Ben Barton (June 8, 1823 – January 1, 1899), often erroneously referred to as Benjamin Barton, was a prominent landowner and

white settler Settler colonialism is a logic and structure of displacement by settlers, using colonial rule, over an environment for replacing it and its indigenous peoples with settlements and the society of the settlers. Settler colonialism is a form of ...

of the

San Bernardino Valley The San Bernardino Valley () is a valley in Southern California located at the south base of the Transverse Ranges. It is bordered on the north by the eastern San Gabriel Mountains and the San Bernardino Mountains; on the east by the San Jacin ...

in southern California. Educated as a medical doctor in the

Eastern United States The Eastern United States, often abbreviated as simply the East, is a macroregion of the United States located to the east of the Mississippi River. It includes 17–26 states and Washington, D.C., the national capital. As of 2011, the Eastern ...

, he migrated to

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

in 1854. A few years later, he purchased a large tract of land in

Rancho San Bernardino Rancho San Bernardino was a Mexican land grant in present-day San Bernardino County, California given in 1842 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to José del Carmen Lugo, José María Lugo, Vicente Lugo, and Diego Sepulveda. The grant included a l ...

. He served various political roles in state and local government. After retiring from his medical practice, he became a rancher and

vintner A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by wineries or wine companies, where their work includes: *Cooperating with viticulturists *Monitoring the maturity of grapes to ensure their quality and to de ...

, and had a large mansion built for his family. His sons also became prominent local politicians and businessmen. After Barton's death, his land holdings were split into

lots Lot, LOT, The Lot or similar may refer to: Common meanings Areas *Land lot, an area of land *Parking lot, for automobiles *Backlot, in movie production Sets of items *A Quantity, great many of something, as in, "There are a lot of beetles," or "T ...

and sold for development; the area eventually became the city of Redlands. Barton built some of the earliest buildings in Redlands and neighboring

San Bernardino San Bernardino ( ) is a city in and the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 census, making it the List of ...

, and his villa is now listed as a historic site. Barton was also a

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

and social host. He and his family were well-known and influential in the San Bernardino area during its

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a person who is among the first at something that is new to a community. A pioneer as a settler is among the first settling at a place that is new to the settler community. A historic example are American pioneers, perso ...

era.

Early life and family

Barton was born in

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

in 1823 to a family descended from European colonists of the area. He studied medicine in Lexington,

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, which he moved to in 1845. He lived and worked as a doctor in Texas and Alabama after his time in Kentucky. He met and married his wife, Eliza Brite, in Texas, and they resided in

El Paso El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

until 1854. In that year, he moved west with his wife to El Monte, California. The Bartons had two sons during this time, John H. Barton (b. 1855) and

Hiram Barton Hiram Barton (1810–1880) was mayor of the city of Buffalo, New York, serving 1849–1850 and 1852–1853. He was born in Hebron, New York on May 20, 1810. He attended Middlebury College in Vermont, where he studied law. He moved to Buffalo i ...

(b. 1856).

Career

In the late 1850s, Barton was able to purchase large amounts of land from members of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

at low prices due to

Brigham Young Brigham Young ( ; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1847 until h ...

's recalling the Mormon outpost in

. From Charles C. Rich and

Amasa Lyman Amasa Mason Lyman (March 30, 1813 – February 4, 1877) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and was an apostle. He was also a counselor in the First Presidency to Joseph Smith. Early life and conversion Lyman was born in Lyman, ...

leaders Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the c ...

of the Mormon settlement in the area, he purchased, for $5,000 (approximately $ today), of property around the

San Bernardino Asistencia The San Bernardino de Sena Estancia (also known as the San Bernardino Rancho or Asistencia) was a ranch outpost of Mission San Gabriel Arcángel in what is now Redlands, California, Redlands, California, United States. It was built to graze catt ...

, land known as Old San Bernardino due to its status as a late 17th-/early 18th-century outpost of

Mission San Gabriel Arcángel Mission San Gabriel Arcángel () is a Californian mission and historic landmark in San Gabriel, California. It was founded by the Spanish Empire on the Nativity of Mary September 8, 1771, as the fourth of what would become twenty-one Spanish mi ...

. His purchases also included a number of properties within San Bernardino proper. Barton was appointed the city's

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

, and built a building in 1858 in San Bernardino out of

adobe Adobe (from arabic: الطوب Attub ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for mudbrick. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is use ...

to house a post office, doctor's office, and pharmacy. Due to Barton's other commitments, the post office was effectively overseen by John P. Barton, his brother. Also in 1858, Barton was elected

school superintendent In the American education system, a superintendent or superintendent of schools is an administrator or manager in charge of a number of public schools or a school district, a local government body overseeing public schools. All school principal ...

for the recently formed

county of San Bernardino San Bernardino County ( ), officially the County of San Bernardino and sometimes abbreviated as S.B. County, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the ...

In 1859, Barton and his family moved to the Asistencia and sold their San Bernardino home. Around this time, Barton shifted his focus from medicine to ranching and farming. Some sources report that he gave up medicine entirely, while others state he maintained a home office for some time. Barton had the Barton Villa, now the oldest extant house in the city of Redlands, built as a home for him and his family. He served as a member of the

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, Califor ...

in the early 1860s, representing what was then the first district. He died in 1899.

Legacy

Barton Road, which runs between Redlands and Grand Terrace, is named after him. Barton and his sons' real estate holdings would come to be known as the Barton Ranch or Barton Tract, and after being subdivided and sold off into individual

house lot In real estate, a land lot or plot of land is a tract or parcel of land owned or meant to be owned by some owner(s). A plot is essentially considered a parcel of real property in some countries or immovable property (meaning practically the sam ...

s, would eventually become the land incorporated as the city of Redlands.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barton, Ben 1823 births 1899 deaths People from Redlands, California History of San Bernardino County, California History of San Bernardino, California People from San Bernardino County, California Politicians from San Bernardino, California People from South Carolina History of Redlands, California Members of the California State Assembly California postmasters Physicians from California Physicians from Kentucky People from El Monte, California People from San Bernardino, California 19th-century members of the California State Legislature

Early life and family

Career

Legacy

See also

References

Further reading

External links