DOWNEY - A bronze bust of the city's founding father, John Gately Downey, will be unveiled Tuesday in front of City Hall.The unveiling will take place at 4:30 p.m., before Fernando Vasquez is sworn into office as he replaces Mayor Anne Bayer on the City Council. That ceremony begins at 6 p.m. John Gately Downey was governor of California from 1860-62. During his governorship, construction began on the state capitol in Sacramento and the Pony Express began service to San Francisco. He founded Farmers & Merchants Bank in 1871, and in 1879, worked to establish the University of Southern California. Downey's land company owned the land that was subdivided to create the town of Downey in the 1870s.

********** Published: December 2, 2010 - Volume 9 - Issue 33