History of Alameda County, California : including its geology, topography, soil, and productions, Part 110

Author: Munro-Fraser, J. P
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Oakland, Calif. : M.W. Wood
Number of Pages: 1206

USA > California > Alameda County > History of Alameda County, California : including its geology, topography, soil, and productions > Part 110

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In 1878 the paper again changed proprietorship, and it was then the most impor- tant changes were made. On the 8th of January of that year Messrs. J. A. Johnson and J. B. Wyman purchased the entire plant, and extensive improvements were immediately commenced. The building, 952 Broadway, was leased, and to the new

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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

establishment the business department was first moved, and was subsequently followed by the news and editorial departments, and, lastly, by the composition department. J. B. Wyman was business manager. Possessed of great executive ability, he kept the entire institution under his eye, and by degrees built the paper upon its pres- ent strong foundation, and was the chief factor in bringing the journal to an impor- tant and influential position. When this last change of proprietorship was made, the title of the paper was changed to the Daily Tunes, and in addition to the daily publi- cation, a large and valuable weekly edition was published, chiefly for circulation throughout the county and State. From the date of that change prosperity has marked its course. Soon after the change was made William D. Harwood became editor-in-chief, and by his ability as a writer, his argumentative powers, and close, logical reasoning, aided greatly in establishing the paper in its successful career. Probably the most important fight ever made by a newspaper was made by the Times, and brought to a successful termination, in connection with the water front. The importance of the harbor of Oakland had gradually been impressed upon the minds of the people, and had reached the Government headquarters. Hon. Horace F. Page, the Congressman from the district of which Alameda County formed a large portion, became deeply interested in the matter, and by persistent efforts obtained sundry appropriations for the improvement of the harbor and the deepening of the channel leading to the land-locked basin at East Oakland. In course of time the appropriations amounted to one hundred and eighty thousand dollars, and work was about to be commenced on the harbor, when the Oakland Water Front Company appeared upon the scene, and claimed the ownership, not only of the entire water front surrounding the city of Oakland, but such a vast portion of the bed of the estuary, that their claim, if established, would have vitiated all efforts at improvement. At first, little notice was taken of the claim, the people believing that the Government would go on with the work and pay no attention to it. But it was soon learned that unless the Government could have a clear title to the land in dispute they would do no work, and the money would consequently lapse to the treasury. This knowledge startled the people to a sense of their position, and several meetings were held, at which com- mittees were appointed to confer with the Water Front Company and endeavor to arrange matters. All their efforts failed, however, and the money was about to lapse, by reason of the time having expired in which it could be used. The Times had closely watched the contest, and had directed the course to be pursued, through its editorial columns. But an apathy would seem to have taken hold upon the people. They appeared indifferent to the future of their chosen home; its bright prospects seemed about to be extinguished forever, and there was every prospect that instead of becom- ing a city of great mercantile importance, Oakland would sink into obscurity and become nothing more than a pleasant country town. The citizens were like a flock of sheep without a shepherd, and, lacking a leader, knew not which way to turn or what to do. At this critical juncture the Times decided to make the fight single-handed, and win back the water front, or, at any rate, compel such a recognition of the rights of the citizens that the appropriations should be secured and the work proceeded with. Alfred J. Share, a journalist of considerable experience, was engaged, and specially detailed to work up the case, and in September, 1879, the fight was commenced. This.

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OAKLAND TOWNSHIP-CITY OF OAKLAND.

was done in a series of interviews with persons connected with the early interests of . Oakland, and occupied nearly three months of close work. The results are familiar to every resident of this city, and, in fact, to the entire reading public in the State. From the earliest settlement of the town of Oakland, up through all the changes and vicissi- tudes the town had gone through, its history was published; and the methods by which the Water Front Company had sought to deprive the people of their rights were laid bare. Broadside after broadside was poured into the sides of the enemy, until, becoming thoroughly frightened at the prospects of their property slipping away, the company commenced suit against the city to quiet title, and the result of it all was that the title of the Government to the estuary and tide-lands was established, the engineers were set at work preparing plans and specifications, and the work of improvement has gone on ever since, and is still progressing.

The result of this fight made by the Times cannot even now be estimated, nor can the good that will result from it be even guessed at. But it is already assuming vast proportions. Factories are springing up all around the city, upon the water front for the right of possession to which the fight was made, and Oakland's success as a manufacturing center is an assured fact. Through the victory won for the city by the Times, the course has been opened for railroads to make their termini here, and the increased accommodation caused by the entry of the Narrow-gauge Railroad is one of the results.

It was the indomitable pluck and business tact of J. B. Wyman that planned and carried through the fight to its successful issue, and his name and that of the Times will always be associated as ranking foremost among the public benefactors of the city of Oakland.

By rapid strides the Times grew in importance, and another change was neces- sary in order to accommodate the largely increasing business of the office. The com- modious building at the corner of Ninth Street and Broadway was secured on a lease, the facilities for publication were largely increased, a large and well-appointed job- printing-office was added to the institution, and Alfred J. Share was installed as city editor. Under his management the local news department attained an unrivaled position, and presented a faithful record of every transaction of note occurring within the limits of the city and county.

The growing importance of the Times as a leading journal became recognized throughout the States, and attracted the attention of John P. Irish, a stanch Demo- crat, and the editor and proprietor of the Iowa City Press, a leading journal in the State of Iowa. Recognizing the need of a Democratic Journal on the Pacific Coast in general, and in Oakland in particular, Mr. Irish made a visit here, and opened negotia- tions for the purchase of an interest in the Times, one of the chief conditions being that it should advocate the cause of the Democracy. In the course of a few months the arrangements were completed, and on October 1, 1882, Mr. Irish became the editorial pilot, in time to make the fight for the fall election of that year. With what result that fight was made, the public is perfectly familiar. Under the skillful eye of Mr. Irish the State craft was steered and by his pen the delinquencies of the Repub- lican Party were kept before the voting public, and the need of reform in all depart- ments urgently made. The result of the contest was the election of Democrats to

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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

the two leading offices in the county, the Sheriff and County Clerk, the election of a Democratic Congressman, and, for the district, a Congressman at large living in Oak- land. A better illustration of the influence and importance of the Times in the com- munity cannot be given.

Since Mr. Irish took charge of the editorial department, the paper has increased in circulation to a remarkable degree. Soon after his advent, the Times was issued as a seven-day paper, the Sunday edition consisting of eight pages; the weekly edition was enlarged, and now has a circulation of immense proportions, not only in the county of Alameda and the State of California, but also through other States of the Union. Financially the establishment is in a flourishing condition, and as a proof of the popularity of the management of which J. B. Wyman is still the head and brains.

OAKLAND PRESS .- Located at Center Station, Seventh Street, West Oakland, and was started by G. W. Barter, in 1872, at that time a twenty-eight column paper. He conducted it until 1875; it was then purchased by DeWitt C. Lawrence, its present proprietor, and in 1876 was changed to its present size of forty-two columns, and Democratic in principle. It enjoys a good advertising patronage and a large circu- lation.

BERKELEY .- 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. . In the year 1868, when the University was located where it is, there then was near the bay a hamlet known as Ocean View, but which is now called West Berkeley, the cluster of houses in the neighborhood of the college receiving the name of Berke- ley, which is now usually termed East Berkeley. It was some time before Berkeley took any great strides to improvement, however, but a superior class of persons took up their residences there, have purchased property, erected houses, and have done much towards the establishment of a model town with systematically laid out streets, well-kept lawns, and handsome environs. It is now in direct communication with San Francisco by half-hourly local trains.

Berkeley is blessed with water of the best quality, while its streets are lit with gas. It is well supplied with churches as with schools, and has marvelous beauty of nature on every side, and a railroad to every door.

The town was incorporated in 1878, while the following industries will show that it is a place of considerable enterprise.

Having been disappointed in receiving a promised history of the University of California, we reproduce the accompanying complete sketch, taken from a pamphlet descriptive of Berkeley and its environs published by Bacon & Co. of San Francisco.

SKETCH OF THE UNIVERSITY .- No learned institution more truly deserves the title of Alma Mater than the University of California. It is the consort of the State, and the foster-mother of its sons and daughters. Its blessings fall equally on high and low, rich and poor. None are excluded from its classes on account of age, sex, or condition. It resembles, in its wide scope, the German universities, to whose lect-

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OAKLAND TOWNSHIP-BERKELEY.

ure-rooms students return year after year until they are gray-haired. It is ample in scientific attainment, comprehensive in literary culture, and by its practical devices reaches every department of ordinary life. It has been remarked that California begins every scheme of civilization and improvement where others leave off. We avoid the errors, and accept the wise, conclusions of all who have gone before us. In accord- ance with this principle, when California framed a constitution, she laid the foundation of her government so broad as to include a university, furnishing a culture complete in extent, and available for all. This was to be the crowning stone of the educational pyramid. Things were so shaped as to take advantage of extraneous aid offered by the nation, or by individuals. In 1853 Congress gave to the States seventy-two sec- tions of land for the establishment of a fund for seminaries of learning, and ten sec- tions of land to provide suitable buildings for such institutions as that provision might call into being. In 1862, through the Morrill Act, a special gift of land was made for the purpose of establishing schools of agriculture and the mechanic arts. This being apportioned pro rata, gave to California a magnificent domain of one hundred and fifty thousand acres. It was the practical period in American life, when thought, tired of pure classicism, tended toward those courses of study that would not only educate the brain, but the hand, the foot, the eye, and every physical function which would help to make the student a self-supporting man or woman. The land found a good market, bringing five dollars an acre; a result only achieved by one other State. It has all been paid for, and passed under the control of the buyers. It was then flush times in California, and the demand for money permitted the investment of all the spare funds at ten per cent. Trustees were appointed to control the inchoate College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, who met in Sacra- mento, June 10, 1867, and decided that it should be located somewhere in Alameda County. This brought the scheme within the sphere of the College of California, which had received its charter in 1855, and had, since 1860, been leading a precarious existence in Oakland. This school was not sectarian, though it was nominally under the control of the Presbyterians and Congregationalists. It admitted Unitarians to its executive board. But it occupied no special place in public appreciation. It was too denominational to please the most liberal patrons of education, and not strict enough for those who wished their children reared under church influence. It was in charge of Dr. Henry Durant, a graduate of Yale College, where he had been a classmate of Dr. Horace Bushnell, the celebrated New England divine. At one time he had been a tutor at Yale, and afterward principal of an academy at Byfield, Massachusetts. The College of California had accumulated considerable property by gift or purchase, a part of which comprised one hundred and sixty acres of land north of Oakland, in the foothills of Contra Costa County. The time seemed to Dr. Durant opportune for uniting his languishing institution with the well-endowed Agricultural and Mechani- cal College, and making of the two a great practical school, satisfactory to the scient- ist and the average citizen. Therefore, the domain in the foothills was transferred to the Agricultural College, on the sole condition that it should maintain a department of letters. Of this union of ideas came the University as it exists. The founding of a seminary of advanced learning on the western shore of the American Continent,

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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

from whose windows could be seen the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean, suggested to those engaged in the project the famous line of Berkeley,

"Westward the course of Empire takes its way."

Hence, the site received the name of the author of the poetic prophecy, and it will add luster to it as the years increase its fame and influence. Dr. Bushnell inter- ested himself in the scheme, but had nothing to do with the selection of the site; for this, Dr. Durant may be considered as chiefly responsible. The beauty of the locality began to be appreciated, and many gentlemen, smitten with the prospect, and fore- seeing a brilliant future for the town, bought neighboring property; and in some cases regardless of the distance of railroad communications, went daily back and forth to the city.

Preliminary Legislation .- The responsibility for the changes made, and the real paternity of the University, have been much discussed. So much of the credit as is embraced in the surrender of the College of California and the transfer of its property, is due to Doctor Durant, whose action was kind and considerate. Here his interven- tion in the work of organization ceases. The time found many men animated by the proper degree of public spirit, intelligent, wide of view, and fitted for so important an undertaking; among them were Gov. Henry H. Haight, Lieutenant Governor Holden, Hon. E. H. Heacock of Sacramento, Hon. John S. Hager of San Francisco, Hon. Henry Robinson of Alameda, Hon. W. L. Angney of Santa Clara, Hon. Isaac Ayer of Calaveras, Hon. W. S. Green of Colusa, and Reverend Doctor Benton of Oak- land. Judge Hager is still interested in the University, as regent. The necessary legislation was framed by John W. Dwinelle, who had no model from which to deduce his scheme, and was obliged to depend on a rough draft made by four of the Trustees of the College of California. The results have been eminently satisfactory, the organic act having nobly stood the test of twelve years' work and criticism. The following may serve as a memorandum of the various proceedings, legislative and otherwise, which preceded the opening of the University.

The Act of Congress which appropriated public lands to create a Seminary and Building Fund was approved March 3, 1853.

The Act of Congress which gave one hundred and fifty thousand acres of public land for establishing a College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts was approved July 2, 1862.

The donation was accepted by the Legislature of California, by a concurrent reso- lution, March 31, 1864.

April 22, 1863, the Legislature of California appointed a Board of Commissioners to report on the feasibility of establishing a State University, which should include an Agricultural College and School of Mines.

The Board of Commissioners shortly afterward reported in favor of establishing a State Museum and School of Practical Science as a branch of the State University.

An Act to establish a School of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts was approved March 31, 1866.

June 21, 1867, the Board met at Sacramento, and located the Agricultural College in Alameda County.

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OAKLAND TOWNSHIP-BERKELEY.

In August, 1867, the President and Board of Trustees of the College of Califor- nia formally offered to the College of Agriculture one hundred and sixty acres of land at Berkeley.

The proposition was accepted, and the lands were conveyed directly to the State at a meeting held shortly afterward.

The general Act not being deemed sufficient, on March 5, 1868, the "Bill to organize the University of California" was introduced into the Assembly by its author, John W. Dwinelle.

This bill became a law by the approval of Governor Haight, March 23, 1868. The Board of Regents of the University was organized June 9, 1868.

Organization Effected .- In accordance with the organic act, the Board of Regents was composed of twenty-two members, of whom the following were ex officio: The Governor and Lieutenant Governor of California, the Speaker of the Assembly, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, the President of the State Agricultural Society, and the President of the Mechanics' Institute of San Francisco. Of the remaining sixteen, eight were to be appointed by the Governor, with the approval of the State Senate, and eight were to be honorary members, chosen from the body of the State by the official and appointed members. At a meeting of the Board, June 9, 1868, Gen. George B. McClellan was elected President of the University, but being at that time in charge of the Stevens' Battery, he declined the honor. At a meeting held the following day, Prof. John Le Conte was unanimously elected to the chairs of Physics and Industrial Mechanics. On the Ist of December other chairs were filled as follows: Ancient Languages, Martin Kellogg; Chemistry, R. A. Fisher; Geology, Botany, and Natural History, Joseph Le Conte. In January, 1869, Governor Haight, in accordance with the request of the Board, telegraphed Prof. John Le Conte that his presence was desired to confer with the' Regents in respect to courses of study, the purchase of apparatus, and other important details. Professor Le Conte left South Carolina on the 24th of February, and having visited New York, arrived in San Fran- cisco on the 3d of April. He at once proceeded, in conjunction with the Committee on Instruction, to prepare the synopsis of a course of study appropriate to the Colleges of the University, which were five in number, namely :-

I. A College of Agriculture.

2. A College of Mechanic Arts.

3. A College of Civil Engineering.

4. A College of Mining.

5. A College of Letters.

In the mean time, Professor Fisher was sent to Europe to purchase physical and chemical apparatus. In order to facilitate the labors of Professor Le Conte, he was made acting President. Being requested by the Board, he prepared a prospectus which contained a complete schedule of study for the five colleges, and an announce- ment of the opening of the scholastic exercises on the 23d of September. The Uni- versity began its labors in accordance with this announcement in the buildings of the College of California in Oakland, taking from the classes of its predecessor about ten pupils. It remained there until it graduated its own senior class. The first graduat- ing exercises were held in June, 1873, in a church in Oakland. The new buildings

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were occupied the next September. Professor Le Conte had the active co-operation of Mr. Dwinelle during the arduous work of organization. He acted as President for more than a year, presided at the first commencement exercises, and conferred the first degrees on a graduating class of three, who had been advanced students in the College of California. During his incumbency several measures of vital importance were taken, among which were the selection of suitable building plans, making tuition free, the adoption of the Rules of Order and General Regulations of which he was the author, and the affiliation of the Medical College through the liberal gift of Doctor Toland. D. C. Gilman, a tutor in Yale College, was elected President June 2Ist, but declining, Doctor Durant was chosen, and assumed office in August. Doctor Durant retained the position until the re-election and acceptance of Mr. Gilman, July 20, 1872. The most important change occurring during Mr. Gilman's administration was the modification of the organic act, which made chemistry a distinct college, and the division of the College of Letters into two courses called the Classical and the Liter- ary. When Mr. Gilman resigned the presidency in March, 1875, to take charge of the John Hopkins University in Maryland, he was succeeded by Prof. John Le Conte, who was first chosen Acting President, and at the expiration of three months elected President, which position he has since occupied.

The University Buildings .- The buildings are sufficiently spacious and convenient for the present needs of the University. The two largest stand on a terrace more than three hundred feet above tide-water, and command an unrestricted outlook over the bay and surrounding hills. They may be regarded as the historic structures, the nucleus of the group. The corner-stone of the Agricultural College, called South Hall, was laid in August, 1872, with public ceremonies. The corner-stone of the North Hall was laid in the spring of 1873. Both were so far completed as to permit the occupancy of most of the rooms when the University moved to Berkeley in the autumn of that year. Both buildings preserve the freshness of their first years. The architecture of South Hall is simple, but handsome. The material is brick trimmed with graystone. In construction it is solid and durable. It is one hundred and fifty-two feet long by fifty wide, has four stories and thirty-four rooms, six of the rooms being thirty-two by forty-eight feet, and several others twenty by twenty feet. In its base- ment are the chemical laboratory and the agricultural department. On the first floor are the rooms at present occupied by the library, the Secretary's office, and the instruc- tion rooms of the college of chemistry; on the floor above are the lecture-hall of Prof. Joseph Le Conte, the museum, and other rooms needed by the scientific department. The north building is one hundred and sixty-six feet long by sixty feet wide. It has four stories divided into twenty-eight compartments, an assembly-room, forty-three by fifty-eightfeet, philosophical lecture-room thirty-nine by fifty feet, the University printing- office, students' reading-rooms, and various recitation-rooms, the mathematical depart- ment of Professors Welcker, Sill, and Le Conte being among the number. These two buildings are aligned with the main terrace. Back of them, and irregularly placed on the hillside, stand two buildings of later construction-the Bacon Art and Library Building, and the College of Mining and Mechanic Arts. The first is named from Henry Douglass Bacon, of Oakland, who gave to the University his excellent collection of paintings, sculpture, and miscellaneous works of art, a library of several thousand

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volumes, and $25,000 to erect suitable buildings to contain these treasures, provided the State would add $25,000 in furtherance of the project. The State appreciated the value and intelligence of the gift, and furnished the amount required. The build- ing and its art contents will increase the facilities for study, and pave the way to a . finer culture. Its outside is prepossessing, being of brick unobtrusively ornamented with stone. The architectural style followed within and without is the later forms of Gothic. There are, properly, two buildings in one. That fronting the west is rectan- gular; the rear building is semi-circular. The front portion is eighty-eight by thirty- eight feet. The center of the façade rises into a tower one hundred and two feet in height. The interior arrangements are well designed. There are broad lobbies and stairways, an elevator, reading-rooms, committee-rooms, store-rooms, and a large art gallery well lighted from the top. The rotunda of the library portion is sixty-nine feet in diameter, and fifty-seven feet in height. It will hold ninety-thousand volumes. When the collection exceeds this, the capacity of the building can be increased with- out altering its proportions, by rectangular additions at the north and south ends.

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History of Alameda County, California : including its geology, topography, soil, and productions, Part 110

Author: Munro-Fraser, J. P Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Oakland, Calif. : M.W. Wood Number of Pages: 1206

Author: Munro-Fraser, J. P
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Oakland, Calif. : M.W. Wood
Number of Pages: 1206