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 54
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In 1864 it received its first blow. 'On February 28th, a fire of consider- able magnitude caused the destruction of property to the amount of about fifteen thousand dollars, among the buildings consumed being the Clayton and Union Hotels, as well as Rhine's store and other places of business.
In the year 1857 a congregation was organized in the house of Captain Howard Nichols by a Presbyterian minister, whose name is now unremem- bered ; they were, however, subsequently amalgamated with a Congrega- tional Church which had been formed, the first preacher in which, it is thought, was the Rev. David McClure, now of Oakland. Ten years after, November 10, 1867, a Congregational Church building was dedicated by the Revs. E. C. Bissell of San Francisco, and James Warren, and in 1873, a cottage parsonage was completed and attached to the church property.
Another serious loss the little town sustained was the death of its parent, Joel Clayton, on March 9, 1872. With the demise of this gentleman, Clayton lost its leading spirit, and to this day has not recovered its pris- tine promise.
In the month of July, 1873, we hear of large Temperance Mass Meet- ings being held in the village, where eminent speakers came to take part from all quarters, but whether the doctines then inculcated have borne fruit, we are not in a position to state. The only item of interest we know of having happened in the year 1874, was the sad one, of the death of E. G. Stranahan ; while employed in the excavation of a cellar he was crushed by a falling mass of earth, on Friday October 23, 1874. A few lines above we have spoken of Temperance meetings. May 6, 1876, Unity Lodge, No. 11, I. O. G. T. elected the following officers: W. H. Wilson, W. C. T .; Miss Kirkwood, W. V. T .; Mr. Pratt, W. S .; Mrs. M. Clayton, W. F. S .; Miss L. Clark, W. T .; Miss B. McLain, W. M .; C. Clark, W. I. G .; Charles Taylor, W. O. G .; Rev. Mr. Ross, W. C .; Miss L. Weston, W. R. H. S .; Mrs. C. Ross, W. L. H. S .; O. A. Ross, P. W. C. T. And now came the never-to-be-forgotten Centennial year, with its jubilees in every quarter of
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Township Number Four.
the United States. At Clayton the celebrations were more than ordinarily grand on the fourth of July, 1876. Foreign talent was imported to do honor to the occasion, among those taking a part being: Rev. M. Ross, Miss Pixley, Miss Miriam Porter, Miss Martha R. Chase, Miss Kelley, with Messrs. E. R. Chase and Hale.
No portion of the county is so peculiarly adapted to the growth of grapes as that surrounding the town of Clayton. The land in that vicinity is essentially a grape soil, and the climate is especially favorable for grape raising. The vineyards there have invariably given an abundant yield each year, and have proved profitable to their owners. This Spring, 1882, a large acreage has been planted to vines, and a great number of orchards have also been laid out. It is safe to say that some time in the not remote future, Diablo valley will be one vast vineyard, and that Clayton wine will be manufactured, equal to any produced in the State.
FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH .- Was organized February 1, 1863, under the ministry of Rev. John J. Powell, who continued the acting pastor till March of the following year. From this time until June, 1865, the church was without a stated minister, but met for public worship continuously, and conducted a Sabbath-school. At the latter date Rev. B. S. Crosby sup- plied the church in connection with Congregational churches at Somersville and Antioch. He served in this way about a year. Hitherto worship had had been conducted in the school-house ; in the Summer, however, of 1866, under the general supervision of their pastor, Rev. Mr. Crosby, the people commenced building a house of worship, the one at present occupied, and completed the following year. In 1873 they built a parsonage. After Mr. Crosby left, the church was successively supplied under the ministry respec- tively of Revs. James W. Brian, from March 1, 1867, to November 28, 1868 ; Miffin Harker, from June 1, 1869, to June 1, 1871 ; P. R. Bradshaw, from June 1, 1871, to June 1, 1872 ; W. C. Merritt, from January 19, 1873, to June 15, 1875 ; O. A. Ross, from August, 1875, to September, 1876 ; Rev. S. H. Meade succeeded as pastor and continued nearly three years. In May, 1880, Rev. J. H. Story commenced serving the church as their pastor, and is the present incumbent.
NEW YORK LANDING .- It will not be necessary for us to here go deeply into the history of the former New York of the Pacific; that will be found fully treated in the early settlement of this township. The landing still has its prestige, however, as a place of call, for all boats plying on the Sac- ramento and San Joaquin rivers stop there, while it is connected with Nor- tonville by the Black Diamond Railroad. Save as the landing it is, New York of the Pacific has now no importance, although lately an attempt has been made to establish a salmon canning industry there. At present it boasts of two of these establishments, the Pioneer and Black Diamond, both
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having their head offices in San Francisco, while its wharfs are spacious and worthy a visit.
As we have already remarked the postoffice at this point is called Black Diamond, and is vicariously dubbed New York.
PIONEER CANNERY .- This establishment is the property of King, Morse & Co., of San Francisco, and was completed January 2, 1882, on which date operations were commenced. Employment is given to about one hundred persons during the packing season, while the commodious structure com- prises departments for fish-cleaning, can-making, filling, soldering, bath- room, cooking, lacquering and labeling. The dimensions of the building are one hundred and fifty by eighty feet, built of frame. The head office is situated at the northwest corner of Broadway and Sansome streets, San Francisco.
NORTONVILLE .- The discovery of the famous Mount Diablo coal fields is the immediate cause of the existence of the town of Nortonville. In the year 1859, December the twenty-second day, Francis Somers and James T. Cruikshank discovered the now well-known Black Diamond vein of coal, and with their associates located the lands afterwards known as the Manhattan and Eureka coal mines. George W. Hawxhurst, George H. P., and William Henderson, in company with Francis Somers, opened the cropping of the same vein, on what was afterwards known as the Black Diamond and Cum- berland mines; but believing that the expense of making roads was beyond their means, they made no attempt to secure title. The Black Diamond mine was not long after located by Noah Norton (from whom comes the name of Nortonville), and the Cumberland mine went into the hands of Frank Such and others. These lands, with others adjoining, have since become noted as the Black Diamond Coal Mines.
Frank Such disposed of his interest in the Cumberland mine to Messrs. C. T. Cutler, Asher Tyler, Josiah Sturges and L. C. Wittenmyer, all of Mar- tinez, and it was from their efforts and means that it was successfully opened, worked, and roads constructed from it to the towns of Clayton and New York Landing. They also assisted Noah Norton to open the Black Diamond mine.
The town of Nortonville is comprised in the basin in which are located the Cumberland, Black Diamond, Mount Hope and other lands, but when the mines were first opened the whole district was known as Carbondale.
At first not much was done in the way of mining, those interested being principally engaged in prospecting. The coal was extracted from a hole in the side of the hill and taken away in sacks from the Cumberland mine, which was about a thousand feet above the present Nortonville, the coal being sent into the valley on an " incline," one loaded car hauling up an empty one.
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Township Number Four.
The first house was built in Nortonville in 1861 by Noah Norton, its site being now covered by one of the " dumps ;" but about the same time there was a hotel or boarding-house at the Cumberland mine kept by George H. Scammon. In 1862 Mr. Norton built another house, the second in the town, which still stands, while the first hotel in Nortonville proper was opened in 1863 by Atwell Pray and Charles Gwynn, and was named then, as it is to-day, the Black Diamond Exchange. In 1865 a store was opened on ground nearly opposite the present office of the Mine Superintendent, Mor- gan Morgans, by Joel Clayton; and in the following year, 1866, a school- house was put in operation under the tuition of D. S. Woodruff. The building stood not far from where the shaft now is, but in 1870 it was moved to its present position on the top of the hill. Here it has developed into a seminary with four departments, the school being maintained, chiefly, by a charge of one per cent. on all moneys paid through the Superintendent's office.
With the opening and working of the mines, a large number of practical miners were attracted to the locality; Great Britain sent her sons from the English and Welsh coal pits; Americans who had gained experience in Pennsylvania also found their way to the Black Diamond coal mines, until a cosmopolitan community has now collected in a small compass, the like of which could be found in no other country in the world.
Up till the year 1874, all went without mishap to the new mining town. On the 16th October of that year a disastrous fire occurred, which consumed the engine-house of the new shaft and hoisting works. The fire was dis- covered a little after three P. M., the whole interior of the building being filled with smoke when the discovery was made. The engine-house was a very heavy two-story frame building, fifty-five by thirty-six feet on the ground, standing back some forty feet or more from the shaft, over which stood a very heavy and costly derrick frame of a height as great, or greater, than the engine-house. The derrick tower was crowned with a covering which formed an enclosed room or house, utilized in the working operations, while it served as covering for the shaft-opening and derrick works. This house took fire from the engine-house and was entirely burned, but the derrick frame was saved by turning on water through the pipes laid for carrying steam, and by the exertions of the people, who turned out en. masse, and formed bucket brigades for passing and throwing water.
There can be but little doubt that the conflagration was the work of an incendiary, as there had been no fire about the building at all, and the rain had soaked everything around it, so that it was not possible that the blaze could have been communicated to it accidentally. Moreover, although all the woodwork of the interior of the building would naturally have absorbed moisture from the atmosphere to a degree that would have prevented its burning quickly, it was, when the fire was discovered, filled with flame and
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History of Contra Costa County.
smoke, while the sides and roof were still intact, and the finding of three burned five-gallon kerosene cans with the remains of the machinery after the fire, renders it probable that the inflammable fluid had been poured over the upper floor before the fire was set to it.
Once more have we to chronicle destruction. On this occasion our tale is of loss of life, one of those untoward accidents which makes the miners' career one of extreme danger. The soldier loses his life on the battlefield with God's beautiful world around him; it is in the gloomy bowels of the earth that the miner meets death, but with not the less courage as a man of peace than he whose duty brings him within ken of the hail of battle. Well may Dr. Smiles have said : " Courage is the quality which all men delight to honor. It is the energy which rises to all the emergencies of life. It is the perfect will, which no terrors can shake. It will enable one to die, if need be, in the performance of duty."
On July 24, 1876, this terrible disaster occurred. An eye-witness de- scribes the catastrophe thus: About three P. M. of Monday rumors of a terrible catastrophe spread through the village. Crowds began to gather around the mines, very anxious to know what the matter was. Women- wives and mothers-anxious for their loved ones, children trembling for the safety of their fathers, friends in fearful suspense for friends, thronged the approaches to the mines. The suspense was not long. It was broken by a terrible revelation. No less than six dead bodies were brought up from the mines in the course of an hour or two, together with eight persons more or less injured. The cause of the accident was a powder explosion, let off in the ordinary operation of mining, and that igniting sulphur gas and rais- ing large volumes of what the miners call " black damp," or fine coal dust. Those who were brought up dead, viz., M. Lewis, aged thirty-eight; W. Gething, aged thirty-five ; D. Griffiths, aged forty-two; G. Reynolds, aged twenty-nine; T. Watts, aged twenty-eight, and William Williams, aged eighteen, were smothered by the black damp, their death being almost instantaneous. The survivors, Walker Williams, Body Dumas, T. James, Smith, T. Davies, D. Watts, H. Mainwairing, - Marengo, were ter- ribly scorched by fire. On the day following an inquest was held by Justice Woodruff, and a decision arrived at in corroboration of the above facts. On Tuesday night, the 25th, Dumas died, as did also D. Watts, after lingering two weeks.
The town of Nortonville is connected with New York Landing by a line of rail, while its mines find employment for about three hundred men and boys. The whole population is estimated at nine hundred.
SOCIAL ENCAMPMENT, No. 50, I. O. O. F .- Was instituted December 18, 1874, with the following charter members: James Rankin, Thomas S. Brown, John H. Smith, Samuel Brown, John Trengove, George H. Scam- mon, Evan Thomas. The orginal officers were: James Rankin, C. P .;
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Township Number Four.
Thomas S. Brown, H. P .; William Hughes, S. W .; Samuel Brown, Scribe ; George H. Scammon, Treasurer ; John Trengove, J. W .; Evan Thomas Guide ; Thomas Watson, Ist W .; Theo. C. Ellis, 2nd W .; Richard Evans, 3rd W .; William M. Sellars, 4th W .; Caleb Edwards, Ist G. of T .; William W. James, 2nd G. of T .; John Richards, I. S .; James Horne, O. S. This encampment, which is in a most flourishing condition, has at present on its roll twenty-nine members. The officers for the current term are : John D. Evans, C. P. ; Richard Evans, H. P. ; John N. Jones, S. W .; D. B. Davis, Scribe ; James Rankin, Treasurer ; Mark Brown, J. W .; Watkin P. Morgans, Guide ; Israel Lands, Ist W .; Hugh Evans, 2nd W .; Thomas J. Davis, 3rd W .; Thomas Pritchard, 4th W .; James Kelly, I. S. ; A. M. Phalin, O. S. Meets on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month, in the hall of the Knights of Pythias, at Nortonville.
BLACK DIAMOND LODGE, No, 29, K. OF P .- This lodge was organized by L. M. Manzer, G. C., October 24, 1874, with the following charter members : John Agnew, Louis Abrahamns, Edward L. Allen, Samuel Brown, Joseph Barnard, Charles Cordray, Robert Clare, F. J. Deeman, John A. Davis, David B. Davis, James E. Davis, J. N. Evans, William J. Griffith, D. P. Jones, William T. Jones, Robert Learn, A. Moore, Morgan Morgans, W. P. Morgans, T. J. Oliver, R. Prutton, William Prutton, A. A. Paul, John Piercy, James Rankin, George M. Reynolds, William J. Tingman, Asher Tyler, D. S. Woodruff, E. L. Wemple. The first officers chosen to serve were : Wat- kin P. Morgans, P. C .; F. J. Deeman, C. C .; A. A. Paul, V. C .; Robert Prutton, Prelate ; D. S. Woodruff, K. of R. & S .; William J. Tingman, M. of F .; Morgan Morgans, M. of E .; J. N. Evans, M.at A .; J. Barnard, I. G .; L. Abrahams, O. G. The lodge, which is in a flourishing condition, has on the roll forty-eight members, while the officers serving for the present term are : William R. Jones, P. C .; John M. Phillips, C. C .; Digory Brey, V. C .; David B. Davis, Prelate ; Frank Clifford, K. of R. & S .; Richard Havard, M. of F .; Louis Abrahams, Sr., M. of E, William T. Jones, M. at A. ; Erastus T. Laselle, I. G. ; William J. Griffith, O. G. Night of meeting, Thursday.
CARBONDALE LODGE, No. 288, I. O. G. T .- This lodge of Good Templars was instituted October 18, 1867, and the Charter members were as follows: James Muir, James Cerley, Joseph Annett, John Williams, Miss Emma Taddler, Mrs. E. Saddler, Mrs. Mary Wall, Mrs. Minda Scammon, Miss Fenia Wall, William McHenderson, Francis Taye. The original officers were: James Muir, W. C. T .; Lizzie Muir, W. V. T .; Fred Horsewell, W. Chaplain; David Horsewell, W. Sec .; Mary Wall, W. Asst. Sec .; Francis Taye, W. Fin. Sec .; William McHenderson, W. Treas .; James Kelly, W. Mar .; Mary Moor, W. Dep. Mar .; William Watson, W. I. G .; John Williams, W. O. G .;
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Maud Scammon, W. R. H. S. ; Josephine Wall, W. L. H. S .; Joseph Harvest, P. W. C. T. The lodge is in a flourishing condition, and has a membership of seventy. The present officers are: Lizzie D. Jones, W. C. T .; Annie Harris, W. V. T .; Samuel Boxill, W. Chaplain; Ellis Griffiths, W. Sec .; Annie Lewis, W. Asst. Sec .; Thomas L. Davis, W. Fin. Sec .; M. M. Clifford, W. Treas .; Fred Saddler, W. Mar .; Catherine Jones, W. Dep. Marsh .; Katie Engler, W. I. G .; Jesse Hughes, W. O. G. ; Frank Clifford, W. R. H. S .; Henry T. Boxill, W. L. H. S .; L. K. Abraham, P. W. C. T. Meets every Wednesday at their own Hall, they owning the property.
PITTSBURG LANDING .- This is the landing for the mines at Somers- ville, with which it is connected by the Pittsburg Railroad. It is situated about two miles east of the New York Landing, and is not so much a public village as it is the private residence, offices and grounds of L. L. Robinson, who became owner of the Los Medanos, or, as it is more generally known, the New York grant, in 1871.
His buildings are constructed on a swell of ground, about one hundred and fifty yards from the bank of the San Joaquin, and some fifty feet above the river's level. Here he has erected several buildings, which, from a dis- tance, lend the appearance of a village resting in shady woods; but it is purely a private undertaking in connection with coal mines. At Pittsburg Landing, steamers occasionally halt alongside its spacious wharf, while, for his own private purposes, Mr. Robinson has another extensive jetty situated between Black Diamond (New York) and Pittsburg Landing. The post- office here is officially known as Cornwall.
SOMERSVILLE .- We have just seen how one Francis Somers, in com- pany with James T. Cruikshank, discovered the vein of coal which has since become famous as the Black Diamond vein, on December 22, 1859. He and their associates, H. S. Hawxhurst and Samuel Adams, located the lands which were afterwards known as the Manhattan and Eureka Coal Mines. These, with the Union and Independent, comprise the mines forming the basin in which the town of Somersville is situated, and from which there is a railroad to Pittsburg Landing, which takes its name from the Pittsburg mines.
The Pittsburg coal mine was opened in December, 1860, and was located by George H. P. Henderson, who entered into a contract with Ezra Clark to open the mine, in the course of which the noted Clark vein was discov- ered. The Manhattan mine is in the same neighborhood, while a short dis- tance below it is the Independent. The Union is in the vicinity of the Pittsburg.
How the name of Somersville came to be applied to this town is clear ; but it is not so clear who it was that built the first house within its limits.
E. Mettere
Diehard étage
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Township Number Four.
We have seen that the Pittsburg mine was opened in the last month of the year 1860 ; it is only proper, therefore, to conjecture that the initial build- ing was constructed in that year. We have been informed, however, that in 1861, Griffin kept a boarding-house near the Independent shaft, and a similar house to the present Pittsburg Hotel, was conducted by a man named Hendricks on its site, who, if this correct, must have disposed of in some manner to Sidney Maupin, for we have seen that on April 8, 1863, it was destroyed by fire, and Maupin, with three of his children, perished in the flames. In 1863, also, we believe the first store to have been opened by A. Senderman, while two years later a school was instituted and taught by T. A. Talleyrand, on the site of the present building.
As the years followed the population of these towns increased with the amount of work to be performed, until a goodly number were assembled on the slopes and dips of the canon in which the village is situated.
On April 12, 1869, we find Post No. 28, of the Grand Army of the Re- public, inaugurated, and the following gentlemen chosen officers: Philip Walker, Commander; Albert Banks, Senior Vice-Commander ; Fred. Horse- well, Junior Vice-Commander ; Thomas S. Brown, Adjutant ; Nelson S. Black, Quartermaster ; Christian Humble, Surgeon ; Owen Evans, Chap- lain ; John Tremey, Sergeant-Major ; D. Gillespie, Quartermaster-Sergeant. In 1869 a neat little church was completed. Twice in late years has Som- ersville been visited by the devouring element, once on June 18, 1877, when, for the second time in its history, the Union Hotel was destroyed ; and on December 28, 1878, when the store of Ferdinand Gambs, with all its con- tents, was lost.
The little town is at present in a flourishing condition, its inhabitants are well behaved, while from the short distance that separates it from Nor- tonville the brethren of the several societies, to all intents, live as one com- munity.
MOUNT DIABLO LODGE, No. 128, I. O. O. F .- This Lodge was insti- tuted October 27, 1866, with the accompanying charter members, who were also the first officers: John H. Williams, N. G .; Thomas S. Jones, V. G .; A. E. H. Stover, R. & P. S .; William Prosser, T .; Joseph Jones, W. ; R. D. Reese, Con .; Joseph Lightowler, O. G. They number now one hundred and twenty-six members on the roll, while the Lodge is in a flourishing con- dition. The officers now serving are: A. W. Lee, P. G .; Jacob Lando, N. G .; Henry Treglown, V. G .; Thomas Floyd. R. S .; John Trengove, P. S .; G. H. Scammon, T .; James C. McDermott, W .; Edward McLeod, Con .; Richard Evans, O. G .; H. E. Ward, I. G .; David B. Davis, R. S. N. G .; John D. Evans, L. S. N. G .; Thomas H. Thomas, R. S. V. G .; Thomas Rich- mond, L. S. V. G .; William W. Davis, R. S. S .; John P. Hughes, L. S. S .; Samuel Brown, P. G., Chaplain. Lodge meets every Saturday night.
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SOMERSVILLE LODGE, No. 210, A. O. U. W .- Was instituted Decem- ber 2, 1881, with the following charter members : C. McDermott, Thomas L. Morgan, Thomas Floyd, S. W. Nellis, Robert A. Martin, Robert L. Lee, James B. Nicholls, George Dallow, Charles E. Boltz, Albert B. Habeneicht, who were the original officers. The present membership is thirty-two, and the offi- cers for the current term are: J. C. McDermott, P. M. W .; T. Floyd, M. W .; Charles Cartwright, F .; S. W. Nellis, O .; John Call, Recorder; George Dollaw, Financier; Patrick Brown, Receiver; John Turner, G .; A. B. Habeneicht, O. W .; Charles Boltz, I. W. The Lodge is in a flourishing condition and meets in Red Men's Hall every Friday evening.
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Township Number Five.
TOWNSHIP NUMBER FIVE.
Geography .- Township Number Five is bounded on the north and east by the San Joaquin river; on the south by Alameda county, and on the west by Townships Numbers Two and Four.
Topography .- The topography of this township is varied. Along the northern and eastern portions, which lie on the San Joaquin, we have a level plain, which continues for its whole eastern face, fronted by a large area of tule delta, intersected by many creeks and sloughs. Its center, south and west is extremely hilly, with fertile valleys lying between the ridges, while the cañons, through which gambol the smiling rivulets, are shaded with a variety of woods. In the coal region we have bold, bald mountains, proclaiming the wealth which lies concealed within their bosoms; while the plain-the commencement of the great valley of the San Joaquin- is most fair to look upon.
Soil .- Like in Township Number Four, many parts are suited to the rearing of fruits and vines, while in the valleys the soil is especially adapted to the cultivation of the cereals. In the San Joaquin district more rain is required than in those vales farther inland, and it must be a hard year indeed when an average crop is not forthcoming. The reclaimed tule lands are found to produce very fine crops, while they are also utilized for pastoral purposes.
Products .- Chief among the products of Township Number Five is coal. In the valleys and on the sloping foot-hills grain is grown in large quantities, while fruits and vines do well in the inland dells, away from the heavy breezes which sweep the San Joaquin district.
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