Daniel Freeman (1837-1918) was Inglewood‘s most prominent pioneer, though not its official founder. Born in Simcoe, Ontario, Canada, Freeman obtained his law degree from Toronto’s Osgoode Hall and ran a shipyard before giving it all up for the farming life when he came to SoCal in 1873 with his wife Catherine and their three kids. (He hoped the mild climate would help Catherine’s ill health. It didn’t: she died the following year.) The Freemans leased the Centinela Ranch – a combination of Rancho Aguaje de la Centinela and Rancho Sausal de Redondo – from Sir Robert Burnett, a Scotsman who was headed home. They then moved into Burnett’s house, the Centinela Adobe, which still stands. A killer drought in 1875-1876 forced Freeman to quit raising sheep and turn to growing wheat and barley. Smart move: he made a fortune from his crops and began planting orchards of citrus, nuts, and olives. Freeman bought the ranch in two installments – in 1882 and in 1885 – and worked with the Centinela-Inglewood Land Company, led by N.R. Vail, Charles Silent (see Chester Place), and Dan McFarland, to establish the town of Inglewood on the land in 1887. One year later, Freeman built a mansion for himself on what later became Grace Avenue, named for his daughter Grace Howland.
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