Daniel Freeman Family, Rancho Centinela Documents. Series 2

THE THOMAS AND DOROTHY LEAVEY CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF LOS ANGELES RESEARCH COLLECTION

DOCUMENTS FOR THE HISTORY OF THE DANIEL FREEMAN FAMILY AND THE RANCHO CENTINELA (CSLA-33)

SERIES 2: FREEMAN BUSINESS COMPANIES AND RELATED COMPANIES

Series Size: 2 archival document boxes; 7 folders; 1 oversize folder

This series contains materials on both the private and public businesses of Daniel Freeman, as well as companies related to the development of the area. Most of these materials are photostatic copies or else photocopies. The companies with which Daniel Freeman was associated include the Centinela Land Company and the Centinela-Inglewood Land Company, created to develop the Rancho Centinela. The latter was formed in 1875, although unsuccessful in its goals of development. Records of interest include the articles of incorporation and Daniel Freeman’s agreement to buy the shares of the company from a “Compton,” perhaps Griffith Compton. A later Centinela Land Company, unrelated to the Freemans, was formed in 1912, and its articles of incorporation can be found in Box 1, Folder 14. Records of the Centinela-Inglewood Land Company (1887), which Freeman did not own or directly participate in as a director, consist of the articles of incorporation and a sales contract. This company was responsible for the establishment of Inglewood, and information on its land office there can be found in Box 1, Folder 18. Publicity was important in promoting land development, and booklets and articles in this regard are found in this series. The articles of incorporation and other legal documents of the Redondo Beach Railway Company, which helped in the development of the Inglewood area, are found in this series.

Articles and photographs constitute the holdings here on the Daniel Freeman owned Continuous Brick Kiln Company, perhaps the chief manufacturing enterprise in Inglewood. Also found is cash ledger recording the cash flow of Daniel and Catherine Freeman, from their life in Canada to that in California.

BOX

FOLDER

CONTENTS

DATES
(of original)

1	13	“Centinela Land Company” (1875): Articles of incorporation of original Centinela Land Company (photostatic copy), stock certificate, Daniel Freeman and J. H. Shields agreement to buy shares of “Compton” (Griffith Compton?)	1875
1	14	Articles of incorporation of 1912 Centinela Land Company (photocopy and photostatic copy)	1912
1	15	“Centinela-Inglewood Land Company”: Articles of incorporation of Centinela-Inglewood Land Company (photostatic copies); Centinela-Inglewood Land Company sale contract (photocopy)	1887
1	16	“Redondo Beach Railway Company”: record book (photocopy) containing articles of incorporation, first mortgage documents, lease, minutes of stockholders’ and directors’ meetings, articles of agreement creating Southern California Railway Company, articles of consolidation of the Southern California Railway Company with Santa Fe Railroad	1888-1889
1	17	“The Pacific Homeland … Published Under the Auspices of the R. B. and C. I. L. Companies.” (photocopy)	1888
1	18	“Brick Yard”: flyer (photocopy); articles (photocopies and typed transcripts) re Continuous Brick Kiln Company; photographs and photocopies of same	1887, 1911, 1941
1	27	Photographs, notes, articles, Centinela Valley Historical Society meeting minutes re Daniel Freeman land company office; includes photographs of Inglewood, California, railroad station, and aerial view of the “Centinela” on the grounds of the Daniel Freeman Hospital. Separated from notebook	1975
4		Respondents’ briefs and transcripts on appeal for case of W. L. Archer vs. Daniel Freeman and the Centinela-Inglewood Land Company	1896
5		Daniel Freeman ledger recording cash payments	1867-1888
1ov	4	Article from “Resources of Southern California” (1902) re the Centinela and Inglewood; Articles from “The People at Work” re development in Inglewood, including the Continuous Brick Kiln Company	1895-1896, 1902

RESEARCH ACCESS: Use of this collection is on-site and by appointment only. To schedule an appointment, please call the Department of Archives and Special Collections at 310-338-2780 or 310-338-7478. The collection is open for research with no restrictions under the conditions of the access policy of the Department of Archives and Special Collection. The Research Collection is a program of the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles.

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