History of Alameda County, California : including its geology, topography, soil, and productions, Part 61

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

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EARLY SETTLEMENT .- It is on record that the first settlement in Eden Town- ship was made in the year 1836, by Don José Joaquin Estudillo, and in that section of the county did he reside until his death. He was a Californian by birth, and on January 8, 1837, petitioned the Constitutional Governor of the Department of California for a grant of a tract of land in the said department known as the arroyo de San Leandro, but this document having either been lost or mislaid, a second petition was forwarded to that official on June 28, 1842, in which Señor Estudillo states that " in order to procure his subsistence and enable himself to support his large family, con- sisting of a wife and ten children, after having served in the army seventeen years, four months, and seven days, on the eighth day of January, eighteen hundred and thirty-

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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

seven, he petitioned for the tract of land known by the name of arroyo de San Leandro, containing four square leagues from east to west, and having obtained from Your Excellency, who extends a generous and protecting patronage towards the inhabitants of this land, permission to settle himself and continue his labors; meanwhile the proper legal proceedings thereupon should be concluded, which he has accordingly done;" etc. In view of the petition Don J. J. Estudillo was declared by Governor J. B. Alvarado to be the owner in property of the part of the tract of land known by the name of "San Leandro," bounded "on the north by the arroyo of San Leandro; on the east by the places where the waters from the springs on the lands which the Indians who are now established there occupy, waste themselves; thence on the south side, in a direct line to the arroyo of San Lorenzo, without embracing the lands which the said Indians cultivate; and on the west by the bay." It will thus be seen from the foregoing that the Estudillo family had lived on the land which was afterwards granted to them for a considerable number of years. In the year 1837 he built a house about two miles from the town of San Leandro, on the creek of that name, towards the lower part of the land. He afterwards moved farther up the creek, where the town of San Leandro now stands, about three quarters of a mile from the site of his original location.

On January 14, 1840, the Governor of the Department of California made the following order: " Don Guillermo Castro can establish himself upon the place called San Leandro, on the parts towards the hills, without passing beyond the line from north to south, formed by the springs on said place, not being permitted to make his fields in whatever part of all the land of 'San Leandro;' this concession being under- stood provisionally until the governor may settle the boundaries which belong to Señor José Estudillo, who is actually established on the said site, and without prej- udice to the Indians living thereon." Thus we see the second settlement in Eden Township. He built his residence where now is the town of Haywards.

The next Hispano-Mexican family to locate was that of the Sotos, who built their adobe residence on a part of what is now the Meek estate, where the house stood for many years, but was eventually razed to the ground, its position being at present occupied by a Portuguese tenant, about half a mile southeast from Haywards.

Prior to the settlement of these families the district was occupied by the cattle of the mission of San José, and, from the year 1829, had in certain portions been in the possession of Christianized Indians of that establishment. In 1841 or 1842 there was an Indian named Sylvester, on the San Leandro Rancho, who had residing with him, besides his own family, his brother Annisetti. They occupied an adobe house built by Don J. J. Vallejo, who was administrator of the Indians, and where they had some three or four acres under cultivation, chiefly watermelons and corn, the ground for which they turned up with sticks; besides these there were some others on the other ranchos, while a Californian named Bruno Valencia, dwelt under permission of Estu- dillo and Castro on the bank of the San Lorenzo, not far from the bay. It may be stated that at this period there was a so-called road through this territory to San José, which had three crossings over the San Lorenzo: the Paso Viego, the Paso del Rámedero, and the Paso del Puente, and at the first of these during the summer months the Indians were wont to camp in a grove of willows and sycamores.

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EDEN TOWNSHIP.

Let us now see what became of these pioneers. Don José Joaquin Estudillo died June 7, 1852. During his life he had filled many high offices in the gift of the Mexican Government. In his last will and testament, which bears date April 4, 1850, he declared that he was married in the year 1824 to Donna Juana Maria Del Carmon Martinez at the Presidio of San Francisco, by whom he had six sons and five daughters. Of these nine were alive at the time of his death. A large portion of the Estudillo lands have passed into the hands of foreigners, but the family still retain a fair share of the patrimony. Upon the establishment of the county seat at San Leandro, they made many concessions towards retaining it there, while their res- idence was at one time occupied as the Court House. Many years ago Guillermo Castro, having lost his possessions, went to South America, and there died. His son, Luis Castro, has since gained prominence as County Surveyor of Alameda. And of the Soto family we may also say that the land which knew them once knows them no more.

Prior to the epoch of the discovery of gold at the mill of Captain Sutter, these were the only residents in Eden Township, and we can learn of but one foreigner that, anterior to this time, had attempted to locate himself permanently within its confines. In the year 1845 the late James Alexander Forbes, who died in East Oak- land a few years ago, was authorized by Bezar Simons, at the time Captain of the American ship Magnolia, to purchase a tract of land for him on the Bay of San Francisco, and just before his departure from the port both the Captain and Mr. Forbes crossed the bay in a ship's boat to San Leandro to see if the purchase of the rancho could be effected from Estudillo, who, however, was averse to sell. He declined the offer of ten thousand dollars made by Simons, stating that he would not take double the sum, as he wanted it for his family, and thus the master of the Mag- nolia was obliged to give up these fair acres, the acquiring of which would to-day have made him or his heirs among the wealthiest landed proprietors in the country.

Subsequent to this, we have been informed, John B. Ward, who had married Melina Concepcion, eldest daughter of Don J. J. Estudillo, took up his abode in the township, but in what year we cannot state.

We have heretofore made mention of the immense quantities of wild-fowl that then made the sloughs and marshes their home. These brought almost fabulous prices in the first and palmiest days of San Francisco in the markets there, and many of those men who had occupied their time during the summer months in the mines, turned their attention in winter to killing game for the city commission merchants, and positively made more money in this way than they did at gold-digging. It was in the search for game that the first settlers came to Eden Township.

1849 .- In the month of December, 1849, there crossed the bay in a whale-boat, with baggage and guns, Thomas W. Mulford and Moses Wicks, both still residents of the township; the late A. R. Biggs, of San Francisco; E. Minor Smith, the present and for many years past Assessor of Alameda Township; and W. C. Smith, who, landing on the shore in the vicinity of the Estudillo mansion, there pitched their tent and commenced a war upon the feathered denizens of the marshes. At this date Mr. Mulford thinks there was no permanent foreign settler, and no houses save those

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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

of the Spaniards mentioned above, an Indian hut where the graveyard at San Lorenzo now is, and an Indian rancheria on the site at present occupied by the County Hospital.

This party dwelt in a tent pitched on the shore, and in the spring of 1850 erected a " ten by twelve" cabin which was used as a cook-house, subsequently adding a chim- ney thereto of brick taken from a pile which had been thrown into the bay-the refuse of those used in the construction of the new Estudillo house. The cabin stood on the margin of the bay in close proximity to Mr. Mulford's residence, but its site has long since been washed away by the rolling surf of the bay. In the spring of 1851 the dwelling-tent gave place to a cabin, and there it remained on the original location until 1876, when it was bodily removed to its present position among Mr. Mulford's farm-buildings, it being used as a blacksmith-shop on his premises.

That winter, and also in quest of game, another party located at the mouth of the San Leandro Creek, consisting of Bob Smith, Steve Smith, a Mr. Solomon, and some others, but we do not learn that they ever did more than hunt in the locality.

1850 .- In the spring of 1850 we hear of a field of wheat, about ten acres in extent, put in by Señor Estudillo and some Sonorians, which gladdened the eyes of the few Americans then roaming about the district. This green oasis amid the apparently sterile region is described to us as having been at the lower end of Lewel- ling's place near the Hayward's road, where the Sonorians aforesaid also had a dwell- ing. But this was by no means the first cultivation of the cereals in Eden Township, for the Spaniards, we have already remarked, sowed wheat, planted corn, and raised watermelons on their first taking possession of their grants, but only in sufficient quantities to provide for their own households. In the will of Don J. J. Estudillo, which we have already quoted as having been signed in this year, he says: "I declare that I leave at different places on the rancho three fields sown in barley, in company with Don Guillermo Davis-one with Mexicans, and another with Sonorians (pos- sibly the field of which Mr. Mulford speaks)-of which contracts exist, written agree- ments signed," etc. In addition to this branch of agriculture the industry of stock- raising was still prosecuted with energy, there being on the Estudillo Rancho alone, in 1850, three thousand head of cattle, more than that number of sheep, and fifty horses of all classes.

In the month of October, 1850, Captain William Roberts came to the township and established himself at Roberts' Landing, then known as Thompson's, whence he commenced freighting with small craft to different points along the bay. His suit was soon after followed by Captain Chisholm.

1851 .- In the fall of 1851 William Hayward came to the township and first located on what he had been told was land belonging to the Government in Polo- mares Cañon, but which he was quickly informed was the property of Guillermo Castro, who, however, suggested his removing farther down the valley. This he did and early in the following year, 1852, located on the land now occupied by A Street, Haywards, immediately in front of his hotel, and there erected the first building in the flourishing town that bears his name.

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EDEN TOWNSHIP.

1852 .- During this year the squatters took possession of the entire plain, and what is now San Lorenzo was known as Squatterville. They found their chief attractions apparently on the Estudillo Rancho, for it was to that portion of the township that their attentions were principally turned. The rancho was believed to be Government land, and it was not until after years of litigation that the squatters were disabused of this belief. Among those who had taken possession of part under such an idea was one Franklin Ray. He had erected a dwelling-house in the vicinity of San Leandro, on the land now occupied by R. S. Farrelly, and on being warned off, refused, when, on March 21, 1852, the owners of the rancho tore down the building, to recover the value of which, namely, three hundred dollars, he brought suit. This was only one of many cases of the same nature.

With this great influx of people came many of those whose names are now among the most honored in the county. There were Robert S. Farrelly, William C. Blackwood, Messrs. Crane, Kennedy, McMurtry, Campbell, Harlan, and Johnson. They were followed in 1852 by Fritz Boehmer, Charles Duerr, William Field, George Meyer, Alexander Patterson, Joel Russell, and John Johnson, who all settled in the vicinity of Mount Eden, which up to that time had been entirely unoccupied. As having located in the township in 1852, there are the names of Peter Olsen, John W. Jamison, Alexander Allen, and Liberty Perham, all good men and true, indeed, it may be said that with this year Eden Township had its commencement; it then fell into the channels of trade in which it runs to-day.

It is thought that in this year Guillermo Castro made the first step in the down- ward path leading towards loss of lands and eventual poverty. We learn that he took with him a sum of ready money amounting to about thirty-five thousand dol- lars to the southern counties, wherewith to purchase new stock, intending to drive them northward to his rancho, but, alas for frail humanity, he succumbed to the voice of the tempter and frittered his money away in card-playing, the plague-spot upon every native escutcheon. The consequence was that he made not the intended pur- chases, but returned without the "new blood," the infusion of which into his old stock that was so much needed, and eventually, in 1856, he was compelled to mortgage his estate. Piece by piece the lands were brought to the hammer, and finally, in 1864, they passed entirely into the hands of the late Faxon D. Atherton, of Menlo Park, San Mateo County, who gave Castro thirty thousand dollars for them, with which amount he went into a self-inflicted exile in South America.

1853 .- The year 1853 is memorable as that in which the county of Alameda was created, and the establishment of its capital in Washington, the contiguous town- ship to that now under consideration. Among the gentlemen who made their homes in Eden in this year are Henry Smyth, George S. Meyer, Tim. Hauschildt, David S. Smalley, Joseph De Mont, J. F. Elliott.

In a conversation held with the two last-named gentlemen, they informed us that when they came in the summer of that year they found the land now occupied by R. S. Farrelly in the possession of Franklin Ray, while there were in the vicinity John Huff and William Mahoney; E. D. Mann resided on the property now owned by John B. Ward and the estate of John Mathews, Thomas W. Mulford, Moses Wicks, Will-

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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

iam Smith, and E. Minor Smith were near the bay, and Emerson T. Crane on the San Lorenzo Creek.

1854 .- The chief event in 1854 was the surveying of a town site at what has since become Haywards, under the directions of Guillermo Castro, a sign that the residents were beginning to look for nearer means of purchasing supplies than Oak- land, San José, or San Francisco. In this year the number of citizens was aug- mented by the arrival of Supervisor J. B. Marlin, Joseph H. Taylor, Frederick Schweer, Jacob Schilling, and of course many others whose names we have been unable to gather.

From this year onward to the present time the growth and prosperity of Eden Township has been wonderful. In the next decade the population increased many fold. The names of those arriving which we have been able to gather are as follows: in 1855-Richard Barron, Joseph Graham, Josiah G. Bickell; in 1856-William Knox, Otis Hill, Frederick Wrede, John Wille, Conrad Liese, Ferdinand Schultz; in 1857- W. T. Lemon; in 1858-Maas Lueders, W. H. Miller; in 1859-Watkin W. Wynn; in 1860-N. D. Dutcher, John W. Clark; in 1861-Frederick Brustgrun, A. P. Rose; in 1862-Duncan Sinclair, O. W. Owen, A. W. Schafer; in 1865-E. B. Renshaw, and, naturally, hundreds besides.

He who journeyed from old San Antonio thirty years ago would have found between that spot and the Mission San José only about four houses, residences of the then lords of the land, while the valley itself was in a state of nature, without a furrow in the soil, but thousands of cattle roaming over it and "upon a thousand hills!" Behold the scene now! Upon the beautiful hills flanking it on the east, and all over the valley itself, are magnificent, wide-spread fields, in a high state of cultivation; elegant mansions and handsome cottages; meadows, orchards, and vineyards; schools and col- leges, and numerous churches, whose spires pointing heavenward seem on fire in the blaze of the declining sun. Towns and villages, beautiful San Leandro, San Lorenzo, Haywards, and Mount Eden, all enveloped in a wealth of splendor. Indeed the progress of this State of ours has been a marvel, and in no portion of it has its advance been more rapid than in Eden Township.

HAYWARDS .- This beautiful town is situated in the undulating foot-hills of the Contra Costa Range at the mouth of Castro Valley, and having a considerable alti- tude commands a view of unsurpassed loveliness over a large extent of territory. Its splendid climate has been the cause of its rapid growth and prosperity, and each year brings to it a larger influx of visitors than the last in search of health and relax- ation. A residence at Haywards during the summer months is especially enjoyable, its environs being beautiful, and its air health-giving. It is but fourteen miles distant from Oakland, with which it is connected by rail, and is therefore within easy access of San Francisco.

Haywards is located on the San Lorenzo Rancho, whose proprietor, Guillermo Castro, had his residence within the town limits, and who, in 1854, had a town site surveyed and platted there. It takes its name, however, from its first American set- tler, William Hayward.

That most courteous and favorite pioneer informed us that after leaving the Polo-

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EDEN TOWNSHIP.

mares Cañon he came to the present site of Haywards and pitched his tent in the early part of the year 1852, on a position over which now passes A Street, and mid- way between his present hotel and the house opposite, which he has amalgamated with it. The location was about forty rods northwest from the residence of Castro, which, it may be mentioned, was destroyed by the great earthquake of October 21, 1868. He there engaged in farming, having purchased some kine from the late James B. Larue, who had a milk-ranch near Mission Dolores, San Francisco, and, opening a small store, with improvised hotel accommodation in connection therewith, was the actual pioneer of the town. During this time he still dwelt in his tent. In the fall of 1852 he erected about thirty feet of his present long house, and as travel increased, for the stage from Oakland to San José changed horses here, the popu- larity of his hostelry went upwards, and in 1854 he was compelled to make an addi- tion by putting a front to the building, while it may truly be said that additions have been made continually ever since.

Late in 1852, or early in the following year, two houses were erected by Joseph Worrell and some Sonorians, near where Wolf's store now stands, and a little later, close to these, on B Street, a blacksmith shop was opened by Mr. Finch, who is still a resident of the town.

About the year 1855, a school house was erected on the land now occupied by J. C. Strobridge, where it remained until 1864, when it was moved into the town; and prior to the year 1861, when the Congregational church was built, divine worship for all denominations was held in Hayward's Hall.'

Since that time the town has increased most rapidly, while its well-kept streets, beautiful buildings, and general thrifty appearance are a credit to its inhabitants.

1876 .- On March 11, 1876, the town of Haywards was incorporated under the laws of the State, with the following boundaries: "Beginning at the westerly corner of J. W. Bolce's land, and immediately on the northeasterly line of the County Road from Haywards to San Leandro; thence along Bolce's northwesterly line to a point on the left or southerly bank of San Lorenzo Creek; thence following up the mean- derings of the left or southerly bank of said creek to the line dividing the land of M. Creery and J. W. Webster; thence southeasterly along said dividing line to the north- erly line of the County Road; thence across the County Road to the northwesterly corner of Correia's land; thence easterly along said Correia's land to the northeasterly corner thereof; thence southerly along said Correia's land to the northeasterly corner of Thompson's land; thence southeasterly along said Thompson's land to the north- erly line of Cemetery Avenue; thence westerly along the northerly line of said avenue to a point where the easterly line of N. Rasmusen prolonged intersects the same; thence southerly along the southeasterly line of said Rasmusen's land to the easterly corner thereof; thence westerly along the southeasterly line of Rasmusen, Collins, and Pimentel, to the northeasterly corner of Pell's land; thence southerly along Pell's land to the southeasterly corner of the same; thence southwesterly to the southeasterly corner of land of Stroble and Neudeck; thence westerly along Stroble and Neudeck's line to a point where it is intersected by the westerly line prolonged of Saint Joseph Cemetery, thence southerly along the northerly line of said cemetery to the northerly

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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

or right bank of Sanjon Creek; thence following down the northerly or right bank of said Sanjon Creek to the easterly line of the County Road from Haywards to Mount Eden; thence easterly along the easterly line of said road to a point opposite the northeasterly corner of J. M. Alexander's land; thence northwesterly, crossing said road, to the last-mentioned corner; thence southerly along the westerly line of said road to the southwesterly line of the Central Pacific Railroad's right of way; thence along the southwesterly line of said right of way to a point where the same is inter- sected by the northwesterly line of Haywards Avenue; thence northeasterly along the northwesterly boundary of Laurel School District; thence northerly along said bound- ary to the place of beginning." The government of the town, which was incorporated as Hayward,* was vested in a Board of five Trustees, an Assessor, Clerk, Marshal, Treasurer, and Justice of the Peace; and on May 8th the first Board of Trustees met, when the oath was administered to John Manzer, J. D. Austin, Joseph Pimentel, T. A. Cunningham, and L. Linekin, as Trustees; John Wootten, Assessor; W. W. Allen, Clerk; George H. Horn, Marshal; George Brown, Treasurer; Samuel Wootten, Justice of the Peace. Mr. Manzer having been chosen President and Joseph Pimentel Clerk pro tem., the proper committees were appointed, and an ordinance passed fixing the amount of the official bonds of the town officers, regulating licenses, and appointing place of meeting, the time being fixed on the 12th May as the first Tuesday in each month. On this last date the Trustees passed a resolution that a survey of that part of Haywards as is included in the map of Castro, recorded in the Clerk's office in 1856, should be made, the map of this survey being adopted on January 6, 1877.

At the meeting of the Board, held at the Planter's House on June 9th, it was directed that plans for a jail should be procured, and the purchase of a place whereon to build it was reported consummated on July 14th; while, July 28th, it was ordered that Mr. Mastick be employed to prosecute the suit brought by the Board of Trustees for a title to the plaza. On the 17th November, Castro Street, between Pierce and Webster Streets, was ordered to be graded, and on December 22d the like work was directed to be proceeded with on Calhoun Street, between Castro and Main Streets.

1877 .- On May 7th of this year the annual election of town officers was held with the following result: John Manzer, T. A. Cunningham, J. D. Austin, L. Linekin, Joseph Pimentel, Board of Trustees; Alexander Allen, Assessor; W. W. Allen, Clerk; George H. Horn, Marshal; George Brown, Treasurer; William Whidden, Justice of the Peace; while, at this date, Luis Castro was acting as Engineer and Surveyor, and, on July 2Ist, the municipality adopted a town seal.

On August 3d, Asa Collins being Chief Engineer of the Fire Department, Hook and Ladder Company, No. 2, tendered their impedimenta to the town, provided that it would become responsible for the debts of that corps, amounting to about thirty- five dollars, which was duly accepted. On the 7th September, Castro Street, between Webster Street and the Mount Eden Road, was ordered to be graded; on October ist the municipal tax for the year 1877-78 was fixed at fifty cents on each one hun- dred dollars' worth of property, and on the 5th of the same month Joel Russell was appointed to be Town Attorney.

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History of Alameda County, California : including its geology, topography, soil, and productions, Part 61

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