USA > California > Mendocino County > History of Mendocino County, California : comprising its geography, geology, topography, climatography, springs and timber > Part 54
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bliss supreme to be there. Kind reader let us take a stroll, now that the busy day has ended, and, leaving the bustling city and all our cares behind, we will pass along the flower-bordered streets and ascend the hills to the west- ward of the town to a sufficient height to command a complete view of the entire landscape of the valley. We find a mossy seat and there in the last hours of the dying day, with our eyes drink in all the glorious beauty of the panoramic scene spread out before us. What a rare view it is! How would the heart of the artist leap for joy could he but put upon the canvas what lies before our enraptured gaze ! But it can never be done. His effort can never be but the dead shadow of the living reality. The air is deliciously balmy, and we bear our heads to better enjoy the evening zephyrs which play upon the leaves of the overhanging boughs with the dainty touch of a maiden placing her first kiss of love upon the forehead of her betrothed. We breathe full inspirations of the fragrant air, feeling erewhile new life surging along our sluggish veins, and our tired spirits, wearied with the toil and moil of the day, begin to be buoyant and free, and we fain would remain here forever and ask for no sweeter elysium.
Immediately below us lies the city with its beautiful cottages nestled amid the emerald frame-work of pines and oaks, and as we look thoughts of happy homes and evening's enjoyments come across our minds. In imag- ination we see the cheery table spread with the evening's repast, while at the gate stands the young mother with her first-born in her arms, lisp- ing the sweet accents of its baby prattle, both awaiting the coming of him they hold dearer than all else on earth. Farther on the spires of churches greet our eyes, pointing silently to Him who is the author of all our blessings, and in this quiet, happy hour we are brought to feel and appreciate those gifts far more than during the hurry and rush of the busy . day. Beyond them the majestic dome of the Seat of Justice stands out in bold relief, showing to the world that here, as elsewhere in our glorious Union, law is the protector of the innocent, and the rewarder, in kind, of evil doers. In close proximity stands the busy mart of trade, where all day the machinery of life has been whirring and clashing. But it is quiet now, and 'only an occasional throb from its great heart reaches our ears, wafted out upon the evening air. Beyond the city, spreading out in a vista of broad expanse lies the sweet and beautiful valley, dotted here and there with a white farm house, from whose windows there seem to emanate streams of fire-reflections of the sinking sun. Broad fields of grain are waving in their golden luxuriance, even now ready for the reaper's sickle, and orchards are burdened with their weight of fruitage. Here, truly, is an Acadian picture. And beyond it all, closing up the vista with its huge bulk, rises the mountain chain, its peaks standing like sentinels on some Titanic fortress, guarding the destinies of the race of pigmies who are swarming at their feet. The golden mists of midday are fast dissolving into
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roseate purple, and clothing the mountain tops with a halo of beauty that enraptures the beholder, taking him in imagination to the enchanted lands of his dreamings, but all too beautiful to ever become a reality. We sit and watch, filled with a joy unspeakable, and ere we are aware the lengthening shadows of the western range has erept entirely athwart the valley and are fast ascending the eastern mountains, leaving only the peaks bathed in the bright and mellow flood of rays from the sinking sun. A moment more and even they have passed into the shadow, and the purple tinge is changed to blue, giving to the mountains on which it rests a cold and steeled appearance. Now, the stillness of death pervades all nature and the subdued noises from the city and valley below come floating up to us in a sweet and mingled confusion, producing a sense of pleasure almost beyond comparison. Night has come on apace, and now the balmy air is stirred into a gentle breeze that fans the fevered valley into newness of life, while in the dome of the vaulted skies above the full round orb of night is leading her glittering host toward the western horizon, bathing the world in a flood of mellow light, and mantling the valley below us with a splendor of beauty. We descend into the city and find all motion and bustle. Every- body is promenading the avenues and enjoying life to the full brim.
One of California's sweetest singers, Maria E. Sutherland, has described the scene so beautifully in the following lines that we cannot refrain from quoting them here :-
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"The west, erewhile with roses all aglow- Showered lightly on the sun's low sinking head, Is paling from it's rosiness to snow; The brooding hills their purple shadows spread; And to their cosy nests the wild birds wing.
"And twilight, like a filmy veil soft thrown, By thoughtful mother o'er a sleeping child, In gossamer shadows gently wafting down, Wraps the white ville so quietsome and mild, And for a space sweet peace doth hold her own.
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" All hustle quiets as the moon climbs high, Threading the glittering maze of shy, sweet stars; The golden fadeless flowers of the sky- And stripes the placid earth with silver bars, And on the ville a silver veil doth throw.
"The air is heavy with the breath of flowers, And spicy scent of pinewoods from the hill. No sound disturbs the midnight's sacred hours Save a lone night bird's mournful trill, a trill Trembling through the stillness, sweet and low."
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TIMBER .- There is quite a considerable of timber in Ukiah township, extending through almost all the varieties indigenous to Mendocino county. There is quite a body of redwood in the north-western por- tion of it, while fir, oak and pine are to be found in a goodly amount. Some considerable lumber has been produced in this township.
EARLY SETTLEMENT .- To John Parker belongs the honor of being the first white man to reside in the limits of Ukiah township. In 1851 James Black, one of the earliest settlers in Sononia and Marin counties, drove a band of cattle up the Russian River valley and took possession of the tract of land adjoining the Sanel grant on the north for grazing pur- poses. He hired John Parker as a vaquero, to take charge of the stock. It will be remembered that the Indians at that time were as wild and sav- age as it was possible for them to be, and John Parker's situation as custo- dian of that stock was anything but enviable. A large corral was built by driving long poles into the ground, in which the cattle were driven at night to prevent the Indians from stampeding them, and a sort of a block house was constructed for the protection of Parker either day or night. As he had arms and ammunition, and as the Indians knew full well what that meant, it was presumed that they would not molest him if he did not trouble them. But in this, we are told by Mr. John Knight, he was mis- taken, for they made an attack upon him in his block house and came very near killing him. They wounded him so severely that he was unable to get away from the house, and but for the timely arrival of John Knight he would have perished there alone. This house was located south of the present site of Ukiah, on the banks of what is called Wilson creek, and the valley was known among the early white settlers as Parker valley for a number of years.
As far as is now known, the next man to build a house in the valley was Samuel Lowry, who had a log cabin near where Main and Perkins streets now intersect in the city of Ukiah. This was in 1856. Pierce Asbill spent a part of that summer in the valley, but it is not likely that he had a house there. Lowry sold his claim to A. T. Perkins the next spring, 1857, and the latter gentleman moved his family into the valley, thus being the pioneer family of the township. During this last-named year George B. Mathers came into the valley and began business north of Ukiah. Berry Wright, Thomas F. Beattie, John Burton, William Acton, Lewis M. Ruddick and William J. Cleveland came in also during this year. During 1858 M. W. Howard and J. G. Busch are known to have settled in the valley. In 1859 J. F. Todd and I. C. Reed came in and settled. Among the early settlers in the valley whose date of coming is not now known may be mentioned Harrison Standley, Messrs. Kaskell, Mears & Co., Oscar Schlessinger, I. Isaac, Moses Briggs, Hon. J. B. Lamar, Dr. E. M. Pierson, G. Canning Smith,
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J. P. Smith, Captain Smith, the Gibson family, Hon. E. R. Budd, ex-Lieu- tenant-Governor William Holden, Hon. R. McGarvey, S. W. Haskett, D. Gobbi, William Neeley Johnson, Hon. William Henry, Lew. M. Warden, the Hagans family, C. S. Williams, W. E. Willis, John Outis, J. H. Briggs, M. V. Cleveland, W. J. Cleveland, William Bramlette, William McClintock, C. J. Son, J. R. Moore, J. H. Siddons, B. B. Fox, " Rough " Stevens, J. W. Morris, Matthew Burns, Murdock Hooper, Benjamin Hereford, William Robinson, William H. White, Thomas Parton, John Turner, Samuel Ackerman, J. B. Estes, Alfred Higgins, Sr., W. Jamison and Matthew Hale. Of course, there were many others whose names have been lost, for it was estimated that there were about one hundred people living in Ukiah alone in 1859, when it was made the county seat.
UKIAH .- The following summarized historical sketch was compiled by Hon. Thomas L. Carothers, under the supervision of that venerable pioneer, A. T. Perkins, hence it is eminently correct in all its statements. It was given to the public through the columns of the Press, and we reproduce it here because of its authority: " The first white settler where now stands Ukiah City was Samuel Lowry, who built a log cabin where the old blacksmith shop of A. T. Perkins used to stand, on the north-east corner of Main and Perkins streets, in the year 1856, and who at that time filed a declaratory statement to preempt one hundred and sixty acres of land covering the present town site, it not being then known that it was a part of a grant. In April, 1857. A. T. Perkins and family moved here from Marysville and purchased the possessary right of Mr. Lowry, and thus he became the second settler.
The first merchants were Jolin Burton (afterwards the first County Assessor), and A. T. Perkins, who sold goods in 1857-8, where the residence of Mr. Perkins afterwards stood. In the spring of 1858, they built a store on Main street, in the rear of where the Ukiah City Hotel now stands. William Acton erected a building, and sold goods in the fall of 1857, near where the present residence of J. A. Jamison is. In 1859, Ukiah was chosen to be the county seat. Up to this time, Ukiah had a population of one hundred, and from that time it has gradually grown, until at the present time (1877), it has a population of one thousand eight hundred. A brick Court-house was built at a cost of about $9,000 in 1859, on the spot where the present one now stands. In the spring of 1872, the new one was built at a cost of $40,000. In the fall of 1859, the first newspaper published in the county, the Herald, was established by the late Hon. E. R. Budd. The office was in a building on the site of ex-Assessor Cunningham's house, on the corner south of Per- kins' house.
The first church erected in the town, was by the Methodist Episcopal North in 1860. The first hotel was erected in 1859, on the corner, in the
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rear of the Ukiah City Hotel. It was built by Harrison Standley, well known to all old residents, who was also the first postmaster. The first drug store was opened by Hon. G. B. Mathers in 1861, on the corner where the Grand Hotel now stands. Abel Lodge, F. and A. M., No. 146, was organized in the second-story of the Methodist Episcopal Church building, in 1860. Its first Master was Dr. Price, who was also the first Sheriff of Mendocino county. Up to 1865, the business of the town was confined to Main street, but from that time it was gradually moved to State street, and around the Court-house, until now, Main street is used for nothing only residences. The oldest building in the town is what is now used as the dining-room and kitchen of the Perkins' residence. The lumber of which it is built, as was all building material of that day, was split in the woods, and carried to town on the backs of Indians. The first business house on State street, was opened by J. H. Siddons, who soon after sold out to ex-Sheriff Moore, and was on the corner, where now is the drug store of W. H. Hoffman. The first school-house was erected by A. T. Perkins and John R. Short, and was south of Perkins, and west of State street, and in off the street. It was built in 1858, and donated to the public by the builders. Fred. S. Dashiel was the first teacher. In 1872, the town was incorporated by the Board of Supervisors. The first town officers were: J. R. Moore, E. W. King, M. D., T. L. Carothers, Samuel Orr, and R. N. Willing, Trustees; Thomas Chalfant, Marshal, and I. Isaacs, Treasurer. A special charter was passed, at the instance of Senator McGarvey, by the Legislature of 1875-6, and under its provisions an election was held for town officers in May, 1876, resulting in the election of Hon. G. B. Mathers, W. H. Forse, T. L. Carothers, Samuel Orr, and J. S. Reed, Trustees ; A. O. Carpenter, Marshal, and James Fowzer, Treasurer.
The name Ukiah is corrupted from the Indian word Yo-kia, which they applied to the valley and which signified deep valley. When the Mexican Government gave a grant to Cayetano Jaurez of land covering that valley, naturally enough it was given the name by which it was known among the Indians, but even that was corrupted into Yokaya. The next transforma- tion which the word took was into Ukia, as it will be found spelled on some legal papers and records as late as 1859. It is not known how it came by its present orthography, but it certainly is very euphonious and spells the word as it should be pronounced, which is more than can be said of many of the towns in California. When the town sprang up nothing was more natural than to don it with the name of the valley in which it was located. There is, however, another version of the derivation of the name, which, while not at all probable as the true one, is incorporated here as among the oddities that came to the surface in the old pioneer days. The story was published in the Marysville Express in 1864, and at the time Capt. A. C. Bledsoe of Sonoma county, who was Sheriff in 1855-6, was supposed to have been the
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author of it. It runs as follows: " Being Sheriff of Sonoma county before Mendocino was cut off from that county, he was up in the northern portion summonsing a jury who had not been biased by reason of reading the papers. He came across a solitary cabin, hard by a big spring, from which he took a drink it being a very hot day. The place looking like there were not many public papers taken in that 'neck of the woods,' he accosted a tall, gaunt, middle-aged woman, engaged in hanging out a big washing, and learning her husband's name, requested to see him, in order to serve the pro- cess. The man's name being Hezekiah, his better-half set up a most unearthly yell, beating a thousand 'screech' owls, and a full band of coyotes combined: 'You 'Kiah ! YOU 'KIAH !! YOU 'KIAH !!! ' when her counterpart, in bifurcated butternut toggery came rushing in with a stride that measured his length at every step. The name has since been spoiled to Ukiah."
The city of Ukiah is located on the western side of the Russian River valley and at the base of the mountain range that skirts that valley on the west. Its location is indeed beautiful and pleasant, and her people have taken advantage of the natural loveliness of the place and done much to add to the appearance of their city. A writer some years ago in the local press bursts out into the following apostrophe, and if the town of that day deserved the eulogy, how much more does the city of to-day? “Ukiah, thou city of beautiful groves, umbrageous bowers, where, in delicious shade, lovers may plight their vows, the student pour over a volume of mysterious lore, the divine may commune with nature and offer adoration to Nature's God; where the invalid may find new life in heaven's pure sweet air; where the ear is charmed by the mellow notes of joyous birds; where the eye is entranced with Flora's variegated beauties."
The stranger approaching the town from the south, passes along up the valley through lovely stretches of fertile fields bestudded with wide-spread- ing oaks, under whose grateful shade the flocks and herds are taking shelter from the rays of the midday's sun. He is told that the city is just at hand, but he looks in vain for any evidences of the fact. The perspective of the road is closed up by a dense foliage, while the forest seems to embrace the entire landscape. The air is fresh and pure, and not a taint is borne on it from the near city. Everything has an air of rusticity about it, and as far as discernible, one may as well consider himself a thousand miles away from any city as one. Gradually, however, a change begins to come over the scene. Farm-houses have changed into suburban cottages, and the evidences of city life are beginning to manifest themselves. A moment more, and the stage sweeps up to the hotel door with a grand flourish, and you emerge from the dusty coop to find yourself in the heart of a beautiful and thriving city, with its busy mart extending far in every direction. But the city is not all to be seen from any one stand-point, and one must needs pass along all its
A Ohist.
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streets to comprehend its full beauty. It is nestled among a grand growth of native oak, fir and pine trees, which so completely hid it from view as we approached it from the south, or, in fact, hides it as it is approached from any direction.
We will follow the history of Ukiah up from year to year, noting the im- portant events which we have been able to glean from the press of the city and from other sources, beginning with-
1859 .- Previous to this we know of nothing of interest that is not re- corded in the sketch quoted above. In May of this year an election was held for the purpose of deciding upon some place as the future seat of gov- ernment for the newly organized county of Mendocino. By the Act estab- lishing Mendocino county, Beverly Mundy, of Sonoma county, Jesse Whilt- ton, of Napa county, and Upton M. Gordon, of Marin county, were ap- pointed Commissioners to go to Mendocino.county and select the two sites most eligible for the county seat, and the two places decided upon by them were Ukiah and Calpella. At that time there was but little, if any, difference in the size of the two villages, afl everything else seemed to be about equal. The result of the ballot, however, revealed the fact that Ukiah was the favorite, and hence it was declared to be the future seat of county government. This event was the turning-point in the scale of her pros- perity, and from that time thenceforward it has prospered.
During this year the first Court-house was erected on the site of the pres- ent building, at a cost of about $9,000. It was built of brick, and was a small affair, being hardly large enough to accommodate the officers of the county, before any records had begun to accumulate, and in a few years they found themselves crowded out of their offices by the archives. The first rooms used by the county officers were located in the upper story of a building then known as the " Music Hall," situated on the parcel of ground now owned by John S. Reed, and lying between his residence and the new city hall he has just completed.
1860 .- We will now enumerate all the places of business in Ukiah in this year, and give their locale as nearly as possible. Beginning at the south- west corner of Main and Perkins streets, there stood the residence of A. T. Perkins, a portion of which is still standing, forming a part of the present Perkins' property. Across the street, to the north, Messrs. Meyers, Neuman & Co. had a store, the old building standing there yet. Next to the north was a tin-shop kept by Benton, who was afterwards killed near Cloverdale by a band of stage robbers. On the south-west corner of Standley and Main streets there was a hotel, which was built by Harrison Standley in the lat- ter part of 1859. Across Standley street, to the north from the hotel, was a building the lower story of which was used for a saloon kept by David Smith, and the upper for a lodging house, under the management of a man
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who was known as " Brigham " Young. Across Main street, to the east from this last-named building, was a store kept by Oscar Schlessinger; and south of his store and partly in front of Standley street, was the building known as the " Music Hall," in which the first court was held. Just south of that was a livery stable owned by Moses C. Briggs, and south of that, on or near the north-east corner of Main and Perkins streets, was the black- smith shop owned by A. T. Perkins, and on the south-east corner of the last- named streets there was a feed stable for the accommodation of freighting teams. The location of the printing office, school-house and Court-house, has already been designated. There were at this time probably twenty-five dwelling-houses in the place, but it is not possible to locate them now.
The house mentioned above as standing on the north-west corner of Stand- ley and Main streets, and being used jointly for a saloon and lodging-house, has many a legend hanging about it, and could its walls have tongue what a record it could disclose! It is pointed out to-day by the quiet law-abiding citizen, who with a shrug of the shoulders, will simply state that in its day it was a " hard hole." You will be told that in the days of its glory it was no uncommon thing for men to ride their horses up to the bar and quaff their liquor while seated in the saddle, and should it chance to be in the evening noth- ing would be more probable than that the bold equestrian would whip out a re- volver and " snuff" every candle in sight. It is said that there are enough lead bullets in the siding of the building to sink it. You will be told by the pioneer of that day how " Brigham " Young used to furnish lodgings for forty men with only twenty-five pair of blankets, by stealing them from fifteen sleepers as they were needed for the new-comers, hence his regular lodgers always retired last, as they knew his dodge. They will tell you of a host of diabolical plans concocted beneath its roof, the most hellish of which, that was ever carried to consummation, being the raping of the wife of a respectable colored man. And so we might go on, but this is enough to give the reader an idea of what one phase of society was in that early day. But since then things have changed altogether and law and order prevail in Ukiah as much as in any city in the State. Of the more than half-hundred homicides committed within the limits of Mendocino county, only one has been within its limits.
Late in the fall of 1860, Hon. E. R. Budd established the pioneer news- paper both of Ukiah and Mendocino county .. He had formerly published the Democrat, at Santa Rosa, but disposed of it in September, and owing to the condition of the roads and the almost impossibility of moving heavy freight over them, was not able to issue his first number till November 11th of that year. He called his new paper the Herald, and it prospered for many long years.
1861-2 .- Things seem to have pursued the even tenor of their ways dur- ing these two years, with nothing of note transpiring in the town. Novem-
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ber 11, 1861, the Board of Supervisors passed an order to the effect that the court-room might be used for religious or other purposes at the discretion of the Sheriff.
In 1862, the first church was built in Ukiah by the Methodist Episcopal denomination, through the exertions of Rev. W. S. Bryant.
There was an earthquake during this time which cracked the walls of the Court-house, but did no serious damage to it or to any other buildings in town.
1863 .- The first event of importance which we come to in this year, as we pass over the files of the Herald is noted as follows in that journal, under the caption "Honor to the Dead," in its issue of February 20th: "A meeting of the citizens of Ukiah will be held February 28th to adopt measures for fenc- ing and otherwise improving the grave-yard in this place. It is to be hoped that a large attendance will be had. There is no one matter that goes so far to the credit of a community as a decent respect for the dead, manifested in a neat and tidy burying-ground, while the reverse-a slovenly kept and unsightly cemetery, shows such a want of respect to departed friends as to do discredit to any community, in the eyes of the world. Let us, then, devote a little of our time and money to this most necessary obligation."
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