San Bernardino County
Biographies
E. G. JUDSON.
About 1881–'82 Judson & Brown secured 1,500 acres of land on the sloping hillsides south of the Mill creek zanja, surveyed and platted the same into five, ten and twenty-acre lots, with wide avenues traversing the whole plat. This enterprise was regarded as an experiment from the fact that the red soil of the slope had never been tested as to its adaptability to horticultural pursuits. With plenty of water and good cultivation the doubt as to the value of the land was soon removed and the success of the colony enterprise was assured. Thus encouraged the projectors enlarged their possessions by additional purchases, until they had between three and four thousand acres in their colony, which, on account of the color of the soil, they named Redlands. This was the fourth city incorporated within San Bernardino County. November 26, 1888, the citizens, in accordance with the general laws of the State, voted as follows on incorporation: whole number of votes cast, 283; for incorporation, 216. Officers elected were: Trustees, E. G. Judson, J. B. Glover, B. W. Cave, C. N. Andrews. H. H. Sinclair; Clerk, L. W. Clark; Marshal, W. C. Brumagim; Treasurer, F. P. Morrison.
Mr. Judson was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and was educated there and at Amherst. He first went into the book business in New York city, where he was afterward for a number of years, a dealer in stocks, brokerage, etc., on Wall street. In 1876 he came to California, and Redlands is the result of his coming. He is a man of marked ability, and but for his indefatigable labors, Redlands would not be what it is to-day. He has been instrumental in organizing nearly all the water companies in the place, full descriptions of which will be seen elsewhere in this work.
Mr. F. E. Brown was born in New Haven, Connecticut, graduated at the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale College, and came to California in 1877. He was the engineer of the Redlands Water System and the discoverer of Bear valley as a reservoir; and more to him than any one else is California indebted for that great reservoir. The Bear valley dam was built by him, He has been one of the foremost citizens of Redlands, and in connection with Mr. E. G. Judson he has projected and built up that lively colony.
SOURCE: An Illustrated History of Southern California: Embracing the Counties of San Diego, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Orange, and the Peninsula of Lower California… Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1890. p.- 553
Transcribed by Kathy Sedler
T. W. LADD,
of Redlands, first came to California in 1851. He shipped
his horses and wagons from near Detroit, Michigan, to Chicago, and then to
Missouri. April 9, 1851, they started from St. Joseph, Missouri, across
the plains, and on August 11, of the same year, they arrived in Virginia City.
Mr. Ladd mined until 1852, when he went back to Michigan by way of Panama. He
worked at blacksmithing and the wagon-maker's trade at Dearborn, Michigan, from
1852 until 1859, and on April 9, of the latter year, he again started from St.
Joseph, Missouri, across the plains for the "Golden State," this time with oxen,
and arrived at Virginia City, August 14, having made the trip in just three days
less time than he had made the first trip with horses in 1851. He mined
from August to February and then worked as a millwright for five years in the
Eureka Mills. He then engaged as contractor, sinking shafts and making tunnels
for about four years. At this time he lost all he had and
went back to the Eureka mills, where he worked for fifteen years for a mining
company. In 1882 he came to Redlands and purchased twenty acres of land, for
which he paid $1,500, on which he built the third house in the place. He at once
put this land out to oranges and to-day has one of the finest and most
beautifully
located orchards and home in all the valley. His residence is located on the
corner of Grant and Brookside avenue. The slope of his land is such that
irrigation is complete. Starting at the southeast corner he runs water along the
east side to the northeast corner, and thence along the north side to the
northwest corner, and
from that point to the southwest corner, where he is met by a stream flowing
from the southeast corner, thus making the circuit complete, and he can sleep
while the life-giving stream is flowing to the roots of his oranges, lemons and
vines, knowing that everything is being done with the regularity of clock-work.
Mr. Ladd is a Canadian by birth. He was born four miles east of Wallaceville,
Ontario, February 19, 1826. His parents, Orrin and Lucinda (Youngs) Ladd, were
natives, respectively, of Vermont and Canada. They moved to Michigan in 1839,
where Mr. Ladd worked as a mechanic until his death in March, 1886, at the age
of eighty-three. His wife died in 1872. They had a family of five children, of
which the subject of this sketch was the eldest. He has been twice married. His
present wife was Miss Mary Quillin, to whom he was married February 10, 1857.
She is the daughter of David and Hannah (Molton) Quillin, natives, respectively,
of Pennsylvania and England, who were married in Canada, and subsequently moved
to Michigan. Her father died at the age of eighty-nine years, and she was but
ten years old when her mother died. Mr. and Mrs. Ladd have had born to them a
family of three girls, the oldest of whom, Cordelia, is now Mrs. J. S. Gould;
Annie J. died in infancy, and Annie V. is now attending college.
SOURCE: An Illustrated History of Southern California: Embracing the Counties of San Diego, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Orange, and the Peninsula of Lower California… Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1890. p.- 556
Transcribed by Kathy Sedler