William N. Monroe first brought his family to California in 1875, after a successful ten year
period of building railroads in the Midwest. Monroe, a former school teacher and army officer
during the Civil War, had met Charles Crocker of "Big Four" fame, and Crocker had
persuaded Monroe to relocate. The family set up headquarters in Los Angeles while Monroe
was building railroads throughout the state for the Southern Pacific Railroad ......<more info>