Background
Horace Bell was born in Indiana on December 11, 1830.
Horace Bell was born in Indiana on December 11, 1830.
He was educated in Kentucky and then came to Placerville in El Dorado County in eastern California in August 1850 for the California Gold Rush.
He was a Los Angeles Ranger, filibuster, soldier, lawyer, journalist and newspaper publisher, and author of two Southern California history books He spent two years mining with little success. In 1856, he left California to join in the Walkers Filibuster into Nicaragua, becoming a Major in Walkers army.
In 1859 he joined Benito Juárez"s Army in Mexico during the Reform War.
He returned to Indiana to join as a scout in the Union Army during the American Civil War. In 1866, married with children, he returned to Los Los Angeles
He became a lawyer and journalist, and as an investor in city land he became prosperous. From 1882 to 1888 he owned and edited The Porcupine a newspaper he created to fight municipal corruption.
In 1883, the Police Chief of Los Angeles attempted to shoot him, before he was overpowered by Bell"s son Charlie.
Horace Bell died on June 29, 1919. He was buried in Rosedale Cemetery in Los Los Angeles Place names from that era include:
Bell Creek — headwaters of the Los Angeles River, in Bell Canyon, West Hills, and Canoga Park.
Bell Canyon, California — community in geographic Bell Canyon of the Simi Hills.
Bell Canyon Park — along natural Bell Creek, in West Hills. Bell Canyon Road/Boulevard — following the creek from West Hills into Bell Canyon.
The actor Robert Taylor played Bell in the 1967 episode, "Major Horace Bell," of the syndicated television series, Death Valley Days. Taylor also hosted the episode.
As a lawyer and as an editor he defended the Californios and the poor. In the story line, Major Bell defends a man whom he believes has been framed for murder.
Horace Bell became a founding member of the Los Angeles Rangers, a militia company that pursued outlaws in the most violent, lawless county in Southern California.