USA > California > A memorial and biographical history of northern California, illustrated. Containing a history of this important section of the Pacific coast from the earliest period of its occupancy...and biographical mention of many of its most eminent pioneers and also of prominent citizens of today > Part 29
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The Legislature of 1873-'74 further appropri- ated $600,000 for the completion of the asylum, and the next Legislature made a still further ap- propriation of $494,000. That structure does not accommodate more than 500 patients at any one time. May 31, 1878, there were 501 pa- tients at the asylum, and at the time of the next meeting of the Legislature, 1880, there were 808 patients, rendering further accommodations necessary. Twenty thousand dollars was ap- propriated for fitting up the attics in the rear of the amusement hall. Since then further im- provements have been made. The total cost of the buildings has been $1,300,000. Under its roof are now sheltered over 1,400 inmates, and upon its pay-roll are some 200 employés, in- elnding physicians, etc. It bears the reputa-
tion of being one of the best conducted institutions of its class in the world.
Further particulars are given in the bio- graphical sketches of Drs. Benjamin Shurtleff and E. T. Wilkins elsewhere in this volume.
. EDUCATIONAL
The first school-house in Napa County was built by William H. Nash, near Tucker Creek, above St. Helena, in 1849. In it a private school was taught by Mrs. Forbes, whose hus- band had perished with the Donner party in 1846. Down to 1854 there was not a public school in the county, but there had been two or three private schools. In 1855 a public school- house was erected by subscription in Napa City.
The Napa Collegiate Institute was erected in 1858-'60, and opened in August of the latter year, by the citizens of the vicinity, and after- ward it fell into the hands of the Methodist Episcopal Church. It has since been remod- eled and enlarged.
The Napa Ladies' Seminary, an efficient school for young ladies, and the Oak Mound School, are also good schools to fit for colleges.
It will thus be seen that Napa has unusual school facilities; and it also has well appointed churches of all the principal denominations.
The county infirmary, near Napa, is a com- modious and well arranged structure, erected in 1869, at a cost exceeding $80,000.
In Napa there are two tanneries, one of them the largest wool-pulling and tanning establish- ment on the Pacific Coast. It has drain-tile and brick-works, a glue factory, a busy fruit- packing establishment and wineries that rank in size and reputation with the best in the State. The Napa woolen-mill has a wide repn- tation for making fine fabrics. A company has also lately gone largely into the business of grape drying and shipping. It has also a large sash and door factory, etc., etc., has splendid water-works and no debt.
OTHER TOWNS.
Yountville, the home of the old pioneer, George C. Yount, is a quiet little town sup-
VIEW OF THE STATE INSANE AASYLUM AT NAPA.
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HISTORY OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.
ported by wine-making and general farming. Near it is the Veterans' Home, three fine build- ings erected at intervals since 1882 by the Vetcrans' Home Association, now receiving State and Government aid. About $100,000 has so far been expended and about 300 old soldiers receive shelter. Additions to cost $150,000 will shortly be made, which will more than double the capacity-a noble work.
Oakville, the next station going up the val- ley, is supported wholly by the wine and farm interests. J. A. Brnn & Co., and H. W. Crabb are the leading wine men of the place.
Rutherford is a shipping point of some im- portance. Here are the great cellars of Ewer & Atkinson, Captain Niebaum, C. P. Adamson and others.
The ground on which St. Helena stands was first owned and occupied by Edward Bale, an English doctor, who procured it by grant from the Mexican Government. Messrs. Still & Walters afterward bought from the grant the part now comprising St. Helena. A. Tainter and John Greer bought of the latter parties the ground now southwest of Main street, and other parties bought that portion lying northeast of that line. Still & Walters built the first house in St. Helena, about 1851, being a store building on the site subsequently occupied by G. F. Brown. The original build- ing was burned many years ago. The next set- tlers were Dr. Stratton, John Kister, Mr. Fulton, A. Tainter, John Greer and others.
St. Helena is now a busy town, second only in population and wealth to Napa. It is the center par excellence of the wine industry of the county, its cellarage capacity being some- thing like 3,000,000 gallous out of a total for the county of about 4,000,000 gallons. It has considerable manufacturing importance, coop- erage, foundry, etc., has excellent schools, good churches and many handsome residences, nota- bly those of T. Parrott, Fred. Beringer, Seneca Ewer, Mrs. Pope, Mrs. Fuller, and others. Another noteworthy feature is the extraordinary number of spry, active old men it possesses,
seventy, eighty, and in one instance a man over ninety in active business.
Calistoga, at the base of Mt. St. Helena and the third in size in the county, is the staging point for Lake County, the Geysers, etc., and a beautiful and lively little town, having mines, large fruit orchards, especially prunes, and some of the handsomest estates of wealthy men in the county. We may mention the summer homes of A. L. Tubbs, Mr. Dexter, Dr. R. Beverley Cole and others as types. It is a busy shipping point, being at the head of the railway. John York was the first white settler in this locality, erecting a log cabin in the fall of 1845, the first in that part of the county; and he also put in the first crop of wheat.
Calistoga has had a varied history. Sam Brannan, the "great and only," purchased its famous hot sulphur springs in 1859, immedi- ately began to improve the property and to con- struct a railroad. During its palmy days Calistoga was the favored resort of wealth and fashion and drew great numbers of pleasure- seekers from San Francisco and elsewhere. Brannan probably spent half a million dollars in the effort to make Calistoga what he boasted he would do, the Saratoga of the Pacific Coast. In 1868, however, an altercation with some em- płoyes occurred, Brannan receiving pistol wounds in it which were at first thought to be mortal. Family and financial troubles assailed him at about the same time and shortly after- ward the hotel was burned, the property passed from his hands and the glory of the place de- parted. The springs are now the property of the Sonthern Pacific and are lying idle. Not far from Calistoga is the Petrified Forest, across the line in Sonoma County. Monnt St. Helena rears its huge proportions immediately at the head of the valley-a noble scene. Calistoga has good public schools and churches of the leading denominations.
Monticello is a little town in Berryessa Val- ley, the center of its trade and a point of grow- ing importance. Knoxville is a small village in Pope Valley, grown up from the activity of the quicksilver mines.
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About six miles from Napa are the celebrated
NAPA SODA SPRINGS.
These springs, whose waters have been famous for more than thirty years past, are situated on the mountain side of the valley rendered almost classic by the pen of the tourist and the brush of the painter. Forty-five miles north of San Fran- cisco, they stand at the head of a cañon in the mountains which form the eastern boundary of Napa Valley, and six miles from Napa City. From this point the artists Keith and Virgil Williams have so often transferred to canvas the natural beauties of the landscape that their pictures form the most attractive gems in some of our best art collections. The valley for twenty-five miles below, the bay reflecting the white-winged sails of its proportion of the world's commerce, mounts Tamalpais and Diablo, form a panorama bf surpassing beauty and impressiveness. Among the attractions of the place we find groves of patriarchal trees,-the live oak, the black oak, festooned with gray Spanish moss or mistletoe, the eucalyptus, the mountain pine, while the Italian cypress adds an exotic charm to the natural scenery. The almond, the olive, and the orange give variety to the view, and testify to the semi-tropical mildness of the cli- mate and the generous fertility of the soil. Numerons living springs of fresh water burst from the mountain side at such an elevation as to send the natural flow over the entire proper- ty, and throughout the year this water is as cold as ice. Along one side of the ground a moun- tain brook gathers the waters of adjacent springs, filling a natural swimming pond cut out of the solid rock, some 50 x 200 feet in size, and fromn six to nine feet deep, and also an arti- ficial swimming bath, 50x 150, which is under cover and heated by steam. On the other bound- ary a rocky gorge forms the background of a miniature Niagara, with ninety feet of perpen- dicular fall. Stone quarried on the spot las supplied the material for building; an orchard in full bearing furnishes abundant fruit, and
the choice vineyard has received numerous en- dorsements of the quality of its wine.
But the feature which most distinguishes this favored spot, and makes it especially attractive, is its mineral springs, which are famous for their curative properties, the same elements being held in solution that give to the Carlsbad springs in Bohemia their rank among the first in the world. From more than twenty of these springs is produced the article known as Napa Soda. This water is bottled and sold just as it flows from Nature's laboratory, and its long and continuous use attests its merit. A beautiful pagoda is built over one of the springs, the solid stone pillars and floor forming a most ap- propriate setting for the natural stone basin whence flow the waters which refresh, purify and regulate the system and restore its strength and energy.
The Bellevue is a conspicuously sitnated stone house of ten rooms, with turrets, the main feature of which is the columns that grace the entrance, standing upon a broad and open pi- azza, from which is a perfect view of the entire lower half of Napa Valley, extending to the bay in the distance. These columns are copied from those in the Capitol in Washington, beneath the United States Marshal's office, which were de- signed by the engineer Latrobe, the favorite architect of President Jefferson. They are what were known in that day as the " corn-cob capi- tals," and consist of an imitation of corn stalks in the columns, with the maize or ears half ex- posed in the capital. The adoption of this de- sign by Jefferson was in pursuance of his desire to establish a distinctively American order of architecture. He thought it unworthy of Amer- ica that she should depend upon foreign nations for her artistic adornments, and sought to in- troduce this new feature into the ornamentation of the public buildings. His patriotic attempt to revolutionize the artistic taste of the public appears to have been a failure, and the two cases mentioned are, perhaps, the only instances where the idea has been adopted.
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HISTORY OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.
One of the most notable buildings is the ele- gant new Rotunda. Circular in form and sev- enty-five feet in height, it is surmounted by a glass cupola which reflects for many miles both ' the rising and setting sun. On the right as one enters the building, is the postoffice with a tele- phone communication with Napa and thence by telegraph with any part of the world. On the opposite side is a reception room for the con- venience of the lady guests. The court in the center is nearly 100 feet in diameter, fitted up as a grand parlor and ball-room, handsomely carpeted and furnished, and lighted by a huge gas chandelier of thirty-two lights. Extending around this entire circle is a wide promenade, outside of which are arranged the rooms for guests; all hard-finished, with gas and water, and with windows looking out upon the land-scape.
The club-house is another building of white stone, in which are the bar and billiard-rooms, bagatelle table, bowling-alley, etc. The new dining-hall is isolated from the remaining build- ings, and is flanked by a commodious kitchen and the rooms for the servants. Gas mains are laid throughout the grounds, and the premises are lighted at night. Among the many pleasure resorts of California, aud within the reach of the the metropolis of the Pacific coast, none surpasses in beauty and comfort this charming retreat. Its magnificent scenery, fine drives and perfect ac- commodations render it the most delightful of watering places; the last breath of the sea breeze reaches it, and the pure air and the soothing hush of night always insure sound and refresh- ing slumbers.
COLONEL J. P. JACKSON,
lawyer, journalist, politician and man of affairs. first saw the light in Cleveland, Ohio, the State which has furnished during the last quarter of a century a large proportion of the men who llave beeu prominent in public life. Here he lived until he was fourteen years of age, when he removed to Cincinnati, where, after the usual course of preparation for professional life, lie practiced law for fifteen years. In 1857 he was
inarried to Miss Anna Hooper, a native of the State of Kentucky. They have had nine chil- dren, seven sons and two daughters, five of whom were born in Kentucky and four in Cali- fornia. He took an active part in the war of the rebellion, serving in the army of the Cum- berland, under Rosecrans and Buell, and from Pittsburg Landing to Corinth on detached serv- ice under Grant. Fortunate in his early associa- tion with an unusual number of men who have made their mark in life, he had occasion to measure swords with many whose names have been historic in the daily forensic contests of the bar and the platform. Always prominent as a public speaker he easily carried off the honors and success which are peculiarly the rewards of his profession, and has played a leading part in many important enterprises.
In 1867 he went to Europe to negotiate the bonds of the California Pacific Railroad, and his service resulted in his coming to the Coast, where he assisted in building the road and re- mained its President until it was bought by the Central Pacific Company. After building two other roads, both of which were in like manner sold out to the Central, he retired from the railroad business and turned his attention to other enterprises. Deeply interested in poli- tics, he has stumped the States of Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and California as an enthusiastic and successful champion of the Republican cause, but has until now succeeded remarkably in escaping the toils and trials of office-holding as far as he himself is concerned. In 1864 lie received the unanimous nomination for the Governorship of Kentucky, and afterward declined a nomination to Congress from the Sixth District of that State, when such nomina- tion was equivalent to an election. He refused an appointment to the commissionership of Internal Revenue under Andrew Johnson, and also the position of First Assistant Secretary of the Treasury under Grant. He has hitherto preferred the sterling activities of an extensive business to the dignified retirement of official position.
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HISTORY OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.
His first enterprise in journalism was the management of the San Francisco Evening Post, which he twice enlarged, changed it in polities from Democrat to Republican, and made it a recognized power in the journalistic field. He is the proprietor of the celebrated pleasure and health resort known all over the world under the name of the Napa Soda Springs, described in the preceding section, and has made a conspicuons success of the development and management of the large business interests con- nected with that property. For some years past he has most ably conducted that spicy and satirical journal, The Wasp, of San Francisco. The sting of this lively and ubiquitous insect, though not fatally poisonous, is credited with an effect the reverse of soothing. and that jour nal is certainly a terror to evil-doers, even if it has no space to waste in the praise of them that do well. It is an open secret that Colonel Jackson's objections to the cares and responsi- bilities of official life have at last been overcome, and that President Harrison, his early personal friend, has appointed him sub-treasurer at San Francisco. IIis thorough business training and experience have admirably fitted him for his position of trust, and Uncle Sam's millions will have no more able or faithful enstodian than he.
SPRINGS.
Two and one-half miles south of St. Helena there are nine springs whose waters are sul- phuretted, and whose temperature is from 69 degrees to 89.6 degrees Fahrenheit. These springs are used as a resort. In Pope Valley are the Etna Springs and Walters Springs, both favorite resorts. On the mountain side above St. Helena are the Crystal Springs, or Rural Ilealth Retreat, a deservedly prosperous institu- tion under the anspices of the Adventists.
NEWSPAPERS.
The first newspaper in the county was the Napa Reporter, the first number of which was issued July 4, 1856, by Alexander J. Cox. Although very small it was in advance of the
population, and could scarcely le Enstained. The Naja Register was established by Horel & Strong, August 10, 1863, and Las leen regularly issued ever since.
The present newspapers of the county are as fol- low: In Napa are the Register and Reporter, loth daily and weekly, founded loth in 1856, loth ably conducted papers, the Journal founded in 1884, a weekly, and the Bee, first isened in 1890. In St. Helena are the Star, a weekly, conducted with unusual ability, established in 1874, and the Reflector, a smart daily, lately come into existence. At Calistoga is the Independent Calistogian, a weekly of influence and strength, first issued in 1877.
NEVADA COUNTY.
BOUNDARY, CLIMATE, ETC.
Commencing at the Ynba County line, Ne- vada is hemmed in between the Middle Yuba and Bear rivers until the sources of those streams are reached, when the boundary line runs directly east until it reaches the western line of the State of Nevada. It is bounded on the north by Yuba and Sierra counties, on the east by the State of Nevada and Placer County, on the south by Placer County and on the west by Yuba County. Nevada is abundantly supplied by streams of water, sufficient for all purposes, even for hydraulic mining in its day. Ever rolling and ever ascending in tiers one above another until they reach the summit, Nevada County is a vast succession of hills, the snow- capped summits seeming but just high enough to peep over the verdant-covered crests of their lower brothers; and hundreds of fertile valleys greet the eye on every side, few of them con- taining as many as a hundred acres.
The range of the thermometer is very great, the highest recorded being 1424° above zero in the sun at the office of the South Yuba Canal Company, and the lowest being 40° below zero on Prosser Creek in the Truckee basin. At the point where the highest mark was reached, the thermometer has never fallen below zero.
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HISTORY OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.
These figures are seldom reached within 20°, except in unusnal seasons.
The rainfall is also very heavy, and when it comes in the form of snow it often lies on the ground in places to a depth of twenty-five feet. These deep snows isolate the mining camps and other neighborhoods from each other, some- times for many weeks, and the blinding storms often cause the traveler to lose his way or locks him up for a time; and many lose their lives, or are saved as by miracle. A little communica- tion is maintained by means of snow-shoes. The amount of rainfall (including melted snow) on the mountain sides in this county is about three times that which occurs at Sacramento, or about fifty-five inches per annum, the variation being from 14 to 109 inches.
EARLY TIMES.
The first settlement in Nevada County was made by John Rose, whose name was given to the celebrated Rose Bar near Smartsville, Yuba County. Rose and Reynolds were engaged in trading with the miners and Indians, their store being at Rose Bar. They made a specialty of raising cattle and producing beef for the miners. Afterward Rose built a corral at Pleasant Valley and established a trading post there. Following him, a man named Findlay, from Oregon, opened a trading post on Bear River near the mouth of Greenhorn Creek. David Bowyer also opened a store at White-oak Springs, in Rough and Ready Township. The Rough and Ready company settled at the town of that name. All these and a few others were in 1849.
The winter of 1852-'53 being very severe, the miners in the mountain fastnesses of this county ran short of provisions and met in con- vention in order to devise what to do; and on account of their resolving " to go to San Fran- cisco and obtain the necessary supplies, peace- ably if we can, but forcibly if we must," a great deal of laughter was indulged in at their expense.
When the State was originally divided into twenty-seven counties in 1850, this region was
unknown, except partially to a few prospectors. Soon real-estate owners in the valleys among the foothills laid out " cities," obtained the ear of legislators and had county seats established for counties which, on account of their great number, had to be narrow strips of territory running far up into the mountains. Besides, many "cities " did not get the county-seat, or even become towns. The career of these rival points reminds one of a striking feature of almost or quite every department of life, well illustrated by a patch of weeds as they spring up all evenly at the start, but soon a few, having at the early stage but a very slight advantage, gen- erally invisible, get ahead of the rest, shade the ground, kill down their neighbors, absorb all the nutriment of the surrounding earth and easily thrive ever afterward.
In Yuba County there were seven of these " cities,"-Kearney on Bear River, Plumas City, El Dorado City, Eliza, Marysville and Featherton on Feather River, and Linda on the Yuba River. The one that blew the loudest blasts upon its horn, and really had the most to blow for, was Marysville; and this place, though at one extremity of the county and over a hundred miles distant from the other extreme, was made the county-seat. The county of Yuba was made to embrace all of Yuba, Sierra, Nevada and a portion of Placer connties, thus constituting a most unwieldy territory. The shifting of population in those days was as in- cessant and rapid as drifting clouds of the sky; and thus was it that a few months after the creation of Yuba County, this region, to which scarce a thought had been given, became the scene of life and activity. The disadvantages of belonging to Yuba County were early felt; Marysville was too distant, and a county govern- ernment located at that place was to the citizens here almost as useless as one in Oregon.
The first officers in 1850 were: Win. R. Tur- ner, District Judge, succeeded by Gordon N. Mott; Henry P. Haun, County Judge; S. B. Mul- ford, District Attorney, succeeded by H. P. Wat- kins and J. O. Goodwin; E. D. Wheeler, Clerk ;
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HISTORY OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.
Alfred Lawton, Recorder; R. B. Bnelianan, Sheriff; L. W. Taylor, Treasurer; James B. Cushing, Surveyor; S. C. Tompkins, Assessor; and S. T. Brewster, Coroner. Very few changes have been made in the judiciary, and the nsnal number in the other offices.
By the time the next Legtslatnre met, Nevada City had become a town of considerable im- portance, and both Grass Valley and Rough and Ready were coming into prominence; the latter was also an aspirant for the seat of government. A re-division of the State into counties was therefore made by a Legislative act April 25, 1851, by which, among others, the new county of Nevada was created. The county derived its name from Nevada City, at which point the seat of justice was located. The word " Nevada " is Spanish for snowy. At the first election, thereafter, in May, about 2,900 votes were cast, resulting in the choice of the following officers: Thomas H. Caswell, Judge; John R. McConnell, District Attorney ; Theodore Miller, Clerk; John Gallagher, Sheriff; Charles Marsh, Surveyor; H. C. Dodge, Treasurer; and T. G. Williams, Assessor.
The boundaries given to the county by the above act were as follows; Beginning at a point in the Yuba River opposite the month of Deer Creek, and running thence up the middle of Ynba River to a point opposite the month of the middle branch of the Yuba; thence up the middle of said middle branch ten miles from its mouth; thence easterly in a straight line to the boundary of the State; thence south along the boundary line of the State to the northeast corner of Placer County; thence westerly on the northerly line of Placer County to the source of Bear Creek; thence down Bear Creek to a point dne south of the junction of Deer Creek and Yuba River; thence north to the place of beginning. But April 19, 1856, the line on the Sierra County side was changed thus: Commencing at a point in the Main Yuba opposite the mouth of Deer Creek, and running thence up Main Yuba to the mouth of Middle Ynba; thence up Middle Yuba to the south fork
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