James Brown Winston

James Brown Winston (1820–1884) was the first medical officer of the City of Los Angeles, California, in the 19th century. He also was a member of both the Los Angeles Common Council, the city's governing body, and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

He and his wife operated the historic Bella Union Hotel in the Los Angeles Plaza area.

Personal

Winston was born on May 26, 1820, in Culpeper County, Virginia, the son of William Alexander Winston and Mary Hooe [correct] Wallace. He received a medical degree from the University of Virginia.

Winston died September 9, 1884, at the age of sixty-four. In 1849 he moved to Los Angeles and, with partner Alpheus P. Hodges, bought and managed the Bella Union Hotel, to which they made extensive improvements, adding a second story and a balcony. In 1863–64, a disease swept through Los Angeles.

So many deaths were reported that the municipal authorities discontinued the tolling of the bells. Undertakers were fearful of touching the ravaged bodies. ... At least 500 persons were stricken during the first few week, and deaths in the pueblo for a time ran as high as 15 and 20 a day. ... At the Bella Union Hotel, always the hub of the town's activity, a funereal gloom was everywhere, and innkeeper Doctor Winston, now overworked in his capacity as town physician, kept the hotel running. His only thought was to save the living and to rid the town of the dead as quickly as possible.

Public service

Winston served in the Los Angeles Common Council, the governing body of the city, in 1861–62 and 1863–64, and he was a member of the city Board of Health in 1862–63. He was elected to the county Board of Supervisors in 1868 and served through 1871.

Winston also became a prominent figure in civic affairs and was a member of a voluntary vigilance committee known as the Rangers, which was organized to assist in fighting crime; as well as the party planning committee, which arranged for all the town's dances.

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