Llano del Rio was a commune (or "colony") located in what is now Llano, California, east of Palmdale in the Antelope Valley, Los Angeles County. The colony was devised by lawyer and socialist politician Job Harriman after he had failed his bid to become the mayor of Los Angeles in 1911. The colony's land was acquired in 1913 and it was formally launched on May 1, 1914.
The Llano del Rio Colony settled in the southern edge of the Mojave Desert along Highway 138 near what is now 165th Street East, in the alluvial plain that spread out to the north from the San Gabriel Mountains. The colony took advantage of water from Big Rock Creek, an intermittent stream that flowed from the San Gabriel Mountains. Several structures were constructed using local granite boulders and lumber, including a hotel, meeting house, and water storage tank. There was also a small open aqueduct made of granite cobbles and cement. The remnants of the built features are still visible at the site.
During 1918, the colony was abandoned. Llano del Rio turned out to be too far from other settlements to develop a sustaining economy, and the water supply from Big Rock Creek proved to be unreliable. Some of the settlers, approximately 60 families in all, relocated to form New Llano, Louisiana.[2]
History
Background
Full page ad for the new Llano del Rio colony published in July 1914 in The Western Comrade, a monthly magazine purchased by Job Harriman to help promote the venture.
Job Harriman, a lawyer by training and a politician by proclivity, was the founder of the socialist cooperative colony known as Llano del Rio. Harriman, a former candidate for governor of the state of California on the ticket of the Socialist Labor Party and 1900 vice-presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party on a ticket headed by Eugene V. Debs, was long an advocate of political action for the achievement of socialism in America.
Only after his defeat in the 1911 election as the Socialist Party's candidate for mayor of Los Angeles, California, did Harriman's thinking turn from politics to an interest in directly demonstrating what he believed to be the inherent superiority of cooperative and collective economic activity as a means for building public support for the socialist idea.[3] Like others before him, Harriman theorized that by creating a functioning socialist community within the larger society of capitalism, the larger society would gradually convert to socialism.[4]
"It became apparent to me that a people would never abandon their means of livelihood, good or bad, capitalistic or otherwise, until other methods were developed which would promise advantages at least as good as those by which they were living," Harriman later recalled.[5]
Several prominent Southern California friends were solicited for financial and practical support and a 9,000-acre (3,600ha) site was located about 45 miles (72km) north of Los Angeles in the Antelope Valley.[3] A purchase option was taken on the land, which had the benefit of having earlier been partially developed by a colony of temperance advocates.[3] Assets of the Mescal Water and Land Company, including water rights and bonds sold for $150,000 to finance the earlier colonization effort, were purchased by Harriman and his associates for a small fraction of their original value.[3]
A new 9-member board of directors was appointed and sale of stock was begun in the fall of 1913 with a view to financing a new socialist community on the existing colony's site.[3] A restructuring followed in 1914 and the Mescal Water and Land was incorporated as the Llano Del Rio Company.
Establishment
Colonists outside a crude machine shop at the Llano del Rio colony, 1914.
To become a member of the colony, one was required purchase exactly 2,000 stock shares and to reside at Llano at the par value of $1 per share.[6] Colonists were allowed to buy a maximum of three fourths of their stock shares on credit.[7] Applicants for membership were required to be idealistic, industrious, and sober. To ensure standards were met, applicants needed three references, written ideally by a local union president or secretary. Questions testing an applicant’s dedication to socialism were also part of the entrance procedure.[8]
Additionally, only Caucasians were admitted. An article in The Western Comrade attempted to explain this admittance discrimination, “The rejection of these applications are [sic] not due to race prejudice but because it is not deemed expedient to mix the races in these communities."[8]
In addition to the appeal of building a new socialist society, colonists were drawn to Llano by promises of good wages paid to colony members. Initially members were to be paid a salary of $4 a day, less deductions for living expenses and $1 a day towards the purchase of colony stock purchased on credit.[6] Conditions of employment and compensation were specified in a signed labor contract.[6] Two week vacations were promised and colonists were permitted to hold their own personal property, including automobiles.[9] In practice this wage was illusory, however, as surplus wages were held in trust by the colony and were only to be paid out in cash if the colony ran a financial surplus — which never occurred.[9] This pretense was ultimately abandoned for an arrangement which guaranteed all colonists’ needs would be met in exchange for their labor.[7]
The activities at Llano del Rio were publicized to a national audience through the pages of The Western Comrade, a magazine purchased by Job Harriman in 1914.[3] The magazine was effusive in its praise of the colony and painted the situation faced by the colonists in rosy colors.[6] The valley in which the colony was located was bordered by the San Bernardino Mountains to the east and contained sites for fruit orchards, alfalfa fields, and vegetable production.[6] Two creeks provided water for the land.[6] The colony's sales techniques gave buyers unrealistic expectations about the luxury of living at Llano, which ultimately created discontent in the community when these expectations were not met.[10]
Development
The Western Comrade conveyed grandiose plans for the Llano del Rio colony to its readers. This raw rock-walled building with a corrugated metal roof was to be "remodeled for trout hatchery and motion picture factory," according to the photo caption.
Llano opened to public membership on May Day of 1914.[9] Only five people were resident at the time of the colony's formation, joined by a team of horses, a cow, and five pigs.[9] By the beginning of 1915 the colony had grown to over 150 residents, possessing more than 100 cows and 110 pigs.[9] A community center for the hosting of dances and assemblies was constructed.[9] Unmarried men lived in an attached dormitory, while married couples lived in canvas tents during the colony's initial phase.[9] In fairly short order a post office, dairy building, and laundry facility were built on the colony's site.[9]
The colony was planned for development by Alice Constance Austin and stands as her most recognized project. She designed a circular city plan that included administrative buildings, restaurants, churches, schools, and markets. The houses were to be of "feminist" design and included plans for a kitchenless house, communal daycare areas, built-in furniture, and heated tile floors, all of which would serve in reducing the amount of domestic work done by women.[11] An even more elaborate plan was unveiled in 1917, which called for row houses, a central park, and a playground.[12] This dream world stood in marked contrast to the reality of tents and two room shacks faced by the colonists.[13]
Colonists tended to hail from the Western United States and included substantial contingents of farmers and businessmen, with few wage workers.[9] The colony was marked by personal disagreements and petty political controversies from its earliest days, resulting in a steady turnover of members.[9]
Membership in the colony peaked in the summer of 1917, when over 1100 people shared the colony's grounds.[9] By this time temporary adobe homes had sprung up, as did more permanent facilities such as a large collective dining room, a hotel, and various industrial buildings, including one of the largest rabbit facilities in the United States as well as the printing shop for production of The Western Comrade.[9] Orchards were planted and about 2,000 acres (810ha) of irrigated alfalfa harvested.[9]
Life at Llano
Economy
Although Llano did not export goods to outside markets, its local economy was almost completely sustaining. The economy included a paint shop, agriculture, orchards, a poultry yard, a rabbitry, a print shop, and a fish hatchery.[14] Despite the arid environment and sandy soil, Llano’s farms flourished. Using the water purchased by the Llano Del Rio Company, Llano’s farmers transformed the dry soil into fertile farmland. Southern California’s warm climate proved to be ideal for agricultural production. Alfalfa, corn, and grain were Llano’s staple crops. By 1916, Llano grew ninety percent of the food eaten at the colony. However, agricultural exports were prevented by Llano’s distance from a train depot. Though Llano’s export economy never developed much, some goods, such as rag rugs and underwear, were sold at external markets.[15]
Education
Llano had a good school system, which followed both the Montessori and the Industrial principles of teaching. Montessori and Industrial schools encourage practical and active learning, teaching methods consistent with socialist values. In the Industrial School or Kids’ Colony children raised livestock, built the school’s facilities, made their own laws, and held their own disciplinary hearings. Consistent with Llano’s philosophy of gender division of labor, girls were registered into the “domestic science department.”[14]
Culture and free time
May Day, a holiday that celebrates laborers, was a community celebration at Llano, including a parade and a community picnic. Dances were held every Thursday and Saturday night. One colonist praised these dances saying, “‘If Llano never offers or gives me more than the pleasure of attending these dances I shall feel repaid for all the effort I have made to become a member of this Colony."[16] Additionally, there was a champion baseball team and other club sports. There was even a drama society. For entertainment, Llano staged black-face minstrel shows, swear words were prohibited when in the presence of women or children, and liquor was not allowed unless permission by a doctor was given. Violation of this ordinance was punishable by unemployment or expulsion from Llano.[17]
Llano’s downfall
Dissent
The ruins of Llano del Rio, December 2009The ruins of Llano del Rio, December 2009
The political stability of Llano was threatened by internal power struggles between the Board of Directors, which was composed of seven (and eventually nine) members and the General Assembly, which was composed of all of the Llano Company’s stockholders, the members of the colony. Though the Board was efficient, it caused political dissent. Llano’s “Declaration of Principles” proclaimed “equal ownership, equal wage, and equal social opportunities.”[8] However, Llano was not run in a democratic manner. The Board dictated all rules and regulations.
Eventually groups developed, such as the “Brush Gang”, opposing the authoritarian rule of the Board.[18] Some members also believed that Harriman lacked strong socialist principles. One of the founders of the “Brush Gang”, Frank Miller, believed Harriman to be “Czar-like” and against the democratic election of Llano’s leadership. Additionally, many “Brush Gang” members believed that not only the political but also the economic layout of Llano was counter to socialist ideals.
However, rule by the General Assembly was also problematic. Its decisions were influenced by personal disputes, which created an ineffective political environment. Resolutions were disputed for hours, made, and then rebuked at the next meeting. In response to dissenters, one of Harriman’s supporter’s, RK Williams, wrote, “Newcomers arrived here filled with idealism and notions of a weird form of democracy that are utterly out of place in an institution dealing with... practicalities. It must be insisted that if this colony is to exist we must allow the well tried and wrought out formulas of corporations organized under capitalism... We are not attempting a Utopian phantasmagoria.’[19]
Supporters felt that unseating the Board would result in anarchy and chaos and that central control was essential to the formation of a flourishing socialist colony.
World War I
Although Llano supported the Socialist Party’s pacifism, the threat of the draft was real. Llano attempted to ensure that all members were conscientious objectors, still the colony lost young men to the draft. WWI also posed an economic threat, because the wartime industry created jobs with higher wages and many less committed members of Llano left to work in the newly booming economy.[20]
Water
During the early period of Llano, Harriman had secured large amounts of water for the growing colony. Though in theory Llano had enough water to sustain itself and to grow, much of the water could only be accessed by building a dam. Llano applied to California for a permit to build a dam. However, California Commissioner of Corporations denied Llano’s application to construct a dam saying, “‘Your people do not seem to have the necessary amount of experience and maybe the sums of money it will involve.’”[21] Though planners were aware of Llano’s water shortage, they continued to deny the crisis to potential buyers until May 1917.
The move
In November 1917 The Western Comrade magazine announced that the majority of the colony was going to move to an alternative site in New Llano, Louisiana. Despite the impending relocation of Llano, Harriman asserted that Llano had “progressed from a ‘Utopian, chimerical idea’ to a concrete practicality – from a dozen dreamers to a thousand determined doers.”[22] New Llano never attained the same size or level of productivity as the original colony. This failure was most likely due to cultural clashes with the greater culture of Louisiana and the Great Depression.[23] The remaining Llano community in California ended due to faulty legal maneuvers. In 1918, Llano filed for bankruptcy.
Legacy
From 1967 - 2022, Llano was given tribute at Twin Oaks, a contemporary intentional community of 100 members in Virginia. All Twin Oaks' buildings are named after communities that are no longer actively functioning, and "Llano" was the name of one of the communal kitchens. In 2022, Twin Oaks changed the name because of Llano’s racist practice of admitting only white members.
NO. 933 SITE OF LLANO DEL RIO COOPERATIVE COLONY - This was the site of the most important non-religious Utopian experiment in western American history. Its founder, Job Harriman, was Eugene Debs' running mate in the presidential election of 1900. In subsequent years, Harriman became an influential socialist leader and in 1911 was almost elected mayor of Los Angeles. At its height in 1916, the colony contained a thousand members and was a flourishing communitarian experiment dedicated to the principal of cooperation rather than competition.'
Paul Greenstein, Niegy Lennon, and Lionel Rolfe, Bread & Hyacinths: The Rise and Fall of Utopian Los Angeles. Los Angeles, CA: California Classics Books, 1992.
Rob Leicester Wagner, Hollywood Bohemia: The Roots of Progressive Politics in Rob Wagner's Script. Santa Maria, CA: Janaway Publishing, 2016.
A utopia typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island society in the New World. However, it may also denote an intentional community. In common parlance, the word or its adjectival form may be used synonymously with "impossible", "far-fetched" or "deluded".
New Llano is a town in Vernon Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,504 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Fort Polk South Micropolitan Statistical Area.
The Icarians were a French-based utopian socialist movement, established by the followers of politician, journalist, and author Étienne Cabet. In an attempt to put his economic and social theories into practice, Cabet led his followers to the United States of America in 1848, where the Icarians established a series of egalitarian communes in the states of Texas, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and California. The movement split several times due to factional disagreements.
Llano is an unincorporated community located in Los Angeles County, California, near the San Bernardino County line. The town has a population of about 1,200.
Étienne Cabet was a French philosopher and utopian socialist who founded the Icarian movement. Cabet became the most popular socialist advocate of his day, with a special appeal to artisans who were being undercut by factories. Cabet published Voyage en Icarie in French in 1839, in which he proposed replacing capitalist production with workers' cooperatives. Recurrent problems with French officials, led him to emigrate to the United States in 1848. Cabet founded utopian communities in Texas and Illinois, but was again undercut, this time by recurring feuds with his followers.
La Réunion was a utopian socialist community formed in 1855 by French, Belgian, and Swiss colonists on the south bank of the Trinity River in central Dallas County, Texas (US). The colony site is a short distance north of Interstate 30 near downtown Dallas. The founder of the community, Victor Prosper Considerant, was a French democratic socialist who directed an international movement based on Fourierism, a set of economic, political, and social beliefs advocated by French philosopher François Marie Charles Fourier. Fourierism subsequently became known as a form of utopian socialism.
The Ruskin Colony was a utopian socialist colony which existed near Tennessee City in Dickson County, Tennessee from 1894 to 1896. The colony moved to a slightly more permanent second settlement on an old farm five miles north from 1896 to 1899, and saw another brief incarnation near Waycross, in southern Georgia, from 1899 until it finally dissolved in 1901. Its regional location within the Southern United States set it apart from many other similar utopian projects of the era. At its high point, the population was around 250. The colony was named after John Ruskin, the English socialist writer. A cave on the colony's second property in Dickson County still carries his name. The site of the colony's second settlement in Dickson County is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Owenism is the utopian socialist philosophy of 19th-century social reformer Robert Owen and his followers and successors, who are known as Owenites. Owenism aimed for radical reform of society and is considered a forerunner of the cooperative movement. The Owenite movement undertook several experiments in the establishment of utopian communities organized according to communitarian and cooperative principles. One of the best known of these efforts, which were largely unsuccessful, was the project at New Harmony, Indiana, which started in 1825 and was abandoned by 1829. Owenism is also closely associated with the development of the British trade union movement, and with the spread of the Mechanics' Institute movement.
The Kaweah Colony was a utopian socialist community in central California founded in 1886, with a name meaning "here we rest." Located in the Sierra Nevada range, they lived near groves of giant sequoia trees. The colony officially disbanded in 1892. The establishment of Sequoia National Park in 1890 contributed to the colony's demise. Some of their descendants still reside in the area.
Anarchism in Mexico, the anarchist movement in Mexico, extends from Plotino Rhodakanaty's organization of peasant workers in the 1890s, to Ricardo Flores Magón's activism prior to the Mexican Revolution, to the punk subcultures of the 1990s.
Nevada City is a ghost town in Churchill County, Nevada, United States, located just east of Fallon, Nevada near the current intersection of State Route 118 and U.S. Highway 50. It was founded in 1916 as a socialist community known as the Nevada Cooperative Colony, but due to misleading advertising, mismanagement, and possibly dubious financial dealings by the Nevada Colony Corporation's directors, who were connected with the similar Llano del Rio colony near Los Angeles, the project folded in 1919. Another contributing factor to its demise was the unpopularity of its anti-war position during World War I, which led to bloodshed when Churchill County Sheriff Mark Wildes attempted to arrest colonist Paul Walters as a draft evader. By 1919 most of the families had moved away and the colony fell into receivership.
Altruria was a short-lived utopian commune in Sonoma County, California 38.506662°N 122.733942°W, based on Christian socialist principles and inspired by William Dean Howells's 1894 novel, A Traveler from Altruria.
Alice Constance Austin (1862–1955) was an American architect, city planner, radical feminist, socialist, designer and utopist. Her most famous proposal at Llano del Rio, though never fully realized, greatly impacted later city designs and architectural planning. In 1935, Austin published her book The Next Step; How to Plan for Beauty, Comfort, and Peace with Great Savings Effected by the Reduction of Waste, discussing socialism, difficulties with the Llano del Rio project, and some of her other ideas on planning. Her feminist efforts in the history of city planning have gone so far as to influence the development of modern-day issues such as minimum wage, social security, low cost housing, welfare, and universal healthcare.
Job Harriman was an ordained minister who later became an agnostic and a socialist. In 1900, he ran for vice president of the United States along with Eugene Debs on the ticket of the Socialist Party of America. He later twice ran for mayor of Los Angeles, drawing considerable attention and support. He also founded a socialist utopian community called Llano del Rio in California, later relocated to Louisiana.
The Little Landers colonies were attempts at small-scale cooperative agriculture in California, organized by journalist and writer William E. Smythe. The first colony, in San Ysidro, San Diego, California, was inaugurated in early 1909. The colonies were not successful, and by 1925 the last one was almost completely abandoned.
The Socialist Party of Washington was the Washington state section of the Socialist Party of America (SPA), an organization originally established as a federation of semi-autonomous state organizations.
Utopian socialism is the term often used to describe the first current of modern socialism and socialist thought as exemplified by the work of Henri de Saint-Simon, Charles Fourier, Étienne Cabet, and Robert Owen. Utopian socialism is often described as the presentation of visions and outlines for imaginary or futuristic ideal societies, with positive ideals being the main reason for moving society in such a direction. Later socialists and critics of utopian socialism viewed utopian socialism as not being grounded in actual material conditions of existing society. These visions of ideal societies competed with revolutionary and social democratic movements.
The Western Comrade was a Los Angeles-based socialist magazine published in the US from 1913 to 1918 that advocated progressive causes ranging from women’s suffrage and labor issues to profiles of left-leaning artists and writers.
Mila Tupper Maynard was an American Unitarian minister, writer, social reformer and suffragist. She is thought to have been the first female minister in Nevada.
Cyrus Field Willard was an American journalist, political activist, and theosophist. Deeply influenced by the writing of Edward Bellamy, Willard is best remembered as a principal in several utopian socialist enterprises, including the late 1890s colonization efforts of the Brotherhood of the Cooperative Commonwealth (BCC).
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