USA > California > Napa County > History of Napa and Lake Counties, California : comprising their geography, geology, topography, climatography, springs and timber, together with a full and particular record of the Mexican Grants, also separate histories of all the townships and biographical sketches > Part 12
USA > California > Lake County > History of Napa and Lake Counties, California : comprising their geography, geology, topography, climatography, springs and timber, together with a full and particular record of the Mexican Grants, also separate histories of all the townships and biographical sketches > Part 12
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98
BUILDING MATERIAL.
Irons, Marble, Post, Stone, Steel and Wood.
ARCHITECTURAL.
Four Barnes, four Churches, Chapel, Foxhall, five Garretts, seven Halls, two Houses, Lodge, Mills, Newhouse, Pier, Spires, Stackpole, Story, Shop, Wing, Ward and Waterhouse.
EATABLES.
Allcorn, Bacon, Curry, Gruel, Milks, Pulse, Pickle, Rice and Grubb.
FRUIT AND VEGETATION.
Fruits, two Bartletts, Cobb, Cherry, Gage, Hull, Hayes, seven Murphys, three Moss, six Roses, two Reeds, Thorn and Crabtree.
CLOTHING.
One Hat, one Coat, one Vest, one (Gilder) sleeve and Sheets.
WEAPONS.
One Gun, one Pike, one Spear, two Shields and a Spur.
LANDSCAPES AND WATERSCAPES.
The last and one of the most interesting classifications. Four Fields, Bloomfield, Butterfield, two Greenfields, two Mansfields Mayfield, Merry- field, two Akers, two Brinks, two Banks, Dell, Hill, Churchill, Mount, Greenwood, Green, two Parks, four Lanes, two Streets, Heath, seven Moores, Marsh, five Boggs, two Ponds, two Fountains, Frost, Snow, Falls three Lakes and one See.
MOUNT ST. HELENA .- At the head of Napa Valley stands this ma- jestic monarch of the Mayacamas Mountains, and a history of Napa and Lake Counties would not be complete without a due mention being made of this hoary-headed patriarch of the Pacific. A writer in one of the daily papers gives the following beautiful and graphic description of the grand scenes to be witnessed from its summit :
"'Great heights charm the eye,' said Goethe, 'but the steps which lead to them do not ;' yet it seemed to us as we ascended that at every step the view became wider and more complete, and that some new beauty was pre- sented either in the surrounding landscape or on the slope itself. Upward
7
98
History of Napa and Lake Counties-NAPA.
we traveled, now making turns as crooked as the manzanita sticks which we carried, now examining the frost, which was peculiarly formed into basalt-like columns along our path, now cutting canes and gathering speci- mens, until finally, footsore and tired, we found ourselves on the highest summit. It was a glorious scene which Nature on every side unfolded. Yet early in the morning, the cool, fresh air exhilarated like champagne, and the mists, having already disappeared under the influence of the rising sun, the beauty of the landscape was almost perfect in detail. The moun- tain upon which we stood is situated on the corner of Napa, Lake and Sonoma Counties, and rises somewhat precipitously to a height of four thousand five hundred feet. Forty years ago a party of Russians under Commander Rotscheff visited Mount Mayacamas, as the peak was then called, and upon the summit left a copper-plate bearing an inscription in their own language."
In 1853 this plate was discovered by Dr. T. A. Hylton, and a copy of it preserved by Mrs. H. L. Weston, of Petaluma. The metal slab is octagonal in shape, and bears the following words in the Russian language :
" RUSSIANS, 1841, JUNE. E. L. VOZNISENSKI iii, E. L. CHERNICH."
This inscription was referred to Mr. Charles Mitehell Grant, of Oakland, a gentleman long resident in Siberia, and he makes the following state- ment : "iii means that Voznisenski is the third of the third name in his family, the other two being still living, or at any rate alive when he was born. Evidently two Russian sailors; the first is a Polish name, and the second a name common in Little Russia."
" The mountain was named St. Helena in honor of the Princess De Gaga- rin, the commander's beautiful wife, and in this connection a romantic inci- dent has been related by General Vallejo. He said: 'The beauty of this lady excited so ardent a passion in the heart of Prince Solano, chief of all the Indians about Sonoma, that he formed a plan to capture, by force or stratagem, the object of his love ; and he might very likely have succeeded had I not heard of his intention in time to prevent its execution.'
" The mountain is supposed to be an extinct volcano, from which were poured out at one time the tufa in which the Petrified Forest is buried, together with the range of basalt dividing the Petaluma and Sonoma Valleys, and there remain two summits, one of which is four hundred feet above the other. Viewed from different points the change in the appearance is some- what striking. Looking at the peak from Santa Rosa the shape is not unlike that of a huge elephant ; at Fulton it has been called the 'giant in bed ;' from Litton Springs the outlines closely resemble those of St. Peter's at Rome ; from Napa Valley St. Helena presents a gorgeous panorama of shifting colors with cap of pearly gray ; while from Diablo it makes a mag-
99
General History and Settlement.
nificently long outline against the sky, like some lofty monument of ancient story. The Alpine glow seen at this season on the slope at sunset is in its way unexcelled, and the huge mass is lighted up with a rose tint as if from some internal fire. The foliage is of numerous varieties -- manzanita, scrub oak, scraggy pine and mountain cedar being especially predominant, while even vineyards have been found to thrive in the lower cañons. Like Diablo and Shasta, St. Helena is largely isolated from its surroundings, and is the presiding genius of the section in which it is located. To the specta- tor standing on the summit the world seems to be tossed into a tempest, and on whatever side he looks chaos reigns supreme. The view is confined only by distant mountains and the horizon. "The valleys sink away like settings on the landscape; towns and villages appear like collections of toy houses, and men and animals disappear from the sight altogether. Rivers are changed into tiny streams, wagon roads are narrowed to spiral-like trails, and tall trees are little higher than shrubs just beginning to shoot. There are mountains covered with timber to the top, and there are mountains covered with snow all the year round. There are mountains as high as the Jungfrau or Mont Blanc, and there are others with more pinacles and spires than the Cathedral of Milan. There are creeks, rivers, a bay and an ocean ; there are thousands of miles of land and water spread out like a map. It is order as well as chaos; it is distance brought within range of the human eye; it is sublimity and majesty combined; it is out of the 'Perfection of such beauty that God himself hath shined.'
" Directly in front of us, as we looked to the west from the summit, was Knights Valley, that favorite sketching place for artists, on the extreme eastern boundary of Sonoma, the dark color of its freshly plowed fields alter- nating with the brighter shades of its grain fields and meadows. It seemed but a stone's throw from where we stood to the magnificent residence of Calvin Holmes, while Kellogg's was yet nearer on the Calistoga road to the Geysers. Further to the west, and separated from Knights Valley by a spur from the main chain, was Russian River Valley, the river flashing in the sunlight like a stream of molten metal, and the play of colors upon its foothills and mountains defying the best tints of a Bierstadt or Turner. From·Cloverdale to San Pablo Bay the level space stretched in an unbroken line for a distance of nearly sixty miles, and highly cultivated fields and pretty farm-houses followed each other in quick succession. From our dis- tant height we could see Geyserville, with its Post-office and store and depot, snugly situated near the river; Litton Springs, with its schools and cottges, located beautifully on a rising plain; Healdsburg, overtopped by Fitch Mountain and with half a dozen spires ' pointing the way to heaven;' Wind- sor, Mark West and Fulton, each with a depot, and surrounded by fields as level as a floor; Santa Rosa, over thirty miles distant by the trail and road,
100
History of Napa and Lake Counties-NAPA.
yet so near that its streets and buildings could be plainly distinguished with the naked eye; the hill, behind which could be seen the smoke rising from Petaluma, though the town itself was obscured ; and then the valley shad- ing off into the bay-and the eye and sense were bewildered by the mighty prospect afforded. Beyond this central valley, to the west and north, was an interminable waste of mountains, spur crowding spur so closely that level spaces were lost sight of altogether, some peaks bare and cheerless, some covered with trees to the summit, some showing deeper cañons and steeper slopes than St. Helena itself. Crowning the view to the west was the ocean, covered with fog to the north, which no human eye could penetrate, and the outlines fading off in the distance until sky and water seemed to join. To the left of Santa Rosa in the south we caught a glimpse of Point Reyes, while farther to the right we knew were the Farallones. Separated to the east from this central valley at its Petaluma end was Sonoma Valley, ex- tending in an unbroken line south-westerly from the main chain, fronting on the bay and narrowing perceptibly upwards, and with an array of vineyards scarcely equaled elsewhere in the State. Further east we could see Napa Val- ley, thirty-five miles long and five miles wide at its widest part, its mountain lines covered with a magnificent foliage, including the oak, madrone, cedar, fir and pine; its mountain streams fringed with the willow, ash, gigantic brakes, flowering manzanita and California laurel; its river following the line of foothills on the east and narrowing into a thread in the distance ; with every available spot of territory covered with wheat fields, orchards vineyards, and with beautiful homes secured to their possessors by years of unremitting toil, perseverance and self-denial. In the center of this valley, as in the center of Russian River Valley, a railway stretched from the bay to the upper end, and the smoke from a passing train rolled off in a great streamer to the horizon.
" Beyond the bay, whose waters were a 'sparkling sheet of tremulous brightness,' we saw Diablo, its huge outlines appearing against the morning sky like some giant sentinel on the landscape, and still beyond, the ridge back of Redwood City formed a pleasing background to the view in that direction. To the right of Diablo, Mount Hamilton came plainly in our view, and yet farther in the distance were the mountains beyond Monterey. The city of San Francisco, situated upon more hills than those of which Rome itself boasts, loomed up to the eastward of the points just described, and over a part hung a fog, which rolled in from the sea in fleecy clouds. To the east of the city was still another immense waste of mountain peaks and spurs, and from our distant height Pope, Berryessa and other smaller valleys appeared like single fields of ordinary extent. This chain, extending from the hills beyond Monterey to Clear Lake, shut out in a measure the great central depression from the view, but through Putah Creek Cañon the
101
General History and Settlement.
sight stretched across the San Joaquin. It was a magnificent spectacle which met our gaze as we turned directly to the east. In front of us was an opening in the spur extending to the north, beyond which hung a huge fog bank like that over the San Joaquin, and overtopping which were the Sierras, like icebergs in the midst of a frozen ocean. This fog was not stationary, and as it was now and then dispelled, passing glimpses of the world underneath were obtained. The Lassen Buttes, with their one hundred square miles and more of volcanic grandeur, towered above the lower range in front, and still further to the left was Loconomo'Valley, with the village of Middleton in the center. The distance from the point where the Sierras met our view on the south to the point where they were lost on the north was fully four hundred miles, and over this immense territory peaks followed each other in almost endless succession.
"' The longer I stayed among the Alps,' says Ruskin, 'and the more closely I examined them, the more I was struck by the one broad fact of their being a vast Alpine plateau, or mass of elevated land, upon which nearly all the highest peaks stood like children set upon a table, removed in most cases far back from the edge of the plateau, as if for fear of their falling ; while the most majestic scenes in the Alps are produced, not so much by any violation of this law, as by one of the great peaks apparently having walked to the edge of the table to look over, and thus showing itself suddenly above the valley in its full height.' Looking from St. Helena, the same characteristic was true of the Sierras.
"The mighty range was before us in all its wild and majestic grandeur, and upon the edge of this elevated plateau stood great snow-capped masses, which rivaled in height the loftiest peaks of the Alps. These were sur- rounded by comparatively level fields of mountains, and overhanging the whole were clouds tinted with all the gorgeousness of sunrise splendor. See that huge snowbank over there to the left of Lassen Buttes ! That is Shasta. It is distant probably two hundred miles. It is fourteen thousand four hundred and forty feet high. It is covered with snow the year round a vertical mile from its summit. Even as we looked in the direction indicated the clouds gathered about the top of the great white mountain, like an eagle swooping down on its prey, and a shadowy white mass was soon all that remained.
" The sky became darker and the air grew colder before we left the top of St. Helena. A rainbow formed in the north-west, one end bathing the mountains back of Russian River with a flood of variegated light, the other end fading off in the clouds like a veil of gossamer. The wind began to blow, and soon the sun disappeared. From the bay and from the ocean the fog began to move towards the summit whereon we were stationed. Onward it came like some attacking phalanx of the elements, now across
102
History of Napa and Lake Counties-NAPA.
the mountains to the west and south, now over the central valleys of Sonoma and Napa, now up the slope and beyond, and immediately our view was at an end."
THE FUTURE .- The future of Napa County is destined to be a grand one. Her varied resources will always bring into her coffers almost untold wealth. Her wine industry is yet in its infancy ; mines are yet in an un- developed state, but promise great things for the future; her agricultural products are almost boundless, and her fine pleasure resorts and grand climate will always attract a host of tourists into her boundaries.
THE PIONEERS .- We are now about to bring this chapter to a close, referring the reader to the chapters on township or special history for further information, where we think will be found treated every matter of historical interest that can be found in the county. We have preferred to make this chapter rather meagre in some respects that we might the more fully write up the townships. In closing this chapter it is but proper that we should pay a tribute to the brave old pioneers who led the van and sacrificed their comforts and often their lives that we might have the great blessings we now enjoy.
Ah, those hardy old pioneers ! What a life was theirs, and how much of life was often crowded into a year, or sometimes even into a day of their existence. Now that the roads are all made and the dim trail has been supplanted by well-bcaten and much-traveled highways, how complacently we talk and write and read of their deeds and exploits. The writer of fifty years hence will be the man who will have the license to color up the heroic deeds of valor, and set forth in fitting words a proper tribute to the valor and prowess of the generation that is just now passing from our midst. We of to-day cannot, dare not, say it as it should be said, for there are living witnesses who would say it was too highly colored, too romantic, too fan- ciful. Heroic deeds do not seem so to the enactors of the drama of Pioneerism. It has been theirs to subdue the wilderness and change it into smiling fields of bright growing grain. Toil and privations, such as we can little appreciate now, was their lot for many years. Poor houses, and even no houses at all, but a simple tent or even an Indian wickeup, sheltered them from the rigors of the storm and the inclemency of the weather. The wild beasts of the woods were their night visitors, prowling about and making night hideous with their unearthly noises, and working the nerves of women, and often, perhaps, of men, up to a tension that precluded the pos- sibility of sleep and rest. Neighbors lived many miles away, and visits were rare and highly appreciated by the good old pioneer women. Law and order prevailed almost exclusively, and locks and bars to doors were then unknown, and the only thing to fear in human shape were the petty
103
General History and Settlement.
depredations by Indians. For food they had the fruit of the chase, which afforded them ample meat, but bread was sometimes a rarity, and appre- ciated when had as only those things are which tend most to our comfort, and which we are able to enjoy the least amount of. But they were happy in that life of freedom from the environments of society and social usage. They breathed the pure, fresh air, untainted by any odor of civilzation ; they ate the first fruits of the virgin soil, and grew strong and free on its strength and freedom. They spent their leisure hours under the wide- spreading branches of the giant forest monarchs, and their music was trilled forth upon the silver air by the feathered choristers of "God's first temples."
But changed are all things now! Where was then the wilderness, are now the fields of shining grain. The rude cluster of huts has developed into a handsome village, with its church spires pointing like finger-boards the way the worshipers at its shrine are wont to travel, from the church militant below to the church triumphant above. At every mile-post almost along the road are reared the bulwarks of our religious liberty, social free- dom and of our vaunted civilization-the public school-houses-in which the youth of the land receive instruction in all that goes to make the free American citizens. The arts and trades thrive, and on every hand the marks of prosperity are visible. And, above all, standing out in bold relief, are the happy homes of the people who now live where the pioneers en- dured such hardships, and, best of all, is the fact that many of the good old pioneer fathers and mothers still remain with us, in the full vigor of their manhood and womanhood, to enjoy these hard-bought privileges and pleasures. Others still are with us, but in the waning, mellow glow of Life's setting sun, looking back upon the life they have led, with a remembrance mingled with joy and sorrow, shaded and lighted by their varied experi- ences; looking out upon the results of their labor with feelings of exultant pride, knowing and feeling that the generations yet to come will rise up and call them blessed ; looking forward with glowing hearts, full of hope. trust and loving faith to the joyful time when they shall hear the Master's voice bidding them come up higher, and enter into his joy ; when the glad- some welcome " well done " shall thrill their hearts with a pleasure that shall never die. Others have gone on before to that reward already, and their places are occupied by their children and even their children's children, and a strange people who knew them not will soon fill the land. So, here on history's page, let us render a fitting tribute to their revered memory.
"No more for them shall be Earthly noon or night, Morn or evening light ; But Death's unfathomed mystery Has settled like a pall Over all."
104
History of Napa and Lake Counties-NAPA.
The final close of this chapter cannot be made more appropriately than to quote the following beautiful lines, penned by M. S. Beers, and entitled
" NAPA VALLEY."
I spied a beautiful valley, All nestled cosily down
In the laps of some grand old mountains, That were flecked in green and brown.
It was like a wondrous vision, Which comes in our purest hours,
Of the garden made in Eden, All filled with fruits and flowers,
And trees that were green forever, With a river rippling through, That waters the beautiful valley And its blossoms of every hue.
"Twas a land enriched with vintage, And flowing with honey and wine ;
A valley, like that of Hermon, With its dews and golden sunshine.
c. Wyttenbach
WW Stillwagon
105
Legislative History of Napa County.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF NAPA COUNTY.
ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNTY .- The first organization of counties in the United States originated in Virginia, her early settlers becoming proprietors of vast amounts of land, living apart in patrician splendor, imperious in demeanor, aristocratic in feeling, and being in a measure dictators to the laboring portion of the population. It will thus be remarked that the materials for the creation of towns were not at hand, voters being but sparsely distributed over a great area. The county organ- ization was, moreover, in perfect accord with the traditions and memories of the judicial and social dignities of Great Britain, in descent from whom they felt so much glory. In 1634 eight counties were established in Virginia, a lead which was followed by the Southern and several of the Northern States, save in those of South Carolina and Louisiana, where districts were outlined in the former, and parishes, after the manner of the French, in the latter.
In New England, towns were formed before counties, while counties were organized before States. Originally, the towns, or townships, exercised all the powers of government swayed by a State. The powers afterward assumed by the State government were from surrender or delegation on the part of towns. Counties were created to define the jurisdiction of courts of justice. The formation of States was a union of towns, wherein arose the representative system, each town being represented in the State Legislature, or General Court, by delegates chosen by the freemen of the towns at their stated meetings. The first town meeting of which we can find any direct evidence, was held by the congregation of the Plymouth Colony, on March 23, 1621, for the purpose of perfecting military arrangements. At that meeting a Governor was elected for the ensuing year, and it is noticed as a coincidence, whether from that source or otherwise, that the annual town meetings in New England, and nearly all the other States, have ever since been held in the spring of the year. It was not, however, until 1635 that the township system was adopted as a quasi corporation in Massachusetts.
The first legal enactment concerning this system provided that whereas: " Particular towns have many things which concern only themselves, and the ordering of their own affairs, and disposing of business in their own towns; therefore, the freemen of every town, or the major part of them,
106
History of Napa and Lake Counties-NAPA.
shall only have power to dispose of their own lands and woods, with all the appurtenances of said towns ; to grant lots and to make such orders as may concern the well ordering of their own towns, not repugnant to the laws and orders established by the General Court. They might also impose fines of not more than twenty shillings, and choose their own particular officers, as constables, surveyors for the highways, and the like." Evidently this enactment relieved the General Court of a mass of municipal details, with- out any danger to the powers of that body in controlling general measures of public policy. Probably, also, a demand from the freemen of the towns was felt for the control of their own home concerns.
The New England colonies were first governed by a " General Court," or Legislature, composed of a Governor and small council, which court con- sisted of the most influential inhabitants, and possessed and exercised both legislative and judicial powers, which were limited only by the wisdom of the holders. They made laws, ordered their execution, elected their own officers, tried and decided civil and criminal causes, enacted all manner of municipal regulations, and, in fact, transacted all the business of the colony.
This system, which was found to be eminently successful, became general as territory was added to the Republic, and States formed. Smaller divisions were in turn inaugurated and placed under the jurisdiction of special officers, whose numbers were increased as time developed a demand, until the system of township organization in the United States is a matter of just pride to her people.
Let us now consider this topic in regard to the especial subject under review :-
On the acquisition of California by the Government of the United States, under a treaty of peace, friendship, limits, and settlement with the Mexican Republic, dated Guadalupe Hidalgo, February 2, 1848, the boundaries of the State were defined. This treaty was ratified by the President of the United States, on March 16, 1848; exchanged at Queretaro May 30th, and finally promulgated July 4th, of the same year, by President Polk, and attested by Secretary of State, James Buchanan. In 1849 a Constitutional Convention was assembled in Monterey, and at the close of the session, on October 12th, a proclamation calling upon the people to form a government was issued " to designate such officers as they desire to make and execute the laws; that their choice may be wisely made, and that the government so organized may secure the permanent welfare and happiness of the people of the new State, is the sincere and earnest wish of the present executive, who, if the Constitution be ratified, will with pleasure surrender his powers to whomsoever the people may designate as his successor." This historical document bore the signatures of "B. Riley, Bvt. Brig. General U. S. A., and Governor of California ; and official H. W. Halleck, Bvt. Capt. and Secre- tary of State."
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.