I. Lugo Family:
In 1775, the Mission of San Antonio de Padua near Monterey welcomed another newborn baby. The Franciscan fathers baptized him: Antonio Maria Lugo. He had arrived shortly after his parents, Francisco and Maria Lugo, traveled by land from Sonora, Mexico to California in 1771. In 1810, Antonio was a commendable corporal in the Spanish army near Santa Barbara. He resigned his command and moved with his family to Los Angeles. About 1838, Don Antonio received his first request for a land grant from the King of Spain. By 1847, the Lugo family owed approximately 30,000 acres of land. At the heart of the Rancho San Antonio was the area known as Obed, California.

Rancho San Antonio became famous for its fertile grazing land, fine horses, and thousands of herds of cattle which roamed the boundless area. Don Antonio was an excellent horseman and hospitable rancher. The Rancho was famous as a center for social life in the pueblo. H. D. Barrows, a citizen of the 1940’s Los Angeles area recalls: “Don Antonio used to be seen on our streets on horseback with a long, straight sword strapped to his saddle under his left knee, after the custom of Spanish caballeros. He sat erect on his horse and was a striking figure.” However, shortly after the statehood of California, the Lugo fortune began to dwindle, and in 1865, most of the Rancho was sold. (The Lugo’s did manage to retain their home in what is known as Bell Gardens, however it was completely destroyed in 1986.) The Lugo home place was sold by the Los Angeles county sheriff in 1865 at less than $1.00 an acre. Between 1870 and 1890, the entire Rancho area was divided into smaller land holdings which were then sold to the newly arriving settlers from the East. Eventually, one part of the Lugo Ranch was sold to James George Bell and his family. (Information provided by Bell Library, “Bell -- It’s History” by librarian Mary Havener- 1936)
 

II. Bell Family
James George Bell was born on December 14, 1831 near Bowling Green, Kentucky. As a farmer he moved to Missouri and married Dorithea “Dollie” Reason. Their three children were Mary Eliza (Gilmore), Otis Jr., and George Eddy. After the death of Dollie, Bell moved to Missouri and married Susan Hollenbeck Wells. They had two children, Maude Elizabeth in 1870 and Alphonso Sr., who was born just after their move to Southern California in 1875.

James G. Bell invested in property in the Bell area (then known as Obed). He acquired about 360 acres of land and helped in its development as a small farming and cattle raising community. The Laguna Ranch north of Gage rented to Mexican farmers for vegetable gardens. Atlantic Avenue was a dirt road leading south to Cudahy grain fields south of Florence. The only roads leading north from Gage were two paths leading to the Whittier car line.

The Bell Family lived at he Hollenbeck’s “Town House” on 4th and Breed Street until they moved in the “ranch” Bell House in 1876. The Bell House was an early Victorian Style farm house, probably constructed by ranch hands. It was originally located at Downey Road, near the Bell Station of the Pacific Electric Car. The house was later moved to 6500 Lucille Avenue around 1901 - 1903. (Subsequently, the James George Bell house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, and the city has had the house completely refurbished by 1990 and relocated to Pine and Gage Avenue.)

In 1898, the town’s name was changed to Bell in honor its pioneer founder, James George Bell. From 1900 to 1913 the farming community grew as more people settled in the area to build new businesses, homes and churches. The earliest residences had no water supply except for dug wells and a few had windmills. In 1912 Southern California Gas Company, as well as Edison and the Telephone Company, began service to Bell.

In 1913 the area from Gage to Randolph was subdivided. There had been two destructive floods in 1914 and 1916. The Los Angeles River had overflowed and covered Baker Street (Gage Avenue) from near Wilcox to about a half a mile east. All the farmers in the surrounding areas were affected and rushed to salvage the town. Locals, including James George Bell and John Hollenbeck, cut large Eucalyptus trees and dragged them by four and six horse teams to curb the flow and save the houses and buildings.

Many older residents of Bell recalled in 1936 the great flood of 1916. All the bridges were washed out from Los Angeles to the ocean. Just east of the Los Angeles River, there was a family that lived on a farm and owned the citrus grove. They had to scrambled to top story of their house with their cow and chickens to save the animals and themselves as the water rose higher and higher.

Bell’s First Business and Residents:
BUSINESS LOCATION
First Grocery Store (Hall’s) Salt Lake and Bell
Clifford-Vaughn Store Corona and Gage
Fred McDonald store Cudahy and Baker
First Restaurant Gage and Otis
J.V. Dyrr Blacksmith shop Gage and ?
First Post Office Salt Lake and Baker
First Bread wagon (1910) by Henry Stupp First Doctor - Dr. Turner
Weiss Department store (1918)
First Residents (I. Presley Moore, Mr. and Mrs. Alva Pearson, Mrs. de Baker)

During the time after World War I, the community of Bell continue to prosper and grow. It was an exclusive residential “bedroom community” just five miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. In 1927 Bell was incorporated as a city. Its motto became “Key to Industry” The boundaries were Walnut Avenue on the south, Bissell on the west, the Whittier car track on the north and Canselor on the east. After World War II, the city of Bell experienced a population increase and grew into a populous city. With the motto, “Key To Industry”, it was intended that the citizens of Bell would help supply the manpower for light industry jobs in the area and neighboring areas.
 

History of Corona Avenue Elementary:
In 1903, the first classes of Corona Avenue Elementary were held in a church in the Bell area. James G. Bell donated four acres of land located at the corner of Corona and Bell Avenues. This first school house accommodated 20 students of all grades and was named Harding Elementary, after the president at that time. In 1911, a two story brick building was constructed and Harding Elementary’s enrollment was 102 students, under the principal directorship of Ms. Minnie C. Hart. In 1913, the school’s name was changed to Bell Grammar School, and in 1923, it became known as Bell Grammar #1, because of there were three schools in Bell at this time. The school entered the Los Angeles Unified School District system in 1926 and had its name changed finally to Corona Avenue Elementary.
 

In 1933, Long Beach, California was the epic center of a major earthquake, and many communities, including Bell, suffered extensive damage. The top floor of the two story building of Corona Avenue Elementary had to be removed and the first floor needed to be thoroughly repaired. In 1934, through the PWA program, famed architect, Richard Nuetra helped transform Corona into an “experimental” school. His design consisted of huge sliding glass patio walls which opened the entire side of the room directly to the outside. At this time, the enrollment of Corona was 651 students with 21 teachers. Because of Richard Nuetra’s works, Corona Avenue has since become an historical landmark. (Note: Due to the school’s rising enrollment, which is currently at just under 2,000 students from grades pre-K to 5th, the sliding doors were removed to accommodate the west wing new building in1985.

(Information provide by Bell Library, “Bell -- It’s History” by librarian Mary Havener- 1936; and by “Bell’s 50th Anniversary Issue” of the Industrial Post Newspaper, 1977 and by The Los Angeles Times, 1997)