSB) vi ABSTRACT Harvesting Suburbs: Recalling the Suburban Side of California’ Agricultural Colonization by Paul Jason Prescott Sandul “Harvesting Suburbs” attempts to provide an understanding that agricultural communities in California represent a unique rural suburban type labeled here as “agriburbs.” Such an understanding deepens an appreciation for both the growth and development of California in general at the turn of the twentieth century and the diversity of suburban types across the American landscape. Moreover, by reviewing historical narratives concerning agriburban areas, one can reach a better understanding of the dynamics at play working to divert attention from the suburban side of agriburban areas’ origins. Put differently, “Harvesting Suburbs” seeks to explain what an agriburb is and why historians and others have failed to identify an agriburb. Parallels are hence drawn between the suburban ideal and the California dream to show how they largely mirrored each other. The suburban side of three case study sites (Ontario, Orangevale, and Fair Oaks) is then furnished to specify better what made California’s “agricultural colonies” agriburbs. Finally, early promotional efforts concerning agriburbs reveal how a master historical narrative about each of these communities largely contributes to diverting attention from their suburban origins. Examining a metanarrative also exposes much about the nature of public memory in agriburban communities. It shows the importance and lasting influence of older historical narratives and other public representations of the past on present-day historical narratives and public representations of the past. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION The Agriburb — Conceptualizing Rural Suburbs in California ........................... 1 Bourgeois Horticulturalists in an Agricultural Wonderland: Recalling Past Conceptualizations of California’s Rural Areas to Build a Better Understanding ....................................................................................................................... 6 Exploding Dichotomies: Traditional and Modern ............................................. 22 The Agriburb: A Model for Understanding California’s Rural Suburban Phenomenon ..................................................................................................................... 28 CHAPTER ONE Little Boxes on the Hillside: Saving America by Taking Advantage of the Rural Countryside — The Rise of the Suburban Ideal .................................................... 37 California’s Suburban Phenomenon .................................................................. 37 Distinguishing Old from New: The (Not So) New Suburban History .............. 37 The Market Revolution and the Transformation of America ............................ 51 The Suburban Ideal: Constructing a Middle Landscape and City-Country Alternative ..................................................................................................................... 58 Americans, the Suburban Ideal, and the California Dream ............................... 74 CHAPTER TWO “Going to California with an Aching in My Heart”: The California Dream — Toward a Common Definition of Colony, Horticulture, and Suburb in California at the Turn of the Twentieth Century .................................................................................................... 77 California’s Fertile Growth ............................................................................... 78 The California