June 10, 2010 in Labor Movement, Utopian | by aklandlaw | Leave a comment

By William Abbott

Llano del Rio is more than a failed colony on the edge of the Mojave Desert. It is a Raymond Chandler like tale of politics, labor and Harrison Gray Otis, patriarch of the Los Angeles Times. Attorney Job Harriman was active in the natural socialist movement at the end of the 1800’s. He served as Eugene Deb’s vice presidential running mate in 1900. Unsuccessful, he returned to lawyering in Los Angeles, and a decade later, ran for mayor of Los Angeles as a progressive/socialist. During this same time period, efforts to unionize the Los Angeles work force were bitterly opposed, and one of the most outspoken critics was Harrison Gray Otis, editor of the Los Angeles Times. In 1910, a bomb explodes behind the Times building killing twenty people. The McNamara Brothers and Ortie McManigal, labor organizers were arrested. While running for mayor (and having received the most votes in the primary), Harriman served as their defense counsel, although Clarence Darrow eventually appeared as co-counsel and took over the case due to Harriman’s need to campaign for office. Darrow eventually convinced his clients to plead guilty, and some pundits believe that the timing of the pleas, a few days before the mayoral election, was designed to ruin Harriman’s chances of being elected mayor which in fact was what transpired. Convinced that socialism would not succeed politically without the foundation of an economic model, Harriman turned to creating a socialist colony.

In 1913, Harriman and a handful of his acquaintances purchased land and water rights in an area roughly 20 miles east of Palmdale. With this investment, they created the Llano Del Rio Company. To become a member of Llano, members had to acquire 2000 shares of company stock. Harriman used the corporate concept in part as a shield from business critics. The community of Llano was designed by Alice Constance Austin, a socialist, feminist and self-trained architect. She developed a circular plan for the community, and among other innovations, included kitchenless homes and day care facilities. The colony was marketed to workers captured by the limitations of capitalism. The community officially (and appropriately) opened for public membership on May Day in 1914. One tactical error was the use of a stock agent who, in successfully selling the stock, likely oversold the advantages of living in Llano, which in turn lead to internal operating strife as the community grew too quickly with individuals not ideally suited to communal living. Within a few years, the colony soon had 1000 residents.

According to a report published by the Historical Society of Southern California in 1918, the colonists controlled directly or indirectly roughly 9000 acres of land with 2000 acres cultivated in alfalfa (400 acres), orchards (120 acres), gardens (120 acres), corn (100 acres) and the balance in various grains. The colony maintained active crews responsible for community buildings, homes, roads, irrigation works, dam construction, agricultural land preparation, animal husbandry. Reports indicated that Llano, within a relatively short time period, grew 90% of what it needed to support itself. While the colony considered selling agricultural products and modest handicrafts, its location was too remote to successfully implement the vision. The colony included a hotel, community hall, lime kilns, barns, silo, canning plant, lumber mill and steam laundry. (see map) Llano maintained one of the first and largest Montessori schools (over 100 students), and was highly organized in the theater, education and entertainment, including an orchestra.

Utopian in concept but not necessarily in practice, internal strife plagued the community as it learned to govern itself. Llano’s system of governance relied upon 60 different committees reporting to a government board, a system which did not always work smoothly. An equal challenge was that of a reliable water supply. The colonists were unable to secure a state permit to construct the amount of storage it needed to maintain a sufficient water supply. Like many colonies, a lack of capital always operated as a brake on what could be accomplished. With the outbreak of World War I, the colony lost part of its workforce to the Army and to new-found industries in Los Angeles. Undaunted, the colonists sought out a new location in California’s Central Valley, but eventually acquired an abandoned forest plantation and mill town of 20,000 acres and buildings in Stables, Louisiana.  In 1918, a group chartered a train and moved east, and named the colony Newllano. This colony existed for many years and included two satellite communities (cattle raising in New Mexico and rice farming in Texas).

The early demise (1918) of Llano was a function of the “Too’s”; too remote, too rapid growth, too little capital and too little water. Unlike other California colonies however, its progeny continued for many years, with Newllano lasting until 1939.

For American Utopia Photo Archives visit http://www.lpb.org/programs/utopia/photos.html