Isaac Brunn: Jewish Pioneer Food & Liquor Wholesaler and Civic Servant of San Bernardino

Isaac R. Brunn

Isaac Brunn, San Bernardino Merchant, WS#1568

Isaac Brunn, San Bernardino merchant,
#WS1568

Values Codes I – E – L – P

 

Isaac Brunn was born in 1836 in Prussian-occupied Poland.

 

Along the way . . . 

Isaac Brunn arrived in Los Angeles in 1852, where he clerked in a general merchandise store.

In 1858, at age 22, he became a United States citizen in Los Angeles.

 

San Bernardino

Isaac Brunn moved to San Bernardino in 1856.

There, he partnered with wholesaler Louis Jacobs.

Later, he became a wholesale dealer in cigars, foreign and domestic wines, and liquors.

He represented some of the well-known distilleries of the East, with whom he was well acquainted from his time living in Tennessee.

 

Civic

Isaac Brunn was well known in and out of business circles, and was involved in most of the major public enterprises in San Bernardino.

He was elected as a member of San Bernardino Board of Supervisors in the 1870’s.

Brunn also served as a member of the San Bernardino City Council for 8 years, including four years as its president.

 

Community

Isaac Brunn was a founder of the Hebrew Benevolent Society of Los Angeles in 1854.

 

Fraternal

Brunn was a Mason and member of the Knights of Pythias.

 

Isaac Brunn died in 1917.

Isaac Brunn's Store, San Bernardino, 1877, WS#1570

Isaac Brunn’s store, San Bernardino, 1877, #WS1570

Source

  • “A Few San Bernardino Businessmen in 1892,” Western States Jewish Historical Quarterly 15/2.