Collection Guide
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Painter (Milton D.) Collection
mssPainter
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Milton D. Painter collection
Creator:
Painter, Milton D.
Identifier/Call Number: mssPainter
Physical Description:
0.4 Linear Feet
(1 box)
Date (inclusive): 1848-1935
Abstract: A collection of documents related to
the Painter family and the Pasadena Land and Water Company.
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]. Milton D. Painter collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino,
California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Charles W. Painter, May 1978.
Milton D. Painter was born in Springdale, Iowa, on March 29, 1852, one of eight children.
His elementary education was obtained in five district schools, but when he was fourteen he
entered the Muscatine schools, and five years later graduated from the high school. Painter
clerked with a lumber firm and for five years worked in a wholesale grocery; after moving to
Marshall county, Iowa, he was a bookkeeper for five years in a general store and in mills.
Painter moved to Pasadena, California in 1883 where he was a partner with his father, John
H. Painter, and brother, Alonzo J. Painter. Milton Painter was involved in real estate and
prominently connected with street railroad in Pasadena. On the incorporation of the North
Pasadena Water Company in 1885 he was chosen secretary and then president. In 1897, with his
father and brother, Milton D. Painter founded the Painter Hotel; after the death of his
father, he became proprietor and sole owner of the renamed La Pintoresca, a famous winter
resort, situated between Pasadena and the base of the Sierra Madre mountains.
A collection of 42 items from 1848 to 1935, it primarily contains documents, such as
agreements, deeds, and maps relating to the Painter family and the Pasadena Land and Water
Company. The majority of the maps and plats show the land owned or controlled by the Painter
family in Southern California. There are also personal letters from John H. Painter and
Alonzo J. Painter to Milton D. Painter from the late 1800s.
Processed by Gina C Giang, 2013. In 2020, Gayle Richardson created the electronic finding
aid derived from an earlier finding aid.
Organized in the following manner: correspondence, documents, and ephemera.
The photographs that came with the collection were transferred to Photo Archives (photPF
21010).
Former call number: mssPainter collection.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Earthwork
Fruit-culture -- California
Real property -- California, Southern
Arroyo Seco (Los Angeles County, Calif.) -- History -- 19th
century
Pasadena (Calif.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Pasadena (Calif.) -- History -- 20th century -- Sources
Pasadena (Calif.) -- Social life and customs -- 19th
century
Agreements -- California -- 19th century
Bills of sale -- California -- 19th century
Certificates -- United States -- 19th century
Deeds -- California -- 19th century
Indentures -- California -- 19th century
Letters (correspondence) -- California -- 19th century
Plats (land) -- California
Plats (maps) -- California
Painter, Alonzo J.
Painter, John H.
Los Angeles
Railway
North Pasadena Land and Water Company
Pasadena Land and Water Company
Title Insurance and Trust
Company (1893-1968)