Willits J. Hole (October 9, 1858 – December 17, 1936) was an American businessman and real estate developer of
Southern California, during the early part of the twentieth century. He was known as the "father" of the city of
La Habra, California.
Early life
Hole was born in
Madison, Indiana, the son of William and Matilda (Hasley) Hole, and the family moved to
Louisville, Kentucky.
Career
Hole became the owner of a chair factory in
North Vernon in 1889. In time he became a contractor and builder, and, studying architecture, designed his own buildings.
Southern California
After spending the first three months at
Santa Barbara, Hole went to
Whittier and soon afterward began buying land in the La Habra Valley. He bought of
Rancho La Habra Rancho La Habra (also called "Rancho Cañada de La Habra") was a Mexican land grant in present-day Los Angeles County and Orange County, California given in 1839 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Mariano Reyes Roldan. The name refers to the "Pass Thr ...
from the Sansinena heirs, and laid out and sold a tract of land that would become La Habra, and as a consequence he is known as the "Father of La Habra."
In 1897, Hole became resident agent at Los Angeles for the
Stearns Rancho Company of San Francisco which owned over , which Hole gradually sold off.
The Stearns Rancho Company property included
Rancho La Sierra Rancho La Sierra (also called "La Sierra de Santa Ana") was a Mexican land grant in present-day Riverside County, California, United States. In 1846 Governor Pio Pico issued the grant to Vicenta Sepulveda. The rancho includes the present-day ci ...
that stretched from
Corona to
Arlington in
Riverside
Riverside may refer to:
Places Australia
* Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania
Canada
* Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon
* Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta
* Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...
. In 1910, after its owner was unable to repay the debt, Hole foreclosed on it, and it became the ''Hole Ranch'', and he built a mansion on the property. He also owned a winter home in
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land a ...
.
Boating
Hole was an avid fisherman.
In the early 1920s, Hole took up boating. Naval architect,
Leslie Edward Geary designed, and N. J. Blanchard built in 1923, the 115-foot motor yacht ''Samona'' for Hole.
In 1931, the
Craig Shipbuilding Company built the 147-foot, a steel-hulled long-range cruiser ''Samona II'', which was bought by the US Navy in 1940, and commissioned as the
USS ''Amethyst'' (PYc-3).
Personal life
In 1887, Hole married Mary B. Weeks (1865–1938). They had a daughter Agnes Marion Hole.
Hole's daughter married Samuel Knight Rindge (1888–1968), son of
Frederick H. Rindge
Frederick Hastings Rindge (1857–1905) was an American business magnate, patriarch of the illustrious and prominent Rindge family, real estate developer, philanthropist, and writer, of Los Angeles, California. He was a major benefactor to his ...
, owner of
Rancho Topanga Malibu Sequit.
In 1893, Hole and his family moved to Southern California.
Hole died at his home in
La Sierra on December 17, 1936. He is interred at
Evergreen Cemetery in Riverside, California.
["Willits Hole Rancher, Dies", ''Los Angeles Times'', December 18, 1936, p.A1]
Legacy
In 1938, Agnes Hole Rindge donated the
Willits J. Hole art collection to the
University of California, Los Angeles.
Hole Lake is named for Hole, who had the dam built that forms the reservoir.
References
External links
Willits J. Hole Mansion History at divinewordseminary-riverside.com*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hole, Willits J.
American city founders
Businesspeople from California
La Habra, California
1858 births
1936 deaths
Businesspeople from Louisville, Kentucky
People from Madison, Indiana
Burials at Evergreen Cemetery (Riverside, California)