J.F.T. Titley: Founder of Titleyville and Namesake of Titley Ave.

Organ music played in the background as I opened the attachment labeled, "Titleyville.pdf." A story from the May 3, 1908 Los Angeles Times appeared. The headline was gripping:

"WHOLE TOWN LOSES HARD EARNED HOMES: Poor People Discover They Have Been Paying Installments to A Man Who Doesn't Own Land - Poor Dupes Threaten His Life."

Whoa!! The music grew louder. Here were answers to the mystery of Titleyville and little Titley Ave.

Indeed, there was a Titleyville and its setting was one of beauty. "Titleyville is a town between Lamanda and Arcadia. It lies romantically under the bending bows of the trees and its cottages are covered with vines and roses."

And, indeed, the town was started by one J.F.T. Titley around 1900. Titley is described as an enterprising man who wanted to give poor people a chance to own their own homes. His "grand idea" was to build small homes in Titleyville, then sell them to people using installment contracts.

Understanding how Titley sold his real estate is key to appreciating the tragedy that ensued. Titley didn't sell homes the way we do today. Persons contracting with Titley agreed to pay him a monthly amount toward purchase of their home. Only when the buyer finished paying all the required installments, would Titley transfer title.

At least that is how it was supposed to work.

But, as is often the case with aspiring real estate moguls, Mr. Titley needed money. Using Titleyville as collateral, he obtained a loan from Pasadenan Susan Reeves. Titley got money for a new venture and Reeves took a mortgage on Titleyville.

The stage was set for tragedy to befall the hard working denizens of Titleyville. Though Titley continued collecting installments from his buyers, seems he neglected to pay Mrs. Reeves. Finally, in 1904, Reeves foreclosed.

Those who paid their installments to Titley were left with nothing for their hard earned money. They had a contract with Titley, but Reeves was the owner.

Though she had other options, Reeves allowed the people to stay in their homes. New installment contracts were made. Buyers had to go back to square one in paying for their homes.

Mr. Titley became persona non grata in his own town.

The good folks of Titleyville wanted the man's hide. Town leader, Mr. Estrada, said "It would not be safe for that man to ever be seen here again. I do not say that I would kill him, but others here feel so that I guess he would never leave here alive. I know that I would fix him so that he would have to spend a few months in the hospital."

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Many thanks go to Roberta Martinez, author of the wonderful new book, Latinos in Pasadena. and to Paul Secord for graciously sharing their research into Titleyville and Chihuahuita.

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Sure seems like J.F.T. Titley was a first rate scoundrel. But, we might be terribly mistaken if that is our final view of the man. More in my next post.

New Road Under the Freeway - Part 2: The Last Remnant of Titleyville

Titley Ave. is a stub of a street that starts at Foothill Blvd. and runs south a few hundred yards where it dead ends into the 210 freeway. When Kinneloa Ave. is extended northward under the 210, it will connect up with Titley Ave. In turn, Titley Ave. will be renamed Kinneloa Ave. Little Titley Ave. will be no more.

When Titley Ave. goes, so too will any physical reference to an old place named "Titleyville."

Not that Titleyville was ever an official city or town. There were no "entering" or "leaving" signs, city councils or chambers of commerce. But, for half a century, the name marked a place where hundreds of people made their homes, did business, and raised families.

Depending upon the source, Titleyville spanned the years 1900 - 1950. The village center was the site of the present day Target store (previously Fedco) on East Colorado Blvd. The unofficial boundaries seem to be east of Eaton Wash, south of Foothill Blvd. and north of Colorado Blvd.

I have not found the origin of the village's name. I assume there was a Titley family in the area around the turn of the century, but haven't seen any reference to them. Spanish speakers had another name for Titleyville -- "Chihuahuita" or Little Chihuahua. The later name was possibly given in recognition that some early residents immigrated from Chihuahua.

Whatever the name, by the 1920's there were 350 residents, primarily Latino, in an established village. Many residents worked in area vineyards, orchards or packing houses. As historian and civic leader Roberta Martinez points out, this was a vibrant little village.

Martinez writes about Chihuahuita in her excellent book, Latinos in Pasadena. Because it was a distance from Pasadena proper, there was a self-sufficiency and definition about the place. Chihuahuita had two stores with shopkeepers who lived in the village. It supported two churches -- a Roman Catholic Church and a Methodist Church. And there was a school, which opened in 1915 as Titleyville School and was later renamed Chihuahuita School.

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So what happened to Titleyville/Chihuahuita?

The combination of time and growth gradually overcame the little village. Bit by bit the distance and distinction between the urban City of Pasadena and rural lands to the east were diminished. The old communities of Lamanda Park and Titleyville gradually melded into East Pasadena. And the old names lost their currency until one day the only physical reminder of Titleyville's existance was a stub of a street dead-ending into the freeway.

Soon, even that last sign of Titleyville will be gone.

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Check out Pasadena Adjacent for more on Roberta Martinez and her book.

Also, a brief but nice discussion of Titleyville/Chihuahuita is in the East Colorado Specific Plan.