Frederick Eaton
| Frederick Eaton | |
|---|---|
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| 24th Mayor of Los Angeles | |
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In office 1898–1900 |
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| Preceded by | Meredith P. Snyder |
| Succeeded by | Meredith P. Snyder |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1856 |
| Died | March 11, 1934 (aged 77–78) |
| Political party | Republican |
| Parents | Benjamin Eaton |
| Residence | Los Angeles, California |
Frederick Eaton (1856 – March 11, 1934), known as Fred Eaton, was a major individual in the transformation and expansion of Los Angeles in the latter 19th century through early 20th century, in California. Eaton was the political mastermind behind the early 20th century Los Angeles Aqueduct project, designed by William Mulholland.
Frederick Eaton was born in Los Angeles in 1856, into a prominent family who were among those that founded what has become the city of Pasadena. As an adult Eaton was a Radical Republican. He was a promoter of the Civil War Reconstruction, new railroads, and Southern California water supplies. He became the Mayor of Los Angeles.
Fred Eaton taught himself engineering and was the superintendent of the Los Angeles City Water Company by age 19 in 1875. As head of the Water Company, in 1878 Eaton first hired William Mulholland as a ditch-digger for distribution canals from the Los Angeles River to the city.
In 1886 Eaton redesigned and renovated Los Angeles Park, present day Pershing Square, with an 'official park plan,' and it was renamed 6th Street Park.
Eaton was the Los Angeles mayor from 1898 to 1900. For the office, he ran on the platform of establishing a new municipal water system for the city of Los Angeles. One year later in 1899, a 2.09 million US dollar bond measure was approved by city voters for the purchase of Los Angeles City Water Company’s system. (the private water company that leased the city's waterworks and provided water to the city) A few years later, Los Angeles was faced with a problem: a burgeoning population that threatened the city’s water supply. Desperate to find a new water source for the city, Eaton recalled a camping trip in the Sierras where he “gazed down upon the Owens Lake and thought about all the freshwater flowing into it and going to waste. Yes, Los Angeles was some 200 miles away, but it was all downhill. All one would have to do to move it to the city was dig some canals, lay some pipe and let gravity do the rest.” In other words, Eaton realized an opportunity to sustain Los Angeles’ growth and took matter into his own hands to save the city.
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