Most people don’t think about German-American history when they think about Southern California. Pennsylvania, of course, Wisconsin, naturally, but California? YES! Anaheim’s German History is a great story. The city of Anaheim began as a colony of Germans! (Yes, Anaheim, home to the House of Mouse). In 1857, 50 Germans formed an association called the Los Angeles Vineyard Company and created a mini-utopia in sunny Southern California near the Santa Ana River. They called it Anaheim.
But why? What lured a group of Germans to sunny Southern California? (Besides, obviously, the sunshine) And what happened to the German colony along the Santa Ana River?
A mini-California History Lesson
In 1848, three significant events made California enticing for immigration.
1. On February 2, 1848, at the end of the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), Mexico signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which gave the United States a HUGE chunk of land covering the current states of Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, most of Arizona and Colorado, parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming, and of course, California.
2. Right around that time, on January 24, 1848, John Sutter (a German-Swiss immigrant) discovered flakes of gold in the South Fork of the American River. (Unlucky timing for Mexico; word of the find did not spread until AFTER the treaty signing…. but that’s another story).
3. The Revolution of 1848 failed. (in short, the liberal revolutionaries wanted a parliamentary government that represented all people. A restructuring of the whole system. The rich aristocrats wanted to keep the status quo, and ultimately, they did…until 1871.)
These three important events meant the West was now open to immigrants and settlers. Gold made an enticing lure. Many Germans followed their dreams of striking it rich in California, either with gold or selling merchandise to the miners. And quite a few German revolutionaries who found themselves on the wrong side of an uprising decided that leaving the German Confederation would be a good idea. These “48ers” mostly ended up in Texas, but many headed to California.
Colonies in California
California was a wide open space, not yet parceled up like the East. At the time, most land was divided into Land Grants. These huge swaths of land were “granted” to retired soldiers by the Spanish and Mexican governments to encourage settlers and act as a form of defense in this vast piece of country. (How big? It varied, but most were around 22,500 acres). One of the concessions of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was that ownership of these grants would continue. And what was owned could be sold.
Quite a few cities in modern California were initially founded by groups of like-minded people or colonies searching for a Utopia. In the years after 1850, they settled in San Bernadino, Ontario, Pasadena, and Anaheim. The German-owned Los Angeles Vineyard Company of Anaheim would become the first of these colonies.
The Los Angeles Vineyard Company the beginning of Anaheim’s German History
After the failed revolution, John Fröhling, a professional flute player from Prussia, landed in San Francisco, where he played with the Germania Musical Society. According to the company story, he and his friend Charles Kohler started a winery because they liked grapes (seriously, they were at a picnic, enjoyed the grapes, and decided they wanted to be in on that business). Although neither of them had any vineyard experience, their company was a success! (All those new people flooding into California were THIRSTY). They needed more land to expand the business and they needed an influx of capital.
Together, they founded the Los Angeles Vineyard Company in 1857. 50 Shareholders banded together to find land where they could grow grapes in the sunshine of Southern California with a buy-in of $750. First, they hired a recent immigrant from Austria, a Los Angeles Civil Engineer named George Hanson, to find the perfect spot.
And he did. 28 miles south of Los Angeles he purchased 1165 acres of land from Juan Pacifico Ontiveros near the Santa Ana River, at $2 an acre.
But the Los Angeles Vineyard Company didn’t move right away.
Although it doesn’t look like it now, golf courses, swimming pools, and miles of housing hide the fact that Southern California is a desert. So, to prepare the land, they had Hanson oversee a crew of 88 men. In addition to dividing the community into lots, they built an irrigation channel to bring water 7 miles from the Santa Ana River.
The colony was laid out in a grid. Each 20-acre square lot would be divided by hedges, and a wall of Willow trees would surround the entire colony to keep out the range cattle (who would love to munch on grapes). Then, the vines were planted.
Three years later, the vines produced enough to pay dividends, and the investors could finally move to their Utopia. They called it Anaheim… their new home along the Ana.
Anaheim- a German Colony
Plots in Anaheim were chosen by lottery, giving each investor an equal chance. The lots themselves had greater or lesser value, from $600 to $1400. Everyone in the Company got a $1200 credit. If someone ended up with a less valuable lot, they were compensated with cash. Some lots were set aside to be community property, and the first building to go up was the school.
The German investors were not farmers, and only one had any experience with vineyards. But, in their number, they had a bookbinder, a poet, a gunsmith, a brewer, and a carpenter. The 50 members brought their families to Anaheim and made it their home. And while these German colonists may not have had experience, they brought with them a strong work ethic.
Dietrich Strodhoff of Hanover, age 24, worked his 20-acre vineyard and supervised the irrigation canals. Theodore Reiser built the first winery and distiller. Charles Rust of Brunswick, worked two vineyard lots. Theodore Rimpau of Hamburg organized economic policies and helped save the community when it faced bankruptcy. Timm John Fredrick Böge of Holstein founded the local German-American Bank. Henry Kröger of Holstein opened the Hotel. August Langenberger and Benjamin Dreyfus opened the first General Store. Later, Dreyfus, a Bavarian by birth, would open the first brewery. Carl August Lorenz of Prussia would inaugurate the Anaheim electric power system. Frederick Korn served as director of the Anaheim Union Water Company. (Don’t forget, much of California politics and power centers on WATER).
And my favorite, Theodore Schmidt of Bielefeld, who came up with the name Anaheim, was Anaheim’s first Nurseryman.
The community built a brewery and distillery to accompany the winery. It also built an Opera house. And, like all Germans, it started clubs: a Turnverein for men and women, a Civic Band, and a Plein-air painting society.
Find the book Early Anaheim- Images of America by Stephen Faessel on Amazon-
Early Anaheim (CA) (Images of America)
Constant improvements and upgrades were made to the Anaheim Community.
Initially, all goods had to be imported from Los Angeles, 26 miles away. A port in Wilmington serviced the community, and barges would pull goods to the ocean. In 1875, the South Pacific Railroad made Anaheim its terminus, meaning they could now ship products easily nationwide.
The community set up their own water company AND electric company.
And all was well until 1884 when the Los Angeles Vineyard Company faced decimation because of a bacteria called Xylella fastidiosa.
Anaheim Blight
Blight, bugs, mites, and pests have been part of the California Agriculture story since the beginning. However, the Anaheim colonists weren’t ready for a complete decimation of their vineyards. Pierce’s Disease wiped out the vines by blocking its xylem (the tubes that carry water through the plant). By 1888, vineyards were beyond saving.
Instead of abandoning the colony, the farmers of Anaheim ripped out the vines and planted citrus instead. By 1886, Anaheim was promoting citrus production. (They even held a Southern California Citrus Fair in Chicago! Rail travel made it all possible.) Anaheim would become the Valencia Orange capital of the nation.
Anaheim’s Germanness Fades
After the turn of the century, Anaheim started to lose its German accent. Like so many German-American communities, the assimilation to American life wore away some of the German traditions. Then, in the lead-up to World War I, anti-German sentiment meant public displays of Germanness were all but wiped out.
Then, on January 19, 1919, the 18th Amendment to the Constitution prohibiting alcohol was passed, and Anaheim’s Breweries, Wineries, and Distilleries were shut down. Anaheim, now fully incorporated and a part of the growing Southern California landscape, is no longer that colony of Germans.
But Anaheim’s German History isn’t gone forever.
Like a Phoenix from the Ashes- Anaheim’s German History is Rebooted
In 1960, Franz Sielck and Gustav Winkler both put ads in the local Anaheim newspaper looking for other like-minded Germans who might want to get together. 300 people responded, and 15 of them met at the home of Brigitte and Hans Klein, where the Phoenix Club was formed. They took the name from the mythical Phoenix, a bird who rose from the ashes, reborn. Their mission: To preserve our common German language, customs, and culture.
By 1964, the club bought a 4.2-acre plot of land on Douglas Rd. in Anaheim, and a few months later, they broke ground on the first 17,000-square-foot clubhouse. 80% of the labor was done by volunteers! The Hall had seating for 600, with room for another 150 on the balcony. There was a 90-seat restaurant with a traditional German menu and an outdoor Biergarten.
The club drew German-Americans from all over Southern California. To accommodate more members, additional land was bought. I have fond memories of the sports fields and even amusement rides!
But it was more than food and beer; the club sponsored German Schools and hosted international events. In 1978, Bundestag President Annemarie Renger visited the club, and in 1989, the Mayor of Berlin spoke at a reunification rally at the club. The first World Skat Championship was held at the Phoenix Club in 1978, and over 1000 visitors from Germany came. Music stars like Heino appeared on the club stage. It was the center of German-American life for Orange County and the surrounding area.
But, one of the bitter truths of Southern California is that everyone wants the land, and there is only so much of it. The Club’s prime location along the 57 Freeway made it valuable, and the city of Anaheim threatened to take the land by eminent domain. After a lot of back and forth, the city and the Club came to an agreement. The Club was moved down the road a bit to a new location. (The original land became the Duck Pond, now the Honda Center)
By November 1992, the new 40,000-square-foot clubhouse was opened, and it was rebranded as a German American Entertainment Center. The large hall and outdoor area are perfect for German Festivals, Oktoberfests, Karneval celebrations, and Silvester Parties. The restaurant attracts people from all over Southern California for delicious German food. There are dance clubs, language groups, Choirs, and more.
For years, all was well until, once again, land developers saw the space and wanted it. Covid hurt the Club’s membership numbers and finances, and little was left to fight “progress“. With heavy hearts, the Phoenix Club shut down in Anaheim.
In 2024, the Club reopened in Brea (just up the street). The Bierstube restaurant is open again, serving the traditional German foods we love. It’s a smaller club, and the focus is more on the German groups, like the dancers and choir, Karneval groups, and language instruction.
For the third time, the Phoenix club rose from the ashes… a little smaller, and no longer in their Anaheim home, but they still hold fast to their original of preserving German Language, German customs, and German traditions. Click here to learn more about the Phoenix Club
Anaheim- A German Home by the Santa Ana River
Anaheim started out a German Colony of 50 families, in the late 1850s. Even then this desirable community attracted people from all over. Today close to 350,000 people live in the city by the Santa Ana river. The vineyards from the Los Angeles Vineyard Company were plowed under over 100 years ago… and event the Citrus Groves, that symbol of Southern California are long gone…replaced by homes, businesses, and a rather large amusement park. But the German name remains, Anaheim… a German home by the Santa Ana River.
An extra special VIELEN DANK to Heid Davis who shared photos and loads of information about the Phoenix Club and Anaheim history with me! Heidi and I have traveled in similar circles for years, and I was absolutely delighted to finally meet her at the Phoenix Club 62nd Anniversary celebration.
References for Anaheim’s German History
Early Anaheim- Photos of Early America
The Whetstone- Local Politics meets Anaheim German History
LA Times- Germans, Hoosiers who shaped Los Angeles
Engineering LA City- George Hanson