Named after Elizabeth “Lizzie” Rush (1861-1948) and/or her husband Leonard (1844-1923) because of their ties to Elias Jackson “Lucky” Baldwin, who had owned obscene amounts of land in the San Gabriel Valley and beyond. Lizzie was in fact Baldwin’s niece – her late mother Evaline was his younger sister – and she inherited twenty acres upon his death in 1909. Rush Street was mapped out (as Rush Avenue) the following year, as was Fawcett Avenue. Born in New Carlisle, Indiana, not far from her uncle’s old stomping grounds (see St Joseph Street), Lizzie Fawcett married rancher Leonard H. Rush in 1885; although he hailed from the same small town, their wedding inexplicably took place across state lines in Michigan. The couple and their only child Fred came to El Monte around 1905 and Leonard assisted Baldwin in various capacities before the old man’s death. He was also listed as foreman of Baldwin’s estate in the 1910 census. The Rushes moved to Alhambra in 1918. Later that year, Fred was killed in the opening days of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, the last major battle of the First World War.
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