Los Angeles County, CA, Biographies

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ALBERT BRIGDEN.
 
        Among the successful horticulturists and representative business men of 
Lamanda Park, mention must be made of the subject of this sketch. Mr. Brigden is 
a native of Penn Yan, New York, born in 1844. His father, Timothy Brigden, was a 
well-known carriage manufacturer at Penn Yan. His mother was nee Cornelia 
Hickox, a native of Connecticut. Mr. Brigden was reared and educated in his 
native place. In 1864 he entered the United States military service as Sergeant 
in the Fifty-eighth Regiment of New York Volunteers. This regiment was not sent 
to the field, but was stationed at Elmira, New York, and engaged in guarding the 
rebel prisoners and conducting the paroled detachments to their point of 
exchange. He served his term of enlistment and returned to his home. Upon 
reaching his majority, Mr. Brigden entered into partnership with his father in 
his manufacturing establishment. This was successfully conducted until 1872, 
when a fire destroyed their works. He then went to Chicago, Illinois, and 
entered into the wholesale hardware business. He remained in business in Chicago 
until 1876, and then came to California. After a short stay in San Francisco he 
sought a desirable place in Los Angeles County, and purchased 135 acres of land 
lying about one mile north and west of Lamanda Park. This was a portion of the 
land originally owned by Mrs. Johnston, the widow of General Albert Sydney 
Johnston. Mrs. Johnston built upon that land the first frame house ever erected 
in that portion of the San Gabriel Valley. In 1869 she sold the property to 
Judge Eaton�now a resident of Pasadena�who established the well-known Fair Oaks 
Vineyard. In 1871 Charles Ellis purchased from Judge Eaton, and in 1876 sold 135 
acres to Mr. Brigden. When Mr. Brigden made the purchase there were forty acres 
of the land in vineyard and the rest was grain land, except twenty acres which 
were wild. He entered heartily into viticultural and horticultural pursuits, 
which he has since successfully conducted. At this writing he owns 115 acres of 
his original purchase, ninety acres of which are in vineyard, producing wine 
grapes of the Zinfandel, Blauelba and Muscat varieties. His orange and lemon 
groves occupy twenty acres, and the rest of the land is devoted to deciduous 
fruits, mostly apricots and peaches. Water for irrigation is only needed for 
citrus fruits, and this is obtained from the Eaton or Precipice Ca�on. Realizing 
that the products of his vineyard should be made to yield the most profitable 
return, in 1885 Mr. Brigden, with J. F. Crank and others, incorporated the 
Sierra Madre Vintage Company, with J. F. Crank as president and Mr. Brigden as 
vice-president and general manager, and in the same year a winery was built at 
Lamanda Park. This winery has since been under the supervision and management of 
Mr. Brigden. The establishment is complete in all its appointments, and its 
products find a ready sale in home and eastern markets. It has a capacity 
sufficient to manufacture or dispose of 1,000 tons of grapes during the season, 
which are tarnished by Mr. Brigdon's Highland Vineyards, and the Fair Oaks 
Vineyards owned by Mr. Crank. Mr. Brigden has been identified with other 
enterprises that have advanced the interests and aided in the building and 
settling up of his section. He was one of the original incorporators and a 
director in the San Gabriel Valley Railroad, in 1885, that was so instrumental 
in opening up that portion of the valley. This is now a part of the Santa F� 
Railroad system. He is a member of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and the 
Union League. In political matters he is a Republican, and though not an 
office-seeker, is a worker in the ranks of his party, and has many times been a 
delegate to the county conventions. He is a man of trained business habits and 
experience, which he has applied to his enterprises in Los Angeles County, and 
which have rendered him universally successful. In 1882 Mr. Brigden married Miss 
Helen Whitaker, the daughter of General A. F. Whitaker, a prominent resident of 
Penn Yan, New York' They have two children: Louise C. and T. Dwight.
 
An Illustrated History of Los Angeles County, California �  Chicago, The Lewis 
Publishing Company, 1889   Page 407
Transcribed by Kathy Sedler