Momson, Henry A.

Henry A. Monson was born in Schleswig-Holstein on October 15, 1863, and was brought to America by his father at three years old, spending his boyhood in Clinton and Crawford counties, Iowa. After starting work at eleven, he accompanied his father to California in 1881, where he initially followed grain-farming near Hanford and Grangeville. He located in the Summit Lake country near Riverdale in Fresno County in 1888, renting land until 1897, when he purchased a 960-acre ranch located eight miles west of Riverdale. Situated within the Crescent Reclamation District and watered by the Crescent Canal, his fertile property yielded massive crops of alfalfa, wheat, and barley.

Expanding his operations, Monson started a dairy in 1906 with sixty head of milch cows, built a large modern barn, and raised Poland-China hogs and beef cattle, becoming a leading west side producer. On September 4, 1888, he married Emma Batty, a native of Iowa, and together they had three children named Christopher, Eleanor, and Dorothy. Beyond his ranch, he owned real estate at 145 Glenn Avenue in Fresno, held a thirty-second degree Mason status with Center Lodge No. 465, and joined the San Joaquin Milk Producers Association and the State Alfalfa Growers Association. His son Christopher served in the United States Army aviation service before returning home in December 1918 to take charge of the farm, while his family actively participated in the Fresno Presbyterian Church.