Book Review: 1887 - A Slice of Life from the Year of Monrovia's Founding

If you're a Monrovia buff, 1887: A History of Early Monrovia, by Monrovia author Richard Singer, is for you!

It's a slice of life during the founding days of the city, mostly, as the title says, from the year of its incorporation, 1887.

You'll get to know the founders, what they were thinking, the times they were living in, the land boom and bust, the social events, the births and deaths,  the calls for a sewer system (it was getting stinky), and many more details, such as ...

- The story of a Monrovian to USC for a telescope and a building to house it. There was a drive to get the telescope installed on Monrovia Peak, but we lost. It ended up on top of another local mountain.

- A painful but instructive tale of why not to ship dynamite caps inside a kerosene stove.

- The volunteer fire department that - twice! - couldn't find its wrench to open the fire hydrant while buildings burned down.

- The Monrovia illustrator whose pictures of Spanish atrocities in Cuba helped lead to the Spanish-American War.

- The adventures of William Monroe after he founded Monrovia. From South America to Alaska to prospecting in the Klondike.

1887 is Singer's second book on Monrovia. He earlier published Renaissance Years: A History of Modern Monrovia. See review: https://is.gd/3YrUVg

1887 is available at the Monrovia Historical Museum (open Thursday and Sunday afternoons), or by calling (626) 675-8323 or emailing monroviahistoricalsociety1896@gmail.com. Cost is $30, with the full amount going to support Monrovia history projects.

- Brad Haugaard