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Hermosa Beach California
got its start in the form of a land grant from the King of Spain
in 1822 to a loyal subject Antonio Ygnacio Avila. The rancho that
resulted was called Rancho Sausal Redondo--the ranch of the round
grove of willows. After Avila's death, his heirs sold the rancho
to a wealthy Scot, Sir Robert Burnett, who arrived in Southern
California just before the Civil War intending to buy land and
raise sheep and cattle. In 1855 Burnett sold the land to another
Scot, Daniel Freeman. By
1900, one E. B. Pomroy owned the greater part of the old rancho.
That year, a pair of railroad men and developers named Moses
Sherman and Eli Clark purchased a 1500 acre tract of Pomroy's
land. The two had built an empire of electric railroads and
intended to extend one of them, the Los Angeles Pacific, down
to the booming port of Redondo Beach. Since railroads needed
passengers and freight, they decided to develop their tract
and sell off land for homes and factories.
The City of Hermosa Beach was
laid out with the developers' railroad running down the middle
of Hermosa Avenue and ending up at Redondo Pier. Intended at
first to be a resort town for summer visitors from Los Angeles
the tiny town grew and incorporated in 1907 as the 19th city
in the Los Angeles County. The city grew and the boom of the
1920's brought in factories: a silk mill, a glass factory and
a large tile plant. The product of the latter, Hermosa Tile,
is still in demand among tile collectors. After the World War
II, Hermosa experienced another boom in population as the city
now promoted Hermosa Beach hotels and people discovered the
pleasures of relaxed beach side living. Over the years, Hermosa's
residents have been as diverse as poet Robinson Jeffers, Presidential
candidate William Jennings Bryan and the Nelson family--Ozzie
and Harriet and the boys. |
