Julián Antonio Chávez | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | January 7, 1808 |
| Died | July 25, 1879(1879-07-25) (aged 71) |
| Occupation(s) | rancher, landowner and elected official |
| Known for | Chavez Ravine |
| Board member of | Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors County Chair |
| Spouse | Maria Luisa Machado |
Julián Antonio Chávez (January 7, 1808 – July 25, 1879) was aNew Mexican-bornCalifornio ranchero, landowner and public official in 19th-centuryLos Angeles, California.[1][2] Chávez served multiple terms on theLos Angeles Common Council and theLos Angeles County Board of Supervisors. He is the namesake ofChavez Ravine.
Julián Antonio Chávez was born inAbiquiu, New Mexico,New Spain, on January 7, 1808, son of Francisco Chávez and Francesca Rosa Verlarde.[3] He is thought to have arrived in Los Angeles,Alta California,Mexico, in the early 1830s, possibly with one of many trapping parties from New Mexico. The city census of 1836 listed Julián Chávez, aged 27, with a stated occupation of "laborer."[4]
Around that same time he began to acquire real estate, which could be done by simply petitioning theayuntamiento (a local body similar to a city council) for permission to take possession of unoccupied tracts.[4] In 1844 he was granted a plot of 83 acres (340,000 m2) about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of downtown Los Angeles, which would become known as Chavez Canyon. During localsmallpox outbreaks in 1850 and 1880, the canyon housed an isolation hospital to care for the afflicted. Later renamedChavez Ravine, it is today the location ofDodger Stadium.[4]
Chávez's first political office was that of assistant mayor(suplentealcalde) of Los Angeles in 1838. He served also as a "judge of waters" and later a "judge of the plains," as part of the Court of Sessions, which handled legal matters — mostly on water and cattle disputes.[4] During his final term in 1873 as a member of theLos Angeles Common Council he worked closely on issues withPrudent Beaudry,Henry Dockweiler andWilliam H. Workman.
Chávez was elected to the firstLos Angeles County Board of Supervisors in June 1852. Other members wereJefferson Hunt,Francisco P. Temple,Manuel Requena andSamuel Arbuckle. He served on the seventh board in 1858 and the tenth board in 1861.
Chávez was a widower until he married again, to Maria Luisa Machado on November 4, 1865. She was 22 years his junior, and as a daughter ofYgnacio Machado she came from a long-established family of Los Angeles rancheros.[4]
Chávez died of a heart attack on July 25, 1879.[4]