Finding aid for the Leonis-Malburg City of Vernon records 5349
Bo Doub
USC Libraries Special Collections
2021 March
Doheny Memorial Library 206
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, California 90089-0189
specol@usc.edu
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Special Collections
Title: Leonis-Malburg City of Vernon records
Creator:
Leonis, John B.
Creator:
Malburg, Leonis C.
Identifier/Call Number: 5349
Identifier/Call Number: /repositories/3/resources/3043
Physical Description:
107.625 Linear Feet
89 boxes
Date (inclusive): 1907-2015
Abstract: The Leonis-Malburg City of Vernon records document John B. Leonis'--along with Leonis' grandson, Leonis Malburg's--businesses
and stewardship of Vernon from its founding in 1905 until the turn of the 21st century.
Language of Material:
English.
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John B. Leonis was the City of Vernon's founding father and led the city through his position as mayor and as president of
First National Bank of Vernon. Leonis also owned significant land holdings in the area.
Leonis Malburg (1929-2017) was an American politician and grandson of John B. Leonis, who served as Mayor of Vernon, California
from his election in 1974 until his resignation in 2009. He started on the Vernon City Council in 1956. Malburg and his wife
were convicted of conspiracy, perjury, and voter fraud in 2009, leading to his resignation.
The Leonis-Malburg City of Vernon records document John B. Leonis'--along with Leonis' grandson, Leonis C. Malburg's--businesses
and stewardship of Vernon from its founding in 1905 until the turn of the 21st century.
Components of the collection include:
- Source material for Richard Nordin's biography, The Iron Fist: The Immigrant Journey of J. B. Leonis to Riches and Power in Southern California (4 large plastic storage containers).
- Material from Leonis Malburg's time as a mayor and city councilman of Vernon (4 file drawers).
- Files, Vernon site plans and escrow papers from 1924 to 1959 (4 drawers).
- Business records of J. B. Leonis from 1920 to the 1950s including correspondence, checks and other business records (17 drawers plus 21 ledgers).
- Records on the Leonis property in Hancock Park at 247 South Hudson Ave, including invoices and other papers from the 1926 purchase and construction.
Advance notice required for access.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Manuscripts Librarian.
Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended
to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Rights Statement for Archival Description
Finding aid description and metadata are licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of the Leonis Malburg estate, March 2018.
[Box/folder no. or item name], Leonis-Malburg City of Vernon records, Collection no. 5349, Regional History Collection, Special
Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
The collection is unprocessed. The collection number does not currently reflect the numbering scheme for regional history
collections. The collection number will change during future processing.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Architectural documents
Business records
California, Southern -- History -- Archival resources
City planning -- California -- Los Angeles -- History -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Correspondence
Financial records
Industrial management -- Archival resources
Site plans
Vernon (Calif.) -- History -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Leonis, John B. -- Archives
Malburg, Leonis C. -- Archives