The History of the city of Bellflower

The original legal title to the land on which Bellflower now stands dates back to 1784 with one of the first Spanish land grants in California. Several Spanish soldiers petitioned Pedro Fages, the Governor of California and a former commander in the Spanish military, for land on which to graze their herds of livestock. The largest of these grants went to soldier Manuel Nieto, who received all the land between the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers. In 1832, after the Spanish were ousted in the Mexican Revolution, the new Mexican Governor, Jose Figueroa, divided the land into five smaller ranchos to be distributed among Nieto’s heirs. Bellflower developed on a piece of land bordered by three of the ranchos: Santa Gertrudes, Los Coyotes, and Los Cerritos. During this time, vast amounts of cattle sustained the economy and beef was cheaper than salt.

For the next few decades, the land ownership changed possession several times. In the 1840s, the “Golden Age of the Ranchos” in California came to an end. A series of natural disasters ended the cattle boom and the rancho way of life. Residents in the nearby towns of Downey, Norwalk, Hynes-Clearwater (Paramount) and Artesia, used the Bellflower area as a favorite hunting and fishing spot, thanks to an abundance of wild game, ducks and geese, and carp and perch.

In 1869, the area known as Somerset Ranch, roughly from Alondra Boulevard to Artesia Boulevard, and from Lakewood Boulevard to Cornuta Avenue, was comprised of 4,000 acres of what would later become Bellflower. A few scattered parcels had been sold and the open fields were used for grazing dairy cows.

Open fields were great for cattle, settlers soon found that the land could all be washed away. The entire area was subject to annual flooding when the ‘tramp river’ (San Gabriel) would swell from winter rains or spring thaws and travel down the middle of what is now Bellflower Boulevard. A dense growth of willow, bamboo, and underbrush, wild grape, blackberry, and rose bushes earned the vicinity along the river the name of “The Willows” and “The Wilderness.” Early residents recall sometimes rowing from island to island in Bellflower during the rainy season.

In spite of the river’s unpredictability, a settlement of isolated farms, called the New River Colony, began to develop along both sides of the river. In 1882, the Downey Courier reports a “large population” living there. Whereas the river may have been a deterrent to settlement, it came to be one of the area’s best assets. Those who were willing to paddle their way out from time to time were repaid by the richness of the soil built over the years by the river’s trespasses. Long before the Bellflower area was settled, it had become known for its open space and good yield of garden crops.

River feuds developed when crews from one side built dams to protect their own fields, which sent water over to the other side. As more settlers moved in, more efforts were made to control the river.  In 1906, the New San Gabriel Improvement Association was incorporated for river management. When a bridge was flooded in 1914 and again in 1916, Bellflower residents built pontoon bridges at Rosecrans as a temporary measure. A device was built to haul Bellflower students across the river on a cable to school at  Excelsior High School. Finally, in 1917 the County Flood Control District was formed. Under its authority, levees were built which kept the river from flooding.

After its incorporation in 1902, the Pacific Electric Railway organized by Henry Huntington began spreading out from Los Angels in all directions. In a short time its “Big Red Cars” had become visible symbols of the most elaborate and efficient interurban transportation system in the world. A decision to run a line from Los Angeles to Santa Ana was made early. There was some delay, however, in actually starting construction.

Pacific Electric would not proceed without clear title to the right-of-way. This demand raised a disagreement among the area’s settlers, some contending that “it was too great an expense for so few as they would have to buy the right of way,” while others held that “it must be secured at any cost, for a town would be sure to follow.” The controversy was settled by Jotham Bixby who, in 1904, deeded the right of way to the Pacific Electric Company through the Somerset Ranch. The line with stops scheduled for the Somerset Ranch was officially opened on November 6, 1905. Overnight, the residents of the area were connected with Los Angeles and its jobs and markets. Pacific Electric, together with the expansion of sugar beet farming, made property in the vicinity more valuable and attracted the interest of investors. Due to the new transportation, the appeal of Somerset and Bellflower Acres was that people could work in the city and farm on the side, or eventually turn to farming exclusively. One of the first to see this potential was a Los Angeles real estate man named Emil Firth. In 1904, Firth undertook to subdivide and sell a parcel of land, which he named “Somerset Acres.” Firth laid out streets and divided the tract into one acre farm lots, selling for $350 to $400, which he promoted aggressively, extolling the abundance of water, the fertility of the soil, and the proximity of Los Angeles 40 minutes away on the Pacific Electric line.

In 1906, another Los Angeles Real Estate man, Frank E. Woodruff, came across the Somerset Ranch and formed a syndicate to purchase outright over 1,000 acres of Somerset Ranch to operate as a farm. When the property did not return the profit they expected, the syndicate also decided to subdivide the ranch into one-acre farms. Woodruff maintained his interest in Bellflower until he died in 1939.

Woodruff also sold town-size lots 25 feet wide by 131 feet deep, on the north side of Flower Street west of Somerset Avenue (Bellflower Boulevard). Each parcel sold for $70. For the first time, people other than farmers were invited to settle in Somerset.

In 1909, a petition was granted to form the Somerset School District. A one-room schoolhouse was quickly built on the riverbank. Thirteen children of all grades attended the “Firth School” that first year. A proposal to build a bigger and better school on higher ground touched off a heated controversy between the early settlers along with river and the newcomers in the subdivisions, both of whom wanted the coveted schoolhouse in their own area. The High Grounders, who were the newcomers, won at the town meeting, and in 1910 a four-room modern school building was built north of the railroad tracks on Somerset Avenue (Bellflower Boulevard).

The school was the main draw for families to settle in Bellflower. Before its construction, children had to go to neighboring towns for schooling, a serious drawback to the area. The school was Bellflower’s first public building and embodied the latest ideas in school construction. It cost over $9,000, a substantial sum in those days, and an indication of the priorities of the 100-person community. It was a town showplace. But as adequate as Somerset School seemed in 1910, a population increase necessitated the construction of a large addition in 1914. The Somerset School, later renamed the Bellflower School, and then the Washington School, was alma mater to hundreds of Bellflower children before being demolished in 1951. The school board was the only legally constituted elected body in Bellflower until 1957.

Though the community bore the name Firth for short time, in 1909, residents of the area petitioned for a post office under the name of Somerset. The Postal authorities granted the post office but rejected the name. There already was a Somerset, Colorado, and they wished to prevent confusion. The need to come up with an alternative name led to controversy, this time between residents of the rival subdivisions. There are several accounts as to how this conflict was resolved. One version is that the issue was decided at a town meeting, another implies that the name Bellflower was unknowingly forwarded to Washington by some “leading citizens” without the approval of the townspeople, and a third has it that several names were put into a hat and Bellflower was the name drawn. The most common explanation links the name with the orchard of Bellefleur apples grown by pioneer settler William Gregory in the north part of town (meaning literally “beautiful” flower in French rather than “bell” flower).

Not many goods were kept at the community’s first general store, instead, orders were phoned in to the Hynes store in Artesia to be delivered. A familiar local spectacle was the deliveryman driving his horse and buggy down the Pacific Electric tracks to the loading platform. The store became a center for the community. Otto Warnke, the store’s manager, served also as postmaster and ticket agent for the Pacific Electric for a number of years. The store had benches and counters where people could sit and talk. Wanke maintained a bulletin board where community notices could be posted.

With a general store, a school, a post office, affordable lots, and ready access to Los Angeles, the population of Bellflower rose rapidly, increasing from an estimated 100 in 1908 to 1200 in 1912, and so did the complement of shops on Somerset Avenue to service the area. Each new opening signified to the townspeople not merely a new commercial venture but a civic event, a sign of the town’s progress.

In the first issue of the local Somerset Optimist dated 1912, the newspaper article explains how only two years after it all started, Bellflower business shows a surprising growth:

“The Pacific Electric has a large brick power house here. We have one of the largest and best schools on the line, two stores, one lumberyard, one real estate office, a restaurant, a barber shop, plumber’s shop, a good blacksmith shop and an excellent meat market, and a bakery nearing completion… The town and surrounding farms are supplied with excellent free water, piped all over the country from the artesian well, and we are about to get a large new depot, as 500 cars of beets will be shipped from Somerset this season.”

Somerset Avenue became the place where Bellflower celebrated its own arrival in 1910 in classic early-American style by staging a Fourth of July parade and picnic, complete with oration and fireworks.  The townspeople kept the tradition for years, adding new features to the event as they went along.

There were many communal projects that used volunteer labor.  For example, the tennis courts at Washington School were built by a group of young people. House-raisings involving relatives, neighbors or the whole community were common. In typical frontier fashion, the first building to go up was often a barn (later a garage) in which the family might live a few months or a year until there was time or money to build a house.

One communal project produced Bellflower’s first landmark.  Most of the settlers of Somerset met on the Guernsey Ranch to slaughter and cure a year’s supply of meat. Near Artesia and Somerset settlers built a structure 30 feet high on which to hoist the meat. They added on top of this a 20-foot flagpole, which became a kind of instant telegraph. It served a dual purpose, to observe national holidays, and to let neighbors for miles around know they were needed for some worthy cause. Worthy causes ranged from calling people for a house-raising to notifying them of some important news or impending event. This pioneer flag was located not far from the present day Kiwanis freeway flag.

Bellflower operated under county government for 45 years. After the spurt of development that took place in the 1910s, the population of Bellflower hit a plateau, achieving only 1500 in the1920 census. During the twenties, however, new sources of prosperity, together with agricultural expansion, caused the population to more than quadruple, reaching 6,710 by 1930. More population created new businesses, new schools, and new churches. Fraternal service and occupational organizations blossomed all over, vitalizing, sophisticating, and somewhat stratifying the social life of the community.

In 1910, Harry and Mattie Urquhart established Bellflower’s first poultry ranch on Rose Avenue, followed the same year by Harry J. Rockwell, who became a noted breeder of Leghorn chickens and a leader in the industry. For the next decade, larger ranches, concentrated in the south party of town, began to appear. By 1926, the Chamber of Commerce was identifying Bellflower as “The home of 200,000 laying hens.”

A small rabbit industry also developed in Bellflower. Growers started raising rabbits for their fur, then discovered a market for the meat, especially during the depression. Fancy fame birds and chinchillas were raised on a small scale.

Despite troubles across America during the Great Depression in the1930s, Los Angeles County became the leading dairy county in California. The industry in the southeast area developed a distinctive method. As available land dwindled, dairy farmers increasingly fed their cattle on hay and grain shipped in from elsewhere instead of grazing them extensively. This practice made it possible to run 60 or 70 cows on five or six acres. Together with the use of “well-bred” cows, this procedure also caused the butterfat content of Los Angeles County milk to soar spectacularly above the national average (400 pounds per cow annually compared with 180 pounds on the national average). It also caused hay and feedlots to spring up: Bellflower had 17 such stores in the mid-1930s.

Most of the dairies established were concentrated in the southern part of Bellflower. Some, especially Dutch dairymen, put together large parcels of land consisting of several dairies. Even the large operations almost all remained family-owned enterprises.  Bellflower financial institutions played a role in attracting dairy farmers to Bellflower. Under the leadership of L.P. Peck and J.E. Gregory, First National of Bellflower and Bellflower Building and Loan adopted policies conducive to boosting the dairy industry. The Citizen’s National Bank, another local bank organized in 1944 by Peter Van Horsen, Oscar McCracken, Reoh Lowe, and others, carried on this policy.

Another crucial factor was the migration into the region of experienced dairymen – predominantly Hollanders, but also Portuguese, Swiss, Belgian, and American. There was a reciprocal effect: the expansion of the dairy industry attracted veteran dairymen whose “know-how” in turn built up the industry.

Alongside these major agricultural industries that became a principal source of the town’s wealth, Bellflower’s rural atmosphere with its good soil and cheap water also provided a setting for truck gardeners, fruit growers, and nursery operators, both commercial and amateur. An open-air market in Long Beach furnished another outlet for fruit growers to sell garden surplus locally. Larger growers sold to Long Beach or Los Angeles markets directly.

In 1912, Martin and Guadalupe MacDonald established a two-acre truck farm on Cedar Street. Having by chance taken some dahlias for a friend to the Long Beach Open Air Market, Guadalupe MacDonald found they attracted customers. So great was the demand that the MacDonalds switched to dahlia-raising exclusively. Eventually the MacDonald, Epler, Eieirman, and Ziegler dahlia gardens, along with those of private individuals with a field to spare, made Bellflower the exclusive supplier of dahlias to the Los Angeles flower market. The dahlia has been adopted as the official city flower, and the Bellflower Dahlia Society perpetuates the tradition of dahlia growing on an amateur basis.

One of the interesting aspects of Bellflower’s long agricultural phase was its cultural impact. When “city” and “country” met at Bellflower, it was the country rather than the city side that introduced a cosmopolitan dimension. Over the years, opportunities in agriculture drew Hispanic, Japanese, Portuguese, Dutch and other immigrant families into the region, which enhanced the community’s cultural vitality. Many of these groups established special institutions to keep their traditions and sometimes their language alive, places to meet for social exchange and support in an unfamiliar environment.

It is a misnomer to call the Hispanic workers of Bellflower’s early years, immigrants. Californios and their descendants were on the ground when the American settlers came. After the break-up of the ranchos, some vaqueros, or cowhands, remained in the area. Californio descendants turn up in the American historical record as  a pool of occasional labor. They helped to dig out willow trees at New River Colony for a set price per cord and they helped lay the Pacific Electric line. Later many worked as members of the line crew. In the twenties, a community of Hispanic railroad workers lived with their families in small wooden houses along Flora Vista Street near the tracks. During the twenties and thirties, the original Californio community was augmented with immigrants from Mexico recruited for farm work. These groups together supplied much of the outside hired labor on family-owned dairy and poultry ranches, as well as on truck and sugar beet farms elsewhere in the area. Following a settlement pattern that dates from the rancho period, when vaqueros and their families lived apart in small villages on the ranch, Hispanic workers often lived in Spanish-speaking enclaves in nearby communities such as Carmenita.

Japanese immigrants, considered knowledgeable farm workers, were recruited early in the century to work in Los Angeles County on sugar beet and other intensive farming operations. When significant numbers of Japanese laborers managed to purchase property and farm it efficiently, a reaction set in. The notorious Alien Land Law, in effect prohibiting Japanese from owning land in California, forced tenant farming on Japanese farmers for a number of years. Japanese tenant farmers were located on Robert Sackett’s ranch during the time of his involvement with the gas company. The Japanese were noted for their skill at nursery and truck farming, and those with an entrepreneurial flair often graduated to selling produce, both wholesale and retail, instead of raising it. Susie Yamamoto and Tome Kitahada also had hog ranches along the river in the southern section of Bellflower.
 
A Japanese community Center was founded at Norwalk to maintain Japanese traditions, provide instruction in Japanese language, and furnish a meeting place. During the war several evacuated families stored their goods at the center, and after the war a number of families actually lived at the Center until they could reestablish their homes. The Center was greatly expanded after the war through donations from the Japanese community ranging from $1 - $20,000. The Okimoto family of Bellflower was among those actively engaged in this project.

The war years and after: From town to city – In the 1940s, Bellflower’s population surged from 11,000 to 44,000. New housing was built in spite of labor and material shortages. Households doubled up and homeowners felt obliged to rent out their extra rooms. The public schools bulged, then shifted to half-day sessions and still bulged. Teachers were hard to find. Seven new schools were built during the 1940s: Frank E. Woodruff, May Thompson, Horace Mann, Woodrow Wilson, Will Rogers, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Thomas Jefferson. The Bellflower Art Association and the Community Concert Association were among many new civic associations organized during the war years. Bellflower had long felt the need for a city park, and wartime population pressure made the need more acute. In 1941, the Defense Recreation Committee was formed to establish a permanent county park. The land for Bellflower Park was purchased in 1942 and operated by the County until 1959, when ownership was transferred to the City of Bellflower.

In 1946, the park was renamed the John S. Simms Park, in honor of one of Bellflower’s pioneer physicians and civic leaders.  In 1946, a 53-acre Bellflower Airport between Alondra and the river was established for small private planes, in the expectation that airplanes would soon be used frequently for ordinary transportation. The privately owned airport was the last of its kind in Los Angeles County. Protests by residents succeeded in getting it closed down.

The postwar waves of population further expanded and defined the area. The northern section built up with exclusive homes, and the old Woodruff-sized lots, narrow and deep, made good spaces on which to squeeze apartment buildings. More renters moved into Bellflower. The business district on Bellflower Boulevard spread beyond Artesia Boulevard. Other streets also developed commercial centers. In the 1950s, Clark Street emerged as a major shopping street.

Institutions emerged to accommodate the extraordinary growth. Four new schools were added between 1950 and 1954: Bellflower High School, Ernie Pyle, Stephen Foster, and Betsy Ross. Construction of the high school was crucial because it made it possible to form the Bellflower Unified School District in 1956.

Later that year, the Bellflower Chamber of Commerce spearheaded a drive for incorporation. It began with a huge birthday party for the whole region to celebrate Bellflower’s first half-century. Thousands came to the free barbecue and the street dance on Flower Street. An Old-Timers’ get-together was hosted at the First Federal Savings and Loan building, which has since become an annual event. The celebration, coordinated by Mary E. Lewis for the Chamber of Commerce, was financed by the merchants and professional people of the town. The group managed to break even after expenses and contributions were counted.

A measure to incorporate Bellflower was endorsed by most of the civic organizations in town and supported by the local newspaper. Community interest therefore shifted increasingly to the City Council election to be held in conjunction with the incorporation measure. Some 32 candidates filed. In August of 1957, the measure was passed by a large majority, and the following residents were elected to Bellflower’s first City Council: T. Mayne Thompson, Dr. Clifton M. Brakensiek, Vincent Dalsimer, George W. Armstrong, and Oscar McCracken. At the time of its incorporation, Bellflower was a 51-year old community, fully matured in all areas but that of city government. The certificate of City was granted on September 3, 1957 as California’s 348th city.

When Bellflower incorporated, a new range of opportunities for civic development opened up. Adapting the “Lakewood Plan,” Bellflower contracted with the County for police, jail, prosecution, library and fire protection services, forming with other newly incorporated cities in the area the League of California Contract Cities.

At the time of incorporation, Bellflower was the principal shopping center for an estimated surrounding population of 100,000. This may have helped Bellflower through a time when many small retail outlets were failing. From the mid to late 1960s, the impact of regional shopping centers and large discount stores eliminated the business centers of many small cities. In spite of opening two major regional shopping centers in the vicinity, stores in downtown Bellflower were unaffected. Customers preferred the personal service of the Bellflower stores and remained loyal shoppers.

During the 1970s, several Southeast Los Angeles cities were reaping the benefits of bringing regional auto and shopping malls to their communities. Bellflower, however, opted to court the smaller Mom and Pop stores that had sustained it for decades. For more than 100 years, Bellflower remained a Dutch enclave best known for dairy products and agriculture. This suited the residents of Bellflower just fine. Bellflower basked in the small town glow while other cities experienced growing pains from increased traffic congestion and construction delays associated with expansion.

However, as retail shopping centers caught on, Bellflower’s choice to focus on smaller businesses left the community with no formal redevelopment plans and, worse still, no federal redevelopment funding. As a result, the City’s revenue streams dwindled, and in the early 1990s, the City sat on the verge on bankruptcy. Through fiscal conservatism and the establishment of a redevelopment strategy, the City today continues to make strides to play “catch up” with surrounding communities by attracting new businesses to town, improving business facades and upgrading infrastructure such as roads, medians, sidewalks, and public facilities.

From its development as a sparse and isolated settlement of farms at the turn of the century, today Bellflower has become a city of 77,500 residents with an innovative approach to enhancing services and generating revenues to support the growing community.

The City has initiated a wide range of community beautification projects throughout Bellflower, including the Towncenter Plaza, a five-acre development with a mix of retail and residential opportunities, an outdoor civic plaza, and direct link to the Metrolink Green Line. Improvements to Artesia Boulevard added lush landscaping and nighttime space cannon lights to the busy thoroughfare, and the addition of the Bellflower Terrace Senior Housing complex provides active living for seniors. The City is also working to bring quality businesses to town, assist existing merchants upgrade their facilities, and convert dilapidated lots into public pocket parks. By raising development standards and enforcing code violations, the City continues to achieve measurable results toward improving the overall appearance of residential and business areas throughout Bellflower.

Bellflower places a high priority on keeping citizens informed.  The introduction of the Bellflower Citizen, a colorful monthly community newsletter, as well as the award-winning All About Bellflower community cable news show, complements the City’s popular website: www.bellflower.org, which receives about 250,000 “unique hits” per year. The City also sends e-bulletins to residents who wish to receive the latest community announcements via e mail, and spearheads aggressive media relations by distributing ongoing news releases, public service announcements and special-event cablecasts. Bellflower has been awarded seven national awards for outstanding community outreach in the past two years.

To meet the challenges of tomorrow, the City of Bellflower has launched several major renovations to public facilities, streets and sidewalks. Upgrades to public parks and Thompson Park pool, the addition of a new compressed natural gas fueling station, and public art displays serve a key role in addressing the needs of the future. Bellflower also played a pivotal role in the renovation of the County’s Brakensiek Public Library, opened the Muriel MacGregor Community Senior Center, and initiated the start of construction to the Artesia Freeway sound wall. Several facilities, such as the Bristol Civic Auditorium and Simms Park Auditorium, are available for rent to residents and businesses for meetings and special events.

Crime in Bellflower has plummeted by more than 50% over the past eight years. With active Neighborhood Watch groups, Volunteers on Patrol and citizen awareness programs, the City’s community policing efforts continue to make significant strides to curb crime and illegal activities throughout Bellflower. Fire protection and emergency response times rank among the best in the region, and the City’s commitment to Red Ribbon Week, Bellflower’s Alternative to Gangs (BAG) and the Jr. Paramedic Program helps steer youngsters toward positive life choices. The City’s recent enforcement against illegal fireworks resulted in the seizure of more than 30,000 dangerous explosives, and the observance of “National Night Out” generated significant awareness and participation throughout the community.

A cornerstone of community participation, public events in Bellflower have gained widespread attention as quality offerings for people of all ages. From the City’s flagship BRAVO awards to the Summer Streetfest concert series, Bellflower provides ongoing events to engage residents and create a sense of community pride and ownership. Other events such as the Library Rededication, Liberty Day Parade, Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast, Halloween carnivals, Norms Sign Relighting ceremony and the recent “Community Concrete Pour” reflect the City’s commitment to produce first-rate public events throughout the year.

The City places high value on recognizing residents and businesses that demonstrate outstanding service to the community. The annual BRAVO Awards recognize exceptional bravery and valor in support of public safety. The Bellflower Honors citizen recognition program rewards outstanding community service and volunteerism by individuals, businesses, students and service organizations. Beautification awards are also presented annually to property owners who make significant upgrades to their facilities. Honorees are featured on the City’s website, cable news show, community newsletter and public service announcements.

Strategic ongoing media relations has resulted in Bellflower garnering wide-spread positive media coverage for numerous events. The Bellflower Honors ceremony in April 2003 resulted in 49 positive TV and radio news stories, four that ran nationally. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s visit to Hollywood Sports Park in August 2003 resulted in another 24 TV news stories, nine that aired nationally. The City’s fireworks enforcement efforts were covered on Channel 2 News and Channel 9 News, the Recent Liberty Day Parade was featured on Channel 7 News, and the ‘9/11’ candlelight vigil was featured on Channel 4 News and Channel 34 Noticias, to name a few. Since October 2001, Bellflower has generated more than 40 million positive impressions from television, radio and newspaper coverage.

With economic development as a foremost objective, the City continues to attract quality businesses to meet the growing needs of the community. Two national retailers, Walgreen’s and 7-11, recently opened new stores in town, Norm Reeves Honda Superstore and Starbucks will soon be opening one, maybe two, shops in the City. Longtime Bellflower businesses such as Holland-American Market, Glen-L Marine and Koopman’s Furniture all recently celebrated more than a half-century of success in town. By offering business assistance programs, a dedicated business website and ongoing training opportunities, the City has taken the lead in helping to serve local merchants. Additionally, the City spotlights businesses every month in The Bellflower Citizen newsletter, on the cable news show All About Bellflower and as part of regular special-event cable broadcasts.

The City of Bellflower’s ongoing core objectives center on public safety, economic development and community beautification. In addition, by raising development standards, adding new housing stock, and attracting quality businesses to Bellflower, the City has taken aggressive, proactive steps to meet the challenges of today, in order to create a better tomorrow.