list of these names it is readily seen why abbreviated names were imperative.

By the erection of new counties, Los Angeles County lost many of the old grants. The Tejon went to Kern County, the Simi and part of the San Francisco to Ventura County, the Trabuco, La Paz, San Joaquin, Cañada de los Alisos, Lomas de Santiago, Las Bolsas, Bolsa Chica, Los Coyotes, Mission San Juan Capistrano, El Niguel, San Juan Cajon de Santa Ana, Santiago de Santa Ana, Cañon de Santa Ana, and parts of the La Habra, Los Alamitos and Rincon de la Brea to Orange County, while Riverside and Orange Counties divided the Potreros of San Juan Capistrano. These divisions would make very difficult the ascertaining of the exact acreage of the grants yet remaining in the present Los Angeles County.

The names of the grantees are a most interesting study. There were six large land owning families. The Nietos held the great Los Nietos. The Yorba family received the Lomas de Santiago, the Cañon de Santa Ana and the Santiago de Santa Ana. The Verdugos owned San Rafael and Los Felis. The Sepulvedas owned San Joaquin, San Vicente y Santa Monica and Los Palos Verdes. The Sausal Redondo, Las Cienegas, El Niguel and Tajanta were granted to the descendants of Cornelio Abila, one of the Fundadores of Los Angeles. The Dominguez family held San Pedro and Las Virgenes, and a Dominguez was joint grantee of La Brea.

A number of grantees were of foreign birth. Juan Forster of Trabuco, Henry Dalton of San Francisquito, and William Workman of La Puente, were Englishmen; Perfecto Hugo Reid of the Santa Anita was a Scotchman, and Michael M. White, who received a lot near San Gabriel, was probably an Irishman. John Rowland of La Puente and Thomas M. Robbins of Catalina were Americans.

In the history of Los Angeles County the names of some of the grantees were prominent. Jose Sepulveda of San Joaquin, Anastacio Abila of Tajanta, Francisco Abila of Las Cienegas, Gil Ybarra of Rincon de la Brea, Antonio Maria Lugo of San Antonio, Luis Arenas of the Azusa, and Ygnacio Palomares of San Jose, were all alcaldes of Los Angeles. Manuel Garfias of San Pascual was a member of Gen. Jose Maria Flores' army. Augustin Olivera of La Paz signed on the part of the Californians the Treaty of Cahuenga with Fremont, January 13, 1847. It was Mariano R. Roldan of La Habra who, as auxiliary judge of Los Angeles in charge of the schools, reported to the Ayuntamiento on January 19, 1846, that a meeting of parents had been held to raise contributions with which to pay fifteen dollars a month to Don Vicente Moraga who had agreed "to teach the children from their first letters." The parents failed to contribute enough, and the Ayuntamiento was asked to donate the balance, which, however, it did not do.

A study of the confirmation of the old grants shows but too plainly the truth of Bancroft's arraignment of the procedure of our government in the matter. That all the claimants fought for their land is proved by the opening clause of each land grant patent: "Whereas it appears from a duly authenticated transcript filed in the General Land Office of the United States, that, pursuant to the provisions of the Act of Congress approved the 3rd day of March, 1851, entitled, 'Ant act to ascertain and settle the private land claims in the State of California'," a certain person on a certain date filed his claim to a certain tract, when follows a survey of the litigation in the case. All too aptly it may be referred to as the tragedy of the old land grants.

HISTORY OF EXPOSITION PARK.

BY MRS. LILLIAN A. VAN AKEN.

The importance of that tract of land, now known as Exposition Park, to the citizens of Los Angeles and particularly on account of its proximity to the University of Southern California, has become such as to warrant research into its history. Such research I have undertaken, in the process of which there are revealed such phases of greed and rapacity, debauchery and cruelty on the one hand and such public spirit and unselfish endeavor upon the other hand, as might profitably engage the attention of one possessing a more facile pen than mine.

In such fashion as I am able, I undertake to chronicle the facts which have been gathered.

Originally this tract formed a part of the Spanish Crown lands of the Mexican province of California. In 1848, by the treaty of Guadaloupe Hidalgo, it passed into possession of the United States and later was opened as public land subject to entry.

An examination of the public records shows that in the year 1872 the following tract of land, to-wit, the N. W. 14 of Section 7, Township 2 S., Range 13 W., San Bernardino base and meridian, or that body of land containing one hundred and sixty acres bounded by what is now known as Santa Monica Avenue on the north, Figueroa Street on the east, Santa Barbara Avenue on the south, and Vermont Avenue on the west, was transferred by one James Thompson to a corporation known as the Southern District Agricultural Society.

Further research discloses the fact that this Society was composed of about one hundred gentlemen whose names are connected with many of the enterprises for the upbuilding of Southern California.

These gentlemen contributed from one hundred to five hundred dollars each toward a fund of twelve thousand five hundred dollars, which formed the capital stock of the Society. It would seem, however, that this sum was insufficient to carry out their aim to establish here an agricultural exposition.

Being a private corporation, they could not secure aid from the State. The following year (1873) the society obtained a loan of five thousand dollars and secured the same by a mortgage upon the property to W. W. O'Melveny.

In 1879 the mortgage was foreclosed and judgment entered for the sum of eight thousand nine hundred eighty-nine dollars and twenty-four cents ($8,989.24). In 1880 these public spirited gentlemen, with others, conceived the idea that there should be a state organization for the purpose of encouraging the industries of the State. With the view to securing State aid, they requested the Legislature to pass a law dividing the State into districts and providing for the organization of district agricultural associations.

In this manner the "Sixth District Agricultural Association" came into existence, covering the territory of the following counties: Los Angeles, San Diego, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara and Inyo (Orange, Riverside and Imperial Counties were not at that time organized).

The gentlemen interested in the old corporation then procured Mr. Isaac N. Moore to purchase the property at the Sheriff's sale which followed the foreclosure of the mortgage, and to hold the title until they could devise some plan by which the claims outstanding could be paid off and the property transferred to the new association.

On May 20, 1880, the Sixth District Agricultural Association was legally organized, and its first Board of Directors was nominated by the Governor.

This Board consisted of the following well-known gentlemen: J. E. Hollenbeck, William Niles, O. W. Childs, Elwood Cooper, John G. Downey, F. J. Barvette, James W. Waters Jr., and L. J. Rose.

The plan adopted for relieving the property of debt was as follows: A survey of the property was made and the west, east and south sides of the quarter section were platted in lots; on the west or Vermont Avenue frontage into one hundred and thirty building lots, which were sold for one hundred dollars each; on the east and south sides into acre lots.

The receipts from sales made were sufficient to redeem the property and on August 7, 1880, final payment was made and a receipt in full for five thousand, three hundred forty-seven and ninety-five hundredth dollars ($5,347.95) was given by Mr. I. N. Moore to J. E. Hollenbeck, President and William Niles, Secretary of the Sixth District Agricultural Association. This receipt contained an agreement to deed to the Board of Directors of the Sixth District Agricultural Association, in one piece, or divided as they may elect, the property known as Agricultural Park.

Thereafter the board appointed a committee consisting of Messrs. Hollenbeck, Niles and Childs, to draw up the necessary deed to the Association.

This committee delegated Mr. Niles to prepare the deed.

Mr. Niles prepared a deed which contained a very peculiar provision. It was executed in favor of J. E. Hollenbeck and about one hundred other persons in undivided proportions and provided that "the property should be held for a period of twenty-five years as a place for holding agricultural expositions and fairs and thereafter the parties were to hold the property as tenants in common." Evidently the gentlemen composing the Board of Directors of the Sixth District Agricultural Association did not take pains to scrutinize this document, or at least did not appreciate its import at the time. On June 19, 1883, an action was begun in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, in which nearly all of the grantees in the above described deed were the plaintiffs, for the purpose of setting aside said deed on the ground that "it was procured through fraudulent and false representations." The case did not reach final adjudication until 1885.

In the meantime all the defendants except William Niles, his brother and one Fairchild, disclaimed any interest in the land above described. Judgment was finally rendered, setting aside the fradulent deed and a new deed was ordered made to the Sixth District Agricultural Association. In some manner which it is difficult to harmonize with the findings of the court, William Niles, his brother and the man Fairchild, each received a deed to an acre tract designated as lots W, X and Y.

Because of his participation in this attempted fraud, William Niles was removed by the Governor from the Board of Directors, his place being taken by Mr. J. C. Newton.

In 1895 a new complication arose in the affairs of the Sixth District Agricultural Association. A fresh attack was made upon the integrity of the property, which by this time had become very valuable.

The Hon. John C. Lynch, of San Bernardino, at that time the speaker of the lower house of the Legislature, procured the passage of a bill amending the law of 1880, providing for the division of the State into agricultural districts and the organization of an association in each district. This amendment contained the provision that certain asssociations might elect to have a capital stock and further provided that the stockholders might elect their own board of directors and that all of the property of the association should be turned over to the exclusive control of the stockholders, "provided, however, that in the event of the State making an appropriation for holding fairs, the stockholders' board should turn over the property to the State Board for one week during the year for the purpose of holding said fair." (See Statutes of 1895.)

Strenuous objection was made by the members of the Board of Directors of the Sixth District Agricultural Association to this