FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS - PAGEANT OF THE MASTERS
From "75 Works, 75 Years, Collecting the Art of California: The Years 1918 - 1955" by Nancy Dustin Wall Moure See http://www.tfaoi.org/aa/7aa/7aa904.htm "An important source of income for the Association through the 1930s was the Festival of Arts, the last and most successful of several festivals sponsored by Laguna Beach to lure tourists to the village. The Festival of Arts was proposed at a meeting of the Laguna Beach Art Association on April 11, 1932, by Sumner Crosby, former editor of the South Coast News, at the urging of John Hinchman. The two saw it as an "intellectual" carnival, with art exhibitions at various sites and a street art market."

“Pioneer Days in Laguna Beach” by Merle and Mabel Ramsey
See page 156 - 159
"Festival of Arts
In the depths of the great depression when many were hungry, not for food only, but for many things that were unobtainable, all praise must go to the little band of artists, players, and the business people who would not lay dormant, waiting for some magic solution.

In 1932, they began to stir themselves with ideas of how to develop a movement that had never been tried before. It was a crusade, and new methods of display of their wares. Ideas were presented, locations were discussed. How and when would be the most profitable time of the year for the event?

It was John Hinchman and Gaelan Doss who became the fire that lit up the idea of an Art Festival. All were now in the peak, or, should we say, the depth of the depression. Hinchman and Doss knew something had to be done to bring the artists, as well as others, out of their doldrums. They soon had the interest in motion, to advertise the event to be known as the Festival of Arts, the City entered into having a float in the Newport Tournament of Lights, bearing a pallette advertising the Festival of Arts in Laguna Beach. In the first adventure the business men donated to the cost of the event, which was $380, and the donations were promptly paid.

It was now 1932, when the dream and vision of the artists were first put into action. Anxious to set their work before the public they came up with the idea of a free display. To get their art work centralized, they chose the little street, EI Paseo, one block long with its trees and fences making a suitable background for the hangings of the paintings and other art work. They must have a title for the event. They arrived at MARCHE AUX CROUTES. (Market of the Crusts). It was here that the first "living pictures" came into being in Laguna Beach. Lolita Perine presented "Mona Lisa" with Hilda Mackey posing.

There were two men who also exhibited some "living pictures" at the festival, Howard Sheridan and Roy Grimes. It was the little street display that inspired the artists to a wider field of endeavor.

Came 1933, and the Festival of Arts was again displayed on the little street, El Paseo, also on the lot north of the Sandwich Mill [northeast corner of Forest Avenue and Coast Boulevard]. We have found some who deny the EI Paseo location for 1933.

EL PASEO WHERE FIRST FESTIVAL OF ARTS WAS HELD.
To verify our facts that El Paseo was the 1933 location, we have had access to the scrapbook of John Jehle, in which he kept all the newspaper clippings in Southern California, up to, and including 1934.

These clippings of 1933 definitely name EI Paseo as the location, and, including the lot north of the Sandwich Mill, at which place the paintings were hung on the fence around the property.

One exhibit is worthy of mention. At the far corner of the lot sat a little man, very primitive in dress, wearing sandals made from auto tires cut to fit his feet and tied on with cords.

He was wearing short pants that were really ragged, and was showing the children how to make ornaments of old tin cans by cutting them into odd shapes. He was really good at it and his work had merit. He was a stranger to the village and many wondered who he was and where he came from. He named himself Capt. Kidd, but many called him "screw loose". There were times he would run along the beach for hours before the people to exhibit his endurance.

It finally was discovered, he was one of the marathon runners from New York to Los Angeles in 1929. He was one who ran the entire distance.

It was now 1934, and the artists had germinated a desire to exhibit each succeeding year. To have more space, Ocean Avenue was selected, providing the owners were favorable to the closing off of the street for the week. It was here a new name appeared, "Spirit Of The Masters".

Laguna's fame as the Art Colony was beginning to lead up to the event that would later make it famous. For the latter years the little village had been in the throes of the depression and its gloom. Not only did painters, but the craftsmen, actors and writers, band together with a definite idea to pay tribute to the early residents to express their appreciation for the advancement of Laguna Beach as an art colony. The street was closed off with a stage for the back and about 40 booths for the displays along the curbs. It took on a Bohemian atmosphere and they brought in a group of Slavic dancers and musicians.

The program was interesting as well as unusual for the little village. The arrangements were in the hands of John B. Hughs, the well known theatrical producer who was the former director of the Community Players of Laguna Beach, who was at this time director of the Theater Arts Players of Long Beach. Mr. Hughs had charge of the seven days and nights of the colorful performances of the festival of nations with the Slavic and other national dances."


From "100 Years of Laguna Beach"
Printed 1974
Laguna Beach Historical Society
Assembled and written by
Margaret Roley, Isabelle Ziegler, Virginia Oakley and Genevieve Daniels

"A SMALL ACORN: THE FIRST FESTIVAL OF ARTS
As it came to the rest of the country, the depression came to Laguna. . . striking workers and artists alike.
People with little money to buy food were hardly in the market for works of art. So the resourceful artists of Laguna took their work to the people, displaying their wares in a vacant lot on Forest Avenue, hoping to snag some passersby who would find their low prices irresistible. Some did - and the Festival of Arts was born. This was April 11 ,1932.
The next year the artists found a larger lot and hesitantly charged a dime admission. Ceramics, hand loomed material, and hand crafted jewelry were exhibited with the paintings.
Totally new to the art exhibit scene was the addition of "living pictures"- human models who created in tableau famous works of art. The originator was the late Roy Ropp, an artist himself who, in'1936, gave the "pictures" the name, "Pageant of the Masters." It was he, also, who first staged "The Last Supper" as the Pageant finale and which has since become a tradition."

From Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters-Roger W Jones
Pages 165 – 174 book “Laguna Beach An Illustrated and Narrative History” by Roger W Jones

B. Festival of Arts - 1932
Besides its natural beauty and reputation as an art center, Laguna Beach is probably best known for The Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters. The 1953 Souvenir Edition of The Laguna Beach Post, which centered around the Festival of Arts, briefly describes the humble beginning of the Laguna Beach artists and first Festival of Arts:
Pioneer of the Palette
The story of Laguna Beach artists begins with Norman St. Clair, whose exhibit of water colors attracted the attention of art circles in the early 1900's. Following St. Clair came Gardner Symons, noted for snow scenes and William Wendt, both of whom were National Academy artists.
The first Festival of Arts in 1932 was designed to lift depression. The idea was conceived by John Hinchman, artist and lecturer on art. It was located on El Paseo with the stage facing the ocean. The second Festival was held on the Heisler property adjoining the Art Gallery. One was held on a small lot, part of which is now occupied by the Bank of America. For three years prior to the advent of the Festival into its own home, it was held at the Woman's Clubhouse on Third Street.
An article entitled How Idea was Born, elaborating on the background of The Festival of Arts was featured in the same 1953 Laguna Beach Post issue:
The Festival of Arts of Laguna Beach was born in 1932, one year out of the many years of the depression. On El Paseo Street, and spilling into private property on each side, an area was roped off with canvas and boards and the beginning of a now great cultural institution of California took its first breath of life.
The original idea behind the move was to afford Laguna Beach artists, once a year, a place to display their work in a group to (hoped for) crowds attracted by the art itself and the gaiety of a Festival. The carnival spirit which entered into this open air affair helped throw off the depressive effect of the then economic state of the nation; there was colorful celebration, entertainment which was frequently spontaneous, dancing, and music. But mainly there were paintings - paintings hung from the trunks of towering eucalyptus trees, paintings propped against fences or supported by make-shift easels, and others suspended by wires strung between trees or posts.
The Second Year, 1933, Living Pictures were introduced as part of the Festival of Arts, but because of a budget so small and so thinly spread to cover all necessary expenses, the pictures were, by comparison, crudely done. There was no money for lighting or building of frames to create the illusions sought after. But, with all their inadequacies, the Living Pictures - there were only about a half dozen reproduced that year - attracted attention and drew comment. The program then was called 'The Spirit of the Masters."
The first comprehensive program covering a Festival of Arts to be printed in booklet form came out in 1934 for the third annual pageant. Articles were contributed by John Hinchman, Brayton Norton, Nellie Hills, Marion Munson Forest, and George Dunham:
It was in 1935 that the Festival began taking longer strides. The organization had taken good shape and the officials realized the possibilities of the Living Pictures.
The talents of a local artist were solicited, budgets were extended for proper framing and lighting and background work. That year produced the first truly glorious reproduction of paintings. It was renamed "Pageant of the Masters" and became the heart of the Festival of Arts.
In 1938 The Pageant came indoors for three years. From its various locations on streets and in parks it moved into the Women's Club, then located where the City Hall now stands on Third Street [actually Forest Avenue]. But its fame had grown and the Clubhouse bulged with the crowds attending. Grounds and buildings to accommodate this ever increasing patronage were needed.
In 1941 the Festival of Arts moved into Irvine Bowl Park which had been built for it and presented its first season in its own permanent home.
But following this initial opening the bowl echoed emptily for five years while the world went to war. It was not until 1946 that the Festival picked up where it had left off five years before. Reorganization, the securing of new props, searches for old and new faces for the Pageant of the Masters, property men, carpenters, wardrobe workers - literally thousands of details to set in motion were the tasks facing this revival of what is closest to Laguna's heart. And almost everyone offered help. The 1946 presentation of the Festival received more glory than ever before, and since then, year after year, it attracts greater throngs to see greater things done by the Artists of Laguna.

C. Controversial Beginning for the Festival of Arts
Contrary to popular belief, the City of Laguna Beach did not initially embrace the Festival of Arts. Wilber Tolerton, the builder of the Heisler building, was an active participant in the first Festival of Arts. In a letter to his daughter, Virginia Tolerton, dated August 16, 1962 he explains how the Laguna Beach Festival of Arts got off the ground:
You asked about the starting of the Laguna Art Show. It was early 30's. I was down there designing some building or house, I am not sure which one, and living in a Mr. Hinchman's Studio. Mr. Hinchman was a very good artist. Things were very bad, and Mr. Hinchman in talking about it one night suggested a "Flea Circus". When I found out what he meant by that, it was simply to exhibit the artist's work along the fences and sidewalks downtown. No one had any money but we went ahead. All the merchants in town and the mayor and city engineer did everything they could to stop us. I knew quite well some of the reporters on the Los Angeles Times and Examiner and I went up to see them and got them to give us lots of free advertising. Plywood had just come in and in the local mill at Laguna Beach with my own lily-white hands, I cut out dozens of wooden palettes which Mr.Hinchman and his two daughters, who were in their teens, helped me varnish and put dabs of paint on. We made brushes from round wood with colored cotton covered with cellophane on the ends and stuck them through the palettes. When they were dry, we lettered them "Laguna Art Show" and with the help of a truck, nailed them up to dozens of telegraph poles on the highway from Los Angeles to San Diego, which at that time ran through Irvine. I cannot remember if we received, if any, very little, help from anyone else in Laguna. There was no Laguna Art Association at that time and I don't think more than a dozen lived there all year, others coming down in the summer, such as Benjamin Brown. We wanted a booth but the City Engineer told me that they would not allow us to put one up unless we could find a place that would neither take out the normal width of the sidewalk or street. There was a road running south at that time but no road running north, as the Irvine Ranch had everything closed beyond Heisler Point. As luck would have it, I found a triangular bulge in the sidewalk right opposite where Irvine and Laguna came down, which at that time was the only road to Laguna from the north. A carpenter and myself built a very amusing triangular booth which with the help of Hinchman's daughters we stocked with pretty girls. One beauty at a time was all the booth had room for. Anyway, with all the help from the advertising that the Los Angeles Times and Examiner gave us and with the palettes that we had put up and a big sign at Irvine marking the road to Laguna, we had a great many people and the artists were able to sell most of their stuff. The merchants all had an enormous business but still didn't like it and were furious that it had been a success. Somebody in Laguna got his sister to come up from Mexico, who was a Mexican dancer and a very good one. She danced on a hay-wagon down in the center of town. There were a few other things.
A few weeks later they had a Water Festival at Newport with floats lit up by floodlights at night. Mr. Hinchman's daughters and myself thought it would be a good idea to put a float in for Laguna. We got permission from Irvine to use the dirt road that ran from Heisler Point to Newport and ride up there. There were other people to follow us bringing our equipment and stuff and some money, but they got cold feet and never showed up. We were given a barge to use and I went in a little grocery store and got a good many boxes, which were wood at that time, and Mr. Hinchman and his daughters dug up a lot of burlap. We covered the boxes with burlap to make them look like rocks and painted them with some cheap paint and brushes we got from a little hardware store. Finally, just before the floats were hooked together for the night exhibit, the girl that we were going to use for the model showed up with the boy who was to be the artist. She was in a white bathing suit. We had her posed on the rocks with the artist painting her, from Laguna. Strange to say that our rocks were so crude but under the artificial light they looked much better than the more expensive floats and we won first prize, much to our astonishment. We tried to get the girl to put something on the box-rock that she sat on but she didn't do it and spoiled her bathing suit, which had been borrowed from some shop in Laguna and they were furious and wanted Mr. Hinchman and myself to pay $40.00 for it. Not being complete fools, we did nothing. I believe the city finally made some settlement.
I hope this is the information you wanted. I do not imagine either the City of Laguna or the merchants or the present leaders of the Festival are going to like it much, but that is what happened. Great things have small beginnings! Mr. Hinchman, his wife and daughters were the main workers on this. They were a very charming family.

see LA Times article:
Beginning in 1938, [Greeter Eiler] Larsen was cast for several years as Judas in "The Last Supper," Da Vinci's painting featured in the Pageant of the Masters

From "A Short History of Laguna Beach and South Laguna by Karen Wilson Turnbull
"Laguna Beach is also home to the internationally-known Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters. The first pageant ever held in Laguna was an Indian pageant promoted by Isaac Frazee, in 1923. It was called Kitshi Manido and was held in the large eucalyptus grove in Sleepy Hollow (corner of Catalina and Arroyo Chico streets). The second Kitshi was held in 1927 in Laguna Canyon on the Boys Club property. In 1932, Roy M. Ropp conceived of the idea of a pageant and art festival.


The first Festival of Arts was started by the artists of the Laguna Beach Art Association, and supported by the City of Laguna Beach. That was 1932, and it was held on El Paseo (a little street by Hotel Laguna, and behind the Isch Building). Booths were set up and as just one of the entertainments, there were people posing as famous paintings in a small box that was wheeled out on stage. In 1935, Roy M. Ropp took over the presentation of the “old masters” and designed and directed what is now the Pageant of the Masters.
The citizens of Laguna Beach passed a park tax in 1940 and bought the Irvine Bowl Park, and the Festival of Arts asked to rent the City Park to hold their 2 week show."

From "HISTORY OF LAGUNA CANYON" article written by: Belinda Blacketer May 2001:
"In 1932, the artist’s of the Art Association planned a festival to take advantage of the end of the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles. In hopes that the visitors would travel south to Laguna Beach.
With the full support of the City Council, the original Festival of Arts was a 1 week long community festival, which featured a variety of art forms all over the community.
The first organized, outdoor display of art for the Festival of arts was held during that week in the parking lot of the Sandwich Mill Restaurant, and the lot was on Forest Avenue, behind the bank on the corner of South Coast Highway and Forest Avenue.
In 1935, local builder, and artist, Roy Ropp took over the “living pictures” and developed them into the “Pageant of the Masters”, which he designed and produced until 1941. Roy Ropp was the father of the Pageant."

"Today the Festival of Arts is located where Laguna Canyon meets the downtown basin are the Art Festivals and the Pageant of the Masters, which run for approximately 8 weeks every summer."

"The residents of Laguna prided itself on the fact that it was not a beach side, honky-tonk town, but one of cultural refinement, with drama groups, reading clubs, and literary groups. The year round residents were proud of the fact that their town attracted a different class of people, and worked to preserve that ambiance.
The site of the Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters was to be a community park, which was chosen in 1938. In April 1940, the citizen’s of Laguna Beach passed a “Park, Music and Advertising Tax” of 10 cents on each $100 of assessed valuation to purchase and develop the Irvine property.
The area that is now the festival grounds was shown on a map of the proposed park site as the “play area”, the canyon where the police firing range is now was to be used for “rustic trails” and the Amphitheater the Festival wanted to build was to use a very small portion of the park land.
The original deed stated that the City “shall use said real property for the following purposes only, and for no others, to wit: for the construction, enlargement, improvement, maintenance and operation of the outdoor amphitheater now situated thereon and known as Irvine Bowl, for the production and holding of public concerts, theatrical performances, festivals, exhibits and any all forms of public entertainment and recreation.”
The Pageant of the Masters was to use the park (Irvine Bowl Park) only 2 weeks of each year for the pageant and Festival of Arts. In exchange, the Festival of Arts agreed to pay the City of Laguna Beach rent of $1,000 and 50% of the net income."


The article at http://foapom.com/site/history.asp on the Festival of Arts - Pageant of the Masters web site was written by Belinda Blacketer, the President Emeritus of the Laguna Beach Historical Society.

I am attaching some photos that we have; if used we'd appreciate noting "Photograph courtesy of the Laguna Beach Historical Society from the Tom Pulley Postcard Collection."

Here's some information from Merle and Mabel Ramsey's book “The First 100 Years in Laguna Beach 1876 - 1976”:

page 21-23
THE PAGEANT BEGINS-THE BEGINNING OF FAME - THE FIRST ACTIVITY

"The Indian Pageant "Kitshi Manido" was promoted in 1921 by Isaac Frazee, who had lived among the Indians for a number of years. The pageant was located in the eucalyptus grove in Sleepy Hollow at the intersection of Catalina Street. The fire dancer was Thelma Farman who is Mrs. Lynn Aufdenkamp and now lives in Laguna Hills. The Pageant was a forerunner of the Festival of Arts.
The second Indian Pageant was held in 1927 where the Boy's Club stands today in the Laguna Canyon. This site was considered for the permanent location of future pageants.
As the August moon appeared over the hill, Yowlacae, the famous Indian singer, could be seen upon a high rock between the audience and the rising moon. Yowlacae had appeared before the crowned heads of Europe many times."

page 26
FESTIVAL of ARTS LOCATIONS
"Following are the locations of the Festival of Arts for the first ten years of its existence. It was closed between 1942 and 1946 due to World War II. Since its reopening the Pageant has been held every year in the Irvine Bowl.

LOCA TIONS
1932 EI Paseo
1933 EI Paseo
1934 Ocean Avenue
1935 Art Gallery
1936 EI Paseo- The 1st showing of the Last Supper
1937 Woman's Club
1938 Woman's Club
1939 Water Company Property
1940 Water Company Property
1941 New Irvine Bowl
1942 World War II-No Festival of Arts until 1946

The approximate attendance each year has been 250,000. In 1975 there was an attendance of over 300,000.
The only year that it rained during the Festival was in 1966, except for a slight sprinkle in 1973.
The people who pose in the Pageant receive no remuneration. The Pageant involves about 300 people each year, and those posing, alternate nights. While the living pictures are being shown, the performers have to take short breaths to prevent any movement for approximately two minutes."

Laguna Beach of Early Days by Joseph S. Thurston Our Neighbors and Our Market
Page 11-12
OUR NEIGHBORS
"While I was too young to know much about how the living was made for the first two years, I do know that we were all the end of that time; that we had another cow, a flock of chickens and a few ducks. I was old enough, however, to feel the isolation of the place. One morning I asked my oldest sister, Sadie, how long she thought we would stay in this place. She looked up to the hills and said, "Oh, about forty years." This was not very consoling and I said no more. There was no one living along the coast from Newport Beach to San Juan Valley, a distance of about twenty miles, and three miles up this valley was located the old mission known as "San Juan Capistrano Mission." The man who owned the 22,000 acre ranch before mentioned lived eight miles to the north-east up Aliso Canyon, by the road we had to travel in going either to Los Angeles or San Diego. There was a family living near Capistrano, whose name was Rosenbaum and whom father met owing to the fact that the road passed their house, but none of the rest of us knew them until years later. This was about eight miles through the hills but about twice that distance by way of the road, so our neighbors were not important to us."

OUR MARKET
"It is impossible for me to imagine how father could have had anything of importance to take to the market in less than two years. Los Angeles and San Diego were the only places that he considered as real markets. The town of Santa Ana was only two years old when we arrived, the business section consisting of one store where everything was sold from pins to plows and from groceries to postage stamps. It was twenty-five miles distant. Anaheim was a little farther and a little older town, but both places were supported by their own local people. It was a number of years before father would stop at either of these places to trade for they had to depend on hauling their supplies from Los Angeles, and had to charge for this service.
It was so far to market that it was not profitable to haul anything except such things as butter, eggs and honey, so our efforts were bent toward producing these items; but this leaves the first two years blank, for I never learned what he had to sell during that time. There were some wild bees in the country. Father and George collected a few colonies of these out of the rocks or from the trees, wherever they were found, and we soon had some honey to sell. I presume this was the first product we had to market. As butter was a vital source of income we children were not allowed to have milk as a regular food. The folly of this is very apparent, but at least we were permitted to have a certain amount of butter. Hulda, the first child born on the homestead, was a little puny and was therefore permitted to' have a glass of warm milk every evening. One night we all went out to watch George milk the cow, and when she saw where it came from she refused to drink any milk for several days. We did not know the value of buttermilk as a food, but anyway it was needed for the pigs and chickens.
Father made a practice of going to market once every month. If he went to San Diego it meant seven days out of the month, and if he went to Los Angeles it took five days. At such times he would bring a newspaper, and we would learn what was going on in the outside world. In travelling along the road in those days, there were people who were always glad to have company, and I do not believe he ever paid anything for his keep. As he only had the farm wagon, he could take hay for the horses but not enough to last for the trip. If the weather was bad he had to make the most of it, and sometimes he would get caught in the rain, but one of the worst things was in travelling after the rain when the ground got sticky and would ball up on the wheels. Then he would have to stop and cut it off with a hatchet. I was too small to be of any importance at the time, and most of this information was gathered from listening. However, with all the difficulties I noticed that he nearly always got back on time."

Peace Pipe Pageant

Issac Frazee

Isaac Frazee wrote Kitshi-Manido, a Peace Pipe Pageant. Woreland Castle 29360 Pamoosa Lane, Valley Center CA.

Isaac Frazee was the first documented sketch artist in Laguna Beach in 1878. On October 3, his great grandson, Craig Walker, who lives in Ojai, will present a narrated slide show for us.
Mr. Frazee is best known for creating, in1921, an Indian Peace Pipe Pageant called Kitshi-Manido. The project was to raise money to build an art gallery. The original building has been incorporated into the current Art Museum.
Isaac Frazee and his wife Bettie lived in Laguna from the mid-1920’s. Two houses that they lived in are still standing. Shown here are pictures of the Frazees at the Lombardy Lane house and the one on El Bosque.
The program will be at Wells Fargo Bank, third floor, 7:30 p.m. October 3, 2002.

Issac Frazee
The poster is circa 1921. It was Payne who brought Hurrell out to Laguna and then got him the gig of 'house sitting' the "mountain cottage" for Mal St. Clair. The photo shows Hurrell on the porch of Mal St. Clair's mountain cottage circa June or July of 1925.

FIRST SETTLERS IN LAGUNA BEACH - GEORGE ROGERS FAMILY, WILLIAM and ANNIE BROOKS, NATE BROOKS



From Cal State Fullerton Oral History interview of Beryl Wilson Viebeck conducted in 1995.
Regarding the First Homesteaders, she says:

"There were three little townships there that got homesteaded: one was Laguna Beach, Township 7, Range 9; one was Arch Beach, Township 8, Range 9, and Aliso was Township 8, Range 8. Each was a township with its own post office."

"In 1875 George Fountain began the first homestead in Laguna, Township 7, Range 9, and he lived very near where the Robber's Cave was." "James Sterling was the second homesteader. He didn't complete his either, and he had a beautiful spot to homestead along the water just south of Hotel Laguna and up the hill. He sold his, though. George Fountain just disappeared, but James Sterling sold his to the Rawson brothers. The Rawson brothers, Cyrus and Hiram, were the original owners of all the land that became the [Lewis Fenno] Moulton ranch. They were getting the land back together again after the Avila descendants needed to sell their parcels which were in bad repair."

"In 1878 John Damron was the third homesteader, and he homesteaded the land that our Uncle George Rogers bought and subdivided to make downtown Laguna Beach. But John Damron never lived on that homestead. He lived at Arch Cove in a very nice spot close to the water on the cliffs there, and he grazed his cattle behind his home. … One year later John Damron sold his 155 1/2 acre homestead to the Rawson brothers for $600 in gold-a lot of money in those times. The next year the Rawsons sold it to Uncle George Rogers for $1,000".

"The fourth homesteader was a man named Alonzo Nathaniel "Nate" Brooks. Nate liked to buy more and more property and got into hot water when he couldn't pay. In 1878 our great-great-grandfather, Henry Rogers, was the fifth homesteader in Laguna Beach, and the document was signed by Rutherford B. Hayes. In 1879 Henry recorded the homestead of 160 acres on Temple Hills, and the property went on down to the mesa to Bluebird Canyon. Grandpa Henry Rogers and George Rogers planted the seeds of all those eucalyptus trees that grow in Laguna Beach. They were the first ones. [They] ordered their seeds out of Australia, planted those, and in the spring they came up like crazy. Grandpa Henry Rogers had two big groves of eucalyptus trees on Temple Hills, and he also started a big bee ranch."

Laguna Beach History
Who were the first settlers of Laguna Beach?

Merle and Mabel Ramsey in their book “The First 100 Years in Laguna Beach 1876 - 1976” write the following:

“Joseph Thurston came to Aliso Canyon with the family in November 1871 when he was 3 years old. William H. Brooks homesteaded 169 acres in the territory in 1876 near Arch Beach. He sold it later for fifty dollars.”

“John Damron homesteaded many acres in 1878 and built a home in what was then known as "The Flats" above Arch Beach. He lived there while he ranged his stock over the hill country. Although Damron did not live in what is now the city of Laguna Beach, he did homestead a large portion of what is now known as Temple Hills and ‘Rogers Addition’ which later became the business district. His homestead ran east to Canyon Acres Drive. In 1880 he sold all the land to George Rogers for $1,000. To prove up the land, Rogers planted eucalyptus trees on the level land and began building a home that later became a landmark - The Old Ranch House, where the City Hall stands today.”

“Rogers began his homestead in 1887 by subdividing the level portion of his land. Being spurred on by the building boom, Rogers did not realize that property sales were beginning to decline. No one was interested in the small lots for $10 each.”

Purchased “in 1919 for $24,000, [Joseph] Thurston …began to layout Temple Hills.”

Andrew Wesley Thompson

Former Laguna Beach President Belinda Blacketer wrote the attached History of Laguna Canyon.

It includes:
“Later in 1876 Andrew Wesley Thompson, a Mormon preacher and elder, arrived in Laguna Canyon by way of Aliso City with his family, tent, wagon and farming equipment. He settled west of the wetlands at the mouth of Niguel Creek/El Toro, near Sun Valley Drive.

He named his claim “The Spring Ranch” because of the many springs running on his land, and began to raise cattle. He and his wife had five children while living in the Canyon, and his wife died 10 years later in 1886”

See History of Orange County, California by Samuel Armor 1921

ANDREW WESLEY THOMPSON.— Strong and active at the age of seventy-
six, Andrew W. Thompson has the unusual record of never having had a day's illness in his life. One of Orange County's pioneer citizens, he has always been a leader in the neighborhood affairs of El Toro and his counsels are eagerly sought on political matters, and he has for the past fifteen years occupied the office of deputy county clerk at that place.

Through his maternal ancestors Mr. Thompson traces his ancestry back to Holland, the progenitor of the Commer family in America having come from that country in 1632, settling in the Mohawk Valley in New York. Grandfather Commer served under General Washington in the Revolutionary War, and nine cousins including the subject of this biography, fought in the Civil War. Andrew W. Thompson was born December 16, 1844, his parents being Andrew and Maria (Dayton) Thompson, the latter the daughter of Alexander Dayton. Mr. Dayton ran a ferry across the Pike River in Canada, and also ran a hotel there, and it was while Mrs. Thompson was staying there that Andrew W. was born; but, although he was born in Canada, the family were residents of New York. There were seven children in the Thompson family, and Andrew W., who was the second in order of birth, is now the only one living. He came to Henderson, Sibley County, Minn., in, 1854, with his parents, and here grew to manhood. The country was in its primitive state at that time and there were practically no opportunities for an education, so that Andrew had no schooling until after he was married, when, realizing the handicap he was under, he went to studying and became a well-informed man. He worked hard in those early days, helping break the virgin soil of Minnesota and raising some of the first hard wheat grown in that locality.

In December, 1862, Mr. Thompson ran away from home to enlist in Company M, Second Minnesota Cavalry, and for two years fought the Indians on the frontier, having many thrilling experiences, among others being called to the relief of the white settlers during the massacre at New Ulm, Minn. He then served for four years with the Union Army during the Civil War, after which he returned to Minnesota. In 1870 he began farming there, and also kept a trading post at Big Stone Lake, trading with the Sioux Indians. With a cousin he hunted buffalo for the Government to feed the troops stationed in this territory. In 1875, with his wife and two children, Mr- Thompson made the long journey to California, settling in Ventura County, where they remained for a year. In 1876 they came to Laguna and bought 172 acres about two miles north of what is now Laguna Beach, this place being known as the Spring Ranch, paying $1,500 for the place. He also took up 160 acres of Government land, so that he had a ranch of more than a half section, where he farmed and raised stock. He also worked on the San Joaquin ranch for a time, helping care for the stock.

In 1870 Mr. Thompson was married at Glencoe to Miss Esther Tickner, a native of Illinois. Her father, Ezra Tickner, hunted ducks in the early days where Chicago now stands, later becoming a pioneer farmer in Minnesota. Seven children were born of this union: Senath died at the age of sixteen; Ivy, Mrs. Charles Thompson, resides at Watts; Irving is a retired rancher of Madera; Joseph is employed by Orange County on road construction and resides in Santa Ana; Maria is the wife of Levi Gockley, who owns the old Rosenbaum ranch north of Capistrano; Rebecca was the wife of Orin Boyenton, who died on their ranch at Escalon, Cal., in 1920. She still resides there; Andrew Wesley, Jr., is a rancher, and lives with his father. Mrs. Thompson passed away at Laguna Beach July 23, 1886. Mr. Thompson's present wife, to whom he was married in Santa Ana in 1908, was Mrs. Sarah M. Bonnell, the widow of William Bonnell, who died in the East, leaving her with one son, Robert L. Bonnell, a photographer in New York City. Mrs. Thompson in maidenhood was Miss Sarah M. Clarke, the daughter of Timothy and Rachel Clarke of Passaic, N. J. She was born in Passaic, N. J., where she was educated. She was gifted with a beautiful soprano voice and sang in Henry Ward Beecher's choir of vocalists, in reserve for his famous church choir.

Mr. Thompson removed to El Toro in 1890 and he has since made his home there. He is a member of Sedgwick Post No. 17, G. A. R., at Santa Ana. In religious matters he is a member of the Reorganized Church of Latter-Day Saints of Santa Ana and a preacher and elder in that denomination, and has traveled and preached all over the state. Politically he is a Republican and has always taken a prominent part in the local affairs of his party.




From the Internet:
See http://www.rootsweb.com/~casoccgs/news1196.html
“Andrew Wesley Thompson, the cemetery's only known Civil War veteran, came to Laguna Canyon about 1876 and helped establish the Mormon Colony there.”

See http://www.jenforum.org/tickner/messages/183.html
“8. ESTHER8 TICKNER (EDWARD7, JAMES6, JOHN5, JOHN4, JOHN3, WILLIAM2, WILLIAM1) was born Bet. 1845 - 1850, and died July 23, 1886 in LaGuna, California. She married ANDREW WESLEY THOMPSON May 10, 1870 in Glencoe, McLeod, Minnesota. He was born December 16, 1844 in Canada, and died May 5, 1939 in El Toro, California.

Children of ESTHER TICKNER and ANDREW THOMPSON are:
i. SENATH9 THOMPSON, b. Ca. September 1872.
ii. MARY THOMPSON, b. Ca. 1873, Minnesota; d. Ca. 1873, Minnesota.
iii. IRVING THOMPSON, b. March 26, 1874.
iv. IVY THOMPSON, b. Ca. March 1876.
v. JOSEPH THOMPSON, b. Ca. January 1878.
13. vi. MARIA CORA THOMPSON, b. November 15, 1879, LaGuna, California; d. October 17, 1934, Glendale, California.
14. vii. REBECCA A. THOMPSON, b. January 20, 1881, California; d. January 28, 1936, California?.
viii. ANDREW WESLEY JR. THOMPSON, b. August 4, 1883.”

See http://www.jenforum.org/tickner/messages/89.html
“I have an Esther Tickner or Tichner whose father was Ezra Tickner/Tichner. (Old family records are very hard to read.) It is known that Esther married Andrew Wesley Thompson in 1970 in Glencoe, Minnesota. It is also known that Esther was born in Illinois, perhaps about 1850. Ezra was also born in Illinois. This family seems to fit in with your line of research, and they've been tough for me to track down.
Family lore states:
"Ezra Tickner was a duck hunter in the early days where Chicago is now located. He later became a pioneer farmer in Minnesota."” Scott Hendrick CornOnRun@aol.com

On the Laguna Beach Homestead Map that Viebeck prepared, Andrew Thompson filed (was given) a homestead of probably 3 x 40 acre areas in 1890, also Fletcher Thompson got a homestead of 4 x 40 acres in 1886.

Heisler Building and Heisler Park


Howard G. Heisler

Summary

• In 1905 purchased North Laguna from the Irvine Company
• 1906 subdivision Laguna Cliffs was developed by Howard Heisler, L.C. McKnight and the Thumb Brothers
• This was the first neighborhood offering water with every lot.”
• Lots along the coast bluff top covering approximately 18.5 acres became Heisler Park
• Heisler Park includes planted areas, meandering paths, view points, gazebos and accessways to the By 1929 Mr. Heisler had second thoughts about not developing the primely situated coastal strand and decided to renege on his offer to dedicate the land for a park. Elmer Jahraus, a Cliff Drive resident and key entrepreneur in early Laguna, felt the decision to develop the land was wrong and filed suit. He won and the land has remained a park to this day.
• Before the city incorporated in 1927, business leaders served as the decision makers for the community. They operated first through the Laguna Beach Wharf and Improvement Co., formed in 1886, and later through the Laguna Beach Improvement Association, which developed into the Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce and Civic Association in 1917; Elmer E. Jahraus presided.
• Heisler Building at 400 South Coast Highway built in 1931, Provincial Revival style, original owner H.G. Heisler
• Laguna Art Association (now Laguna Art Museum) at Cliff Drive and Coast Highway; the land was sold by Howard Heisler at half its market value and the art gallery building was constructed in 1928.

Pier off Heisler Point
From book “Laguna Beach An Illustrated, Narrative History” by Roger W Jones:
“second pier was constructed in 1896 off Heisler Point, just below Las Brisas Restaurant (formerly the Victor Hugo). It extended to the rock approximately 500 feet off shore.
In 1925 Tony Derkum applied to the United States Engineering Department (later named the Army Corps of Engineers) to build the third largest pier in Laguna's history - it would measure 1,150 feet. The permit was granted to Derkum and his brother-in-law, Forrest Carter of La Puente. A year later, in 1926, the pier was finished. Ed Hobert, a former Laguna Beach lifeguard, said Art Watkins caught the first fish from the new pier.
In 1927, Tony Derkum put an advertisement in Laguna Life, with the headline, Fish Where the Fish Bite! He charged $1.50 to transport fishermen (and fisherwomen) in his glass-bottom boat, which had been built by Gene Frank, to a barge he had anchored near the kelp.
In 1939 a severe winter storm badly damaged the pier and it had to be closed and later demolished."

From book “100 Years of Laguna Beach” Margaret Roley and others:
“ln 1896 Laguna's16 registered voters decided they needed a pier for themselves and their summer visitors. James lrvine donated $100 to the project, and t he site selected was south of Heisler point, where the Victor Hugo (now Las Brisas Restaurant) now stands. The citizens themselves felled the trees, blasted rocks, set the pilings into cement and built themselves a pier. For twenty years it was a pleasure center for everyone, then succumbed to old age. Later it was rebuilt and extended. This time it endured until 1939 when a 65 mile per hour gale finally toppled it.”

From Belinda Blacketer’s booklet “A Look Thru Time - Laguna Beach” Laguna's Piers
“In 1896, Laguna's sixteen registered voters and a handful? of winter residents got together and decided to so something about a pier to serve the town.
Nick Isch got James Irvine to donate $100 to the project. (He didn't hold a grudge.) The pier extended from the present Heisler Point, 500 feet out over Bird Rock. It was built from Eucalyptus trees cut in the canyon, and cemented into the holes Oscar Farman and Nick Isch blasted in the Rocks. It lasted almost 15 years and was rebuilt in 1911. It finally blew away.
A new pier was built in 1926 and lasted until a great storm in the late 1930's destroyed it. It was never rebuilt, but the remains of the supports can still be seen on Bird Rock.”

Laguna Art Museum, see http://www.lagunabeachcity.net/development/historic/18%20Cliff%20Drive%20Vicinity.pdf but no photo
307 Cliff Drive 1928 (E)
The Art Museum building is of brick and plaster construction, is two stories and features a central main entry off Cliff Drive. The rear portion is the original part of the building and the front wing is post WWII.
The present museum is an outgrowth of the Laguna Beach Art Association, founded by a group of artists in 1918 and spearheaded by artist Edgar Payne. It was through his interest in Laguna and its artists that the town became a popular art colony in the 20's and 30's. When local artists first began showing their work it was in the small one-room board and batten building located on the present site of the Hotel Laguna parking lot. These exhibits were a big success and pointed t o the need for a larger exhibiting facility.
When Payne left for Europe in 1922, artist Anna Hills assumed the Art Association leadership role, and under her the new and present gallery was built in 1928. The land was sold by Howard Heisler at half its market value; many of the local artists donated the proceeds from their paintings toward building construction costs. In 1948 Frank Cuprien died and willed his estate t o the Art Association. The money from the sale of his estate along with other contributions was used in constructing the Cuprien Memorial Gallery and the second story.
I n 1973 the Laguna Art Association became an incorporated museum. Today the museum specializes i n exhibiting representational Southern California art by past and contemporary artists. The Laguna Beach Art Museum has been designated Orange County Historical Landmark #.06.

See Laguna Cliffs Sales Brochure McKnight Sub-division.pdf

Laguna Cliffs
From A Short History of Laguna Beach and South Laguna” by Karen Wilson Turnbull
“North Laguna, called Laguna Cliffs, was developed by Howard Heisler, L.C. McKnight and the Thumb Brothers. In 1905 they purchased the land north of Laguna Creek to Emerald Bay, from the Irvine Ranch Company. They subdivided and laid out the only streets in Laguna that run in straight right angles to one another. Water was piped in from Laguna Canyon, and this was the first neighborhood offering water with every lot.”

Heisler Park from http://www.lagunabeachcity.net/community/projects/heisler/Appendix%20F%20Cultural%20Resource%20Assessment.pdf
Heisler Park is located in the City of Laguna Beach, north of Laguna Canyon Road and is a one-half mile coastal strip atop natural bluffs. Cliff Drive forms the eastern border, and the park grounds extends from Divers Cove to Main Beach along the ocean side. It is situated on the 7.5’ USGS Laguna Beach Quadrangle (1965, photo-revised 1981) (Fig. 1). Topographi¬cally, the park varies from sea level to about 60 feet at the bluff top and covers approximately 18.5 acres. “The park contains walking paths, lawns, gardens, picnic areas, and beach access ways” (City of Laguna Beach, Grant Request to the California Coastal Conservancy for the Preservation of Heisler Park, 2002:1) and includes benches, a lawn bowling area, restrooms, and a gazebo (ibid).

Heisler Park Lawsuit from http://www.lagunabeachcity.net/development/historic/18%20Cliff%20Drive%20Vicinity.pdf
Heisler Park is a long linear bluff-top park stretching from the front of Las Brisas Restaurant to just beyond Myrtle Street. The park includes planted areas, meandering paths, view points, gazebos and accessways to the beach below. A lawn bowling green and clubhouse established in 1931 is also in the park. Land for the park was set aside in 1906 when the Laguna Cliffs subdivision was created by L.C. McKnight and H.G. Heisler. By 1929 Mr. Heisler had second thoughts about not developing the primely situated coastal strand and decided to renege on his offer to dedicate the land for a park. Elmer Jahraus, a Cliff Drive resident and key entrepreneur in early Laguna, felt the decision to develop the land was wrong and filed suit. He won and the land has remained a park to this day.

Birth of the Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce
The Laguna Beach business community paved the way for the city. Before the city incorporated in 1927, business leaders served as the decision makers for the community. They operated first through the Laguna Beach Wharf and Improvement Co., formed in 1886, and later through the Laguna Beach Improvement Association, which developed into the Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce and Civic Association in 1917. Joseph Skidmore, Roy Peacock, Frank Hansen, D.D. Whiten, C.V Weise, J.H. (Nick) Isch, Joseph Jahraus and H.G. Heisler attended the first Chamber meeting, November 2. Elmer E. Jahraus' father presided. Dues were $5 and another $5 went "to fight the telephone merger."
"President Jahraus told the members that the residents would have to develop a plan if the city was ever to amount to more than a dusty road that ended at the ocean." -- Chamber Minutes, Nov. 2, 1917


Heisler Building from http://www.lagunabeachcity.net/development/historic/7%20South%20Coast%20Highway.pdf
6. 400 South Coast Highway 1931 (E)
Known as the Heisler Building for its original owner H.G. Heisler, this Provincial Revival influenced building has graced this corner of Laguna since 1931. The building is distinguished by a box plan with mansard roof and steep-pitched gables with a modified turret on the corner. Faced in stucco. and lined with double-hung windows on the second floor, the building contributes greatly to the village quality of downtown Laguna.
The building was designed to house two commercial units below and two apartments above. Beginning in 1935, Ranson's Drug Store occupied the corner portion of the building where the Jolly Roger is now located. Beginning about this same time,
Dr. Conover, an osteopath, established his office here and remained for many years.
Howard Heisler, developer of the building, was an important real estate entrepreneur in the early days of Laguna. Along with L.C. McKnight he acquired most of the land which now compromises north Laguna from the Irvine Company and subdivided it in 1906 under the name Laguna Cliffs. This was the first tract in Laguna to have water directly piped to each lot, quite an achievement for its time.
This building on South Coast Highway is an important testimony to the memory of an important Laguna pioneer, H.G. Heisler.

Pier off Heisler Point
From book “Laguna Beach An Illustrated, Narrative History” by Roger W Jones:
“second pier was constructed in 1896 off Heisler Point, just below Las Brisas Restaurant (formerly the Victor Hugo). It extended to the rock approximately 500 feet off shore.
In 1925 Tony Durkum applied to the United States Engineering Department (later named the Army Corps of Engineers) to build the third largest pier in Laguna's history - it would measure 1,150 feet. The permit was granted to Durkum and his brother-in-law, Forrest Carter of La Puente. A year later, in 1926, the pier was finished. Ed Hobert, a former Laguna Beach lifeguard, said Art Watkins caught the first fish from the new pier.
In 1927, Tony Durkum put an advertisement in Laguna Life, with the headline, Fish Where the Fish Bite! He charged $1.50 to transport fishermen (and fisherwomen) in his glass-bottom boat, which had been built by Gene Frank, to a barge he had anchored near the kelp.
In 1939 a severe winter storm badly damaged the pier and it had to be closed and later demolished."

From book “100 Years of Laguna Beach” Margaret Roley and others:
“ln 1896 Laguna's16 registered voters decided they needed a pier for themselves and their summer visitors. James lrvine donated $100 to the project, and t he site selected was south of Heisler point, where the Victor Hugo (now Las Brisas Restaurant) now stands. The citizens themselves felled the trees, blasted rocks, set the pilings into cement and built themselves a pier. For twenty years it was a pleasure center for everyone, then succumbed to old age. Later it was rebuilt and extended. This time it endured until 1939 when a 65 mile per hour gale finally toppled it.”

From Belinda Blacketer’s booklet “A Look Thru Time - Laguna Beach” Laguna's Piers
“In 1896, Laguna's sixteen registered voters and a handful? of winter residents got together and decided to so something about a pier to serve the town.
Nick Isch got James Irvine to donate $100 to the project. (He didn't hold a grudge.) The pier extended from the present Heisler Point, 500 feet out over Bird Rock. It was built from Eucalyptus trees cut in the canyon, and cemented into the holes Oscar Farman and Nick Isch blasted in the Rocks. It lasted almost 15 years and was rebuilt in 1911. It finally blew away.
A new pier was built in 1926 and lasted until a great storm in the late 1930's destroyed it. It was never rebuilt, but the remains of the supports can still be seen on Bird Rock.”

Laguna Art Museum, see http://www.lagunabeachcity.net/development/historic/18%20Cliff%20Drive%20Vicinity.pdf but no photo
307 Cliff Drive 1928 (E)
The Art Museum building is of brick and plaster construction, is two stories and features a central main entry off Cliff Drive. The rear portion is the original part of the building and the front wing is post WWII.
The present museum is an outgrowth of the Laguna Beach Art Association, founded by a group of artists in 1918 and spearheaded by artist Edgar Payne. It was through his interest in Laguna and its artists that the town became a popular art colony in the 20's and 30's. When local artists first began showing their work it was in the small one-room board and batten building located on the present site of the Hotel Laguna parking lot. These exhibits were a big success and pointed t o the need for a larger exhibiting facility.
When Payne left for Europe in 1922, artist Anna Hills assumed the Art Association leadership role, and under her the new and present gallery was built in 1928. The land was sold by Howard Heisler at half its market value; many of the local artists donated the proceeds from their paintings toward building construction costs. In 1948 Frank Cuprien died and willed his estate t o the Art Association. The money from the sale of his estate along with other contributions was used in constructing the Cuprien Memorial Gallery and the second story.
I n 1973 the Laguna Art Association became an incorporated museum. Today the museum specializes i n exhibiting representational Southern California art by past and contemporary artists. The Laguna Beach Art Museum has been designated Orange County Historical Landmark #.06.