USA > California > Contra Costa County > History of Contra Costa County, California, including its geography, geology, topography, climatography and description; together with a record of the Mexican grants also, incidents of pioneer life; and biographical sketches of early and prominent settlers and representative men > Part 16
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of the Marsh " Stone House " was partially destroyed, breaking down the portico in its fall. At Somersville, Nortonville and Clayton, chimneys were thrown down and household goods generally much damaged. At Walnut Creek, Alamo, Danville and San Ramon the shock was particularly severe. The upper front and rear walls of the two story brick building at Alamo, owned by the Masonic Lodge, was thrown down, while the one story brick store belonging to Mr. Peel at Danville lost a portion of its front wall. At Martinez and Pacheco, the damage was also very extensive.
There died at Martinez, January 23, 1869, Marshall S. Chase, aged forty- six years. Mr. Chase was born in Maine, and graduated at one of the col- leges of that State; he afterwards went through the course of study at the Harvard Law School, graduating with distinction, and entered with fine prestige and promise upon the practice of his profession in Boston. About 1852-53 he came to California, and after practicing a while in San Francisco, finally settled in Martinez, where he died. Of Mr. Chase the Contra Costa Gazette says: "It is not with ordinary feelings that we undertake the duty which devolves upon us of noticing the demise of the friend and fellow-citizen, who, during a residence of fourteen years in this county has commanded recognition of all, as the man among us of finest intellect- ual gifts and attainments. Such gifts and attainments as qualified him not only for high rank in the legal profession of which he was a conspicuous member, and for honorable distinction in any sphere of private or public duty, but also for most instructive and interesting companionship. And none who have enjoyed a companionship that brought them into intimate contact with the best thought and life of the now silent friend can fail to cherish the memory of such a privilege to allow themselves to believe that they have seen the best, that is to be, of life and thought." On April 30, 1869, during the session of the Fifteenth District Court, Hon. S. H. Dwi- nelle, Judge, the following resolutions, moved by Thomas A. Brown Esq., were unanimously adopted and spread upon the minutes of the Court :
"WHEREAS, It has pleased the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, by the dispensation of his providence, to remove, by death, from our midst, MAR- SHALL SPRING CHASE, EsQ., a member of this Bar; and,
"WHEREAS, As a member of this Bar, he held a high position among his brethren, and among the citizens was esteemed for his high sense of honor and gentlemanly bearing with all men; and as a lawyer, stood in rank among his professional brethren first for his legal learning and ability, and at the Bar for eloquence unequaled by few and surpassed by none. Therefore,
" Resolved, That we deplore the sad event, not only as an individual be- reavement, but as a general loss to this community.
" Resolved, That in his decease this Bar has lost one of its brightest or- naments, and the law one of its ablest and most eloquent exponents.
Early History and Settlement of Contra Costa County. 141
" Resolved, That in the early departure of one whose ripening gifts of intellect and knowledge of the law gave promise of such advancement in the future, the cause of learning and the true appreciation of the law has sustained a heavy blow.
" Resolved, That we sympathize with the widow of our late deceased brother, in the loss of a kind and amiable husband.
" Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be presented to the bereaved widow and relatives of our deceased brother, and that they be spread upon the minutes of this Court."
Judge Dwinelle responded feelingly to the remarks with which the re- solutions were offered, granting the motion for their entry upon the min- utes, and for the adjournment of the Court in respect to the memory of the deceased brother, Marshall Spring Chase.
On April 17, 1869, we notice the appointment of Felix A. Mathews, County Assessor for Contra Costa, to the position of Consul for the United States at Tangier, in the Empire of Morocco. Having been born in that country, and speaking its language, Mr. Mathews was deemed well-fitted for the position to which he was specially recommended by Admiral Farra- gut, under whom he had seen service on the Mediterranean station.
Andrew J. Markley, called by the suffrages of his fellow-citizens to the duties of an important official position, upon the discharge of which he en- tered only about two months before his death, removing then from his former residence at Somersville to the county seat, died at Martinez, May 2, 1869, after a painful and final struggle with a fatal disease.
On Sunday, April 30, 1871, a serious affray occurred in Moraga Valley, that resulted in the arrest of James Steele and George Yoakum on the charge of assault with firearms upon several members of the Moraga family. It is reported that some fifteen or twenty rifle shots were fired by the assaulting party, three of the shots taking effect upon and killing a horse ridden by one of the Moragas. The affray is understood to have arisen from a dispute as to the rightful possession of lands originally owned and until a short time previously occupied by the Moragas, but claimed by Carpentier and Yoakum under judicial decrees. This was followed on November 23rd by another disturbance between John Prairie, a man employed by the Carrick Brothers, and another man on the ranch of Daniel McGlynn, about some stock, during which a pistol was fired at the first named individual, the offender decamping immediately after the affair. With these displays of temper, however, the troubles ceased not. On April 27, 1872, the dispute was renewed, when Isaac Yoakum was shot, though not killed. Happily, these unpleasantnesses are all now settled, and the war-hatchet been forever buried.
During the early months of the year 1872 a scheme was concocted whereby a new county should be formed from the section of country lying
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east of Bay Point, along the San Joaquin River, together with Sherman Island, thereby threatening to deprive Contra Costa county of a large share of her territory. Of this motion the Contra Costa Gazette somewhat tersely observes: " When all the cost of maintaining a separate county govern- ment are calculated, even with the Sherman Island territory included, we apprehend that the tax-payers of the section specified would decline assum- ing the responsibilities. Contra Costa, in area of territory, is one of the smallest counties in the State. Of the fifty or more, there are but four or five of as small extent, and it ranks only as the eighteenth in population. Any division would consequently be deemed, upon impartial consideration, unwise, regarded either as a measure of State or local policy. It is true a half day's journey is involved in reaching the county seat from the most distant localities ; but there are not half a dozen counties in the State a large portion of whose people are not more than an easy day's ride removed from their county seat, and, in this respect, subjected to far greater hard- ship than are any within the narrow limits of our county lines. Besides, with the completion of the railroad, now in process of construction, Antioch and San Pablo will be brought within less than an hour's ride of the county seat, and the most distant residents in the eastern extremity of the county will be able to reach Martinez from their homes in two hours, or less time. It is difficult, therefore, to imagine the 'valid and substantial reasons that might be assigned' for any division of the county, unless they may be found in a duplication of the chances of official emolument." Although no posi- tive action was taken in the matter, the question was not allowed to die, but was periodically brought to light, and assumed in 1874 almost a palpable shape. The Antioch Ledger was the arch instigator in the scheme, and went so far as to suggest that the new county should be named " Monte- zuma "-an euphonious name enough-and should be made up of three hun- dred and eighteen square miles of Contra Costa; twenty-eight and a half square miles of Alameda ; fifty square miles of Sacramento ; one hundred and seventeen square miles of San Joaquin, and one hundred and twelve square miles of Solano counties-an extensive depletion of one's neighbors, which fortunately has not been countenanced.
The year 1873 commenced with the attention of the public being directed to the project of a narrow-gauge railroad from deep water at Martinez to the Amador valley, by parties able to furnish a considerable portion of the capital of the enterprise. It was calculated that the construction and equip- ment of thirty miles of road on the proposed line would not exceed three hundred and twenty thousand dollars, while it was thought that such a line would undoubtedly pay a good interest on its cost. Such a line it was con- tended would afford the farmers of the San Ramon and adjacent districts with ample facilities for putting their produce on ship-board at a minimum cost ; it would enable them to store their grain in neighboring warehouses
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by the roadside, and to sell and deliver it when the market afforded the best price ; it would bring competing buyers to their doors and give them as good facilities for advantageously disposing of their crops as if they at- tended the meetings of the Corn Exchange daily with their samples. "'Twas a consummation devoutly to be wished !" On January 13th, the Contra Costa Farmers' Club discussed the project in all its phases. On February 1st, a meeting of citizens was held at Walnut Creek to consider the enterprise, when was demonstrated the fact that there was sufficient interest in the scheme to insure a considerable subscription for any feasible project that would furnish the required facilities, though the preference of those present was for a line to terminate at Oakland. Another meeting was had at the same place on February 15th, when the subject was fully argued and the following resolutions adopted : First-"Resolved, That it is the sense of this meeting that it is for the interest of Contra Costa county to connect itself with tide-water in the most direct route possible, at Oak- land, by a narrow-gauge railroad ;" and second, "Resolved, That N. Jones, A. W. Hammitt, Thos. J. Murphy, Franklin Warner, and Col. C. H. Wood, be appointed an executive committee on preliminary organization of the the people to take measures for the construction of a narrow-gauge railroad to connect Contra Costa county with tide-water."
To show that the promoters of the scheme to bring the road to Martinez were not willing to permit the grass to grow beneath their feet, on the evening of the meeting, the Martinez representatives held a conference to determine what course of action should be taken to obtain a survey and secure the construction of a narrow-gauge railroad from the best deep-water point in the Straits of Carquinez into the Amador valley. It was estimated that the cost of the survey would not exceed six or seven hundred dollars, about one-half of which amount was at once subscribed by those present, and the remainder readily obtained on the following Monday from citizens not present at the conference.
The survey for the road from deep water on the Straits, through Pa- checo and San Ramon, to Amador Valley, was commenced at a point near Bull's Head, on the morning of Friday, February 21st, by George K. Peter- son, a competent civil engineer of large experience in railroad surveying. The survey for the Oakland route was commenced on the 27th. On March 1st another meeting assembled at Walnut Creek, and more arguments en- sued in regard to the routes chosen by the contending parties, but the sur- veys being incomplete, not much actual business was transacted. In due time Mr. Peterson's survey was completed, and his report made to the Com- mittee, composed of R. O. Baldwin, C. B. Porter, Barry Baldwin, George McCanley. The survey was started at the town of Martinez, and term- inated in San Ramon valley at the village of Limerick, a distance of twenty-one miles. It was estimated then that the total cost of the road
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would be two hundred and forty thousand dollars, while its working ex- penses would be sixty thousand dollars per annum. This report was pre- sented to the meeting held at Walnut Creek, March 22d, as was also that of Mr. Boardman on the route to Oakland. This gentleman placed the cost of construction of a line along his survey at fifteen thousand dollars per mile, with forty thousand dollars for a tunnel through the mountains. The project was not allowed to lag, for another meeting was had on March 29th, at Danville, for further discussion of the subject, after which the scheme was held in abeyance, although periodical meetings were held to canvass its feasibility and ultimate accomplishment.
We next find the narrow-gauge topic being discussed at a meeting held at Danville on October 31, 1874, when the following Committee was ap- pointed to prepare plans of organization and subscription for a proposed railroad : L. I. Fish, Martinez ; Paul Shirley, Martinez ; Barry Baldwin, Pacheco ; Francisco Galindo, Concord ; John Larkey, Walnut Creek ; James Foster, Alamo ; R. O. Baldwin, Danville; Charles Wood, Sycamore valley ; David Glass, Amador ; J. W. Dougherty, Dublin ; Daniel Inman, Livermore. These gentlemen made their report at a meeting held at Walnut Creek, November 19th, and presented an elaborate document, containing recom- mendations as to organization.
We hear no more of railroads until the month of November, 1875, when a periodical then published, called the Oakland News, states that the articles of incorporation had been filed for the construction of a broad-gauge line from Oakland to Alamo, a distance of fifteen miles. The line of road described is that which had for some time been talked of as a wagon road.
While these negotiations were in progress, the Central Pacific Railroad Company resumed work on the line between Oakland and Banta, in con- nection with the Western Pacific and San Joaquin Valley road, via Mar- tinez and Antioch ; while on April 28, 1876, the depot at the first named place was located, the right of way having been obtained from Messrs. Shirley and Mizner.
This road, as we all know, has been completed ; the narrow-gauge line spoken of above fell through. In 1881 another line was started, called the San Francisco and Nevada Railroad, and after grading several miles of road within the limits of the county, work came to a stand still, although the matter has been by no means abandoned.
In the month of July, 1873, J. S. Hill, a former proprietor of the Mount Washington Hotel, in the White Mountains, New Hampshire, contemplated the erection of a hotel on Mount Diablo, the sight chosen being near Moses' Rock, while the plan included a carriage road to the summit. On October 30th a meeting to consider the matter of organizing an incorporated com- pany to build and maintain such a road from the county highway at the mouth of Pine Canon, was held under the chairmanship of Nathaniel Jones.
Early History and Settlement of Contra Costa County. 145
J. S. Hill, the projector of the undertaking and the proposer of building a hotel near the summit, gave an outline of the plan, and thought that a good, safe thoroughfare could be constructed for twelve thousand dollars. The subject was then fully discussed, and the following resolution carried : " Resolved, That J. S. Hill, W. W. Camron, S. W. Johnson, John Slitz and Nathaniel Jones be authorized to incorporate the Mount Diablo Summit Road Company, and to take any other necessary steps for advancing the enterprise, and calling an early meeting of the subscribers to the prelim- inary agreement and such others as it may be desired to interest in the un- dertaking." Throughout the meeting a good disposition was manifested by those present to aid the work by subscriptions for the stock of the road company, while it was firmly believed that the people of the county gen- erally would cheerfully co-operate in aiding so laudable and promising an enterprise. The articles of incorporation were duly filed in the office of the County Clerk, November 4th, the capital stock being twenty-five thousand dollars, divided into two thousand five hundred shares of ten dollars each. The first Directors were : J. S. Hill, N. Jones, S. W. Johnson, W. W. Cam- ron and John Slitz; Messrs. Hill, Camron and Slitz being subsequently elected President, Treasurer and Secretary respectively.
A certificate of incorporation was filed February 18, 1874, of the Green Valley and the Mount Diablo Summit Road Company, with Thomas A. Brown, L. C. Wittenmyer, W. W. Camron, S. J. Bennett, and Barry Bald- win as incorporators. The object of this association was the construction and maintenance of a turnpike road from a point on the Green Valley pub- lic road to a junction with the Mount Diablo Summit Road. The capital stock was five thousand dollars, in five hundred shares of ten dollars each.
In the month of April, 1874, the stage arrangements for the two roads to the summit of Mount Diablo were completed, the Martinez and Pine Cañon line being stocked and run by Seeley J. Bennett of Martinez, whose name is a guarantee of excellence in all that pertains to road outfits, while the Haywards and Green Valley route was in the hands of W. S. Law, former- ly of the Eagle Hotel, Pacheco. These stages are now discontinued, but Mr. Bennett is still at Martinez, and his skill in " handling the lines " or the ex- cellence of his appointments has in no wise deteriorated.
On January 16, 1873, the Hon. C. W. Lander died suddenly. The Judge is described as a man of many honorable traits that entitled him to respect.
It may not be unforgotten that in 1876 a contest was being carried on before the Courts for possession of the Auditor's office. In the month of May of that year Judge Dwinelle decided the case, declaring that the original orders of the Board of Supervisors consolidating the offices of Re- corder and Auditor remain in force, and that the Recorder is ex-officio
10
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Auditor, thus declaring V. Russell entitled to the office, and M. A. Bail- hache an intruder therein-although fairly and upon good understanding elected thereto by the people. The case was further tried and in December, 1877, decided in favor of Bailhache.
At his residence near Concord, there died, August 9, 1876, at the age of eighty-five years, Don Salvio Pacheco. He was born near San Diego, and his entire life was passed in California. For a number of years he was Al- calde of the Pueblo de San José and also several times a member of the Departmental Assembly, earning an honorable reputation in the discharge of public duties. The Grant of Monte del Diablo, embracing four leagues of land, was made to him by Governor Micheltorena in 1834, but it was some ten or a dozen years later that he established his residence on the property, on where he continued up till the time of his death.
On February 17, 1877, intelligence of the death of Judge S. F. Reynolds, formerly of the Fourth District, when Contra Costa county was included in it, was received ; and on April 28th the following resolutions of respect to his memory, reported by the Committee of the County Court, were ordered by Judge Dwinelle to be engrossed upon the minutes of the Court :
" WHEREAS, It has pleased the Supreme Ruler of the Universe to sum- mon from this life to his Eternal Home our late brother, the Honorable Samuel F. Reynolds, formerly Judge of this Court, and for many years past an able, active and honored member of the Bar, engaged in the active prac- tice of his profession, and almost invariably in attendance at the terms of this Court ; and,
" WHEREAS, Although our late brother resided and had his home in the city of San Francisco, he was seldom absent from this Court during its stated terms during a period of nearly twenty years, during which time we were associated with him, and came to regard him as our senior and always honored brother. Courtly and dignified in manner, and in his practice actuated by strict integrity of purpose, he had endeared himself to all. Therefore,
" Resolved, We are deeply impressed with the great loss the Bar and community has sustained in the death of our brother, the late Honorable Samuel F. Reynolds, and we will always cherish his memory as that of a good citizen, an honest, upright man, an able jurist, and a sincere and devoted friend.
" Resolved, That these resolutions be spread upon the minutes of the Court, and that the Court do now adjourn as a mark of respect to the deceased brother.
" THOS. A. BROWN,
" H. MILLS,
Committee."
" OLIVER WOLCOTT,
E. Mitterbas!
Early History and Settlement of Contra Costa County. 147
And yet another death have we to record. On August 1, 1877, Lawrence M. Brown, the youngest son of Hon. Elam Brown, who came with his father to Contra Costa county in 1847, died. Of the deceased the Gazette said : " He has lived with the people of this county, to nearly all of whom he was personally known, and they will long cherish a remembrance of his gentle and amiable qualities of character."
On December 23, 1879, after the conclusion of the business of the Dis- trict Court at its November terin, and it being about to adjourn, H. Mills, Esq., read and offered a paper signed by members of the Bar and many citizens of the county, testifying to their respect for the retiring Judge, Hon. S. H. Dwinelle, and requesting it spread upon the minutes of the Court, as follows : " Since the New Organic Law of the State, which goes into effect on the first day of January, 1880, abolished the District Courts, and your functions as Judge of the Fifteenth Judicial District cease upon that day, the undersigned members of the Bar and citizens of Contra Costa county wish to express to you their regrets in parting with you as the Judge of said Court. You have been with us in that official relation for sixteen years, during which time your actions as a jurist, an impartial and upright judge, have won our respect and admiration. In taking leave of the Bench be assured that you take with you our best wishes for your welfare and prosperity in the future relations and duties of life." Judge Dwinelle replied in appropriate and feeling terms, and directed, in accordance with the wishes of the subscribers, that the foregoing be spread upon the minutes of the Court.
The following local reminiscences of " Twenty-one years ago," from the pen of the late Horace Allen of Martinez, and published in the Contra Costa Gazette of November 1, 1873, we reproduce in order that our older readers may have an opportunity of refreshing their memories in matters, the recollection of which should not be allowed to die. It is ever well to keep green in our minds the story of the early settlement of a county, and this may only be done by presenting such " local reminiscences " as the fol- lowing, in convenient form for reference. The paper was penned by the author with the purpose of its serving for an " evening reading." May not we hope that the younger of our readers will, even at this late date, enjoy it as such :--
" No phrases of speech can fitly portray the panorama of changes that have passed before this one narrow field of vision, during the comparatively brief period of time 'twixt now and then. An appreciable representation of these should be pictured by the genius of a Michael Angelo upon a fur- long of canvas. It is only by this means that the contrasting of now and then can be presented to the quick glance of comprehension. The very face of the landscape has been changed ; the names and customs and the very elements of society have been changed. If real improvements and
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real progress are to be tested or measured by the comparative happiness of men and women, then there have been no improvements, no progress. It is only change. The old picture has been rudely effaced by social vandal- ism, and the canvas bedaubed with a new representation.
" The features and the life of the landscape have been changed. Stand- ing upon the mountain-tops twenty-one years ago, in the beginning of the month of May, we there and then beheld the broad-spreading plains, and the gracefully undulating hills all clothed in verdure and beautified as if by especial ornamentation, with scattered groves of the evergreen oaks, and here and there the tortuous fringes and dense clusters of the willows, mark- ing the courses of the rivulets and the locations of the living springs. This was simple, inanimate nature. But the life of the landscape was ' the cattle upon a thousand hills.' Myriads of cattle, bovine cattle, all spotted cattle, were feeding and roaming without limit all over the land, all over the sides and summits of the green hills, and over all the green-covered valleys and plains-these valleys and hills around us here. And there note, also, the dashing picturesque vaquero, with his swinging lariat, making his oft- repeated charges among those wild flocks, arousing headlong stampedes among them. No prim, prudish, artificial fencing of unsightly posts and boards then disfigured the landscape. Property boundaries of territory were only marked by natural monuments. The mountain's crest ; the îne- andering creek ; the isolated boulder ; the venerable oak ; the living spring; the shore of the sea ; were the landmarks of the ranchero's wide domains. Nor was this Pueblo of ours (Martinez) thought worthy of artificial protec- tion; whole bands of these wild cattle together would come charging down from the hills, and careering through the streets to escape the fierce pursuit of a dozen vaqueros. No foolish artificial fencing then. Over all the land no vandal plow had ever scarred and mutilated the face of nature; over all the land no square miles of nature's green had been discolored to the dirty brown of tillage; but the whole earth, from the Sierras to the Pacific sea, was one limitless, universal pasture land, resting beautiful and grand under the glorious brightness of a California sunshine.
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