Samuel Kraemer

Who was Samuel Kraemer?

Samuel Kraemer was a rancher, farmer, and businessman who is who credited with much of the development of Anaheim, California during the 1920s.

Kraemer was born July 9, 1857 in Illinois, the son of Elenora Schrag and Daniel Kraemer. His father moved the family to Orange County in 1867, becoming the first English-speaking settlers in Placentia, California. He married Angelina Yorba, the last of the "grand" Yorbas descending from Jose Antonio Yorba, in 1886, joining parts of the old Yorba lands to his own tracts. He eventually would inherit a piece of his father's sizable land holdings too. When Union Oil Company discovered oil on his property around 1919, Kraemer became one of the richest men in Southern California. In 1925, he built the first high-rise building in Anaheim, the Kraemer Building. Later, he developed the Angelina Hotel, also in Anaheim. He and his wife had eight children: Samuel Peter, Arnold Ruperto, Angelina, Adelia, Gilbert Ulysses, Lawrence Prudencio, Geraldine, and Louis Thomas.

Kraemer Avenue running through the cities of Anaheim, Brea, Placentia, and Orange is named in his honor.