A history of California and an extended history of its southern coast counties, also containing biographies of well-known citizens of the past and present, Volume I, Part 79

Author: Guinn, James Miller, 1834-1918
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Los Angeles, Cal., Historic record company
Number of Pages: 1184

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In 1873 the division question drifted into poli- tics. A county division convention was held in Anaheim, and a man by the name of Bush from Santa Ana was nominated for the assembly. The policy of the divisionists was to force one or the other of the political parties to place Bush on its ticket to secure the division vote. In their conventions neither the Democratic nor the Re- publican party took any notice of Bush's candi- dacv. Ignored by both parties, he made an in- dependent campaign, received a few votes and then passed out of the political arena forever.

In the legislature of 1874. Wiseman, nick- named the "Broadaxe" from the vigorous way he hewed the King's English, appeared as the champion of county division. Neither his pa- thetic appeals for the oppressed people of the prospective county of Orange nor his superlative denunciations of their oppressors, the county of- ficials of Los Angeles, convinced the law-makers at Sacramento that the people were suffering for the want of a new county.

Another change was made in boundaries and name. The northern line of the prospective county drifted southward to the new San Ga- briel river. In 1878 a bill to create the county of Santa Ana and making Anaheim the seat of

its government was drafted. The name was a concession to Santa Ana, a concession, however, that failed to conciliate. The town of Santa Ana, that had no existence when Stroble promulgated the division scheme in 1869, had now grown to be a formidable rival of Anaheim. It was am- bitious to become a county seat itself, and vigor- ously combated the division projects of its rival. Local jealousies and the opposition of Los An- geles defeated the measure in the legislature.

In 1881 another division effort was made. Anaheim patched up a truce with her rival, Santa Ana. The vineyard city was to have the seat of government for two years, then it was to be a free-for-all scramble among all the towns and the one that could corral the most votes was henceforth to be the capital of the county of Santa Ana. Bills were introduced in both the senate and assembly, but died on the files, smoth- ered by "slickens" (mining debris), the absorb- ing question of that session.

The question of county division for nearly a decade ceased to be a political issue in Los An- geles county. The rivals, Anaheim and Santa Ana, were preparing for the final struggle. It came in 1889. Col. E. E. Edwards, a resident of Santa Ana, was elected one of the members of the assembly from Los Angeles county. He introduced a bill to create the county of Orange leaving the location of the county seat to a vote of the people of the new county. The north- ern boundary line had again drifted southward. Coyote creek had become the Rubicon, and it was only four miles north of Anaheim. Santa Ana, in the change of boundaries, had outgen- eraled her rival, and virtually decided the county seat question against her opponent. For twenty years Anaheim had contended for county divis- ion. Now she opposed it, but in vain. The bill passed and was approved by the governor. In the county seat question Santa Ana won over all of her rivals. The county of Orange set up in business for itself, August 1. 1889, and so ended the longest contest over the formation of a new county of any in the history of the state.

An election for county officers was held July 17, 1889, and the following named officials were chosen :

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

J. W. Towner . superior judge

R. T. Harris sheriff and tax collector

E. E. Edwards . district attorney

R. O. Wickham .county clerk

G. E. Foster auditor and recorder

W. B. Wall . treasurer

Fred C. Smythe county assessor

J. P. Greely .. . county superintendent of schools

S. O. Wood . county surveyor I. D. Mills .... coroner and public administrator William H. Spurgeon . supervisor

S. Armor

S. A. Littlefield

Jacob Ross

A. Guy Smith

Orange county is bounded on the north by Los Angeles county, east by Riverside, south by San Diego and west by the Pacific ocean. It has an area of 675 square miles, or 432,000 acres. All the area of Orange county, with the excep- tion of a few hundred acres of mountain land, was covered by Spanish land grants. The old- time ranchos south of the Santa Ana river, ex- cept the Santiago de Santa Ana, belonged to the Mission San Juan Capistrano; those northi were attached to the Mission San Gabriel. After the secularization of the mission, these ranchos, when they became depleted of cattle and horses, were granted by the government on recommendation of the ayuntamiento of Los Angeles to applicants who could comply with the law, that is, make certain improvements and stock the rancho with cattle.

SPANISH RANCHOS IN ORANGE COUNTY.

The following named comprise the ranchos within the limits of Orange county: Mission Vieja or La Paz, Trabuco, Boca de La Playa, El Sobrante, Niguel, Canada de los Alisos, Lomas de Santiago, San Joaquin, Santiago de Santa Ana, La Bolsa Chico, Las Bolsas, half of Los Alamitos, part of Los Coyotes, San Juan Cajon de Santa Ana, Cajon de Santa Ana, part of La Brea and a part of La Habra.

The Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana, on which the cities of Santa Ana, Orange, Tustin and sev- eral smaller towns are located, is one of the old- est grants in California. Col. J. J. Warner, writing in 1876, says: "During the first quarter of the present century, the Santiago de Santa

Ana rancho was universally known among the people inhabiting the county as one of the oldest ranchos, and there are many good reasons for the belief that its founding was contemporary with that of San Rafael." (The San Rafael rancho, lying on the left bank of the Los Angeles river and extending to the Arroyo Seco, was granted by Governor Pedro Fages, October 20, 1784, to José Maria Verdugo.)

"There is no room to doubt the statement that a grant of the Santiago de Santa Ana tract to José Antonio Yorba was made in 1810 by Gov. José Joaquin de Arrillaga, but in a partition suit in the district court for this county, a few years ago, for the partition of that tract of land among the heirs and claimants, testimony was introduced which showed that the original occu- pant of that tract was N. Grijalva, who, as also his wife, died leaving only two children, both daughters; that one of these daughters married José Antonio Yorba and the other Juan Pablo Peralta, and it is far more probable that the for- mer of these two latter persons obtained a new or confirmed grant from Arrillaga in 1810 than that Grijalva should have established himself upon the tract without having obtained a grant from the governor. In this partition suit the court recognized the claim of the Peraltas as de- scendants of the original proprietor of the land."

The boundaries of the Santiago de Santa Ana, as defined in the grant made in 1810, were the summit of the mountains on the northeast, the Santa Ana river on the west, the ocean on the south, and a line running from what is now Newport bay to a certain Red Hill for the south- west boundary. The rancho contained 62,000 acres. During the great flood of 1825, the Santa Ana river left its old channel at a point about three miles easterly of where Orange now stands and cut a new channel for itself some distance southeasterly from its former one. Between the two channels there was about 13,000 acres. The rancho was surveyed by a United States deputy surveyor, and the new channel was taken as its western boundary, although all the old residents claimed that the old channel was the true western boundary. The rancho Las Bolsas was floated over the land between the channels.

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

THE SQUATTER WAR.

In the early '70s, a number of settlers squatted on this land, claiming that it was government land. The land was covered with a heavy growth of willows and the squatters made a living by cutting and selling the timber for fire wood.

The squatters soon found that they could not hold the tract as government land, for since the river was the dividing line between Las Bolsas and the Santiago, the land must be in one or the other ranchos. Their next move was to buy claims of the Yorba heirs to all lands outside of that portion of the Santiago de Santa Ana that had been partitioned among the heirs. The legal con- test between the squatters and the Los Angeles and San Bernardino Land Company, the owners of the Bolsas grant, was waged in all the courts up to the supreme court of the United States. In that court Judge Stephen J. Field decided that since a United States patent had been issued to the Bolsas first it held over the Santiago, which, although the older grant, had been patented later than the other. He required of the settlers a bond of $75,000 before he would grant an appeal. This ended the squatter war. They could not put up the bond. The settlers were evicted by the United States marshal and the land company, after a decade of litigation, obtained possession of the disputed territory, but the timber was gone. The squatters really had the best of it.

Indefinite boundaries have been the cause of much of the litigation that has impeded the set- tlement of large ranchos. The original owners did not make careful surveys. The landmarks that fixed the boundary lines were carelessly placed and easily removed. The following de- scription of the boundaries of La Habra rancho is taken from a legal document, and illustrates the indefiniteness of the boundaries of a rancho under the Mexican régime.

"Commencing at the camino viejo (old road) and running in a right line 550 varas, more or less, distant from a small corral of tuna plants that forms the boundary of the lands of Juan Perrez, which plant was taken as a landmark; thence in a direction west by south, running along the camino viejo 18,200 varas to a point of small hills, which is the boundary of Juan

Pacifico Ontiveras, at which place was fixed as a land-mark the head of a steer; from thence east by north, passing by a (cuchilla) waste land, 11,000 varas, terminating at a hill that is in a direct line with another, which is much higher and has three small oak trees upon it, at which place a small stone land-mark is placed, being the boundary line of the rancho of La Puente; north by east 2,000 varas, terminating at the right line of the small corral of tunas aforesaid, the point of beginning."

SCHOOLS.

According to the first school census taken after the organization of the county (that of 1890) there were 4,011 children between the ages of five and seventeen. There were at that time in the county thirty-nine school districts and sev- enty-four teachers. The school census of 1906 gives 6,949 between the ages of five and seven- teen. When the county was organized there was not a high school within its limits ; now there are five.

The high school of Santa Ana was organized in September, 1891. A fine new building, cost- ing about $30,000, was completed in 1900. Six- teen teachers are employed in the school. The total enrollment of pupils in 1906 was 385.

Anaheim high school was organized in 1898. It employs seven teachers and has an attendance of sixty-six pupils. Bonds were issued and a high school erected in 1902.

Fullerton high school is made up of a union of six districts. It employs six teachers and has an enrollment of sixty-two pupils. A two-story high school building was completed and occupied in 1898.

Orange high school employs six teachers and has an enrollment of sixty-five pupils.

Las Bolsas union high school employs four teachers and has an enrollment of thirty-three pupils.

The pioneer school of the section now compris- ing Orange county was the Upper Santa Ana. now Yorba. The first school opened in it was taught by T. J. Scully in 1857. Hon. William MI. McFadden, school superintendent of Los An- geles county from 1870 to 1874, taught in the district a number of years. About twenty years

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ago the name of the district was changed to Yorba, the city of Santa Ana taking the former name of the pioneer district.

Since the county set up in business for itself it has built a handsome court house costing over $100,000. The affairs of the county have been well managed. There has heen a steady growth in production and a healthy increase in popula- tion. The census of 1890 gave the population of the county at 13,589. In 1900 it had increased it to 19,696, a gain of over thirty-three per cent ; it is now estimated at 25,000. Although one of the smallest counties in the state, it ranks among the highest in fruit production. Over 2,500 car loads of citrus fruits are shipped out of the county annually, bringing a return of nearly half a million dollars. The dried fruits amount to about 2,000 tons.

Orange County Park, in the Santiago cañon, is one of the finest natural parks in the state. The park is the gift of James Irvine and con- tains 160 acres, wooded with magnificent oaks and sycamores.

HISTORY OF THE CELERY INDUSTRY.

Thirty-seven years ago, when the author first visited the now celebrated peat lands of the Westminster and Bolsas country, these lands were known as ciénagas, and were regarded as worthless. These ciénagas were tracts of swampy lands containing usually ponds of water in the middle skirted around with a rank growth of willows, tules and nettles. During the rainy season the entire area of the ciénaga was over- flowed. In the fall and winter these marshy lands were the resorts of millions of wild geese : they were also the haunts of wild ducks and other water fowl, and were the favorite hunting grounds of the sportsmen of that day. The early settlers counted the ciénagas as so much waste land, or rather as worse than waste, for the drier portions of these swamps were the lurking places of wild cats, coyotes, coons and other prowlers which preyed upon the settlers' pigs and poultry.

Later on the larger of these swamps became the feeding places of wild hogs that subsisted upon the tule roots and wild celery growing there. About thirty years ago some of the small- er of these marshes were drained, cleared of

their brush and vegetable growth and planted in corn. The yield was so prolific that these lands rose rapidly in value. The settlers organized drainage districts and constructed canals to carry off the waters and these swamps were reclaimed. They became the most valuable corn and potato lands in the county. The abundant growth of wild celery upon which the wild hogs had fed and fattened before the reclamation of the ciéna- gas indirectly led to the experiment of growing tame celery upon them for the eastern markets.

The following sketch of the origin and growth of the celery industry of Orange county is com- piled from the Santa Ana Blade's Celery edi- tion of February 7, 1901 : "The first experiment in celery culture on the peat lands was made in 1891 on a tract of land south of Westminster known locally as the Snow & Adams place, on which several thousand dollars was expended, but without satisfactory results. E. A. Curtis, D. E. Smeltzer and others were the prime movers in making the experiment, the outcome of which was such a flat failure that all but Mr. Curtis gave up the idea. Mr. Curtis' pet scheme came to fruition sooner than was anticipated, for about this time he entered the employ of the Earl Fruit Company, and with the consent of the firm re- solved to again give celery culture a trial.

"The proposition had many drawbacks, not least of which was the scarcity of help to culti- vate the crop and the entire lack of experience in the laborers available. In this extremity Mr. Curtis bethought himself of the Los Angeles Chinese market gardeners and their knowledge of celery growing, and at once entered into ne- gotiations with a leading Chinaman to undertake the work of growing eighty acres of celery on contract, the Earl Fruit Company to furnish everything, including implements, needed in the cultivation of the crop. also money advanced for rental of the land and the supplying of water where needed by digging wells; so that $5,000 was advanced before a stock of celery was ready for shipment. The result was fairly successful, notwithstanding the untoward experience of the Chinese laborers at the hands of white men, who worried and harassed the Celestials both in sea- son and out of season, carrying their unreason- ing resentment to the extent of burning the build-

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ings erected by the Earl Fruit Company, carry- ing off the implements used in cultivation and terrorizing the Chinamen employed to the immi- nent risk of driving them away entirely and thus sacrificing the crop for want of help to attend it.

"All this risk and expense fell directly on the Earl Fruit Company; returns for their invest- ment could only come when the crop was ready for market, and it may easily be imagined that E. A. Curtis, as a prime mover in the venture, occupied a most unenviable position. But Mr. Curtis kept right on and overcame every obstacle that presented itseif, and to E. A. Curtis, as man- ager for the Earl Fruit Company, is due the credit of demonstrating the superior advantages of Orange county for the successful growing of celery and the introduction and establishment of an industry that has permanently added hun- dreds of thousands of dollars to the resources of the county.

"The crop from the land thus experimented with was shipped to New York and Kansas City and consisted of about fifty cars, a considerable shipment at that time, as prior to then a car load of California celery was an unheard-of quantity. There was, of course, not much profit made for that season after everything was paid, for the items of expense were many and included all the loss and damage suffered while the crop was maturing and a bill of $1.000 paid an officer of the law for protection afforded the Chinese la- borers while at work during the season. But it paid a margin of profit and proved beyond dispute that under favorable conditions celery culture might be undertaken with prospects of success, and this fact once established the rest was easy."

Celery growing has developed into one of the leading industries of Orange county. It is esti- mated that the area planted this season will ex- ceed 5,700 acres. About 2,000 cars were re- quired to move last year's crop. The celery cars carry 150 crates, or about 1,200 dozen bunches.

The arca of celery culture has extended from the peat lands where it was begun, over a con- siderable portion of the "Willows," a tract of land lying between the old and the new beds of

the Santa Ana river, the scene of the squatter contest of thirty years ago.

The Southern Pacific Railroad has a branch line running from Newport Beach, the terminus of the Santa Ana & Newport road, to Smeltzer (eleven miles), near the northern extremity of the peat lands. The station and shipping points on this road are Celery, La Bolsa, Wintersburg and Smeltzer.

THE OIL INDUSTRY.

Prospecting for petroleum in what is now the Fullerton oil district began forty years ago. In 1867 Major Max Stroble of Anaheim sunk a well in Brea cañon. About the same time a prospect well was sunk on the Olinda rancho, but in neither place was oil found in paying quantities. With the imperfect machinery in use at that time it was impossible to sink to any great depth. Indications were plentiful and every expert who prospected the cañon and foot- hills of the district was convinced that rich oil deposits existed in the locality. Brea cañon con- tained large deposits of crude asphaltum, and thirty years ago the Los Angeles Gas Company was shipping two car loads a week of brea for the manufacture of gas, it being cheaper than coal at that time. In 1897 the Santa Fé Railroad Company made a rich strike, and since then oil development has gone on steadily.

The oil district extends from Brea cañon to the head of the Soquel canon. In depth the wells range from 800 to 1,600 feet. The output now reaches about 40,000 barrels. The Santa Fé Railroad Company is an extensive operator. The price of land in the oil district advanced with boom-like rapidity. The Olinda rancho, contain- ing 4.480 acres, was sold early in 1898, before oil was struck on it, for $15,000. The purchaser, after consulting some of his friends over his bargain, forfeited his deposit. Two years later the rancho was sold to a syndicate of capitalists for $500,000, to-day the same territory is worth a million. The oil of the Fullerton district is of superior quality. Its gravity ranges from 30° to 32°. Wells have recently been bored in the Coyote Hills districts that have proved to be veritable gushers.

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

CHAPTER LXIX.

ORANGE COUNTY-Continued.

CITIES AND TOWNS.

ANAHEIM.

A NAHEIM is one of the oldest success- ful colony experiments in the state. It was originated by several Ger- man residents of San Francisco fifty years ago. Their scheme was to purchase with their combined capital a large tract of land, plant it in vines for wine making and when these were in bearing subdivide it among the share- holders of the company,. each one becoming a resident of the colony. Early in 1857 they be- gan an examination of different localities for their proposed colony site. In the Los Angeles Star of September 19, 1857, I find these items regarding the project: "It is with much pleas- ure we make the announcement that the com- pany who have for some time been seeking a location for an extensive vineyard have at last succeeded in obtaining land suitable to their purpose. The project is the most important ever contemplated in the southern country, and as it is to be carried out by energetic, practical men, there can, of course, be no doubt of its full suc- cess, especially as the stock required is already paid up.

"The Los Angeles Vineyard Company is com- posed of fifty shareholders, who, we believe, are principally Germans, the majority residing in San Francisco. Each share is rated at $750. They have purchased a tract of land on the San- ta Ana river, about twenty-five miles from the city, consisting of 1,200 acres, which is to be laid off in lots of twenty acres each. Streets are to be made throughout the grounds so that each lot shall open into a good highway. A park, prob- ably forty acres, will occupy the center. On each lot 10,000 vines are to be planted this year, making a total of half a million vines. If at the end of three vears (at which time it is likely

those plants will be bearing vines) it be deemed advisable by shareholders, this number will be doubled, thus taking advantage of the full capac- ity of the land for grape culture. The grounds are to be surrounded by a live fence, which, it is calculated, will require 50,000 poles. The loca- tion is about three miles from the river. A ditch about five miles in length will conduct the water of the river on to the land, over which it will be carried by lateral ditches. Although the lands are flat, sufficient fall will be found in traversing the five miles to drive the water over every part of the land. It is estimated that a fall of twenty feet will be secured in that dis- tance.

"The land has been purchased from Don Pacifico Ontivera, with certain privileges from Don Bernardino Yorba, from whose residence these grounds are situated about five miles. Mr. George Hansen, a very competent gentleman, has been appointed superintendent of the com- pany. This, we understand, will be the largest vineyard in the world, there being none in Europe of such extent.

"The company is under the direction of a board of trustees in San Francisco: President. Otmar Caler ; vice-president, G. Charles Koli- ler ; treasurer, Cyrus Beythien ; secretary, John Fischer. In Los Angeles the affairs are carried out under the direction of an auditing commit- tee, composed of the following gentlemen : Messrs. John Frohling. R. Emerson and Jay- zinsky; sub-treasurer. Felix Backman." The San Francisco Alta of January 15, 1858, has this notice: "The stockholders of the Los An- geles Vineyard Society held a meeting on the evening of January 13, at Leutgen's hotel. Montgomery street. They resolved to give the name of Anaheim to their vineyard in the Santa Ana valley in Los Angeles county." Its name is a combination of the German word heim

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

(home) and the Spanish form of the proper name Ana-a home by the (Santa) Ana river.

The improvement of the tract purchased was begun in the winter of 1857-58 and pushed for- ward vigorously by the superintendent, George Hansen. The Los Angeles Star of January 30, 1858, contains this notice of the labor in prog- ress on the colony site : "As may be expected, Anaheim is a busy place. All is life, industry and activity." *

% * "In the operations at present in progress there are employed seven men, fourteen horses and seven plows in mak- ing ditches; one man, one wagon and two horses procuring provisions and firewood; fourteen men, fourteen wagons and fifty-six horses in hauling fence poles; one wagon and ten horses in bringing cuttings ; thirty-three men making ditches and fences; there are two over- seers, besides cooks, etc., making in all eighty- eight men, ten women, eighty-four horses, seven plows, and seventeen wagons. The daily expenses are $216."

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A history of California and an extended history of its southern coast counties, also containing biographies of well-known citizens of the past and present, Volume I, Part 79

Author: Guinn, James Miller, 1834-1918 Publication date: 1907 Publisher: Los Angeles, Cal., Historic record company Number of Pages: 1184

Author: Guinn, James Miller, 1834-1918
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Los Angeles, Cal., Historic record company
Number of Pages: 1184