Many of these schools, including SCMA, were well-respected and desirable with rigorous curricula and a path to future leadership positions within the US military.
[1] The local hallmark of SCMA was its World War I field artillery pieces displayed on Cherry Avenue, overlooking the Port of Long Beach.
South Western Military Academy was founded in 1924 by local businessmen at 2065 Cherry Avenue, in the newly-incorporated Signal Hill enclave within Long Beach, California.
In 1925, they sold it to Major and Mrs. Wilbur J. Watkins, who renamed it Southern California Military Academy (SCMA).
In 2011, alumni donated funds and negotiated with the school district to be allowed to place a bronze plaque on the school's southeast corner to commemorate the site's historical importance and to memorialize the people who attended the academy.