Il6 HISTORY OF PASADENA. 



and Colorado street, where McDonald, Brooks & Co. 's real estate office now 

 stands. Then J. H. Baker moved his original colony blacksmith shop from 

 Walnut street, west of where Rev. W. C. Mosher now resides, down to a 

 location just east of the new store. A man named Watson started a 

 meat market just north of the store. O. R. Dougherty started a shoe shop. 

 And thus the trading center became established. Then, in August, 1876, 

 Mr. Wilson donated five acres on the south side of Colorado, eastward from 

 Fair Oaks Avenue to where the Santa Fe railroad now runs, to the colony 

 for school purposes. [See Chapter 9, "Annals of the Schools."] The 

 district voted a tax to erect a school-house there, large enough to accommo- 

 date 200 pupils. And this was the final nail which clinched the town cen- 

 ter, and fastened it so firmly that half-a-dozen or more strong efforts to 

 change it since, in the interest of some speculative scheme, have proved 

 disastrous and memorable failures. 



The five acres chosen by Col. Banbury for himself was that where the 

 M. E. church and parsonage and " The Tabernacle " now stand. And the 

 five chosen by S. Washburn was on the opposite side of Marengo Avenue, 

 the Brockway block being the only important building on it as yet, 1S95. 



The ten acres which P. G. Wooster bought about the same time, but 

 not in the syndicate, comprised the ground now occupied by the Santa Fe R. 

 R. depot, the Hotel Green, the Post Office or Morgan block, and the 

 Wooster block. The Townsend, Lowe and Ninde purchases of that year 

 were farther out in different directions and have not won any special histori< 

 prominence, up to 1895. 



CHAPTER VI. 



Ol,t> Setti^er Experiences. — Pvleven personal narratives of first experiences in Pasa^ 

 dena, in response to (|uestions sent out. — Who the " Old Settlers " were, and where 

 they were from. 



OLD SETTLER EXPERIENCES. 



Old Settlers' Association. — About 1882-83 two or three informal 

 meetings were held to talk up the matter of organizing an Old Settlers' As- 

 sociation ; and A. O. Porter served as chairman. [Mr. Porter died January 

 17, 1888.] But the same difficulty that occurs in all such cases came up 

 here also — that of agreeing upon a time limit for determining who should 

 be reckoned as "old settlers " and who should not. No agreement was 

 reached, and the whole matter gradually dropped out ; so that no such or- 

 ganization was ever really effected, although I found some who thought 

 there had been. It is true that at the.se " talks" on the matter a prelim- 

 inary list was made up to see who were here and when they came, etc. , but 



