Just a Sleepy Little College Town

Sometime around 1932, my father moved to La Verne, California.  His mother and grandmother shared the responsibilities of raising four children.  Gramma bought a sweet little farmhouse with a wrap-around porch, a second story, and a great big sun porch in the back.  I loved that house.

Gramma's House

As a kid, staying overnight with Gramma meant 50cents or a dollar in my pocket, a short walk with Gramma downtown to the toy store, and walking home twirling a baton.  I always bought a baton.  When Gramma died in 1982, the house was sold.  I drive past it every time I come south to visit Mom.

Mom moved to La Verne to the Hillcrest Retirement Community in 1997 and then she moved into the Woods Health Services after her stroke in 2014.  I visit her every six weeks or so.  The little town hasn't changed much in all the years I've known it.  

After the land was used by Native Americans and other early settlers, the land where La Verne now sits was owned by Isaac Wilson Lord.  He was a Los Angeles business owner who, in 1887, convinced the Santa Fe Railroad to come out his way through his many acres of land.  In May of that year, he made a bold move and set up parades and street music in both Los Angeles and San Bernardino, enticing people a free ride to Lordsburg.  Over 2500 people accepted and Lord sold over $200,000 worth of lots. 

Lordsburg Hotel/University of La Verne

As City of La Verne history said, "Building began immediately. The most notable building was a large hotel with more than 60 rooms. Lord and others had invested some $70,000 or more in it. Water mains were put in, a post office opened, a newspaper published and stores opened, all within four months."

Then the railroad competition began with Santa Fe and Southern Pacific Railroads vying for customers.  Passenger rates dropped to $1/person from mid-west to Los Angeles.  It brought an influx of people to the area--most to just look around; some stayed.

With the hotel completed, waiting for paying customers, the little town of Lordsburg was ready to blossom.  Only it never happened.  Not one paying customer ever stayed at this glorious hotel.  It seemed throughout the area there were few residents and many businesses.  

In 1889, M.M. Eshelman arrived from the midwest.  He was a member of the Church of the Brethren.  Along with George McDonaugh, also a Brethren, they made an offer to Lord for the hotel.  The offer included 100 city lots in on the deal. They offered $15,000 for the lots and the hotel.  They wanted to make a college out of the hotel.  They enticed many Brethren to join them so their kids could go to college.  It worked.  By November, they had formed a Brethren congregation and by fall of 1891, the college opened with eight faculty members and 135 students.  Also in the northern lands there were a few ranchers.  They called their area "La Verne," meaning "growing green."   

Citrus groves with Mt Baldy in background

The ranchers didn't have time to be concerned with the little college town.  They had their own problems with the elements.  Rain.  Drought.  Snow.  Winds.  They dug deep wells and by 1890 they had tried planting citrus groves.  They went well and more citrus groves were planted.  During its peak in 1919, more than a thousand carloads of fruit were being shipped annually, and the output continued to grow. The growing, picking, packing, and shipping of oranges, grapefruit and lemons influenced all of life in the town.

In 1917, town people and ranchers voted to change the name of the town to La Verne.  They had tried back in 1912, but Lord still had a majority of land ownership and he balked.  But then he died and TaDa!  La Verne it became.

Lighting smudge pots

In the 1940, the citrus trees began dying and the owners tore many groves out and sold the land as housing lots.  I remember waking in the night while at Gramma's hearing the fire house warning bells and the people going out to the groves to heat the trees with smudge pots.  I would wake up the next morning with black soot in my nostrils and mouth.  This practice was stopped in the 1970s, but those of us near citrus groves knew the sound and results.

University of La Verne

But now they are gone, all the groves.  There are some 30,000 people living in La Verne today.  But somehow it has remained that sleepy little college town that the Church of the Brethren once developed and La Verne citrus growers expanded. 

peace~~~