WILMINGTON CREATING A HEALTHY HARBOR COMMUNITY The community of Wilmington, a site of commerce and industry, reflects the nature of its founder and early resident, Phineas Banning. Remembered as the “Father of the Los Angeles Harbor,” Phineas Banning was a family man, an entrepreneur, a Brigadier General and a State Senator. He founded the town of New San Pedro on September 25, 1858 and in 1863, changed its name to Wilmington, after his hometown in Delaware. Wilmington’s early development and growth was due to a combination of factors. It was geographically advantageous, sited six miles closer to Los Angeles than old San Pedro, and possessed a protected inner channel and lagoon. Due to Phineas Banning’s Unionist leanings it became a base for Union Army activities during the Civil War. Camp Drum was established in 1861, and Drum Barracks was built in 1862-63.
In addition to economic activities related to the operation of the Los Angeles Port, oil extraction is a major industry in the area. The Wilmington Oil Field was first discovered in 1932 and is the third largest oil field in the U.S. in terms of cumulative oil production. The proliferation of small oil wells in the area led to peak production in the early 1940s.2 To this day, a strong sense of community remains and is centered on the harbor communities, which are distinct neighborhoods with their own unique traditions and assets. FIGURE 1: LOS ANGELES HARBOR WATERFRONT IN 1903
After the Civil War, Phineas Banning and his town played major roles in the development of the harbor and establishment of transportation in the region. In 1869, Wilmington became the terminus of the first railroad in Southern California, the Los Angeles & San Pedro Railroad. In 1872, Wilmington was incorporated as a city, and in 1871 and 1873, Phineas Banning received money from the federal government to build a breakwater and improve the harbor. Phineas Banning lobbied to have Wilmington declared a port of entry in 1874. In 1876, commerce began to grow in Los Angeles with the arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad. This railroad connected Los Angeles to the transcontinental railroad, and Wilmington provided the railroad with access to the harbor. 1 In the 1890s, Wilmington and San Pedro were involved in the Free Harbor Fight led against Collis Huntington, owner of the Southern Pacific Railroad, who was lobbying to build a new Southern California port in Santa Monica. The campaign for a “Free Harbor for a Free People” culminated in 1896, when the California Senate commissioned an independent corps of engineers to choose between the two potential sites. In the summer of 1896, Los Angeles’ San Pedro Bay was found to be superior. As a result, Wilmington and San Pedro were annexed by the City of Los Angeles to provide the growing metropolis with the necessary link to the harbor. By 1910, port development at San Pedro and Terminal Island was well underway.
WILMINGTON
Photo Credit: Title Insurance and Trust / C.C. Pierce Photography Collection, USC Libraries
CREATING A HEALTHY HARBOR COMMUNITY
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