Isaac Williams of Rancho Santa Ana del Chino and More of His Early History

Recently, Carol Van Deest of the Johnstown Historical Society, located in Ohio northeast of Columbus, reached out concerning Isaac Williams, the son-in-law of Rancho Santa Ana de Chino grantee Antonio María Lugo and owner of the ranch for nearly fifteen years until his death in September 1856.

For about as long, however, Williams, who was born in 1799 in northeastern Pennsylvania not far from Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, lived in Johnstown and these years included much of his formative ages of 10-26.  Carol's detailed research has provided a great deal of information about his life in Ohio prior to his heading west through Missouri to New Mexico and then to Los Angeles, where he arrived in spring 1832.

After close to a decade as a merchant in the Mexican pueblo, Williams married María de Jesús, daughter of Lugo, and, just after his father-in-law received the grant to the Chino rancho, he and his wife relocated there.  While much of this history is recounted in this blog and elsewhere, Carol has provided some very valuable history regarding Williams' life before coming to California.

Check out the webpage and enjoy! 

Chino Hills Historical Society Presentation Tomorrow on Shelley M. Stoody and the Double S Ranch, Carbon Canyon

Shelley Martin Stoody (1899-1961) hailed from a small Ohio town and came to this area in the early 1920s, opening a welding business with his father and brother in Whittier.  In short order, the firm, which relocated to Santa Fe Springs, became a major success by hard-facing tools with very durable alloys for oil drilling and other industrial applications, making Stoody a very wealthy figure.

As the business expanded, so did his interests, which included aviation, astronomy, fishing and hunting and raising purebred cattle.  A resident of fine houses in Whittier, Hacienda Heights, Palos Verdes Estates (from where he commuted to and from his plant in a helicopter!)  and Balboa Island (Newport Beach), Stoody also owned ranches in Nevada and Hemet (Riverside County) before he purchased nearly 500 acres in Carbon Canyon in the early 1950s.

He dubbed his new rural showplace the Double S Ranch and built an expansive single-story house, which still stands, at what is known as The Summit, overlooking his spread.  In addition to stocking the ranch with purebred Polled Herefords and building a more than 11,000-square foot show barn, where he housed his very expensive animals, Stoody laid out a landing strip and a hangar for his airplane.

Stoody quickly made a name for himself in the cattle business and drew a substantial crowd for a field meet and sale at Double S in 1960 before a terrible tragedy took place the following year, the aftermath of which included the ranch's sale to an Orange County syndicate that built the Western Hills Country Club, now in its 60th year of operation, on part of the property.

Learn more about Stoody, the Double S Ranch and some of Carbon Canyon's mid-20th century history at a presentation for the Chino Hills Historical Society tomorrow night, Monday the 12th, at 7 p.m. at the Community Center, 14250 Peyton Drive, across from Ayala High School.

We hope to see you there!