Llano Colony (Secular community)

Utopian socialist community formed in 1914 in Southern Calif.; moved to La. in 1917; declared bankruptcy in 1936; attempt to recover assets begun in 1959.

From the description of Llano del Rio records, 1911-1969. (California Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 122642341

The Llano del Rio Co-operative Colony was incorporated in 1914 by Los Angeles attorney Job Harriman, the socialist nominee for mayor of Los Angeles in 1911. The settlement was located in California's Antelope Valley near Pearblossom, where an agricultural community was developed. Because of problems with water rights, transportation for produce, and internal dissension, the colony was discontinued in 1918. One group of the colonists went to Louisiana and reestablished a community under the name Newllano.

From the description of Records of Llano del Rio Colony, 1896-1967 (bulk 1930s). (Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens). WorldCat record id: 122551774

History of the Llano del Rio Cooperative Colony

The colony of Llano del Rio was formed in 1914 by Job Harriman, a socialist lawyer and politician from Los Angeles. Harriman sought to provide an economic underpinning to the ideas of socialism by organizing a cooperative colony. Harriman and a group of associates sought land for the site of the colony, settling on 10,000 acres in the Antelope Valley, north of Los Angeles. They incorporated the Llano del Rio company in California in 1914, and later reincorporated under Nevada law in 1916.

Harriman placed advertisements in Western Comrade and the California Social-Democrat, soliciting individuals and families interested in participating in the venture. Membership was achieved through a $500 purchase of 2,000 shares of stock in the company, the balance to be paid in labor at a variety of jobs available at the colony.

The colony grew quickly, burgeoning to a thousand members by 1917. The first year saw colonists living in tents while permanent structures were built - adobe houses and a hotel boasting electricity and indoor plumbing. The colony sought to be as self-sufficient as possible, and in addition to the cultivation of fruit trees, melons, potatoes, beans and other crops produced dairy, poultry and pork products, and had an apiary and a rabbitry. Colonists earned four dollars a day for their work, a dollar of which paid off the balance of membership, and the rest going toward living expenses.

By 1917, it became clear that the choice of site had been a mistake. Though hydrological surveys indicated that sufficient water supplies existed to irrigate up to 40,000 acres, the colony soon experienced a serious shortfall in water. Small rainfall, an insufficient resevoir, and limited rights to water from Big Rock Creek forced the colony to abandon the site and seek greener pastures elsewhere.

The Llano colonists boarded a chartered train, transporting themselves, machinery and livestock to Stables, Louisiana, an anbandoned mill town, renaming it Newllano. Some colonists were to remain in California, and develop the land to focus on fruit tree production. The following year however, creditors began involuntary bankruptcy proceedings against Llano, and the colony's California assets were foreclosed upon.

Job Harriman returned to California, where he died in 1925. George Pickett stepped in to lead Newllano until it declared bankruptcy in 1936, falling apart completely by 1938. An attempt to recover their assets was begun in 1959 by Pickett and others.

Sources

Hoffman, A. (1961) A look at Llano: Experiment in Economic Socialism. California Historical Society Quarterly . 40(3), 215-236

Huxley, A. & Kagan, P. (1972) A Double Look at Utopia: the Llano del Rio Colony. California Historical Society Quarterly . 51(2) 117-154

From the guide to the Llano del Rio records, 1911-1969, (California Historical Society)