Before 1887 Rancho La Ballona In Spanish and Mexican days, the area that later became Palms was a part of the
Rancho La Ballona, where in 1819 Agustín and Ygnacio Machado, along with Felipe Talamantes and his son, Tomás, acquired
grazing rights to of land. It was thenceforth used as
grazing land for cattle and sheep. According to
Culver City History, a 2001 work by Julie Lugo Cerra, published for the
Culver City Unified School District: The family lore relates that Agustín was chosen, by virtue of his skill as a horseman to ride his fastest steed, from dawn until dusk, beginning at the foot of the Playa del Rey hills to claim Rancho La Ballona, or Paso de las Carretas. It stretched to
Pico Boulevard (abutting
Rancho San Vicente y Santa Monica) and to what we know as Ince Boulevard, where
Rancho Rincón de los Bueyes began. Agustin Machado died in 1865, the same year La Ballona School was constructed to serve all elementary-age children within the Ballona School District. In 1871, Ygnacio Saenz established a
general store at the crossing which later became Washington Boulevard and Overland Avenue. (Three corners of that intersection are in Culver City and one is in Palms.) The store, which was also a way stop on the county road between Los Angeles and the ocean, also housed the area's first post office. By 1882, the county's electoral district serving Palms was known as
Ballona, with voting at La Ballona School.
Land rush and land division Deke Keasbey, real estate investment specialist for Tierra Properties, has noted that: The Southern Pacific completed its Los Angeles route in 1883, and only three years later the Santa Fe finished its Los Angeles spur. With a huge investment in their new coast-to-coast rail lines and large Los Angeles land holdings, the railroads set forth a long-term plan for growth. Southern California citrus farming was born. Tourism and the building of towns were promoted to attract investors, to raise land values, and to increase the value of railroad shipments La Ballona Valley was part of that land rush. In 1882, several Midwestern families chartered a reconditioned freight car and left their homes in
Le Mars, Iowa, to settle in the valley. They held their first
Sunday school in the old La Ballona School on Washington Boulevard, and in fall 1883 they organized a
United Brethren Church with 11 members. About that time the valley drew the attention of three speculators – Joseph Curtis, Edward H. Sweetser and C.J. Harrison. They paid $40,000 for . They surveyed their land and cut it up, and then they sold it to the new arrivals. They planted 5,000 trees along of graded streets. They named it
The Palms, even though they had to bring in palm trees and plant them near the train station. Their first tract map was dated December 26, 1886, which is now considered the birth date of Palms. During this time, the
Palms-Southern Pacific Railroad Depot was constructed, serving as one of only two depots between Los Angeles and Santa Monica. It was moved to the
Heritage Square Museum in 1976. The site was midway between Los Angeles and
Santa Monica on the
Los Angeles and Independence Railroad (now the
E Line light rail line.). Before the massive urban growth engendered by the
Los Angeles Aqueduct, Palms was located within a farming and ranching area.
Since 1886 The subdividers gave the United Brethren Church two lots and $200 in cash to get started. In 1887 the church building was completed, and in 1889 the parsonage was built. In 1908 the old chapel was moved to the rear of the lot and new sanctuary built. In 1916 the old parsonage sold and a new one built. Later a bungalow was added next door to be a Sunday school. Although its exact location has been lost, contemporary sources indicate the existence of a Palms Villa, Palm Villa, or Villa Hotel at least from no later than 1890 through 1904. It may have stood on Tabor Street, which was known as Villa Avenue at the time.
Annexation The residential development of a vast area west of the Los Angeles city limits brought a pressure for annexation to the city. Particularly noted was, first, the construction by L.A. of a new outfall sewer that could serve the area and, second, plans by the city engineer for a flood control project for the La Cienega region. Agitation for annexation was begun by Palms residents, but the reach was extended all the way west to the then-separate city of Sawtelle limits so that municipality could be annexed later. There were two annexation elections. Both were hard fought. The first, on April 28, 1914, was voted down, according to the
Los Angeles Times, "because the people in the suburban territory are afraid of the municipal bond craze, of which the power scheme is the last straw, and the threatened burden of extra high taxation." The vote was 387 in favor and 264 against; a two-thirds vote was needed, so the "yes" vote was shy by 47. A new petition was almost immediately submitted, leaving out all the areas that had voted against annexation. Nevertheless,
Harry Culver, the founder of Culver City, denounced the new plan as a
gerrymander and opposed it. But
The Times wrote: This district comprises some of the richest country between the city and the sea and is directly in the path of the residence expansion westward. Because its growth is inevitable and its population certain to be greatly increased soon, advocates of annexation believe the necessity for securing adequate and permanent water rights is urgent and are working diligently to secure the required two-thirds vote On June 1, 1914, the annexation succeeded, by a 342–136 vote, and on May 4, 1915, Los Angeles voters approved the annexation of the Palms district, as well as that of the extensive
San Fernando Valley. Both Palms and the Valley entered Los Angeles on May 22, 1915.
Naming The ''Travelers' Handbook to Southern California,'' published in 1904, stated that "The Palms" was "named from the number of large palms which dot the region for quite a distance near the Southern Pacific depot" and that "The Los Angeles and Pacific road has [been] built via The Palms and Ocean Park to Santa Monica, making its line a belt of sixteen miles or more on each lap." Over the decades following the turn of the 20th century, the definite article was dropped from the place name. By the 1920s, the name was simply "Palms" on local
transit maps. ==Geography==