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REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01717 2104
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP
Alameda County California.
Compiled and Published By the COUNTRY CLUB THE WOMAN'S CLUB OF WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP 1904.
1733496
FROM OAKLAND BOARD OF TRADE OAKLAND, CAL.
Table of Contents
PAGE Argonaut Club of Washington, Murray and Eden Townships. . 123
Centerville and Vicinity 59
Civil War Notes 81
Decoto, Town and District 109
First Assessment Roll of Washington Township 124
First School Census 130
Introduction 5
Irvington
84
Mission San Jose 37
Names of Members of Pioneer Society 122
Newark 114
Niles 97
Pioneers of Washington Township 123
Preface
2
Productions and Acreage 129
Rainfall and Temperature 132
School Expenditures. 132
Senorita Guadalupe de Jesus Vallejo 133
The Indian's Lament. 45
The Key to My Old Home 133
The Mission of San Jose 28
Union City and Alvarado 46
Warm Springs 91
5
f
MISSION SAN JOSE IN 1850
PREFACE
The Country Club, under whose auspices this history is pub- lished, was the outcome of two political equality societies, one of Centreville and one of Niles. The first meeting of the Woman's Club of Washington Township, afterward re-named the Country Club, was held in December, 1897, at the home of Mrs. C. H. Allen, Centreville. At that time there were present twenty-five women from different parts of the township, who became charter members of the club then organized. At the present writing six of the seven villages in the township are represented, and there are a few members from outside districts.
Believing that the history of this township would be valuable as a part of Alameda County and of the State, the women of the Country Club began this work early in May, 1903. Every active member contributed something to it, and the heads of the various committees compiled the material into papers, which were read at a "Golden Jubilee" meeting, held May 19th, in the Town Hall of Centreville, to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the organi- zation of the township. The past and the present, represented by the pioneers, their children and grandchildren, crowded the hall, which was tastefully decorated with great branches of golden mus- tard blooms, California poppies, and wild oats in luxuriant pro- fusion.
On either side of the platform were tables covered with valued relics and papers belonging to early days. The papers read at this meeting proved so interesting that the Club decided to pre- serve them in permanent form. To the old settlers some of the records may appear incorrect, and some so familiar as to seem un- important ; but the compilers believe that every fact and incident related is of interest and worth recounting, for the events of the past are rapidly fading away ; and it is hoped that the reading of these pages may revive old memories and incite each pioneer now living to put in writing his early California experience, particu- larly that part of it which relates to this locality and its first set- tlement by Americans; so that not only historical facts may be gathered, but traditions also may be collected and kept for future use
The work is not free from errors, and claims no literary merit ; the details of such an undertaking are many and difficult; but
3
PREFACE
much painstaking labor has been given by those having the mat- ter in charge, to guard as far as could be done against inaccura- cies, and to make it not only interesting but reliable.
If, after all our efforts, mistakes are found we trust our readers will not be harsh critics, but will consider how difficult it is to at- tain to perfection in anything, and how hard to get exact ac- counts of the happenings of even fifty years ago when so few rec- ords were kept.
Thanks are due to many individuals throughout the township, as well as to former residents, for valuable assistance. Our limited space does not allow detailed mention of names, but the Club is especially grateful to Mr. J. M. Horner, the first American settler, and to Mr. Wm. Barry, Secretary of the Pioneer Society, for im- portant data.
We send forth this little volume believing that it will prove interesting and of some worth to many readers. We hope that the younger generation and the newer occupants of these lands will not only be entertained, but profited, by the reading, and that the old settlers, the few remaining pioneers to whom we al owe so much, may live over the past in these pages, recalling with pleasure the days full of the stirring events which meant so much to them and their associates who, now "life's fitful fever over, sleep well."
HISTORY
... OF ...
Washington Township
Alameda County, California
Compiled and Published by the COUNTRY CLUB, the Woman's Club of Wl'ashington Township 1904
The Golden Jubilee of Washington Township was celebrated by a historical meeting of the Country Club, held in the Town Hall, at Centreville, May 19, 1903-fifty years after the settlement of the township. At that meeting the following histories of the sev- eral towns, or villages, in the Township, which had been prepared by the Club members, were read. The especial guests on that occasion were the Pioneers. The following is the program pre- sented on that day.
PROGRAM
Address of Welcome by the President of the Club. Auld Lang Syne, by the Club and Audience
SONG
PAPERS
The Mission of San Jose Mission San Jose (the village) Union City and Alvarado Centreville Civil War Notes
VOCAL SOLO
Miss Stella Graham The Song of Home (encore Comin' Thro' the Rye) PAPERS
Irvington Warm Springs Niles
INSTRUMENTAL SOLO
Miss Tonita Vallejo* La Filiense, by Raff (encore, Domino, by Miss Tonita Vallejo PAPERS
Decoto Newark
Letters were read from Mrs. W. W. Brier, Miss Guadalupe Vallejot and Dr. J. M. Selfridge, pioneer residents, now living else- SONG
where.
America, by the Club and Audience *Miss Tonita Vallejo is a granddaughter of Don Jose de Jesus Vallejo tMiss Vallejo has died since the above was written.
INTRODUCTION.
HE greater part of Washington Township lies in what Father Palou, California's earliest historian, calls the Valle de San Jose, a name applied formerly to the whole long valley, because of the location therein of San Jose, one of the pueblos of California. Subsequently it was called Santa Clara, and the upper portion of it is often spoken of as the Alameda Valley, from the creek of that name flowing through it. Father Palou incidentally mentions that when, in 1773, Capt. Bautista's party went through here from Monterey in search of San Francisco, the soldiers killed elk so large that the antlers measured cight feet from tip to tip. In 1796 the Spanish government of this country decided to estab- lish a third town, or pueblo, and sent out a party to explore, as appears in the report, from Santa Cruz Mission "to the place of the Alameda," and although this place contained a creek, the pueblo, Branciforte, was located near Santa Cruz Mission, but was soon abandoned. There were twenty-one missions, four presidios (garrisons), and three pueblos (civic settlements) includ- ing Branciforte, established before 1833, when the missions were secularized. The history of the founding of these old missions is one of interest to everybody. Many of them are now in ruins, only piles of adobe indicating the places where they once stood, but the settlement and civilization of early California were wholly due to their institution, and although now of little or no civic importance, they mark a valuable as well as poetic epoch in the history of the state and the several localities in which they were established. In 1797 one of them was founded in what is now Washington Township, and so it follows that the carly history of the township is largely that of Mission San Jose, which appears elsewhere in this work. In 1834 when the Mexican congress passed the act releasing the Indians from the control of the mis- sions, and appointing men to manage the affairs of mission prop- erty, Don Jose de Jesus Vallejo was appointed administrator at Mission San Jose, where he lived many years.
It is believed that the grantees were in possession of their Mexican grants long before they were dated. At any rate, no historian has been able to definitely determine the time of settle- ment on them. From the records in the attorney general's office in Sacramento, the following entries were copied by M. W. Wood, and appear in his history of Alameda County, viz .: To Fulgencia Higuera claimant for Agua Caliente (Warm Springs) two square leagues, granted October 13, 1836, by Nicolas Gutierrez, and April 4, 1839, by Juan B. Alvarado to F. Higuera containing
6
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP
9,563.87 acres. Patented to him (by U. S.) April 17, 1858. (Three oak trees that marked one portion of the boundary of this grant may be seen today-one on the summit of the range about one- half mile below the top and south of Mission Peak, and the other extending along the ridge in a southerly direction). Los Tular- citos, owned by Thomas Higuera, was a portion of this grant. The Curtner and Stanford places are included in it. Jose de Jesus Vallejo claimant for Arroyo del Alameda, four square leagues, granted August 30, 1842, by Juan B. Alvarado, containing 17,- 705.38 acres. Patented January 1, 1858, (Niles and Decoto lie within this grant). Andres Pico et al., claimants for Mission San Jose lands, 30,000 acres, granted May 5, 1846, by Pio Pico to Andres Pico and Juan B. Alvarado; claim filed March 9, 1852; confirmed by the commission December 18, 1855, and rejected by the court June 30, 1859. (This grant was known as the ex-mission lands. Squatters settled on them, and what was called squatters' rights caused many quarrels between them and adverse claimants, but in December, 1867, the United States issued patents to bonafide settlers, after much trouble and expense to them, thus ending one of the fiercest agrarian disputes that has ever occurred in this section. The villages of Mission San Jose, Irvington, Newark and Centreville are located on these lands.) Thomas Pacheco and Augustin Alviso, claimants for Potrero de los Cerritos, three square leagues, granted Mach 23, 1844, by Manuel Micheltorena to T. Pacheco and A. Alviso, 10,610.26 acres. Patented Feb- ruary 21, 1866. (The land lying from Newark in the direction of and including Alvarado lies in this tract). It is a pathetic fact that no descendant of these Spanish-Americans who held such princely domains occupy any part of the property or live in the valley now, although the heirs of Thomas Higuera own some portion of Los Tularcitos.
Archbishop Joseph Sardoc Alemany, claimant for Mission San Jose, founded under Carlos IV, June 11, 1797; claim filed February 19, 1853, containing 28.33 acres. Patented March 3, 1858. Apparently these few acres are all that are left to the church that formerly had dominion over thousands. The boun- daries of the grants were the streams, natural landmarks, and sometimes ditches dug for that purpose. On the George W. Patterson place, the old Pacheco ditch can still be traced, running down into "The Willows." The sons have placed their telephone poles along the line of it. The Sanjon de los Alisos was the boun- dary between the Pacheco and Alviso grant and the ex-mission lands. The years from 1833 to 1850 have been called "the golden days of hospitality and good fellowship." The padres and generous Spaniards welcomed every guest and set before him milk, cheese,
7
INTRODUCTION
mutton, beef, tortillas, figs, grapes and wild honey. Potatces were few, but pinole was plentiful.
A native liquor said to resemble cognac, called aguardiente, and very intoxicating, was the favorite tipple. Mescal, a liquor made from the prickly pear, was also liked, and brandy and wine were to be had. Hemp, flax, wheat and corn were grown, and also melons and squashes. Soap, leather, wool, salt, soda, har- ness, saddles, blankets and clumsy vehicles were manufactured. A horse was freely given to any in need of one. The young women were handsome, and all were devotees of the church. The men were generous, fearless, hospitable and expert equestrians. At every social gathering at the mission the guests came from all parts of the country. The Peraltas, the Castres, Higueras, Sotcs, Estudillos, Alvisos, Vallejos, Bernals, Amadors, Sunols, Pachecos, Noreigas and Livermores (who married a Higuera) gathered there on festive occasions. These were the wealthy, landed proprie- tors of the country far and near, and lived in a kind of feudal style, the Indians their vassals. Except for the luxuriant gardens of the Mission, and the vegetables and cereals grown by the ranch- eros, the country was covered with acres and acres of wild oats, tall enough, within the memory of the first American pioneers, to tie over the head of a man on horseback. Wild mustard from six to fifteen feet high rolled in golden billows over the valley and up the hillsides, and birds nested and sang among the blossoms.
The mountains bordering the canons were more densely tim- bered than now, game was abundant, elk and deer were common, and an occasional "grizzly" gave a spice of danger to the hunter. Wild geese and ducks literally swarmed in the marshes and lagoons, while the bark of the coyote, now seldom heard, was incessant through the night. Then there were the Indians, a few rancheros, cattle and horses grazing the hills unherded, and the little settle- ment of padres. In other parts of this history the reader is told how the changes came. How, with gold discovery in 1848, the sleepy old Mission woke up and became an important trading point ; how, over the old Stockton road through the Mission Pass. where Fremont and his men had journeyed, a continuous stream of hardy miners and pioneers came and went; how fortunes were made and lost, and how from that time the lands of this valley were coveted and finally obtained by Americans. Under the trees in the old churchyard of the Mission and in the shadow of the church, sleep many whose names appear in these pages, and who were prominently connected with the early history, not only of the valley and county, but of the state. Some, too, rest peace- fully in the Odd Fellows' cemetery at Irvington or the cemeteries in Centreville and Decoto; others lie far away from the scenes
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP
of their busy life here, while a handful of the sturdy old pioneers survive, honored by all who know them. John M. Horner, now living in Hawaii, was the first American settler, coming to Cali- fornia in 1846 in the celebrated ship, Brooklyn. Mr. Horner settled near the present village of Irvington in 1847. His brother William Y., father of the present supervisor, joined him some time after, and they had extensive business interests. They were enterprising, generous men. E. L. Beard came to the Mis- sion in 1849. He became interested with Mr. Horner in land and agriculture, and afterward with his stepson, Henry G. Ellsworth. The noble old palms planted by Mr. Beard on his home place (the Gallegos place) are fitting memorials of this interesting and large-hearted pioneer. Henry C. Smith was also one of the first comers. A very bright man, who was early identified with the political history of the state and county. There were several more of these brave argonauts, but their names, with those of the hardy pioneers are appended to this history, and their lives enter into the records of the several towns where they lived.
The United States made a treaty of peace with Mexico in 1848, the year of gold discovery, and then California fell under the juris- diction of the federal government. The first legislative assembly of the state convened in San Jose in December, 1849, and created twenty-seven counties, among them Contra Costa and Santa Clara. In March, 1853, Alameda county was formed from por- tions of these two, and Washington Township is the greater part of that which came from Santa Clara. The county seat was located at New Haven, now Alvarado. H. C. Smith was at that time in the legislature, and fathered the bill making the new county. A body called the court of sessions had entire control of the civil business, and organized June 6, 1853, dividing the county at once into six townships, viz .: Contra Costa, Clinton, Oakland, Eden, Murray and Washington, named for the "father of his country." In December there was a redivision, and Contra Costa was elim- inated. In 1855 the court of sessions was succeeded by the board of supervisors, and again the county was redistricted into Alameda, Brooklyn, Eden, Murray, Oakland and Washington townships, and in 1902 Pleasanton was formed from a part of Murray. In 1850 there was a voting place at H. C. Smith's store, Mission San Jose. When the county was constructed another polling place was added at the room used as a courthouse in New Haven, and very soon Horner's schoolhouse at Centreville made a third. The election for the purpose of voting on the question of removing the county seat to San Leandro was held December 30, 1854, and in every precinct in the county an astonishing number of votes were polled. Mission San Jose cast 203, New Haven or
9
INTRODUCTION
Alvarado 393, Centreville 170,; total in the township, 766, sixty- eight more than Oakland. The following year there was a great excitement over the question of licensing saloons, and we find the total number of votes cast in Washington was 351. In 1902 the number of registered voters was 1361. Centreville precinct 248, Irvington 238, Alvarado 219, Niles 195, Newark 177, Mission 168 and Decoto 116.
When the first Americans made their homes here there was no Oakland, no Alameda, no Berkeley. Therefore in the first years of county government Washington ruled in matters political, securing the county seat and nearly all of the county offices, as follows: A. M. Crane, county judge; Wm. Coombs, district attor- ney; A. M. Church, county clerk; J. S. Marston, county treasurer ; Andrew H. Broder, sheriff; Wm. H. Chamberlain, coroner; and Rev. W. W. Brier, superintendent of schools. The names of the men, so far as can be learned, who have since been public officials, although not altogether in the order named, are the late Hon. John L. Beard, state senator and regent of the state university ; the Hon. M. W. Dixon, Thomas Scott, James Clark, and John G. Mattos, Jr. (now serving) assemblymen.
P. E. Edmundsen, C. C. Breifogle, and R. A. McClure, county treasurers; H. M. Vesey, county clerk; W. F. B. Lynch and P. M. Fisher, county superintendents of schools; Dr. J. M. Selfridge, coroner; J. A. Mayhew, sheriff; C. J. Stevens, tax collector; E. H. Dyer, county surveyor; Chas. Whipple, public administrator; and supervisors, H. C. Smith, J. R. Mason, Jonathan Mayhew, James Shinn, C. S. Eigenbrodt, H. Overacker, Sr., Wm. Threl- fall, J. M. Horner, Wm. Whidden, M. W. Dixon, Henry Duster- berry and C. F. Horner, the present representative of the super- visorial district.
Among the first acts passed by the first board of supervisors was one creating three school districts and one for the protection of trees planted along the roadsides. In 1862 a movement was inaugurated to get Washington back into Santa Clara county, but failed. June 16, 1856, the supervisors formed another town- ship out of parts of Washington and Eden, and named it Jefferson, but this action was rescinded at the next meeting. In 1863 the legislature passed the following act: "Whenever the board of supervisors shall have created a new township from Washington and Eden, including Alvarado, it shall have power to elect one supervisor."
In 1870 the Bay Spring Water Company filed articles of incor- poration to supply Mission San Jose and other towns with water from Barry and Story springs. The capital stock was $50,000, the number of shares 500, and time of existence fifty years. The
10
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP
same year a company was granted the right to operate a horse railroad from Irvington to San Leandro, through Centreville, Alvarado and San Lorenzo.
The first roads, and they were but little better than trails, were those used by the native Californians in going from their ranches to and from the Mission and their embarcaderos. From the Mission there was one to the pueblo of San Jose, one through the pass to Stockton, and one to the principal embarcadero, where Union City was afterward located. This, according to some of the old settlers, took the course of the high ground to where Centre- ville is now, then branched off by Pacheco's to the Alameda, some- where near the Bell ranche bridge, and followed the high bank of the creek to the embarcadero. Others think it ran along the present course of the mountain road. only nearer the hills, then deflected, striking the creek at the Kelsey ford, and then followed the bank as before. All agree that there was a road following along the base of the hills to the creek ford at Niles, running to Castro's, now Haywards, or near there, and so on to what was San Antonio. There were these two well-known fords, Vallejo's Mills and the one between the Overacker and Shinn places on the Kelsey ranche, now the Marshall Noyo farm. In 1851-2 the Horners surveyed into 160-acre tracts, and fenced 10,000 acres of ex-mission lands, and laid out some of the main roads which are the principal thoroughfares at the present time. One of these ran from Irvington to Union City, but E. L. Beard fenced on the north side that part of this road extending from Centreville to the farther boundary of the late Hon. John L. Beard's home- stead. The cost of cutting this road through the swamp near Alvarado, and making it passable for teams, was $1,500. It was originally one hundred feet wide, but has been narrowed since. It is a part of the county road running from San Jose to Oakland, which is bordered by trees most of the way and much traveled. The same parties also built two bridges at Alvarado, where the present ones are now. One of these the county afterward paid for. The same parties constructed the mountain road from Mission Pass to Vallejo's Mills, one from Irvington intersecting this, and the one from Centreville to the mountain road. Although these roads were not so substantially built as now, it must be remem- bered that none of the modern road-making implements were to be had then. and the work was done mostly with pick, shovel and ax. In 1852 the road from the mission to Union City was de- clared a public highway, and also the one "leading from the county line east of Mission San Jose to said Mission, thence through the Stockton pass."
11
INTRODUCTION
Soon after the organization of the county three road districts were ordered in the township: No. 1, the highway from Mission San Jose to Union City, two miles each side thereof; No. 2, the road leading from Mission San Jose towards San Jose to county line; No. 3, the highway leading from Mission San Jose to Stockton., to the crossing of Alameda creek. There are now seven. The boards of supervisors have been diligent in improving the old roads and laying out others as necessity arose. All are oiled or sprinkled, and there are few better ones anywhere.
In 1852 the first stage began to make regular trips between the Mission and Union City. This was "Horner's stage," and ran along the line of the present road, connecting with a steamer owned by the same party, which, under command of Capt. Trefry, plied between Union City and San Francisco, often carrying from one to two hundred passengers. The stage continued to run regularly until '54, when it was abandoned. A regular stage line had been established, however, between San Jose and San Antonio as early as 1853. The route was by Warm Springs, which had become such a resort that a postoffice was established there (or at least mail had to be left). From there the stage ran to Mission San Jose, and thence along the mountain road to San Antonio, afterward East Oakland. Probably MeLaughlin's was the first through line running by way of "The Corners" and Centreville. In 1856 the Camerons put on opposition coaches, and exciting times followed. The fare came down to $1, or less, the trip. Old settlers laugh now when they speak of Cameron's galloping bronchos and the famous runs they made. Ashley Cameron of Centreville held the reins, and never failed to deliver the mail on time, although sometimes obliged to forsake the stage and walk the fences across stretches of high water. He also carried and threw with unerring hand the Alta Californian to subscribers along the way as the bronchos flew onward. It is said that when they were fairly under way no stop could be made for way passengers. In times of high water, mud wagons were used instead of coaches, and even these were not infrequently "stuck in the mud." At such times the men passengers were of necessity compelled to get down and help pry out before the journey could be continued. Although this seems a prosaic employment, at least one romance began in the Alvarado slough, for it was there that two of our old set- tlers first met.
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