Albert S White


Albert S. White was one of the organizers of Riversides citrus fair in 1885

Born in Belfast, Maine, Albert S, White entered into the ship chandlery business in New York when he finished school. Although the business was a success, in 1875 White suffered a serious attack of pneumonia that continued to linger and his doctor recommended a milder climate. White came to California in 1876, searching for the ideal climate and found it in Riverside, regaining his health and strength over the winter. He was the first paying guest of the Miller family, staying at the Glenwood.

White purchased 40 acres along Magnolia Avenue south of Riverside, a town at that time of 300. He brought fruit trees and vines from the east and set up his ranch in oranges, 10 acres of which were devoted to Washington navels.

In 1879, he was one of the founders of the public library association with Elmer W. Holmes, among others. When the city of Riverside was incorporated in 1883, he was a member of the first board of trustees and later a member of the first Riverside County board of supervisors. He made City Park a special project.

White was one of the organizers of Riverside’s citrus fair in 1885 and helped to raise the funds to build the pavilion. In 1887, he went into the real estate business with Frank Miller, occupying a corner room on the main floor of the Evans building. He helped found the Riverside Universalist church in 1891 and is memorialized in one of its windows.

With fellow library trustees, George H. Deere, Lyman Evans, and Elmer Holmes, White was instrumental in bringing a Carnegie Library to Riverside in 1901.

White was a vice-president of the Riverside Land and Irrigating Company, a director of the Riverside Water Company, an incorporator and director of the Riverside and Arlington Railroad Company and the Riverside Railroad Company. He was a promoter of the Riverside Improvement Company and president and principal owner of the Arlington Heights Water Company.

When Albert S. White died in 1909, the Riverside city council renamed City Park Albert S. White Park in his honor.

  • Albert S. White