James West Home

James West built this home in 1887 and it is considered one of the earliest homes in Glendora. James West accompanied his father to California from Iowa in 1875 and in 1877 James and his brother Charles settled in the Glendora area three years after the original settlers. Six generations of the West family have lived in Glendora.

In 1877, just three years after the original settlers, William Cullen and John Bender, arrived in this area, James West and his brother, Charles, came to Glendora. Charles built at about the same time at 250 North Live Oak. The West brothers purchased 140 acres in this area and planted citrus trees (and, in some accounts, are credited with planting the bougainvilleas on the north side of Bennett). Generally, citrus trees require sixteen or more inches of rainfall/water annually. Since the Wests needed to know how much rain fell, beginning on October 1, 1880, James West set up a rain gauge and began what would be more than a century of the Wests keeping a daily log of rainfall in Glendora. In the Spring of 1981, the Los Angeles County Flood Control District presented the West family with a plaque commending them for their 100 years of service as “cooperative weather observers.” A gauge continues to be maintained and monitored to this day, currently by Gordon Rowley. The Wests and others, to assure a steady water supply, acquired water rights in Big Dalton Canyon and piped spring water from there to properties in the town. James West served as mayor of Glendora in 1916.

Battler, Bobbie. "Remember When." Herald Press December 21st 1983.