Louis Phillips (April 22, 1830 – March 16, 1900) was a wealthy land owner and rancher in Los Angeles County, California.. Phillips was born Louis Galefsky to a Jewish family in Kempen, Province of Posen, Prussia (now Kępno, Poland) and moved to California in the early 1850s, changing his name to Phillips.
[1][2][3][4][self-published source] He moved to Spadra (now part of Pomona) in 1862 and began engaging in sheep herding and cattle raising.
[7] In January 1874, the Southern Pacific Railroad completed a rail line from Los Angeles to Spadra, spurring interest in land development in the area.
[8] Phillips retained 2,241 acres (9.07 km2) surrounding his mansion, which he operated as a cattle and sheep ranch.
"[9] The Times noted that Phillips was worth "not a dollar less than $3,000,000" and stated that, in addition to his land holdings in Los Angeles, he had a ranch that produced wool, honey and wheat.