Ricardo Vejar and Ignacio Palomares were given land by the last Spanish Governor of California, Pablo Vincente, as a reward for their efforts for the army. In 1837, in the rich Pomona Valley, the two men and their families settled what eventually became known as Rancho San José.[1] Their ranch was large, covering 22,340 acres of the richest part of the valley. This land later became the town of Spadra, Spadra Farm, Phillips’s Ranch, the original site for Pacific Colony as well as the cities of Pomona, Claremont, La Verne, San Dimas, Diamond Bar, Azusa, Glendora, Covina, and Walnut.

After the deaths of Palomares and Vejar, their land was split up and sold by their descendants. The largest tract was bought by two businessmen who later sold it to Louis Phillips. After gaining incredible wealth through his ranch, his interests turned to local land development.

Spadra as a town, originally part of Louis Phillips’s land, was the first American settlement in the Pomona Valley Its origins were tied to the arrival of a large wagon train from Arkansas, “when the Southern Pacific Railroad line extended southwest of Pomona, Billy Rubottom built a hotel, blacksmith shop and other businesses at the end of the line on a portion of Rancho San José.”[2] His entrepreneurial actions that began in 1866 lead to the founding of the town of Spadra in the following years.[3] However, it was not until the railroad’s extension in 1874 that the town began to populate and prosper. The town served as a pioneer rest area for supplies, mail, etc. while also flourishing with residents from the original wagon train as well as other settlers, “in 1870, the town had three stores, two blacksmith shops, and a saloon that had been added to the hotel. In 1875, Spadra ranked third in imports among all cities in Los Angeles County.”[4]  However, as the Pomona Valley continued to be settled, Spadra fell out of relevance and was only officially in existence as a town for 89 years.[5] The land was annexed by the city of Pomona in 1964.

For more information on Rancho San José and the town of Spadra, please visit or contact the Historical Society of Pomona Valley.

[1] Mickey Gallivan and the Historical Society of Pomona Valley, Images of America: Early Pomona (Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2007) 11.
[2] Anna Wallace, “Uncle Billy founded Spadra” The High Country 47, no. 46 n.d. Special Collections and University Archives, 16
[3] Joe Blackstock, “Spadra, on Pomona’s Western Fringe, has Arkansas connection,” Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, July 1, 2000, A3.
[4] Bobbie Battler, “Uncovering first Pomona Valley Settlement,” Walnut Highlander, January 16, 2003, 2.
[5] Bobbie Battler, “Uncovering first Pomona Valley Settlement,” Walnut Highlander, January 16, 2003, 2.