John Harbison- Honey Bee Entrepreneur
The vintage photo of the day is of John S. Harbison from 1898. Even if you've never heard of John Harbison, if you've lived in San Diego for any length of time, you may know of the canyon named after him. Yes, the tiny hamlet of Harbison Canyon was named after him, though it really had no residents other than bee keepers prior to 1926 when it was developed as a weekend retreat community in the back country.
Though John looks a little rough around the edges sporting that again popular mountain man beard and has more of a hermit mystique going in this photo, he was anything but. He was a very shrewd business man and inventor, real estate mogul, merchant, nurseryman, and farmer. In fact, during most of his life in San Diego he dwelled in the city, in a rather palatial home at 12th and C in "downtown" San Diego.
In the 1870's, Harbison's little bee business in Harbison Canyon was the most productive honey producing location in the United States. Believe it or not his single biggest difficulty was with warring fruit farmers. And you thought the wars between cattle ranchers and sheepherders were bad. My, how things have come full circle. Fruit farmers thought the bees were bad for their fruit trees, and also felt the bees destroyed their fruit. Fruit farmers did all they could to drive beekeepers far away from their orchards, and even went out as vigilante groups, kerosene and torches in hand, and burned hives wherever they found them. My how things have changed.
Though John looks a little rough around the edges sporting that again popular mountain man beard and has more of a hermit mystique going in this photo, he was anything but. He was a very shrewd business man and inventor, real estate mogul, merchant, nurseryman, and farmer. In fact, during most of his life in San Diego he dwelled in the city, in a rather palatial home at 12th and C in "downtown" San Diego.
In the 1870's, Harbison's little bee business in Harbison Canyon was the most productive honey producing location in the United States. Believe it or not his single biggest difficulty was with warring fruit farmers. And you thought the wars between cattle ranchers and sheepherders were bad. My, how things have come full circle. Fruit farmers thought the bees were bad for their fruit trees, and also felt the bees destroyed their fruit. Fruit farmers did all they could to drive beekeepers far away from their orchards, and even went out as vigilante groups, kerosene and torches in hand, and burned hives wherever they found them. My how things have changed.
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