A truly remarkable Angeleno, Georges Le Mesnager (c. 1850-1923) was born in Mayenne, France and came to San Francisco in 1867 – only to go home in 1870 to fight for his country in the Franco-Prussian War. After a couple of years back in SF, he moved down to Los Angeles in 1875 and ran a barbershop. He would eventually oversee vineyards, a wholesale liquor store, a French language newspaper, and plenty of real estate. (Mesnager Street was named in 1883 on his property.) Most incredibly, however, Le Mesnager volunteered to fight for France once again in World War I – at the tender age of 64! Wounded in battle yet going back for more after his 1916 furlough, he won several medals and claimed to have killed at least two Germans. In his personal life, Le Mesnager married a young Spaniard named Concepción Olarra in 1877 and had four children with her. Two years after her 1892 death, he married French-born Marie du Crey de Bremond (1859 – after 1930) and had a daughter. The Le Mesnagers established a large vineyard in Glendale c. 1910 – their stone barn now serves as a nature center at Deukmejian Wilderness Park. Georges Le Mesnager spent his final months back in Mayenne after suffering a severe stroke. His heirs squabbled over his hefty estate for years.
Find it on the map:
