Adohr Spelled Success for Adamsons

The corner of Ventura Boulevard and Lindley Avenue in Tarzana was once the Adohr Milk Farm. However, the land was part of a cattle ranch empire owned by a Southern California family who later established the city of Malibu.

In 1892, Frederick Hastings Rindge bought the original Spanish land grants that made up Rancho Malibu Topanga Sequit. Rindge’s land purchases spanned more than 17,000 acres along the coast toward Ventura County and several miles inland over the Santa Monica Mountains into the San Fernando Valley.

At the time of Rindge’s death in 1905, the ranch lands were divided between his three children. In 1915, Rindge’s only daughter, Rhoda, married Merritt H. Adamson Sr., who was originally the ranch’s foreman.

A year later, the Adamsons established a dairy farm on the north slopes of the Santa Monica Mountains. To honor Rhoda, Adamson named the farm “Adohr”--his wife’s name spelled backward. Adohr Farms became famous for having one of the largest herds of Guernsey cattle in the world.

During the Depression, the Adamsons were forced to sell most of their land to pay creditors. However, the milk farm kept the family solvent.

The Adohr dairy moved to Camarillo in 1947. Adamson’s son, Merritt Jr., eventually sold the dairy operation to the Southland Corp. in 1966.