Named, innocently enough, in 1922 for Beulah Overell (1889-1947), who owned this land with her husband Walter (1883-1947). A quarter century later, their horrific deaths would be the news of the year – with their own daughter charged with their murder. Some background: Walter Edward Overell was an Indianan who came to Los Angeles c. 1899 and eventually joined his father and brother in running a furniture store. Beulah Anna Jungquist left Iowa for L.A. around 1904 with her widowed mother and brothers. The two were married in 1914 and had one child, Beulah Louise, in 1929. The Overells, who lived in La Cañada, enjoyed wealth and prominence until March 15th, 1947 when, shortly before midnight, a bundle of dynamite blew up on their yacht the Mary E while it was anchored in Newport Harbor. Walter and Beulah were killed – perhaps by the dynamite, perhaps by a physical attack minutes earlier. The 17-year-old Beulah Louise and her 20-year-old fiancé George “Bud” Gollum had left the boat shortly before the explosion, allegedly to get hamburgers. The cops didn’t buy their story and both were soon arrested for murder. What followed was the very definition of a sensationalistic trial, with prosecutors arguing that Beulah and Gollum killed the Overells because they disapproved of the engagement and Beulah thus feared being disinherited. The couple’s spicy love letters only amplified the spectacle. The trial, which unfolded in Santa Ana, lasted a record-breaking 19 weeks and attracted scores of onlookers and press, but despite evidence that sure makes Beulah and Bud look guilty to these eyes, the two were acquitted. Ironically, they never did wed: Beulah went on to marry a cop, have a son with him, relocate to Las Vegas, take a second husband, and die of alcoholism at 36.
Find it on the map:
