USA > California > Mendocino County > History of Mendocino County, California : comprising its geography, geology, topography, climatography, springs and timber > Part 31
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Mendocino county was, by an Act of the Legislature, dated April 25, 1851, attached to Sonoma county for revenue as well as judicial pur poses, and so remained until 1859, when an Act of the Legislature was approved March 11th, which provided for its becoming an independent county. While it was a part of Sonoma county, there were two townships in the county, viz .: Ukiah and Big River, the boundaries or limits of which are at the present time unknown. The southern boundary line of Mendocino county has always been the same as the northern line of Sonoma county, hence we give below the description of that line. April 25, 1851, an Act of the Leg- islature defined the northern boundary line of Sonoma county as follows :--- Beginning on the sea-coast, at the mouth of Russian river, and following up the middle of said river to its source in the range of mountains called May- acmas; thence in a direct line to the north-western corner of Napa county. It will be seen by the above, that Mendocino county at that time contained much more territory than at present. By the act of March 11, 1859, the boundary line between the two counties was established along the Gualala river, and has remained so ever since.
We now come to the consideration of Mendocino county proper. March 11, 1859, and Act to define the boundaries and provide for the organization of Mendocino county was approved, and became a law. This Act reads as follows :-
The people of the State of California, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows :
SECTION 1. Mendocino county is bounded as follows : Beginning at a point in the Pacific ocean three miles due west of the mouth of Gualala river; thence east to the middle of the mouth of said stream and up the
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LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF MENDOCINO COUNTY.
middle of the channel of said stream two miles; thence in a direct line to the most northern and highest peak or summit of the Redwood mountain, immediately north of Cloverdale and Oat valley; thence due east to the western boundary of Napa county, on the summit of the Mayacmas Ridge; thence northerly and easterly along the west and north boundary of Napa county to the western boundary of Colusa county; thence northerly along the western boundaries of the counties of Colusa and Tehama to a point on the line of the fifth standard north of the Mount Diablo meridian ; thence along the said standard parallel, due west, to a point in the Pacific ocean three miles west of the shore; thence southerly, parallel with the coast to the point of beginning.
SEC. 2. There shall be an election held for county officers and the location of the seat of justice of Mendocino county on the first Monday in May, eighteen hundred and fifty-nine, at which election the qualified voters of said county shall choose one County Judge, one District Attorney, one County Clerk (who shall be ex-officio County Recorder and Auditor), one Sheriff, one County Surveyor, one County Assessor, one Coroner, one County Treasurer, and three Supervisors. (April 8, 1859, an amendment to this section was approved providing for the election of a County Superintendent of common schools).
SEC. 3. Joseph Knox, Flave Nally, Harry Baechtel, George Brown, and Jacob Heiser are hereby appointed Commissioners to designate, provided they shall deem it necessary, additional precincts to those already established within the county of Mendocino, for said election, and to appoint the inspectors and judges of elections for the various precincts of the county, to receive the returns and to issue certificates of election to the persons receiv- ing the highest number of legal votes for the different offices, and to declare which place is the legally elected county seat. In all other respects said election shall be conducted according to the laws now in force regulating elections in and for the State of California.
SEC. 4. Said Commissioners shall meet at Hall's house, in Cold Spring valley, Ukiah township, on the second Monday in April, eighteen hundred and fifty-nine, and, after having been duly sworn by an officer competent to administer oaths, to well and truly perform their duties, shall designate pre- cinets if, in their opinion, others than those already established are necessary, and appoint an Inspector and two Judges of election for each precinct in the county. The Commissioners shall appoint one of their number as president, and one as clerk, who shall keep a record of their proceedings, which record shall be deposited in the County Clerk's office so soon as the clerk shall have entered upon the discharge of his duties. A majority of said Commissioners shall at all times constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
SEC. 5. The said Board of Commissioners shall, after designating the pre- 18
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HISTORY OF MENDOCINO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
cincts of the county, and appointing the judges and inspectors thereof, give notice of such precincts, and officers of election by notices posted at each of the precincts, ten days previous to the day of election.
SEC. 6. Sealed returns from the officers of election of the several precincts, may be delivered to any qualified member of the Board of Commissioners. Said Board shall meet at Cold Spring on the Monday subsequent to the day of election; and the returns shall then be opened and read, and under their direction and in their presence, a tabular statement shall be made out, show- ing the vote given at each precinct of the county for each person, and for each of the offices to be filled at the election, and also the entire vote given for each person, and the office which each one is voted to fill. The statement then to be made out by such Board, shall be signed by the President and Clerk. They shall also count the vote for the county seat and declare the result.
SEC. 7. As soon as the statements and certificates are made out by the Board, the President shall declare the result, and immediately make out and send or deliver to each person chosen a certificate of election, signed by him as President of the Board of Commissioners of Election and attested by the Clerk.
SEC. 8. Each person elected shall qualify and enter upon the duties of his office within ten days after the receipt of his certificate of election. The person elected as County Judge shall qualify before the President of the Board of Commissioners of Election. Persons elected to other offices of the county may qualify before the said President, or before the County Judge.
SEC. 9. The President of the Board shall transmit without delay, an abstract of said election returns to the Secretary of State, and retain the original returns until the Clerk shall qualify, when he shall file the same in the Clerk's office.
SEC. 10. The County Judge chosen under this Act, shall hold office for four years from the first day of December, eighteen hundred and fifty nine, and until his successor is elected and qualified. The other officers elected under this Act shall hold their respective offices for two years from the first day of December eighteen hundred and fifty-nine, and until their successors are elected and qualified.
SEC. 11. The courts authorized to be held by the County Judge of Mendo- cino county shall be held all at the same time, viz .: Commencing on the first Monday of each of the following months, viz .: February, May, August and November, provided that the County Judge may call and hold special terms of the Probate Court, and Court of Sessions, whenever the public interest may require it.
SEC. 12. The County Judge of Mendocino shall receive as a compensation for his services, fifteen hundred dollars per annum, to be paid quarterly; the
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LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF MENDOCINO COUNTY,
District Attorney shall receive six hundred dollars per annum, to be paid quarterly.
SEC. 13. The Supervisors chosen under this Act shall hold regular meet- ings for the transaction of county business at the county seat, on the third Monday of each of the following months, viz .: February, May, August, and November; two special terms and no more, may be held within the same year, at the call of the President of the Board. The Supervisors shall be chosen in three different townships in the county. Their conpensation shall be twenty cents for every necessary mile traveled in going from their residences to the county seat to attend any regular meeting of the Board, and returning; also each member of the Board shall be allowed five dollars per diem during the session of the Board.
SEC. 14. Mendocino county shall be and remain a portion of the Seventh Judicial District. The District Judge shall hold one term of his court in Mendocino county on the third Monday in November, eighteen hundred and fifty-nine, and in every year thereafter two terms, viz .: on the third Mon- day in July and November.
SEC. 15. Hereafter, one of the two members of the Assembly allowed by law to Sonoma and Mendocino jointly, shall be elected from Mendocino county, and one of said members shall be elected from Sonoma county.
SEC. 16. Beverly Mundy of Sonoma county, Jesse Whilton of Napa county, and Upton Gordon of Marin county, are hereby appointed Commissioners to go into Mendocino county and select two sites which they shall deem the most suitable sites in said county for county seat; after having made their selection as directed they shall report the same in writing over their proper signatures, to one of the Commissioners of Election for Mendocino county, on or before the second Monday in April eighteen hundred and fifty-nine.
SEC. 17. Said Commissioners of Election shall cause to be posted at each precinct in the county, a notice of the selections made by the Commissioners for the location of the county seat at least ten days before the election ; said notice shall plainly designate by name and description each site so selected; of the two sites so selected, the one receiving the highest number of votes shall be the legal county seat of Mendocino county.
SEC. 18. The Commissioners for the location of the county seat, shall before entering upon the discharge of their duties take an oath, before some officer authorized to administer oaths, that they are not personally interested in the location of the county seat; that they will faithfully and impartially perform the duties required of them by this Act.
SEC. 19. The compensation of said Commissioners shall be six dollars a day, for the time necessarily required to make such selections, and traveling from and back to their residences, not to exceed twenty days, which shall be paid out of the first moneys received into the treasury of Mendocino county.
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HISTORY OF MENDOCINO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
SEC. 20. If the Commissioners appointed for the location of the county seat, under this Act, or a majority of them fail to act as authorized, then the place which shall receive the highest number of votes for county seat, at the election to be held under this Act shall be the county seat of Mendocino county.
SEC. 21. For the purpose of adjusting the affairs of the two counties upon just and equitable principles, John Short is hereby appointed a Commissioner on the part of Mendocino county, and John Hendley on the part of Sonoma county; said Commissioners shall meet at Santa Rosa on the fourth Monday in May, eighteen hundred and fifty-nine, and then and there make a thorough examination of the financial condition of Sonoma county, viz. : Her property, funds, dues and indebtedness, and make a fair, just and equitable apportionment of the same between the counties of Sonoma and Mendocino; and for the purpose of carrying into effect any settlement that said Commissioners shall make for and between the said two counties by virtue of this Act, the County Auditors of said counties are. hereby authorized and required to draw their warrants on their respective County Treasurers in accordance with any order received by them from the hands of said Commissioners. All orders from said Commissioners to the County Auditors of said counties shall be in writing, attested by an officer authorized to administer oaths.
SEC. 22. If the said Commissioners shall disagree upon any matter touching the adjustment of the affairs of the said counties, they may refer such differences to the Judge of the Seventh Judicial District, or to any one- upon whom they may mutually agree, and the decision of such referee shall bind them. Should the said Commissioners of Adjustment fail or refuse to' act as authorized by this Act, then the Board of Supervisors of the respective counties shall each appoint a Commissioner to fill such vacancy.
SEC. 23. If it shall appear to said Commissioners that Mendocino county is justly entitled to any part of the revenue collected under the assessment roll and poll-tax list of the year eighteen hundred and fifty-eight, they shall so award, declaring what amount, and the time and manner of its payment by Sonoma county to Mendocino county.
SEC. 24. Said Commissioners shall be allowed reasonable compensation by the respective county authorities for their services.
SEC. 25. All laws or parts of laws in conflict with this Act are hereby repealed, so far as the same are in conflict with the provisions of this Act.
In accordance with the provisions of the last sections of the above Act the Commissioners named therein, John Short and John Hendley, met, and on the 14th day of August, 1859, John Short, Commissioner for Mendocino county, filed the following report with the Board of Supervisors of said county :--
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LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF MENDOCINO COUNTY.
UKIA CITY, August 14, 1859. To the Honorable the Board of Supervisors of Mendocino County-
GENTLEMEN: Having been appointed by an Act of the Legislature of the State of California, entitled " An Act to Define the Boundaries and provide for the Organization of Mendocino County," to act as Commissioner on the part of Mendocino county, to adjust the affairs and settle the indebted- ness existing between Sonoma and Mendocino counties, and having, in ac- cordance with said Act, duly performed and discharged said duty, I beg leave most respectfully to present to your Honorable body the accompanying duplicate copy, giving forth in form and matter the settlement made by me for, and on account of Mendocino county. It will be seen by reference to said document that the Auditor of Mendocino county has been authorized to draw his warrant on the Treasurer of said county in favor of Sonoma county for the sum of one thousand one hundred and fifty-seven and sixty one- hundredths dollars; and that the county of Sonoma transfers to Mendocino the entire delinquent tax list for the year 1858, amounting to the sum of $4,647.09, three-fourths of which, in the opinion of the Commissioner, may be collected before the expiration of the current year.
Very respectfully,
J. R. SHORT, Commissioner on the part of Mendocino county.
The joint report of the Commissioners, which was filed with the Board of Supervisors as a part of the above, was as follows :---
STATE OF CALIFORNIA, County of Sonoma. SS:
In the matter of the adjustment of the accounts and settlement of the affairs of the counties of Sonoma and Mendocino, under an Act of the Legis- lature of the said State, providing for the same, approved March 11, 1859, wherein John Hendley was appointed Commissioner on the part of Sonoma county, and John Short on the part of Mendocino county, in pursuance of the provisions of said Act we, John Hendley and John Short, met at Santa Rosa, in Sonoma county, on the fourth Monday in May, 1859, and then and there agreed upon the following basis of settlement of affairs of said counties :
Ist. It is agreed that the assessment roll for the year eighteen hundred fifty-eight be, and is hereby assumed as a basis upon which said counties shall settle, in proportion to said roll for the respective counties, each county to share in all public property on hand, and be charged with the outstand- ing debt, including such accounts as were audited by the Supervisors of said counties at their meeting, held May 2, 1859.
It, therefore, appearing from " an examination into the financial condi- tion of Sonoma county ":
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HISTORY OF MENDOCINO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
Ist. That the public debt of said county amounted, on the ,second day of May, A. D. 1859, to the sum of $18,260.81.
2d. That the public property amounted in value to the sum of $11,000.
3d. Budd & Pinkham vs. Sonoma county, yet pending, $2,450.
4th. The amount in the county treasury to meet said suit was $411.97.
5th. That there were owing and due said county on account of delinquent taxes for the year 1858, the sum of $17,893.57.
It was therefore agreed by and between said Commissioners:
Ist. That the county of Mendocino shall pay one-eighth part of such judgment as may be obtained against the county of Sonoma in said suit less the amount of $411.97.
2d. That the county of Sonoma shall be entitled to the amount due for delinquent taxes in Sonoma county for the year 1858, amounting to the sum of $13,245.42, and that Mendocino county shall be entitled to the amount due Mendocino county for delinquent taxes for Mendocino county for the year 1858, amounting to the sum of $4,647.09, each county taking upon itself the responsibility of collecting the same.
RECAPITULATION.
Total debt of Sonoma county $18,260 81
Value of public property 11,000 00
MENDOCINO COUNTY DR.
To one-eighth of debt $2,532 60
MENDOCINO COUNTY CR.
By one-eighth of public property $1,375 00
Balance due Sonoma county
$1,157 60
Signed this 26th day of May, A. D. 1859.
JOHN SHORT, Commissioner on the part of Mendocino county. JOHN HENDLEY,
Commissioner on the part of Sonoma county.
NOTE .- It is the intention of said Commissioners that the delinquent taxes dne on all property in Mendocino county in 1858, shall be and are hereby given to said county, and that all taxes due on property situated in Sonoma- county shall be, and are hereby given to Sonoma county, and that the transfer of the delinquent tax roll for Mendocino county for the year 1858, shall be made by Sonoma county in such manner as may be deemed just and proper by the District Attorneys of the two counties.
JOHN SHORT. JOHN HENDLEY.
This report of the Commissioners was accepted, and the settlement between
Nyttenback
N Bartlett
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LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF MENDOCINO COUNTY.
the two counties undertaken on this basis. From time to time extension of time for the collection of the delinquent tax was obtained from the Legis- lature, until under date of February 21, 1862, we find the following spread upon the minutes of the Board of Supervisors :-
" Ordered, that the District Attorney of Mendocino county be empowered to make a settlement with said Sonoma county regarding the amount to be paid by said Mendocino county to said Sonoma county as per settlement between the Commissioners of the said counties, authorized by the Act of 1859, organizing Mendocino county. That said settlement shall be made in such a manner that the amount to be paid to said Sonoma county shall not exceed the sum of $272.60, reference being had to the delinquent tax list of Sonoma county transferred together with the settlement of the said Com- misioners, and that the Auditor of this county be authorized to draw a warrant on the County Expense Fund, not to exceed the amount of $272.60, as amount in full of such settlement between the said counties, on the appli- cation of the District Attorney of Mendocino county."
It would seem that this order did not have the desired effect, as under date of November 22, 1862, the following is spread upon the minutes of the Board of Supervisors :-
" Now comes J. B. Lamar as Attorney for Sonoma county, and William Neely Johnson, appearing in behalf of Mendocino county, by consent this matter to be laid over till the 13th of December to enable the said Mendocino county to produce a certain tax receipt showing the payment of the taxes for the year ending March 1, 1859, on a certain property as assessed, on the delinquent list transferred to this county in the settlement made under the Act of 1859, organizing Mendocino county, to Captain J. B. Ford, agent Mendocino saw-mills, the same having been the matter at issue between the said counties on the settlement, and that a special meeting of the Board be called for the transaction of said business, and that the Clerk of the Board be authorized to correspond with the proper persons regarding the same."
On December 15, 1862, the matter again came up before the Board of Supervisors for consideration, and evidently their action in the premises at this time was final, from the fact that no more mention is made of the subject in the entire minutes of the Board. The following is the record of that date :-
"The communication and original tax receipt for taxes paid on the Mendo- cino saw-mills for the year ending March 1, 1859, having been received from J. B. Ford as agent for said mill, whereby it appears that the sum of twelve hundred dollars was paid as amount of taxes on said property for the said year; the said tax receipt was, therefore, presented in settlement of the demand of said Sonoma county against said Mendocino county, the tax on said property for said year having been transferred to the county (of
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HISTORY OF MENDOCINO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
Mendocino) as being due and unpaid by the said Sonoma county, in the settlement made between said counties as appears by the papers on file therein ; and by said tax receipt found to have been paid, and the said tax receipt having been duly presented to J. B. Lamar, Esq., as Attorney for said Sonoma county, and by him duly refused; - wherefore the said settle- ment was then and there dismissed on the part of Mendocino county on the grounds that by the production of said receipt, the demand held by Sonoma county against Mendocino county was duly cancelled, and it is hereby ordered that the Auditor be notified not to draw any warrant for any amount on any fund in favor of C. L. Green as tax collector of Sonoma county or in favor of Sonoma county."
It would seem that out of the commission composed of Joseph Knox, Flave Nally, Harry Baechtel, George Brown, and Jacob Heiser, appointed and provided for in the Act of March 11, 1859, for the purposes set forth in the Act, only Joseph Knox and George Brown performed any of the duties so imposed upon them. It is not known now what causes led the other members of the commission to decline to serve, but that they did not serve would appear from the following Act of the Legislature approved April 15, 1859 :-
SECTION 1. The acts and orders of Joseph Knox and George Brown, per- formed, and made by virtue of their commissions as Commissioners of Elec- tion (for Mendocino county) on the second Monday of this present month of April, eighteen hundred and fifty-nine, are hereby ratified and confirmed, and declared to be of the same force and effect in law as if a majority of the Commissioners of Election had been personally present, and participated in performing said acts and making said orders.
SEC. 2. The said Joseph Knox and George Brown, or any two or more of the Commissioners of Election, appointed under the Act to define the boundaries and provide for the organization of Mendocino county, approved March eleventh, eighteen hundred and fifty-nine, are hereby declared to be a quorum for the transction of business relating to their commission, and all acts performed and orders made by said quorum (as Commissioners of Election aforesaid), are and shall be of the same force and effect as those per- formed and made by three or more of said Commissioners.
The boundary lines of Mendocino county remained the same as provided for in the Act of March 11, 1859, until April 28, 1860, when the following change was made: Instead of the line extending "northerly along the western boundaries of the counties of Colusa and Tehama, to a point on the line of the fifth standard north of the Mount Diablo meridian," it was made to read "northerly along the western boundaries of the counties of Colusa and Tehama to a point on the line of the fortieth parellel of north latitude," which would give to the county a considerable additional territory. The boundaries of the county have remained the same ever since.
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LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF MENDOCINO COUNTY.
From time to time trouble has grown out of the fact that the line between Mendocino county and Humboldt was not located definitely enough. In other words, the people living in the vicinity of the line were subjected to annoy- anee by being assessed in both counties, or attempts being made to assess them in that manner. At one time, Mendocino county was supposed to extend much farther north than what it really does, and the assessment roll included a great deal of property that has since been found to lie in Humboldt county. Several efforts were made to get the line surveyed out so that there could be no further mistake in the matter, but as the most of the route lay over chemissal mountains, and an undiscovered country, it was not an easy under- taking. The first mention made of it in the minutes of the Board of Super- visors, is under date of February 24, 1865, at which time it was ordered that J. H. Murray, County Surveyor of Humboldt county should be employed to establish the dividing line by setting up prominent landmarks on the high peaks along the route. The expense of the survey was to be borne jointly by the two counties.
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