Hancock, Henry, 1822-1883
Variant namesHistorical Background
The story of the Union Pacific Railroad's involvement with oil and the Tidelands goes back to at least 1911 when the State of California granted the City of Long Beach its tidelands properties for development of commerce, navigation, fisheries, and recreation under a public trust doctine, meaning any development and revenues from such development would have to benefit the state as a whole rather than merely neighboring communities. (The tidelands are defined as land and waterways from the mean high tide to three miles offshore.)
Though oil had been discovered at Signal Hill in 1921, it wasn't until 1932 that oil was discovered in adjacent lands, mainly at the West Wilmington Oil Field. A few years later, the California Legislature gave the California State Lands Commission authority over California's ungranted public trust lands (tidelands, submerged lands, and navigable waters). In 1939 the City of Long Beach Harbor Department created a Petroleum Division and drilled the first well under the tidelands.
The years between 1932 and 1958 saw a succession of court cases and landmark decisions regarding the City's rights to conduct oil operations, property disputes between the City of Long Beach and the Union Pacific Railroad, and the expenditure of oil revenues. Throughout the twentieth century, the tidelands trust doctrine, overseen by the three-member California State Lands Commission, has changed drastically and what exactly is considered state public land use has been a debate since the beginning, leading to lawsuits and jurisdictional amendments over the years.
In the early 1990s, the Port of Long Beach purchased the 725-acre Union Pacific Railroad site, within the Wilmington Field off the coast of Long Beach for $405 million for the land and mineral rights.
From the guide to the Union Pacific Railroad Tidelands records, 1940s-1950s, (USC Libraries Special Collections)
Role | Title | Holding Repository | |
---|---|---|---|
creatorOf | Union Pacific Railroad Tidelands records, 1940s-1950s | USC Libraries Special Collections | |
referencedIn | Union Pacific Railroad Company. Union Pacific Railroad Tidelands records, 1940s-1950s. | University of Southern California, USC Libraries |
Role | Title | Holding Repository |
---|
Filters:
Relation | Name | |
---|---|---|
correspondedWith | Aldrich, Lloyd | person |
associatedWith | Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad Company. | corporateBody |
associatedWith | Bache, A. D., (Alexander Dallas), 1806-1867 | person |
associatedWith | Bates, Francis E. | person |
associatedWith | California. State Lands Commission. | corporateBody |
associatedWith | Hansen, George, 1824-1897 | person |
associatedWith | Lippincott, Joseph Barlow, 1864-1942 | person |
correspondedWith | Los Angeles (Calif.). Harbor Dept.. | corporateBody |
associatedWith | Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad Company | corporateBody |
associatedWith | Pacific Electric Railway Company. | corporateBody |
associatedWith | Railroad Commission of the State of California. | corporateBody |
associatedWith | San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad Company. | corporateBody |
associatedWith | Southern Pacific Company. | corporateBody |
associatedWith | Union Pacific Railroad Company. | corporateBody |
associatedWith | U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. | corporateBody |
Place Name | Admin Code | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Long Beach Harbor (Calif.) | |||
California, Southern | |||
Long Beach (Calif.) | |||
San Gabriel River (Calif.) | |||
Aliso Street Viaduct | |||
Port of Long Beach | |||
Terminal Island (Calif.) | |||
Huntington Beach (Calif.) | |||
San Pedro (Los Angeles, Calif.) | |||
Wilmington (Los Angeles, Calif.) | |||
Los Angeles (Calif.) |
Subject |
---|
Coastal mapping |
Geodesy |
Hydrographic surveying |
Hydrography |
Railroads |
Ranches |
Regional planning |
Submerged lands |
Surveying |
Topographical surveying |
Transportation |
Viaducts |
Occupation |
---|
Activity |
---|
Person
Birth 1822-04-11
Death 1883-01-09