Los Angeles County CA Archives Biographies.....Lawton, Frank 1860 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/cafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@gmail.com December 22, 2005, 12:59 am Author: Luther A. Ingersoll (1908) FRANK LAWTON, well known throughout this region of Southern California for his enterprise and business activities, is a native of Springfield, Hampden County, Mass., born August 12th, 1860. His father, Michael Lawton was a civil engineer by profession and occupation and as such, was in the employ of the United States Government and, during the Civil War, served throughout the conflict as a member of the Engineer Corps. He was a native of County Cork, Ireland. He came to America when a young man, and married Elizabeth O'Reilly. They were thrifty, prosperous people and almost lifelong residents of Hampden County. They both died advanced in years at Chicopee Falls. In response to a burning desire for adventure and an ambition to see the world, Frank Lawton, at about eleven years of age, left home without even the formal consent of his parents, went to sea and for many years sailed the open seas, rounding Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope, visiting all the principal foreign seaports and San Francisco. After making a final voyage to Japan he returned to San Francisco and came south and located at Monrovia. This was in 1885 before the building of the Santa Fe Railway east of Los Angeles, when Monrovia was simply a "four corners" hamlet. Mr. Lawton here made his first business venture by opening the first hotel at Monrovia; later he opened the first restaurant in the town. He there met and married Miss Emily Kallmeyer, in 1886, a daughter of Garret Kallmeyer, a wealthy farmer of El Monte. This was the first wedding to take place in the new city. Mr. Lawton remained at Monrovia two years, then went to Santa Fe Springs, a new and promising health resort about twelve miles east of Los Angeles on the Santa Fe Railway, and opened a hotel. In 1889 he came to Santa Monica, opened a hotel of twenty-five rooms, and a restaurant on Long Wharf at Port Los Angeles and operated the same about four years. About this time the town of Sawtelle was exploited and Mr. Lawton was promptly on the spot with the first stock of general merchandise. This store he conducted for a time, sold out to C. J. Nellis and went to the new town of Sherman where he built a thirty-six room hotel, the Larramond. He did a successful business there for about three years, simultaneously having in charge the purchase and handling of all the commissary supplies of the L. A. P. Ry. Co. After the taking over of the property at old Ballona Harbor by the Beach Land Co., and completion of the improvements there, Mr. Lawton made a lease of the entire property and operated the pavilion dining rooms, skating rink and dance hall, two hotels, launches and row boats on the lagoon, etc., etc., making it an immensely popular resort for pleasure seekers until he sold out to C. M. Pierce, the present owner. In 1905 he took a lease on and opened the new ship hotel, Cabrillo, the auditorium and the Hotel St. Marks, at Venice. In this connection he brought to Venice the famous Ellery Band of fifty-four instruments which gave the new Venetian city a prestige and popularity that was the envy of all other resorts on the coast. In September, 1907, Mr. Lawton disposed of all his interests at Venice. Upon the retirement of Dana Burks from the Ocean Park Board of City Trustees, Mr. Lawton was chosen to succeed him and served until April, 1908. This is the only political office he ever held and it came to him entirely unsought. In the spring of 1908, Mr. Lawton negotiated leases on large tracts of the most picturesque portions of Santa Monica Canyon and also Rustic Canyon, tributary thereto, and is spending a large amount of money converting it into a first class pleasure resort. Famed for its natural scenic beauties, its towering bluffs, its grand spreading old sycamore trees, affording ample shade and ideal camping grounds, its abundant supply of cool spring water, its grateful breeze direct from the ocean, with direct transportation via L. A. P. Ry. from Los Angeles and all beach resorts on Santa Monica Bay to the canyon, surely Mr. Lawton's new enterprise cannot fail to prove a source of delight to all lovers of out of door life and rational recreation. It will be seen by the foregoing narration of facts that Mr. Lawton is thoroughly possessed of the true spirit of the pioneer, having from the time he first came to Southern California been the first on the ground in undeveloped localities and new enterprises, alive to the demands of the present and the possibilities of the future and has ever "made good" in the accomplishment of his purposes. Mr. Lawton is the principal stockholder and president of the Montezuma Rubber Company of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, extensive shippers and exporters of crude rubber, supplying some of the heaviest manufacturers of pneumatic and solid rubber tire manufacturers in this and foreign countries and employing from 350 to 400 men. Mr. Lawton owns a fine ranch and country home at El Monte and a seaside villa at No. 9 Club House Avenue, Venice. Mr. and Mrs. Lawton have two sons—David Edward, who is interpreter of Spanish for the Montezuma Rubber Co., in Mexico, and Homer Alfred, a student at Harvard Military School, Los Angeles. Additional Comments: Extracted from: Ingersoll's century history, Santa Monica Bay cities: prefaced with a brief history of the state of California, a condensed history of Los Angeles County, 1542 to 1908: supplemented with an encyclopedia of local biography and embellished with views of historic landmarks and portraits of representative people. Los Angeles: Luther A. Ingersoll (1908) File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/losangeles/bios/lawton213bs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/cafiles/ File size: 6.1 Kb