Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company Records: Finding
Aid
Finding aid prepared by Mitchell W. K. Toda, May 14, 2002.
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
© 2002
The Huntington Library. All rights reserved.
Overview of the Collection
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.
Access
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services
Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.
Administrative Information
Publication Rights
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.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item]. Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company Records, The
Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Provenance
Gifts of William G. Cuzner, August 7, 1958 and August 27, 1973.
Historical Note
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.
Scope and Content
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.
Arrangement
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
Indexing Terms
Subjects
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.
Forms/Genres
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.
Additional Contributors
Banning, Joseph Brent, 1861-1920.
Banning, William, 1858-1946.
Boschke, A.
Kerckhoff, William George, 1856-1929.
Banning Company.
Southern Pacific Railroad Company.
Box 1
Correspondence and business records
Folder 1
1883.
Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company. Articles of Incorporation.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 2
1884.
Pacific Coast Company. To Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 3
1885.
Los Angeles County (Calif.). Board of Supervisors. To William George Kerckhoff, 1856-1929.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 4
1885.
Kerckhoff, William George, 1856-1929. To Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 5
1885.
Wilmington Transportation Company. To Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 6
1885-1886.
John F. James and Ina L. James. To William George Kerckhoff, 1856-1929.
Physical Description: 2 pieces
Folder 7
1885-1888.
Joseph Brent Banning. To Albert Boschke.
Physical Description: 2 pieces
Folder 8
1888.
William George Kerckhoff, 1856-1929. To Albert Boschke and Martha Ellen Boschke.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 9
1888-1895.
Albert Boschke. To William George Kerckhoff, 1856-1929.
Physical Description: 2 pieces
Folder 10
1889-1891.
California (State). Surveyor General. To Albert Boschke.
Physical Description: 3 pieces
Folder 11
1890-1895.
Boschke, Albert. To “Messrs. Kerckhoff & Cuzner”.
Physical Description: 4 pieces
Folder 12
1891.
Boschke, Albert. To James Cuzner.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 13
1891.
Carter, Thos H.. To United States. Bureau of Land Management. California State Office.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 14
1891.
United States. Bureau of Land Management. To Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 15
1891-1894.
Hyde, F. A. To Albert Boschke.
Physical Description: 2 pieces
Folder 16
1892.
Southern Pacific Company. To Albert Boschke.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 17
1893, undated.
Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company. To Banning Brothers.
Physical Description: 2 pieces
Folder 18
1894.
William Banning, 1858-1946, and Joseph Brent Banning. To Albert Boschke and William George Kerckhoff, 1856-1929.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 19
1894-1898.
William George Kerckhoff, 1856-1929. To William Banning, 1858-1946, and Joseph Brent Banning.
Physical Description: 2 pieces
Folder 20
1895.
Axman Improvement Company. To H. W. (Henry William) O’Melveny, 1859-1941.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 21
1895.
Albert Boschke. To Southern Pacific Railroad Company.
Physical Description: 2 pieces
Folder 22
1895.
Albert Boschke and Martha Ellen Boschke. To William George Kerckhoff, 1856-1929.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 23
1895.
Martha Ellen Boschke. To William George Kerckhoff, 1856-1929.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 24
1895.
Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company. To Axman Improvement Company.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 25
1895.
Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company. To L. W. Blinn.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 26
1895.
San Pedro Yard. To Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 27
1895.
Southern Pacific Company. To William George Kerckhoff, 1856-1929.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 28
1895.
Southern Pacific Railroad Company. To William George Kerckhoff, 1856-1929.
Physical Description: 2 pieces
Folder 29
1895.
Southern Pacific Railroad Company. To William George Kerckhoff, 1856-1929.
Physical Description: 2 pieces
Folder 30
1897.
Chambers, D. A. To Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 31
1897.
William George Kerckhoff, 1856-1929, and Louise E. Kerckhoff. To Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 32
1898.
Armes, C. H. To “Messrs Graves, O’Melveny & Shawkland”.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 33
1898.
Banning Company. To William George Kerckhoff, 1856-1929.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 34
1898.
Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company. To Los Angeles County (Calif.).
Physical Description: 3 pieces
Folder 35
1898.
Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company. To San Pedro Lumber Company.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 36
1899.
The First National Bank of Los Angeles. To H. W. (Henry William) O’Melveny, 1859-1941.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 37
1902.
Banning Company. To Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 38
1902.
Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company. To Banning Company.
Physical Description: 3 pieces
Folder 39
1903.
Bicknell, Gibson & Trask. To James Cuzner.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 40
1908.
California. Superior Court (Los Angeles County). To Banning Company, Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company, and Pacific
Electric Railway Company.
Physical Description: 2 pieces
Folder 41
1920.
Los Angeles County (Calif.). To Joseph Brent Banning.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 42
1933.
Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company. To Certificate of Amendment of Articles of Incorporation.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 43
Undated.
[Kerckhoff, William George, 1856-1929]. To Pasadena (Calif.). City Engineer.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 44
1883-1900, undated.
Manuscript notes.
Physical Description: 14 pieces
Folder 45
1894-1895, undated.
Maps, cadastral maps, engineering maps, and manuscript maps.
Physical Description: 8 pieces
Folder 46
1921.
Photographs.
Physical Description: 2 pieces
Folder 47
1889-1897, undated.
Receipts and bills.
Physical Description: 6 pieces
Folder 1
1883.
Certificate of official filing of articles of incorporation of the Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 2
1892.
Map to accompany application of C. & F. J. Ganahl for Wharf Franchise.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 3
1893.
Channel in Front of Smith’s Island Wilmington Harbor, Cal. 1893.
Physical Description: 2 pieces
Folder 4
1893-1894.
O.A.P. of Wilmington Harbor California Showing Proposed Harbor Lines.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 5
1894.
Certificate, acreage of land held by Albert Boschke.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 6
1897.
Blueprint of proposed San Pedro Bridge, with attached certificate from the
United States, War Department.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 7
1903.
Map of the City of San Pedro Compiled from Official Records and Personal Surveys 1903.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 8
1903.
Drawing to illustrate a correction in the deed for Smith’s Island, with attached letter from Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber
Company to the Banning Company.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 9
Undated.
Copy of Map in U.S. Land Office San Francisco Cal., shows parts of Rancho Palos Verdes, Rancho San Pedro, Dean Man’s island, Smith’s Island, and Mormon Island.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 10
Undated.
Drawing showing the wharf of the Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 11
Undated.
Map of Smith’s Island (1).
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 12
Undated.
Map of Smith’s Island (2).
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 13
Undated.
Map of Smith’s Island (3).
Physical Description: 1 piece
Folder 14
Undated.
“Vicinage Sales and Leases,” map of San Pedro and Wilmington Districts.
Physical Description: 1 piece
Volume
1892.
Ledger (account book), M. Kerckhoff, Cuzner, M. & L. Co. [516 pages].
