Finding Aid for the Escondido Land and Town Company Records, 1886-1944
Processed by Simon Elliott; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé
UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections
Manuscripts Division
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
URL: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb/
© 1999
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Finding Aid for the Escondido Land and Town Company Records, 1886-1944
Collection number: 292
UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections
Manuscripts Division
Los Angeles, CA
Contact Information
- Manuscripts Division
- UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections
- Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
- Box 951575
- Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
- Telephone: 310/825-4988 (10:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m., Pacific
Time)
- Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
- URL: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb/
- Processed by:
- Simon Elliott, 4 April 1990
- Encoded by:
- Caroline Cubé
- Text converted and initial container list EAD tagging by:
- Apex Data Services
- Online finding aid edited by:
- Josh Fiala, June 2002
© 1999 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Escondido Land and Town Company Records,
Date (inclusive): 1886-1944
Collection number: 292
Creator: Escondido Land and Town Company
Extent:
12 oversize boxes
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Abstract: Earl Montgomery Cranston (1863-1933) was born in Middleport, Ohio. He received his law degree at Cincinnati Law School and
practiced law for 30 years in the Denver firm of Cranston, Pilken & Moore. He bought stock in Escondido Land and Town Company,
later becoming the company's president. The collection consists of by laws, account books, minute books, stock certificate
books, record of instruments, bills, receipts, etc. for the Escondido Land and Town Company.
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department
of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Language:
English.
Administrative Information
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections. Literary rights, including
copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds
the copyright and pursue the
copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Restrictions on Access
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Advance notice required for access.
Additional Physical Form Available
A copy of the original version of this online finding aid is available at the UCLA Department of Special Collections for in-house
consultation and may be obtained for a fee. Please contact:
- Public Services Division
- UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections
- Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
- Box 951575
- Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
- Telephone: 310/825-4988 (10:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m., Pacific
Time)
- Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of John M. Cranston, 1959.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Escondido Land and Town Company Records (Collection 292). Department of Special Collections, Charles
E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Biography
Earl Montgomery Cranston was born December 3, 1863 in Middleport, Ohio; his family moved to Colorado when he was 14; BA, Denver
University; received his law degree at Cincinnati Law School; practiced law for 30 years in Denver firm of Cranston, Pilken
& Moore; served two terms as U.S. district attorney at Denver; bought stock in Escondido Land and Town Company, later becoming
the company's president; he was instrumental in developing Home Land Acres, a large citrus subdivision; director, Escondido
Mutual Water Company; retired in Escondido, 1920; died in 1933.
Extended Biographical Narrative
The elder Cranston was born in Middleport, Ohio, December 3, 1863. Parents: Bishop Earl and Martha (Behan) Cranston. Died,
June 3, 1933, at Escondido, Calif. Father was a bishop in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and he died in 1932, at the age
of 92.
When young Earl was 14 years old, the family moved to Colorado. Earl graduated from Denver University, B.A., and tock his
law at Cincinnati Law School, where he was a classmate of Charles G. Dawes. After practicing law for thirty years in Denver
in the firm of Cranston, Filken & Moore, his interest was drawn to Southern California.
In 1909, he bought stock in the Escondido Land and Town Company, and there in Escondido, he retired in 1920. He became president
of the company and was instrumental in developing Home Land Acres, one of the big citrus subdivisions in the area. He also
became director of the Escondido Mutual Water Company.
While a resident of Colorado, he served as legislature member, and two terms as U.S. District Attorney at Denver. He married
Florence T. Pitkin, daughter of Frederick W. Pitkin, former governor of Colorado for two terms.
His son, John M. Cranston, has given to UCLA the records left from the Escondido Land and Town Company; he has also agreed
to confer with his brother in Colorado, concerning the disposition of the residue of Cranston's papers.
[The Colorado Historical Society has obtained the papers mentioned here].
Scope and Content
Collection consists of by laws, account books, minute books, stock certificate books, record of instruments, bills, receipts,
etc. for the Escondido Land and Town Company. Also contains a few records of the Home Land Acres Company. Earl M. Cranston
directed both companies.
Organization and Arrangement
Arranged in the following series:
- Proceedings and minutes of board of directors, stockholders and executive committee meetings (Boxes 1-3).
- By laws and loan ledger (Box 3).
- Account ledgers & cash book (Boxes 4-5).
- Record book of lots and blocks & trial balance books (Box 6).
- Certificates of shares (Box 7).
- Stock ledger, transfer journal, cash book and general journal (Box 8).
- Record of instruments (Box 9).
- Account ledgers, certificates of shares, additions book with correspondence (Box 10).
- Stock ledger (Box 11).
- Bills, receipts, bank statements (Box 12).
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Cranston, Earl Montgomery, 1863-1933--Archives.
Escondido Land and Town Company--Archives.
Home Land Acres Company.
Real estate development--California--Escondido.
Business records.
Proceedings and Minutes of Board of Directors, Stockholders and Executive Committee Meetings
Box 3
By-laws of the Escondido Land & Town Company.
Physical Description: 1 vol.
Box 3
Loan ledger, marked: J.W. Schofield.
Physical Description: 1 vol.
Box 4
Account ledgers.
Physical Description: 2 vol.
Box 5
Account ledgers.
Physical Description: 2 vol.
Box 5
Cash book.
Physical Description: 1 vol.
Box 6
Record book of lots and blocks.
Physical Description: 1 vol.
Box 6
Trial balance books, with loose sheets of figures.
Physical Description: 2 vol.
Box 7
Certificates of shares in Escondido Land & Town Company. 2 vol. [1 vol. contains correspondence pertaining to shares attached
to the appropriate share certificate].
Box 8
Stock ledger. 1 vol. 1912-1941. Correspondence and legal documents inserted within the pages.
Box 8
Transfer journal. 1 vol. 1886-1944. Shows transfers of stock certificates.
Box 8
Cash book and General Journal, Home Land Acres Company.
Physical Description: 1 vol.
Box 9
Record of instruments.
Physical Description: 1 vol.
Box 10
Account ledgers. Home Land Acres Company.
Physical Description: 2 vol.
Box 10
Certificates of shares in Home Land Acre Company.
Physical Description: 1 vol.
Box 10
Additions book, with correspondence inserted in pages. Home Land Acres Company.
Physical Description: 1 vol.
Box 11
Stock ledger. Home Land Acre Company.
Physical Description: 1 vol.
Box 12
Bills, receipts, bank statements, etc. for the Escondido Land & Town Company, and also the Home Land Acres Company.
Physical Description: 1 letter box.
