Laying Out the Six Points

The colonists of the Little Lands awoke early to the sound of hammers to nails. Their stone clubhouse stood tall on the northeast corner of Sunset Boulevard and El Centro Street (today’s Commerce Avenue and Valmont Street) and now, just kitty-corner, their co-operative store was nearing completion. It’s the spring of 1914 and the rafters of the new roof are quickly spanning the structure. Between the 17^th and the 18^th rafter something happened. Perhaps a defect was found in the lumber or maybe it was just a simple mistake, but the distance between these two roof supports was a few inches greater than all the rest.

The cornerstone of the clubhouse had been placed in April, the year before, and just months later it was dedicated. Regular meetings of the colonists had begun in earnest and things were looking up for these pioneering folks.

At the House of the Little Landers at 929 S. Figueroa St. in Los Angeles, William Ellsworth Smythe was conducting his lectures each day at 2:30 p.m. and at 8 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays. A little land and a living was the common theme, and a stereopticon was in use to accentuate the experience.

About this time an ad campaign was launched. The colonists laid out their six-point plan and explained to any industrious man or woman just how things worked in Los Terrenitos, the City of the Little Lands.

First, they had found the very best place. A rural spot, perfect for farming but with all the joys of living near the vibrant city of Los Angeles. Second, all the land profits would go to an improvement fund to raise the individual by raising the mass. Third, they’d bring the light of world experience and knowledge upon each individual problem through guest speakers. Fourth, the best poultrymen and gardeners in the colony would be called upon to demonstrate their methods to newcomers and teach them “how to do it.” Fifth, the highest conditions of social and intellectual life would be provided so that “our people” may have a full and rich life. And sixth, a colony-owned store would provide co-operative marketing direct to consumers. Members were able to bring their excess produce or other goods to either sell or trade for other products.

The co-operative store was a retail market owned and managed by the colonists who supplied the capital and any surplus profits would be distributed among the members. The Little Landers store was governed by a five-member board elected by the colony. The first election was held, once the store was completed, on the 2nd of June 1914.

Each fall, Bolton Hall Museum produces a calendar. The 2018 version was themed Historic Sunland-Tujunga, and the month of January was topped by an image with the caption, “Can you identify this photo?” For a history hunter, that was a challenge.

I couldn’t help but notice that the general appearance of the structure in the photo reminded me of the little building that today sits at 7212 Valmont St. First, I extrapolated the dimensions of the structure in the photo based on the door being three feet wide … and they matched. Then, after a thorough examination, I noticed something. It was barely visible but in the rafters that were exposed in the photo, I noticed an anomaly. There was a little wider gap between the 17^th and 18^th beams. I jumped in my car and raced down to the little building on Valmont and quickly started counting. When I got to 18 there it was – all the gaps were exactly the same except for this one. It was slightly wider.

The life of the little co-op store went way beyond its use by the Little Landers. In two weeks, I’ll reveal the full extent of its amazing existence through time.