Carbon Canyon Historical Artifact #59: A Postcard of a Bucolic Scene at St. Joseph's Hill of Hope, 1970s

Among the most popular posts on the blog over its 11-year history are a pair about the remarkable St. Joseph's Hill of Hope religious compound, nestled among the hills north of Carbon Canyon Road at the border of Orange and San Bernardino counties.

Disillusioned by the changes wrought by the Roman Catholic Church after the Vatican II or Second Vatican Council completed its work in 1965, Frances Krug announced two years later that she was visited by God, who revealed directions to her concerning how to return to the true faith.

One of these instructions was "that a basilica be built in honor of The Holy Trinity" and Krug, who died in 2009, proclaimed that "Heaven directed her to purchase 440 acres of land in Brea, California."  Further commands from "Heaven" required more structures so that the project became a "City of God," the title of a famous book by St. Augustine in the early days of Christianity.

A 1970s postcard published by the St. Joseph's Hill of Home religious community showing a portion of its 440-acre property near the San Bernardino and Orange counties line in Carbon Canyon.

Perhaps as a promotional vehicle for the building program at the Hill of Hope, postcards were published with photographs of the site.  As we close out the year, we feature one of them, printed in the 1970s by the Angelus Shop of Yorba Linda, and showing a beautiful bucolic scene with a dirt road winding through gently sloping hills and stands of mature oak trees.

The caption on the reverse states that the view is "reminiscent of the Holy Land and Biblical times" and that "this scene is similar to the road to Emmaus which Jesus traveled after His resurrection."  There is also a post office box in Anaheim for the curious to write to for more information.

Notably, the location of Emmaus has been in dispute ever since the account of the journey to it from Jerusalem was discussed in the Gospel According to Luke.  Just this past September, however, a team of French and Israeli archaeologists working west of Jerusalem near the town of Abu Ghosh and the hill of Kiriath Yearim offered the supposition that they'd found the town.  Because Luke identified Emmaus as 60 stadia from Jerusalem, this is about the 7 miles that separates the holy city from the archaeological site.

It is stated on the reverse that the Hill of Hope tract is "reminiscent of the Holy Land" and that the dirt road shown in the photo is similar to that Christ was said to have taken after his resurrection when going from Jerusalem to Emmaus, the location of which is in dispute.

An Israeli expert of ancient history stated that the leaders of the dig made a good case, though he added "it is a hypothesis and remains a hypothesis" and noted there are two other sites in close proximity that could have been Emmaus. 

Whether the Hill of Hope property bears any real resemblance to can be left to those who read the linked article above and see the photo showing Abu Ghosh and the Kiriath Yearim—albeit we're now two millenia removed from the time of Christ.

With 2019 ready to recede and 2020 poised to ascend, best wishes to everyone reading this for the New Year to come.

The Olinda Oil Field and Samuel C. Graham

In previous posts on this blog connected to the Olinda oil field, which was opened in 1897 with the successful completion of a well on the Santa Fe lease by famed oil tycoon Edward Doheny, mention has been made several times to one of the early firms to drill in the area: the Graham-Loftus firm with some biographical detail on the two principals: William Loftus and Samuel C. (Cam) Graham.

Last spring, Bruce Graham, a great-grandson of Samuel C. Graham, got in touch and sent some photos and additional information.  It only took about nine months to get this post together, but belated thanks are expressed to Bruce for sharing the photos.

"Cam" Graham was a native of Pennsylvania, born there in 1862 (a previous reference here stated 1861) two years after oil was found there and marked the beginnings of the American oil industry.  Graham was a pumper, tool dresser and driller in that state until he moved west to Los Angeles in 1888 (1882 was a date given on this blog before.)

Samuel C. (Cam) Graham.

Graham worked in the Santa Paula area for Torrey Canyon Oil Company initially and then for Union Oil, another early and later very prominent company, and married Mamie Hardison, a sister of a couple of the firm's founders.  When he and William Loftus, who also married a Hardison and worked closely with Graham in Torrey Canyon and Union, went into business together, Loftus lived on the Olinda land held by their company, while Graham lived in Los Angeles.

In his 1965 study Oil, Land and Politics, W.H. Hutchinson wrote that Graham and Loftus worked with Torrey Canyon head Thomas Bard, a powerful figure in Ventura County business and politics and a former United States Senator, on "an attractive power play" with an oil company controlled by the uber-wealthy James Flood of San Francisco and which had undeveloped property near Union in the Olinda area (commonly referred to as the Fullerton field in the early days).

Graham, Loftus, Bard and two others acquired the land for $10,000 and Bard offered his quarter share to Union for reasons unknown, though the company declined.  The new Graham-Loftus company immediately brought in a producing well, acquired more land, and did very well financially.

Graham on the Tapo oil property in eastern Ventura County, west of Santa Clarita and northeast of Simi Valley.

In addition to his work in oil, Graham, a former Los Angeles Police Commission member, was a significant figure in Progressive-era politics in Los Angeles, most notably serving as chairman of the committee that organized the recall of Mayor Arthur C. Harper (he resigned before the spring 1909 mayoral election).  Graham also headed a "Non-Partisan Committee of 100" which battled to reduce the influence of the mighty Southern Pacific railroad company in Los Angeles politics.  This led to the creation of the Lincoln Republican Clubs, which played a major role in reform activities.  Hutchinson and Martin Schiesl, in a fine article on Reform mayor George Alexander, who won the 1909 campaign and then reelection two years later, discuss Graham's role in Los Angeles politics.

As covered by William L. Kahrl in an interesting article on early 20th century water development and politics, Graham, who served on the Los Angeles Public Service Commission, proposed a plan to sell surplus water from the Los Angeles Aqueduct, an engineering marvel of its time which allowed for massive development in the region.  The plan, adopted by Los Angeles County voters in November 1912, allowed for nearby areas to buy this water at the rates charged by the City of Los Angeles, but it also provided for return of such supplies "whenever the public service desired" and rates could be raised to do so.

Graham's concept had the opposition of Aqueduct impresario, William Mulholland, the chief engineer for the city and Mulholland and his allies managed to get their plan, which called for surplus water buyers to have their own distribution systems, put on the ballot when it came time to vote for the bonds issues for the surplus matter.  Mulholland's side won the day in the April 1913 election.  With outlying areas practically unable to build their own distribution systems and needing water to survive, this allowed for the City of Los Angeles to embark on a massive annexation process that greatly enlarged the metropolis.  The Aqueduct then opened its water supply from Owens Valley in November 1913.

Graham with a grandson.

He was also a land developer, with one of his major projects being his service as treasurer of the Laguna Maywood Company, which developed the city of Maywood, southeast of Los Angeles.  In fact, he was said to be the "Father of Maywood."  His social connections, tied in with good government reformers, included being vice-president of The City Club in Los Angeles.

Graham contracted pneumonia on Christmas day 1933 and battled the illness for a month, succumbing to it in late January 1934.  His obituary in the Los Angeles Examiner stated that "in his business contacts he was noted for his kindly response to every request made upon him, even as was the case in his civic work."

Thanks again to Bruce for providing this further information and, especially this trio of photos, of a key figure in the development of the Olinda oil field, which is gradually ending its lifespan as we speak.

The Gaines and Brown Families of Carbon Canyon, Part 13: More Photos from the Flying Cow Ranch at Olinda

With thanks once more to Joyce Harrington for sharing photos of the Brown and Gaines families, who lived in the Carbon Canyon and Olinda areas for decades, here is another set of great images of scenes at the Flying Cow Ranch.

The ranch, established by Edward F. Gaines, was located where today's Olinda Village community is situated just outside the mouths of Carbon and Soquel canyons.  The Craftsman-style residence stood where the Hollydale Mobile Home Estates is on the south side of Carbon Canyon Road, while the majority of the ranch was north of the state highway.

The Craftsman-style house of the Gaines family's Flying Cow Ranch.  The site is now Hollydale Mobile Home Estates in Olinda Village, south of Carbon Canyon Road.  All photos are courtesy of Joyce Harrington.  Click on any to see them enlarged in a separate window.

As noted here before, Gaines lived in the community of Clearwater, so named because of the many artesian wells drilled in the area.  That hamlet, along with Hynes, were among the first in the region to experiment with sugar beets in the late 19th century, a crop that made Chino famous, as well. 

After the sugar beet era died out, Clearwater and Hynes, along with adjacent areas like Artesia and Cerritos, became the center of a massive and profitable dairy industry.  The region was regarded as "The Milk Shed of Los Angeles" and "The World's Largest Hay Market," as the growing of hay to feed the cows was an adjunct industry of significance. 

A hunting party at the Flying Cow.  The distinctive hill in the background is on the west end of the Olinda Village subdivision.

The dairy industry reigned supreme in the area until after World War II when massive immigration and large-scale suburban development rendered the land far more valuable for housing, commercial business and other uses.  The dairy farmers of Clearwater and Hynes, as well as neighboring communities, then headed inland to Chino and Ontario.  With developing spreading further into the Inland Empire, the dairies have been, are now and will continue to be leaving our region for greener pastures elsewhere.

Gaines, who lived from the 1870s to the 1950s, experienced the stunning transformations of life in the region from the late 19th century to the jet age and all of the technological and other innovations that went along with it. 

Ed Gaines' prized stagecoach, which he and a grandson restored and which was taken to parades and other events until it was destroyed in a September 1939 fire at the Flying Cow Ranch.

In many ways, he was a holdover from an earlier age, though, and his Flying Cow Ranch was a rural retreat where he hunted, kept horses and livestock, and stored his vintage stagecoach.  This latter was a particular pride and joy for Gaines, who took it to all kinds of public events and rode it as a reminder of pre-automobile days of transportation.  Sadly, a barn fire in 1939 killed some of Gaines' prized horses and destroyed the coach.

Having these photos provided by Joyce is a great way to document the history of Carbon Canyon and Olinda, especially as the oil wells at the latter are gradually being shut down and removed for more suburban development.

A view at the Flying Cow Ranch and which appears to look north into where most of the Olinda Village tract is now.

Check back again soon for more great historic images of the Gaines and Brown families of Carbon Canyon and Olinda, including the Olinda oil field and Olinda School.

David Purington Reminiscences of Carbon Canyon Rancher Fred Hiltscher

With thanks again to neighbors here in Sleepy Hollow who loaned a collection of material related to the community and the Canyon, this post presents a three-paged typed reminiscence of rancher Fred Hiltscher by David Purington, whose father Cleve and others established Sleepy Hollow in 1923.  Click on any one of the three images below to see them enlarged in a separate window for easier readibility.

Hiltscher has been discussed in this blog previously, but a little background will help with reading Purington's recollections.  Born in 1870 as the eldest of the five sons of August and Frederike, Hiltscher was raised in Austria until his family sailed from Hamburg, Germany in 1886 and settled in Orange County.

The Hiltschers settled near today's Orangethorpe Avenue and Euclid Street in west Fullerton, raising wine grapes, walnuts and apriccots before turning to oranges.  Members of the family later had a grove on Romneya Drive near West Street in Anaheim, as well.  Fred and his brother Maximilian were living in the Chino township in the 1900 census and it is likely that this was on a ranch purchased in Carbon Canyon a little east of where Sleepy Hollow was later established.  One of their neighbors was Andrew Friend, who has been mentioned in this blog, and whose family has raised cattle in this area for well over a century and still does in the Canyon today.

In the early 1900s, Fred and Max moved to Arizona where they pursued copper mining in the Prescott area and followed that with a project near Las Cruces, New Mexico.  While Max stayed at the latter, Fred returned to California by the early 1920s and, as Purington explained, had interests in the family grove in Anaheim, while living on his Carbon Canyon ranch during weekends.

A 1924 oil map previously featured on this blog shows a "J.M. Hiltscher" as owning property just east of the Orange County/San Bernardino County line, next to land held by Placentia orange grower Charles C. Wagner.  The year prior, Hiltscher sued Wagner for infringement of an unnamed type on his property.

By the 1930s, however, Hiltscher was residing full-time in the Canyon and he and Max also established a mineral springs resort in Sleepy Hollow just east of the Orange County line and south of Carbon Canyon Road, where Carbon Creek runs alongside the thoroughfare.  Known as Hiltscher Mineral Springs and then Carbon Canyon Mineral Springs, the resort looks to have operated during the 1930s and into the 1940s before closing.

Fred Hiltscher died in 1941 and is buried in a weed-choked cemetery in Hillsboro, a little community about 75 miles northwest of Las Cruces.

A couple of notes concerning elements of Purington's memories of Hiltscher.  The Sleepy Hollow community swimming pool was built right next to the creek in the middle of the neighborhood, a little east of the former Party House Liquor Store property and just west of the Purington residence (which, incidentally, is now for sale.)  It was fed with mineral water derived from the hot springs that fed the Hiltscher resort, as well.

Purington's statement that Hiltscher was educated at the famed Heidelberg University in Germany appears to be false, as he came to the United States when about sixteen years of age.  The country store in Sleepy Hollow looks to have been across from the Purington house where the parking area is for the Sleepy Hollow Community Center.

Finally, Purington's statement that Hiltscher "was killed by a falling rock in one of his mine shafts" did not likely happen in Arizona, but in New Mexico, because he and his brother transferred operations from the former to the latter and Hiltscher is buried in Hillsboro, as noted above.

This recollection is one of several of notable locals that Purington remembered from his youth and more of these will be shared in future posts.