USA > California > Alameda County > Alameda > Directory of the city of Oakland and its environs, including Alameda, Berkeley and Temescal 1872 > Part 4
USA > California > Alameda County > Berkeley > Directory of the city of Oakland and its environs, including Alameda, Berkeley and Temescal 1872 > Part 4
USA > California > Alameda County > Oakland > Directory of the city of Oakland and its environs, including Alameda, Berkeley and Temescal 1872 > Part 4
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36
LAND TITLES.
ABSTRACT OF THE ORIGIN OF THE TITLE TO THE LAND ON WHICH THE CITY OF OAKLAND IS SITUATED.
During the first few years after the settlement of the city, it was the popular belief that the "Squatter Title" was valid, and most of the
JONES, PULLMAN & CO., 116 Sansom St., S. F., Assortment Pipes and Stems.
18
OAKLAND DIRECTORY.
property was purchased from those who had originally taken possession. After the amount of litigation that is usually required to establish the legality of a Mexican grant, the Peralta title obtained recognition, and has withstood every attack subsequently made upon it. We append the outlines of an abstract of title to any city lot :
I. Grant from the Mexican Government to Luis Maria Peralta, of the "Rancho San Antonio," embracing the lands upon which the City of Oakland is located. Dated October 18th, 1822.
2. In 1842, Luis Maria Peralta made a division of the Rancho San Antonio among his four sons, Ignacio, Antonio, Domingo and Vincente, and put them in possession of their respective portions. Vincente Pe- ralta received that portion on which the City of Oakland is situated.
3. In 1851, Luis Maria Peralta executed an instrument purporting to be a will, wherein he ratified and confirmed the division of the Rancho San Antonio among his four sons, which instrument, the Supreme Court of California says, estops the heirs of Luis Maria Peralta from denying said gift to his sons. [See 17 Cal. Reps., Adams v. Lansing.] The invalidity of title derived from the other heirs than the sons of Luis Maria Peralta is also declared by the United States Supreme Court, in a case growing out of the "Pretermitted Heir" title, decided in the early part of this year (1872) and not yet reported.
4. In 1854, the Board of Land Commissioners confirmed the northern portion of the Rancho, embracing the City of Oakland, to Vincente and Domingo Peralta ; and the same was afterwards, in 1855, confirmed by the United States District Court, and still later, at the December term in 1856, by the Supreme Court of the United States. (See 17 Howard.)
5. Ignacio, Antonio and Domingo Peralta to Vincente Peralta re- lease and deed all of their interest in and to that portion of the Rancho embracing the City of Oakland. Dated November 28, 1853. Recorded in Liber "8," of Deeds, Recorder's office, Alameda County.
6. Vincente Peralta to John Clar, (1-6) ; B. De La Barra, (1-12); Jos. K. Irving, (14); Jacob A. Cost, (14), John C. Hayes and John Caperton, (14). Deed dated March 13th, 1852. Recorded in Contra Costa County, in , which Oakland was at that date situated.
7. John Clar to J. K. Irving, deed of his interest, February 7th, 1852. Recorded in Contra Costa County.
8. B. De La Barra, (1-12) deed to J. K. Irving, J. M. Goggin and Wil- liam Claude Jones ; William Claude Jones to Eugene Casserly ; J. M. Goggin and Eugene Casserly to J. K. Irving, Hayes, Caperton, and heirs of Cost, deceased.
9. J. K. Irving, party of the first part ; John C. Hayes and John Caperton, parties of the second part ; Anna R. Poole, Catherine S. Lyons and her husband, Joseph Lyons ; Serena S. Young, and her hus- band, Alexander H. Young, (heirs of Cost, deceased) "by William Poole, their attorney," execute a partition deed, duly proven, certified to and re- corded in Alameda County.
IO. Power of attorney from Anna R. Poole et al., heirs of Cost, to Wm. J. Poole, June 14th, 1853.
HUNTINGTON, HOPKINS & CO., Wholesale Hardware and Iron, Cor. Bush and Market, S. F.
19
LAND TITLES.
II. Power of attorney to Montgomery Blair, from same parties, (except Serena S. Young, who was deceased, and left minor heirs, for whom' Alexander H. Young signed as guardian) Feb. 2d, 1854.
12. Proceedings in Probate Court in the same year, by which the interest of the minor heirs of Serena S. Young became vested in Alex. H. Young.
13. Another partition deed to correct errors in description of lands not blocked off in former deed, reciting and approving the former ; the same in all other respects, between the same parties (except in place of Serena S. Young, deceased, was Alexander H. Young, "by M. Blair, their attorney in fact.") Dated May 1, 1854.
14. Deed from Anna R. Poole to John C. Hayes, ratifying and con- firming the former deed of partition, and confirming the acts of Blair and Black as agents, Sept. Ist, 1858.
15. Similar deed to Hayes et al. from Jos. Lyons and wife, November Ioth, 1858.
16. Similar deed to Hayes et al. from Alexander H. Young, March 27th, 1860.
Subsequent to the chain of conveyances traced, title is vested in numerous owners, there being no other general claims. All the tech- nicalities and defects which ingenuity can discover have been brought to notice. The numerous adverse titles had for years hung over prop- erty-holders like an incubus, and in the early part of the year 1869 the peo- ple began an organized movement to defeat them. The position of af- fairs was somewhat critical. The city was rapidly growing, and to allow the idea to go abroad that titles were insecure would check the progress of the city and cause incalculable mischief. Sound business policy over- came the desire to make a bitter fight, however, and the holders of the claims were induced to dispose of them at rates that were trivial. The specific claims were the Pretermitted Heirs title, the Sisters' title, the Irving title and Cost title, and these comprised all general titles asserted by anybody to land within the City of Oakland. These titles were by their several owners conveyed to Henry Hillebrand, the City Clerk, who acted as a Trustee, and by him conveyances were made to the several property-holders. Nearly all the land in the city is now held by a perfect title, the Hillebrand deeds removing all the clouds. These titles, except the Cost title, still cloud property outside of the old charter line. The principal ones, the Sisters and the Pretermitted Heirs, are virtually defeated, and the property-holders, to save trouble and annoyance, have quite generally purchased the other claims.
The Kate Hayes Title covers that portion of Oakland township out- side of the " Encinal Line," as laid down on our map. The Supreme Court of the State has sustained a decision rendered by E. W. Mc- Kinstry, Judge of the Twelfth District Court, granting a new trial on the motion made by the defendants, (the property holders). That decision was fatal to the claim, which in itself was but for a trifling interest. A new trial has not yet been had, and the result is regarded as a foregone conclusion, the law of the case having been decided beyond appeal.
JONES, PULLMAN & CO., 116 Sansom St., S. F., General Stock Small Wares.
20
OAKLAND DIRECTORY.
REAL ESTATE.
From E. C. SESSIONS, Real Estate Dealer, we have received the fol- lowing statement :
Sales for year ending Nov. Ist, 1867 $1,312,748
Sales for year ending Nov. Ist, 1868. 2,983,719
Sales for year ending Nov. Ist, 1869. 2,488,394
Transactions for 1870. 2,294,534
Transactions for 1871 2,074, 163
Transactions for first six months, 1872. 1,046,266
Add sales for Dec., 1869. .
297,019
Total since Oct. 30th, 1866 $12,496,843
The sales reported are bona fide transactions, and do not include trust deeds, tax, blackmail, and skeleton claims. During the past two years there has been no speculation in Oakland property, sales having been made to persons desiring to improve the property. The figures plainly tell of the growing popularity of Oakland as a place of resi- dence. There is no particular portion of the city that receives atten- tion to the exclusion of other portions. Building improvements have extended in the direction of Temescal, through the influence of the street railroad; but during the last year house building has been pushed with the greatest energy within the original limits of the city. The lower price of lands in the suburbs is at least compensated for by the con- tinuous expense of traveling on the horse cars. If it costs say five dollars per month for a family to reach Oakland by horse cars, the homestead upon which they may live has cost actually five hundred dol- lars more than its apparent price, because five dollars per month is the interest on that amount. It is therefore preferable to pay five hundred dol- lars additional for a city lot, for while the expense would be the same, the inconvenience of street car travel is avoided. This consideration has doubtless caused the larger growth of the principal part of the city. Building lots, 50 by 100, can be purchased at prices ranging from $1,200 to $2,500, according to the location. Lots at the price first named can be obtained within easy reach of some of the stations on the San Francisco and Oakland Railroad. ·
WATER AND GAS.
About one-third of the population of Oakland use water obtained from the Contra Costa Water Company, and the remainder procure it from wells. By digging to a depth of twenty feet a supply of pure fresh water can be obtained ; but on account of the increased size of the city, and the prevalent fear that well water is becoming contaminated with sewage, many persons are abandoning their wells and using the water that is obtained from the mountain streams. The Contra Costa Water Company commenced operations in the latter part of the year 1867, and since that time about twenty-five miles of pipe have been laid. Water is obtained from the Temescal Creek. At its eastern branch, five miles from Oakland, a cañon has been dammed, and an artificial lake, six hundred feet wide and three-quarters of a mile long, has been created. The water is seventy feet deep in winter, and the capacity of
HUNTINGTON, HOPKINS & CO., Importers Hardware and Iron, Cor. Bush and Market, S. F.
21
THE RAILROAD SYSTEM.
the reservoir is two hundred million gallons. The daily consumption of water varies from half a million to a million gallons per day, according to the extent to which people may irrigate their gardens. The company has also appropriated the water of the Fruit Vale Creek and built a res- ervoir there, with a capacity of one million gallons. In case the moun- tain streams run low, use is made of artesian wells in Brooklyn, the water from which is forced by steam power into the mains. The water used in the city comes from the distributing reservoir on Academy Hill, one mile from Oakland and one hundred feet above tide water.
There can be obtained almost unlimited supplies of water from the creeks in the Coast Range, and whenever additional quantities are ne- cessary they will be made available. The supply of water to Oakland is embraced in the plans of the San Francisco and Lake Tahoe Water Company.
The purity of the water supplied by the Contra Costa Water Com- pany has lately been tested by the State Assayer, who certifies as fol- lows : " I consider the water analyzed to be of excellent quality, and well adapted to domestic use."
The city is furnished illuminating gas by the Oakland Gas Light Company, which commenced operations January Ist, 1867. The city entered into a ten-year contract, in 1868, to light the streets ; the com- pany to receive 2212 cents per night for each lamp until the number should exceed two hundred and fifty lamps, when the price was to be reduced to twenty cents per lamp. The annual amount of the bills for lighting the streets in the city, is $15,000. The company has laid about sixteen miles of mains, and now supplies with gas the Town of Brooklyn. The works are located on the corner of Washington and First streets, and have a capacity of one hundred thousand cubic feet per day. The price charged to consumers is five dollars per thousand cubic feet.
The Home Gas Light Company has a franchise to lay mains through the streets and supply the city with pneumatic gas, but has not yet commenced the erection of works.
THE RAILROAD SYSTEM.
It is broadly asserted that Oakland is the center of the railroad sys- tem of the Pacific Coast, and a mere glance at any railroad map shows that such is the case. The several lines of railroad in operation in Cali- fornia are either owned or controlled by the Central Pacific Railroad Company, and they all concentrate in this. city. Words cannot convey this idea as forcibly as any railroad map and an accompanying table of dis- tances. Not only the railroads now in existence, but those projected and likely to be completed within the next few years, converge to the same point. As San Francisco now is and ever must be the metropolis of the Pacific Coast, the managers of railroads are compelled to locate their terminal improvements in Oakland, because they further their own in- terests by so doing. The Central Pacific Railroad Company own sev- enty acres of land at the Oakland Point, used as a site for round-houses
JONES, PULLMAN & CO., 116 Sansom St., S. F., Dress Buttons in great variety.
22
OAKLAND DIRECTORY.
and work-shops. A planing mill has been in operation upwards of one year, and in it is prepared all the timber used in the construction and re- pair of bridges on the line of the road. The city has refrained from any attempt to open streets through this tract of land, at the request of the Company, upon representing that this ground is required for the pur- poses we have named, and in cutting it up by numerous streets its use- fulness would be so impaired that it would be necessary for the Company to seek for accommodations elsewhere. The Company also owns an area of three hundred and fifty acres on the water front, extending from the former tract toward Goat Island, with a frontage of nearly half a mile on ship channel. The Company has recently made extensive purchases of real estate near the head of the San Antonio Creek, and it owns a large tract of hilly land a few miles south from Brooklyn, from which can be obtained an almost unlimited supply of earth for filling in and reclaim- ing marsh and tide lands. The wharf projecting from the Oakland Point is eleven thousand feet in length, and at the end of it there are twenty-six and one-half feet of water at low tide and thirty-three and one-half feet of water at high tide, upon which have been erected extensive depots, rail- road offices, warehouses, and ample facilities for the storage of grain, etc. The structure is built in the most firm and enduring manner, and nothing has been omitted that engineering and mechanical skill could suggest. The overland trains and the accommodation trains for San Jose, Sacramento, Stockton and Marysville are run over the track laid through First street, and the local trains are run over the Sev- enth street track. There is scarcely a half hour during the day that the rumble of passing trains cannot be heard.
The street railroad system of Oakland is very comprehensive, all of the streets of present or prospective importance being covered by a franchise, but there are only two companies that have expended any money or shown any signs of vitality. The Oakland Railroad Company's franchise covers Broadway, from the water front to the charter line, and thence by the most direct route to Berkeley. The road is built, and provided with rolling stock. It is five and one-half miles long. There are in use seven cars, and the receipts average two thousand dollars per month. Trips are made every fifteen minutes. There are fifteen cars that can be used when occasion requires, and fifty-three horses are kept in the Company's stables at Temescal. One thousand people daily pass over the road.
The Oakland, Brooklyn and Fruit Vale Railroad is completed from the crossing of Broadway and Seventh streets, in Oakland, to the central portion of the town of Brooklyn, a distance of two miles, and the business transacted is about sufficient to pay current expenses and interest on the investment. Trips are made every half hour.
The street railroads projected promise to be remunerative enterprises. The benefit of such improvements is very great, a population of several hundred persons having been drawn to the vicinity of Temescal through the influence of the Oakland Railroad. As communication between dif- ferent parts of the city is made convenient and cheap, its growth will be accelerated, and the value of real estate in every locality will be enhanced.
HUNTINGTON, HOPKINS & CO., Agents Jessop & Sons' Steel, Cor, Bush and Market, S. F.
23
BUILDING IMPROVEMENTS.
RIDES, DRIVES, AND PLEASURE RESORTS.
The smooth macadamized streets within the limits of the city afford many miles of pleasant driving, and if there were no other resort, Oak- land would be unusually attractive. There is a net-work of well made roads through the Oakland Valley centering at Berkeley. The Telegraph and San Pablo Avenues are the great drive-ways to the north of the city, and from them radiate numerous roads that lead into the hills. A fash- ionable and beautiful drive is that leading to Piedmont Springs, five miles from Oakland. From the Piedmont Springs Hotel, which offers every attraction for the comfort and enjoyment of its patrons, "perhaps the finest and most complete view of the Bay and its surroundings is ob- tained, while the " Bushy Dell" hard by, a ravine filled with a luxuriant growth of shrubbery and trees, is a most delightful and romantic spot, with excellent made walks running through it. In this dell the Sulphur Springs are situated, the waters of which are strongly impregnated with sulphur, magnesia and iron. They have medicinal properties of great value. No place of resort can be more favorably recommended to the notice of our Eastern visitors, while the city man out of health will find them very conveniently situated." From Piedmont there are good roads running through the mountains, and there is a labyrinth of pleasant drives. The mountain scenery is very fine, and it is difficult to realize that so great a change can be found in a half hour's ride from Oak- land.
The drive-way on the eastern bank of Lake Merritt is also a fashion- able resort. The system of roads in Brooklyn is quite complete, and the visitor can follow any road that he may observe without danger of being led into an unpleasant or dangerous locality. The most important place of public resort, especially on Sundays, is Badger's Central Park, (in Brooklyn) where there are highly ornamented grounds, a large pavilion for dancing, and all of the attractions ordinarily found at public gardens. That the excellent roads in and around Oakland are appreciated by visit- ors, is attested by the fact that Oakland has six large livery stables, all of them doing a prosperous business.
BUILDING IMPROVEMENTS.
The buildings erected in Oakland during the year ending June 30th, 1872, have been numerous and costly. One firm of contractors, for in- stance, Messrs. Power & Ough, have transacted business to the amount of $120,000. We will enumerate only some of the more important im- provements. The Church of the Immaculate Conception is described elsewhere. The High School building is at the corner of Market and West Twelfth streets : The main building is 75x80 feet square, and the extreme depth, including projections for stairs, is 108 feet and the extreme width is 84 feet. The whole is surmounted by a curved French roof, the deck of which is surrounded by an iron railing. The elevation of the main building is 57 feet, and the railing of the tower is just 100 feet
JONES, PULLMAN & CO., 116 Sansom St., S. F., Porte Monnaies and Reticules.
24
OAKLAND DIRECTORY.
above the ground. The first and second stories are each 18 feet in the clear, and the third or hall story is 22 feet. The main hall, on the first floor, entered from Market street, is 81 feet long and 23 feet wide. The building contains four rooms, 27x36 ; four class rooms, 27x30 ; two class rooms, 22x30 ; one library room, 12x20 ; and numerous halls, teachers' rooms and wardrobes, and when completed will have a hall 73x811/2 feet, equal in beauty to any one in the State. The front stairs are five, and the rear stairs are four feet wide, and the tower is ten feet square. The building is heated by two of Chilson's hot air furnaces, connecting with all the halls and class rooms in the building by double pipes, thereby insuring safety against fire, and economy of fuel. The building is further provided against fire by a water pipe in front and rear, to which a hose pipe can be attached to each story. The cost of the property has been- for the lot, $7,500 ; for the building, $28, 106.22 ; for fences, planking yard, sheds, etc., $1,770 ; total, $37,376.22. The lowest bid for the completion of the hall story was $1,080, and the highest $2,650.
E. C. Sessions, Esq., has erected a two-story fire-proof building on the southeast corner of Broadway and Twelfth streets, having a frontage of 100 feet on Broadway. Adjoining, and appearing to be a part of it, is Remillard's building, with a frontage of 25 feet on Broadway. The cost of these improvements was $46,000.
Wm. Benitz' building is a massive two-story brick structure, on the northeast corner of Broadway and Tenth streets, having a frontage of 100 feet on Broadway, and worth $40,000.
James Canning's building is a two-story brick, on the corner of Broad- way and Thirteenth streets, worth 30,000. This, Sessions' and Benitz' buildings are used for business purposes ; each has a deep and airy base- ment ; the lower stories are occupied as stores, and the rooms in the up- per stories of Benitz' and Sessions' buildings are rented as offices.
The elegant residence of Rodmond Gibbons, near the corner of Center and Seventh streets, is worth upwards of $25,000.
Dr. Samuel Merritt has erected six large and elegant dwellings on his tract, north of Fourteenth street, and east of Alice street, worth in the aggregate, $75,000. These buildings have been sold to various parties by Dr. Merritt, who had in previous years erected numerous costly dwell- ing houses in the same locality.
C. P. Marsh has a $12,000 residence, at the corner of Castro and Eighth streets.
Gen. A. L. Page has nearly completed a $14,000 residence on San Pablo avenue. Calvin O. Brigham has nearly finished a $10,000 building on the corner of Oak and Eleventh streets, and A. K. P. Harmon has erected a $ 16,000 dwelling on Webster street near Twenty-second.
These are but a moderate proportion of the valuable buildings that have been erected during the year. A large number of dwellings, worth from $2,000 to $5,000, have been built in all parts of the city. After de- ducting for work done at the planing mills for places other than Oakland, it is estimated that for buildings in the city the mill bills have amounted to $225,000. The mill work is twenty per cent. of the cost of an ordinary
HUNTINGTON, HOPKINS & CO., Wholesale Hardware and Iron, Cor. Bush and Market, S. F.
25
MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES.
dwelling house, of the class erected in Oakland. We might infer, there- fore, that the approximate value of the buildings erected last year is in the neighborhood of one million one hundred thousand dollars, except so far as the estimate may be varied by the nature of the fire-proof buildings on Broadway, which might slightly increase these figures.
The progress of Oakland, for the past year, compares favorably with San Francisco, and in proportion to her wealth and population Oakland is far ahead of any other city in California.
MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES.
The advantages of Oakland as a manufacturing center are very great, and must, in due time, command attention. The city is connected with the general railroad system of the country, and is also accessible by water, so that goods can be exported by railroad or by sea-going vessels. An attempt has been made to establish smelting works for the reduction of silver ores, but the City Council has, by ordinance, prohibited such estab- lishments, and they cannot be erected within the limits of the city. It was feared that the smoke and gases that would be generated therefrom would be injurious to the health of the people, and cause serious damage: to the best interests of the place. The manufacturing establishments in Oakland are few in number, but the business transacted is quite respect- able in volume.
THE PIONEER PLANING MILLS were started in the year 1863, and in March, 1868, were purchased by Blethen & Terry, the present owners. The business consists in the manufacture of sashes, doors and blinds, and in furnishing such mill-work as is required in house-building. There are con- stantly employed twenty-five men, and the monthly receipts average $5,- 000. The mills are located on the south side of First street, between Broadway and Washington streets, and contain the most valuable and serviceable machinery. The warehouse and offices are upon the opposite side of First street.
THE OAKLAND PLANING MILLS were built by Burnham, Standeford & Co., and have been in operation since February, 1869, the firm-name re- maining the same. Forty persons are employed, and the monthly amount of business transacted will average $7,000. The buildings are on the' corner of Washington and First streets, and contain all the machinery required in the manufacture of doors and sashes, house trimmings, &c.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.