Cawston Ostrich Farm
{{short description|Los Angeles tourist attraction (1886–1935)}}
{{Infobox amusement park
| name = Cawston Ostrich Farm
| image = 300px
| caption =
| location = South Pasadena
| location2 = California
| location3 = U.S.
| coordinates = {{Coord|34|6|45|N|118|10|24|W|region:US-CA_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| address =
| owner = Edwin Cawston
| season =
| opening_date = 1896
| closing_date = 1935
| rides =
| coasters =
| water_rides =
| shows =
}}
Cawston Ostrich Farm, located in South Pasadena, California, United States, was opened in 1886 by Edwin Cawston. It was one of America's first ostrich farms and was located in the Arroyo Seco Valley just three miles (5 km) north of downtown Los Angeles and occupied nine acres.[http://www.californiahistorian.com/magazine2_files/2010_pdfs/16-18_OstrichN.pdf California Historian] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110428194422/http://californiahistorian.com/magazine2_files/2010_pdfs/16-18_OstrichN.pdf |date=2011-04-28 }} In 1887, the company built Hollywood's first railway, linking the farm to Hollywood.{{Cite book |last=Lord |first=Rosemary |title=Los Angeles Then and Now |date=2002 |publisher=Thunder Bay Press |isbn=1571457941 |location=San Diego |pages=84}}
Founding
In 1886, Edwin Cawston and E.P. Hoyle chartered a ship to take some of the best obtainable ostriches in the world from South Africa to Galveston, Texas, where it arrived on January 25, 1887. From there, the ostriches endured a treacherous train journey to Los Angeles, California. Out of the original fifty-two birds – 26 males and 26 females – forty-three survived. (Cawston's 1920 obituary claimed that there were 50 ostriches at the outset and only 18 survivors.) The farm was first established at the corner of Main Street and Washington Boulevard in Los Angeles. In 1888, it was relocated to Norwalk, California; at this point, Cawston had 34 birds. The farm was moved again to South Pasadena in 1896, where it reopened to the public that October 15 with no fewer than 200 ostriches in its stable.
Tourism
File:"Cawston Ostrich Farm, South Pasadena, California" Matchsafe, ca. 1900 (CH 18495837) (cropped).jpg advertising about 1900]]
The Cawston Ostrich Farm became a premier tourist attraction for many years. Its proximity to the Pasadena and Los Angeles Electric Railway's trolley line that came through from downtown Los Angeles brought many tourists to visit the farm through the earlier part of the 20th century.[http://www.erha.org/pelines/pensp.htm Pacific Electric South Pasadena Local Lines] Guests were able to ride on the backs of ostriches, be taken for ostrich drawn carriage rides and buy ostrich feathered hats, boas, capes and fans at the Ostrich Farm store that was connected to the factory. The ostrich farm feather products were shipped and sold throughout the world. The farm closed in 1935.{{cite web|url= http://www.southpasadenaca.gov/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=5578 |title=City of South Pasadena Citywide Historic Context Statement }}
Most of the original brick structure of the factory and store remains today and is South Pasadena Cultural Landmark #18.[https://web.archive.org/web/20061209190047/http://ci.south-pasadena.ca.us/about/landmarks.html City of South Pasadena Landmarks]
In 1910 there were 10 Ostrich Farms in Southern California.[https://la.curbed.com/2012/9/24/10325196/how-ostrich-farms-became-a-thing-in-socal-in-the-late-1800s How Ostrich Farms Became a Thing in SoCal in the Late 1800s, By Adrian Glick Kudler]la.curbed.com
References
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External links
{{commons category|Cawston Ostrich Farm}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20050428111404/http://www.omaha.lib.ne.us/transmiss/regions/northmid/ostrich.html Article from the Omaha Public Library]
- [https://statenisland.pastperfectonline.com/webobject/C02F34CC-74C4-46AE-B773-546664516418 Cawston ostrich feather fan in the Staten Island Historical Society Online Collections Database]
- [https://digital.library.ucla.edu/catalog/ark:/21198/zz002dj2wn Image of a woman feeding an ostrich from a bucket at Cawston Ostrich Farm, South Pasadena, 1935.] Los Angeles Times Photographic Archive (Collection 1429). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Category:1886 establishments in California
Category:South Pasadena, California
Category:Tourist attractions in California
Category:1935 disestablishments in California
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