San Diego, Alta California, First Mexican Republic (today California, U.S.)
Died
1912 (aged 84–85)
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Resting place
Calvary Cemetery (Los Angeles)
Occupation(s)
Businesswoman, philanthropist, socialite
Spouses
Abel Stearns (1841-1871; his death)
Robert Symington Baker
Parent(s)
Juan Bandini and Marie de los Dolores Estudio
Arcadia Bandini de Stearns Baker (1827–1912) was a wealthy Californio landowner and socialite of Los Angeles. She played an important role in the elite society of Los Angeles[1] and, later, Santa Monica.[2] She was married to two wealthy Anglo-American men over the course of her life, Abel Stearns and then Colonel Robert S. Baker. Like many californias of her time, Arcadia Bandini provided to her Anglo husbands opportunities for entrance into and alliances within the established californio elite society.[3] She was a skilled businesswoman in her own right, as well as a renowned hostess and organizer of balls and other social functions.[4]
Through her Bandini family wealth and the wealth of her husbands, she amassed an enormous estate and fortune, and upon her death was one of the wealthiest women in America.[5] In her later life, she was considered "the great benefactress of Santa Monica" for her investments in and contributions to the development of the city. As she had no children and died intestate (without leaving a will), her death prompted an infamous court battle for control of her estate.[4]
^Wallis, Eileen V. (July 1, 2009). ""Keeping Alive the Old Tradition": Spanish-Mexican Club Women in Southern California, 1880–1940". South Calif Quart. 91 (2): 133–154. doi:10.2307/41172468. ISSN 0038-3929. JSTOR 41172468.
^"Santa Monica History | Santa Monica History Museum". santamonicahistory.org. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
^Rosaura, Sánchez (January 1, 1995). Telling identities : the Californio testimonios. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 081662559X. OCLC 232159864.
^ ab"Staff Report – City of Santa Monica". smgov.net. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
^Patricia Baker (1969). "The Bandini Family". sandiegohistory.org. Archived from the original on July 22, 2014. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
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co-founder John P. Jones (also a U.S. Senator from Nevada), and ArcadiaBandinideStearnsBaker. One of the station's projects was a study of the newly introduced...
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Californian) (1799–1860) – merchant and rancher in Alta California. ArcadiaBandinideStearnsBaker (1825–1912) – wealthy Los Angeles Landowner. She was the granddaughter...
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another fortune. Stearns was nicknamed "Cara de Caballo" (Horse Face), because of his long-jawed countenance. In 1841, he married ArcadiaBandini of the wealthy...
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