Phineas
Banning
Phineas
Banning (1830-1885) is considered the father of the
Port
of
Los Angeles
. When
he arrived in 1851 from his birthplace,
Wilmington
,
Delaware
,
Los Angeles
was an isolated outpost,
literally on the farthest edge of the American continent. The city's
harbor at San Pedro was little more than a swampy mud flat. But by the
time Banning died thirty-four years later, the beginnings of an active port had
been established, railroads linked the harbor to the city and on to the rest of
the
United States
,
and telegraph lines provided instant communications. Phineas Banning
played an important role in all these contributions to the growth of
Southern California
.
Restless
and ambitious, Banning left his home in
Wilmington
when he was 13. With fifty cents in his pocket, he walked thirty miles to
Philadelphia
and found a
job with his oldest brother's law firm. Eight years later, at 21, he was
eager for adventure and new opportunities. Like many young men his age,
he headed West, sailing to the Isthmus of Panama for the land crossing to the
Pacific and up the coast to the pueblo of
Los
Angeles
, population 1,600. He went to work as a
clerk at the tiny
port
of
San Pedro
, basically a
shack and rickety pier owned by the Sepulveda family, wealthy Californios who
also operated a primitive stage coach line to the pueblo, 20 miles away.
It wasn't long before the energetic young Anglo saw visions of fleets of wagons
and an international port. He'd make both dreams come true. The wagons came
first, often with Banning himself at the reins, driving his teams over rutted
roads, across deserts, and up and over treacherous mountain passes.
When
new arrival Harris Newmark, future successful
businessman and local historian, first encountered Banning at San Pedro in
1853, he was taken aback: "There stood before me a very large, powerful
man, coatless and vest less, without necktie or collar, and wearing pantaloons
at least six inches too short, a pair of brogans and socks with large holes;
while bright-colored suspenders added to the picaresque effect of his
costume." Banning greeted the young West Prussian with a hearty
"Wie Geht's!" Despite Banning's frontier informality, Newmark
hastened to add that his colorful new acquaintance had just paid $30,000 for
fifteen wagons and 75 mules.
With a
partner, the ambitious wagoneer initiated a thriving trade between
Los Angeles
and the Mormon outpost at
Salt
Lake
. Pulled
by one hundred and fifty mules, 15 wagons carried thirty tons of cargo. It
was a four month roundtrip journey via
Santa
Fe
. When Banning learned that the
U.S.
government was planning a military fort at
the crest of
Tejon
Pass
, he cut his own road
in order to serve the new troops. During the same time, he organized a local
petition to get the federal government to certify San Pedro as a port for
international trade. He had purchased 640 acres of mud flats near San Pedro,
and set about to establish a new town. He named it
Wilmington
after his home city. He then
cut a narrow barge canal to carry heavy freight from the harbor to the
town. In 1859, the first ocean-going vessel anchored in his new
harbor. After that, with pride mixed with a sense of humor, Banning enjoyed
being called "Port Admiral." Thirteen years later the government
dredged the harbor, and San Pedro became an official American international
port of entry.
Banning
was a pioneer in communications as well as transportation. In 1860,
telegraph lines were slowly making their way toward
Los
Angeles
from
San Francisco
. When
progress lagged, the Port Admiral ordered wire and began building from his
end. Starting in
Wilmington
, of course, the
link was completed on October 8, 1860, and
Los Angeles
was no longer an isolated
outpost.
The
Civil War was devastating for many Americans, but it brought Phineas Banning a
financial windfall.
Los Angeles
had a strong contingent of Confederate sympathizers. With this in mind,
the
United States
government decided that a Union Army fort needed to be built nearby. An
ardent Unionist and abolitionist, Banning and a partner, B.D. Wilson, were more
than willing to donate land in
Wilmington
for what would become Drum
Barracks. Along with the barracks came government contracts and increased
trade. Banning was commissioned a General in the
California
militia, adding another military
honorific to his self-proclaimed Admiralty.
Ever
the visionary, Banning was an early enthusiast for western railroads and new
technology. He was ahead of his time with an investment in an early oil
company, but it turned up dry, and a highly-touted "steam wagon" proved
to be a bust. But in 1868 when the Port Admiral imported a railroad
locomotive and built a line linking the harbor and downtown
Los Angeles
, he produced another bonanza for
himself, and made a major contribution to the city's growing economy. No matter
that the little locomotive, named "
Los Angeles
,"
arrived with the obscure
California
city's name misspelled, Banning was ahead of his time again.
In
Southern California Phineas Banning was a big fish in a small pond, but
America
was a very big pond with very big fish. Among the biggest were the
ruthless owners of the Southern Pacific Railway. Putting a town on their
route was a matter of civic life or death. Adding
Los
Angeles
to the SP route would cost $600,000 in cash and control of
Banning's
Los Angeles
and San Pedro Railway. SP partner Charles Crocker reminded city leaders of
the consequences if they failed to cooperate, "I will make grass grow
in your streets," he said. To survive and prosper, the city had no
choice and Banning lost his railroad.
Banning's
railroad interests had been devoured in one gulp, but throughout
California
he continued
to be respected and influential. His elegant Greek Revival home, built in
1864, within sight of the harbor, was one of the most impressive in the region
-- then and now. Here he enjoyed hosting visiting dignitaries and socializing
with family and friends. Today the 23-room Banning
Mansion and a surrounding 20 acre park are open to visitors.
Phineas
Banning died in 1885, as a result of an accident with a streetcar in
San Francisco
. During his
life a regional newspaper summed up his importance to
Los
Angeles
and
Southern California
:
"General Banning is one of those irrepressible, large-minded, free-hearted
men whose very presence is life and success. Whatever he turns his mind to
is bound to triumph.
Southern California
boasts no citizen who has done more to advance its interests."
After
their patriarch's death, Banning's sons continued his business
enterprises, once owning the
Island
of
Catalina
. Finally
in 1896, after a knock-down-drag-out fight with the Southern Pacific, which
wanted to build its own port in
Santa Monica
,
Los Angeles
interests, led by feisty California Senator
Stephen White with the backing of Harrison Gray Otis and
the
Los Angeles
Times, convinced the
United States
government to declare San Pedro a
"
Free
Harbor
"
for
Los Angeles
. In
1910, twenty-five years after Banning's death, Southern California celebrated
the completion of the new man-made
Port
of
Los Angeles
, creating
the foundation for today's international gateway, one of the busiest ports in
the world. Phineas Banning's dream became a reality.
--
Contributed by Jon Wilkman, 1999
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