The First Settler in West Covina, 1904

It may be difficult to believe, but a section of the East San Gabriel Valley that is now home to about a hundred thousand people was basically uninhabited until 1904. Before then, the land south of today's Interstate 10 between the San Gabriel River and Glendora Avenue in West Covina was not yet irrigable, so the area lagged behind Covina in terms of development by almost two decades. At the time, the land was still part of "Lucky" Baldwin's division of Rancho La Puente, and nothing much went on there except for a few cattle grazing on the wild wheat.

In 1904, though, Baldwin started subdividing this portion of his ranch, and the first tract was surveyed in March of that year.¹ H. T. Cotton bought the 810-acre subdivision six months later for $121,500² and named it "El Monte Walnut Place."³ Not because it was in El Monte (it wasn't—that was just the closest town then), and not because there were walnuts being grown there, either—there weren't any yet—but the soil and lay of the land seemed perfect for them, if only someone could find a way to water the trees.

Then, just three weeks after Coffin bought Walnut Place, he made his first sale to a gentleman from actual El Monte named Robert E. Dancer. The property was described in the newspaper as "thirty-three acres...about one-half mile north of Bassett Station."⁴ Mr. Dancer then drilled for water and found a gusher of it at a relatively shallow depth. Word got around, and before you knew it, a small land rush ensued, and the district known as "Walnut Center" was born.⁵ And since Walnut Center was the immediate forerunner of today's West Covina, local historians have long pointed to Robert Dancer as its first settler.

What nobody in later years really knew, though, was the precise location of Dancer's pioneering farmstead. (A "half mile north of Bassett Station" is a clue, but far from an exact one.) Over time, many plausible educated guesses have been put forth, but the actual location of Dancer's ranch has remained a mystery for decades.

Now because I've had really good luck lately finding old deeds with the legal descriptions of many pioneer lands in Covina, I thought I might try to find Robert Dancer's, too. Fortunately, copies of those deeds are relatively easy to obtain from the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's Office in Norwalk. (Also fortunately, even someone who lives 700 miles away like me can place an order online and get them, too.)

Well, just today, I got the deed, and now we can tell exactly where Robert Dancer's ranch was! The legal description is as follows...^1,6

Lot number Twenty six (26) and the northerly fourteen and four tenths (14.4) acres of Lot number Twenty (20) of Walnut Place, according to the survey of said Walnut Place, made by F. D. Lanterman, Surveyor, in March, 1904, said premises containing thirty-four and four-tenths (34.4) acres of land.

Detail from Robert Dancer's purchase agreement, 1904.¹ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder.

...which according to this tract map places it along Puente Avenue at the southeast corner of its intersection with Francisquito Avenue (red rectangle below).³

Map of El Monte Walnut Place showing the location of the Dancer Ranch. Los Angeles Dept. of Public Works.

One slight problem, however. That's not and never has been within the city limits of West Covina. Originally County territory (Bassett), it's been part of Baldwin Park since 1960.⁷ Not really a big deal, though. Close enough as far as I'm concerned. Anyway for sure it was well within the bounds of historical Walnut Center, and that's the essential historical connection.

I'm just glad the mystery location of the original Dancer Ranch has been found at last. :)

Special thanks to Bobbi Garcia at the Registrar-Recorder's Office for her diligence in finding these deeds!

References:

¹ Agreement to Convey, made between H. T. Coffin and Robert E. Dancer, December 19, 1904. Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder.
² Los Angeles Times, September 25, 1904, p.37.
³ Map of El Monte Walnut Place, Rancho La Puente, surveyed March, 1904, by F. D. Lanterman. Los Angeles County Dept. of Public Works.
⁴ Los Angeles Times October 23, 1904, p.37.
⁵ Covina Argus, December 26, 1908, p.16.
⁶ Grant Deed, Robert E. Dancer, grantee, made November 19, 1906. Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder.
⁷ Annexation Map of Baldwin Park, Los Angeles Dept. of Public Works.