Imperial-Tuolumne-Santa Cruz County CA Archives Biographies.....Beal, Willis F. 1879 - 
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com February 21, 2006, 4:40 pm

Author: F. C. Farr (editor, 1918)

WILLIS F. BEAL.—Prominent among the leading citizens of Imperial County is
Willis F. Beal, a man of sterling integrity and worth, who is widely known as a
successful business man and rancher. Mr. Beal's birth occurred at Jacksonville,
California, July 31, 1879. He is a son of J. M. and Rhoda (Packwood) Beal, both
deceased and buried in Watsonville, California. He acquired his education in the
public schools of Santa Cruz, leaving school at the age of eighteen. Mr. Beal
enlisted and served as a volunteer in the Spanish American war. After the war he
returned to the coast and spent four years in San Francisco. He came to Brawley
in 1903, when it was in a primitive state. There were only a few tents and one
shack in the town when Mr. Beal came here. He was employed that summer with the
Southern Pacific and assisted in putting down the rails along the line into the
Valley. Mr. Beal then took up one hundred and sixty acres in Water Company No.
8, which he improved, making a success of his venture. He still owns the
original homestead and has added to his holdings until he now has, all told, one
thousand acres in Imperial County. He leases part of his land and gives his
personal attention to the cultivation of the balance. Mr. Beal, with his
brother, Robert B., engaged in the grain business and erected a fine warehouse,
and while identified with this business he became interested in the Brawley
Creamery and Cold Storage Company, and served as president of that concern since
1913. Mr. Beal served as city trustee for a period of six years, and has been
further honored by being a member of the board of supervisors, which office he
has held for the past six years. He was united in marriage in Brawley,
California, January 8, 1910, to Miss Grace L. Blackwell, a daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. John Blackwell of Seattle, Washington. To this union have been born two
sons: Willis L., Jr., born July 11, 1911, and James Monroe, born January 15,
1913. Mr. Beal recognized the opportunities offered to business men in Imperial
Valley from the start. He has increased his scope of operations and has met with
exceptional success in every line, and takes rank with the leading men of the
Valley.

Additional Comments:
From:

THE HISTORY
OF
IMPERIAL COUNTY
CALIFORNIA
EDITED BY
F. C. FARR

IN ONE VOLUME
ILLUSTRATED
Published by ELMS AND FRANKS
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA 1918


Printed by Taylor & Taylor, San Francisco


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