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.”