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n occasion, I was fortunate enough to accompany the General and his family on one of their frequent excursions to the nearby unspoiled island of Santa Catalina. For, even though Wilmington was then an isolated and sleepy town, the muddy tide flat surrounding it afforded none of that isle's beauty, peacefulness and charm.Having sojourned there with the Banning family, I can well appreciate how the General's sons, William, Joseph and Hancock, developed such a love of the place that they purchased it in 1892. To share the island's beauty with others, the brothers began offering excursions from San Pedro, first aboard light harbor craft, and later aboard true, comfortable steamers. A village, Avalon, soon took root. But so many tourists came to the island to relax on the beach, ride in glass-bottom boats or climb Sugar Loaf Rock that, in summer, the town could not hold them all. Many were required to lodge themselves in a seasonal "tent city."
Stranded | We Land in San Pedro | Stagecoach Adventures
Harnessing the Iron Horse | A Bay Bows to His Will
The Fulfillment of Family | A Fair & Agreeable Isle