USA > California > Marin County > History of Marin County, California also an historical sketch of the state of California > Part 37
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HISTORY OF MARIN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
In laying out his extensive property in lots, ranging from half an acre up to twenty acres each, suitable for family residences, Mr. Coleman employed that most competent engineer, Mr. Hammond Hall, of the Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, whom he directed to consult the lay of the land with- out reference to the mere direction of the avenues, so that the lots should occupy the elevated sites, while the avenues should wind along the lower grounds, affording sure and natural drainage.
The topography of the ground, not the cardinal points of the compass, was therefore consulted. The happy consequences are, that instead of uniform, monotonous, straight lines, there is a variety, some straight, others curved, while the tedious labor and heavy expense of deep cutting, and filling and costly walling, to attain desirable grades and drainage, are avoided; the lots occupy the most desirable situations; we look up at, instead of down upon the residences, and the natural beauty is preserved ; nature herself, in such cases, being the best engineer. The whole valley is enclosed with excellent fencing. Grand avenue, bordered on either side with trees, occupying a width of about one hundred feet, winds along the foot of the slopes for about one mile and a half. It affords a charming drive.
These lots to which allusion has already been made, the larger of which afford ample space for pasturage and gardening, are being purchased and improved by merchants and professional men, whose business is in San Francisco. The proximity of San Rafael to the city; the means of ready intercommunication; the loveliness and heathfulness of the valley, with other considerations which shall presently be the subject of remark, make it a very attractive place for family residences, especially when children are to be reared and educated.
Laurel Grove, a secluded and shady nook, is situated in the southwest part of the main valley. This is a place of frequent resort on account of its peculiar charms for picnic parties from the city, village and surrounding country. Here is a grove of stately laurel trees, some of extraordinary diameter, whose wide spreading branches make a dense shade. Under these monarchs of the forest Mr. Coleman has constructed a platform, surrounded by seats and other conveniences, of perhaps a hundred by a hundred and fifty feet in superficial area, for the accommodation of dancing parties, where thousands throng in the Spring-time in joyous freshness and hilarity.
One of the enjoyable drives is that around Ross' Hill, which is reached by entering Ross' Valley at the western extremity of the village, and after a drive deflecting to the left, where the road, of easy grade, begins the ascent of the hill.
The Shore or North Pacific Coast Railroad, beginning at Saucelito on the bay, opposite San Francisco, and extending thence via San Rafael, runs a freight branch along Ross' Valley. After ascending Ross' Hill by a smooth
James Moleausland
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and gradual elevation, we presently descend by a like easy grade into the suburbs of the village, having encompassed the hill in the course of the drive. The scenery along the. drive is very fine. A portion of the way is shrouded in dense shade by the grand old laurel trees, whose giant arms extend above one's head, from one side of the road to the other, and also by the growth of the young redwoods, among both of which are interspersed live oaks and the flowering madrona, with other varieties of indigenous shrubbery.
As we were descending the acelivity, two deer trotted out of a copse near at hand, in the valley, upon the right. Seeing us they halted, and after gazing for a time, they turned and bounded off. At another turn of the road they came again in sight, and still so near that we could have shot either of them with a pistol.
As we drove down the declivity into the village, the scene before us recalled to my mind a couple of stanzas from one of Moore's Irish melodies, and certainly the lines are as applicable to the valley of San Rafael as to the valley of Avoca :-
"There is not in this wide world a valley so sweet, As the vale in whose bosom the bright waters meet; O! the last ray of feeling and life must depart, Ere the bloom of that valley shall fade from my heart.
Sweet vale of Avoca! how calm would I rest In thy bosom of shade with the friends I love best; There the storms that we feel in this cold world should cease, And our hearts like thy waters be mingled in peace."
Tradition has it that the old missionaries pitched upon San Rafael, not alone because of its natural loveliness, but also for sanitary reasons. It was thought to be what experience has proved it, the most healthy locality any- where along this region of the coast. Hither came invalids from the settle- ments and other remote missions, when afflicted with any of the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to. Current history justifies these tradi- tions. San Rafael has been frequently designated by old Californians as " The Sanitarium."
The equability of the climate is as remarkable as it is peculiar. The val- ley is rarely visited by any of those rough winds which sweep over San Francisco, the bay and the adjacent coast; gentle zephyrs only, bearing healing on their wings, prevail by day, and the nights are pervaded by a delicious coolness, which makes sleep under woolen covering refreshing, imparts vigor to the frame, and acts as a tonic upon the invalid. Nor are the fogs which sometimes envelop the city, the bay and the coast, ever seen here. The reason for these exemptions, when stated, are obvious. San Francisco is on a narrow peninsula only six miles wide, while the opposite or northern peninsula is much wider on the line of the trade and fog winds.
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HISTORY OF MARIN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
San Rafael is twenty-five miles from the ocean, with several ranges of hills and the Tamalpais mountain and spurs, and several fine forests between.
Added to all the conditions just mentioned is the clear, sweet, soft water from the mountain springs, free from any deleterious salts; and now we ask, is it any wonder that persons in feeble health constantly resort to this sani- tarium to recover their impaired physical vigor ?
SAN RAFAEL .- San Rafael is cozily ensconsed in a small but beautiful valley, surrounded on all sides, except the east, by low hills, which, at the time of writing, add a charm to the place that none but a sojourner can appreciate. A short distance in the west, Tamalpais rears his lofty peak, and like a faithful sentinel, from his cloud-capped head, signals the approach of the rain storm, or by his broad shoulders breasts the fierceness or freshness of the wind or sea-breeze. The fury of the blast is turned aside, and gentle zephyrs fan at noon-day the dwellers of the valley below. To the east lie the San Pablo straits, through which flows the water of the San Pablo and Suisun bays, the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers, with their tributaries. Here in full view pass and repass, daily and hourly, all kinds of craft, from the puffing ocean steamer and ship-of-war to the tiny sail boat or bungo. Beyond lie the hills of Contra Costa, studded with beautiful homesteads, with their orchards and grain fields. Then the foot-hills rising in the dis- tance, and off on the horizon the grim visage of Mount Diablo and the coast range of mountains closes the scene.
But San Rafael is the charmed center of this the loveliest landscape in the world. The balmy, salubrious atmosphere laden with the aroma of shrub- bery and flowers that carpet the hills and valleys, gives to existence here and indescribable luxury. Its importance as a place of residence cannot be exaggerated. The sanitary influence of the pure air and equable climate -sufficiently remote from the bustle and excitement of the crowded city, renders it a place where families may dwell and revel in the delights of peaceful and social retirement. The town stands about two miles from the water and fourteen in a north-westerly direction from San Francisco.
It is not one's duty, however, to give to the reader a description of the San Rafael of to-day, so much as that we should furnish him with the record of its earliest times bringing him up to date.
We have elsewhere shown that the Mission San Rafael was established in 1817, and told of what manner was its buildings and offices. It stood on the site of the present Catholic church, in fact, the altar now in use occupies the position of the one in the ancient mission, while the remains of the garden and orchard are still to be seen. Standing at the lower end of the town, a little below the court house, are a dozen or more trees, gnarled in appearance, grey with time and bowed with age, which, without their clothing of foliage, have all the appearance of good old oaks that have stood
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the brunt of battle with many a fierce gale. These are the remains of the pear trees which formerly stood in the ancient mission orchard. A short distance beyond them are the remnants of stunted vines, long since bereft of their symmetrical beauty, but now netted in the intricacies of an impene- trable maze. The lot whereon they stand is still the property of the Catholic church, and is occasionally the camping ground for a stray family of gypsies. Were these trees but able to talk, what a chapter of remembrances of the past they could relate ! We may almost imagine that they would even now speak of the tolling of the bell for prayers or pastime, for the commence- ment of toil and the cessation from labor. They could tell of the difficulties encountered by Padre Fortuni and the other founders of the mission; of how the roving Indian, at first, rebelled against the constraints of civilization, but under the influence of kind treatment and excellent example, he soon became to assume an almost perfect culture. Again, they might revert to the time when the mission with its several hundreds of converts was the scene of a scourge which reduced their number to as many tens, and of how the exem- plary patience of the good fathers obtained the highest enconiums from the fevered tongues and partially opened hearts of the stricken aboriginal. But why pursue this imagery. There do these trees stand living examples of the all-but-forgotten past. May no utilitarian hand touch them, no ruthless ax destroy them, and though they may have ceased to be useful or ornamental, still they should be preserved, for are they not monumental links riveting the chain which binds the days to come with those gone by.
Don Timoteo Murphy, of whom we have already spoken, was the first to build a house within what is now the town of San Rafael. In 1845 it was occupied by Don Antonio Osio, the owner of a portion of the Point Reyes rancho, while Murphy himself resided in the Mission buildings. Than these there were no other buildings within the present limits. The Murphy house, as it was called, stood on the site of Oliver Irwin's bank, and lasted for a long time, doing business as a court house for many years-but more of this hereafter. The second private house, and the third building, was an addition to a structure belonging to the Mission, which occupied the north-east corner of the court house block, and was erected by Jacob and J. O. B. Short. These buildings have all made way for others of a more substantial character. With these few structures San Rafael would appear to have had its com- mencement, and save for the occasional visits of wood choppers, trappers and other transient guests, pursued the even tenor of its lonely way. With the discovery of gold, many of those who came in search of the metal found their way to the spot. The Virginia and Baltimore companies were estab- lished at no great distance from the Mission, the adjacent forests commenced to show signs of succumbing to the woodman's ax, diminutive craft had already found a navigable creek, a few settlers had located in the convenient fertile valleys, their cattle, sheep and horses fed on the pastoral hillsides,
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HISTORY OF MARIN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
and the adaptability of the county for dairying purposes was daily making itself more manifest. With the locating of strangers it was found necessary that a store be established to supply their wants the more readily, and thus avert the necessity of crossing the too often boisterous bay in a small whale- boat, to the risk of damage to life and property. To John A. Davis and Daniel T. Taylor belong the honor of first foreseeing this want and acting upon it. These gentlemen had, as we have before remarked, come out to this coast with the Baltimore company, but severed their connection with it in the month of April, 1850, when that society was disbanded. In the fol- lowing November, Davis & Taylor opened a little store and stocked it with supplies transported in small sloops from San Francisco, which, we have already said, plied regularly between that city and San Rafael. The build- ing, which was a one-story frame, containing two rooms, stood on C street on the ground now occupied as a shoemaker's shop by Blankinberger, and from here they were wont to supply residents, composed principally of rancheros and a large floating population of wood choppers, within a radius of twenty miles. Thus was the nucleus of the town started. In 1850 a survey was made of the site by Myers & Mccullough, and a town laid out in blocks of three hundred feet square. About this time there were standing in San Rafael twelve structures, including stables, barns, etc. Of these only a few remain entirely undemolished, viz., the residence of W. T. Coleman, used at the time of which we write by Thomas Duncan as a boarding-house; the building owned by Mrs. Scott, which adjoins the Catholic church, in which Ted Parker had a grocery store. On the ground now occupied by the newly completed magnificent block of U. M. Gordon stood the old San Rafael Hotel, a house of entertainment kept by two Narragansett Indians from Connecticut, named Bennett and Fagan, and which they occupied for several years, but in the course of time they failed, when their cook, Joseph Angelotte, became its proprietor. He made additions to the original small building until it assumed the proportions which it now has, as may be wit- nessed as it to-day stands, on the corner of D street, across the bridge. A. portion of the old residence of Banker Irwin was then the rendezvous for a number of Indians and their squaws; where the residence of George W. Stilwell now is there stood a frame house imported from China and familiarly known as "The Junk;" on the corner of what is now Fourth and A streets there was an old frame building owned by James Miller, while there were, in addition, the houses already mentioned as being occupied by the Mission, Don T. Murphy, the Short Brothers and Davis & Taylor. In those days tide-water came up to Second and as far as C street, at which point an old whale boat lay for many years. In 1851 mails were received from San Francisco by the rather tortuous route of Benicia, Napa and Sonoma ; they were carried on horseback, the rider being a few years later-say 1853-4-Dick Lambert, afterwards Washington correspondent to the Daily
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Evening Post, of San Francisco. The first postmaster was Moses Stop- pard, who had come out to the coast with Stevenson's regiment. He received his appointment November 6, 1851. On the organization of the county the first courts were held in that portion of the Mission buildings known to the Spaniards as the "Juzgardo" or Hall of Justice, where now stands the Catholic church. The first lawyers admitted to practice were Walter Skidmore and J. H. Shelton. The first named gentleman had commenced his career in San Rafael as a schoolmaster in 1850, and was, it is presumed, the second individual to instruct the youth of the town. The building occupied for this purpose was the one we have already mentioned as being owned by James Miller, who erected it in 1849. It was the first frame building in San Rafael, and was built for school purposes, and therein taught Father Dobette, one of the missionaries, and the original preceptor of Marin county. The first physicians were Doctors Shorb and Taliaferro, the first of whom was also the first County Judge. In the year 1853 the Court House was moved to the adobe of Timothy Murphy, which the county had pur- chased on his death, and whither were also taken the records and offices of the officials.
Of those who were residents of San Rafael at that time there now only remain J. O. B. and Jacob Short, Doctor Taliaferro, T. J. Mahon, D. T. Taylor, Ai Barney, Mrs. Merrener and her daughter, Mrs. U. M. Gordon.
The Virginia Company, of which Dr. Taliaferro is the only survivor residing in San Rafael, here engaged in agriculture and cultivated that tract of land where now is situated the residence and beautifully laid-out grounds of Robert Watt and the ground beyond, as also that portion of the town known as Saunder's addition. Their residences were an old adobe and a two-storied frame building situated on the banks of the creek, which was not very long ago occupied by Oliver Irwin. A full history of the Virginia Company, and the Baltimore Company as well will, however, be found else- where.
ยท In those early times the principal trade of San Rafael was shipping cattle. Long horned Spanish steers roamed over the adjacent . hills in thousands and were the only meat procurable in the country. Clark & Moylan (the firm being Robert Clark, William and Thomas Moylan, and George Scribner, now of Oakland,) built a slaughter house on the site of Rice's wharf, on the San Rafael creek, and there killed cattle and transported their carcasses to San Francisco where they owned two markets, and besides supplied the steamers of the Pacific Mail Company. It is said that in some weeks as many as one hundred head of steers were killed and shipped to the city. They were transported across the bay in the old sloop " Boston," commanded by Captain Higgins, which made the trip four times a week, the journey as a rule occupying as much as from three to four hours. At the period of which we speak Spanish steers cost in the neighborhood of twenty-five
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HISTORY OF MARIN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
dollars per head, and required about twenty horsemen to deliver a band of sixty or seventy. These were mostly obtained from the Murphy and Black ranchos, and latterly from the Short Brothers, who had commenced stock- raising in the Bull Tail valley, near the Nicasio rancheria.
Thus far have we been able to follow the doings of the town of San Rafael. That its progress was at first slow is to be regretted; however, it advanced in power for the first decade of its age. From being merely the site of a mission and the headquarters of wealthy rancheros, it had blossomed into a considerable town; it had become the centre of an industrious popula- tion, and had assumed the responsibilities of places of larger growth; and thus we bring the reader to the year 1861.
Let us commence the records of this year with that great power of good- the establishment of a newspaper. The first periodical of this nature was named The Marin County Journal, and was issued on March 23, 1861, it being published every Saturday by Jerome A. Barney, from the office in San Rafael. It makes its bow in the second number to the public in the follow- ing well-chosen sentences: "In launching our bark upon the ocean of journ- alism on Saturday last, a want of time, and the drawback necessarily con- sequent upon the first issue of a newspaper, prevented us from addressing our readers as fully as we intended. To-day we again spread our sails to the popular breeze with the modest expectation of a favorable reception. The responsibilities of a journalist are best known to the experienced; but every intelligent reader must understand that those responsibilities are great, and very often embarrassing. And in making our bow to the residents of Marin county, and the public, it would be vain in us not to acknowledge the difficulties that surround this new field of enterprise. It can hardly be expected that we can please all classes of our readers; however, we intend to do as far as is consistent with a due regard to firmness, candor, and impartiality. With these our intentions on this point, we leave the rest to a generous, liberal and enlightened public. As residents of the county of Marin, we have long contemplated some means by which its best interests might be promoted, and we cherish the hope that the course adopted in the establishment of this journal, will effectually secure that object. It cannot fail, we are persuaded, if the people of Marin county will encourage our undertaking. To do so, will be to promote their own interests, no less than our's.
"Under its present conductors, the Journal will be independent of clique, party or sect, doing justice to all, and favor to none. Its chief aim will be to encourage the development of the resources of the county, especially its agricultural advantages and interests. We shall contribute our advice and support to every laudable undertaking or measure that may be calculated to advance the prosperity of the community; and unhesitatingly oppose every scheme or project that we deem calculated to retard the progress of the
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county and the prosperity of its inhabitants. We are satisfied that the county of Marin, with its great advantages, and its favorable geographical position in relation to the great emporium on the Pacific, ought of right to occupy a front rank among the other counties of the State. That it has not done so as yet cannot be denied. We will not at this time venture to assert to what the cause may be ascribed. Our endeavors will be directed to exhibit to a discriminating people its claims to distinction."
The first mention we can find of any kind of corporate power being exer- cised is that of a meeting being held at the Court House on May 6, 1861, for the purpose of adopting resolutions for the better protection of property by unlawful seizure by discharged convicts, and to pledge their honor not to encourage them to settle in their midst, by giving them employment under any circumstances. On motion of Dr. D'Hierry, Ai Barney was called to the chair, and G. A. F. Clayton requested to act as Secretary. The Chair- man having explained the purpose for which the meeting had been called, the following gentlemen were chosen a committee to draft resolutions: V. D. Doub, Dr. D'Hierry, G. A. F. Clayton and Oliver Irwin. The meeting then adjourned to the 8th, at which time the committee made the following report :-
" Your committee, in the discharge of the duties assigned them, in drafting resolutions affecting the toleration in our midst of discharged State's Prison convicts, most respectfully submit the following:
" Whereas, the citizens of Marin county, and particularly those of San Rafael and vicinity, have for some time past been greatly annoyed by the frequent inroads made upon them by discharged State's Prison convicts, and escaped prisoners, and taking into consideration the great insecurity of our property in consequence of their increasing numbers and continual presence, do hereby Resolve, That we use our most strenuous endeavors to induce those whose business requires the employment of laborers to refrain from employ- ing, or giving aid in any manner, to such discharged convicts (except those whom we are satisfied, as shown by their acts of industry or well behavior, evince a desire to become useful members of society), as the toleration of a majority of them in our midst is greatly detrimental to the laboring classes, and are, moreover, a source of continual fear and alarm, which should be abated as soon as practicable. And furthermore, that we most respectfully request the warden of the State Prison to use his exertions to induce any prisoner that may hereafter be discharged to remove from this county as soon as possible (as it will greatly facilitate the object of this meeting), by which act he will confer a lasting obligation to the citizens of Marin county; and, Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be sent to the Warden of the State Prison, and that we respectfully call the attention of the Directors to the importance of discontinuing what is known as the system of 'trusty-
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ism,' which has become a grievous evil to the citizens of Marin county." On motion, the resolutions were adopted.
We find nothing else of great interest to have occurred during 1861. Houses were being rapidly erected in different parts of the beautiful environs, and San Rafael was then said to be growing slowly but surely " like the intrepid tread of a jackass towards a peck of oats."
In April, 1862, the mail route between San Francisco and San Rafael was stricken from the list. Heretofore letters had been carried by the Petaluma steamer and landed at Point San Quentin, being conveyed thence by stage to the post office at San Rafael under the promise that proper communica- tion would be made, but as this was never carried out both the steamer and stage company gave notice that mail matter would not be conveyed by them; thus was the little town left without a post-office, the nearest in the county to it being at Tomales, a distance of nearly forty miles. On June 28, 1862, the Journal informs us that: " Our town is fast becoming a place of resort for persons desiring to spend a few days or weeks in the country. The seclusion from the busy hum of city life, romantic scenery and delight- ful climate is becoming known and appreciated. The Institute, where ladies or families can be accommodated, has been well filled with parties since the commencement of the pleasant weather. A ride on horseback up the valleys and among the hills affords agreeable and healthy exercise; our mountain streams are well filled with trout, and are much resorted to by those fond of piscatory sport."
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