USA > California > Fresno County > History of Fresno 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, Volume I > Part 67
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The big fire that destroyed the county hospital was on the night of October 17, 1900. Until the hospital was rebuilt the patients were housed in the rented brick Tombs Hotel block at Merced and J Streets in town.
The county school system was organized with three districts in Febru- ary, 1860, the districts being Scottsburg, Kingston and Millerton. Hazelton was next organized in February, 1865, Lake in August, 1865, and Dry Creek in June, 1866.
It was in March, 1870, that C. P. Converse exploited his project to make use of the Kings River for the floating of lumber logs from the forests in the Sierras and made practical demonstration of the fact. Capital did not bite at the bait to do away with teaming from the mountains via Tollhouse.
In November, 1876, the county bought from Charles Crocker block 153 bounded by Tulare, Mariposa, R and S for a hospital site. The price was $300. The site was considered far out of town. It is today within a stone's throw from the Santa Fe passenger depot and not purchasable for many times $300. The hospital building that was erected was limited in capacity to twenty-five patients and not to cost more than $3,500. Built in March, 1877, it cost in fact $3,527 and was accepted in June.
In July, 1874, the county assessor placed a valuation of sixty-three dol- lars on Fresno city lots.
The first county horticultural commissioners were: Thomas Gourley, Andrew Jackson and W. M. Williams, appointed February, 1882.
W. F. Plate promoted a scheme for the incorporation as a town of the populous Washington Irrigated Colony and an election was held December 1, 1883. The scheme was defeated-245 against, 77 for. E. J. King, W. J. Dickey and W. S. Wyatt were the precinct election officers.
455
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
The first license operative in Fresno city before it was incorporated was enacted by the county supervisors in May, 1883. Incorporation was de- feated at an election May 3, 1883-215 to 161. In May one year later, a sanitary and police district was formed to regulate the town but an election held voted down the proposed sanitary tax-eighty-five to forty-three.
For the general election November 4, 1884, sheriff and constables were given special instructions to enforce the state law against electioneering within the 100-foot limit at any polling place.
The county horticultural commission of 1882 was abolished because it had resulted in no substantial good or benefit.
The first lithographic map of the county was published in March, 1887, by J. C. Shepard at a reported cost of $1,249.
In March, 1887, the county purchased for $4,000 the Yosemite Turnpike Toll road from Fresno Flats to the Mariposa County line.
Fresno's first civic organization was in March, 1887, in the inclusion of the town site in a pound district with W. R. Neil, J. R. Allison and T. L. Reed as the trustees. That same month the county was given its second department of the Superior court.
J. L. Smith was awarded the contract in February, 1888, to build an enlarged hospital building for seventy-five patients for $25,240.
The county jail building in the courthouse park was built under a con- tract with A. J. Meany awarded in September, 1877, for $24,195.
The first public use of electricity was made in September, 1887, when four sixty-foot electric light masts were erected in courthouse park. Today the park is lighted by a system of electroliers in style the same as those about the city.
The important announcement was made in April, 1919, of the sale by the California Wine Association of 3,700 acres of vineyard land for $1,300,000 to a Fresno syndicate for subdivision into twenty to 160-acre tracts for early colonization. The land is more particularly known as the Great Western Vineyard, the second largest in California and one of the largest in the world. The Great Western embraces 1,250 acres of wine grapes located north of Reedley. W. B. Nichols and J. H. Lindley of Dinuba were reported to be two members of the purchasing syndicate. A total of 2,551 acres is planted to wine grapes, Muscats and Thompson's, and while much of this is in bearing there are some 1,100 acres of virgin land. The deal had been under consideration for a month before. Surveys had been made and the work of cutting up the largest wine grape vineyard in this section of the state was to have begun April 25. Those who claim to be in close touch with the situation aver that the great sale portended that the California Wine Association was "getting out from under" on account of the prohibition situation, as in fact announced in one of its annual statements to stockhold- ers and to the trade. The purchasing syndicate plans to make the vineyard property the center of a colonization community and has set aside 160 acres for a townsite. The belief is entertained that the wine grapes will not be a financial loss with prohibition because they will be picked green for ship- ment as table grapes, or will be dried into a class of raisins. The selling agency through which the deal was negotiated had completed about this time the subdivisions of the Alamo and Riverside vineyards, a tract of 470 acres near Reedley, and previously the Smith Mountain Vineyard of Dinuba. These sales were considered as indicative of the times by reason of the pro- hibition enactments.
Expansion of the California Associated Raisin Company with an increase of capital stock by $1,360,000 in three years, making a total paid up capitali- zation of $2,500,000, is foreshadowed with the recording of second amended articles of incorporation April 15, 1919, reducing par value of shares of stock from $100 to $1 each but increasing the number of shares from 25,000 to 2,500,000. Under the new contracts the signing grower obligates himself to
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HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
accept a small percentage of payment for raisins in capital stock. The reduc- tion in par value is made to enable payment in stock of sums as small as four dollars and five dollars. According to this arrangement, the estimates are that the sales of stock will be so general that the paid up capital now $1,040,000 will be $2,500,000 in three years, the estimate to be raised in 1919 $750,000. As a part of this campaign of expansion, three-quarters of a million will be expended during the present year in enlargements and improvements of the association's plant, popularly known as "Sun Maid City," to handle the production this year and the succeeding years as the business thrives and enlarges under the successful regime of the association. These improve- ments are not to be restricted to the parent plant in Fresno City, but include the packing plants at Fowler, Selma, Kingsburg, Hanford, Armona, Dinuba, Reedley, Del Rey, Lone Star, Sanger and Clovis. The association has be- come one of the established financial institutions of the county managing a great business, and upon the profitable and successful handling of it the prosperity of the county in a large measure depends. Reference need be only made to the circumstance that on the first payment for raisins at the rate of seventy dollars a ton on Sultanas and Thompson's Seedless, the outgo into circulation was $3,500,000, the second was $2,500,000, checks were mailed to over 5,000 members and there will be a third and final payment in the fall. The industry is growing amazingly. The proof is that the second payment in 1918 was greater by $500,000 than that in 1917. The total budget for 1919 for the sales and advertising department is $440,000 and of this sum $260,000 will go into publicity, the budget exceeding the 1918 allowance by $65,000. The directorate of the association is the following: Wylie M. Gif- fen, president ; F. A. Seymour, assistant ; Hector Burness and F. H. Wilson, vice presidents; C. A. Murdock, secretary; George C. Taber, cashier, and Milo F. Rowell, treasurer.
According to Bulletin 271 of the U. S. Department of Agriculture there are three sections in the United States classified as regions where the date palm will grow and ripen fruit. Fresno is one of the three. To determine where the temperature is high enough to ripen the edible date the sum of the daily temperatures from May 1 to October 31 was taken. Accordingly Fresno has a higher temperature (with a total of 1,054 degrees centigrade) than Orleansville in Algeria, where early dates mature and ripen and which for the fruiting period noted has a total temperature of only 788 degrees centigrade. The other regions are the semi-tropic plains of Arizona and the Salton Basin or Coachella Valley of California, where dates are grown com- mercially. At Tempe, Ariz., date palms grow on alkali land where not even weeds nor grass will grow as a cover top between trees. Such conditions in Fresno would make it necessary to provide for the overhead for four or five years, because a date orchard of any type will produce little income under that period. Only early varieties could be counted upon to mature fruit in the Fresno region. The date palm is known to be more resistant to alkali than ordinary field crops but it is by no means able to grow in the worst alkali lands. While it may grow with a considerable alkali percentage on the surface, unless the roots can penetrate strata with no more than six per cent. alkali the date will not successfully fruit.
In the month of April, 1919, work commenced on the power plant of the San Joaquin Light and Power Company on the San Joaquin River about one-half mile above Big Sandy, near Auberry, in the western foothills. The estimated $2,500,000 cost of plant is exclusive of the distributing lines and will cover the preliminary work and the erection of power house. When completed, the plant will develop from 27,000 to 28,000 horse power. The preliminary work is in the building of roads to reach the site for the trans- portation of material. Start was made on the tunnel that will tap the river six miles from the plant; it will be nearly two miles long and cut off the bend in the stream; dam is also being made at the tunnel entrance. As a
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HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
reason for choosing the tunnel as a means for feeding the power house, it was stated that from the point where the stream is tapped the fall is from fifty to seventy-five feet per mile and by tunnelling across the land the grade is reduced and at the point where stream is again met by the tunnel exit there will be a vertical fall of 400 feet. The construction of the plant is made necessary to meet a demand which is greater than the capacity to supply. It will take one year to erect the plant.
Tuesday, April 1, 1919, became effective General Order No. 28 of the U. S. Railroad Administration authorizing a flat increase to three cents a mile in all state and coast passenger rates, the object of the tariff being to establish the mile rate as a general one as basis of cost. Exclusive of the eight per cent. tax, some of the more important increases in rates from Fresno were the following :
Destination
Old Rate
New Rate
Berkeley
$5.70
$6.15
Bakersfield
3.10
3.25
Coalinga
2.40
2.55
Goshen Junction
.90
1.05
Lathrop
3.40
4.15
Los Angeles
8.25
8.40
Oakland Pier
5.70
6.10
Sacramento
5.05
5.15
San Francisco
5.70
6.20
San Jose (S. P.)
7.20
7.65
Stockton
3.60
3.70
Tracy
3.75
3.70
The Pullman war tax was reduced also from ten to eight cents with no tax on passenger fare charge of forty-two cents or less.
In March, 1919, the regents of the state university announced for sale 480 acres of the Kearney estate on terms of 25 per cent. down, the remainder in one year and all proceeds to be expended on the estate. The section of- fered for sale was that bounded by Pierce, Cleveland, California and Madison avenues, running from $250 to $400 an acre and with the Kearney Boule- vard (officially platted as Chateau Fresno Avenue) running through the offered tract. The 400 acres sold April 2 brought $125,000. The largest purchaser was Lester L. Eastin, 140 acres for $48,000.
Contract of sale recorded April 3, 1919, confirmed sale of 520 acres of vineyard land three miles east of Reedley by James Madison, formerly vice president and manager of the California Associated Raisin Company, to a syndicate of Fred Nelson, E. V. Kelley, W. J. Simpson, A. L. Nelson and W. W. Parlier for $250,000 payable $50,000 cash and the balance in $25,000 annual payments. Six years before, it was claimed, the property could not have been sold for half that sum, evidence, it was asserted, of the enhanced value of property in the development of the valley and of the county with the stability of vineyard land prices by reason of the success of the raisin association. Forty acres of the land is in Producers' Colony and the re- mainder near or adjacent to Reedley. Sixty acres are set out to figs, twenty to eucalyptus and the remainder to vines. The property will be subdivided into forty and eighty-acre tracts for sale. The disposal of the entire vine- yard at a price of nearly $500 an acre was one of the largest deals in the county up to that time for the year. Owners of other large holdings were planning also to subdivide them into twenty to eighty acres for popular colonization. The Madison vineyard was known as a "two ton" vineyard and as one of the heaviest producers. The 520-acre holding was divided for the sale on sealed bids into seven parcels of 160 to forty acres, ranging in prices from $100,000 to $16,000 according to productivity of soil, the total
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HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
asked $375,000. The sale was on one day, bids opened on the ranch and awards made then.
. Another large sale in the month of April, 1919, was that of the improved Alta Sierra ranch, near Clovis, for $126,000 to A. E. and F. H. Holmes of San Jose and E. Roediger of Oakland. The 160 are forty in eight to twelve- year-old figs (Smyrna) and the remainder in Thompson's seedless, Emperor and Malaga grapes. F. H. Holmes has been a packer and fruit grower in the Santa Clara Valley for upwards of thirty years. The brothers have also an orange grove near Porterville.
The S. E. Black 120-acre vineyard on Ventura Avenne, nine miles east of Fresno, with fine residence and all save seven acres planted to producing vines and peach trees, was sold in April, 1919, under contract to Alexander Lion of Fresno for $90,000. The Black vineyard was one of "the show places." Its purchaser will use the place as a country residence, not expect- ing to move on the place until 1920. The vines are from seven to twelve years of age, seventy-two acres planted to Muscats, twenty to Malagas and twenty to peaches. The sale enabled the seller to move to Long Beach for his health.
The 100-acre Gordon vineyard, one-quarter of a mile east of the city limits, was sold about the middle of the month of April, 1919, to Arthur Perkins of the Barrett-Hicks Company to be developed into an exclusive and restricted residential tract to be known as Gordondale. The sale was for $60,000 by Alexander Gordon, who was a Fresno County settler of 1874, coming to California in December, 1869, soon after the completion of the overland railroad, settling in San Joaquin County where he entered the part- nership with W. C. Miller in the sheep business with about 2,000 head, moving to Fresno in the same business and flocks averaging 10,000 to 12,000 and continuing the partnership for seventeen years. Mr. Gordon was a factor in the early building up of Fresno City and made the sale to retire from active life after recent expiration of his term as railroad commissioner for this district to spend the remainder of his days quietly on part of his former ranch. For his use he retained twelve acres for a permanent home. The Gordon vineyard had been cultivated for thirty-one years and as one of the large holdings east of the city was noted for the richness and pro- ductivity of the soil. Eighty acres of the place were in alfalfa and the other twenty in Muscats. The strip was said to be the largest residential addition to the city, with which it must necessarily be connected at some time, accessible as it is by the Ventura Avenue street car line and close to the county fair grounds at Butler and Cedar Avenues. The purchaser has been active in other residential property development, notably a subdivision near the normal school.
The 1919 fig crop of the Kearney Estate was sold April 20, 1919, to the Roeding Fig and Olive Company on a bid of fifteen cents a pound, estimate being that the crop would range from eighty to 100 tons. At this price the 100 tons would bring $30,000. The year before the 100-ton crop with ten of culls brought the record price of $33,000. There are 2,400 fig trees at Kear- ney Park and all save five acres are border trees, making the return there- for in larger part "velvet."
The Holstein-Friesian heifer, "Dora Walker," the property of Mrs. Annie Donders of Fresno, set a new state record for combined milk and butter production in the senior two-year-old class. That record is stated to be the second highest in the world. It was for seven days in April, 1919, a product of 664.4 pounds of milk and 24.144 of butter. On her best day during the test conducted under the supervision of the University of Cali- fornia this heifer produced 99.7 pounds of milk and 4.24 of butter. The test was conducted on the W. J. Higdon Tulare-Holstein farm. Mrs. Donders owns a small herd of registered Holstein cattle. She won in 1917 at the Fresno County fair the blue ribbon with her junior yearling bull. "Dora
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HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Walker's" record is all the more remarkable as she gave birth to two calves within ten months and made the last test after a rest of only six weeks.
A transaction in West Side lands worthy of note was the option sale recorded April 30, 1919, to Henry E. Monroed by Emma P. Harper for 7,360 acres in the Big Panoche and Silver Creek drainage area for a stated consideration of $130,000. This land is located in Sections 36-14-12, 28-33- 14-13, 1 and 2 and 12-15-12, 5 to 9-15-13 and 11-15-12. A few days after the recording of the option, suit was brought by the assignee of the buyer against the seller for specific performance of the contract and $100,000 damages. It was claimed that after payments made in accordance with the terms of the contract she failed to make transfer, having deeded to another February 11, 1919, for no consideration to evade the contract. The land is six miles south and twelve west of Mendota, a noteworthy locality because of the efforts to tap well-water sources for pumping to make otherwise arid lands productive.
On May day, 1919, was recorded a sale contract by the Frankenau In- vestment Company to Leslie Einstein, of about 200 acres, adjacent to the Fink Colony, of highly developed agricultural land northwest of Reedley, for $150,000, payable $20,000 cash, and balance $20,000 annually, except the last, when the final of $30,000 will be made. Another contract was that of the sale by the Alta Muscat Farms, a Japanese corporation, to Smith Thomas, of sixty acres in Section 19-15-24, three miles east of Reedley, for $42,500.
Statistics of 1918 of the State Motor Vehicle Department credited Fresno with the ownership and actual operation of 16,619 machines, an average of about one for every five inhabitants. This is in marked contrast with the record of ten years before when the county was credited with 800-a strik- ing illustration also of the increase of the automobile industry and the pros- perity of this section of the state.
The report in May, 1919, was that S. A. Guiberson, Jr., formerly of Coal- inga, had purchased the Coalinga Petroleum Company interests of the Bakers for over $100,000. The purchase embraced eighty acres in the east half of the northeast quarter of section 14-20-14. with eight producing wells pumped by jack with electric power, producing close to 4,000 barrels a month, and being in shallow territory easily drilled up. Originally the property was the well known Samuel Adams homestead on which R. C. Baker secured a lease. He organized the Coalinga Petroleum and with his brothers, J. E. and A. A., took three-fourths of the stock, and Stanley Morehead, the other quarter. Guiberson had located at Dallas, Texas, where he has shops and manufac- tures patented oil-well machinery.
On May 6, 1919, there was voted in the county a roads' bond issue of $4,800,000 for a system of 31512 routed concrete or other road miles, to be completed with the close of the year 1921, and first survey to have been commenced May 12, 1919. The vote on the bonds was: For, 12.187 ; against, 1,972; total, 14,159; necessary two-thirds, 9,432; to the good, 4,727. This was said to have been the largest road bonds ever voted by a county in the state, Los Angeles coming next with one of $3,500,000. The Fresno roads will be forty feet in width and the paved portion sixteen feet. The routed mileage under the bond issue was stated to be only the beginning of a main trunk line to be added to and expanded with connecting and cross-roads. The routed mileage includes the Coalinga state lateral to Monterey.
First county appropriation to advertise the resources of the county and induce immigration hitherward was of $1,000 in December, 1887, to the Board of Trade.
Much was made of the fact that in January, 1888, County Treasurer Nelson had $120,000 surplus and disengaged funds of the county on deposit at the time in four local banks.
The United States Weather Bureau was established in Fresno in March, 1888.
460
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
The second horticultural commission was appointed in March, 1889. The personnel was of A. H. Cummings, T. W. Borchers, F. D. Rosendahl, Gus Eisen, J. W. Ferguson and Richard Wheeler. In February, 1888, S. H. Cole was appointed the first quarantine officer. In May, 1891, George C. Roeding, J. R. Baird and J. W. Wilkins were appointed commissioners and in Decem- ber one year later Roeding was succeeded by Edward V. Upton and Wilkins of Madera was re-appointed.
Under an act of March, 1887, cession of territory was made to San Benito County embracing the quicksilver mines in the northwestern corner of Fresno.
In March, 1891, the county bridges were the Jenny Lind above Pollasky, at Firebaugh. Lane's, and at Sycamore below Herndon on the San Joaquin and at Smith's Ferry, at Kingston, and at Centerville on the Kings.
The Valley railroad that was to open a new era in railroad competition threaded its way through the county in May. 1891. in the construction of line from Bakersfield to San Francisco. It was a competing factor until absorbed by the Santa Fe and Fresno became a station on the second transcontinental line.
The courthouse additions on the present lines were decided upon in July, 1891, according to plans of Curlett & Eisen of San Francisco and in December the contract was awarded to Smilie Bros. of Oakland for $99,387. The work was completed in November, 1893, and $11,297 in new furniture was bought.
The county law library was established in September, 1891. with Judges Holmes and Harris, T. C. White of the supervisors and J. P. Meux and Newman Jones of the bar association as the first board of trustees.
In July, 1891. 7.662 school children were reported in the county.
To a ship canal convention were named as delegates in January, 1892: T. E. Hughes, F. G. Berry, S. N. Griffith, Return Roberts of Madera and E. B. Perrin but nothing substantial came out of the project.
For county participation at the Chicago Columbian exposition an appro- priation of $7.500 was made in April, 1892. The personnel of the commission after many individual changes was: W. M. Hughes, J. M. Collier, D. T. Fowler, L. J. Miller, J. H. Harding. W. M. Williams. George Wilson, Mrs. M. B. Stuart, and the Misses L. H. Hatch and Nellie Boyd, the actress.
Dr. Lewis Leach, who almost since the organization of the county had been in charge of health matters as county physician, resigned the office in January, 1893, and was succeeded by Dr. W. T. Maupin.
First town in the county outside of Fresno to incorporate was Selma in March, 1893. The vote was 124 to fifty-four.
First reclamation district organized in the county was in March, 1893.
W. S. Badger, S. B. Marshal and D. T. Fowler were named in August, 1893, commissioners to arrange for county participation in the Midwinter Fair in San Francisco.
Fritz Paatsch has the distinction of being the first Boniface convicted under an ordinance for a violation in keeping his saloon open on Sunday April 1, 1894.
The 100,000 Club of Fresno city saw the light of day about April, 1895. It was a boosters' organization. Its name was wish and father to the thought of the day when the town would have a population of 100,000.
F. A. Rowell was under appointment in April, 1895, the first county game and fish warden, succeeded by W. H. A. Shaver in September, 1896, and by Andrew D. Ferguson in January, 1897, he continuing in the office for many years thereafter, and then as district field deputy under the state commission. The game and fish stocking of the county is due largely to the work of this official, who has made the subject a life study and a labor of love.
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