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Overview

Tinsmith, hardware merchant, nurseryman, fruit grower, theatre owner and landowner Ozro W. Childs erected this Italianate house and elaborate gardens in the 1870s in Los Angeles, CA. In 1880, Childs and his family resided on Main Street in Los Angeles.

Building History

Ozro Williams Childs (born 06/05/1824 in Sutton, VT-d. 04/17/1890 in Los Angeles, CA) pursued a number of occupations during his life. In Ohio, he learned the trade of tinsmithing. Attracted by the discovery of gold in Northern CA, he sailed to here by 1850, but his asthmatic lung condition could not tolerate the moist coastal climate of the Bay Area, prompting him to move south. Arriving in Los Angeles, he and a partner purchased the stock of an existing hardware business and prospered, enabling him to buy out his partner within a few years. By 1857, he opened the first plant nursery in Los Angeles on Main Street between 11th and 12th Streets. He likely built this residence and its elaborate gardens nearby (or on the grounds) of the nursery on Main Street by about 1870. The Los Angeles Public Library said of Childs and his residence: "Ozro W. Childs, a Protestant horticulturalist, was a founding father of The University of Southern California. His sprawling estate located at 1111 So. Main, occupied all of the land from Main to Hill streets, and from Eleventh to Twelfth streets." (See Tessa.lapl.org, "Ozro W. Childs residence," accessed 03/09/2023.) Other sources indicated that it was larger than this.

In 1870, the US Census reported that Childs owned a staggering $100,000 worth of real estate and had a residence worth about $10,000. (Many other households in the area ranged in value from $50 to $1,000, with a few outliers at $5,000.) He lived in this residence with his wife Emmeline Huber (born 09/21/1839 in Louisville, KY-d. 09/24/1935 in Los Aneles County, CA), two children and four servants. This 1870 Census listed him as a hardware merchant. (See Source Citation Year: 1870; Census Place: Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Roll: M593_73; Page: 503B, accessed 03/09/2023.)

Ten years later, Ozro was identified as a fruit tree grower and the Childs household consisted of Ozro and Emmeline, their six children and five servants. Children included William O. Childs (born c. 1865 in CA), Emma Childs (born c. 1868 in CA), Carrie Childs (born c. 1871 in CA), Ruth Childs (born c. 1873 in CA), Stephen Childs (born 1877 in CA) and Hortense (born 1879 in CA). Servants were Margaret Tierney (born c. 1823 in Ireland), Augusta App (born c. 1840 in Germany), Elisabeth Welch (born c. 1864 in CA), Ah Hock (born c. 1840 in Hong Kong) and Ah Wong (born c. 1852 in China). (See Source Citation Year: 1880; Census Place: Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Roll: 67; Page: 224A; Enumeration District: 025, accessed 03/09/2023.)

PCAD id: 24605