This street originated, probably in 1888, on land owned by nurseryman Lewis Linn “L.L.” Bequette (1835-1915). The Wisconsin-born Bequette – a grandson of Henry Dodge, the last governor of Wisconsin Territory and the state’s first senator – wagoned out to California with his parents and siblings c. 1852. The rest of the Bequettes settled in Visalia while L.L. moved himself to this area, then known as Los Nietos, by 1868. He married Margaret Speegle (c. 1848-1917) the following year; they would have three kids. It’s hard to say how much land Bequette ultimately owned down here – 100 acres, maybe more – and how much of it he dedicated to his own orchards (mostly walnuts and oranges) vs. the thousands of fruit trees he sold out of his nursery. Regardless, he did well enough to afford a beachside home in Redondo Beach by 1892, although he and Margaret would spend their final years in Boyle Heights. Bequette was business partners with A.A. Bermudez before the latter’s untimely death.
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