Rebecca Street

Named for Rebecca Ann White (1835-1910), whose husband was Pomona cofounder Caleb E. White. Facts are hazy, but it appears she was born Rebecca Ferguson in St. Louis, married an Edmond B. Holship in 1850 (yes, when she was fifteen), and wagoned out to California with him the following year. Holship died of cholera in 1853 and the young widow soon married White. Together they had at least five children: two little daughters fell victim to scarlet fever in 1874 – her son with Holship also died around that time – but Harry White, Nannie Northcraft, and Helen del Valle led long, full lives. When Pomona was laid out in the late 1870s, several streets were named after founders’ wives. Rebecca Street is one of just two to retain their original names: see Main Street for the story.