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Guide to the Horton House Ledger Collection
MS 279
MS 279
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Table of contents
Title: Horton House Ledger Collection
Identifier/Call Number: MS 279
Contributing Institution:
San Diego History Center Document Collection
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
6.0 Linear feet
(6 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1870-1882
Abstract: The collection contains six ledgers recording guests and transactions of the Horton House from October 1870 to March 1882.
creator:
Horton House.
Biographical / Historical Notes
Alonzo Erastus Horton, known as the “Father of San Diego,” was born in Union, Connecticut, on October 24, 1813. Horton moved
to Wisconsin in 1836 to improve his health, and began working in the cattle business and as a land speculator. In the mid-1840s,
Horton traveled to St. Louis to purchase land warrants which entitled him to 1500 acres of land in Wisconsin. With this land,
Horton developed and founded the town of Hortonville. A few years later in 1850, he sold his land and ventured west to California
in order to work in the mining industry, though not as a miner. Eventually he settled in San Francisco as a supplier and furniture
dealer. When he heard about the climate and valuable harbor in San Diego, Alonzo Horton decided to sell his business and move
south in 1867 with his second wife, Sarah Wilson Babe. Beginning shortly after his arrival in San Diego, Horton purchased
nearly 1000 acres at auctions from 1867-1869 and successfully established New Town, including Horton’s Addition. He sold or
leased lots for the construction of businesses and houses on the land.
On January 1, 1870, construction began on the lavish Horton House Hotel (where the U.S. Grant Hotel now stands on 4th Ave
and Broadway). William W. Bowers, Horton’s brother-in-law, assisted in building the hotel, including its design, erection,
and furnishings. In October 1870, the hotel was open for business. Horton House enjoyed visitors from many countries including
England, Germany, Holland, Italy, Venezuela, Hong Kong, Australia, and Mexico. Eighty percent of U.S. states are represented
in the ledgers, though most of the patrons were from southern California. Well-known guests include T. S. Van Dyke, H. H.
Bancroft, Emily Pitts Stevens, the Couts family, and the Estudillo family. Many traveling acts, such as the Two Headed Nightingale
Company, the Sherman’s Circus, and various dramatic troupes, lodged at the Horton House. On several occasions, the hotel even
housed jurors serving on San Diego County trials. Among the hotel’s various proprietors were A. E. Horton, J. L. Babe, P.
A. Sheppard, C. P. Gerichten, W. E. Hadley, and S. W. Craigue. In 1895, U. S. Grant, Jr., purchased the Horton House, and
in 1905, Alonzo E. Horton, Ephraim W. Morse, and William W. Bowers removed the first bricks in preparation for the hotel’s
deconstruction. U.S. Grant, Jr., built the U.S. Grant Hotel as a memorial to his father, President U.S. Grant, and it opened
in 1910. A. E. Horton died in January 1909.
This collection is open for research.
The San Diego History Center (SDHC) holds the copyright to any unpublished materials. SDHC Library regulations do apply.
Collection processed by Sandra Kirkwood on January 3, 2013.
Collection processed as part of grant project supported by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) with generous
funding from The Andrew Mellon Foundation.
Horton House Ledger Collection, MS 279, San Diego History Center Document Collection, San Diego, CA.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Covers are cracked and flaking. Some loose pages. (2012)
Collection is arranged chronologically.
The collection consists of five guest ledgers and one transfer ledger (accounting). The guest ledgers detail the date, name,
home residence, room number, and arrival for the hotel patrons, and pages are not numbered. The transfer ledger has page numbers
and is organized alphabetically. The entries include arrival date, departure date, length of stay, room rate, extra charges,
amount of bill, and remarks. The dates for the transfer ledger entries are unclear. The extra charges provide an intriguing
insight to hotel life in the late 1800s. The extras covered laundry, medicine, fires, livery, messengers, wine, and more.
Horton House enjoyed visitors from many countries including England, Germany, Holland, Italy, Venezuela, Hong Kong, Australia,
and Mexico. Eighty percent of U.S. states are represented in the ledgers, though most of the patrons were from southern California.
Well-known guests include T. S. Van Dyke, H. H. Bancroft, Emily Pitts Stevens, the Couts family, and the Estudillo family.
Many traveling acts, such as the Two Headed Nightingale Company, the Van Amburgh Circus, and various dramatic troupes, lodged
at the Horton House. On several occasions, the hotel even housed jurors serving in San Diego County trials.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Babe, J. L.
Bancroft, Hubert Howe, 1832-1918
Bowers, William W.
Craigue, S. W.
Gerichten, C. P.
Hadley, W. E.
Horton House.
Horton, Alonzo E., 1813-1909
Sheppard, P. A.
Stevens, Emily Pitts
U.S. Grant Hotel (San Diego, Calif.).
Van Dyke, Theodore Strong, 1842-1923
Gaslamp Quarter (San Diego, Calif.)
Hospitality
Hotels
San Diego (Calif.)