Phillips Mansion - Louis Phillips

Louis Phillips

The Phillips Mansion was built in 1875 by Louis Phillips (c. 1830 - 1900). Phillips was born in Prussia and moved to California in the early 1850s. He moved to Spadra (now part of Pomona) in 1862 and began engaging in sheep herding and cattle raising. In 1864, he purchased 12,000 acres (49 km2) of the old Rancho San Jose for $30,000. In 1867, he married Esther Blake, with whom he had three sons (Charles, George and Louis, Jr.) and two daughters (Mrs. Frank George and adopted daughter, Kate Cecil). He also acquired large land holdings in other parts of the county, including the Los Angeles business district where he owned the Phillips Block on Spring Street, a block on Los Angeles Street and another on Third Street. By 1892, the Los Angeles Times reported that Phillips, "who lives so quietly out at Spadra, near Pomona," was "the richest man in Los Angeles County." The Times noted that Phillips was worth "not a dollar less than $3,000,000" and stated that, in addition to his land holdings in Los Angeles, he had a ranch that produced wool, honey and wheat.