Los Angeles County

Biographies

 

 

 

 

GEORGE HANNA

 

 

     HANNA, GEORGE, Investments, Los Angeles, California, was born in Salem, Washington County, New York, December 18, 1845, the son of Robert Hanna and Mary Ann (Rea) Hanna.  He is of Scotch-Irish descent.  He married Julia Mandigo at Aurora, Illinois, on Christmas Day, 1872, and to them there were born two children.   Rea Hanna, the elder, is now United States Consul at Georgetown, British Guiana. The daughter is Pauline Hanna.

     Mr. Hanna attended the public schools of his native town until he was nine years of age and his parents moving at that time to Illinois, he finished his studies in the public schools of Aurora.

     He began his business career at the age of sixteen years as a clerk in a grocery store.  He only remained in that position about a year and then became a clerk in a drug house, where he worked for about two years.  His father and brother owned a general merchandise store in Aurora, and in 1865 Mr. Hanna bought out the interest of his father, who was desirous of retiring from business.  The firm then became known as Hanna Brothers and for the next eight years Mr. Hanna devoted his time to the business.

     In 1873 the brothers sold their Aurora business and went to Chicago where they engaged in real estate operations.  They handled their own property, but, at the end of two years sold out and returned to Aurora, where they again engaged in the general mercantile business.   In 1881, his two brothers, who were in partnership with him, sold their interests in the store and he continued it alone.  He was thus engaged for about five years, when he made a trip to California, and was so charmed with the country that he returned the following January.  At that time he remained about two months and made some fortunate real estate investments which determined him upon locating permanently in Los Angeles.

     Accordingly, he returned to Illinois, and in September, 1887, having disposed of his business there, he moved his family to Los Angeles.  He had purchased an orange grove in the Vernon district, just outside of the city limits of Los Angeles, on his first trip West, and he made his home there.  For the first five years he was engaged in orange growing and also took an active part in the affairs of Vernon, being a school Trustee and Deputy County Assessor.

     In the late eighties, Mr. Hanna was appointed Receiver for the Visalia Water Company of Tulare County, California, and within a few months had the property in a paying condition.  In 1892, upon closing the receivership, Mr. Hanna leased his orange ranch at Vernon, and located temporarily in Tulare County.  There he became interested in various enterprises and accepted the managership of a company which was engaged in extensive irrigation projects, one of which was the irrigation ditch from the Kaweah River to Exeter, California, now one of the finest orange-growing sections in the State of California.

     In 1895, Mr. Hanna formed the West Los Angeles Water Company, which supplied water to Hollywood, the National Soldiers’ Home at Sawtelle, and other places adjacent to Los Angeles.  Later Mr. Hanna and his associates purchased the West Side Water Company of Los Angeles and further extended their territory to include all of the western part of the city proper.  Mr. Hanna was one of the principal stockholders of this company and served as General Manager for a period of twelve years.  During this time he established himself as one of the pioneers in the field of public utilities and aided materially in the upbuilding of a large part of the West Side of Los Angeles.  In 1904, Mr. Hanna and associates sold the West Side Water Company and a portion of the holdings of the West Los Angeles Company, lying in the city limits, to the City of Los Angeles.  Two years later they sold the remaining holdings of the West Los Angeles Company to the Union Hollywood Water Company.

     Previous to the last named deal, Mr. Hanna purchased a large interest in the Security Land & Loan Company, a corporation of which H. J. Whitley was President and General Manager, and purchased about 50,000 acres of land in the San Joaquin Valley.  The tract included the towns of Angiola, Corcoran and Waukena, California.  Mr. Hanna assumed the duties of local representative of the company and was one of the principal factors in the development of that section of California.  He was active in that work for about three years and in 1910 returned to Los Angeles, where he acquired an interest in the Van Nuys and Lankershim Lands in the San Fernando Valley.  Since that time he has been active in that locality.

     Besides the above mentioned company, Mr. Hanna is interested in various other enterprises, these including the Corcoran Water Company, of which he is President; the Security Land & Loan Company, in which he is Vice-President, and the Corcoran Land Company of which he is President.  He is interested in several banks throughout California as a Member of the Board of Directors.  These are the Home Savings Bank, Los Angeles; First National Bank of Corcoran, First National Bank of Van Nuys, and the Bank of Lankershim.

     Mr. Hanna is a member of the Hollywood Lodge of Masons and a prominent Republican, although he takes no active part in politics.

 

 

Transcribed 10-8-08 Marilyn R. Pankey.

Source: Press Reference Library, Western Edition Notables of the West, Vol. I,  Page 148, International News Service, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Atlanta.  1913.

© 2008 Marilyn R. Pankey.

 

 

 

 

 

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