This marks the location of one of the many dairy ranches owned by George Edward Platt (1861-1936). Born in Waterbury, CT, Platt came to Los Angeles in 1882. He initially sold livestock with his brother Burton but dissolved the partnership in 1885. Burton then became a doctor and George established his first dairy at his East L.A. residence. In 1889, he married Emma Belle Sturdy (1863-1949); it was a year after he picked up his first 15 acres in the SFV. Eventually he would own and/or lease thousands of acres across the county, from Lynwood to La Puente. Along the way, he was credited as the first dairyman to sell milk in glass bottles – and was variously accused of unsanitary conditions and adulterating his product. Platt purchased the 1,109 acre Rancho El Escorpión here in 1912, naming Platt Road (now Avenue) in April 1914. Two months later, he nearly died when crazed Hollywood realtor Clifford P. Deyoe, demanding a $630 commission that Platt denied was due him, shot him in the abdomen before turning the gun on himself. After Platt recovered, he, Emma, and their daughters Nellie and Ethel settled on Ardmore Ave. in what is now Koreatown.
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