Editor’s Note: Below are excerpts from “The Bolsa Chica Gun Club: A History,” written by Huntington Beach resident Chris Epting and published this year by the History Press. The Business Journal’s annual report on Orange County’s wealthiest begins on page 14.
By the turn of the twentieth century, Orange County had gained a reputation as a sportsman’s paradise, offering a diverse range of hunting opportunities that included waterfowl as well as quail, rabbit, deer, bear, coyote and bobcat.
In 1899, Jaro von Schmidt and a group of former San Joaquin Marsh Club members bought Bolsa Chica. When their club, Bolsa Chica Gun Club, opened in 1899, members were required to pay a then exorbitant initiation fee of $1,000, serving as a barrier to entry for all but the most affluent individuals. The club’s exclusivity was reinforced by the board of directors’ decision to limit membership to 40 men and their families.
The Los Angeles Evening Express newspaper, in its edition of Oct. 19, 1899, could hardly contain its excitement as it announced the much-anticipated formal opening, saying the new clubhouse stood as “one of the most impressive structures in the entire state, if not the most impressive.”
A standard outing in 1911, according to author J.A. Graves in his 1928 book, was as follows: members got to the club either by taking the Pacific Electric Red Car or by riding in an automobile, which was commonly referred to as a “machine” during that time.
Once the club members arrived, they would meet with other members, enjoy hearty dinners together and after dinner, they would spend the evening engaged in activities such as chatting, reading, playing card games and simply relaxing.
The keeper of the gun club would wake the members early the next day, typically at 5 a.m., by rapping on their doors. The members would then proceed to put on their hunting gear, have breakfast and head out into the darkness toward the blinds.
It was customary for shooting to commence approximately thirty minutes before sunrise, which was signaled by the ringing of a bell.
The Bolsa Chica Gun Club was also known for its pioneering approach to the farm-to-table concept.
In an era when such practices were relatively uncommon for such an exclusive facility, the gun club took it upon itself to grow its own vegetables, raise poultry and even maintain cattle for milk production, ensuring that its wealthy clientele enjoyed fresh and locally sourced food.
The Huntington Member
Early prominent members were men who would develop cities like Sherman Oaks, Azusa and Torrance.
The most notable member was Henry Huntington, the nephew of Collis Huntington, one of the “Big Four” businessmen involved in the construction of the Central Pacific Railroad, which was the first transcontinental line.
When Henry visited the Bolsa Chica Gun Club, he heard about a small establishment down the road called Pacific City. He bought it in 1903 for $95,000 from the West Coast Land and Water Company, which had founded the city two years prior.
Henry saw its potential as a thriving beachside destination that would draw visitors and residents alike. It was renamed Huntington Beach in 1903. Henry would later establish the famous Huntington Library in Pasadena and the Art Gallery and Botanical Gardens in San Marino.
With a need for potable water, the Bolsa Chica Gun Club dug a well near the clubhouse. To the club’s surprise, when the well water was tested, it was saturated with natural gas. Realizing the water was not fit for consumption, the club’s members decided to separate the gas from the water.
They found a practical use for the natural gas by utilizing it for cooking and lighting in the clubhouse and other outbuildings.
In 1916, rumors began circulating about the potential presence of oil beneath Huntington Beach, and Standard Oil Company and Trust obtained a lease for 500 acres of land around Golden West and Clay Street areas from the Huntington Beach Company.
In August 1920, an exploratory well was drilled in the leased area, and it started producing a modest 70 barrels of oil per day.
Encouraged, the oil company moved its drilling equipment to the upper edge of the Huntington Mesa, obtaining a lease agreement with the gun club. On Nov. 6, 1920, as the drillers reached a depth of 2,549 feet, a gusher erupted, causing a massive outpouring of oil.
The force was so powerful that the well connections were blown off with a thunderous roar that could be heard for miles around. Within just 24 hours, an estimated 20,000 barrels of oil covered the ground surrounding the well. This remarkable discovery was named Bolsa Chica No. 1, reaching a daily peak of 2,000 barrels a day.
The discovery of oil in Huntington Beach sparked a boom, attracting numerous oil companies and brought significant economic growth and transformed the landscape and fortunes of the city
While the club members wanted to protect the wetlands from further industrialization, the 1929 stock market crash and the Great Depression affected their wealth. The financial hardships they faced made the prospect of collecting additional oil royalties too enticing to ignore.
Consequently, the club reached a deal with Signal Oil and Gas, which proposed a 36% royalty rate along with 50% of net profits. Many of the gun club members saw an opportunity to recapture their lost wealth and improve their economic circumstances.
Clubhouse Becomes Barracks
After the Dec. 7 attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the U.S. Army acquired the Bolsa Chica lands. On the northern side of the Bolsa Chica site, several structures were built, including fortifications, ammunition storages, gun emplacements and water tanks and towers.
On the hill above Outer Bolsa Bay, long-range gun emplacements were also built. On the northern end of the biological reserve, close to the tide gates, are the remains of one of these emplacements. The gun club’s once exclusive clubhouse was repurposed as a temporary barracks for soldiers.
By the 1950s, the ownership structure of Bolsa Chica had also changed significantly, with over 200 owners who were often heirs of the original members. This complex ownership structure posed challenges when it came to approving new drilling leases or implementing other actions. In 1964, the main clubhouse was razed.
In 1970, the members sold their interests for $28.6 million to a land development subsidiary of Signal Oil and Gas called Signal Landmark. In 1973, the developer agreed to set aside 300 acres of wetlands along Pacific Coast Highway for preservation.
These preserved wetlands became the original Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve. Today, the title of the entire 1,449-acre ecological reserve, including the area occupied by the Bolsa Chica Gun Club, is held by the State Lands Commission.
