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City Council <br />www.santa-ana.org/city-council <br />Item # 28 <br />City of Santa Ana <br />20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701 <br /> Staff Report <br />November 15, 2022 <br />TOPIC: Councilmember Requested Item: Community Historical Marker <br />TITLE <br />Discuss and Consider Directing the City Manager to Direct Staff to Develop a <br />Community Historical Marker Policy and to Install a Community Historical Marker on the <br />Corner of Sycamore and Fourth Streets to Honor, Remember, and Memorialize the <br />Story of Francisco Torres <br />DISCUSSION <br />Councilmember Hernandez added the following councilmember requested item: <br />Historical Analysis: Lynching of Francisco Torres <br />Francisco Torres was a Mexican farm laborer of the Modjeska Ranch in Santiago <br />Canyon during the summer of 1892. The 400-acre ranch belonged to the Polish actress <br />Helena Modjeska and her husband Karol Bozenta Chlapowski. Those close to Mr. <br />Torres described him as a good worker and a quiet man who kept to himself. Standing <br />at five-foot-two, Mr. Torres was given the nickname “Shorty.” <br />On the morning of July 30, 1892, Chlapowski learned the county road overseer had <br />been unable to collect the annual road poll tax of $2.50 from Torres, who had worked at <br />the ranch for less than a month. William McKelvey, 55, a former sea captain and ranch <br />foreman, was instructed by Chlapowski to withhold the $2.50 from Mr. Torres’ $9 salary <br />as a “poll tax” owed to the county. <br />During this era, deep racial hostility lurked in Orange County, oftentimes fueling <br />tensions between Anglo and Latino communities. Additionally, the language and cultural <br />barriers played a vital role in this incident. McKelvey was unable to explain to Torres <br />why his pay had been docked, causing Torres to leave without his pay in frustration. <br />As Mr. Torres protested, he returned to the ranch to demand his money. A fight ensued <br />and Mr. McKelvey was found dead by a housekeeper. Due to McKelvey’s popularity, <br />there was a public outrage, protests were organized, and rewards were offered for <br />Torres’ capture. Through a cell window, Torres claimed he had acted in self-defense <br />and that McKelvey had attacked him first and had drawn a pistol.