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Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company Records: Finding
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mssKerckhoff-Cuzner
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Title: Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber
Company Records
Dates (inclusive): 1883-1933
Bulk dates: 1883-1908
Collection Number: mssKerckhoff-Cuzner
Creator:
Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company.
Extent: 113 pieces in 1 box + 14 oversize
folders and 1 volume
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2129
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This collection consists of correspondence, business records, and maps of the Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company of Los
Angeles, California, with
the bulk dating from 1883-1908. The majority deals with the purchase of Boschke’s Island in the Port of Los Angeles harbor.
Language: English.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services
Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to
quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such
activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is
one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company Records, The
Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Gifts of William G. Cuzner, August 7, 1958 and August 27, 1973.
The Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company was originally the Los Angeles, California, branch
of the J. G. Jackson Lumber Company. James Cuzner was managing it when in 1879
William George Kerckhoff (1856-1929) approached him about purchasing a partner stake
in the company. Cuzner and Kerckhoff each purchased a quarter stake in the company
and it then became the Jackson, Kerckhoff & Cuzner Lumber Company. In 1883 the
company incorporated, and Kerckhoff became president and Cuzner became
vice-president of the renamed Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company.
As business grew they acquired branch yards in Pasadena, Pomona, Lamanda Park, San
Fernando, Hollywood, Brawley, Calexico, Imperial, and also purchased Boschke’s
Island (or Smith’s Island, as it was also known) in San Pedro and established a
wholesale mill and lumber yard there.
Bibliography
O’Melveny, H. W. (Henry William), 1859-1941.
The Story of William G. Kerckhoff. U.C.L.A. magazine, Jan. 1941, v.
15, no. 10.
This collection consists of correspondence, business records, and maps; the majority
of which deal with the purchase of Boschke’s Island (or Smith’s Island) by the
Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company from Albert and Martha Ellen Boschke.
There were subsequent legal complications regarding this purchase with the Southern
Pacific Railroad Company and the Banning Company, primarily Joseph Brent Banning and
William Banning (1858-1946). The dispute between the various parties dealt with the
purchase of the island and of how much of it belonged to the respective parties. A
small part of the collection deals with a bridge the Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill &
Lumber Company wanted to build from Boschke’s Island (or Smith’s Island) across the
Wilmington slough or inner bay of San Pedro to the mainland.
The collection is organized in the following manner:
- 1. Correspondence and business records – Arranged chronologically – Box 1
- 2. Oversize folders – 15 folders
- 3. Ledger (account book) – 1 volume
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
Huntington Library's Online Catalog.
Banning, Joseph Brent,
1861-1920.
Banning, William,
1858-1946.
Boschke,
Albert.
Kerckhoff, William
George, 1856-1929.
Banning
Company.
Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill
& Lumber Company.
Southern Pacific
Railroad Company.
Harbors -- California -- Los
Angeles.
Land tenure -- Law and legislation --
California.
Land titles -- California -- Los
Angeles County.
Land titles -- Registration and
transfer -- California -- Los Angeles County.
San Pedro (Los Angeles,
Calif.) -- Description and travel.
San Pedro (Los
Angeles, Calif.) -- History -- Sources.
San Pedro (Los
Angeles, Calif.) -- Maps.
Articles of incorporation -- California
-- Los Angeles County.
Business records -- California,
Southern.
Contracts -- California -- Los Angeles
County.
Deeds -- California, Southern.
Ledgers (account books) -- California,
Southern.
Letters (correspondence) -- California
-- Los Angeles County.
Maps -- California -- Los Angeles
County.
Banning, Joseph Brent, 1861-1920.
Banning, William, 1858-1946.
Boschke, A.
Kerckhoff, William George, 1856-1929.
Banning Company.
Southern Pacific Railroad Company.