Laguna Avenue, one of the Valley’s very first streets, was renamed Forman Avenue in 1924 in memory of Charles Henry Forman (1835-1919), who effectively founded Toluca Lake. Born in Owego, NY, Forman headed west at 18. After a few years near Sacramento, he went to Virginia City, NV in 1860 to get into silver mining. It was a baptism by fire: Forman was soon thrust into the First Battle of Pyramid Lake, in which Paiute warriors wiped out the vast majority of white militiamen. Forman survived, got rich off his mines, and married John Rowland‘s stepdaughter Mary Agnes Gray (1843-1918). They settled in Los Angeles by 1883; Forman then kickstarted the streetcar industry that would be so crucial to the city’s early growth. In 1888, according to historians, Forman purchased a chunk of land here and dubbed it Toluca Ranch. (It may have been later.) Some say he chose “Toluca” because it meant “fertile valley” in the language of his old enemies the Paiute. Doubtful: the word doesn’t exist in Paiute. See Toluca Street for more on the name.
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