Israel Beal, Redlands pioneer, circa 1900-1910

Description: Studio portrait of Israel Beal, Redlands pioneer.
Israel Beal was born in Virginia. He was a slave freed by Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. In 1877 he was one of the first to purchase land, twenty acres, in Lugonia. Next he purchased seventeen and one-half adjoining this, and then ten acres in Redlands. The Redlands property was then traded for twenty acres adjoining the original purchase. Mr. Beal built a house, improved his land and was one of the leading horticulturists in his neighborhood. He married Miss Martha Embers, a native of California, and had had seven children, four of whom survived into adulthood. He played an important role in building Redlands as a Teamster, a businessman and a builder.