Today I had the opportunity to skim through the San Antonio Water Company-Local History, Inventory, and Appraisal. I admit that this book is one of the hidden gems I discovered while working on the CLIRWater Project. As I was skimming through the pages, a name caught my eyes, “John Rains!” No family relations and not because it has been raining for the past 5 days but due to the fact that John Rains was murdered rather mysteriously.
According to The Press-Enterprise, he came to California in 1847 as a sheep and cattle herder but married up and became one of the wealthiest men in SoCal. Reportedly, “he convinced the girl he was interested in to ignore the sheep poop on his boots and agree to the marriage.” What a charmer?! Maybe this story will brew into a real love story right in time for Valentine’s Day! I will keep you posted as I read through the history.