USA > California > Alameda County > History of Alameda County, California. Volume I > Part 13
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B. C. Brown, commercial editor of the Daily Times, San Francisco, lived at the southwest corner of Washington and Eighth streets. John H. Brewer, another San Francisco attorney, lived at Thirteenth and Jefferson. George M. Yard, the Oakland postmaster, resided at the southwest corner of Second and Webster. Rev. E. B. Walsworth, prin- cipal of the Female College of the Pacific, lived at the college. The home
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of Sextus Shearer, attorney and police judge, and of Lewis Shearer, who had a law office in San Francisco, was at the northeast corner of Grove and Twelfth. John H. Rankin, attorney, resided at the Eureka Hotel, Seventh and Washington. S. S. Sanborne, another Oakland attorney, resided on the west side of Clay Street, between Tenth and Eleventh. Edward Tompkins, who practiced law in San Francisco, resided in Alice Park; and Walter Van Dyke, an Oakland resident but with law offices across the bay, had a home at the southwest corner of Jackson and Ninth. Judge O. L. Shafter resided in Alice Park, but had his law office in San Francisco. Lowell J. Hardy, Jr., local attorney, lived at the corner of Fourth and Market. Charles A. Klose, publisher of the San Francisco Spectator, maintained his residence in Oakland, on Sixteenth, between Brush and Castro streets.
Rev. B. T. Martin, an assayer in the federal mint in San Francisco, and pastor of the Baptist Church in Oakland, lived at the southwest corner of Sixth and Grove. Dr. Samuel Merritt lived on Julia Street. Rev. I. H. Brayton, principal of the Oakland College School, resided at the college, corner of Twelfth and Harrison. F. M. Campbell, vice principal of the same institution, and later city superintendent of schools for a number of years, lived at the corner of Fourteenth and Franklin. Henry C., Colun, and Alexander Campbell, all attorneys with offices in San Francisco, lived on Telegraph "Road." E. B. Dunning and Horace L. Emmons, both connected with the United States Mint across the bay, made their home in Oakland, the former on Sixth, between Washington and Clay, and the latter on Wood Street, between Atlantic and Belle streets. James Gamble, general superintendent for the Western Union Telegraph Company, had a home on Jackson, between Sixteenth and Seventeenth. William Gagan, publisher of the Oakland Daily News, lived on Ninth, between Broadway and Washington. Another San Francisco publisher in the personage of Max Cohnheim, proprietor of the Abend Post, chose Oakland in which to live, residing on the east side of Franklin, between Tenth and Eleventh. James DeFremery, president of the San Francisco Savings Union and consul for the Neth- erlands, resided on this side of the bay, on Adeline Street, between Sixteenth and Eighteenth. Sherman Day, United States Surveyor Gen- eral, made his residence on the north side of Seventh, between Castro and Grove:
Samuel B. McKee, district judge, also lived on Adeline Street, on the south side between Tenth and Twelfth. Brig .- Gen. R. W. Kirkham, quartermaster general for the Pacific Coast, had his home on the north-
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east corner of Thirteenth and Grove. C. P. McKay, city marshal and first lieutenant of the Oakland Guards, lived on the east side of Frank- lin, between First and Second. B. F. Stilwell, compiler and publisher of Oakland's first city directory, resided on the northwest corner of Eleventh and Grove. O. P. Truesdell, then proprietor of the Transcript, had his home out near the corner of Wood and Lincoln streets. George B. Taylor, who advertised as a lecturer and also engaged in handling real estate, lived out on the San Pablo "Road." A. H. Jayne, president of the city council, had a home on Sixth, between Grove and Castro. J. A. Hobart, also a member of the city council, lived on Hobart Street, between Telegraph and San Pablo "Roads." D. G. Barnes, city council- man and architect, had his residence on the west side of Washington, between Fourth and Fifth. B. F. Pendleton, another member of the city council, and one of the owners of the Oakland Mills on Broadway, between Thirteenth and Fourteenth, had his home on the west side of Broadway, between Twelfth and Thirteenth. Rev. Lysander Walker, pastor of the First Methodist Church and city superintendent of schools, resided on Sixth Street, between Clay and Jefferson. J. M. Dillon, who was city assessor for a number of years, had a home on the southwest corner of Sixth and Oak.
EARLY PAVING IN OAKLAND
There were no paved streets in Oakland during the first two decades of its existence as an incorporated city. It was not until 1864, while B. F. Ferris was mayor and Messrs. De Fremery, Barstow, Palmer, Miner, Taylor, and Shattuck were councilmen, that the first few blocks of macadam were laid on Broadway. The resolution of intention to macadamize Broadway between Fourth and Tenth streets was passed September 20, 1864, with all councilmen voting in the affirmative ex- cepting Taylor, who was absent from the meeting of the council. The resolution was posted and advertised by E. P. Sanford, city clerk. On October 25 the notice to contractors was published, stating that the rock to be used must be secured from the quarry of H. M. Whitmore, and provided for a pavement nine inches in thickness at the center of the street and seven inches at the sides. A. W. Hawkett & Company of San Francisco was the successful bidder. The contract price was $3.18 per foot for the 3,443 feet, or a total of $10,949.48. An interesting feature of this municipal contract of Civil war days, signed by James Brown as city marshal and approved by the mayor, is that it reveals that paper
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FOURTEENTH AND BROADWAY, OLD OAKLAND
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money in California at that period was worth but approximately 40 per cent of its face value. The contract for macadamizing the street was placed at 22 cents per square foot in "legal tenders, or 81/2 cents per square foot in gold coin of the U. S. of America; and curbing at 50 cents per lineal foot in legal tenders, or 20 cents in gold coin." In 1865 the Broadway pavement was extended from Tenth to Fourteenth streets at a contract price of $3.40 per foot, or a total of $9,072.10.
The macadam pavement of those days was laid under what was known as the Telford principle, and consisted of a layer of coarse, heavy rock carefully laid on an evenly graded surface, over which crushed rock and screenings were evenly spread. The whole mass was then rolled and watered until it was thoroughly packed. About 1890 it was found advisable, due to heavier traffic, to increase the depth of the pavement over that first used.
PROGRESS OF CITY TO 1871
For the eighteen months prior to July 1, 1871, the general progress of the city had been highly satisfactory to the citizens. The assessment rolls for the years 1871-1872 showed a total valuation of $5,215,704 on an assessment basis of approximately one-third of the actual cash value. The city owned property valued at $275,500, divided as follows : School- houses and lots, $134,000; city hall, $100,000; water front and wharf, $25,000; an engine house on Broadway, $1,500; and a fire engine and other personal property worth $15,000. The bridge crossing San An- tonio Creek from the foot of Webster Street, with the roadway on the Alameda side, cost $45,000; and this improvement assisted materially in the growth and development of both cities. The city paid one-half the cost of the construction of the bridge, its share being $12,500. By July 1, 1872, a franchise for the construction of a street railway across it had been granted, and plans made for the building of the road. The city wharf, at that time, was also nearing completion. It was built upon the water front reservation, piers extending from the extremities of Webster and Franklin streets. At low tide there was a depth of nine feet of water at the wharf. Boobar & Company had the contract for the construction of the wharf.
The city was also extended in 1872 to include a portion of the "Oak- land Valley," which was becoming thickly settled, the residents inter- ested voting two to one for annexation.
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CLINTON AND SAN ANTONIO; THEN BROOKLYN; THEN EAST OAKLAND
Before taking up the early history of Berkeley as a part of Oakland township, a jump over into Brooklyn township will be made, in order to take up the early history of East Oakland. As already related, the first settlement in this region was made by the two brothers, Ygnacio and Antonio Maria Peralta, who built their adobe house on the banks of San Antonio Creek some time between 1821 and 1825. In 1842 when their father divided his vast holdings Antonio Maria moved to a site now included in Fruitvale, while Ygnacio continued to reside in the old homestead. The redwoods of San Antonio early brought Americans and foreigners, even in 1847 a trade having grown up with Yerba Buena, the early name for San Francisco. About 1849 a Frenchman, whose name has been lost with the passing years, commenced a mill in the redwoods which he did not complete and which Harry Meiggs se- cured in 1851. It was sold by Meiggs to Volney D. Moody, the Oakland banker. D. A. Plummer worked for Moody in 1852, and later bought the plant. During that year William and Thomas Prince and a Mr. Brown erected two more mills. Tupper & Hamilton erected another one later, and a Mr. Spicer also built one.
Mention has already been made of the three Patten brothers, Robert F., William and Edward C., who crossed the bay in February, 1850, and located in Brooklyn township, leasing lands from Peralta and farming what later became the site of San Antonio. The timber and lumber from the redwoods had been shipped from the embarcadero of San Antonio. This site attracted the attention of James B. Larue dur- ing the early part of 1851, and he determined to lay out a town there and engage in the ferry business. He acquired holdings from Antonio Maria Peralta, and set about the fulfilment of his plans. Larue was a native of New Jersey, where he was born February 6, 1800. He had come to California in 1849. Until his death on January 7, 1872, he maintained his residence in Brooklyn township, and became a promi- nent figure in the business and political affairs of the county.
Larue erected his first habitation, a tent, in what is now the vicinity of Twelfth Street and Fifteenth Avenue, and opened a store to supply those engaged in the lumber business. He also commenced the con- struction of a residence for his wife and son, Luke. A Mexican, Man- uel Paracio, had a corral at that time located around the tract now ap- proximately bounded by Twelfth and Fourteenth streets and Four- teenth and Sixteenth avenues. Manuel Baragan was also farming in
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the neighborhood. The land to the west of Fourteenth Street was farmed by the Patten boys and Moses Chase. William C. Blackwood also settled in the redwoods during 1851, later moving to Eden town- ship. The Pattens built the first house in what developed into Clinton.
In 1852 the first ferry began to operate between the embarcadero of San Antonio and San Francisco. It was the Pirouette, owned by a Frenchman. Duncan Cameron settled at San Antonio in 1852, and a butcher named Fuller. Cameron started the first livery stable with the three horses he owned. Joseph and Isaac Freeman, during this year, also erected the Mansion House at the corner of what is now Fifteenth Avenue and East Twelfth Street; and George Gaskins built at East Fourteenth and Sixteenth Avenue. Hooper, a blacksmith, built a shop on the banks of the creek. In 1853, Cameron enlarged his livery stable. During the year the first steam ferry was established across the bay. The pioneer boats were the Kangaroo, the Hector, and Red Jacket. In 1853 Davis S. Lacy built a store at corner of East Twelfth Street and Twelfth Avenue, and had associated with him B. M. Atchison.
In 1852 the Patten Brothers became associated with Tompkins, Strode, Jones & McLemore, and these gentlemen bought some six thousand, two hundred acres extending from Lake Merritt to Sausal Creek, at Fruitvale and laid out the town of Clinton. During the early days of the existence of Oakland and San Antonio the latter held some- what of an advantage because of its landing place and embarcadero. In addition to Clinton and Brooklyn, there was a small settlement situ- ated on the heights, about a mile from the wharf, which was known as Lynn, but regarding which little is known. It was so named from a large boot and shoe factory established there in 1867 or 1868, but which did not prove successful for some reason. In 1856, upon a petition pre- sented to the county supervisors, the villages of Clinton and San An- tonio united under the name of Brooklyn, in honor of the vessel which came to California in 1849. On April 4, 1870, the villages of Lynn, Clinton and Brooklyn were incorporated as a town by an act of the legislature, taking the name of Brooklyn. This territory eventually became the Seventh Ward of Oakland when Brooklyn was annexed to Oakland in October, 1872.
There were three elections held during the time that Brooklyn con- stituted a body politic. On May 4, 1870, H. A. Mayhew, Hiram Tubbs, Adam Cannon, Charles Newton, and Henry Tum Suden were elected to the board of trustees. J. F. Steen was selected as clerk and treasurer ; and C. E. Webster as assessor. The school directors selected were A.
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W. Swett, F. Buel, and C. C. Knowles. The city trustees chose Mayhew as president of the board. The second election was held May 5, 1871, H. A. Mayhew, Hiram Tubbs, Adam Cannon, Henry Tum Suden, and Isham Case being named trustees. A. W. Swett, F. Buel and T. F. Steere were the school directors of the year ; J. F. Steen, clerk and treas- urer ; and A. B. Webster, assessor. L. J. Rector was named justice of the peace, and W. Van Dyke town attorney. At the election in May, 1872, H. A. Mayhew, Isham Case, C. C. Knowles, A. W. Swett and George W. French were elected town trustees. A. J. Webster was chosen clerk and treasurer.
LOCATION OF MILLS COLLEGE !
It was in Brooklyn township, about five miles from the early settle- ment in Oakland, that Mills' Seminary was established in 1870 and 1871. The history of this institution dates back to 1852, when the Benecia Female Seminary was established. That school for several years had been under the control of Rev. C. T. Mills and his wife. It had grown until Reverend Mills decided to move to more promising fields, and accordingly became the owner of Seminary Park in 1870. upon which he determined to erect his new school. Through the assist- ance of J. O. Eldredge of San Francisco $25,000 were raised by popular subscription, Doctor Mills agreeing to maintain the school for five years and to deed some thirty-five acres of land in trust forever, to be used for a school for young ladies. Building operations were started in 1870, and in August, 1871, the school was opened for the reception of stu- dents. The original three-story building cost about sixty thousand dollars. The campus was increased to sixty-five acres within a few years after its establishment. In May, 1872, a church was built adja- cent to the first college building. In 1877 the seminary was incorpor- ated, and all the property, real and personal, was turned over to the first board of trustees, which consisted of Rev. C. T. Mills, Rev. James Eells, Hon. H. H. Haight, J. O. Eldredge, Rev. I. E. Dwinelle, Hon. E. D. Sawyer, Hon. A. J. Bryant, Rev. T. K. Noble, Rev. A. S. Fiske, Rev. H. D. Lathrop, W. A. Bray, Robert Simson, James Pierce, Wil- liam Meek, and David Hawes. Buildings, land, library, and other per- sonal property were valued at over two hundred thousand dollars at that time.
The Odd Fellows, Masons, K. of P., and A. O. U. W. established pioneer lodges in Brooklyn. Orion Lodge, No. 189, I. O. O. F., was or-
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ganized June 14, 1871. In 1876 it built a hall at Eleventh Avenue and East Twelfth Street. Brooklyn Lodge, No. 225, F. and A. M., was in- stituted on July 9, 1872. Evening Star Lodge, No. 263, I. O. F., dates from July 20, 1877. The Brooklyn Rebekah Degree Lodge, No. 12, was organized July 8, 1872. The K. of P. Lodge, No. 32, dates its ex- istence from August 21, 1875. Brooklyn Lodge, No. 3, A. O. U. W., perfected its organization September 29, 1876.
The First Baptist Church of Brooklyn was dedicated in September, 1860, at the corner of Fourteenth Street and Tenth Avenue. The Church of the Advent, Protestant Episcopal, of East Oakland, was organized May 25, 1860. Its first church building was dedicated the following February, at the corner of Fourteenth Street and Seventeenth Avenue, upon ground donated by Larue. In June, 1882, the building was moved to the corner of Fourteenth Street and Seventeenth Avenue. The East Oakland Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1874. In that year it erected a building on Seventh Avenue, near Fourteenth Street. The East Oakland Young Men's Christian Association was or- ganized January 16, 1881.
Brooklyn boasted of several important pioneer manufacturing firms. In 1856 Daniel Brannan came to San Antonio and began in a modest way to manufacture pottery, which he later developed into the extensive Pioneer Pottery at Twelfth Street and Seventeenth Avenue. In 1883 he constructed new and larger kilns. The California Pottery and Terra Cotta Works was established in 1875 by James Miller. Three years prior to that, in 1872, Henry Bundock established the East Oak- land pottery. This business was located at the corner of Twelfth Street and Nineteenth Avenue. About 1863 P. S. Wilcox & Co. started the Oak Grove Tannery. In 1871 the business was bought by J. S. Derby. A second tannery was established by G. F. Crist, called the Brooklyn Tannery, in 1871. Power & Ough erected the East Oakland Planing Mills in 1876. The first buildings were destroyed by fire in 1879, and the plant was rebuilt in 1880. The mill was at East Twelfth Street and Fourteenth Avenue. The Brooklyn Manufacturing Company, con- ducted by Northey & Wagar, on Twelfth Street, made carriages, wagons and agricultural implements. Then there were the two old breweries, the East Oakland Brewery, and the Brooklyn Brewery.
A newspaper, the Independent, was established in Brooklyn in 1870. It was succeeded by the Home Journal in 1871, which gave place to the
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Vidette, published by George W. Barter, in 1876. All were weekly publications. In the '70s the horse-drawn street cars ran to Brooklyn Station from the Broadway Station, every fifty minutes from 6:40 in the morning until 10:10 at night. Fare by horse cars was 614 cents, or five tokens for 25 cents. To San Francisco the fare was 15 cents per single trip, or $3 per month. The estimated population of Brooklyn township for the presidential election of 1876 was 5,340; of which the Seventh Ward of Oakland, or old Brooklyn, was given credit for 3,930.
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Badger's Park was a popular resort of the pioneer days. It was situated near the old Clinton Station, the last stopping place of the local trains from San Francisco before reaching Brooklyn Station. It bor- dered on the San Antonio Creek, and consisted of ten acres purchased by the retired sea captain Thomas W. Badger, who spent over twenty years in improving and beautifying it before deciding to turn it into a park for the enjoyment of the public. It was opened as such on Febru- ary 1, 1872. In the southeast corner was a mammoth pavilion, 225 feet long and ninety-five feet wide, for skating and dancing. A race track, for boys and men, and other sorts of improvements and contriv- ances were provided for outdoor amusements. And, in the early days, the presence of a near-by saloon and bar was considered a necessity of the times ; and that was also an adjunct.
THE EARLY DAYS OF BERKELEY
In 1883 W. W. Wood, publisher of his history of Alameda County said the following regarding Berkeley, then located in Oakland town- ship: "This town has very little history beyond what is given to it by the presence of the University of California. It is a suburb of Oakland, and the day is not far distant when it will be absorbed by that rapidly extending and increasing city." The Berkeley of today has a history which would fill a book of considerable size, and much of that history centers around the University of California. It has grown from "a sub- urb of Oakland" into a splendid city. While Oakland and Berkeley have extended their limits and building area to completely fill the five- mile gap existing in Wood's time, so that one not familiar with the legal dividing lines cannot tell when passage is made from one city to the other, Oakland has not "absorbed" the college city. However, Ber-
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keley at the time of the publication of Wood's history was but a village, and just entering upon better days. The whole town in 1880, together with its township and which then included the Seventh Ward of Oak- land, had a population of but 7,687.
The early history of Berkeley, bound up and interwoven with the early history of the University of California, has been mentioned some- what in another chapter dealing with this great educational institution. However, a brief summary will be given here of the founding of the university and events occurring during the first few years thereafter. It has been told elsewhere how Dr. Henry Durant struggled with fate to carry out his great purpose in life, and of the school he started in Oakland on the tract of land bounded by Twelfth, Fourteenth, Frank- lin and Harrison streets. Some of the old buildings there, after the College was moved out to Berkeley, were later used and were known to old timers as Elite Hall, or the Dietz Opera House; the old College Hall, at Harrison and Twelfth; and the Sunnyside House, at Harrison and Thirteenth. The school first organized in a little building at Fourth and Broadway. In addition to the labors of Dr. Durant there were other local men who played an important part in the transition of the College of California of Oakland into the University of California at Berkeley. Among them were Gov. Henry H. Haight, Hon. Henry Robinson of Alameda; the Reverend Doctor Benton of Oakland, and Hon. John W. Dwinelle, also of Oakland, who introduced the bill creat- ing the university. On June 21, 1867, a state board met at Sacramento and decided to establish an Agricultural College in Alameda County. In August of that year the trustees of the College of California formally offered to the College of Agriculture 160 acres of land at Berkeley. This offer was accepted and the land was deeded to the state. On March 5, 1868, a bill was introduced in the legislature to create the University of California ; and on March 23rd Governor Haight signed the bill. The Board of Regents organized for the first time June 9, 1868.
The corner-stone of the old Agricultural College, or South Hall, was laid in August, 1872. The corner-stone of the second building on the campus, North Hall, was laid in the spring of 1873. These buildings were occupied for the first time in the fall of 1873; although the first graduating class was given diplomas in June, 1873, in an Oakland church, classes having been conducted in Oakland until the new struc- tures were ready. The next buildings erected were the Bacon Art and Library Building and the College of Mining and Mechanic Arts. The
FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
BAPTIST CHURCH
ST. MARK'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
TRINITY M. E. CHURCH
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
ST. JOSEPH'S CATHOLIC CHURCH
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Bacon Building was named in honor of Henry Douglass Bacon of Oakland, who gave to the university his excellent collection of paint- ings, sculpture, miscellaneous works of art, a library of several thousand volumes, and $25,000 to erect a building upon condition that an equal sum be supplied by the state.
THE CALIFORNIA INSTITUTION FOR THE DEAF, DUMB AND BLIND
This institution was founded in 1860, under the auspices of a Board of Lady Managers, presided over by Mrs. P. B. Clark. It was estab- lished in San Francisco, on Spark Street, between Mission and Howard streets, through private subscriptions and a state appropriation. Dur- ing the middle '60s the institution outgrew its first buildings, and the legislature appropriated money for a new location of 130 acres on the old Kearney farm in Berkeley. Ground for the new building was broken July 29, 1867, the foundation stone being laid on September 26th, the ceremonies being marked by the reading of an ode from the pen of Bret Harte. The building was occupied in the fall of 1869, $149,000 having been expended in its construction. On the evening of January 17, 1875, the building was destroyed by fire. The new buildings erected after the fire were opened in the fall of 1878. Among the early directors of the school were such prominent citizens of Ala- meda County as H. H. Haight, Col. J. C. Hays, John Garber, A. K. P. Harmon, H. A. Palmer and Dr. E. H. Woolsey.
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