Images of Wilmington: A Book Discussion with Simie Seaman
Images of Wilmington: A Book Discussion with Simie Seaman
On November 13, the Wilmington Historical Society’s co-founder and President Simie Seaman shared her personal journey through the evolution of the Images of Wilmington book to a sellout crowd.
The Port of Los Angeles neighborhood of Wilmington was included in the 1784 Spanish land grant of Rancho San Pedro and was known as New San Pedro from 1858 to 1863, when it became the city of Wilmington. It was named by “Father of the Harbor” Phineas Banning after his Delaware birthplace. The City of Los Angeles annexed Wilmington in 1909, and today it and neighboring San Pedro from the waterfront of one of the world’s largest import/export centers.
Wilson College, precursor to the University of Southern California, opened here in 1874 as the first coeducational college west of the Mississippi. Entrepreneur, sportsman and chewing gum magnate William Wrigley Jr. built innovative housing in Wilmington that was dubbed the “Court of Nations” From the Union Army’s Drum Barracks headquarters of the Southwest in the Civil War to the port’s myriad maritime activities during World War II, Wilmington has long-standing ties to the U.S. military.
Wilmington Historical Society cofounder Simie Seaman and board members Jane and Hank Osterhoudt pooled resources with Susan Ogle, director of the Drum Barracks Civil War Museum, and Michael Sanborn, director of the Banning Museum, to create this evocative window into the neighborhood’s stories past.
The image of America series celebrates the history of neighborhoods, towns, and cities across the country. Using archival photographs, each title presents the distinctive stories from the past that shape the characters of the community today.
To learn more about the Wilmington Historical Society please visit:
https://m.facebook.com/wilmingtonhistoricalsocietyofcalifornia/
https://www.instagram.com/wilmingtonhistoricalsociety/
Bio
Simie Seaman, enthusiast amateur photographer, history buff and collector of beautiful things. Simie is President of the Wilmington Historical Society.
email: thesistersprivatecollection@gmail.com
310-835-8177
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