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Broadsheet, 9-1/4" x 16"; folded to make 8-panel brochure, 9-1/4" x 4". Printed with black ink on buff background. Photographic bust illustration of founder Sidney P. Dones wearing a three piece suit and touching his hand to his chin. Some staining. Good+. Eureka Villa, founded in 1924 as a resort community for African Americans, is a thousand acre community in the mountain foothills north of Los Angeles. Black real estate developer, actor, and film director Sidney Dones [1888-1947] financed the endeavor. This brochure includes his original poem, "Eureka Villa," an order form, and five pages of questions and answers on the project. Dones calls this "the greatest opportunity yet offered to our group in California" and asserts that he has "done my duty to my race in helping to put home-owning in Southern California in the reach of all." Eureka Villa, he says, is a necessity, "Because there is absolutely no resort in Southern California where members of our group are welcomed. our children are entitled to a place in the great open spaces where they can play and run unrestricted by race prejudice and oppression. we must prove to the world that we are capable of developing something of our very own." Some of the listed notable African-American members of the Eureka Villa Advisory Board include: Frederick M. Roberts, California's first African-American elected to the State Assembly and great-great-grandson of President Thomas Jefferson; J.C. Banks, U.S. Customs Service, former local head of the NAACP; Joseph Blackburn Bass, editor of the California Eagle, an organizer of Afro-American Protective League, Helena National Negro Business League, and Afro-American Building Association; Dr. Emily B. Childress (later Portwig), pharmacist and community activist; William Shelten, manager of Indiana Realty Company; Dr. Eddie R. Driver, lawyer, businessman, pastor of Saints Home Holiness Church; and others. According to the brochure, Hollywood jobs are within an easy commute, water and farmland are plentiful, a canning factory and industrial laundry are planned, and oil drilling is a possibility. "I really and truly believe not only that there is oil at Eureka, but I believe the people who buy lots now, at least some of them, will make a fortune within the next five years from oil." There is a solid cement double tennis court, large dancing pavilion, swimming pool, community church, and public school. This "healthiest spot in California" will prolong the lives of those with tuberculosis, asthma, rheumatism, and stomach troubles. Standard lots can be purchased from $150 to $500, Val Verde Units from $295 to $650, and business lots from $385 to $550. Dones promises that one part of the development will be reserved for the Black elite: "Val Verde Unit is the most beautiful part of Eureka." The Hellman Bank, one of the largest banks in Los Angeles, appears as Sellers and Trustees. This community later became known as the "Black Palm Springs" and hosted notable African American celebrities including Booker T. Washington, Hattie McDaniel, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, and James Earl Jones, Sr. ["Renaissance for 'Black Palm Springs', by Leon Worden, July 24, 1996, accessed at website of SCVHistory on June 20, 2024; "Eureka Villa/Val Verde, California", by Chris Ott, January 23, 2007, accessed at website of Blackpast on June 20, 2024.] OCLC 1416671142 [3- Huntington, UCSD, Princeton] as of June 2024. Seller Inventory # 40194
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