Ben Barton (June 8, 1823 – January 1, 1899), often erroneously referred to as Benjamin Barton, was a prominent landowner and

white settler Settler colonialism is a structure that perpetuates the elimination of Indigenous people and cultures to replace them with a settler society. Some, but not all, scholars argue that settler colonialism is inherently genocidal. It may be enacted ...

of the San Bernardino Valley in southern California. Educated as a doctor in the East, he migrated to

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...

in 1854. A few years later, he purchased a large tract of land in Rancho San Bernardino. He served various political roles in state and local government. After retiring from his medical practice, he became a rancher and

vintner A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by wineries or wine companies, where their work includes: *Cooperating with viticulturists *Monitoring the maturity of grapes to ensure their quality and to dete ...

, and had a large mansion built for his family. His sons also became prominent local politicians and businessmen. After Barton's death, his land holdings were split into lots and sold for development; the area eventually became the city of Redlands. Barton built some of the earliest buildings in Redlands and neighboring

San Bernardino San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 cen ...

, and his villa is now listed as a historic site. Barton was also a

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

and social host. He and his family were well-known and influential in the San Bernardino area during its pioneer era.

Early life and family

Barton was born in

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

in 1823 to a family descended from European colonists of the area. He studied medicine in

Lexington Lexington may refer to: Places England * Laxton, Nottinghamshire, formerly Lexington Canada * Lexington, a district in Waterloo, Ontario United States * Lexington, Kentucky, the largest city with this name * Lexington, Massachusetts, the oldes ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

, which he moved to in 1845. He lived and worked as a doctor in Texas and Alabama after his time in Kentucky. He met and married his wife, Eliza Brite, in Texas, and they resided in El Paso until 1854. In that year, he moved west with his wife to El Monte, California. The Bartons had two sons during this time, John H. Barton (b. 1855) and

Hiram Barton Hiram Barton (1810–1880) was mayor of the city of Buffalo, New York, serving 1849–1850 and 1852–1853. He was born in Hebron, New York on May 20, 1810. He attended Middlebury College in Vermont, where he studied law. He moved to Buffalo in ...

(b. 1856).

Career

In the late 1850s, Barton was able to purchase large amounts of land from members of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

in Rancho San Bernardino at low prices due to

Brigham Young Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his death in 1877. During his time as chu ...

's recalling the Mormon outpost in

. From

Charles C. Rich Charles Coulson Rich (August 21, 1809 – November 17, 1883) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. He led one of the first groups of Mormon pioneers west from Illinois under the leadership of Brigham Young after Joseph Smith's mur ...

and

Amasa Lyman Amasa Mason Lyman (March 30, 1813 – February 4, 1877) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and was an apostle. He was also a counselor in the First Presidency to Joseph Smith. Early life and conversion Lyman was born in Lyman, ...

leaders Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets view ...

of the Mormon settlement in the area, he purchased, for $5,000 (approximately $ today), of property around the

San Bernardino Asistencia The San Bernardino de Sena Estancia (also known as the San Bernardino Rancho or Asistencia) was a ranch outpost of Mission San Gabriel Arcángel in what is now in Redlands, California, United States. It was built to graze cattle, and for Indian ...

, land known as Old San Bernardino due to its status as a late 17th-/early 18th-century outpost of

Mission San Gabriel Arcángel Mission San Gabriel Arcángel ( es, Misión de San Gabriel Arcángel) is a Californian mission and historic landmark in San Gabriel, California. It was founded by Spaniards of the Franciscan order on "The Feast of the Birth of Mary," September ...

. His purchases also included a number of properties within San Bernardino proper. Barton was appointed the city's

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

, and built a building in 1858 in San Bernardino out of

adobe Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for '' mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of ...

to house a post office, doctor's office, and pharmacy. Due to Barton's other commitments, the post office was effectively overseen by John P. Barton, his brother. Also in 1858, Barton was elected

school superintendent In the American education system, a superintendent or superintendent of schools is an administrator or manager in charge of a number of public schools or a school district, a local government body overseeing public schools. All school principa ...

for the recently formed county of San Bernardino.

In 1859, Barton and his family moved to the Asistencia and sold their San Bernardino home. Around this time, Barton shifted his focus from medicine to ranching and farming. Some sources report that he gave up medicine entirely, while others state he maintained a home office for some time. Barton had the Barton Villa, now the oldest extant house in the city of Redlands, built as a home for him and his family. He served as a member of the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The ...

in the early 1860s, representing what was then the first district. He died in 1899.

Legacy

Barton Road, which runs between Redlands and Grand Terrace, is named after him. Barton and his sons' real estate holdings would come to be known as the Barton Ranch or Barton Tract, and after being subdivided and sold off into individual house lots, would eventually become the land incorporated as the city of Redlands.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barton, Ben 1823 births 1899 deaths People from Redlands, California History of San Bernardino County, California History of San Bernardino, California People from San Bernardino County, California Politicians from San Bernardino, California People from South Carolina History of Redlands, California Members of the California State Assembly California postmasters Physicians from California Physicians from Kentucky People from El Monte, California People from San Bernardino, California 19th-century American politicians

Early life and family

Career

Legacy

See also

References

Further reading

External links