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Alamitos Land Company Papers
mssAlamitosLandCompanypapers
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Alamitos Land Company Papers
Creator:
Alamitos Land Company
Identifier/Call Number: mssAlamitosLandCompanypapers
Physical Description:
300 Linear Feet
(92 boxes, 86 oversize folders, 1 oversize box, 9
volumes)
Date (inclusive): 1885-2007
Abstract: This collection contains the records of
the Alamitos Land Company of Southern California (in operation from the mid 1880s-2008),
which operated first as a land sale company and later as a property management company,
chiefly for properties in Long Beach and Signal Hill, California. Includes financial
records, legal and land documents, annual reports, correspondence, minutes, project files,
specifications and technical reports, and maps.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at
the Huntington Library for more information.
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]. Alamitos Land Company Papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino,
California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Jean Bixby Smith, January 2009.
Founded by members of the Bixby and Flint families and their business partner, I. W.
Hellman, in 1888, the Alamitos Land Company was first organized as a land sale company
during the real estate boom of Southern California in mid 1880s. The company was engaged in
the subdivision of lands and offering them for sale as town lots, commercial properties, and
farm lands. A large portion of the lands was eventually bought or annexed and is presently
located in the City of Long Beach and the City of Signal Hill. When oil was discovered in
1921 under some of the company's properties, the Alamitos Land Company transformed itself
into a land management company by leasing 240 acres of Signal Hill land to Shell Oil Company
for drilling. As a result, the company added more revenue channels by collecting royalties
from oil drilling and granting oil pipe easements. Subsequently, the company expanded its
business operations into management of agricultural lands and commercial and industrial
buildings. As the amount of oil started to dwindle in the early 1970s, the company turned
some of its former oil drilling sites into a number of residential, commercial, and
industrial projects. The company ceased operation on December 31, 2008.
The Alamitos Land Company papers are organized into four series: Administrative; Commercial
Properties; Oversize, and Map series.
Administrative Series contains records relating to various facilitative operations within
the Alamitos Land Company, including, but not limit to, account books, annual reports,
appraisals, articles of incorporation, audits, balance sheets, bylaws, correspondence,
financial records, financial statements, inventories, ledgers, legal documents, minutes,
stock certificates, and titles (property rights). This series is organized alphabetically. A
small number of oversize administrative records are stored under the Oversize Series.
Commercial Properties Series include a wide-ranging type of records relating to the
company's commercial and industrial portfolio. As per the original order, records are
grouped under the headings of their respective commercial properties or projects, which
include, but not limit to, Alamitos Beach Townsites, Alamitos Tract, Bixby Center, Bixby
Ridge, Brawley Beef Packing Plant, Brawley Steam Wells, Firebaugh, Geothermal, Hathaway
Apartments, Hathaway Business Park, The Knolls, Long Beach Tidelands, Luckey Ranch, Palo
Verde and Spring Retail, Paramount Business Park, Recreation Park, Reservoir Hill, Rosemead
Flair Business Park, Signal Hill East Unit, Tract 10548, U.S. Navy Depot, and the Willows
Office Building. All commercial properties and projects were located within the State of
California. This series is organized alphabetically.
Types of records within the Commercial Properties Series include, but not limited to,
agendas, agreements, annual reports, appraisals, correspondence, deeds, environmental impact
statements, escrows, feasibility studies, financial records, insurance records, invoices,
judicial records, land surveys, land valuations, leases, legal documents, maps, memorandums,
newspaper clippings, notes, photos, plans (orthographic projections), proposals, receipts,
reports, specifications, tax records, and technical reports.
Oversize Series includes oversize records and objects from both Administrative Series and
Commercial Properties Series. They are appraisals, banners, bookkeeping records, company
seals, correspondence, ledgers, minutes, photos, plaques, and stock certificates. This
Series is organized Alphabetically and by dates.
Map Series contains oversize maps, circa 1885 to 1976. Most maps are related to properties
and land owned by the Alamitos Land Company. The Map series is further categorized
geographically into four sub-categories: Alamitos Tract, Tideland Survey, Farm Properties,
and Other.
Processed by Li Wei Yang in 2010. In 2023, Mari Khasmanyan added oversize folder 57-58, and
updated the finding aid's container information.
Collection is organized alphabetically in four series:
- Administrative Series (boxes 1-22)
- Commercial Properties Series (boxes 23-88)
- Oversize Series (boxes 89-92, and 9 volumes)
- Map Series (oversize folders 1-58, and oversize box 1)
This list is not meant to be all-inclusive but to represent the people and subjects that
are most prevalent in the collection. Many people and subjects in the collection will not be
on this list.
- Alamitos Land Company
- Atlantic Richfield Co.
- Bixby, Llewellyn, IV
- Bixby, Llewellyn, Jr.
- Bixby, William F.
- Bixby Land Company
- California. Division of Highways
- California State Mining Bureau
- Chevron Corporation
- Farmers and Merchants National Bank of Los Angeles
- Hayes, Victor W.
- Healey, Charles T. (Charles Terraine)
- Imperial Irrigation District (Calif.)
- Le Plastrier Development Company
- Long Beach Jewish Community Center (Calif.)
- Long Beach Unified School District
- Long Beach (Calif.). City Manager
- Long Beach (Calif.). City Planning Commission
- Long Beach (Calif.). Dept. of Oil Properties
- Long Beach (Calif.). Dept. of Planning and Building
- Long Beach (Calif.). Tidelands Agency
- Los Angeles County Flood Control District (Calif.)
- Los Angeles County (Calif.). Road Dept.
- Pacific Electric Railway Company
- Ralph M. Parsons Company
- Rosor, Clarence M.
- San Diego State University
- Shell Oil Company
- Signal Hill (Calif.)
- Smith, Jean Bixby
- Smith, Joseph R.
- Standard Oil Company of California
- Southern California Edison Company
- United States. Department of Energy
- Unocal Corporation
- Alfalfa--California.
- Apples--California.
- Architecture--California--Long Beach.
- Atlantic Richfield Co.
- Bankruptcy--California.
- Beef industry--United States.
- Beets and beet sugar--United States.
- Benzene--Environmental aspects--California.
- Brawley (Calif.)
- Chain restaurants--United States--Buildings.
- Commercial leases--California.
- Cotton farmers--California
- Crop yields--California.
- Crop yields--California--Imperial County
- Dedication to public use--California.
- Eminent domain--United States--Cases.
- Engineering geology--United States.
- Firebaugh (Calif.)
- Foreclosure--California.
- Gas pipelines—California Geothermal power plants
- Geothermal resources--California.
- Hellman, Isaias W. (Isaias William), 1842-1920.
- Highway bypasse--California.
- Housing development--California.
- Huntington Beach (Calif.) Maps.
- Imperial Valley (Calif. and Mexico)
- Kesterson Reservoir (Calif.)
- Land subdivision--California.
- Liquidation--United States.
- Long Beach (Calif.)
- Long Beach (Calif.) Maps.
- Long Beach (Calif.)--Buildings, structures, etc.
- Minerals--California.
- Office leases--California.
- Oil and gas leases--California.
- Oil fields--California--Long Beach.
- Oil industry workers
- Oil well drilling--California.
- Orange County (Calif.)--Maps.
- Paramount (Calif.)
- Petroleum engineering--United States.
- Petroleum pipelines--California.
- Petroleum workers--United States.
- Petroleum--California--Fresno County.
- Petroleum--California--Los Angeles County.
- Petroleum--Prospecting--United States.
- Public utilities--Right of way
- Public works--California.
- Ranches--California.
- Rancho Los Alamitos (Long Beach, Calif.)
- Real property--Valuation--California.
- Roads--California--Los Angeles County.
- San Gabriel River (Calif.)--Maps.
- School buildings California.
- Seal Beach (Calif.)--Maps.
- Signal Hill (Calif.)--Maps.
- Soil productivity--California--Imperial County.
- Soybean--California.
- Storm sewers--California--Imperial County.
- Storm sewers--California--Los Angeles County.
- Submerged lands--California.
- Sugar beet--California.
- Stores, Retail.
- Texas Company
- Traffic engineering--California.
- Underground pipelines.
- Water-pipes.
- Water--Purification--California.
- Zoning--California.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Commercial leases -- California
Land subdivision -- California
Oil and gas leases -- California.
Oil fields -- California -- Long Beach.
Long Beach (Calif.)
Long Beach (Calif.) -- Maps
Rancho Los Alamitos (Long Beach, Calif.)
Signal Hill (Calif.)
Signal Hill (Calif.) -- Maps
Business records -- California
Letters (correspondence) -- United States.
Maps -- California
Alamitos Land Company