Daeida Wilcox Beveridge

Daeida Hartell Wilcox Beveridge (/d//aɪ/'/iː//d//ə/; 1861 – August 7, 1914) donated land, named, and founded Hollywood, northwest of Los Angeles, California, in 1888.

Born in Hicksville, Ohio, Daeida was the daughter of farmers Amelia and John Emerson Hartell, and attended private school in Hicksville and later public school in Canton, Ohio.

A few months after her family acquired its new ranch, Daeida visited her hometown of Hicksville. Daeida heard the name Hollywood from another traveler, who owned an estate by that name in Illinois. In August 1887 at the age of 25, she and her husband began to lay out a new town on their ranch, with a subdivision map filed for "Hollywood, California," with the Los Angeles County Recorder's office. Their ranch, purchased at $150 an acre, was sold for $1,000 a lot. The 1880s real estate boom busted that same year, yet Hollywood began its slow growth. With her second husband, Daeida continued leading development efforts and was instrumental in establishing much of Hollywood's civic infrastructure, including the city hall, library, police station, primary school, tennis club, post office, city park, and one of the two original commercial districts.

She came to be called the "Mother of Hollywood." Daeida Wilcox Beveridge died of cancer on 7 August 1914.

Wilcox Avenue — a north/south street, one block west of Cahuenga Boulevard in Hollywood and Hancock Park, Los Angeles. Wilcox Post Office—Hollywood Station (United States Post Office, Hollywood, California). Wilcox Police Station—Hollywood Community Police Station. Daeida Magazine — Daeida. com: Daeida Magazine. com: Hollywood's People, Passions, and Its Past