Artesia history

According to the Artesia-Cerritos United Methodist Church: "On November 11, 1876, the local Methodist Church was formed in a public school house, with a preacher who pastored in both Westminster and Artesia.

Grover Cleveland’s first termThe surplus and the tariffThe public domainThe Interstate Commerce ActThe election of 1888

The Benjamin Harrison administrationThe Sherman Antitrust ActThe silver issueThe McKinley tariffThe agrarian revoltThe PopulistsThe election of 1892

In 1894, the railroad came through the lower Pecos Valley to link Roswell to Eddy (today's Carlsbad). The siding half-way between the two towns was named "Miller" after a brakeman who worked for the rail-road (other sources cite G.E. "Jeff" Miller, a construction engineer).

A store opened at the Miller siding by 1898, and other buildings soon joined "the store at Miller". More settlers joined the community, and as they drilled for water, our area's artesian wells were discovered.

Then Stegman, after the first postmaster, when the place got its first post office in 1899.

An early real estate booklet for Artesia mentions our town as "born of water". While this may have been true for early area promoters, the actual story is not that simple. "Artesia" is actually our town's third name, adopted in 1903.

John Richey, a local developer, suggested its present name in 1905 following the discovery of an underground artesian water basin.

July 26, 1910 - "Seven Hindus in picturesque garb with turbans topping their brown faces" look for O. P. Widaman, unaware that he has been shot and killed, according to the Los Angeles Herald Examiner.

Output from the artesian wells began to falter by the early 1920's, but another type of well appeared.

The first successful oil well, known as Illinois #3, was drilled in 1924, and since then the oil and natural gas industry has been a factor in Artesia's economy.

Little explains how he arrived to Artesia before there were any cows in 1927 when he opens an auto parts store.

Tom Ryan brother of Thelma Ryan has cauliflowers growing on what is now Artesia City Park around 1930.

The first dentist to serve Artesia now lives in Long Beach where he is interviewed about his 1932 business on Pioneer Boulevard.

Main Street in Artesia then changes to Pioneer Boulevard after the 1933 earthquake.

Troost came to Artesia in 1935, from Bloomfield, Iowa, and is a former dairy man.

Health needs of area residents are met by Artesia General Hospital, which opened in 1939.

World War IIThe road to warThe United States at warWar productionFinancing the warSocial consequences of the warThe 1944 electionThe new United States role in world affairs

The peak Cold War years, 1945–60The Truman Doctrine and containmentPostwar domestic reorganizationThe Red ScareThe Korean WarPeace, growth, and prosperityEisenhower’s second termDomestic issuesWorld affairsAn assessment of the postwar era

So far, they have conducted 29 interviews, including City Council members who served when the hamlet was incorporated in 1959.

He now lives in Dairy Valley (now Cerritos), where he buys another dairy in 1961.

"The seeds for what would become Little India were planted in 1971 when Balkishan Lahoti, a Cerritos resident, began selling spices and foods out of an Artesia garage.