USA > California > Alameda County > History of Alameda County, California. Volume I > Part 20
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LAND VALUES
The most valuable residential property in Oakland in 1895 was held at about $150 per front foot. Desirable sites could be had at from $50 to $75. Cheap lots accessible by either steam or street cars might be secured at from $20 to $40 per front foot ; and suburban tracts could be had at from $10 to $20. Business property was then selling at from $250 to $2,000 per front foot, depending upon the location. A wide range in the price of farm lands prevailed, depending upon the state of improvement and location, running all the way from $30 to $1,000 per acre.
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PUBLIC PARKS-LAKE MERRITT
In 1895 there were eleven well-kept public parks in various parts of the city. Then there was the natural water park formed by an arm running up from the estuary of San Antonio, and which was formerly known as "North Arm." A dam had been placed across this arm, and the resulting lake had been called Lake Peralta and later named Lake Merritt, its waters renewed by the ebb and flow of the tides of the Bay of San Francisco. Steps had already been taken to make this a great park, the improvements as then planned to include a boulevard 150 feet wide around the lake, foot walks, street cars, and a double drive-way. About one-half mile, of the three, had already been im- proved, and it was then estimated that it would require a million dollars to complete the work contemplated.
HARBOR IMPROVEMENTS
Oakland's harbor was a possession which was becoming recognized in shipping circles far and wide by 1895, and one in which its citizens were already taking a great deal of justifiable pride. The commercial possibilities of the land locked basin of the inner harbor induced the federal government in 1873 to begin a systematic improvement, and work had been advanced for the following twenty years or more as fast as appropriations were made. These improvements consisted of the construction of training walls to protect the entrance to the harbor, and the deepening of the channel for the better accommodation of com- merce. The training walls at the entrance of the harbor were in parallel lines for a distance of two and one-half miles, and at an equal distance throughout of 800 feet. Between these walls a channel was being dredged to a uniform depth of twenty-six feet at ordinary high tide. At the head of the harbor the government engineers had also begun the excavation of a tidal canal through the low neck of land connecting the peninsula, or encinal, on which Alameda was situated and the south- eastern corner of the City of Oakland. This canal was to join the waters of San Leandro Bay with those of the estuary of San Antonio, the former covering as large an area as the latter, but shallower in depth. The object of this last named undertaking was to secure the scouring aid of the tide waters of San Leandro Bay in helping to main- tain a navigable depth in the channel of the estuary, and with the idea that as future needs might require additional harbor facilities would
AN OAKLAND SHIP YARD IN 1896
COAL BUNKERS, FOOT OF WEBSTER STREET, OAKLAND, 1896
BOATING ON LAKE MERRITT, 1896
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be at hand. A steel drawbridge had been constructed across the west- ern end of the canal, through which vessels might pass.
By 1895 the government had spent a million and a-half in harbor improvements for Oakland, and it was then estimated that it would re- quire another $900,000 to complete the work planned. Shipping had been increasing each year for the port, and in 1895 upwards of three million tons were handled. As harbor improvements progressed, lands fronting on the water were also put into shape for manufacturing and commercial improvements and uses, and shipyards were already strung along its southern shore. Splendid wharf facilities for the day were to be found, and were being developed, along the northern, or Oakland, shore-line of the harbor. The merits of this land-locked harbor were already appreciated by ship owners, and it was even then the resort of a large fleet of whaling vessels and other ships which sought a favorable winter quarter. Pilot boats and other government ships lay there when not in active duty. The Alaska fleet of steamers and schooners also tied up there, and were fitted out in the bay region for their summer operations. Improvements on the outer harbor on the bay side were also contemplated in 1895. The government during 1895 made Oakland a port of entry, and early in 1896 ex-congressman W. B. English was appointed surveyor of the port.
THE WATER SUPPLY OF 1895
Oakland had two competing companies in the '90s which furnished water. That the water was pure and healthful was not alone indicated by analysis, but by Oakland's low death rate. The mains of both com- panies had been laid over all portions of the city, and any resident could have his choice of which company to patronize. Each company had about an equal share of users on its books, indicating that a selection was largely a matter of individual opinion. The Contra Costa Water Company was organized in 1866 by A. Chabot and furnished water from Temescal Creek until about 1875, when steps were taken to have the waters of the San Leandro Creek condemned and turn the water into an artificial lake in the hills about eight miles from the city, which has since been known as Lake Chabot. The lake in 1895 contained about six billion gallons of water, and about two hundred and seventy- five miles of pipe had been laid to distribute the water throughout the city and suburbs. A filtering plant had been erected at the lake. Lake Temescal was still used to supply the higher portions of the city. The
BAY OF SAN FRANCISCO
A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF OAKLAND From a lithograph made in 1893
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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
competing company was the Oakland Water Company, organized about 1894, with a capital stock of $3,000,000. Prior to the formation of this company the northern part of the city was supplied in part with water from the Piedmont Water Company's system, which was merged with the Oakland Water Company when it was formed. The new company bought a tract of land near Alvarado and bored a system of artesian wells to meet demands which exceeded the old supply. The combined flow of the fifteen to twenty wells was estimated at about five million gallons daily. The water flowed to the surface and was then pumped into the distributing system which connected with a mammoth reser- voir on Orange Street, in East Oakland Heights.
THE LIGHTING SYSTEM
Oakland claimed to have one of the best and cheapest street light systems in the nation in the '90s. Even the most remote portions of the city were supplied by the Oakland Gas, Light and Heat Company, which had been organized in 1866 under the name of the Oakland Gas Light Company. In 1867 it had bought a site at First and Wash- ington, where its plant had been erected. In 1895 it was also supply- ing Berkeley and Alameda with lights. In 1874 it had bought the block bounded by First, Second, Jefferson and Grove streets from the Ghirar- delli estate and other owners and erected its purifying houses thereon. In 1884 the company purchased the plant and franchises of the Thom- son-Houston Electric Company, and commenced to supply electric lights, the first installation being electric lamps only. In 1887 incandes- cent lights for stores were introduced, the electric lighting station being built on the block bounded by First, Second, Broadway and Washing- ton streets. This, however, had been abandoned in 1888 after the de- mands had become too great for the plant, and a large central station was erected on the company's water front property south of First Street and on the corner of Grove. In 1893 this latter station was again duplicated, and in 1895 had a capacity of 1,600 horse-power. The City of Oakland was first lighted by arc lamps in 1887, and the number of lamps had grown to a total of 420 by the middle '90s. These electric lights replaced the thousand gas lamps used before the coming of the later invention. There are undoubtedly many who will remember the old crane lamp posts at the corners, then considered the last word in street lighting. The gas and light company still maintained their gas system to all parts of the city after the installation of electricity, and
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regularly employed about one hundred men. Their office at Thirteenth and Clay was one of the best constructed buildings then existing down town.
RAILROADS AND STREET CAR SYSTEMS
Railroads have been the making of many cities. Lack of them has as often retarded growth and prevented settlements from becom- ing the metropolitan centers they might have under more favored con- ditions. Oakland does not owe everything to the fact that it is a great railroad center, but it does have a considerable debt of gratitude to remember in this connection. The city's advantages and railroad facili- ties in the '90s were keeping pace, and even ahead, of the increase in population. There were four transcontinental trains departing and as many arriving each day in Oakland-two by the central route and two by the southern route. In addition there was one train daily each way northward, connecting with three other lines. There were then nineteen interstate trains and twenty suburban trains passing through Oakland each day. The service to San Francisco by ferry included sixty trains and boat trips each day -- thirty via the broad gauge and an equal num- ber by the narrow gauge. Most of San Francisco's railroad travel, both interstate and transcontinental, passed through Oakland. The greater part of the eastern freight to that city was handled through Oakland, being transported across the bay on large ferries which carried a train of freight cars at a trip.
By 1895 Oakland boasted of between sixty to seventy miles of electric street car lines. There were three lines connecting Oakland and Berkeley; virtually two lines connecting Oakland and Alameda; and the Oakland-Haywards line was the longest electric system on the coast at that time, being over sixteen miles long, not including the two branch lines-one to San Lorenzo and one at Twenty-third Avenue. Three lines connected the city with the Sixteenth Street depot. The main part of the city and West Oakland were connected by four lines. Another line connected Broadway and the Hermitage. Still another line traversed Fruitvale Avenue, connecting with the steam cars on the Seventh Street ferry line. The system known as the Sessions-Van- dercook system had four different lines through various parts of East Oakland. Two lines ran to Mountain View, and there was another one to the Piedmont power house. There was a line connecting Telegraph Avenue with the steam trains at Lorin. The old steam line of the Cali-
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fornia Railway Company, from Fruitvale to Laundry Farm, had re- cently been changed to an electric system. A new charter had just been granted for an electric line from Oakland to the Corral Hollow coal mines in the Livermore Valley, a distance of forty miles. There were two cable lines in operation. The day of the horse-drawn car had passed.
While the ferry system of the '90s was not the wonderfully devel- oped one of today, it was adequate, and was considered the best in the world at that period. From the ferry slips at the extremities of the narrow and broad guage lines finely equipped steamers made thirty- minute trips, alternating with each other so as to afford a fifteen-min- ute service. The broad guage depot far excelled anything on the coast. The huge skeleton of iron and steel, roofed and closed with glass, was some hundred and seventy-five yards long by seventy-five wide. The division offices of the Southern and Central Pacific systems were there. The fare was ten cents. At the foot of Broadway was a third line, for both freight and passengers, with ferries not as luxurious as the regular passenger boats. The fare on this line was 5 cents.
The civic organizations of the day included both the Board of Trade and the Merchants' Exchange. The former was organized about 1885, and at the time of which we write, ten years later, its membership in- cluded about four hundred business men of all lines. The Board of Trade was a more recent development, having come into existence in 1894, and its roll of members was about half as large as the Board of Trade. Both organizations had offices. That of the Merchants' Ex- change was then on the second floor of the Central Bank Building. W. V. Witcher was its president; George W. Arper, vice president; H. D. Cushing, treasurer; and Webb N. Pearce, secretary.
THE BANKS OF 1895
There were seven banks in Oakland at this time, with a combined capital of around two million dollars. The total deposits of these in- stitutions were then approximately eight millions. The city was proud of the fact that up to that time there had never been a bank failure in its business life, and that not one of its banking institutions had ever experienced a "run" upon it. Also, the financial depression of the few previous years which had caused bank failures in many parts of the nation had not left its mark in Alameda County by similar failures. The First National Bank was located at the corner of Broadway and
CITY HALL, OAKLAND, 1893
OAKLAND FROM THE MASONIC TEMPLE TOWER IN 1895
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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
Tenth, in the old Benitz Building, which had been erected in 1871. P. E. Bowles was its president; G. W. McNear, vice president; and L. G. Burpee, cashier. The Oakland Bank of Savings was situated at the corner of Twelfth and Broadway, on the east side. Its officers were 1. L. Requa, president; W. E. Miller, vice president; W. W. Garth- waite, cashier ; and E. C. Hagar, assistant cashier. Across on the west corner, 1101 Broadway, was the Union National Bank, the officers of which were Thomas Prather, president; J. West Martin, vice president; and C. E. Palmer, cashier. In the same building next door, at 1103, was the Farmers' and Merchants' Savings Bank. The officials of this bank were E. F. Adams, president; C. E. Palmer, vice president; and J. C. McKee, cashier. The Union Savings Bank was on the corner of Broadway and Ninth. Thomas Prather was its president; J. West Martin, vice president; and Charles E. Palmer, cashier. The Cali- fornia Bank had the corner location in the Masonic Temple, Twelfth and Washington. D. Edward Collins and Frank H. Brooks were president and cashier respectively. The Central Bank was in the Cen- tral Bank Building. Its management was in the hands of Thomas Crellin, president; W. G. Palmanteer, vice president; and C. R. Yates, cashier. The Commercial Bank of Berkeley was located in the two- story building at 2142 Shattuck Avenue. F. R. Shattuck was its presi- dent and A. W. Naylor, cashier.
NEWSPAPERS OF THE DAY
There were four daily newspapers published in Oakland in 1895. These were the Times, the Tribune, the Enquirer, and the Item. The first newspaper which had been started in Oakland was the Contra Costa. Later the Alameda Express had its existence. Still later came the Transcript, which eventually merged into the Times. W. E. Dar- gie, a name prominent in newspaper circles of California, purchased the Tribune in the '70s, and was still its publisher at this time. Its building and office was on Eighth Street between 415 and 419. The Enquirer building was at 416-418 Tenth Street, and its manager, Frank A. Leach, published a weekly as well as a daily. The Tribune also had a weekly edition. Leach had started the Enquirer as a semi-weekly in 1886, and later turned it into an evening daily. The Times office was at 966 Broadway, and it was the morning paper. Gavin Dhu High was then its editor. Alameda had its daily Argus, of which T. G. Daniels
CHANNING WAY, EAST FROM SHATTUCK AVENUE, OAKLAND, 1895
FULTON STREET, NORTH FROM DWIGHT WAY, OAKLAND, 1895
LOOKING UP TWELFTH STREET, OAKLAND, 1895
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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
was editor and J. H. Glas, manager. It was printed on Central Avenue, near the post office block.
THE LIBRARY AND READING ROOMS
The free public library which had its humble beginning in 1868 had grown to one with over twenty-eight thousand volumes by 1895. H. F. Peterson was the librarian at this latter period. Five reading rooms were maintained in connection with the library, all under charge of the Free Library trustees. These five rooms were the Central, East Oakland, West Oakland, North Oakland, and the one on Twenty-third Avenue. There were over thirteen thousand borrowers listed, and the average daily attendance was approximately fifteen hundred persons. The annual cost of the library and reading rooms was about one thou- sand, six hundred dollars per year. The Alameda library was located near Park Avenue and Central Avenue. The Berkeley Public Library was at 2156 Shattuck Avenue, in the Shattuck Building.
MANUFACTURING
Alameda County's manufacturing and industrial advantages were early proclaimed by the progressive business men of the Bay region, and before the close of the last century the county was well on its way to preeminence. One of the most important manufacturing plants which then existed in the county was the Judson Manufacturing Company, just outside the Oakland city limits, at Emeryville, on the line of the Northern Railway-a leased line of the Southern Pacific. Its holdings fronted on the bay and extended along the railroad for a distance of nearly fourteen hundred feet. It was one of the largest machine shops and iron works in the nation, and 10,000 tons of iron were rolled there annually. Its output, growing annually, was then about three-fourths of a million dollars annually. The California Bridge Company's plant was also at Emeryville. This firm's business was not limited to Cali- fornia, but extended into other states. It employed from one hundred to two hundred fifty men. The Pacific Iron and Nail Company occu- pied a tract of fourteen acres at the foot of Market, Myrtle and adja- cent streets. Its output was about thirty thousand kegs of nails each month. The iron and brass foundry firms included the Oakland Iron Works, occupying almost the entire block between First and Second, and Jefferson and Grove. The Eagle Box Factory at Market and Sec- ond used from one to two million feet of lumber annually in manufac-
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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
turing boxes. The Southern Pacific Company's construction shops were at its West Oakland yards. The bridge and building department, cen- tered there, had a territory under its jurisdiction extending over the Pacific Coast and to the most distant points reached by the system. All stations, roundhouses and other buildings were constructed there, and the work was then put together at the place of erection. All repairs to engines and cars were made at these shops. A shipyard was maintained by the company where the company's steamers and ferries were built and repaired.
There were three textile manufacturing concerns. The largest of these was the California Cotton Mills, located on Twenty-third Avenue, and employing 300 persons. The mills turned out carpeting, grain bags, bolting, burlap, cotton wicking, warps, twine, and cotton rope. The California Jute Mills, at Clinton Station, employed some four hundred. There were three large flour mills in Oakland-The Golden Rule Mills, the Encinal Mills, and the Bay City Roller Flouring Mills. Our Brothers' Milling Company specialized in breakfast meals, etc. Two large canneries helped take care of the local fruit crops, shipping their products to many foreign countries. Over one thousand persons found employment in these institutions during the fruit season. The large quantity of fruit grown in the vicinity of San Leandro, Haywards, San Lorenzo, Decoto, Niles, Mission San Jose and other settlements were shipped to Oakland for canning. There were some eighteen planing and wood-working mills operating. There were three potteries, turning out miles of sewer pipe monthly, in addition to terra cotta and art pot- tery. Seven firms were engaged in making wind-mills, some of wood, some of galvanized iron, and some of steel. An equal number of firms were manufacturing paints and oils, with an annual output of $1,000,- 000. Two brick yards manufactured about sixty million bricks annu- ally. One of these firms had large yards and kilns at Pleasanton. There were three tanneries; two boot and shoe manufacturing firms; and five breweries with a total monthly output of from five to six thousand kegs of beer.
CHURCHES, SOCIETIES AND CLUBS
There were nearly fifty churches in Oakland in the middle '90s. Six of those were owned by the Presbyterians, who had some two thousand three hundred members, and represented investments of about one hundred and forty-five thousand dollars. The six Congregational
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churches cost almost as much, and there were 2,200 members. There were nine Methodist churches, costing about one hundred and thirty thousand dollars, and with a membership equalling that of the Congre- gationalists. Some eighteen hundred had membership in the five Protestant Episcopal congregations. The Evangelical Lutheran Church had five parishes, and 1,400 members. There were four Baptist churches, with an almost equal membership. The four Roman Catho- lic churches cost some one hundred and sixty-five thousand dollars, and there were about three thousand, five hundred members. There were two Hebrew congregations, orthodox and reform. There were two congregations of the Christian Church. The Universalists had a small chapel; and the Unitarians had some three hundred families on its membership roll, with property valued at $70,000. There were 450 members in the Seventh Day Adventist Church.
The Young Men's Christian Association had a fully equipped gym- nasium, with baths, in their $75,000 home, and conducted educational and physical training classes. The Young Women's Christian Associa- tion also had a handsome three-store building. The Catholic Church had their Young Men's Institute and the Young Ladies' Institute.
The list of fraternal organizations included the Masonic order, the Eastern Star, the Odd Fellows, Rebekahs, the Knights of Pythias, Rathbone Sisters, Red Men, Foresters, A. O. U. W., Knights of Honor, Chosen Friends, Woodmen of the World, the Knights and Ladies of Honor, the American Legion of Honor, the Maccabees, the B'nai B'rith, the Sons of Herman, the National Union, and several other so- cieties. The G. A. R. had a membership of some three hundred and twenty-five. The Native Sons and Native Daughters of the Golden West had large memberships. Then there were the Good Templars and Sons of Temperance, the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Sons of Veterans, the Elks, the United Ancient Order of Druids, Equitable Aid Union, Knights of the Golden Eagle, Sons of St. George, Daughters of St. George, Patriotic Sons of America, Order of Scottish Clans, Junior Order of American Mechanics, St. Andrew's Society, Women's Relief Corps, and Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic.
Among the leading social clubs were the Athenian and the Deutscher. There were two athletic clubs, each with a large member- ship and well-equipped gymnasiums. These were the Acme and the Reliance clubs. There were three or four boating clubs, with boat- houses on the estuary.
PROOKLYN PRESBYTERIAN & HORCH
FIRST UNITARIAN CHURCH.
8 TH AVE ME CHURCH
SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH
11
FIRST PAPTEST CHURCH
FIRST ISBYITRIAN CITURCH
ST FRANCIS DE SALIS CHURCHI
OAKLAND CHURCHES FROM PICTURES TAKEN IN 1893
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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
PASTORS OF THE EARLY '90s
Photographs of a number of the Oakland pastors of the early '90s have been secured for this history, and undoubtedly some of our readers will recall some of those reproduced here. Rev. Benjamin Akerly was rector of St. John's Episcopal Church in the early '90s, and was later made rector emeritus, Rev. A. G. L. Trew assuming active charge as rector.
Rev. Charles H. Hobart was pastor of the First Baptist Church, located at Fourteenth and Brush streets. His residence was at 763 Twelfth Street.
Rev. M. C. Wilcox was in charge of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, at the southeast corner of Twelfth and Brush streets. He was also editor of the Signs of the Times.
Rev. George Mooar was pastor of the Plymouth Avenue Congre- gational Church, located on Plymouth Avenue near Telegraph. He resided at 444 Edwards Street. This church had no pastor in 1895.
The Eighth Avenue Methodist Church was in charge of Rev. H. B. Heacock in 1890, and later was presided over by Rev. M. F. Colburn. Both resided at 1319 Eighth Avenue.
Rabbi M. S. Levy, was in charge of the First Hebrew Congrega- tion, located on the southeast corner of Clay and Thirteenth streets, and he was followed by M. Friedlander.
Rev. Father M. King had charge of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, on Jefferson Street, between Seventh and Eighth. Father J. B. McNally presided over St. Patrick's Church in West Oakland, at the corner of Seward and Peralta streets. St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church, on Grove and Twenty-First streets, had as its pastor Father Thomas McSweeney.
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