Temple City takes its name from Walter Paul Temple (1869-1938), progeny of two significant Los Angeles families: his mother Antonia Margarita Workman (1830-1892) was the half-white, half-native daughter of William Workman; his father Francisco Pliny Fisk Temple (1822-1880), a Massachusetts transplant, partnered with the elder Workman on several land deals and ultimately the Temple & Workman Bank. One of eleven kids, Walter Temple was born into wealth… which vanished when his dad’s bank collapsed in 1876. He grew up on what remained of the family’s property at Rancho La Merced, married Laura Gonzalez (1871-1922) in 1903, and had five children with her, four surviving. Temple bought back some of the land his father had lost to “Lucky” Baldwin and that’s when good fortune struck: oil was discovered there in 1914 and the family was rich again. With some of this largesse, Temple and his partners George Woodruff, Milton Kauffman, and Sylvester Dupuy laid out a new town in 1923. Simply called “Temple”, it was rebranded Temple City in 1928. Along with the partners’ eponymous streets – Temple City Blvd. was originally Temple Avenue – Agnes Avenue honors Temple’s daughter. Unfortunately, just like his father, financial hardship wracked Temple’s final years: he barely had a chance to enjoy his mansion “La Casa Nueva” before leasing it out. It still stands on Don Julian Road, named for Grandpa William.
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