Charles Maclay (November 9, 1822 – July 19, 1890) was a California state senator and is known for his act of purchasing a 56,000 acre land grant in 1874, what was known as San Fernando Rancho. Maclay displaced and, the tribe argues, illegally removed the Tataviam people from their land. Maclay used the land he took to become the founder of the city of

San Fernando, California San Fernando (Spanish for " St. Ferdinand") is a general-law city in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It is bordered on all sides by the City of Los Angeles. As of the 2010 ...

in the

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...

History

Charles Maclay's heritage was Scots-Irish. He was the brother of Robert Samuel Maclay, a pioneer missionary to China; and the uncle of Robert Maclay Widney, a founder of the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

, and of Joseph Widney, the second president of the

. Maclay was a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

minister. Charles Maclay, an abolitionist, became a

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The Ass ...

man in the 7th District from

Santa Clara County Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259, as of the 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring San Benito County together f ...

(1861-1863) and later a California State Senator (1867-1872). In 1867, when the seat held by State Senator William J. Knox came open after Knox's unexpected death, '' The San Jose Mercury'', campaigned for Maclay with the popular song " Wha'll be King but Charlie?" (Scots for "Who'll be king but Charlie.")Hodges, Hugh T.
"Charles Maclay: California Missionary, San Fernando Valley Pioneer: PART II"
''Southern California Quarterly'', vol. 68, no. 3, 1986, pp. 207–256. JSTOR. Accessed January 24, 2020.

San Fernando Valley, California

In 1874, Maclay purchased a 56,000 acre land grant in 1874, what was known as San Fernando Rancho. He then displaced and, the tribe argues, illegally removed the Tataviam people from their land. In 1882, cousins George K. Porter and Benjamin F. Porter, owner of future

Porter Ranch Porter Ranch is a suburban neighborhood in the northwest San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. History New home construction that was completed in the Porter Ranch area in the 1990s–2000s, including the Renaissan ...

, each received one-third of the total land. MaclaySchoolofTheology-1890

In 1885, Maclay founded the Maclay School of Theology, a Methodist

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

in his newly founded town of

. After his death it became an affiliate and moved to the campus of the University of Southern California before becoming the

Claremont School of Theology Claremont School of Theology (CST) is an American graduate school focused on religion and theology and located in Claremont, California. CST is fully recognized and approved as one of thirteen official theological schools of the United Methodis ...

in 1957.

Legacy

*Mainly, Maclay is known for his act of purchasing a 56,000 acre land grant in 1874, what was known as San Fernando Rancho, Maclay ruthlessly displaced and, the tribe believes, illegally removed the Tataviam people from their land. *City of San Fernando *Claremont School of Theology *Charles Maclay Junior High School,

Pacoima Pacoima (Tongva: ''Pacoinga'') is a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. Pacoima is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the San Fernando Valley region of LA. Geography Location Pacoima is bordered by the Los Angeles districts of Mission Hill ...

, California: in 1960, the

High School A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper second ...

opened in his honor. In the late 1990s the school was renamed the Charles Maclay Middle School. Their slogan is ''Home of the Scotsman'' and uniforms sport their school colors green, white, and grey. *Maclay Street is a central thoroughfare through the City of San Fernando, crossing from Laurel Canyon Boulevard to Pacoima Canyon Road.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maclay, Charles California state senators American city founders Members of the California State Assembly Businesspeople from Los Angeles Land owners from California American Methodist clergy People from the San Fernando Valley 1822 births 1890 deaths History of the San Fernando Valley San Fernando, California 19th-century American politicians Charles 19th-century American clergy

History

San Fernando Valley, California

Legacy

See also

References