A Moment in Monrovia History: CF Crank, Railroad Man, Capitalist, Co-Founder of Monrovia

J.F. Crank was one of the founders of Monrovia. "In 1885, Hon. E. F. Spence, former Mayor of Los Angeles, Judge J. D. Bicknell, a prominent Los Angeles attorney, and J. F. Crank, a Lamanda Park railroad man and capitalist, purchased some land of E. J. Baldwin. In the Spring of 1886, they and Mr. Monroe decided to found a town upon the land included in their holdings, and John Quinton and John Flannagan, two engineers, laid out sixty acres, with a center at Orange (now Colorado) and Myrtle Avenues. The tract extended from Magnolia to Canyon Avenues on the western and eastern boundaries, and from a half block south of Walnut to a half block north of Lime. These were the boundaries of the original town of Monrovia." John L. Wiley, History of Monrovia, 1927, p 47. 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