Pioneer Memories: Ellen Burton

We continue with our memories of various early residents of CV that were printed in a 1938 newspaper. This article was written from an interview with Mrs. Ellen Burton, wife of one of the builders of the Glendale and Montrose Railway, and one of the first residents of Montrose. In 1938 they had moved from Montrose to the neighborhood around the now obscure Glenhaven Park, overlooking Montrose. I quote from the article, but I insert my own comments in brackets
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“John Burton and his family came to Montrose in 1912 and built one of the first finished houses in Montrose, situated on Montrose Avenue. [Some of you may remember this house. It was an elaborate dark-hued Craftsman-style home that sat right on the curve of Montrose Avenue, between Ocean View and Mira Vista. About two years ago, it suddenly vanished, and a new apartment building had sprung up in its place. I was contacted by the previous owners. They told me they had happily sold the house to a charming young couple who seemed to treasure the house and spoke of raising their kids there. Within a year it had been bulldozed. A cautionary tale I suppose to those wishing to preserve their homes: Do the extra work to have the structure officially landmarked.]

“Mrs. Burton is a sister of Robert A. Walton who, with a vision for the future of this beautiful valley, was a leader in the development of Montrose. Mr. Walton could see, with the natural surroundings, another picturesque city like Pasadena. [Walton teamed up with an investor, J. Frank Walters, to develop what is now Montrose.]

“Mr. Burton was an electrical engineer and built the standard-gauge street railway to Montrose and also the electric railway [from Glendale] to Eagle Rock.

“When the streets were laid out, Mrs. Mary Green, while visiting the Burton home, expressed the wish to name one of the streets for Mr. Walton. Thus, Waltonia Drive was named and the lovely little park at the intersection of Glenada and Waltonia was named Waltonia Park. [Waltonia Park was taken by the freeway. The residents of Montrose were quite indebted to Robert Walton, as I suppose we all should be, for developing Montrose. After the development was finished, the residents pooled their money to present Walton with a big solid-silver ‘loving cup’ trophy, engraved with their gratitude. The cup is now proudly displayed in a case at the La Crescenta Library.]

“Near where Mrs. Burton now lives was a natural park [Glenhaven Park] and spring where the family often held picnics. The entire area was planted (with) grapes by Robert Waterman, who generously furnished grapes for the picnic. A lasting friendship was made with Mr. and Mrs. Waterman who had lived here many years before the Burtons. [The Watermans were true local pioneers, having come here in the late 1800s. The couple spent years exploring the wilds of the San Gabriel Mountains. Mt. Waterman is named for Mrs. Waterman. They settled on the hills overlooking Montrose, near where the Crescenta-Cañada YMCA is. Regarding Glenhaven Park: a tiny portion of it is still there – a tennis court, bathroom and playground, arrayed along La Granada Way fronting the 210 Freeway. Drive by it. You probably never knew it was there. It had been a much larger park, but it was taken by, you guessed it, the freeway.]

“She also told of the vast vineyards that spread over the present site of the Oakmont Country Club to the hills. They were the property of an interesting Italian gentleman, Le Messanga (sic), who had been an honored soldier of many battles, serving also in the World War. [Vineyard owner Georges Le Mesnager was French, not Italian. He owned big vineyards in several places, including where Deukmejian Park is today.] He had been presented with many medals for bravery and proved an interesting and generous friend, whose hospitality is one of the pleasant memories of her residence in the valley.”

Some very happy memories of early days in Montrose, tempered with my own comments on a quickly urbanizing modern Montrose.