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Guide to the Mission Valley Nursery Records
MS 57
MS 57
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Table of contents
Title: Mission Valley Nursery Records
Identifier/Call Number: MS 57
Contributing Institution:
San Diego History Center Document Collection
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
0.5 Linear feet
(2 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1892-1947
Abstract: This collection contains business records for the Mission Valley Nursery, run by the Benard family from 1888 to 1945.
creator:
Mission Valley Nursery.
This collection is open for research.
The San Diego History Center (SDHC) holds the copyright to any unpublished materials. SDHC Library regulations do apply.
Collection processed by Samantha Mills on March 18, 2013.
Collection processed as part of grant project supported by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) with generous
funding from The Andrew Mellon Foundation.
Mission Valley Nursery Records, MS 57, San Diego History Center Document Collection, San Diego, CA.
Biographical / Historical Notes
Ernest Benard was born in Orleans, France in 1859. He came to San Diego in 1887 as a foreman for the California Nursery Company
in charge of landscaping at the Hotel Del Coronado. In 1888 he began to develop the Mission Valley Nursery, the first nursery
in San Diego. On August 11, 1891, he married Margaretha Herkert. Margaretha was born September 17, 1868 in Calhoun County,
Illinois, and came to San Diego in 1889. They lived at 732 Cerro Gordo Ave. and ran the nursery sales yard at Sixth and D
Streets. Ernest died in 1928. Margaretha continued to run the business until her retirement due to ill health in 1945. She
died November 24, 1947. They had two daughters: Mrs. Rosa B. Becker and Mrs. Lily C. Colt.
The Mission Valley Nursery was responsible for introducing many varieties of roses and olive trees to San Diego. The Benards
provided ornamental planting throughout the City of San Diego, Point Loma, and Balboa Park. They worked with many notable
local figures including Madame Katherine Tingley of the Theosophical Society, Kate Sessions, and George Marston.
This collection contains business records for the Mission Valley Nursery, run by the Benard family from 1888 till 1945. Business
records include a daily account books kept by Ernest Benard, receipts and invoices detailing regular expenses for stock and
gardening supplies, and correspondence regarding several landscaping projects. Additionally there are nurseryman licenses,
a horticultural census form, and brochures listing available merchandise from the Mission Valley Nursery and other companies.
Collection is arranged by subject.
Original landscaping plans for the A.H. Sweet Residence project are located in the Sweet Family Collection.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Accession number 971217.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Benard, Ernest
Benard, Margaretha Herkert
City Park Commission (San Diego, Calif.).
Marston, George White, 1850-1946
Mission Valley Nursery.
Sessions, Kate Olivia, 1857-1940
Sweet, Adelbert H.
Tingley, Katherine Augusta Westcott, 1847-1929
Account books
Brochures
Correspondence
Florists
Landscape nurseries
Mission Valley (Calif.)
Nurseries (Horticulture)
Nursery growers
Ornamental horticulture
Receipts (Acknowledgements)
San Diego (Calif.)