The house at 6743 Worsham Drive is known as the Swain House. Building permit records indicate that construction for the home began in 1935, and was completed in early 1936. The permit appears to have been issued to Judge Frank G. Swain however neither the architect nor the contractors are listed on the building permit.
The following information was taken from various Whittier Daily News Articles:
Rev. William and Kittie Swain came to California in 1891 from Victor, IA. In 1892, the Swain family bought a ranch in east Whittier, and lived there from 1896 to 1898. Frank Graham Swain was born in 1893 in a parsonage on Florence Avenue, one block west of Alameda street in the little town of Florence, now a part of the city of Los Angeles. Rev. Swain died in 1899, and in 1902, Kittie Swain brought her children back to Whittier.
Judge Swain attended 6th, 7th, and 8th grades at the Old Bailey Street School where he graduated in 1905. He graduated from Whittier High School in 1909. After high school, Swain attended the University of Southern California for a year and a half, before finishing the latter part of the year at Whittier College. Judge Swain took a year off from college and became a principal and teacher at a Riverside school. After a year of teaching, he attended and completed his undergraduate work at the University of Wyoming to pursue his dream of a Rhodes Scholarship. In 1913 he was awarded the Rhodes Scholarship, and attended Oxford University, where three years later, he obtained a law degree. In 1917, after taking special courses at USC Law School, Judge Swain was admitted into the California Bar. After spending two years in the Army as a Second Lieutenant in the Infantry, Judge Swain opened a law office in Whittier, where he practiced until 1930, when he entered into partnership with the late William Gibbs McAdoo, the son-in-law of President Woodrow Wilson. In 1935, Judge Swain was appointed a judge of the Superior Court, where he eventually finished off his career in the Appellate Department. In the same year, Judge Swain pulled permits to construct their home on Worsham Drive, where construction was completed in early 1936. Aside from his long and distinguished legal career, in which he also served as Justice of the Peace for the Whittier area, Judge Swain was also known for his civic services to the Whittier Community. He was also a member of the executive committee, which organized the American Legion in California. He also authored “A Manual of Procedure for the Writs and Receivers Department”, and the light-hearted “Judicial Jingles”, a book of light verses which he describes as a “reliable collection of misinformation”. Judge Swain wrote about the early life in Whittier, as well as “targeting” his grandchildren as well. He was a featured speaker of the day at the Annual Founders Day Picnic, where he read “Whittier Takes the Morning Train”. Additionally, Judge Swain was a member of the Whittier Lions Club and served as the President of the Whittier Founders Association.
Local designation date is September 12, 2000. It is identified as #37. There was a Mills Act Agreement on this property at the time of its local designation.
SOURCES: The information above has been obtained from the original local designation documents and edits from the Whittier Historic Neighborhood Association. It may also include ongoing current ownership input.