In September 1887, one Charles W. Hicks purchased a quantity of land here from Henry T. Hazard – and ads for the Hicks tract were soon running in newspapers. So although the earliest mention I found of Hicks Avenue (then called Hicks Street) was in an 1890 city directory, I assume it was named with the tract, which straddled 1st Street. There were actually a couple of Angelenos named Charles W. Hicks at the time; I believe the one we’re looking at was born in Wisconsin in 1853, one of twelve children of British immigrants. This Hicks was living in Denver in 1879 when he married Sarah Ellen Rule (1857-1936), but within four years the couple had settled in Los Angeles and Hicks was running a business selling seed and grain. He divested himself of this business in 1894, likely due to health problems. He and Sarah then spent some time in Chicago but returned in 1896 to launch a brand new enterprise: a candy and ice cream shop, with Sarah as proprietress. Hicks died from tuberculosis on July 28th, 1901. Sarah promptly sold the shop, left town, and became Mrs. Charles F. Weber three years later. After some years in Kansas, she and her second husband wound up in East Hollywood.
Find it on the map:
