Los Angeles County
Biographies
ISAAC NEWTON VAN NUYS
VAN NUYS, ISAAC NEWTON (deceased), Capitalist, Los Angeles, California, was born at West Sparta, New York, November 20, 1835. His father was Peter Van Nuys and his mother Harriet (Kerr) Van Nuys. In 1880 he married Susanna H. Lankershim, a daughter of Isaac Lankershim, at Los Angeles. There are three children—Anna H., James Benton, one of the substantial business men of Los Angeles, and Kate Van Nuys.
In his childhood he attended the public schools of West Sparta, New York, supplementing this by entering the Academy of Lima (N.Y.), where he was a student for one year. During his school years he assisted his father on the family farm.
At the end of Mr. Van Nuys’ school days his entire time and attention was devoted to agricultural pursuits, at which he became a master, until 1865, when he removed to California in search of health, new opportunities and an ideal agricultural country. His first location in California was at Napa, from where he shortly removed to Monticello, California, and entered the mercantile field as proprietor of a large country store. After several years spent in the mercantile line he again turned to the soil, and in 1868, in company with Mr. Lankershim and others, he purchased what has since become famous as the Van Nuys and Lankershim Ranchos, located in the fertile San Fernando Valley, just outside of the present boundary line of Los Angeles. This enormous property, comprising more than 60,000 acres, he devoted to stock raising, principally sheep. He continued stock raising until 1873, when he began raising grain.
In 1871, Mr. Van Nuys disposed of his store at Monticello and removed to Los Angeles. The city little realized that it was welcoming a man destined to become so great and important a factor in its upbuilding. Here he did his part in both private and public life in a manner that has enriched the city and has added to its social and business standing. His labors for civic development and his standard of integrity have been recognized by all who knew him.
Mr. Van Nuys had the distinction of having been the first man to demonstrate by actual results that wheat, by the use of the right kind of seed and proper treatment of the same, could be raised successfuly (sic) in Los Angeles County. From the time of the early Spaniards this has been tried, but every attempt prior to Mr. Van Nuys’ advent had proved so discouraging that the idea of raising wheat profitably in Los Angeles County had about been abandoned as an impossibility. Mr. Van Nuys, however, profited by the mistakes of his predecessors, and in 1876, against the advice of old settlers and friends, rented a large tract of land from the company of which he was a member, carefully selected and prepared his seed and sowed his wheat. The result the first year was enough grain to send nearly three full cargoes abroad.
This was the beginning of the wheat industry in Los Angeles County and, with Mr. Van Nuys as leader, farmers generally took up wheat raising, with the result that many of them made huge fortunes. As early as 1888, Mr. Van Nuys and associates produced 510,000 bushels of wheat on their land, and for years afterwards Mr. Van Nuys was engaged in wheat raising and the milling business.
From the standpoint of historic interest at this time, when Los Angeles is in the act of developing an ideal harbor at San Pedro, the fact is of utmost importance that Mr. Van Nuys, in 1876, sent forth the first two vessels loaded with wheat to clear from San Pedro (Los Angeles) Harbor.
In 1880 Mr. Van Nuys and Mr. Isaac Lankershim organized the Los Angeles Farming & Milling Company for the principal purpose of milling their own vast holdings of wheat, but which soon consumed most of the wheat raising in Southern California. This business has continued to thrive and is one of the substantial institutions of the city.
In 1896 he built the famous Van Nuys Hotel, which has attained an enviable international reputation. This property his heirs still own.
Mr. Van Nuys controlled the Van Nuys and Lankershim Ranchos until the spring of 1910, when he and his associates disposed of their entire holdings to a syndicate who have subdivided the property into small country estates and built magnificent boulevards and have been instrumental in having the traction lines enter the property, placing them within easy reach of Los Angeles. This deal constituted one of the largest realty transactions of the Southwest and has involved an expenditure in improvements estimated at $2,000,000.
One of the principal business corners owned by Mr. Van Nuys is at the corner of Seventh and Spring streets. On this property he, in 1911, started the erection of one of the finest and largest office buildings in the West. It is interesting to note that on the site where this magnificent modern office building stands but recently stood the original Van Nuys homestead.
At the time of Mr. Van Nuys’ purchase of this property (1880) it was considered far in the outskirts of the city, but in a short period the growth of the city surrounded it with modern buildings until it became the heart of the business district.
Mr. Van Nuys was active in the transaction of business up to within a short time prior to his death on February 12, 1912, owing to the extensive interests which demanded his time, gradually shifted the management of many of them to his son, J. H. Van Nuys, with the result that when illness finally compelled the father to relinquish the cares of business, the son succeeded to his place in the affairs of Los Angeles. Among other duties, he supervised the completion of the I. N. Van Nuys Building, an eleven-story structure and one of the most impressive in the city.
In addition to his real estate and milling interests, the late Mr. Van Nuys, who was a factor in financial affairs, served as Vice President of the Farmers & Merchants’ Bank, and as Director of the Union Bank of Savings. He also was a Director of the Los Angeles Pressed Brick Company.
By his business associates Mr. Van Nuys was respected for his strict integrity and high sense of honor and as a man of exceptional courage. This latter characteristic was demonstrated on one occasion in such a way as to become historic in business circles of Los Angeles. The occurrence happened at a directors’ meeting of a bank in which Mr. Van Nuys was an officer. One of the board made a proposition which the latter considered open to criticism and in the discussion which followed his protest they almost came to blows. Mr. Van Nuys, by standing firm and displaying his characteristic determination when feeling he was right, forced the other to abandon the plan.
Mr. Van Nuys was prominent in fraternal and club circles. He was a member of the Pentalpha Lodge, F. and A.M., Signet Chapter, Los Angeles Commandery, and Al Malaikah Temple, Mystic Shrine. He belonged to the California Club and Crags Country Club.
Transcribed 3-26-10
Marilyn R. Pankey.
Source: Press
Reference Library, Western Edition Notables of the West, Vol. I, Page 391, International News Service, New York, Chicago, San
Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Atlanta.
1913.
© 2010 Marilyn R. Pankey.
GOLDEN NUGGET'S LOS ANGELES BIOGRAPIES