History of Alameda County, California : including its geology, topography, soil, and productions, Part 91

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

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645

OAKLAND TOWNSHIP-CITY OF OAKLAND.

1865 .- On January 25, 1865, the Oakland News passed into the hands of Gagan & Watson, by whom the paper was continued to the full standard of its former excel- lence. O 1 January 27th, the Oakland Union Homestead Association filed its certifi- cate of incorporation, the capital stock of the company being twelve thousand five hundred dollars, divided into fifty shares of two hundred and fifty dollars each, its Trustees being, Thomas Bass, G. McAmes, W. W. Crane, Jr., W. Leonard, and E. Bigelow. In this year the Pacific Novelty Iron Works were fully established. This company located themselves at Oakland Point in the month of April of the previous year under the superintendence of J. M. Wooster, the other officers of the company being, B. D. T. Clough, President, and William McDonald, Secretary. On February 25, 1865, there died one of Oakland's most respected citizens. John McCann, by his social qualities, generous disposition, and upright bearing, had won for himself the good-will and sincere friendship of all who knew him. One of the earliest pioneers and residents of the city, he was widely known. He received a military funeral at the hands of the Oakland Guard, of which he was a member.

On the morning of Saturday, March 25, 1865, one of the most destructive fires that ever visited the city of Oakland, broke out about two o'clock in a restaurant front- ing on Seventh Street, immediately in the rear of a saloon kept by N. S. Knowlton, and owned by a Frenchman named M. Normandin. Of this disaster the News says: " The wind was blowing hard at the time from the northwest, sweeping the flames and burning cinders on the roof and rear windows of the Delger Block, enveloping them in the devouring element. The furniture store of Myer, on the east, was soon involved in the flames, as were the dwelling-house and bakery of D. L. Smith, the undertaking establishment of W. W. Mckenzie, and also the residence fronting on Sixth Street, owned by Mrs. Davis, and occupied by Mr. Watson, publisher of the News. In half an hour, perhaps, the flames had communicated to all the buildings on the entire block, save a little isolated one on the northwest corner, which alone of all the struc- tures in the whole block, was saved. The people turned out en masse to render what service they could in saving the buildings. The enterprising and comprehensive statesmen who have had the control of our municipal affairs, and have thus far set their faces like flint against the useless extravagance of purchasing a few hundred dol- lars' worth of fire apparatus, relieved all efforts for the salvation of the buildings, and, as a matter of course, every one tried to save whatever merchandise and furniture he possibly could. What causes peculiar chagrin and mortification is the fact that a hook and ladder company of even twenty men, properly organized, could have saved five-sixths of all the property destroyed. The Common Council, notwithstanding repeated calls have been made for fire apparatus of some kind, have steadfastly ignored the palpable necessity, and to-day we regard them as being mainly responsible for the loss of property suffered on that occasion. Their vaunted economy has proved to be of the 'penny wise pound foolish' order. The financial acumen displayed by the Common Council in saving one thousand dollars to the city at an expense of fifty thousand dollars' worth of property, should raise them wonderfully in the public estima- tion and entitles each individual member to a mausoleum when he ' shuffles off this mor- tal coil.' The amount of the matter is, the people of Oakland-the property-holders- pay their taxes in order that they may have protection for their lives and property;

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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

and the Common Council is expected to furnish such protection promptly and effect- ively. The paltry excuse that the old debt should first be liquidated before any new one is incurred, so far as it relates to the trifling outlay for a fire-engine or hook and ladder apparatus, will not be tolerated hereafter. The people are willing to be taxed for this purpose and have always been willing; the very knowledge spread abroad by the San Francisco papers that the city of Oakland has not even a solitary bucket to be used in case of fire, is calculated to retard the progress and advancement of our town by discouraging people from purchasing and improving property in our midst. This fact alone will do us more damage than even the destructive fire of last Satur- day. It is really a disgrace to us as a city, but the shame rests entirely on the heads of the Common Council. We trust that this lesson so dearly purchased will not be entirely lost, and that measures will be taken, even at this late date, to organize a fire department that will secure us somewhat from a repetition of the late conflagration."

In the month of April, 1865, the post-office was located in the Valdez Block with Doctor Yard as Postmaster, a position that was felt to be most convenient.

The event of greatest moment that occurred in the year 1865 was, unquestionably, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in Ford's Theater, Washington, District of Colum- bia, by John Wilkes Booth, on the evening of the 14th April. Sixteen years later, July 2, 1881, another and more atrocious deed of the blackened hand of the assassin called one more President of the Union to cross the dark river. In Abraham Lincoln and James A. Garfield civilization lost two of its chiefest ornaments. Perhaps no such dual calamity had ever occurred before to any nation; is it a wonder then that the whole land was twice flooded with tears, and each mourned as if for a father? In Alameda the intelligence of these deeds was received with every public demon- stration of grief, while appropriate resolutions were passed, and ceremonies observed.

The following beautiful lines on the death of President Lincoln from the gifted pen of Sister Annie Fitzgerald, of the Convent of Notre Dame, San José, would appear to be equally fitted to that other dastardly deed, and may appropriately find a place here :-

Has he fallen, our Country's Ruler ? Has he fallen, our Country's Chief ? 'Mid the gloom of a Nation's mourning, And the wail of a Nation's grief.

Has he fallen, our Country's Ruler ? O hearts that have bled and must bleed, Has he fallen in the hour of his triumph, And the hour of our sorest need ?

Has he fallen, whose hand hath guided Our ship through the raging waves, Till the roar of the battle's tempest Died low o'er its mound of graves;

Till the clouds from our skies seemed sweeping, And the seething billows to cease, And the light of a happier future Dawned bright on the shores of peace ?

Shame, shame on the soul and manhood Of even his veriest foe, That grudges his deadliest scorning To the dastard that dealt the blow.

Aye, the wrath of a widowed Nation Be poured on the guilty head; But shame not the name of the millions With the blot of a crime so dread.

With the blot of so dark a murder, With the curse of the hearts that bleed.

Nay, even the cheek of treason Must blush at so foul a deed.

Droop lower, O sacred banner! Droop lower thy folds to-day; For the crimson blood of our Chieftain Hath hidden thy stars away.

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OAKLAND TOWNSHIP-CITY OF OAKLAND.

Has he fallen, our Country's Chieftain ? Aye, Patriot souls, to-day The heart in his generous bosom Lies cold as the pulseless clay.

Droop lower, O mourning banner! . Droop low o'er our Country's breast; O'er the North in its widowed glory, And the orphaned East and West.

Oh! the ban of a Nation's hatred, And the blight of a Nation's woe, And the curse of a Nation's vengeance On the hand that has laid him low.

Droop low o'er the wrongs and sorrows, And the hopes that are passing away; Toll drearily, bells, your sad dirges, Toll drearily, bells, to-day.

On the hand with its fiend-like malice, On the heart that the crime hath nursed,

Pour out the deep voice of your tidings, O sonorous cannon's deep mouth!

On the life of the base assassin, Let the lowering tempest burst.

Weep, weep o'er our loss and thy future, Thy bitterest tears, O South.

For never a kindlier foeman, And never a truer chief, Hath passed from a Nation's anguish 'Mid the wails of a Nation's grief.

Weep, North, in thy widowed glory, For the heart that hath loved thee best.

And wail o'er your martyred father, O orphaned East and West.

Wail, wail for the clouds that gather So dark o'er our stormy way; He has fallen, our Country's Ruler, He has fallen, our Country's Stay.

At the meeting of the Council held April 18, 1865, consequent upon the news of President Lincoln's death, Mr. Shattuck offered the following resolution, which was unanimously adopted :-

Resolved, That the untimely death of the Chief Magistrate of the Nation at this particular crisis, is a calamity that must be deplored by every good citizen, coming as it does at the very commencement of the fruition of the great and patriotic measures which he virtuously maintained and vigorously upheld during the long and trying period of his public career. We confess that our grief is mingled with the fear that no living man can accomplish all that his patriotic devotion could have achieved. In view of the great loss which the people of the American Continent, and of the whole civilized world, have sustained in the catastrophe, we recommend that all places of business be closed on the 19th day of April, 1865, and that our citizens generally participate with the people of the United States on that day in rendering homage to the history and memory of the Great Departed.

In Oakland the signs of mourning were general, the newspapers turning their column rules, and the public and many private buildings being draped in black.

On October 24, 1865, petitions were received from W. W. Beggs &Co. and P. B. Brumer, praying for permission to erect gas-works in the city of Oakland, which, November 21st, were handed over to a special committee for a report. Another petition was received for a like purpose on November 28th, from A. C. Dietz and E. W. Travers. On December 8th, Joseph G. Eastland and W. W. Beggs were granted the privilege sought, by ordinance, but they were succeeded by the Oakland Gas Light Company, who, July 3, 1866, were granted permission to erect their works on Block No. 6, bounded by First, Second, Washington, and Broadway Streets, further time being also given for the completion of the building. On December 4th a committee of the Council was appointed to ascertain upon what terms the company would light the city with gas, and report a contract, which they did on the 19th of the same month, stating that the Oakland Gas Light Company had covenanted to erect lamp-posts in accordance therewith. As these were the first gas-lamps in the city let us state where they were placed: one on the southerly end of Broadway; one on the southeast corner of Broadway and Water Street; one on the southwest corner

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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA ..

of Broadway and First Street; one on the southwest corner of Broadway and Second Street; one on the southeast corner of Broadway and Third Street; one at the south- west corner of Broadway and Fourth Street; one at the southeast corner of Broad- way and Fifth Street; one at the southwest corner of Broadway and Sixth Street; one at the southeast corner of Broadway and Seventh Street; one at the southwest corner of Broadway and Eighth Street; one at the southeast corner of Broadway and Ninth Street; one at the southwest corner of Broadway and Tenth Street; one at the southeast corner of Broadway and Eleventh Street; one at the southwest corner of Broadway and Twelfth Street; one at the southeast corner of Broadway and Thirteenth Street; one at the junction of Broadway and San Pablo Road.

On Eighth Street: one on the northeast corner of Washington and Eighth Streets; one on the southeast corner of Clay and Eighth Streets; one on the northeast corner of Jefferson and Eighth Streets; one on the southeast corner of Grove and Eighth Streets.

On Twelfth Street: one on the northeast corner of Franklin and Twelfth Streets; one on the southeast corner of Webster and Twelfth Streets; one on the northeast corner of Harrison and Twelfth Streets; one on the southeast corner of Alice and Twelfth Streets; one on the northeast corner of Jackson and Twelfth Streets.

On Seventh Street: one on the northwest corner of Washington and Seventh Streets.

The contract referred to above stipulates that for the period of ten years, from July 1, 1868, the gas-lamps to be used in the streets of Oakland shall be erected and maintained by the Oakland Gas Light Company. For the first five years, the com- pany shall receive twenty-two and a half cents per night per lamp, until the number may exceed two hundred and fifty, when the price shall be twenty cents per night for each lamp used. At the expiration of five years, the price is to be fixed by a com- mission of three persons, one of them to be named by the company, one by the City Council, and the third to be elected by the two thus chosen.

On January 9, 1871, J. W. Stow, A. P. Brayton, Ira P. Rankin, P. P. Felt, Josiah Belden, E. J. Pringle, C. T. Hopkins, and W. W. Montague petitioned for the right to lay down pipes for distributing coal-gas through the city, which was referred to the Committee on Street Lights and Lamp-posts. In the mean time the Oakland Gas Light Company becoming aware of this petition, communicated with the City Council, set- ting forth certain, to them, good reasons why an opposition company should not be permitted to locate in Oakland. On January 23d another petition for the erection of gas-works, signed by Philip Cadoc, Henry F. Williams, and William H. Devalin, was received, while, on the same day a petition with the names of one hundred and eighty- two of the citizens of Oakland was presented to the Council, praying that the franchise asked for by J. W. Stow and his associates be granted. The committee sent in their report in due course of time, and on the 11th February Mr. Stow and his partners withdrew their application, stating, " they have observed the report of your commit- tee, touching the franchise applied for, and the conditions recommended in the ordi- nance reported. These conditions seem to us to discriminate injuriously against us in the contest and competition sure to arise, and could hardly fail to discourage the investment of capital in a new enterprise, and one, too, which is always unremunera-

Grat

Wan Poinseto

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OAKLAND TOWNSHIP-CITY OF OAKLAND.

tive at the commencement," therefore, February 13th, they were granted the desired permission. On the same date the Council received a petition for the like privileges from Charles Webb Howard, Sextus Shearer, C. T. N. Palmer, F. K. Shattuck, A. C. Henry, and J. West Martin, under the style of the Home Gas Light Company, who were granted a franchise after considerable discussion in the Council. Meanwhile, Messrs. Caduc and Williams desired that their petition should be attended to, and on May 15th they, too, were granted a franchise to erect gas-works and lay pipes within the city limits.

. In the month of March, 1865, the Contra Costa, or Minturn, ferry line of steam- ers was sold to the San Francisco and Oakland Railroad Company, and on April Ist that line was extended to the Brooklyn station of to-day. In the month of Sep- tember the Oakland and Alameda Water Company, the immediate object of which was to bring the water of Temescal Creek into Oakland, was formed, and on Novem- ber 28th the office of City Surveyor was created.

1866 .- Up till January, 1866, no community in California had progressed so rapidly as Oakland, while in the preceding four years its population had doubled. The improvements that were made within that time, as well as those then making, were of a substantial and permanent character. Elegant and commodious resi- dences were erected in all parts of the city, while there had been gathered within her borders a circle of society distinguished for its intelligence and refinement. As a general rule her people owned the property they lived upon, and considered them- selves fortunate in possessing homes surrounded by so many advantages. The beauty and fertility of the adjacent country, the excellence of the roads diverging in all directions from the city, the delightful drives, the healthful invigorating atmosphere, and, withal, its proximity to San Francisco, proved sufficient guarantees not only of the stability of Oakland, but also of its rapid growth. The city by this time had become a perfect Arcadia. The oaks had doffed their old foliage and donned a new coat of verdant leaves, so green that the eye and mind is lost in admiration of nature's favorite tints. The carpet beneath the stately limbs of those primeval monarchs, although similar in color to the foliage above, is nevertheless so diversified by the many wild flowers of spring, studding the moss-like gems in an artificial scene, that the relief from a universal sameness is most complete. The homes of the people showed the luxuriant blossoms of the peach and the pear, while. their well-kept flower- gardens gave character to the surrounding scenery: they furnish the idea that civili- zation is around ready to mitigate any sameness incidental to nature's efforts.

On January 23, 1866, Joseph B. Biddleman, President of the Oakland and Ala- meda Water Company, petitioned the City Council to the following effect: "That they propose conducting the waters of Temescal Creek to the city of Oakland, for the purpose of supplying the said city and the inhabitants thereof with pure fresh water. That to accomplish such an object they have already constructed reservoirs near the head-waters of said creek, and have expended large sums of money in furtherance of their designs," etc. This subject was referred to the Committee on Streets and Buildings, and was consigned to the purgatory of further action. Indeed the formation of water companies for the supply of the citizens of San Fran-

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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

cisco and Alameda Counties with water would appear to have been a popular amuse- ment in the year 1876. Besides the one mentioned above, we have the Amador Water Company: Certificate filed March 15, 1866; Incorporators: F. K. Shattuck, J. West Martin, J. S. Emery, J. W. Dwinelle; Capital stock, one million dollars; Object: To supply the city of Oakland and towns of Alameda County with fresh water from springs, wells, the Laguna in the valley of Amador, and the Laguna Creek, from Las Pocitas in Livermore Valley, and from all other available sources. Contra Costa Water Company: Filed June 26, 1866; Incorporators: A. Chabot, Rein Chabot, and Henry Pierce; Capital stock, two hundred and fifty thousand dollars; Object: To sup- ply the cities and towns in the county of Alameda, and the inhabitants thereof with pure water; Place of business, Oakland, California. College Water Company: Filed June 27, 1866; Incorporators, William Sherman, John W. Dwinelle, J. A. Benton, S. H. Willey, and Robert B. Swain; Capital stock, one hundred thousand dollars; Object: To furnish fresh water to the city of Oakland and the towns in the county of Ala- meda and the inhabitants thereof, from springs, wells, and other available sources; Place of business, Oakland.

On July 3, 1866, A. Chabot, President of the Contra Costa Water Company, pre- sented a petition to the Council to procure the right to lay down pipes in the streets, alleys, and lanes of the city of Oakland for the purpose of supplying its inhabitants with pure fresh water, and referred to a Committee composed of Messrs. Shattuck, Anderson, and Barstow, and upon their recommendation, on July 18th, an ordinance was passed granting them the privilege prayed for. On the same date like privileges were granted to the Oakland and Alameda Water Company.

In his message of March 15, 1869, Mayor Merritt says, in respect to the intro- duction of water into the city of Oakland: "The water of the Temescal Creek has been recently introduced into this city by the Contra Costa Water Company, which is composed of gentlemen of energy and ability.

" The water is brought from the creek to a reservoir on College Hill-one hundred feet above the base line of the city-a distance of four miles, through iron pipes. From the reservoir the main pipe extends along Telegraph Road through Broadway to Broadway Wharf, a distance of about two miles. From the main pipe branches are being extended along various streets as the demand requires. Thirty-nine thousand seven hundred and fifty-eight feet of pipe are now laid. During eight or nine months of the year the natural flow of water in the Temescal Creek is sufficient to supply the requirements of this city, and in order to afford an abundant supply during the three or four months of dry season, the company is constructing a large reservoir in the Coast Range of Mountains about four miles from this city, which, when finished, will hold not less than two hundred million gallons. More reservoirs can be made as the demand increases, by which means the city can be furnished with a constant and abundant supply of pure mountain water."

It may be well here to give a complete description of the works of the Contra Costa Water Company, for we believe that but few people appreciate their magnitude and realize the immense expense with which the enterprise has been conducted.

It is known to every one that an abundant supply of water can be obtained from wells anywhere in Oakland, at a depth varying from thirty to forty feet. About four

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feet from the 'surface of the ground there commences a stratum of hard-pan almost as solid as the lightest formations of sandstone. When this has been penetrated to a point which is a little below the tide level, there is found an abundance of fresh water, rather hard, but very clear and pure. A large number of people still obtain water from these sources, but some of the wells have become foul, and in a few instances the supply has altogether failed. Wells in thickly settled neighborhoods are looked upon with distrust, and there have been instances where abandoned wells have been turned into cesspools. This would tend to poison every well in the vicinity, for the water evidently circulates freely beneath the hard-pan.

The Contra Costa Water Company was organized in June, 1866, as we have already remarked, and commenced supplying customers in 1867. It had a capital of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Water was temporarily obtained from Temescal Creek. There are now (in 1883) laid in all one hundred and thirty-three miles of pipe, running through Oakland, East Oakland, and part of the Oakland Valley. It is estimated that five thousand six hundred and thirty-eight persons are supplied, using about seven million gallons daily, the maximum rate of consumption occurring in the hot weather, when hundreds of gardens and lawns are irrigated. We have shown that a number of companies had been incorporated, but none of these, with but a single instance, have displayed any signs of vitality. That exception was the company owning the water rights in Fruit Vale, and its franchise was purchased by the Contra Costa Water Company.

The water is obtained from the higher hills in the rear of Oakland, distant about five miles. In the vicinage of the main reservoir, which we shall notice presently, the company owns all the land draining into it, consisting of several thousand acres, or rather has an interest in this domain that is sufficient to prevent its use for any improper purpose. The mountain streams at the head of Temescal Creek are of extreme purity. Only a limited number of cattle are allowed to graze on the hills, and there is no drainage from them during the long summer months, the water coming from within the mountains into reservoirs provided by nature. In the winter one of these rivulets furnishes all the water that is required, running a clear stream, and the surface drainage from the hills passes over nothing but grassy earth. Besides the brooks tributary to the Temescal Creek, the waters of Fruit Vale are utilized. The latter stream rises in the rugged hills above the valley bearing its name, and is as pure as any water in the world. In addition to what can be obtained from the hills, water is taken from artesian wells at Brooklyn, of which we will speak farther on.

What is now called Lake Chabot was constructed about 1868-69, two years hav- ing been consumed in building the series of dams that back up the waters and create the lake. The eastern branch of Temescal Creek, for a mile or more, ran between two steep hills about seven hundred feet apart. Instead of forming a gorge, as in most cañons, there was a valley some thirty or forty acres in extent. An honest farmer had there his vegetable garden and potato-patch, and doubtless little dreamed that at some future time what was then his premises would be covered by sixty feet of water. Unless one has been in the California mines he cannot well appreciate the amount of work requisite to dam up a valley like this. The first step was to remove all the soil from what was to be the bottom of the lake. The rock on each side

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History of Alameda County, California : including its geology, topography, soil, and productions, Part 91

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