This collection contains papers assembled by James B. Clover (1870-1956) and Katherine M. Clover (1906-1990) as part of their struggle against the City of Los Angeles concerning family land holdings in Mono County. Includes correspondence, documents, maps, reports, publications, and clippings related to land tenure and water use in and around Mono County, Inyo County, and Los Angeles, California, with the bulk dating from 1914 to 1986.

James B. (James Benton) Clover (1870-1956) was born in 1870 in Pennsylvania. After moving to California, Clover and his wife Anna (1879-1963) eventually purchased a substantial amount of land in Mono County south of Mono Lake including a large portion around Rush Creek. In 1930, the City of Los Angeles began eminent domain rights proceedings on much of the land in the area. The case, City of Los Angeles vs. Nina B. Aitken, et al. was eventually tried in 1934 and 1935. By the time of the hearing, most of the defendants had sold their property to the city except four owners, including the Clovers. When the dust settled, the City of Los Angeles owned thousands of acres of land and had water rights on thousands more. Although the Clover family, including daughter Katherine M. (Katherine Mary) Clover (1906-1990) lived in Los Angeles, they retained a small parcel of land in Mono County, which at one point operated as a hunting and fishing lodge. Not happy with the award by the jury, James B. Clover continued to fight the city until his death on May 17, 1956.

5,941 pieces in 84 boxes and 102 oversize folders

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