Watson Land Company Collection, 1927-2005

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Summary

Title:
Watson Land Company Collection
Dates:
1927-2005
Creators:
Watson Land Company
Abstract:
A small collection of materials from the Watson Land Company, including articles of incorporation, financial statements, correspondence, newsletters, and reports.
Extent:
1 box .5 linear ft.
Language:
Collection material is in English
Preferred citation:

[Title of item], Watson Land Company Collection, Courtesy of the Department of Archives and Special Collections. University Library. California State University, Dominguez Hills

Background

Scope and content:

Items include “Watson in the News” company newsletters; corporate profiles and reports; brochures and articles about the company; financial statements; land reports; correspondence; and the company articles of incorporation.

Biographical / historical:

The Watson Estate Company was incorporated in 1912 to help protect the interests of Dolores Simona Dominguez de Watson. While the Watson Estate Company made a steady, albeit relatively small, income from leasing land, it broke with other Rancho-based companies in regularly selling off small pieces of property. The company was reincorporated as the Watson Land Company in 1927, largely as a way to have lands assessed according to richer 1920s valuations, rather than the 1913 valuation that had been used. Under reincorporation, land sales and leases gave the Watson Land Company a sounder financial foundation. As with other Rancho-based concerns, the Watson Land Company realized profits from sales and leases to oil companies; throughout its history, though, the directors of the Watson Land Company focused on the agricultural and industrial development of the land. The success of this practice grew throughout the century, and the Watson Land Company remains one of the most successful in Southern California. (From the Rancho San Pedro Collection Finding Aid)

Processing information:

This finding aid was created as part of Early Los Angeles/Rancho San Pedro Manuscript Cataloging Project, a CSU Dominguez Hills Library project funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. The project started in 2005. Project Director was Greg Williams. Project Archivists were Thomas Philo and Jennifer Allan Goldman.

Rules or conventions:
Finding Aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Office buildings
Industrial buildings

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid prepared by Jennifer Allan Goldman
Date Prepared:
©2006
Date Encoded:
Machine-readable finding aid created by Jennifer Allan Goldman April 2006

Access and use

Restrictions:

There are no access restrictions on this collection.

Terms of access:

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Archives and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical materials and not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Preferred citation:

[Title of item], Watson Land Company Collection, Courtesy of the Department of Archives and Special Collections. University Library. California State University, Dominguez Hills

Location of this collection:
University Library, 5th Flr (5039)
1000 E. Victoria Street
Carson, CA 90747, US
Contact:
(310) 243-3895
archives@csudh.edu
Website