Vineland Avenue first appeared on an 1887 subdivision map made by the Lankershim Ranch Land & Water Company, whose holdings encompassed 12,000 acres. It was just a paper thoroughfare back then; exactly when it became a real (dirt) road is hard to say. The earliest mention I found was in a 1911 newspaper. As for its etymology, “Vineland” presumably referred to vineyards, which SoCal once had in abundance. In fact in the year of the Lankershim map, two new towns – Beaumont in Riverside County and Vineland (now Baldwin Park) in the San Gabriel Valley – were being promoted as following the model of grape-growing Vineland, New Jersey, a famous Prohibitionist colony at the time. And what did a dry town like Vineland, NJ do with all its grapes? Here’s your answer: Welch’s was founded there.
Find it on the map:
