Pioneers of Eagle Rock, American Chronicles
After the Rancho San Rafael was divided, Benjamin Dreyfus was awarded the hilly area north of downtown Los Angeles known as Eagle Rock Valley. By 1911, this farming community had rapidly grown into a city. The Los Angeles Railway made downtown LA a trolley ride away, and continued growth led to Eagle Rock's consolidation with the city in 1923. Today, Eagle Rock is one of LA's most distinctive neighborhoods, and a pride instilled by early settlers remains here. These inspirational settlers include soldier and ranchero Jose Maria Verdugo, diarist and historian Elena Frackelton Murdock, farmer and amateur hydrologist Mayor Cromwell Galpin and publicist Ann Hare Harrison. Join editors Eric H. Warren and Frank F. Parrello as they profile the bedrock personalities who built Eagle Rock.
Eric H. Warren, Frank F. Parrello
Eric H. Warren is president of the Eagle Rock Valley Historical Society. He is past president of the Eagle Rock High School Alumni Association and Eagle Rock Kiwanis Club. A retired set designer for Warner Bros., he graduated from Occidental College in Eagle Rock and earned an MFA in fine arts at Stanford University. This is his third book on the history of his home neighborhood. Frank Parrello is a board member of the Eagle Rock Valley Historical Society. He is a former treasurer of the California Preservation Foundation and a founding member of Highland Park Heritage Trust. For twenty-five years, he worked for the City of Los Angeles Planning Department, and was director of planning for Historic Resources Group of Pasadena. An Eagle Rock resident since 1978, he holds a master of architecture degree from the University of Michigan.
