USA > California > Contra Costa County > History of Contra Costa County, California; with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present > Part 10
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114
In 1855 R. A. Madison and G. M. Jones were elected in district No. 1, M. M. Mentlo and D. Meacham in district No. 2, W. Whipple and J. Huff in district No. 3, D. P. Smith and S. A. Reeves in district No. 4, R. Desty and B. Clark in district No. 5, F. Latture and William Wyatt in district No. 6.
In 1856 L. E. Morgan succeeded Jones in No. 1; L. C. Wittenmyer succeeded Meacham in No. 2, J. L. Bromley and F. Latture succeeded Whipple and Huff in No. 3, and the extra three townships were consoli- dated with the first three.
In 1857 George Christian succeeded Madison in No. 1, F. Vander- wenter succeeded Mentlo in No. 2, L. M. Brown succeeded Wittenmyer in No. 2, J. C. McMaster and Thomas Russell succeeded Bromley and Lat- ture in No. 3.
104
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
In 1858 E. F. Weld and Thomas Reynolds were elected in No. 1, F. Vanderwenter and Joseph Venable in No. 2, J. H. Russell and C. E. Wet- more in No. 3.
In 1859 A. F. Dyer succeeded Reynolds in No. 1, and J. W. Maxey and L. M. Brown were elected in No. 2.
In 1860, in No. 2, R. P. White succeeded L. M. Brown and J. W. Venable succeeded J. W. Maxey ; and John Osborne succeeded Russell in No. 3.
In 1861 H. M. Stanage was elected to succeed Venable in No. 2; P. Germain and William Girvan were elected in No. 3.
In 1862 the justices were as follows: W. K. Leavitt and George F. Pease, Twp. No. 1; G. W. Hammitt and James Foster, Twp. No. 2; J. T. Cruickshank and William Girvan, Twp. No. 3.
In 1864, in Twp. No. 1, O. F. James succeeded Leavitt, and A. F. Dyer was elected over Pease; H. M. Stanage succeeded Foster in No. 2, and C. P. Marsh and John Phillips were elected in No. 3.
In 1865 the justices were : O. F. James and A. F. Dyer in Twp. No. 1, G. W. Hammitt. and A. W. Hammitt in Twp. No. 2, E. S. Sayles and J. J. McNulty in Twp. No. 3.
These officers held until the election in 1867, when John C. Dodd and T. D. Palmer were elected in Twp. No. 1, H. M. Stanage and James Foster in Twp. No. 2, and J. W. Hook succeeded E. S. Sayles in No. 3.
In 1868 C. W. Lander succeeded Dodd in Twp. No. 1, and the others were reelected in their various townships.
In 1869 H. Allen and S. C. Wilbur were elected in Twp. No. 1, John Slitz and Charles Woods in Twp. No. 2, D. Mayon and H. Ashbrook in Twp. No. 3.
In 1871 W. H. Ford and T. D. Palmer were elected in Twp. No. 1, and D. S. Carpenter succeeded Mayon in Twp. No. 3. In 1872-1873 Twp. No. 4 was created, with G. R. Oliver as the justice; the justices from the other three townships held over.
In 1873 J. R. Young and J. J. Kerr represented Twp. No. 2; G. R. Oliver and Samuel Bacon, Twp. No. 3; D. S. Carpenter and A. Pray, Twp. No. 4; and D. P. Mahan and D. K. Berry, the new Twp. No. 5.
In 1875 the list reads: W. H. Ford and T. D. Palmer, Twp. No. 1 ; John Slitz and J. J. Kerr, Twp. No. 2; G. R. Oliver and Samuel Bacon, Twp. No. 3; D. S. Carpenter and D. S. Woodruff, Twp. No. 4; A. Richardson and T. D. Uren, Twp. No. 5.
In 1877 A. Rumrill succeeded Palmer in No. 1, M. H. Turner and Henry Shuey were elected in No. 2, J. F. Harding succeeded Oliver in No. 3, James Rankin succeeded Woodruff in No. 4, J. E. W. Carey succeeded Richardson in No. 5.
In 1879 Henry Hurst succeeded Shuey, R. H. Latimer succeeded Bacon, A. W. Hall and H. Ingram were elected in No. 4, and J. P. Abbott and H. B. Jewett in No. 5.
105
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
In 1880 W. H. Ford and A. Rumrill held office in Twp. No. 1; M. H. Turner and Charles Woods, in Twp. No. 2; H. J. Wilson and R. H. Latimer, in Twp. No. 3; Robert Hastie and H. Ingram, in Twp. No. 4; R. Shipley and J. P. Abbott, in Twp. No. 5.
The list for the year 1881-1882 was: M. H. Bailhache and A. Rumrill, Twp. No. 1; M. H. Turner and S. F. Ramage, Twp. No. 2; H. J. Wilson and J. F. Harding, Twp. No. 3; Robert Hastie and A. W. Wall, Twp. No. 4; J. P. Abbott and J. E. W. Carey, Twp. No. 5. W. H. Ford, who had held office in Twp. No. 1 for many years, died and Mr. Bailhache took his place.
In 1882-1883 F. M. Smith succeeded Bailhache and D. D. Wills succeeded Carey. No. 6 was created and S. F. Ramage was elected.
1884 witnessed a change as well as additional justices. F. M. Smith held over in No. 1, W. M. Downey succeeded Rumrill, T. S. Braw and J. S. Warren were elected in No. 2, M. Turner and G. W. Hammitt in No. 3, S. F. Ramage and W. J. Perkins in No. 4, J. F. Harding and S. C. Nichols in No. 5, and R. Hastie and W. Parsons in No. 6; and F. Clifford and A. W. Wall were elected for the new district No. 7, D. D. Wills and J. O. Diffin in the new No. 8, J. E. W. Carey and W. K. Doherty in the new No. 9, and W. J. Duffy and J. Brunson in the new No. 10.
In 1886 the new men in office were: J. H. Livingston, No. 1; H. P. Edwards and J. Casey, No. 2; A. B. Harrison, No. 3; W. A. Hammitt and J. J. Burke, No. 5 ; P. Daley, No. 7; B. F. Haney, No. 8; and D. N. Williams, No. 10.
1890 saw many new faces among the justices. D. J. West succeeded Smith and J. B. Smith succeeded Livingston in No. 1 ; H. P. Edwards held over; M. W. O'Neill succeeded Casey in No. 2; F. E. Weston succeeded Harrison in No. 3; G. W. Hammitt held over in No. 3, as did S. F. Ramage in No. 4; J. A. Shuey was elected over Perkins in No. 4; W. A. Hammitt and J. J. Burke held over in No. 5; William Hawes and O. N. Rogers succeeded Hastie and Parsons in No. 6; Wall held over and F. Clifford succeeded P. Daley in No. 7; W. Gribble and C. F. Montgomery succeeded Wills and Haney in No. 8; J. E. W. Carey held over and T. E. Middleton succeeded Doherty in No. 9; Duffy held over and H. C. F. Dohrman was elected over Williams in No. 10.
In 1894 the following were elected: No. 1, F. M. Smith and J. B. Smith ; No. 2, J. P. Casey and M. W. O'Neill; No. 3, F. E. Weston and J. M. Simpson ; No. 4, S. F. Ramage and A. E. Clarke; No. 5, W. A. Hammitt and J. M. Goodale ; No. 6, H. McDonald and O. N. Rogers; No. 7, William Thomas and G. R. Jones ; No. 8, William Gribble and N. A. Tyler; No. 9, C. M. Chapman and L. Arnstroff; No. 10, John Wilcox and Henry Cocks.
In 1898 the following justices were elected: No. 1, D. S. Carpenter; No. 2, J. P. Casey; No. 3, N. B. Rogers; No. 4, W. C. Lewis; No. 5, J. J. Burke; No. 6, O. N. Rogers; No. 7, P. Brown; No. 8, E. Stinch-
106
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
field; No. 9, C. M. Chapman; No. 10, W. Lindsey; No. 11, J. Garrity; No. 12, T. B. Pratt; No. 13, R. Hastie; No. 14, L. Arnstroff; No. 15, W. Hough ; No. 16, Joel Harlan.
In 1902 D. S. Carpenter and J. P. Casey were reelected in Nos. 1 and 2; W. H. Hough was elected in No. 3; S. F. Ramage, No. 4; J. J. Burke, No. 5; J. Fitzgerald, No. 6; J. J. Dickinson, No. 7; A. C. Hartley, No. 8; C. M. Chapman, No. 9; E. B. Masterson, No. 10; J. V. Enloe, No. 11; M. W. O'Neill, No. 12; G. Goethels, No. 13; J. F. Carey, No. 14.
In 1906 the following were elected : C. H. Hayden, No. 1 ; J. P. Casey, No. 2; W. H. Hough, No. 3; A. E. Clark, No. 4; J. J. Burke, No. 5; J. Fitzgerald, No. 6; A. C. Hartley, No. 8; A. W. Callis, No. 9; E. B. Masterson, No. 10; J. V. Enloe, No. 11; M. W. O'Neill, No. 12; G. L. Goethels, No. 13; A. J. LeGrand, No. 14; John Roth, No. 15.
DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S
1850, J. F. Williams; 1852, T. T. Bouldin; 1853, H. Mills; 1857, E. Parker. May 3, 1858, W. W. Theobalds was appointed, vice Parker. 1861, Mark Shepard; 1863, H. Mills; 1875, J. P. Jones; 1877, F. M. Warmcastle; 1879, Eli R. Chase; 1884, W. S. Tinning; 1894, C. Y. Brown; 1902, H. V. Alvarado; 1910, A. B. Mckenzie, who resigned to become superior judge in Department 2, January 2, 1915; 1914, T. D. Johnson; 1918, A. B. Tinning, who is the present incumbent.
COUNTY CLERKS, RECORDERS, AND (AFTER 1855) AUDITORS
1850, T. A. Brown; 1855, C. Yager. In .1855 the office of county auditor was established and combined with those of county clerk and county recorder under Yager. 1857, L. C. Wittenmyer; 1863, G. P. Loucks ; 1867, L. C. Wittenmyer; 1869, A. J. Markley; 1870, L. C. Wittenmyer, appointed vice Markley, deceased; 1871, G. J. Bennett; 1873, L. C. Wittenmyer, who served in the three offices combined until 1875, when each office was given a separate official.
COUNTY CLERKS
1875, L. C. Wittenmyer; 1890, F. L. Glass ; 1892, L. C. Wittenmyer ; 1894, F. L. Glass; 1898, J. E. Rodgers, who served until 1908, when J. H. Wells was appointed to fill the vacancy caused by his resignation. In 1910 J. H. Wells was elected, and is still in office.
COUNTY AUDITORS
1875, M. H. Bailhache; 1879, J. W. Darby; February 25, 1880, J. D. Darby, vice J. W. Darby, deceased; 1881, J. D. Darby; 1882, A. J. Soto; 1886, C. Ed. Curry; 1890, A. J. Soto; 1906, A. N. Sullenger, who still holds office.
COUNTY RECORDERS
1875, W. B. Russell; 1877, C. Ed. Miller; 1880, J. D. Darby ; 1881, C. Ed. Miller; 1882, Charles S. Cousins ; 1894, A. E. Dunkel; 1906,
107
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
M. H. Hurley, who held office until his death in 1924. On February 9, Flora Irene Hurley, his widow, was appointed, and still holds the office.
COUNTY SHERIFFS
1850, Nathaniel Jones; 1852, N. Hunsaker; 1853, J. F. S. Smith ; 1855, N. Hunsaker; 1857, J. C. Hunsaker; 1861, J. J. McEwen; 1865, H. Clausen: 1867, R. B. Hard; 1869, W. Brown; 1871, M. B. Ivory; 1875, F. Wilkening; 1877, D. P. Mahan; 1884, James Rankin; 1890, C. WV. Rogers; 1894, R. R. Veale, who has served to the present date.
COUNTY TAX COLLECTORS AND TREASURERS
1850, D. Hunsaker, who resigned April 23, 1853, B. R. Holliday being appointed in his stead; 1853, Robert E. Borden; 1857, H. Fogg; March 2, 1861, S. Swain, appointed vice Fogg, deceased; 1861, O. F. Alley ; 1869, J. R. L. Smith. In 1873, the two offices were each supplied, each with an incumbent. J. R. L. Smith continued as treasurer until 1875.
TAX COLLECTORS
1873, M. B. Ivory; 1875, H. Gallagher; 1879, W. Shuey; October 3, 1881, D. S. Carpenter, vice Shuey, deceased; 1894, H. C. Raap, who served until G. E. Searcy was elected in 1906. In 1910, M. W. Joost was elected, and is still serving.
COUNTY TREASURERS
1875, A. Tyler ; 1877, R. D. Hathaway; 1890, P. L. Roberts ; 1894, J. O. Sherburne; 1898, R. L. Ulsh; 1902, T. A. Wiley, who served until 1910, when L. N. Buttner was elected. He died in 1913 and was succeeded by J. R. Baker, who in turn was succeeded by C. L. Dodge, the present incumbent.
COUNTY ASSESSORS
1850, N. B. Smith; 1852, L. H. Hastings; 1853, J. M. Jones; 1855, O. F. Alley; 1857, J. F. S. Smith; 1859, J. J. White; 1861, N. J. Clark ; 1863, Philip Sage; 1865, F. A. Matthews, who resigned August 2, 1869, J. L. Bromley being appointed in his stead; 1869, James Foster; 1879, J. N. Stow; 1886, F. Williams; 1894, H. T. Jones; 1910, G. O. Meese, who is still serving.
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATORS
1852, W. W. Chipman; 1853, N. Jones; 1854, J. A. Morgan; 1855, George Langdon; 1857, M. R. Barber; 1859, B. R. Holliday; 1861, M. R. Barber; 1863, D. S. Woodruff; 1865, J. E. Stevens; 1867, D. Small. He resigned August 8, 1868, and B. R. Holliday was appointed. 1869, R. B. Brock ; March 19, 1872, E. W. Heller, appointed vice Brock, deceased; 1881, J. W. Guy ; 1884, E. W. Heller ; 1886, G. H. Scammon ; May, 1891, Charles Wood appointed vice Scammon, deceased; 1894, F. W. Gunther: 1898, J. Bendixen; 1902, M. H. Hurley; 1910, C. E. Daley ; 1922, Raymond Johnson, who is still in office.
108
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
COUNTY CORONERS
In 1855 the office of county coroner was formally established and William Armstrong was elected. He resigned and L. H. Hastings was appointed January 14, 1856. These followed: 1856, W. A. J. Gift; March 2, 1857, J. F. S. Smith appointed to fill vacancy; 1857, J. M. Sutton; 1858, John Tennent; June 9, 1859, C. H. Ruggles appointed vice Tennent; November 8, 1859, E. T. Hough, appointed; 1860, J. L. Labaree; 1861, H. H. Fassett; 1863, E. T. Hough; 1866, J. H. Caro- thers ; 1869, C. A. Ruggles ; 1871, J. H. Livingston; 1875, E. W. Hiller. In 1875 the office was combined with that of public administrator and E. WV. Hiller was elected to the two offices; he was succeeded by J. W. Guy in 1879. In 1884 the offices again became separated and J. W. Guy was succeeded by W. Dunnigan; 1886, J. W. Guy; 1890, H. J. Curry ; 1892, J. C. McMaster; 1894, H. J. Curry; 1906, C. L. Abbott; May, 1918, Bert Curry appointed vice C. L. Abbott; 1918, C. F. Donnelly, who was succeeded by Aubrey Wilson in 1926.
COUNTY SURVEYORS
1850, W. Brown; 1853, T. M. Aull; 1855, D. Small; 1859, George Vosberg; January 2, 1860, J. B. Abbott, vice Dixon, resigned; Decem- ber 2, 1861, K. W. Taylor was appointed, vice Abbott; 1861, John Doherty; 1862, K. W. Taylor; 1867, T. A. Talleyrand; 1871, Robert Hunt; 1873, R. Eddy; 1875, R. M. Jones; September 16, 1879, T. A. McMahon, vice Jones; 1880, T. A. McMahon; 1890, Elam C. Brown; 1892, T. A. McMahon; 1894, Elam C. Brown; 1914, R. R. Arnold, who still holds the office.
SUPERINTENDENTS OF SCHOOLS
1855, J. Vandermark ; January 6, 1856, Thomas Ewing, vice Vander- mark, resigned; 1856, J. M. Jones; 1857, E. H. Cox; 1859, A. F. Dyer ; 1861, D. S. Woodruff; 1863, J. F. S. Smith; March 19, 1864, H. R. Avery, vice Smith, resigned; 1864, H. R. Avery; 1867, A. Thurber ; 1871, H. S. Raven; 1873, A. Thurber; 1877, E. Wemple; 1879, A. A. Bailey ; 1886, W. A. Kirkwood; 1894, A. M. Phalin; 1902, A. A. Bailey ; 1906, W. H. Hanlon, who is still in office.
COUNTY COMMISSIONER AND COUNTY PHYSICIANS
In 1898 L. C. Wittenmyer was elected county commissioner.
On February 8, 1872, C. R. Holbrook was appointed county physician.
On August 5, 1874, J. H. Carothers was appointed county physician vice Holbrook.
In 1898 C. E. Brown was elected county physician.
There appear to have been no further elections to these offices until 1922, when E. Merrithew was elected county physician.
COUNTY SUPERVISORS
In 1851 the board of supervisors came into being, S. L. Robinson, Vic-
109
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
tor Castro, Robert Farrelly, William Patten, and T. J. Keefer being elected.
In 1852 C. Lund succeeded Castro, and E. W. Winn succeeded Far- relly.
In 1853 an entire new board was elected, viz .: A. W. Genung, Joseph Martin, C. W. Ish, I. Hunsaker and J. C. McMaster, who were to serve two years.
In 1855 the county was districted into three districts and two men were elected from each, viz. : No. 1, J. H. Livingston and T. A. Brown ; No. 2, L. E. Morgan and N. Jones; No. 3, W. R. Bishop and C. E. Wetherbee.
In 1856 J. Emeric from No. 1, Ira J. True from No. 2, and A. Olm- stead from No. 3 succeeded Livingston, Morgan and Bishop.
In 1857 J. L. Bromley succeeded Olmstead in No. 3; in 1860 J. T. Walker succeeded Bromley in No. 3; in 1861 G. H. Barrett succeeded Emeric in No. 1 ; in 1862 J. R. L. Smith succeeded True in No. 2; in 1863 R. G. Davis succeeded Walker in No. 3; in 1864 J. Tewksbury succeed- ed Barrett in No. 1; in 1865 D. N. Sherburne succeeded Smith in No. 2; in 1866 R. B. Hard succeeded Davis in No. 3; in 1867 John Tormey suc- ceeded Tewksbury in No. 1; in 1868 R. H. Wright succeeded Hard in No. 3; in 1872 P. Walker succeeded Wright; in 1873 G. P. Loucks suc- ceeded Walker in No. 3; P. Walker was elected from the new district No. 4, and J. C. McMaster from No. 5.
In 1877 Patrick Tormey succeeded John Tormey in No. 1, and W. Renwick succeeded Sherburne in No. 2. In 1878 W. B. English succeeded Loucks in No. 3; in 1880 D. N. Sherburne succeeded Renwick in No. 2; in 1882 T. E. Middleton succeeded Sherburne in No. 2, B. F. Beebe was elected over English in No. 3, and W. Nellis succeeded Walker in No. 4. In 1884 John Galindo succeeded Beebe in No. 3, P. Walker was again returned in No. 4, and Martin Flynn succeeded McMaster in No. 5. J. D. Bowen died in 1885 and P. Brown was appointed to fill the vacancy.
In 1886 J. Kelly succeeded Middleton in No. 2, and C. J. Clayton succeeded Walker in No. 4. In 1892 J. M. Stow was elected in No. 2 in place of Kelly, and M. B. Ivory in place of Flynn in No. 5. In 1894 A. Rumrill was elected over Tormey in No. 1, and D. F. Majors over Gal- indo in No. 3.
In 1896 William Hemme was elected in No. 1, Paul de Martini in No. 2, and J. D. Wightman in No. 3. In 1898 P. Tormey was elected in No. 1, William Hemme in No. 2, E. J. Randall in No. 3, Paul de Martini in No. 4, and J. D. Wightman in No. 5. In 1900 J. M. Stow was elected in No. 2, Paul de Martini in No. 4, and J. D. Wightman in No. 5. In 1902 P. Tormey was elected in No. 1, and E. J. Randall in No. 3. In 1904 R. Harrison was elected in No. 2, W. J. Buchanan in No. 4, and J. H. Try- thall in No. 5. In 1906 V. Hook was elected in No. 3. In 1908 Charles Rihn was elected in No. 1, and J. P. Casey in No. 2. In 1914
110
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
Zeb Knott was elected in No. 1, and in 1918 C. H. Hayden was elected in No. 3. Casey served until his death in 1923, and in April, 1923, Oscar Olsson was appointed his successor.
The members of the board of supervisors at the present time (1926) are : For district No. 1, Zeb Knott; for No. 2, Oscar Olsson; for No. 3, C. H. Hayden; for No. 4, W. J. Buchanan; for No. 5, R. J. Trembath.
CHAPTER V
MARTINEZ
The town of Martinez had its beginning in 1849, when Col. William M. Smith, then acting as agent for the Martinez heirs, decided to lay out a townsite. As early as 1823, Ignacio Martinez and Francisco Castro applied for and were granted the Pinole and San Pablo Ranchos, com- prising many leagues of land. They erected adobe houses and barns, be- gan planting trees and vines, and became the first fruit and grape growers in Contra Costa County. There were no roads, only trails through the valleys and over the hills; however, other families followed the example of these two pioneers and established homes for themselves. These two pioneer families were the center of all local social gatherings, and a typi- cal Spanish hospitality was always extended by them and their neighbors.
In 1832 William Welch secured title to a tract of land known as the Las Juntas Rancho, on which a portion of the city of Martinez now stands. In 1849 Col. William M. Smith secured the services of T. A. Brown to survey and lay out a town on 120 acres on the west side of El Hambre Creek. Lots sold rapidly, and soon buildings were in the course of con- struction. The first building was the house of Dr. Leffler, erected by Nicholas Hunsaker. T. A. Brown built the second structure and, with his brother Warren and N. B. Smith, opened and conducted the first trad- ing post in the county. Boorman and Dana also had a store in 1849, as did Howard & Wells; the latter was managed by one Howard Havens. That same year the Bradley house was completed, and N. Jones erected a cottage next to the Berryessa adobe. Dr. Tennent was the first physi- cian and Seeley Bennett the first livery stable man in the town.
In 1850-1851 T. A. Brown surveyed the first addition to the new town, under orders from the owners of the Welch Rancho, El Hambre Creek being the dividing line. There were over 500 acres in this tract, and the first buildings were the residences of Messrs. Lawless, Wise, Douglas, McMahon, and Bolton. It is well to mention that the Douglas home was the office of the first county clerk. There was also erected the office of the Contra Costa News, the first newspaper in the county.
.
VIEWS OF MARTINEZ IN 1868, TAKEN FROM TOP OF COURT HOUSE
F
111
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
In 1850 a negro named Jones opened the first eating house on the site of the Alhambra Hotel. In 1851 Teodoro Soto built an adobe home, la- ter known as the Hickman adobe.
The first school was started in a house later occupied by T. A. Brown. The school room was also the meeting place of the court when in session; also church services were held in it on Sundays. The Masonic lodge met in the rooms in the second story. B. R. Holliday was the first school teach- er in the town of Martinez, where he conducted a private school, and R. B. McNair is on record as the second teacher, and the first public school teacher.
In 1852 the Union Hotel was built. This was run by R. E. Borden, who was also the county treasurer.
A petition was circulated and presented to the court of sessions to have the town incorporated, which was done, and the election was held on February 5, 1851, for the first board of trustees. Not long thereafter the supreme court held that the act under which the incorporation was made was void; and as the costs necessary to another election were deemed ex- cessive by the citizens, the matter was dropped, to be revived again in 1876, when the incorporation became an actuality.
On August 2, 1852, the first execution took place, when José Antonio was hanged for the murder of A. Morales on May 29, 1852. He was taken to the edge of the village and hanged from the limb of a sycamore.
The second execution in Contra Costa County was that of a man named Monroe, who murdered a Mr. Briggs near Marsh's Landing. He was hanged from the limb of a tree near the old Martinez school building in September, 1854. The third hanging took place in the jail yard at Mar- tinez, when Manuel Juarez was executed for the murder of Elizabeth Robinson, an aged women who lived alone. He was hanged on July 28, 1867, declaring he was innocent.
The Methodist Episcopal church was established in 1854; the Episco- pal in 1855 ; and in 1866 a Sunday school and library were established by the Episcopalians; and their church was built in 1869, as noted later.
On September 18, 1858, the Contra Costa Gazette was established as a weekly newspaper and the first paper was issued by W. B. Soule & Com- pany. This paper withstood the ravages of time and never missed an issue in sixty-eight years. The complete files of the paper are the repository of much of the real history of Contra Costa County found in this book. WV. B. Soule & Company were in turn succeeded by C. R. K. Bonnard and B. E. Hillman. On February 26, 1859, W. Bradford bought the paper : on April 28, 1860, he sold a half-interest to R. R. Bunker, and on March 23, 1861, sold the balance to W. W. Theobalds. The paper was moved to the fast-growing town of Pacheco in 1861, which was then the grain- shipping center. In 1865 C. B. Porter bought out Theobalds' interest. In 1871 a disastrous fire completely destroyed the plant, and in November, 1873, it was moved back to Martinez, its present site. On March 3, 1882, F. K. Foster purchased a third interest. On November 3, 1883, Porter
-
112
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
sold out to Bunker and Foster, and on August 27, 1887, T. S. Davenport bought out Foster. It appeared as a semi-weekly on January 4, 1888. On October 3, of that year, James Foster purchased a half-interest from Davenport, but this was sold to W. C. Brown after Foster's death. On January 7, 1893, the paper was restored to a weekly. In 1898 Brown sold to G. E. Milnes, and in 1907 Milnes sold to W. A. Rugg, who had established the first successful daily paper in Martinez, the Daily Press, on March 1, 1900. Four years later the Press was sold to the Gazette Publishing Company and the name was changed to the Daily Gazette. Mr. Rugg still owns the paper.
The California Express was published in 1867 by Alex Montgomery, and continued for nearly two years.
J. W. Collier started the Enterprise in 1871. It was a Democratic sheet, printed in San Francisco. It only lived a short time.
The Contra Costa News was established in Pacheco in 1873, was removed to Martinez in 1877, and is now one of the influential weeklies of the county.
The Martinez Daily Standard and the Contra Costa Standard are published in conjunction by the Contra Costa Publishing Company. The daily was established in 1911.
Martinez and Benicia were joined by telegraph on April 8, 1859, and that same year Mette & Company established the first stage line between Martinez and Oakland. On September 17, 1860, the Martinez Engine Company was organized. In May, 1867, Coffin & Standish erected the first flouring mill. On February 4, 1871, the Martinez Hook & Ladder Company was organized, and on September 5 of that year the Martinez Water Company was incorporated. The new bridge over Al- hambra Creek was opened to traffic on November 13, 1875.,
Grace Episcopal Church was built in 1869, E. P. Gray serving as the first pastor. On June 18, 1874, the Congregational Church was organ- ized with W. S. Clark as the first pastor.
In 1876 agitation was renewed for reincorporating the city, and on May 23 the election for city officers was held. The boundaries of the town as finally incorporated were as follows : "Beginning at a point where the fence dividing the lands of J. P. Jones and L. I. Fish touches the Straits of Carquinez, thence southwardly along said fence and continuing same course to the line of the homestead tract of H. Bush ; thence westerly along the north line of Bush's homestead tract to Arroyo del Hambre; thence southerly along said Arroyo to the center of G Street, to the western boundary of the town of Martinez as originally surveyed; thence north- wardly following the western boundary of the town plat to the Straits of Carquinez, to place of beginning." In July, 1880, the population of Martinez was 875.
In 1879 the Bush property was purchased for a Catholic college, which was later built by the Christian Brothers and given the name of De La Salle Institute. In 1850-1851 the Catholics used Brown's store for church
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.