When we see an old building, we have to stop and explore. We were traveling through Niland on our way to Westmorland for date shakes when a diamond in the rough beguiled us on Main Street.

We were instantly captivated by its charming architecture and decided to delve into why this painted lady was down on her luck.

Although there are some modern photos of this building on the internet, there is very little history or backstory. The deeper we researched, the more its fascinating story unfolded.

We followed the facts from Niland all the way to Mount Lee in Griffith Park.

Commercial businesses behind the First National Bank of Niland, 1921. Pruitt’s General Merchandise store is among the shops seen. E. F. Mueller Postcard Collection. Courtesy University of California.

We learned this splendid building began as First National Bank of Niland, founded in 1920 by Moses H. Sherman and his partners.

The investors owned thousands of acres surrounding Niland.

They also owned 47,500 acres in the San Fernando Valley, which developed into Van Nuys, Canoga Park and Reseda.

The Los Angeles Times, Nov 27, 1921 ·Page 176

Sherman came from humble beginnings but everything he touched seemed to turn to gold.

Sherman was a former teacher in Prescott, Arizona from 1874-76. It became the first graded school in Arizona.

Soon, Sherman was appointed as principal to a new local school.

John C. Frémont, then governor of the Arizona Territory, appointed Sherman State Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1879.

Sherman earned the title “General” after his 1883 appointment as Adjutant-General of the Territory of Arizona.

All our photos of the old bank building in Niland, California, were taken in 2023.

Sherman acquired real estate and in 1883 and built the Sherman House, a boarding house and hotel, in Prescott.

Later, Sherman selected the lands which helped to provide for the future University of Arizona.

His success continued. Moses H. Sherman built the Phoenix Street Railway in Phoenix, Arizona, and streetcar systems that would become the core of the Los Angeles Railway and part of the Pacific Electric Railway in Los Angeles.

General Sherman married Henrietta “Hattie” Pratt and the couple had two daughters, Hazeltine and Lucy.

Alas, Sherman was not as lucky in love as he was as a respected developer. When Sherman moved to Los Angeles in 1890, he and his wife went their separate ways.

Shortly after moving to Los Angeles, Sherman became a founding stockholder and director of the Los Angeles-based National Bank of California.

Los Angeles Evening Express, December 15, 1923

General Sherman and partners also played a key role in the development of a little place you may have heard of, Hollywoodland.

A large lighted sign was erected to call attention to their new subdivision, with thirteen huge letters on a hillside.

That sign, completed in July, 1923, was rebuilt after World War II without the “land” suffix.

Los Angeles Evening Citizen News, Apr 19, 1949 ·Page 1

When you see the world-famous Hollywood sign in the foothills above Los Angeles, you can thank developer Moses H. Sherman.

Kudos to historian Joshua Alper for sharing his research at Sherman Library in 2024.

As you may have already surmised, Sherman Oaks was also named for General Moses H. Sherman.

So is Sherman Way, colloquially known as “The Way,” a major east–west arterial road that runs for 16 miles across the San Fernando Valley.

Even West Hollywood’s original name, you guessed it, was Sherman.

Moses H. Sherman was not without controversy. His questionable ethics fell under scrutiny in local newspapers decrying his corruption. Modern business practices and politics in San Francisco and Los Angeles appears to not have changed much all these years later.

On November 27, 1898, The San Francisco Call and Post published an article titled J.E. Farnum’s Shameless Plot to Plunder the People’s Bank; Tragic Story of a Day in the Affairs of the Banks; The McDonalds Ordered to Give Up One Hundred Thousand Dollars in Coin, about a money laundering scheme involving Sherman, a relative of Farnum. Sherman was accused of extorting $100,000 dollars from a bank called People’s Home Savings.

On November 29, 1898, The San Francisco Call and Post newspaper published a long article with the headline Sherman Took Sixty Thousand Dollars to Bribe Councilman in Los Angeles; How the Great Manipulator Made Profit From the Consolidation the Roads; Part the Examiner and Chronicle Played in the War of Bankers and Local Capitalists. The publication called Moses H. Sherman the “most repulsive creature” in California. Other journalistic hit pieces followed.

The San Francisco Call and Post, Dec 01, 1898 ·Page 1

On November 30, 1898, The San Francisco Call and Post newspaper came out with twin articles emblazoned Sherman Won His Way With Bribes; Boasted He Bought a State Officer for Forty-Two Thousand Dollars and a rebuttal titled Ex-Coucilmen Are Indignant, Deny They Ever Received a Cent From Sherman.

This is just a very small sample of prolific negative press about Sherman in his lifetime. It didn’t seem to slow him down one bit though.

Sherman served on the Board of Water Commissioners for the City of Los Angeles beginning in 1903.

Sherman and his fellow commissioners worked with William Mulholland to bring water to the city from the Owens Valley via the 200 mile Los Angeles Aqueduct.

In 1910, the General was removed from the Los Angeles Board of Water Commissioners like an unwanted bar patron without his acquiescence.

Los Angeles Evening Post-Record, Jan 20, 1910 ·Page 1

Love him or hate him, the General was a star in his own right, way before the silent film industry evolved into talkies.

Two years after his dismissal, his friends and supporters surprised him by fully furnishing his new palatial house as a housewarming gift.

The Los Angeles Times, Mar 24, 1912 ·Page 5

Los Angeles Evening Post-Record, Mar 13, 1935 ·Page 11

Behind the bank, Niland Department Store sold “Varieties 5-10 & 25 cents,” at 130 feet below sea level. There was also Gullett’s Grocery Store, owned by Moe and Sol Gullett. Photo circa late 1940s.

We noticed the facade of the First National Bank of Niland was built in the Neoclassical Revival Style and resembles the Yavapai County Courthouse in Prescott, Arizona, built in 1916.

The First National Bank of Niland changed to Farmer’s Bank of Imperial Valley, between 1922-23. This change coincided with its transition to a state-chartered institution.

The bank reportedly went into voluntary liquidation and was succeeded by State Bank shortly after its formation.

Moses Hazeltine Sherman, 1929. Courtesy Sherman Library, Colorized by John Earl.

They say you can’t take it with you, and Sherman, like many before him, proved it was true. General Moses H. Sherman (b. 1853 d. 1932) is buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, California.

Imperial County, California, circa 1920s.

The bank and commercial building suffered heavily under the spray paint of vandals and fell into disrepair, but was eventually repurposed.

In 2015, online sources reported that the back of the building was being used for a recycling operation that had been in business since at least 1974 when State Bank closed its doors forever.

Other sources suggested this recycling operation, potentially run by a father and son, was involved in collecting scrap metal from the nearby Chocolate Mountain Aerial Bombing and Gunnery Range but we could not confirm the reliability this information.

When we walked around the building’s exterior two years ago, we heard faint music coming from inside, so the building seemed occupied.

Imperial Valley Press, Mar 25, 1905 ·Page 7

George McCauley ran the stage line from Old Beach, now Niland, to Imperial in 1901.

From 1904 to 1960, Niland was the northern terminus of the Inter-California Railway.

Bell & Crew, Niland, Cal. 6-8-1917

Originally known as Old Beach (1905), Imperial Junction (1910) and Hobgood (1913), the town took its present name of Niland in 1914.

The name Niland was coined by the Imperial Farm Lands Association from “Nile Land”, a commendatory name for the supposed fertility of the place.

Automobile Club of Southern California Map, 1919.

Camp Robert H. Dunlap, a Marine Corps training base, was located near Niland from 1942-1956. The 250,000 acre camp was used to train artillery and anti-aircraft units of the Fleet Marine Force. Ownership reverted to the State in 1961 and it was dismantled.

The site of Camp Dunlap is now the location of Slab City, also called “The Slabs,” an alternative lifestyle community rejecting mainstream society, 4 miles east of Niland via Low Road and Beal Road. Salvation Mountain is also located in this vicinity.

Niland has recently struggled from monsoonal flooding, along with a devastating fire in 2020, which displaced 40 families.

Two and a half years ago the Niland Post Office burned down. Locals do not believe it will be rebuilt because of a federal mandate eliminating many small rural post offices.

The fire started in the boarded-up Bobby D’s restaurant that was attached to the post office at 8018 Highway 111. Presently, there is limited mail delivery outside the Niland fire station three days a week.

In January 23, 2025, the Holtville Tribune reported $1.47 million in federal funding had been secured for a comprehensive infrastructure planning project in the township of Niland, according to Congressman Raul Ruiz, D-Palm Desert.

For now, it doesn’t seem nearly enough to revive this tiny desert town of about 1,000 residents that once held the dreams of so many.

Notice: Sherman Library and Gardens are currently closed for refurbishment.

Topmost Photo: Courtesy Frashers Fotos, Niland, California, Postcard F-7096, circa 1950s. Courtesy Pomona Public Library.

Further Reading

History of Imperial County, California, Ed. by Farr, F.C., published by Elms and Franks, Berkley, California, 1918.

Hendricks, William O. (1971). M.H. Sherman: A Pioneer Developer of the Pacific Southwest. Corona del Mar, CA: The Sherman Foundation.

Arizona Memory Project RE Moses H. Sherman https://azmemory.azlibrary.gov/nodes/view/286140

Sherman Library and Gardens https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/lost-la/sherman-library-and-gardens-finding-l-a-history-in-newport-beach