USA > California > Marin County > History of Marin County, California also an historical sketch of the state of California > Part 32
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CATHOLIC CHURCH .- There have been church services held by the Catholic people of this place for a number of years, but it was not till 1877 that they erected their church edifice. The building is not yet completed, how- ever, but when it is it will be a very handsome structure. It has cost so far about three thousand dollars. Services are held in it once a month.
SCHOOLS .- There are two school districts at this end of the township, the Bay View and Bolinas, but the whole section was included in one district till 1876, when it was divided. The house in the Bay View district was built in 1863, but was not used for school purposes until the division of the district occurred. Two teachers have been employed since 1878, an addition having been made to the building for the use of the primary department.
DRUIDS GROVE .- Duxbury Grove No. 26, United Ancient Order of Druids was organized Under Dispensation August 2, 1874, and their charter was granted June 3, 1875. The charter members were Joseph Adams, James Pedrotti, Henry Wegner, Albert Ingerman, Samuel Clark, J. C. Gib- son, W. J. Randall, Thomas Johnson, John Turner, Wm. Betten, James M. Davis, and W. W. Wilkins. The first officers Under Dispensation were Samuel Clark, N. A .; James M. Davis, V. A .; W. J. Randall, Sec. and . Treas. The first officers Under Constitution were the same as above.
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HISTORY OF MARIN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
Their present officers are E. F. Betten, N. A .; N. C. Odin, V. A; Samuel Clark, R. Sec .; R. T. Cottingham, F. Sec., and James Steele, Treas. The present membership is fifty. When the Grove was first organized the meet- ings were held in an upper room at the residence of Samuel Clark, and were continued there until the completion of the new hall, September, 1879. The building is twenty-six by fifty and thirty feet to the eaves. The lower story is fourteen feet to the ceiling, and is used for a public hall. The upper room, which is the lodge hall, is fifteen feet to the ceiling and twenty-five by thirty-five feet, with two ante-rooms. This room is nicely furnished and is one of the most pleasant lodge rooms in the county.
DEATHS BY DROWNING .- Several men have been drowned at this place from vessels. Capt. Riley, of the sloop "Falmouth," is the only master of a vessel who has met his death in that manner. As he was taking his craft out over the bar, standing at the helm, the mainsail jibed and the boom knocked him into the sea, and he was lost. A sad affair occurred here by which a man by the name of Clute lost his life by drowning. He had just made all his arrangments to return to the Eastern States for the purpose of getting married, and having some friends at Bolinas he started for that place on board the sloop "Frazier," for the purpose of paying them a visit before he returned East. When they arrived off Rocky Point the vessel was becalmed and there was a prospect of spending the night there. Two men, George Gavitt and Mr. Crane, proposed to proceed in a yawl boat, and Clute, being very sea-sick, desired to go with them. When the boat got into the breakers it was upset, and he went down, with the words, "O, George." Instead of wedding festivities there was mourning in that far away Eastern home.
POST-OFFICE .- J. C. Gibson is the present postmaster. This office was established June 3, 1863, with Henry Clover as postmaster.
OLEMA-Early Settlement .- It is very befitting that the history of the early settlement of the northern end of this township should be opened with a sketch of Rafael Garcia. This pioneer of pioneers of Marin county was born in San Diego about 1790. He remained in that place until he entered the military service, which was at an early age. In the course of a few years he had attained to the rank of " Alferez" or ensign. The only glimpse which we get of his military career is from a letter written by ex-Governor Juan B. Alvarado, dated January 5, 1874, from which we take the following extract. Speaking of the Mission San Rafael, he says :- Fifty years ago the Indians hereabouts were very savage and hostile, and it was thought prudent to station a small guard at the mission for protection. This guard of three or four soldiers was commanded by Corporal (ensign) Rafael Gar- . cia. The Friar and the Corporal held out the olive branch of peace to the savages, but were not met in the same spirit. The Caynameros, a Marin
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county tribe, made a descent on the mission with a purpose to surprise and massacre the inhabitants. Our corporal was not surprised, however, but made a gallant defense. When the Indians appeared in sight, with hostile demonstrations, he embarked the Friar Juan, his (Garcia's) wife, Loreto, and two or three children, upon a balsa or raft made of tules, and despatched them with the tide to go elsewhere for safety. Strange to say this frail float and its precious cargo landed safely near the Presidio. The corporal having freed himself of the non-combatants, made a stubborn fight, and repulsed the assailants, or as the Governor has it :- Garcia en este caso defendio la mission y Presidio a su valor y resignacion, los Indios fueron rechazados y espulsados de las immedraciones del establecimiento. It will be seen by the above that Garcia was the first man to have a family in Marin county. Father Gleeson, in his "History of the Catholic Church in California," gives the date of the establishment of this mission as 1817, at which time he was about twenty-seven years of age. It is not known just when his connection with the army ceased, but it was not until he had served his full time. He was then for several years major domo of several missions, among which were Sonoma, San Rafael, San José and others. He came to Bolinas and located what is now known as the Briones rancho about 1834. He was followed soon after by his brother-in-law, Gregorio Briones, to whom he disposed of the Baulinas rancho, and located on the rancho adjoining it on the north, and now known as the rancho Tomales y Baulinas. This was about 1837. He built a very large adobe house for the use of his family, which stood on the present site of Thomas Crandall's house. The work was done by Indians, and an Indian was foreman and had full charge of the work. He afterwards built two more adobe houses for the use of his servants and employés; also several frame buildings. In the olden and balmy days of the Spanish-Mexican regime, the Summa Summarum of the dolce far niente style of life of that age could be found at this ranch. Three thousand head of cattle roamed at will over the hills and through the val- leys, one of which was slaughtered daily to supply the demands of the establecimiento. Four hundred horses bore the ranch brand, and extensive flocks of sheep and herds of swine formed a part of the princely possessions of the Garcia estate. Looms and spinning wheels were brought into requisi- tion, and the wool grown upon the sheep was washed, carded, spun and woven into cloth beneath the shelter of the ranch houses. The hides of the cattle were tanned, and boots and shoes made of the leather. The seasons came and went unheeded, and life was to those old Spaniards a near approach to the Utopian's dream. A Summer's sun, set in a bright ethereal empyrean, across whose rays not even a hand breadth's cloud ever passed to cast its shadow on the world, showered down a golden flood of radiant light to bless the happy days, while the Winter's rains fell in copious showers, causing the grass to spring to luxuriant life over all the hills and dales
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HISTORY OF MARIN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
spreading as it were an emerald tapestry on every hand full dainty enough for tread of princely feet. But the dream ended, and sad indeed the awak- ening. From the lap of luxuriance they fell into the arms of poverty, dying sad and broken hearted. Gone were their flocks and herds, and the land on which they had roamed. Life which had been to them a hey-day of sun- shine and gladness was robbed of all that went to make it worth the living- for, and to many of them death was a welcome guest, lifting the burdens and cares which had gradually settled upon their shoulders. Rafael Garcia was married to Señorita Maria Loretto Aletemerando, either at San Diego or San José, in about 1810. Eight of their children grew to manhood and womanhood, of which five were boys and three were girls. He died Feb- ruary 25, 1866, while his wife survived him till April 17, 1873, when she was foully murdered by one Ambrosio Carrera.
The first land disposed of by Garcia was to Messrs Post and Taylor, in 1855, and the amount was three hundred acres, of which one hundred lay on Daniels' creek, at the present site of the paper mill, and the other two hundred was in three tracts lying in Olema valley. During the next year these last mentioned tracts were disposed of to John Connor, Wm. Johnson and John Garrison. The first-named died on his place, the second sold his place, in 1864, to Levi Balver, and went to Monterey county, where he still lives, while the third sold to Nelson Olds, and went to Sonoma county, and continues to reside there. Subsequently, Olds purchased a league of land from Garcia, which was bounded on the east by Daniels' creek, and on the west by Olema creek. Olds still lives on the place. John Nelson and Wm. Randall came to Olema in June, 1857, and bought fourteen hundred acres from Garcia, located on the south side of the Olds tract. All these men had families except Connor and Nelson. A man by the name of Benjamin Miller had a claim on one hundred and fifty acres just west of Nelson and Randall, and some trouble grew up between them, which culminated in the killing of Randall by Miller in June, 1861.
Benjamin Winslow built the first house in the present town of Olema in 1857, which was a store, bar, and hotel combined, and was known as the "Olema House." In 1859 John Gifford erected a hotel, which he called the "Point Reyes House," and in 1864 Manuel Levy opened the first store, while Charles Nelson built the first dwelling house.
SCHOOLS .- The entire northern portion of this township was included in one district, formerly, and was called Olema. It was divided in 1866, and the southern portion retained the old name, and the northern portion received that of Garcia. The village of Olema was included in the latter. The first school-house built in the Olema district was erected in the Spring of 1860. The money was secured by subscription, and much work was done on it by the citizens, especially by Wm. Randall, who was a carpenter. It was four-
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teen. by eighteen, weather-boarded and covered with shakes, and was located on the ranch now owned by Joseph Muscio ... The first teacher was an Englishman by the name of James Bailey, who boarded around during his term, which lasted three months, and was paid by subscription. The school-house in the Garcia district was erected in 1866, and is a two-story building, thirty by forty in size. The lower floor is used for school pur poses, and the upper as a public hall. There is only one grade in the school. In 1878 the Garcia district was divided, and a school-house built north of the station.
OFFICIAL AND BUSINESS DIRECTORY .- Olema is a pretty little village, lying in a very pleasant valley of the same name, and contains about one hundred souls. The post-office was established there February 28, 1859, with Benjamin T. Winslow postmaster. The office is at present under the charge of W. L. Crandall, who is also Justice of the Peace. James Fried is Constable, and Nelson & Friedlander are agents for Wells, Fargo & Co. The business interests of the town comprise one hotel, three stores, two black- smith shops, one livery stable, and one mneat market. It is reached by stage from Olema station, which is located about two miles away on the North Pacific Coast Railroad. Tokoloma is also about the same distance away. There are no churches, but services are held by both the Methodists and Pres- byterians in the school-house. The present fine hotel was built in 1877. Both the former hotels were destroyed by fire, the Point Reyes House having been burned April 27, 1876, and the Olema House June 27, 1876, just two months later.
THE PAPER MILL .- The pioneer paper mill of the Pacific coast was put in operation in this township in 1856 by Messrs. Samuel. P. Taylor & Post. The mill is located on land purchased by them of Rafael Garcia, and situa- ted on Daniels' or Paper Mill creek, something more than five miles east of Olema. The building is a wooden structure of sufficient capacity for all required purposes. The power for driving the machinery is both water and steam. About one-half mile above the mill a strong dam has been con- structed across the creek from which the water is conducted to the mill in a flume. The engine is one hundred horse power, and is used only in the Summer-time when the water supply is exhausted. A description of the modus operandi of paper making will not be without interest hence it is appended. Paper is made, at this place, from old seraps of paper, cotton and linen rags, old rope and burlaps, which articles come to the mill in great bales. It is carefully sorted and the proper material for the various kinds of paper segregated. In this establishment book, news, brown wrapping (hardware) and Manilla paper is manufactured. For making book and news paper only white cotton or linen rags and white paper are used. Manilla paper is made of old rope and burlaps, while the heavy wrapping
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HISTORY OF MARIN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
paper is made of the coarse material which will not work into Manilla. The rope and burlaps are first passed through a chopping machine which cuts them into pieces about two inches square. This process is gone through with twice, when the material is passed through a coarse bolt for the pur- pose of freeing it from dirt. It is then placed in a large vat and covered with lime water which is kept hot and moving about by a jet of steam passed into it. The object of this is to bleach the material. After remain- ing in this vat fifteen hours it is put into a vat in which there is a beater, which is so arranged that all the matter in the vat must pass through the machine, which consists of a cylinder under which there is a plate both of which are corrugated; water is added to the mass and the cylinder set in motion. As the material gets ground up finer the cylinder is allowed to work closer and closer to the plate until they touch. Muriatic and sulphuric acids are now added to further bleach the pulp, which it has now become. After the rope and burlap material has been triturated for six hours a certain proportion of paper pulp is added and the process continued three hours longer. It is then passed into a vat called a "stuff chest" in which there is kept revolving an "agitator" so that the pulp may be kept evenly distributed through the water. It is pumped from this into a box-like receptacle to which there is a gauge to regulate the outward flow of the pulp according to the desired weight or quality of the paper to be made. From this it passes through a strainer or screen, so that only particles of a given fineness can pass into the composition of the paper. It is now deposited into a vat in which there is a gauge cylinder revolving, arranged so that the water is drawn from the inside of it. This causes the pulp to float on the current of the water passing through the screen, against it, and to adhere to and pass up on it. It is taken from this cylinder by a felt belt and passed through a press-roll, when it is taken up by a coarser felt belt and passed through another press-roll, during which process all the water has been extracted. It is then passed over four consecutive cylinders through which a current of steam is passing for the purpose of thoroughly drying it. The pressure of steam in these cylinders varies from forty to sixty pounds, according to the quality of the paper. It then passes through two series of calender presses of three cylinders each whence it passes to the reels. From these it is placed under the knife and cut into sheets of the requisite size. It is then folded and put into quires and pressed, and then bundled, when it is ready for the market.
The capacity of the mill is about twenty tons of paper a month, which, if made into Manilla bags would amount to over five hundred thousand. Three hundred tons of rags and ropes are consumed annually. During 1867 this mill manufactured three hundred and eighty-four reams of colored paper, three thousand five hundred reams of news and book, and nine thou- sand two hundred and fifty reams of Manilla; and the value of the total
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product was sixty-four thousand eight hundred dollars. There were used three hundred tons of rags, rope and burlaps, two hundred and fifty barrels of lime, and two thousand pounds of muriatic and sulphuric acids. About twenty men are constantly employed, the most of whom, however, are Chinese.
POWDER MILLS .- These works are located on Daniels' creek, about three miles above the paper mill. The buildings were erected in 1866 at a cost of sixty-three thousand dollars. In 1867 there were manufactured thirty thousand kegs of blasting powder and two thousand packages of sporting powder. The buildings were distributed over several hundred acres for greater security. Both water and steam power were used. In November, 1877, an explosion occurred by which three men were killed and several of the buildings demolished. The latter were, however, soon rebuilt. At the present time nothing is being done there, and the buildings are going to decay.
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HISTORY OF MARIN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
NICASIO.
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GEOGRAPHY .- Nicasio township is bounded on the north by San Antonio township, on the west by Tomales township, on the south by Tomales bay, Bolinas and San Rafael townships, and on the east by San Rafael and Novato townships. There are no streams of importance in this section. That part of Tomales bay which skirts along the south-western portion of Nicasio is not navigable now for any kind of craft, although years ago the water was deep enough for sloops and fishing smacks. Nicasio creek is a small stream flowing through the central portion, while San Geronimo, or Paper-mill creek, flows along the southern border.
TOPOGRAPHY .- The general face of this section is hilly rather than moun- tainous, although there are some quite high ridges and peaks in the western portion. The country is generally quite open and free from timber or chap- arral. In Nicasio valley the hills become mere undulations, having much the same general appearance as the southern portion of Sonoma county, especially that section known as Big Valley. It may be said that there is no level land in the township from the fact that the valleys are all broken up into these undulations.
SOIL .- The soil of Nicasio is fully up to the standard of any other town- ship in the county. It is a rich, sandy loam in all the valleys, while on the hillsides there is some red clay. On some of the rolling ground in the northern part of the township the soil is of a lighter nature, still not enough so as to cause any very great difference in the yield, either of grass or grain. The soil generally is well adapted to growing all kinds of· grains, vegetables and fruits, also grass.
CLIMATE .- The climate is mild and pleasant in the eastern portion of the township, while in the western it is subjected to heavy winds and fogs. In Nicasio valley proper the climate is not excelled anywhere in the county. . It is well protected from the blasts of the ocean winds by the range of hills known as the Black Mountains, on the tops of which the fogs seem to cling with wonderful tenacity, and seldom swoop down into the valley.
PRODUCTS .- The products of this section are in keeping with other town- ships of the county. Butter is here, as elsewhere, the product, although the
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business of dairying is not conducted on quite so large a scale, by indi- viduals, as in some other sections. Some grain is grown, but little of it finds its way to the market. Some cord-wood and railroad ties are cut and marketed. Fruit trees thrive excellently, but little attention is paid to their cultivation. Potatoes grow luxuriantly, and tons of massive tubers are produced to the acre; but all these things give way before the all- absorbing industry of butter making.
TIMBER .- When the country was settled up by Americans there were large forests of redwood in Nicasio, but since then saw-mills have been' busily engaged for. many years, and the prime trees have long since fallen victims to the remorseless ax of the woodsman. There are still large num- bers of second and third grade trees remaining in the forests, and it is quite probable that there will come a time when they will be very valuable. Of the other timbers, the oak may be mentioned as the principal one. None of this, however, is available for other purposes than firewood. There is some laurel and some alder, but the latter does not form any considerable portion of the timber of this section.
EARLY SETTLEMENT .- Nicasio township is composed chiefly of lands granted to Pablo de la Guerra and Juan B. R. Cooper, and known as the Nicasio Rancho. This grant contained sixteen square leagues, and was made August 1,1844, by His Excellency, Don Manuel Micheltorena, Brigadier- General of the Mexican Army and Adjutant-General of the staff of the same, Governor, General-Commandant and Inspector of the Department of the Californias. The full measurement of sixteen leagues would call for seventy thousand eight hundred and fifty-four and four hundred and thirty- two-thousandths acres, but it appears that only fifty-six thousand six hun -. dred and twenty-one and four-hundredths acres were confirmed to the following named parties :- Henry W. Halleck (afterwards General) thirty thousand eight hundred and forty-eight and eighty-five-hundredths acres; Daniel Frink and William Reynolds, seven thousand five hundred and ninety-eight and ten-hundredths acres; James Black, nine thousand four hundred and seventy-eight and eighty-two-hundredths acres; and Benjamin R. Buckelew, eight thousand six hundred and ninety-five and twenty-seven hundredths acres. Very soon after this grant was made the services of Jasper O'Farrell were secured as surveyor, and the boundary lines fully. established. For this service O'Farrell received the tract now known as the Black estate, which, by the way, was a handsome compensation for his labor. This tract of land was exchanged by O'Farrell for the Cañada de la Jonive Rancho in Sonoma county, in 1847 or 1848. James Black was the owner of the Jonive ranch, and as soon as the bargain had been consummated he came to Nicasio, and began making improvements. He brought the lumber for his house from the Bodega saw-mill, at that time operated by Captain
1
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HISTORY OF MARIN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
Stephen Smith. This building was doubtless the first one erected in the township, except perhaps some small shanties. We will now give a short sketch of this pioneer :- James Black was born in Inverness, Scotland, in 1807. Shortly after his birth his father moved to Liverpool, taking with him his family. In the course of time he attained to the position of Master of the Docks in that city. Young Black early evinced a roving disposition, and at his request his father secured him a place on board of one of the many foreign bound ships which sailed from that port. He sailed to India, China and to almost all other portions of the globe in various ships during the years which intervened from the time of his shipment until 1831. Some time during that year he shipped on board of an English vessel bound for the California coast and British Columbia in quest of hides and furs. On January 2, 1832, the ship arrived at Monterey, and Black, being very sick with typhoid fever, was put on shore to die. The captain of the vessel, however, promised to call in for him on the return voyage. Juan B. R. Cooper was at that time living in Monterey, and kindly cared for the forsaken English sailor, and in the course of time he fully recovered from his illness. Neither his restless spirit nor his purse would allow him to spend the waiting time in idleness. He was given work by Captain Cooper, and remained with him one year. During this time an acquaintance sprang up between him and a brother Scotchman, named Edward Manuel McIntosh. This acquaintance ripened soon into a friend- ship which bound them in ties as close as those of brothers, and which burned fervently and brightly till the latest days of their lives. At length Black became wearied of waiting for his vessel, and determined to join McIntosh in a hunting and trapping excursion. The vessel never came into port, and Black never heard of it again. After three or four years spent together in hunting and trapping, the most of which time was passed in the employ of the Hudson Bay Company, Black and McIntosh found themselves in Sonoma. This was in 1835, and from a statement made by General M. G. Vallejo, we learn that upon his (Vallejo's) assuming the position of com- mandant of the military of California in the above named year, he was ordered to extend his settlements as far as possible in the direction of "Fuerte de los Rusos" (now Fort Ross), then the head-quarters of the Russian colony in Califonia, and to thus encroach upon their territory and usurp their pos- sessions. For this purpose he chose three hardy pioneers, viz :- James Black, Edward M. McIntosh and James Dawson, and promised to give them each a large grant of lind, provided they would settle in the locality designate.] by him. This they readily consented to do, as they were sur ; that they coukl live on amicable terms with their Russian neighbors. The Russians at that time occupied that section of Sonoma county, now known as Bodega, h 'nce the nearest approach to their settlements must be made near that place. Accordingly, Black settled upon what is now known as the Cañala de la
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