The Founding of Naples by Arthur M Parsons

The first serious development at Alamitos Bay was begun in 1903 by Strong and Dickinson and Robert March & Co., who purchased and subdivided the Alamitos Bay peninsula into about 500 lots. A. M. and A. C. Parsons joined their sales force, mowed into a canvas covered shack which they built on the bay shore, and were soon busily engaged in selling lots in the new Alamitos Bay tract - which attracted buyers right from the begining. We were so much interested that we bought 50 to 60 of these lots ourselves, on speculation besides selling that many more for the company. Two of these lots we bought were situated in the center of the tract and fronted the bay. To help popularize the place we organized a club of Los Anqelcs business men, named it the "Channel Club" and built a fine Club House, with large and wide porches, 15 guest rooms upstaris, large Dining Room, Lounging Room, Card Room, spacious Kitchen, Bar and Liquor Storage Room, Etc.

This Club became extremely popular, and for a couple of years was a favorite resort for young people, and many social events were held there - such as dances, receptions, swimming parties, boating parties, duck hunting parties, etc. We built on the San Gabriel River near Anaheim Road A Duck Club, Club House, Blinds, Lakes with flowing wells, and bought a large launch for the use of the members and many is the night this boat took a load of members to the Duck club to shoot ducks in the morning.

All this time we were keeping a vigilant eye on the land across the Bay, which had never -up to this time been considered suitable lor a residential tract, owing to the fact that it was absolutely coveted at high tide with overflow sea water, and it would be necessary to fill it up at least six feet before it could even be considered for building purposes. We secured the services of a former City Engineer, Frank A. Olmstead, who immediately and secretly made a thorough test of the land by boring and soundings and rendered a report which I still own. It says the black mud on the surface is only on the surface a few inches, and the whole of the land below is clean beach sand, and he highly recommended il for building purposes.

As soon as we received this report we went before a meeting of the owners of the land, the Alamitos Land Co., consisting of four of the Bixbys, Jotham, George, Fred, and Llewellyn and J. A. Graves - and asked for a price on this land, which was an Island intersected by bayous and sloughs. At first they were skeptical and looked on the whole scheme as being the chimerical dream of a wild eyed real estate dealer.