September 19, 2024
Mr. David Contreras and staff
Community Development Department
City of Laguna Beach
RE: 31526 Valido Road
Today I noticed posting for a DRB hearing on September 26 for a new house to be built at the above address. The notice didn’t mention anything about the historic status of this house and property.
The project file on the city’s website used to note that the house was built in 1910, but couldn’t see that notation when I looked at the file today. That notation led me to believe that surely staff would notice the date and require a historic resources report. In any case there is also the attached letter from the South Laguna Civic Association in 2022 alerting the staff and any potential buyers of the historic status of this property.
The house dates from at least 1910 since it is the house built by William and Bertie Egan in conjunction with establishing their 40-acre homestead on the property which was filed in 1910. They were active on the property before that filing. Thus the house is the oldest house in South Laguna, and possibly the last remaining homestead house in the city of Laguna Beach. It is truly historically significant.
Sincerely,
Ann Christoph
Landscape Architect FASLA
Attachment 6
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From: Greg O'Loughlin [email protected]
Subject: Egan Homestead House in South Laguna For Sale
Date: July 24, 2022 at 8:21 PM
To: Marc CD Wiener [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Memo re: 31526 Valido Road
It has come to the attention of the South Laguna Civic Association that the above property is on the market for sale. In the process of researching and preparing a history of South Laguna we have become aware of the historical significance of the property. The file at the City on this residence says that it was built in 1910 but that doesn’t tell the whole story. This house is the oldest house in South Laguna and the last known surviving homesteader’s house in the city of Laguna Beach. Laguna Beach south of Broadway was granted by the Federal Government to various pioneers under several homestead acts. The earliest was the Thurston homestead begun in 1871 in nearby Aliso Canyon. The Egan homestead of 40 acres was filed in 1910 with the papers signed by President William Howard Taft. The 40 acres today includes the site of the South Coast Water District reservoir, and the subdivision including the streets Paso del Sur, Valido, Toto Loma and Rico Roads. In the early 1900s it was a farm where the Egan family and Uncle James Shrewsbury dry farmed beans and melons. The Egan home on the property was where William and Bertie Egan raised their two daughters, Frances Egan Chatham and Esther Egan Hind. We have an extensive collection of photographs of the family and house over the years. We are attaching a few of them. The house was overlooked in the historical inventory of 1981, perhaps because of its almost hidden location at the end of a driveway. Clearly it qualifies as a historic resource of statewide significance that merits preservation.
Please place this information in the property file so that potential purchasers will be aware of the historic significance of the property and so the sta` can inform them of the potential benefits of historic preservation.
Sincerely,
Greg O’Loughlin
President
1-949-212-1417
cc: Erin Sullivan
Reliance Real Estate Services
2226 N State College Blvd, Fullerton, CA 92831 (714) 255-1554 149
Laguna Beach Historic Preservation Coalition
[email protected]
September 15, 2025
Heather Steven
City of Laguna Beach
via email [email protected]
RE: 31526 Valido Road
Dear Heather,
Thank you for sharing the reports well in advance of the DRB meeting on the Egan Homestead at 31526 Valido. Doing so makes it less likely that there will be last minute surprises for anyone.
We write to inquire about the status of follow-up research on the Egan property in light of GPA’s (and even Chronicle’s, for that matter) assertion that there was insufficient information in HRG’s report to support the conclusion that the property is eligible for the National Register and California Register under Criterion 1.
Importantly, GPA’s peer review of HRG’s report does not argue that the property is ineligible for the National or California Registers. Rather, it notes that HRG needs more research to support its conclusion of eligibility. Specifically, HRG’s historic context was rather broad, and the Report did not develop an adequate "comparative framework," which would include evaluating the Egan Homestead against other like properties per National Register Bulletin 15 (please note, however, the quotation that GPA assigns to that document—“Bulletin 15 cautions that 'a property must be more than simply associated with a historic trend; it must clearly illustrate that trend or be one of the most important properties associated with it’"—is nowhere to be found in Bulletin 15.) The problems GPA identifies are remediable, especially as the number of extant homestead buildings in California is vanishingly small. Has HRG been asked to revise its Report to provide the “comparative framework” GPA was looking for? Thank you.
Sincerely,
Nelda Stone
Laguna Beach Historic Preservation Coalition
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Dedicated to all the people
who value their community
and
cherish its culture and history.
____________________
“There is a lot we can learn from the past.”
-=Deborah Burnham Allen
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iii
Table of Contents
Part One: The Valido House: Story of the Egan Homestead o Preface
o Homesteading 2
o The Egan House Chronology 6
o Outbuildings 7
o Groundwater and the Terrain 8
o Egan Homestead (plat map) 9
o The “Early Comers” 10
o The Egan Household 11
o The Road into Town 12
o ConnecIng to the Outside World 13
o The Homestead Patent 14
Part Two: The Family That Built It
o About the Homesteaders 17
o William Frederick Egan 17
o Alberta Ethel McCoy (BerIe) 21
o James Milton Shrewsbury 27
o Mary Frances Shrewsbury Beach 30
o Frances Norma Egan Chatham 34
o Esther Willfred Egan Hind 38
o Three Wishes 42
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iv
Acknowledgements 43
Appendices 44
A. “Memories” Document in the FamilySearch Library
from Deborrah Burnham Allen 45
B. Family History Profiles
(from Egan tree built by Lee Hanson on Ancemtry.com)
1. William F. Egan Profile 61
2. Alberta (BerIe) McCoy Egan Profile 65
3. James M. Shrewsbury Profile 68
4. Mary Shrewsbury Beach Profile 70
5. Frances Egan 73
6. Esther Egan 76
C. Towns That Disappeared 79
Spadra Cemetery 83
Ranchos of Pomona Valley 84
D. Homesteading Act (1862) 86
United State of America Record of Patents 89
Case Files (NaIonal Archives)* 90
E. Credits (incomplete) 93
* The Case Files for Will Egan and for Jim Shrewsbury
have been ordered but have not yet arrived.
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10 The “Early Comers”
The Egans were not the first to homestead in the Aliso area. The family of George and Sarah Thurston made their claim to the Aliso Canyon area in 1871. Their arrival marked an important event: they were the first permanent seDlers in Laguna (the Egans were merely “among the first”). The Thurstons and the Egans were to become neighbors of a sort: by 1910, their homesteads (separated by a canyon ridge) shared a border.5 The Thurston family had come from Utah to San Francisco by rail, from there taking a boat to San Diego. The boat carried not only the members of the Thurston family but also a wagon. When they reached San Diego, George Thurston purchased two horses to pull the wagon to Tus6n where they camped for a month—trying to find government land available for homesteading. Joe Thuston (George and Sarah’s oldest son) wrote the story of his family6 and described how his father accidentally heard about the land (152 acres) in Aliso Canyon: Eugene Salter had filed the first claim but abandoned it a couple years later. AEer searching for nine months, George Thurston’s funds were low. Although not the expansive government property that had originally expected, he quickly decided to move his family into the dilapidated cabin.
The dirt road from Tus6n to Aliso Canyon meandered through sand, mustard stalks, cactus, and the poisonous fiddleneck plant. It took more than a day for the new seDlers to reach their new home. When they finally arrived, the eight members7 of the Thurston family found a one-room shack (without doors) that had been used as a sheep camp.
This shack was the required size for homesteading (12’ by 14’) but was also a nesting place for snakes. During the first days after their arrival, George Thurston killed a rattler, five feet long.8
After clearing out the snakes, the Thurstons placed a tent in front of the shed (they had brought enough wood for the tent’s flooring). Later, they built a barn and a room in front of the tent. This time, lumber was brought in from Newport.
George’s son “Joe” was just three years old when he arrived with his family in South Laguna. He eventually took over the homestead (after George Thurston deserted the family) and became a successful farmer. For several years, he and his family sold their crops, using a horse-drawn wagon to deliver and sell produce to the residents and tourists in both North and South Laguna.
5 The Thurston homestead (patented in 1875) was the first in the area; the land was north of the Egan homestead (patented in 1910). The southern border of the Thurstan property was the northern border of the Egan homestead. 6 Joseph Thuston's book: Laguna Beach of Early Days, self-published in 1947. 7 Sarah Thurston went on to have seven more children, bringing the total to fi]een. 8 For people interested in the struggles of sePlers in South Laguna, Laguna Beach of Early Days by Joseph Thurston (“Pioneer Resident”) takes a close look at the struggles that faced the Laguna homesteaders. 169
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21 Alberta Ethel McCoy (Ber/e) was born in 1873 in what is now West Virginia.
Ber8e’s mother died at the young age of thirty-two–-leaving her baby daughter motherless when only a year old. Samuel Graves McCoy (Ber8e’s father) became the single parent for his daughter and his older son Colin. His health problems apparently made it difficult for him to care for his children.
The 1860 Census records show that Sam McCoy was a “teaching painter,” living at home.
By the 8me the 1870 census rolled around, he was married, had a son, and was a telegraph operator. Three years later, Alberta McCoy was born (and Sam’s wife died).
By 1880, when he was forty-one, Sam McCoy is shown as a silversmith—"maimed, crippled, or bedridden.” The census says that he was married, but there is no wife shown in the household (only his son Colin and his daughter Ber8e). He seems to disappear from all records. What happened to Sam McCoy then and aher 1880 is unknown.1 What happened to his daughter is even more of a mystery. Albera McCoy (age 7 in the 1880 census) seems to have leh no paper trail for nearly thirty years. Ber8e’s marriage cer8ficate, dated 1909, states that both the bride and groom are Spadra residents. How Ber8e got there is a bit puzzling, but it’s likely that it was through family connec8ons.
Ber$e and her husband (William F. Egan) were related.
Lijlebury Shrewsbury and his wife Nancy McCoy were ancestors to both Will Egan and Ber8e McCoy.
Lijlebury was married to Nancy Ann McCoy--Ber8e’s father’s sister.
Lijlebury and Nancy were parents to Jane (Jennie) Shrewsbury—William’s mother.
From the informa8on in the box above, a possible answer could be that at some point someone in Lijlebury’s family (possibly his widow, Nancy McCoy, or maybe his daughter, the Widow Mary Beach) brought Ber8e into her home, placing the orphan in Spadra (where William F. Egan was living in 1890s-1900s).
1 Find-A-Grave had 1880 as the date Ber4e’s father died; a correc4on was made a<er finding the informa4on about Samuel Graves McCoy and his two children in the 1880 census. 180
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34 Frances Norma Egan (Will and Bertie’s eldest daughter, b. 20 June 1910) Frances (or “Buddy” as she was called by her family) was born the year that her parents received the deed for their homestead; all provisions had been met and they were the owners of the 40 acres they had worked so diligently to tame. Both events—the birth of their first child and the final acquisition of their homestead—were to be celebrated.
Rather than trying to have the baby at home, Bertie spent the last months of her pregnancy In Spadra where she not only would have a doctor available, but she would have the company of the woman who had been a witness at her wedding—“Grandma” Mary Beach. The 1880 Census (taken in April) shows that Will and Bertie were living in Spadra at the time, and Mary Beach was next door. Since Buddy was born in June, it’s likely that Will had to spend considerable time farming back at the South Laguna homestead; he undoubtedly raced back to Spadra to meet his new daughter, leaving James Shrewsbury to oversee work on the fields back at the homestead.1 Little is recorded for Buddy’s first two years.
Life would have been fairly primitive at the
South Laguna farm; it’s possible that she and
her mother spent the majority of time in the
more stable (and much more agreeable)
environment in Spadra. She was certainly
there in 1912 when her sister Esther was born.
However, as Esther reported in her index
cards: the two sisters “had our first Christmas
in our home in South Laguna with our
Christmas stockings hung on the fireplace that
our father had so lovingly built for his bride in
1909.”
Earliest known photograph of Esther (left)
and Frances (right) Egan.
1 There is no Census record for James Shrewsbury in the year 1910; with so few people living in South Laguna, it’s possible that the census taker didn’t reach the handful living on the hundreds of acres in the process of being homesteaded.
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35 There are several photographs of the Egan sisters. Until they married, the two were shown together—usually at the Egan Homestead. With so few other families living nearby, the girls became playmates and formed a bond that lasted a lifetime.
Esther Egan (Frances’ younger sister) documented several of the activities that they girls shared as they grew up.
In the 1920 Census (when Frances was nine years old) the household included her “baby sister” (Esther age 7) as well as her parents and Samuel Swenson (a “hired man”). The family was living in Laguna Beach. The street given in the Census was “Coast Boulevard,” Mary Beach (“head” of her household) was living in a “dwelling” next to the Egans.
Here is one of the Sisters’ shared memories:
…we moved back to our ranch in Spadra and
entered Spadra Grammar school in 3rd and 4th
grades, returning to South Laguna when we
were freshmen.
In 1925, the sisters both graduated from their
elementary school in Spadra (after graduation
the family moved back to South Laguna to
attend high school). Although the “largest to
date at Spadra School,” there were only five
students in the class.
South Laguna and
Laguna Beach
students were forced to attend Tustin High School located over 20 miles away; access was by bus. Laguna Beach did not have its own high school until 1934—too late for the Egan daughters.
(Buddy and I) entered Tustin High School; a long bus
ride—We had to go to Laguna each day to catch that
mad ride.
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36 In the 1940 Census, the home
where the family was living
was listed as being on
“Catalina.” In both years (1930
and 1940), Frances was listed
as a daughter, living at home.
The 1930 census was taken in
May, so William F. Egan was
still “head of household” (he
died in December of 1930).
Frances at the Homestead
Frances was 29 years old when the 1940 census was taken. She was still living at home, not attending school but working as a “salesman.” Her mother, Bertie, was now head of household.
There was a carpenter (K W. Thompson) who was identified as a boarder, living at the house in 1940; he apparently worked at Howard Hind‘s contractor business.
Howard Hind (Buddy’s brother-in-law) was self-employed, living next door with his wife Esther (Frances’ sister) and their one-year old daughter Nancy. Bertie found it comforting to have her two daughters living near.
…Mother found joy in our living so close.
Two years later, Frances married Lesley Chatham, a young man who worked as a salesman in his father’s real estate company. Leslie enlisted in the Army in 26th of October, 1942; Frances and Leslie married on October 29. The couple were stationed overseas for several months when (in April 1944) Lesley advanced to the rank of Sergeant with the Army Air Corps. By 1950, Lesley and Frances were once again living in Laguna Beach (Lesley was working as a real estate salesman).
The couple lived in Laguna Beach for over twenty years, later (after Bertie died) they moved a few blocks north (to McAuley Place).
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37 Frances was residing in Mesa Arizona at the time of her death on August 8, 1996. She is buried next to her husband at the in Santa Ana, California. Her tombstone reads:
“Beloved Sister” Frances E. Chatham
June 2, 1914 – August 8, 1996
Beloved Sisters:
Frances (left) & Esther (right)
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38 Esther Willfred Egan (Will and Bertie’s youngest daughter, b. 29 January 1912) Deborrah Burnham Allen was Esther’s granddaughter and she is the person responsible for the quotes throughout this story! it is her “Memories” that sparked this project, and her interest in family history that has brought the Egan story to life. Thanks to Deborrah (and Esther Egan’s notecards), we will know much more about the person – the insight and memories of Esther Egan Hind.
The “facts” of Esther’s life—where she was living and what she was doing—parallel her sister’s (at least in the early years). The “Memories” will provide a rich layer for the later years, allowing Esther seem more real than mere records can do.
When the highway was opened from Capistrano to Laguna, they had a big celebration contest, and I got to be one of four princesses.
The section of Coast
Highway between
Capistrano and Laguna
Beach opened in 1926.
As part of the
celebration, a
“highway queen” and
her court were
selected.
Teenager Esther Egan
is the “princess” on
the far right.
Esther was to marry
Russ Hind; she first
noticed him at church.
…Russ was sitting on the church steps and a group of kids were standing around him, looking at something he was holding in his hands. They were his medals from track. One day at church I saw Russ showing medals. Looked good to me. 197
39 In Sunday School, Esther’s sister (Frances) noticed that Russ always sat right next to Esther and, when they were singing, he would nudge her elbow off the edge of the chair, just to annoy her.
...Our romance began, and in June 1935 and during the year before our wedding, we built our home on West and Catalina on a half-acre from my parents. …After six years of going together our wedding
was in our much-loved Presbyterian Church and
we honeymooned at Lake Arrowhead in the
home of the Thurstons (their wedding gift to
us).
The Register, (June 27, 1935): A romance which had
its inception some five or six years ago on the
campus of the Tustin Union High School was brought
to a happy ending Tuesday evening when Miss
Esther Egan, daughter of Mrs. Wm. F. Egan of South
Laguna, became the pride of Russell Hind,
prominent young business man, in an elaborate
church ceremony held at the Community
Presbyterian Church, the Rev. Raymond I. Brahms,
officiating …”
The wedding was held on Saturday, the 25th of June. Esther wrote:
…I wore a beautiful Agate heart Pendant. This was a gift from Daddy to my Mother on their wedding day. He had found it on the beach below our house and had it shaped into a heart. Our daughter Nancy wore it on her wedding day and then our Debbie on her day.
The bride and groom received a two important
gifts on their wedding day. One, a painting of the
Egan homestead (artist Lee Hayes) where Esther
had grown up, and the second gift, “several acres
on the home place” from Bertie Egan where
Esther and Russ could build a home.
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40 Russ and Esther Hind were parents of four children: Nancy, Carl, Marge, and Edwin.
Nancy Ann Hind (the eldest) was the mother of Debborah Lyn Burnham (the originator of “Family Heroes” in “Memories”).
In addition to raising a family, Esther Hind worked with her husband, supporting his business.
…My Grandma Esther was remarkable in so many ways. She worked side by side next to my grandfather in their jewelry shop, Russ Hind Jewelry2, for many years and designed and decorated their windows there and at the Festival every summer. …In her lifetime she took care of her mother, her sister, Grandpa’s father for a brief time in their home, and Grandpa Russ. I always marveled at the way she took care of my grandfather. Every day a crisp ironed shirt and dressed like he was going somewhere special. His meals were lovingly prepared and carefully placed on a tray for him to enjoy in front of the TV. Her attention to details was impressive and her love and devotion to him was overwhelming, and he could somedays be a little grumpy about how he wanted things done. 1996 was a particularly hard year for Esther: she lost her husband on May 16, and her sister Frances on August 8.
.
Deborrah mentions many things in “Memories” about her grandmother Esther; here are some of her thoughts that I found particularly touching:
…One of my favorite things to do with my grandmother3 when I would visit Laguna was when we sat on the floor of her living room where her cedar chest sat and grandma would open the hand-carved, redwood cedar chest that my grandfather made for her as an engagement gift. The musty, cedar smell as she lifted the lid made me excited to look at the special treasures that were safely tucked inside.
Several old dolls, certificates, special linens and a sailor bathing suit from the early days that covered her from the neck to the ankles, baby blankets and booties also were housed in this special treasure box. Glass pieces were carefully wrapped, along with empty perfume bottles and a special teacup.
…She spent her life baking thousands of cookies and the December before she died had signed up to make 10 dozen cookies for her Presbyterian Church in Gilbert. I remember her calling one afternoon, getting close to Christmas in a 2 Russ Hind Jewelry, 1273 S. Coast Highway in Laguna Beach—has been in the same location for 32 years. 3 Esther Egan Hind.
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41 panic because she had not taken her age of 88 or her health into consideration when she had signed up to bake the cookies and now the deadline was looming, and she wondered if I would be able to help her. It was a privilege for me to assist in baking the cookies and as I look back over 21 years it was probably the last time that grandma would donate cookies.
…A few years after her death, I started “Baking Day With Grandma,” a yearly cookie baking activity with my own grandchildren that continues to this day. My thought was to honor a grandmother who had made my life so special. …When I think of one word that might describe my Grandmother Esther, many come to mind; Selfless, Humble, Creative, Honest, Devoted, Kind, Thoughtful, Magic, Baker, World Class Cook, Compassionate, Generous, Faith driven, Hopeful, patient, charitable, and filled with wonder and love. These are all characteristics of the Savior (except for Baker and World Class Cook) I hope that when it comes to the end of my life that I might have some of these same attributes. …My grandmother was all about making memories, although I don’t really think that was her ultimate goal. She just made us feel like she wanted to spend time with us. She just always wanted to be there for her grandchildren, everything she planned when we made a visit was magical. From grilled cheese sandwiches and milk shakes to picnics on the beach to visiting the glass blower at the Pottery Shack, looking for a new blown glass creation, grandma lived a life only dreams are made of, and I was lucky that she included me as a participant. My Grandma taught me to be a Grandma, and she was the BEST!!!!
Esther Willfred Egan Hind died on
31 May 2001 in Mesa Arizona
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2 Ordinance, which requires that properties be either formally listed, eligible for listing, or voluntarily nominated by the property owner.” (Attachment 7, page 8). As a result, the project site is not considered a historic resource.”
I am available in advance of this week’s meeting should you have any questions.
Best,
Steve
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