Elias Jackson "Lucky" Baldwin

Rancho Santa Anita Owner 1875 - 1909 (American Period)

Elias Baldwin was born on April 3, 1828 in Hamilton County, Ohio. He traveled from Ohio to Indiana at the age of seven. At twenty-two, he was a merchant in Valparaiso, Indiana. In 1850, he was a grocer in Racine, Wisconsin. It was from there that Baldwin left for San Francisco, on February 5, 1853, with a stock of horses and other items for trade, that sold in Salt Lake City for a large profit. On August 10, he arrived in Hangtown, California (today’s Placerville) where he engaged in mining with some success. It was at the infamous Comstock lode in Nevada that Baldwin made his fortune, coming out with at least $9,000,000 from the Ophir mines. He then moved to San Francisco and built the Baldwin Hotel, one of the most elaborate and decadent hotels in the country. In addition to The Baldwin, he bought and sold a number of hotels and engaged in the brick trade. From brick-making, he went into the livery business for seven years and then opened a lumber company in Virginia City, Nevada. There, he also dealt in real estate and mining stocks.

Santa Anita

On a trip to southern California, Baldwin was attracted to the fertile soil, scenery and climate. In 1875, he purchased 8,000 acres of Santa Anita Rancho. He also acquired the old Spanish grants of La Puente, Potrero de Felipe Lugo, Potrero Grande, La Merced, San Francisquito, La Cienega and Potrero Chico. Combined, these ranchos consisted of 46,000 acres, which included the heart of the San Gabriel Valley. Today, Arcadia is a portion of that massive ranch. At its height, Baldwin’s lands held 14 artesian wells, over 100 miles of water mains and irrigation ditches, 100 miles of beautifully laid out streets, roads and drives, and miles upon miles of eucalyptus, palm and pepper trees. Baldwin ran a productive ranch. There were 700 acres of oranges, 100 acres of lemons, 100 acres of deciduous fruits including apples, apricots, grapefruit, peaches, plums and figs. He also grew almonds and English walnuts. There were 2,000 acres of vegetables and 25,000 acres devoted to corn, hay and small grains. He raised 20,000 sheep, 3,000 cattle, 500 work mules, 500 draught and carriage horses and 250 thoroughbreds.

Baldwin’s Oakwood Hotel sat on the corner of today’s First Avenue and Santa Clara Street. In the days of Baldwin, the hotel was situated near the entrance to his Santa Anita Ranch, and was the headquarters for all of his endeavors. The hotel was reached by tally-ho, by private carriage; by rail on the Santa Fe and Southern Pacific railroads; and by trolley cars of the Pacific Electric Company.

With the purchase of the Ranchos, Baldwin gained one of the oldest vineyards and wineries in southern California started by the Franciscan priests at Mission San Gabriel. Baldwin took the developed wine industry and made it his own, creating his personal brand of wines and brandies. His creations won gold medals and blue ribbons. The awards hung in the Oakwood Hotel, where Baldwin offered free samples of his prized achievement in his wine tasting rooms. All of his products were bottled, packed and shipped from Santa Anita, which was the sole distributor. In developing the ranch, vineyard and winery he expended over 2.5 million dollars.

Baldwin was around horses all of his life and was a lover of horse racing. His Santa Anita Ranch was the home of four winners of the American Derby: Silver Cloud, Volante, Emperor of Norfolk and Rey El Santa Anita. His famous breeding establishment at Santa Anita sent horses to the races that won the greatest and richest stakes of the American turf. They carried his colors, which consisted of a red Maltese cross on a black background, a red sash and cuffs and a black and red cap. With the combination of winners and a top-notch breeding farm, Baldwin made California a serious rival of Kentucky as the home of the thoroughbred.

From 1907 through 1909, Baldwin established the first Santa Anita Park, which was located on today’s Arcadia County Park site. It held five exclusive world records and many of the greatest horses in training in America raced there. The first Santa Anita Park stood as a monument to Baldwin's memory at his death. Shortly thereafter, racing was outlawed in California and the track fell into disrepair. Baldwin died on March 1, 1909 in his home on the Santa Anita ranch from heart problems and tuberculosis.

From “Sixty Years in Southern California” by Harris Newmark

“E.J. Baldwin bought the Santa Anita rancho, in March, from H. Newmark & Company - a transaction recalled thirty-eight years later when, in 1913, the box which had been sealed and placed in the corner-stone of the Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church, at about the time of the sale, was brought forth from its long burial. Baldwin had just sold his controlling interest in the Ophir mine of the Comstock district for five million, five hundred thousand dollars.

The sale of the Santa Anita is not without an incident or two, perhaps, of exceptional interest. On “Lucky” Baldwin’s first visit, he offered us one hundred and fifty thousand dollars for the property; but learning that we wanted two hundred thousand dollars, he started off in a huff. Then Reuben Lloyd, the famous San Francisco attorney who accompanied him, said on reaching the sidewalk, ‘Lucky, go back and buy that ranch, or they’ll raise the price on you!’ and Baldwin returned, carrying under his arm a tin-box (containing several million dollars) from which he drew forth twelve thousand, five hundred, tendering the same as a first payment. The sale being declared ‘the most magnificent’ yet made in California."