D. M. Renton Papers: Finding Aid mssRenton
Gayle M. Richardson
The Huntington Library
February 2023
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: D. M. Renton papers
Creator:
Renton, D. M.,
1878-1947
Identifier/Call Number: mssRenton
Physical Description:
2.08 Linear Feet
(5 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1916-1936
Abstract: A collection of correspondence between
D. M. Renton and William Wrigley, Jr., concerning the development of Santa Catalina Island
under Wrigley ownership.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at
the Huntington Library for more information.
Conditions Governing Use
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]. D. M. Renton papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino,
California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of David Renton, December 2020.
Biographical / Historical
David Malcolm Renton, known as D. M., was born on Prince Edward Island, Canada, on February
8, 1878; he was the son of John Renton, a house and ship builder, and Catherine (Nicholson)
Renton. At the age of 16, D. M. Renton moved to Massachusetts to train as a carpenter and at
the same time attended night school for his education. He moved to Southern California in
1902, to establish a building company. After this company disbanded, Renton went on to work
as a general contractor; one of his first jobs was building an observation tower on Mt.
Wilson. Renton also began to build Craftsman-style homes in Pasadena, California. Renton met
William Wrigley, Jr., in 1919, when he was hired to build homes for Wrigley in Pasadena.
That same year, Wrigley bought Santa Catalina Island and began, over the years, to improve
the island by building public utilities, new steamships, a hotel, the Casino building, and
extensive plantings of trees, shrubs, and flowers. Wrigley, who lived mainly in Chicago,
hired Renton to oversee all the extensive building on the island and he also served as vice
president of the Santa Catalina Island Company. Renton first married Elizabeth Blaisdell
Ryder and they had two sons: Malcolm Joseph Renton and Arthur Lincoln Renton. Elizabeth died
in 1935 and Renton married Isabel Blanche Cline in 1937. When Renton retired in 1936, he
lived at a cattle ranch in Atascadero, California, "Rancho Santa Catalina," until he died in
1947.
Scope and Contents
A collection of correspondence and business records dealing with the history of Santa
Catalina Island, California. The vast bulk of the collection consists of letters between D.
M. Renton and William Wrigley concerning operations of Wrigley enterprises on Santa Catalina
Island, including Renton's ongoing management of the multiple enterprises on the island.
Renton's letters detail visitation, public services ranging from food to entertainment,
development of new facilities from the Casino ballroom to an on-island hospital; the letters
also describe construction work to improve access to clean potable water, and the mining
operations for lead, silver and zinc, and the ongoing labor to extract them. The letters
also describe the Hollywood studios using the island for filming and the use of the island
for baseball training and games. The letters also include correspondence with Ferdinand
Ellerman, Herbert Hoover, Lawrence Mott, Johnny Noble, Joseph H. Patrick, Hugh Rodman, John
Wayne, Ada Elizabeth Wrigley, and Philip Wrigley. The business records include monthly
expense and revenue reports for the island, meeting minutes and correspondence for the Santa
Catalina Island Company. The correspondence includes telegrams, autograph, typewritten, and
carbon copied letters; the D. M. Renton and William Wrigley correspondence also includes
letters from other suppliers, businesses, and corporate partners. The business records
include correspondence, meeting minutes, expense and revenue reports. The collection also
includes an autobiography written by D. M. Renton upon his retirement from the Santa
Catalina Island Company; newspaper clippings, business cards, and U. S. patent papers for a
stone spreader. Some of the letters are incomplete, and a small number have sustained water
damage. The letters and other material are between D. M. Renton and William Wrigley unless
otherwise noted.
Processing Information
Processed by Gayle M. Richardson in February 2023. A large number of the letters contain
penciled numbers in the bottom right corner of the page, these numbers were added by the
Renton family before the material was donated to the Huntington; these numbers have not been
noted on the folders or in the finding aid.
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Baseball -- United States -- History -- 20th century
Building construction -- California -- Santa Catalina Island
(Calif.)
Coastwise shipping -- California -- Santa Catalina Island (Calif.) --
History -- 20th century
Foreign workers, Mexican -- California
Labor unions -- California -- History -- 20th century
Mines and mineral resources -- California -- Santa Catalina Island
(Calif.)
Motion picture industry -- California
Motion picture locations -- California -- Santa Catalina Island
(Calif.)
Water-supply -- California -- Santa Catalina Island (Calif.)
California, Southern -- Social life and customs -- 20th
century
Chicago (Ill.) -- History -- 20th century
Santa Catalina Island (Calif.) -- Description and travel
Santa Catalina Island (Calif.) -- History -- 20th century
United States -- Politics and government -- 20th century
Business records -- United States -- 20th century
Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- 20th century
Ellerman, Ferdinand, 1869-1940
Hoover, Herbert, 1874-1964
Mott, Lawrence,
1881-1931
Noble, Johnny,
1892-1944
Patrick, Joseph H.
Rodman, Hugh,
1859-1940
Wayne, John,
1907-1979
Wrigley, Ada Elizabeth, 1868-1958
Wrigley, Philip K. (Philip
Knight), 1894-1977
Wrigley, William,
1861-1932
Chicago Cubs (Baseball
team)
Santa Catalina Island Company
Wm. Wrigley Jr.
Company
Box 1, Folder 1
1916-1917
Scope and Contents
Letters are damaged and fragile.
Box 1, Folder 2
D. M. Renton correspondence with Santa Catalina Island Company; also, other
business correspondence dealing with Catalina Island
1919 July-1932 September
Box 1, Folder 4
Hugh Rodman letter to D. M. Renton
1919 October 9
Box 3, Folder 7
1926 June
Scope and Contents
Also enclosed: "The Hour of the Chewing Gum," article translated from German.
Box 3, Folder 12
D. M. Renton correspondence with Ferdinand Ellerman
1927 February-April
Box 5, Folder 4
Letters Patent of the United States…issued to David M. Renton, Everett N. Long,
and Anson Murphy, for improvements in Stone Spreaders; also, letter from Law Offices
Offield, Mehlhope, Scott and Poole
1930 December 9-11
Box 5, Folder 5
D. M. Renton correspondence with Lawrence Mott
1930
Box 5, Folder 12
D. M. Renton correspondence with William Wrigley, Ada Wrigley, and J. H.
Patrick
1931 January-February
Scope and Contents
Includes the final letters exchanged between Renton and Wrigley; Wrigley died on
January 26, 1932.
Box 5, Folder 13
D. M. Renton correspondence with Ada Wrigley and J. H. Patrick
1932 March-July
Box 5, Folder 14
D. M. Renton correspondence with Ada Wrigley and J. H. Patrick
1932 August-December
Box 5, Folder 15
Herbert Hoover letter to D. M. Renton
1936 February 29
Box 5, Folder 16
D. M. Renton letters to Johnny Noble
1936 August 24-29
Scope and Contents
Includes a letter to Demetra Noble.
Box 5, Folder 17
John Wayne Western Union telex to D. M. Renton
undated
Box 5, Folder 18
D. M. Renton autobigraphy, autograph
undated
Scope and Contents
This autobiography was written after Renton retired.
