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Llano del Rio Colony Records: Finding Aid
mssLlano del Rio
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Title: Llano del Rio Colony Records
Dates (inclusive): 1896-1967
Bulk dates: 1930s
Collection Number: mssLlano del Rio
Creator:
Llano Colony (Secular community)
Extent:
516 pieces in 4 boxes; 1 oversize folder; 1 oversize 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 contains papers pertaining to the socialist cooperative Llano del Rio
Colony, founded by Job Harriman in the Antelope Valley, California, in 1914, and its successor, Newllano, located in Louisiana,
with the bulk dating
from the 1930s. Subjects represented include the Llano
and Newllano colonies, socialism in the United States, and socialist societies.
Language: English.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department.
For more information, contact Reader Services.
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.
[Identification of item]. Llano del Rio Colony Records, The Huntington Library, San
Marino, California.
Gift of Mellie Calvert, 1969-1972, and Knox Mellon, December 1975.
The Llano del Rio Co-operative Colony was incorporated in 1914 by Los Angeles attorney Job
Harriman, the socialist nominee for mayor of Los Angeles in 1911. The settlement was located
in the Antelope Valley of California near Pearblossom, where an agricultural community was
developed. Because of problems with water rights, transportation for produce, and internal
dissension, the colony was discontinued in 1918. One group of the colonists went to
Louisiana and reestablished a community under the name Newllano.
The collection contains correspondence, documents, minutes, newspaper clippings,
photographs, poetry, and printed materials pertaining to the Llano del Rio Colony and its
successor, Newllano.
Most of the items donated by Mellie Calvert (Box 1) pertain to the history of the Llano del
Rio Colony and the experiences of its colonists. Some of this material looks at the
influence Job Harriman and the Young People's Socialist League of California had upon the
founding of Llano, while other items represent the lives and daily struggles of individual
Llano members.
The vast majority of the Knox Mellon addenda items (Boxes 2-4, plus two oversized items)
pertain to Newllano and its various problems. Although the collection spans from 1896 to
1967, the greatest concentration of items were written in the 1930s, a turbulent time in
Newllano's development. During the mid-1930s a power struggle arose in Newllano between its
elected Board (headed by George T. Pickett, 1876-1959) and a band of individuals who
attempted to revoke Pickett's leadership and declare a new Board. Letters and documents
reflecting each side of the divide exist within the collection, although more of the
materials reflect the pro-Pickett stance. Sidney Young authors many of Pickett's defenses
and is a strong voice throughout the collection. Other Knox Mellon items reflect the
pre-history of Llano, including copies of late nineteenth century letters penned by Job
Harriman and Morris Hillquit (1869-1933).
Subjects represented throughout the collection as a whole include the Llano and Newllano
colonies, socialism in the United States, socialist societies, Job Harriman, Morris Hillquit
(1869-1933), George T. Pickett (1876-1959) and Sidney Young.
The collection is arranged in the following series:
- Materials given to the Huntington by Mellie Calvert (Box 1)
- Materials given to the Huntington by Knox Mellon (Boxes 2-4, plus 2 oversized items)
Within each series the materials original order has been maintained wherever discernible.
Items in each series have been arranged in chronological order and grouped by format.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
Huntington Library's Online Catalog.
Harriman, Job, 1861-1925.
Hillquit, Morris, 1869-1933.
Pickett, George T., 1876-1959.
Llano Colony (Secular community)
Cooperative societies -- California, Southern -- History -- Sources.
Cooperative societies -- Louisiana -- History -- Sources.
Socialism -- Societies, etc.
Socialism -- United States.
Socialists -- Correspondence.
Administrative records -- California.
Administrative records -- Louisiana.
Letters (correspondence) -- California.
Letters (correspondence) -- Louisiana.
Minutes -- California.
Minutes -- Louisiana.