Owen's block, purchased by Biddy Mason in 1866, Spring St. side, Los Angeles, 1907-1908

Title: Owen's block, purchased by Biddy Mason in 1866, Spring St. side, Los Angeles, 1907-1908
Alternative title: Owens family properties
Date Created: [between 1907 and 1908]
Date: 1907/1908
Collection: Miriam Matthews Photograph Collection
OpenUCLA Collections

Description: Spring Street between 3rd and 4th Streets, facing west towards a commercial building with Exton Music Co., and other businesses
On November 28, 1866, Biddy Mason purchased two lots, bounded by Spring, Fort (now Broadway), 3rd and 4th Streets on the, then, outskirts of Los Angeles, for $250. Eighteen years later it was next to the city center.
Biddy Mason was brought to California as a slave in a wagon train. She petitioned for her freedom, and a judge granted it to her and her family in 1856. She became a successful nurse and midwife, and gained a small fortune through real estate investments. She donated generously to charities and was instrumental in the founding of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Los Angeles.
Caption: Written on back of photo: Courtesy L. A. County Natural History Museum