Nathan W. Stowell Papers: Finding Aid
Finding aid prepared by Eric Steiger, November 4, 2008.
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
© 2008
The Huntington Library. All rights reserved.
Overview of the Collection
Title: Nathan W. Stowell Papers
Dates (inclusive): 1852-1925
Collection Number: mssStowell papers
Creator:
Stowell, Nathan W.
Extent: 167 items in 3 boxes + 2 oversize folders and 1 rolled item
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 consists primarily of field notes, maps, and business records related to Nathan W. Stowell (1851-1943)
and his land development and irrigation interests in the Cucamonga area, Los Angeles, and the Imperial Valley in Southern
California.
Language: English.
Access
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services
Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.
Administrative Information
Publication Rights
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.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item]. Nathan W. Stowell Papers, The Huntington Library, San
Marino, California.
Provenance
Purchased from N. Kovach, 1943, and February and April 1945.
Biographical Note
Nathan W. Stowell (1851-1943) was born in Claremont, New Hampshire, on December 15, 1851. He
learned engineering and hydraulics in New England before moving to Los Angeles,
California, in 1874. In Southern California, he worked on numerous irrigation and
land development projects, including Rialto, Corona, Cucamonga, Ontario, East
Whittier, and the Imperial Valley. He founded or took leadership positions in
several companies, which included the Stowell Cement Pipe Company, the Cucamonga
Fruit Land Company, the Cucamonga Land and Improvement Company, the Ontario Power
Company, the Pacific Sewer Pipe Company, the California Development Company, and the
Imperial Valley Water Company Number 1. Stowell worked closely with George and
William Chaffey, Canadian brothers involved in the irrigation development of
Ontario, California and the Imperial Valley.
Stowell retired from his Imperial Valley interests in 1902, and thereafter became
known for his work in and around Los Angeles. Among these projects was the
twelve-story Hotel Stowell, which was completed in 1914. Stowell died in Los Angeles on April 3, 1943.
Scope and Content
The collection consists primarily of field notes, maps, and business records related
to Nathan W. Stowell and his land development and irrigation interests in the
Cucamonga area, Los Angeles, and the Imperial Valley. Included are copies of the field notes from Los
Angeles area surveyors Henry Hancock, George Hansen, and William P. Reynolds from
the 1850s to the 1870s, as well as copies of maps and plats from the Cucamonga and
Los Angeles areas. Business records include seven volumes consisting of deeds,
articles of incorporation, and lawsuits related to Stowell’s interests in the
Cucamonga Company, the Cucamonga Water Company, the Cucamonga Fruit Land Company,
and the Cucamonga Water Company. Most of these volumes include an index listing the
individuals and corporations that are included. Subjects in the collection include:
history of Southern California business enterprises and capitalists, irrigation,
real estate development, and real property. Individuals who appear in the collection
include the land and irrigation developer George Chaffey, Imperial Valley developer
C. R. Rockwood, and the surveyor William Rich Hutton. The Southern Pacific Railroad
Company and the Farmers and Merchants Bank of Los Angeles also appear as subjects in
the collection.
Also included are documents relating to the court cases N. W. Stowell vs. Rialto
Irrigation District, California Development Co. vs. Imperial Land Co., et al, and J.
B. McPherson, et. al vs. Cucamonga Fruit Land Co.
There are 14 oversize items, including 12 maps, Field Notes by Henry Hancock, and a
rolled Tabulation of Measurements of Water Development at Red Hills, Cucamonga.
Arrangement
Organized alphabetically by folder title.
Indexing: Added Entries
Hancock, Henry.
- Author of item in Reports and Notes (1852-1871). Box 1 (12).
Hansen, George, 1824-1897.
- Author of item in Reports and Notes (1852-1871). Box 1 (12).
Indexing: Subjects
Chaffey, George, 1848-1932.
- Subject in Business Papers (1806-1902). Box 1 (1).
- Subject in California Development Company vs. The Imperial Land Company, et al.: Complaint by E. S. Ives, Edwin A. Meserve,
and J.S. Chapman (1906). Box 1 (2).
- Subject in Volume of Legal Documents: Cucamonga Company (1871-1886). Box 2 (5).
Farmers and Merchants Bank of Los Angeles.
- Subject in Volume of Legal Documents (1869-1900). Box 3 (2).
Hutton, Wm. Rich (William Rich), 1826-1901.
- Subject in Reports and Notes (1852-1871). Box 1 (12).
Imperial Valley (Calif. and Mexico).
- Subject in California Development Company vs. The Imperial Land Company, et al.: Complaint by E. S. Ives, Edwin A. Meserve,
and J.S. Chapman (1906). Box 1 (2).
Rockwood, C.R.
- Subject in California Development Company vs. The Imperial Land Company, et al.: Complaint by E. S. Ives, Edwin A. Meserve,
and J. S. Chapman (1906). Box 1 (2).
Southern Pacific Railroad Company
- Subject in Volume of Legal Documents (1902-1905). Box 3 (2).
Indexing Terms
Subjects
Chaffey, George,
1848-1932.
Hutton, Wm. R.
(William Rich), 1826-1901.
Rockwood, C.
R.
Stowell, Nathan
W.
California Development
Company.
Cucamonga
Company.
Cucamonga Fruit Land
Company.
Farmers and Merchants
Bank of Los Angeles.
Imperial Water
Company.
Ontario Power
Company.
Southern Pacific
Railroad Company.
Business enterprises -- California,
Southern -- History -- Sources.
Capitalists and financiers --
California, Southern -- Archives.
Irrigation -- California,
Southern.
Real estate development -- California,
Southern -- History -- Sources.
Real property -- California,
Southern.
Los Angeles (Calif.) --
History -- 19th century -- Sources.
Imperial Valley (Calif.
and Mexico) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources.
Rancho Cucamonga
(Calif.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources.
Forms/Genres
Field notes -- California, Southern.
Letters (correspondence) --
California, Southern.
Maps -- California, Southern.
Additional Contributors
Hancock, Henry, 1822-1883.
Hansen, George, 1824-1897.
Reynolds, W. P. (William P.)
Box 1
Business Papers – N.W. Stowell vs. Rialto Irrigation District
Folder 1
Business Papers (1896-1902). 3 items.
Folder 2
California Development Company vs. The Imperial Land Company, et al.: Complaint by E. S. Ives, Edwin A. Meserve, and J.S.
Chapman (1906). 1 item.
Folder 3
Correspondence (1916). 4 letters.
Folder 4
Deeds: Nathan W. Stowell (1876-1877). 4 items.
Folder 5
Field Notes: Henry Hancock (1858). 4 items. 1 item in oversize.
Folder 6
Field Notes: George Hansen, 1824-1897 (1866). 1 item.
Folder 7
Field Notes: William P. Reynolds (1872). 1 item.
Folder 8
Formation of Ontario Power Company: [typed manuscript] [undated]. 1 item.
Folder 9
J.B. McPherson, et al. vs. Cucamonga Fruit Land Co., et al.: Statement Upon Motion for a New Trial by McKinery and Graff (1900).
1 item.
Folder 10
Maps (1852-1925). 12 items. In oversize.
Folder 11
N.W. Stowell vs. Rialto Irrigation District: Answer and Cross Complaint and Answer to Cross Complaint (1903-1904). 2 items.
Folder 12
Notes: [Nathan W. Stowell] [c. 1916]. 120 items.
Folder 13
Reports and Notes (1852-1871). 3 items.
Box 2
Survey Notebooks: Nathan W. Stowell to Volume of Legal Documents: Cucamonga Fruit Land Company and Cucamonga Water Company
Folder 1
Survey Notebooks: Nathan W. Stowell (1874-1899). 1 item.
Folder 2
Survey Notebooks: Nathan W. Stowell [c. 1916]. 2 items.
Folder 3
Tabulation of Measurements of Water Development at Red Hills, Cucamonga, Cal. (1904). 1 item. In oversize.
Folder 4
Town of North Cucamonga Record of Lots Sold (1887-1895). 1 item.
Folder 5
Volume of Legal Documents: Cucamonga Company (1871-1886). 1 item.
Folder 6
Volume of Legal Documents: Cucamonga Fruit Land Company and Cucamonga Water Company (1893-1899). 1 item.
Box 3
Volume of Legal Documents (1869-1892) – Volume of Legal Documents (1902-1905)
Folder 1
Volume of Legal Documents (1869-1892). 1 item.
Folder 2
Volume of Legal Documents (1869-1900). 1 item.
Folder 3
Volume of Legal Documents (1899). 1 item.
Folder 4
Volume of Legal Documents (1902-1905). 1 item.
Oversize
Physical Description: 14 items
Oversize Folder
Field Notes for Rancho Los Feliz by Henry Hancock (1858 September 1)
Oversize Folder
Maps (1852-1925). 12 items.
Rolled item
Tabulation of Measurements of Water Development at Red Hills, Cucamonga.
