LAND USE STUDY OF A SAN DIMAS NEIGHBORHOOD IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND HOW ITS PAST USE HAS IMPACTED THE LARSEN SITE

This thesis is an anthropological/archaeological land use study of a San Dimas neighborhood using the concept of the Deep Map. It is a study of the land uses and cover of the San Dimas neighborhood immediately around and within the block located south of Allen Avenue and east of Walnut Avenue. It will start in prehistoric times and continue through several eras of change and development to the modern era with emphasis in the historical period. The time frame will include the prehistoric period of the Larsen Site, then go on to the protohistoric Tongva/Gabrielino, the Spanish Mission Era focusing on the San Gabriel Mission, the Rancho Era with a focus on the San Jose Rancho. Most attention will be held on the times of the Citrus Era focusing on the lemon ranch of Russell Frantz, the beginnings of the town of San Dimas, and the suburban sprawl that occurred after World War II focusing on the housing and infrastructure of suburbia. The Larsen Site had been the location of CSUF’s field class for several years after the owner discovered prehistoric lithic artifacts in the yard. The Larsen Site is in a residential neighborhood built in the 1970s. Prior to that it was a citrus farm and before that it was part of the San Jose Rancho. My focus will be the historical times that include the Mission Era, Rancho Era, Citrus Era, and the development of the town of San Dimas and suburban neighborhood immediately surrounding the Larsen Site. This study is intended to give a better understanding of the Larsen Site and its many changes through time, with emphasis on the human changes made connected to the land over time. The knowledge of these changes will assist in interpreting the stratigraphy of the Larsen Site.