INVENTORY OF THE DOMINGUEZ LAND CORPORATION,
1911-1950, bulk 1912-1927
Finding aid prepared by Erin Kurinsky
California State University, Dominguez Hills
Archives & Special Collections
University Library, Room G-145
1000 E. Victoria Street
Carson, California 90747
Phone: (310) 243-3895
URL: http://www.csudh.edu/archives/csudh/index.html
©2010
Descriptive Summary
Title: Dominguez Land Corporation Collection,
Dates: 1911-1950,
Collection Number: Consult repository.
Creator:
Dominguez Land Corporation
Extent:
35 boxes
[17.5 linear ft]
Repository: California State University, Dominguez Hills
Archives and Special Collections
Archives & Special Collection
University Library, Room G-145
1000 E. Victoria Street
Carson, California 90747
Phone: (310) 243-3013
URL: http://www.csudh.edu/archives/csudh/index.html
Abstract:
Records of the Dominguez Land Company (1911-1941). Included in the collection are contracts and grant deeds
detailing the sale of land throughout the city of Torrance, CA, as well as related correspondence and legal
documentation. Also includes documentation of the history of the Dominguez Land Corporation, and details of
its sale to Remco-Real Estate Management Company in 1941.
Language: Collection material is in English
Administration Information
Access
There are no access restrictions on this collection.
Publication Rights
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Archives
and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical
materials and not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Preferred Citation
[Title of item], Dominguez Land Corporation Collection, Courtesy of the Department of Archives and Special Collections. University
Library. California State University, Dominguez Hills
Acquisition Information
The collection was donated by Remco-Real Estate Management Company in 2009.
Processing Information
The collection was processed by Erin Kurinsky and Kim Cameron, 2010.
History
The Dominguez Land Company was originally formed in 1911 under the leadership of Jared Sidney Torrance,
who was company president. Original stockholders included Merris Hellman, Joseph F. Sartori, John S. Cravens,
Dr. W. Jarvis Barlow, and Torrance. In 1911, they purchased 2,792 acres of land (at $350 per acre) from the
Dominguez Estate Company and 730 acres from the Del Amo Estate Company (each owned by the daughters of Manuel
Dominguez). That land was broken up into lots and sold off, eventually forming the city of Torrance, CA. In
1912, the Dominguez Land Company incorporated and became known as the Dominguez Land Corporation.
Torrance was originally envisioned as a town where residence, business, and industrial lands coexisted.
Workers in the town's factories and businesses could find a home close to their place of employment. Jared
Torrance believed that a man who enjoyed his work and owned his own home would remain in the community and
contribute to the community. This philosophy of mixed development is evident in the variety of land contracts
sold by The Dominguez Land Company, which included contracts for business, industrial, and residential property.
In 1921, oil was discovered in Torrance, and the Dominguez Land Company soon began offering oil land for sale.
In 1922, the Dominguez Land Corporation formed a lease agreement with the Standard Oil Company, allowing the
Standard Oil Company sole rights to drill for oil in the city of Torrance. In 1926, the Dominguez Land Company
also sold a large portion of oil land to the Chanslor-Canfield Midway Oil Company.
By 1941, the Dominguez Land Corporation had liquidated much of its assets. The remains of the company,
including office furniture, records, and any future assets which may be found, were purchased by Remco-Real Estate
Management Company, a company founded in 1927 by former Dominguez Land Corporation president, Donald Findley.
Scope and Content
This collection documents the sale of individual plots of land in the city of Torrance, CA. The collection
is organized according to contract numbers assigned to each sale by the Dominguez Land Corporation, which they
have termed "agreements". Each agreement contains either a contract for the sale of land (residential,
business, industrial, oil, or undeveloped land, though later documents are simply noted as "sales contracts"
without delineating the type of land being sold) or a grant deed for land, though usually both documents are
found in each agreement. The sales contracts include details on mortgage arrangements and restrictions on
building (for unimproved properties), as well as ledgers detailing payments made on the property. Each
agreement may also contain correspondence relating to the agreement (both hand-written and typed), as well as
company memos (generally orders to draw up grant deeds). Finally, additional legal documents, such as
quitclaim deeds and affidavits, may be included in the agreements.
Within the second series, there are four subseries included. The first subseries includes other land
agreements, including the lease agreement between the Dominguez Land Corporation and the Standard Oil Company
and the sales agreement between the Dominguez Land Corporation and the Chanslor-Canfield Midway Oil Company,
as well as a sales contract with the Pacific Electric Railway Company. Another subseries includes the
By-Laws and Articles of Incorporation for both the Dominguez Land Company and the Dominguez Land Corporation.
A third subseries details the dissolution and sale of the Dominguez Land Corporation to Remco-Real Estate
Management Co., and a fourth subseries includes stockholder and bond holder information on the Dominguez Land
Corporation.
Arrangement
Arranged in two series:
- Series I. Agreements, 1912-1927
- Series II. Corporate Documents, 1911-1950
Indexing Terms
Subjects
Commercial real estate--California--Torrance.
Contracts for deeds--California--Torrance.
Deeds--California--Torrance.
Industrial real estate--California--Torrance.
Land grants--California--Torrance.
Oil and gas leases--California--Torrance.
Real estate business--California--Torrance--History.
Real estate development--California--Torrance--History.
Real estate transactions.
Residential real estate--California--Torrance.
Corporate Names
Chanslor-Canfield Midway Oil Company
Dominguez Land Company
Dominguez Land Corporation
Remco-Real Estate Management Co.
Standard Oil Company (Library of Congress)
Title Insurance and Trust Company (1893-1968)(Library of Congress)
Geographic Areas
Torrance (Calif.)
Series 1.
Agreements,
1912-1927
Physical Description: 34 boxes [17 linear feet]
Scope and Content Note
This series includes contracts for the sale of improved and unimproved residential properties,
unimproved business properties, unimproved industrial properties, land, and oil land in the city of Torrance,
CA. It includes sales contracts, grant deeds, account ledgers, related correspondence, internal memos,
applications for the purchase of property, county tax receipts, legal documents such as quitclaim deeds and
affidavits, and other documents related to the sales contracts, as well as the original folders with
annotations which stored the agreement documents. The series is arranged in order of contract number, which was
assigned to each agreement by the Dominguez Land Corporation.
Box 1, Folder 1
Agreements, Contract no. 1-7, 1 Tr-7 Tr
Box 1, Folder 2
Agreements, Contract no. 8-10, 8 Tr-10 Tr
Box 1, Folder 3
Agreements, Contract no. 11-14, 11 Tr-14 Tr
Box 1, Folder 4
Agreements, Contract no. 15-18, 15 Tr-18 Tr
Box 2, Folder 5
Agreements, Contract no. 19-23, 19 Tr-23 Tr
Box 2, Folder 6
Agreements, Contract no. 24-40
Box 2, Folder 7
Agreements, Contract no. 41-57
Box 2, Folder 8
Agreements, Contract no. 58-75
Box 2, Folder 9
Agreements, Contract no. 76-86
Box 3, Folder 10
Agreements, Contract no. 87-99
Box 3, Folder 11
Agreements, Contract no. 100-119
Box 3, Folder 12
Agreements, Contract no. 120-139
Box 3, Folder 13
Agreements, Contract no. 140-158
Box 3, Folder 14
Agreements, Contract no. 160-180
Box 4, Folder 15
Agreements, Contract no. 181-189
Box 4, Folder 16
Agreements, Contract no. 190-209
Box 4, Folder 17
Agreements, Contract no. 210-229
Box 4, Folder 18
Agreements, Contract no. 230-249
Box 4, Folder 19
Agreements, Contract no. 250-269
Box 5, Folder 20
Agreements, Contract no. 270-288
Box 5, Folder 21
Agreements, Contract no. 290-309
Box 5, Folder 22
Agreements, Contract no. 310-328
Box 5, Folder 23
Agreements, Contract no. 335-349
Box 5, Folder 24
Agreements, Contract no. 351-367
Box 6, Folder 25
Agreements, Contract no. 58-75
Box 6, Folder 25
Agreements, Contract no. 371-389
Box 6, Folder 26
Agreements, Contract no. 390-408
Box 6, Folder 27
Agreements, Contract no. 410-429
Box 6, Folder 28
Agreements, Contract no. 430-449
Box 6, Folder 29
Agreements, Contract no. 450-466
Box 7, Folder 30
Agreements, Contract no. 467-489
Box 7, Folder 31
Agreements, Contract no. 490-506
Box 7, Folder 32
Agreements, Contract no. 507-527
Box 7, Folder 33
Agreements, Contract no. 532-549
Box 7, Folder 34
Agreements, Contract no. 550-559
Box 8, Folder 35
Agreements, Contract no. 560-569
Box 8, Folder 36
Agreements, Contract no. 570-582
Box 8, Folder 37
Agreements, Contract no. 583-591
Box 8, Folder 38
Agreements, Contract no. 592-601
Box 9, Folder 39
Agreements, Contract no. 602-609
Box 9, Folder 40
Agreements, Contract no. 612-624
Box 9, Folder 41
Agreements, Contract no. 625-632
Box 9, Folder 42
Agreements, Contract no. 633-645
Box 10, Folder 43
Agreements, Contract no. 646-657
Box 10, Folder 44
Agreements, Contract no. 658-668
Box 10, Folder 45
Agreements, Contract no. 669-674
Box 10, Folder 46
Agreements, Contract no. 675-684
Box 11, Folder 47
Agreements, Contract no. 686-694
Box 11, Folder 48
Agreements, Contract no. 695-704
Box 11, Folder 49
Agreements, Contract no. 705-714
Box 11, Folder 50
Agreements, Contract no. 715-724
Box 12, Folder 51
Agreements, Contract no. 725-734
Box 12, Folder 52
Agreements, Contract no. 735-745
Box 12, Folder 53
Agreements, Contract no. 746-755
Box 12, Folder 54
Agreements, Contract no. 756-767
Box 13, Folder 55
Agreements, Contract no. 768-779
Box 13, Folder 56
Agreements, Contract no. 780-789
Box 13, Folder 57
Agreements, Contract no. 790-799
Box 13, Folder 58
Agreements, Contract no. 1000-1009
Box 14, Folder 59
Agreements, Contract no. 1010-1019
Box 14, Folder 60
Agreements, Contract no. 1020-1029
Box 14, Folder 61
Agreements, Contract no. 1030-1039
Box 14, Folder 62
Agreements, Contract no. 1040-1049
Box 15, Folder 63
Agreements, Contract no. 1050-1059
Box 15, Folder 64
Agreements, Contract no. 1060-1069
Box 15, Folder 65
Agreements, Contract no. 1070-1089
Box 15, Folder 66
Agreements, Contract no. 1080-1089
Box 16, Folder 67
Agreements, Contract no. 1090-1099
Box 16, Folder 68
Agreements, Contract no. 1100-1109
Box 16, Folder 69
Agreements, Contract no. 1111-1122
Box 16, Folder 70
Agreements, Contract no. 1123-1134
Box 17, Folder 71
Agreements, Contract no. 1135-1145
Box 17, Folder 72
Agreements, Contract no. 1146-1156
Box 17, Folder 73
Agreements, Contract no. 1157-1168
Box 17, Folder 74
Agreements, Contract no. 1169-1183
Box 18, Folder 75
Agreements, Contract no. 1184-1192
Box 18, Folder 76
Agreements, Contract no. 1193-1199
Box 18, Folder 77
Agreements, Contract no. 1200-1209
Box 18, Folder 78
Agreements, Contract no. 1210-1219
Box 19, Folder 79
Agreements, Contract no. 1220-1229
Box 19, Folder 80
Agreements, Contract no. 1230-1239
Box 19, Folder 81
Agreements, Contract no. 1240-1248
Box 19, Folder 82
Agreements, Contract no. 1249-1257
Box 20, Folder 83
Agreements, Contract no. 1258-1268
Box 20, Folder 84
Agreements, Contract no. 1269-1277
Box 20, Folder 85
Agreements, Contract no. 1278-1286
Box 20, Folder 86
Agreements, Contract no. 1287-1297
Box 21, Folder 87
Agreements, Contract no. 1298-1309
Box 21, Folder 88
Agreements, Contract no. 1310-1319
Box 21, Folder 89
Agreements, Contract no. 1321-1336
Box 21, Folder 90
Agreements, Contract no. 1370-1379
Box 22, Folder 91
Agreements, Contract no. 1380-1388
Box 22, Folder 92
Agreements, Contract no. 1389-1399
Box 22, Folder 93
Agreements, Contract no. 1400-1409
Box 22, Folder 94
Agreements, Contract no. 1410-1419
Box 23, Folder 95
Agreements, Contract no. 1420-1424
Box 23, Folder 96
Agreements, Contract no. 2085-2096
Box 23, Folder 97
Agreements, Contract no. 2097-2102
Box 23, Folder 98
Agreements, Contract no. 2103-2109
Box 24, Folder 99
Agreements, Contract no. 2110-2119
Box 24, Folder 100
Agreements, Contract no. 2120-2129
Box 24, Folder 101
Agreements, Contract no. 2130-2140
Box 24, Folder 102
Agreements, Contract no. 2141-2149
Box 25, Folder 103
Agreements, Contract no. 2150-2157
Box 25, Folder 104
Agreements, Contract no. 2158-2165
Box 25, Folder 105
Agreements, Contract no. 2166-2174
Box 25, Folder 106
Agreements, Contract no. 2175-2183
Box 26, Folder 107
Agreements, Contract no. 2184-2192
Box 26, Folder 108
Agreements, Contract no. 2193-2201
Box 26, Folder 109
Agreements, Contract no. 2202-2208
Box 26, Folder 110
Agreements, Contract no. 2209-2215
Box 27, Folder 111
Agreements, Contract no. 2216-2222
Box 27, Folder 112
Agreements, Contract no. 2223-2229
Box 27, Folder 113
Agreements, Contract no. 2230-2237
Box 27, Folder 114
Agreements, Contract no. 2238-2244
Box 28, Folder 115
Agreements, Contract no. 2296-2302
Box 28, Folder 116
Agreements, Contract no. 2303-2316
Box 28, Folder 117
Agreements, Contract no. 2317-2324
Box 28, Folder 118
Agreements, Contract no. 2326-2333
Box 29, Folder 119
Agreements, Contract no. 2334-2341
Box 29, Folder 120
Agreements, Contract no. 2347-2358
Box 29, Folder 121
Agreements, Contract no. 2359-2366
Box 29, Folder 122
Agreements, Contract no. 2367-2373
Box 30, Folder 123
Agreements, Contract no. 2375-2389
Box 30, Folder 124
Agreements, Contract no. 2390-2399
Box 30, Folder 125
Agreements, Contract no. 2400-2409
Box 30, Folder 126
Agreements, Contract no. 2410-2417
Box 31, Folder 127
Agreements, Contract no. 2418-2425
Box 31, Folder 128
Agreements, Contract no. 2426-2432
Box 31, Folder 129
Agreements, Contract no. 2433-2439
Box 31, Folder 130
Agreements, Contract no. 2440-2447
Box 32, Folder 131
Agreements, Contract no. 2448-2456
Box 32, Folder 132
Agreements, Contract no. 2457-2462
Box 32, Folder 133
Agreements, Contract no. 2463-2469
Box 32, Folder 134
Agreements, Contract no. 2470-2477
Box 33, Folder 135
Agreements, Contract no. 2478-2484
Box 33, Folder 136
Agreements, Contract no. 2485-2491
Box 33, Folder 137
Agreements, Contract no. 2492-2498
Box 33, Folder 138
Agreements, Contract no. 2499-2504
Box 34, Folder 139
Agreements, Contract no. 2505-2513
Box 34, Folder 140
Agreements, Contract no. 2514-2521
Box 34, Folder 141
Agreements, Contract no. 2522-2528
Box 34, Folder 142
Agreements, Contract no. 2529-2535
Box 34, Folder 143
Agreements, Contract no. 2536-2542
Series 2.
Corporate Documents,
1911-1950
Physical Description: 1 box [0.5 linear feet]
Scope and Content Note
This series includes corporate documents of the Dominguez Land Corporation, including
contracts for the sale of land to corporations such as the Pacific Electric Railway Company and the
Chanslor-Canfield Midway Oil Company, as well as oil lease contracts between Dominguez Land and the Standard
Oil Company. Also includes corporate by-laws and articles of incorporation, as well as stockholder information,
and legal documents relating to the dissolution of the Dominguez Land Corporation.
This series is arranged in four subseries: 2a. Corporate Land Agreements, 2b. By-Laws and Articles of
Incorporation, 2c. Dissolution of Dominguez Trust, 2d. History of the Dominguez Land Corporation.
Subseries 2a.
Corporate Land Agreements,
1912-1941
Physical Description: 4 folders
Scope and Content Note
Includes signed and unsigned contracts for the sale of land, including between Dominguez Land
Company and the Pacific Electric Railway Company. Also includes correspondence, rights of way (water pipes
and conduits), zoning maps, reconveyances, quitclaim deeds, an oil lease between the Dominguez Land Corporation
and the Standard Oil Company, and the sale of oil land between the Dominguez Land Corporation and the
Chanslor-Canfield Midway Oil Company.
Box 35, Folder 144
Signed Dominguez Land Docs.
Box 35, Folder 145
Unsigned Dominguez Land Docs.
Box 35, Folder 145
Chanslor-Canfield Midway Oil Co.
Subseries 2b.
By-Laws and Articles of Incorporation,
1911-1922,
n.d.
Physical Description: 1 folder
Scope and Content Note
Includes the By-Laws and Articles of Incorporation for the Dominguez Land Company/Corporation.
Box 35, Folder 148
By-Laws & Articles of Incorporation
1911-1922, n.d.
Subseries 2c.
Dissolution of Dominguez Trust,
1917,
1950
Physical Description: 1 folder
Scope and Content Note
Includes legal documents relating to the dissolution of the Dominguez Land Company,
correspondence, tax forms, excerpts from Remco Board of Directors meetings, and description of assets of the
Dominguez Land Corporation.
Box 35, Folder 149
Dissolution of Dominguez Trust
1917, 1950
Subseries 2d.
History of Dominguez Land Corporation,
1911-1916
Physical Description: 1 folder
Scope and Content Note
Includes notices of stockholder meetings, assignment of proxy for stockholder meetings,
Certificate of Creation of Bonded Indebtedness, listing of bond holders, petition and permit authorizing the
sale of notes of the corporation, certificate of increase of board of directors.
Box 35, Folder 150
History of Dominguez Land Corp.
1911-1916
