Benedict Canyon was a part of Rancho de las Aguas ("Ranch of the Waters"), which also included present-day Beverly Hills. It was named by Edson A. Benedict, a storekeeper and native of Boonville, Missouri, who took a homestead in the Canyon in 1868. With help from his wife and sons, E. A. Benedict built an apiary that was so bountiful that in one year, they were reported to have made a single shipment of of honey from Santa Monica Pier. One of Mr. Benedict's sons, Pierce E. Benedict, later went on to be elected to the city of Beverly Hills Board of Trustees at the time of its incorporation.