BIO: Hugh T. O’Connor

Hugh T. O’Connor is a name that pops up frequently in any study of the City of Los Alamitos from 1900 to 1940.   He was first heard from while a store clerk in town for Felts Co., which was the general store in town.  He then invested in his own store which was located on … Read more

BIO: Hugh T. O’Connor

Hugh T. O’Connor is a name that pops up frequently in any study of the City of Los Alamitos from 1900 to 1940.   He was first heard from while a store clerk in town for Felts Co., which was the general store in town.  He then invested in his own store which was located on … Read more

October 1905 – Blind Pigs, Sunken Beverages

A “Blind Pig” was an old slang term for a dive (or lower-class drinking establishment if you will) that sold alcoholic beverages illegally.  The operator such as a saloon or bar would charge customers to see an attraction (such as a “blind pig”) and then serve a “complimentary” alcoholic beverage, thus circumventing the various laws … Read more

DEC 1916 – MAY 1917 – Many improvements to Los Alamitos Sugar Factory and town

Los Alamitos sugar factory General Manager E.C. Hamilton, who assumed control of the factory in 1914, continued to update and modernize the Los Alamitos factory and the town seem to get into the act as well.   The war in Europe no doubt had some affect on the price of beets and its availability.  Government quotas … Read more

August 1903 — Exciting Cattle Drive From Los Angeles County Foothills to Los Alamitos

printed in LA Times, August 11, 1903 and Covina Argus, Saturday, August 15 In these days when the fertile valleys of Southern California are cut up into small holdings and the large ranches are fast disappearing, the casual observer is apt to think that the business of cattle raising in Los Angeles County is a … Read more

Local Mythbusting: Was the Rossmoor Wall built from the bricks of the demolished Los Alamitos Sugar Factory?

One of the most persistent local myths is that the original wall surrounding Rossmoor was built from the bricks of the demolished Los Alamitos Sugar Factory. While a nice story with some pleasant symmetry, this, unfortunately, seems to be untrue.  The wall was built by Ross Cortese’s Frematic Development Company in 1956 and 1957 during … Read more