At a meeting on Nov. 20, 1885, “A Succinct History of Los Angeles for 104 Years," printed in the Evening Express, was criticised on matters of fact, and a committee was appointed to investigate. It was charged that the criticism was inspired by a representative of the Los Angeles Times because of the rivalry between the two papers. In 1891 C. C. Stephens was authorized to replevin the bound files of the Tribune in the hands of a certain person which had been garnisheed by creditors of the Tribune. (The L. A. Tribune that ceased publication in 1890.) Among the books belonging to the Society are some very rare and valuable as source material. Such are the following: "Narrative of a California Volunteer," a bound manuscript volume of one hundred thirty-eight pages of foolscap, written by Judge Walter Murray; a manuscript copy of Colonel Warner's Reminiscences of Early Days in California; a collection of old Spanish manuscripts pertaining to the missions and the early days of California; the Sutro Documents, which are copies of valuable originals in the Archives of the Indies in Seville, Spain; and the log book of Hermesilia that made a voyage from New York to San Francisco via Cape Horn in 1849. The collection of such books after the exhaustive work of Hubert Howe Bancroft shows the need for such a Society as this. With a permanent place for the housing and exhibition of its collection, with a regular place for meeting, with the spread of interest in the Society within the past four years, with a virgin field of current history which grows richer and more complex every year of our wonderful development, the Society looks out upon a future rich with promise. NAMES OF FOUNDERS. The organization of the Society was completed December 6, 1883. The Society has designated the following named persons as founders: Henry D. Barrows *Marcus Baker *Edwin Baxter *A. J. Bradfield *Dead. Resigned. *Isaac Kinley *A. Kohler PUBLISHED PAPERS. The following is a list of the contributions to the Historical Society's publications by J. M. Guinn: 1889. History of the Attempts to Divide Los Angeles County. 1890. Inaugural Address (President's). The Great Real Estate Boom of 1887. Exceptional Years. Report of the Committee on "Meteorology." 1893. Early Gold Discoveries in Southern California. Siege and Capture of Los Angeles, September, 1846. California Fifty Years Ago. 1894. Historical Debris, or Myths That Pass for History. The Plan of Old Los Angeles. 1895. 1896. Old Time Schools and School Masters of Los Angeles. Capture of Monterey, October 19, 1842. 1897. Early Postal Service in California. Old Pueblo Archives. Los Angeles in the Adobe Age. Pioneer School Superintendents of Los Angeles. 1900. To California Via Panama in the Early '60s. Historic Seaports of Los Angeles. La Estrella, the Pioneer Newspapers of Los Angeles. 1901. The Passing of the Old Pueblo. Camel Caravans of the American Desert. The Pony Express. 1902. Poetry of the Argonauts. El Cañon Perdido. Some Eccentric Characters of Early Los Angeles. Fort Moore. 1903. Two Decades of Local History. Yuma Indian Depredations and the Glanton War. In the Days of '49. The Myth of Gold Lake. 1904. Down in Panama. Some Historic Fads and Fakes. Rain and Rainmakers. 1905. How California Escaped State Division. The Old Highways of Los Angeles. 1906. Some Early California Industries That Failed. Some California Place Names. 1907 and 1908. California Under the Rule of Spain and Mexico. The Pioneer Directory of Los Angeles. Twenty-Five Years of Local History Work. Las Salinas. A Forgotten Landmark. From Pueblo to Ciudad. 1909 and 1910. Museum of History, Science and Art. The Sonoran Migration. The Passing of the Cattle Barons of California (from The Pacific Monthly, by permission). The History of Cahuenga Valley and the Rancho La Brea. The Southwest corner of Spring and First Streets The Historical Society completed its organization in this building Dec. 6, 1883, and occupied a room in the northwest corner for two years. The Society gave a reception in these rooms to General and Mrs. J. C. Fremont. Nadeau was erected in 1882. The cut shows the building and its surroundings as they were in 1886. The low buildings in front cover the present site of the Wilson Hotel. Between the Nadeau and Second Street in 1882 were a horse corral, a planing mill and a school-house. |