Finding aid for Records of Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company, 1883-1933 (bulk 1883-1908).

              KERCKHOFF-CUZNER MILL & LUMBER COMPANY RECORDS
1883 - 1933
FINDING AID
The Huntington Library
Mitchell W.K. Toda
May 14, 2002
©The Huntington LibraryKerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company Records – Inventory – Page 2
Administrative Information
This collection was a gift of William G. Cuzner on August 7, 1958.
3 pieces were added to the collection as a gift from William G. Cuzner on August 27, 1973.
The collection contains 108 pieces in 1 box and 15 oversize folders, along with 1 ledger book. It spans the dates 1883-1933, with bulk dates of 1883-1908.
Biographical Note
The Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company was originally the Los Angeles branch of the J. G. Jackson Lumber Company. James Cuzner was managing it when in 1879 William George Kerckhoff (1856-1929) approached him about purchasing a partner stake in the company. Cuzner and Kerckhoff each purchased a quarter stake in the company and it then became the Jackson, Kerckhoff & Cuzner Lumber Company. In 1883 the company incorporated, and Kerckhoff became president and Cuzner became vice-president of the renamed Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company.
As business grew they acquired branch yards in Pasadena, Pomona, Lamanda Park, San Fernando, Hollywood, Brawley, Calexico, Imperial, and also purchased Boschke’s Island (or Smith’s Island, as it was also known) in San Pedro and established a wholesale mill and lumber yard there.
Scope and Content
This collection consists of correspondence, business records, and maps; the majority of which deal with the purchase of Boschke’s Island (or Smith’s Island) by the Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company from Albert and Martha Ellen Boschke. There were subsequent legal complications regarding this purchase with the Southern Pacific Railroad Company and the Banning Company, primarily Joseph Brent Banning and William Banning (1858-1946). The dispute between the various parties dealt with the purchase of the island and of how much of it belonged to the respective parties. A small part of the collection deals with a bridge the Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company wanted to build from Boschke’s Island (or Smith’s Island) across the Wilmington slough or inner bay of San Pedro to the mainland.
Organization and Arrangement
The collection is organized in the following manner:
1. Correspondence and business records – Arranged chronologically – Box 1
2. Oversize folders – 15 folders
3. Ledger (account book) – 1 item
Container List
Box 1: Correspondence and business records
Folder
Date(s)
Author / 1st party
Addressee / 2nd party / Description
Piece count
1
1883
Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company
Articles of Incorporation
1
2
1884
Pacific Coast Company
Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company
1
3
1885
Los Angeles County (Calif.). Board of Supervisors
William George Kerckhoff, 1856-1929
1Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company Records – Inventory – Page 3
Box 1: Correspondence and business records (continued)
Folder
Date(s)
Author / 1st party
Addressee / 2nd party / Description
Piece count
4
1885
Kerckhoff, William George, 1856-1929
Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company
1
5
1885
Wilmington Transportation Company
Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company
1
6
1885-1886
John F. James and Ina L. James
William George Kerckhoff, 1856-1929
2
7
1885-1888
Joseph Brent Banning
Albert Boschke
2
8
1888
William George Kerckhoff, 1856-1929
Albert Boschke and Martha Ellen Boschke
1
9
1888-1895
Albert Boschke
William George Kerckhoff, 1856-1929
2
10
1889-1891
California (State). Surveyor General
Albert Boschke
3
11
1890-1895
Boschke, Albert
“Messrs. Kerckhoff & Cuzner”
4
12
1891
Boschke, Albert
James Cuzner
1
13
1891
Carter, Thos H.
United States. Bureau of Land Management. California State Office
1
14
1891
United States. Bureau of Land Management
Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company
1
15
1891-1894
Hyde, F. A.
Albert Boschke
2
16
1892
Southern Pacific Company
Albert Boschke
1
17
1893, n.d.
Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company
Banning Brothers
2
18
1894
William Banning, 1858-1946, and Joseph Brent Banning
Albert Boschke and William George Kerckhoff, 1856-1929
1
19
1894-1898
William George Kerckhoff, 1856-1929
William Banning, 1858-1946, and Joseph Brent Banning
2
20
1895
Axman Improvement Company
H. W. (Henry William) O’Melveny, 1859-1941
1
21
1895
Albert Boschke
Southern Pacific Railroad Company
2
22
1895
Albert Boschke and Martha Ellen Boschke
William George Kerckhoff, 1856-1929
1
23
1895
Martha Ellen Boschke
William George Kerckhoff, 1856-1929
1
24
1895
Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company
Axman Improvement Company
1
25
1895
Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company
L. W. Blinn
1
26
1895
San Pedro Yard
Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company
1
27
1895
Southern Pacific Company
William George Kerckhoff, 1856-1929
1
28
1895
Southern Pacific Railroad Company
William George Kerckhoff, 1856-1929
2
29
1895
Southern Pacific Railroad Company
William George Kerckhoff, 1856-1929
2
30
1897
Chambers, D. A.
Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company
1
31
1897
William George Kerckhoff, 1856-1929, and Louise E. Kerckhoff
Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company
1
32
1898
Armes, C. H.
“Messrs Graves, O’Melveny & Shawkland”
1
33
1898
Banning Company
William George Kerckhoff, 1856-1929
1
34
1898
Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company
Los Angeles County (Calif.)
3Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company Records – Inventory – Page 4
Box 1: Correspondence and business records (continued)
Folder
Date(s)
Author / 1st party
Addressee / 2nd party / Description
Piece count
35
1898
Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company
San Pedro Lumber Company
1
36
1899
The First National Bank of Los Angeles
H. W. (Henry William) O’Melveny, 1859-1941
1
37
1902
Banning Company
Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company
1
38
1902
Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company
Banning Company
3
39
1903
Bicknell, Gibson & Trask
James Cuzner
1
40
1908
California. Superior Court (Los Angeles County)
Banning Company, Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company, and Pacific Electric Railway Company
2
41
1920
Los Angeles County (Calif.)
Joseph Brent Banning
1
42
1933
Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company
Certificate of Amendment of Articles of Incorporation
1
43
n.d.
[Kerckhoff, William George, 1856-1929]
Pasadena (Calif.). City Engineer
1
44
1883-1900, n.d.
Manuscript notes
14
45
1894-1895, n.d.
Maps, cadastral maps, engineering maps, and manuscript maps
8
46
1921
Photographs
2
47
1889-1897, n.d.
Receipts and bills
6
Oversize folders
Folder
Date
Description
Piece count
1
1883
Certificate of official filing of articles of incorporation of the Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company
1
2
1892
Map to accompany application of C. & F. J. Ganahl for Wharf Franchise
1
3
1893
Channel in Front of Smith’s Island Wilmington Harbor, Cal. 1893
2
4
1893-1894
O.A.P. of WILMINGTON HARBOR California Showing Proposed Harbor Lines
1
5
1894
Certificate, acreage of land held by Albert Boschke
1
6
1897
Blueprint of proposed San Pedro Bridge, with attached certificate from the United States, War Department
1
7
1903
Map of the City of San Pedro Compiled from Official Records and Personal Surveys 1903
1
8
1903
Drawing to illustrate a correction in the deed for Smith’s Island, with attached letter from Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company to the Banning Company
1
9
n.d.
Copy of Map in U.S. Land Office San Francisco Cal., shows parts of Rancho Palos Verdes, Rancho San Pedro, Dean Man’s island, Smith’s Island, and Mormon Island
1
10
n.d.
Drawing showing the wharf of the Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company
1
11
n.d.
Map of Smith’s Island (1)
1
12
n.d.
Map of Smith’s Island (2)
1
13
n.d.
Map of Smith’s Island (3)
1
14
n.d.
“Vicinage Sales and Leases,” map of San Pedro and Wilmington Districts
1Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company Records – Inventory – Page 5
Ledger book (account book)
Date
Title
Page count
1892
LEDGER, KERCKHOFF, CUZNER, M. & L. CO.
516
Indexing: Subjects
Banning, Joseph Brent
Banning, William, 1858-1946
Boschke, Albert
Kerckhoff, William George, 1856-1929
Banning Company
Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Company
Southern Pacific Railroad Company
Harbors – California – San Pedro
Land tenure – California – Law and legislation
Land titles – California – Los Angeles County
Land titles – Registration and transfer – California – Los Angeles County
San Pedro (Los Angeles, Calif.) – Description and travel
San Pedro (Los Angeles, Calif.) – History – Sources
San Pedro (Los Angeles, Calif.) – Maps
Articles of incorporation – California – Los Angeles County
Business records – California, Southern
Contracts – California – Los Angeles County
Deeds – California, Southern
Ledgers (account books) – California, Southern
Letters (correspondence) – California – Los Angeles County
Maps – California – Los Angeles County
Bibliography
O’Melveny, H. W. (Henry William), 1859-1941. The Story of William G. Kerckhoff. U.C.L.A. magazine, Jan. 1941, v. 15, no. 10. Reference F866 .K5