Ed W. Lewis arrived in Lynwood from Nebraska in 1895, and brought his family with him. They included sons Joe, Bill, Ed C. Lewis and daughters Ceila and Mary.
Ed W. Lewis farmed in Lynwood, growing sugar beets and corn. He also raised cows and did well there.
In 1912, sons Joe and Bill bought 50 acres in Downey at what is now Woodruff Avenue and Foster Road. There they farmed sugar beets and Klondike strawberries. Bill died in 1913 in a farm accident. Joe left in 1926 and went to work for Citrus College. He leased the 50 acres until the housing boom hit years later.
Meanwhile, son Ed C. Lewis bought 25 acres on Foster Road at Ardis in 1915. He named it Golden Gate Ranch. He farmed many crops there including sugar beets, corn, walnuts and alfalfa.
In 1916 Ed C. Lewis married Bertha Rothen-berger. They had two children, Ed H. Lewis and Mary E. Lewis. Both were born in the present ranch house that was originally built in 1871, in the 9000 block of Foster Road.
Ed H. and Mary Lewis attended Alameda School and Downey High School.
Ed C. Lewis died in 1942. Son Ed H. Lewis continued to farm the rich Downey soil until 1956. He grew spinach and sweet corn, and grew them well.
The Lewis family farmed or had something to do with land over an area ranging from Imperial Highway to Foster Road and Woodruff Avenue to Clark Street.
Ed H. Lewis married his wife, Emily, in 1957. He raised the old ranch house and put a new foundation beneath it that year. His sister still lives there. Lewis School is named after this pioneer family, and the old ranch house is still in use.
(The Downey Eagle thanks Bob Thompson, who contributed most of the information for this article).