Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Dimmick (Kimball H.) deed of sale for property in Downtown Los Angeles
7107
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Special Collections
Title: Kimball H. Dimmick deed of sale for property in Downtown Los Angeles
Creator:
Dimmick, Kimball H., 1812-1861
Creator:
Foster, Thomas (Los Angeles)
Identifier/Call Number: 7107
Physical Description:
0.02 Linear Feet
1 document preservation binder
Date: 1855 May 29
Abstract: A deed for the sale of property at Main and Second Street in Downtown Los Angeles by Thomas Foster, the sixth Mayor of Los
Angeles, to Kimball H. Dimmick (1812-1861), a prominent attorney who signed and helped shape California's constitution and
served as Los Angeles' third district attorney.
Physical Description: Written in ink on ruled paper, the two-page, legal-size document bears two notary seals. The pages are bound together with
a blue ribbon run through two brass eye holes. The pages have been folded into quarters with some splitting along the folds.
The second page has separated neatly along one of the folds with no loss. There is evidence of some soiling and edgewear.
Language of Material:
English
.
Container: 1
A deed for the sale of property at Main and Second Street in Downtown Los Angeles by Thomas Foster, the sixth Mayor of Los
Angeles, to Kimball H. Dimmick (1812-1861), a prominent attorney who signed and helped shape California's constitution and
served as Los Angeles' third district attorney.
The property was sold to Dimmick for $500 after the city apparently foreclosed on the land due to non-payment of taxes according
to the deed, which was signed by Foster and notarized on May 29, 1855. Just five years earlier, Los Angeles was incorporated
as a city -- the same year that California was admitted into the Union. At the time of this sale, Los Angeles' population
was still under 5,000 and it would not exceed 10,000 until around 1880. Dimmick was able to buy the land (now in the center
of Downtown Los Angeles) for an amount equivalent to approximately $14,800 in today's dollars.
Adapted from the seller's description
The property described in this deed of sale was located just a few blocks outside the city's original El Pueblo historic settlement.
The deed describes the property as parts of lots number one and two in block number one. It is bounded as follows: "commencing
on Main Street one vara south of the southwest corner of the house or store owned by Cacildo Agular, thence southerly along
the line of said Main street about seventy feet to the lot owned by Guadeloupe Rosa then westerly along the north line of
said Rosa's lot forty varas to the corner of said lot thence southerly parallel with Main Street to Second Street, thence
westerly on Second Street about sixty five feet to lands owned by T.P.G. Temple, thence northerly parallel with Main Street
about sixty yards thence to the place of the beginning, including and being several lots described in the certificate of possession
made by Antonio F. Coronel, Mayor of Los Angeles city to the party of the second part and bearing date March 13, 1854 and
also in the certificate of the sale for taxes by A. Shelley, city marshal bearing date March 12, 1855."
A
vara, meaning rod or pole, is an old Spanish unit of length. The term appears in many Spanish land grants, and in California is
typically equivalent to 33 inches, according to the California Missions Foundation.
Dimmick was a New Yorker who moved west as a U.S. Army officer. Dimmick held various military posts, served as a Judge of
the First Instance through California statehood in 1849, and was a contributor and signer of the state constitution. "In 1851
he revisited the east and supposed himself worth a fortune but by the treachery of pretend friends he returned to find himself
utterly penniless," according to
An Illustrated History of Los Angeles County, California (1889).
According to U.S. Census records, Dimmick's wife, Sarah, and their two children, Charles and Frank, never lived in California,
but she did inherit his estate.
According to a July 18, 1886 report in the
Los Angeles Times, Dimmick's son, Charles, visited Los Angeles and inquired about the property, which he claimed was fraudulently settled as
part of the estate. At that time, values of the land had increased significantly and a lawsuit for $300,000 was filed in the
Los Angeles Superior Court.
Adapted from the seller's description
Advance notice required for access.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Manuscripts Librarian.
Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended
to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
[Box/folder no. or item name], Kimball H. Dimmick deed of sale for property in Downtown Los Angeles, Collection no. 7107,
Regional History Collection, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from The Book Shop, LLC - DBA Johnson Rare Books and Archives, February 26, 2020.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Conveyancing -- California -- Los Angeles -- 19th century -- Archival resources
Deeds -- California -- Los Angeles -- 19th century -- Archival resources
Land titles -- California -- Los Angeles -- 19th century -- Archival resources
Deeds
Legal documents
Property records
Dimmick, Kimball H., 1812-1861 -- Archives
Foster, Thomas (Los Angeles) -- Archives