A Moment in Monrovia History: Market Day on Myrtle in 1890

Market Day at the General Store. Leonidas Barnes, a Confederate veteran, set up a general store at the corner of Lemon and Myrtle Avenues in 1886. The first mercantile building erected in Monrovia 1886. The ground floor contained Leonidas Barnes' General Store. The upper floor, "Barnes' Hall", served as a general meeting place where the early churches, the town council, the school and other groups met. The building still stands at the northeast corner of Myrtle and Lemon, although modified in external appearance. This photo and caption appeared in a history of the San Gabriel Valley. From the Myron Hotchkiss collection. See full details here.

For more historic photos and papers, see the Monrovia Historical Society’s complete Legacy Project collection here. Learn more about the Monrovia Historical Society here.

- Brad Haugaard