History of Sacramento County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present, 1923, Part 20

Author: Reed, G. Walter
Publication date: 1923
Publisher: Los Angeles : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 1026

USA > California > Sacramento County > History of Sacramento County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present, 1923 > Part 20

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HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY

1891, Elwood Bruner, Judson C. Brusie and Gillis Doty. Mr. Bruner was for many years a resident of Sacramento, but went to Alaska during the gold excitement some years ago and has since died. He was also a mem- ber of the assembly in 1880 and was district attorney of this county for a time. Judson C. Brusie, a practicing attorney of this city and previously an assemblyman from Amador County, was secretary of the railroad com- missioners from 1903 to 1908. He died in Los Angeles, June 10, 1908. In addition to being an attorney and public man, he was a very versatile writer and the author of a successful play.

1893, H. C. Chipman, W. A. Anderson and Eben B. Owen. Mr. Chipman was a resident of this city for many years and died here, May 26. 1899. Judge Anderson was an old-timer. having come to this county with his father at four years of age, in 1849. He was elected city auditor and took the office four days after attaining his majority; was admitted to the bar of the supreme court while yet a minor. In 1868 he entered the practice of the law and was for many years one of the best-known and most successful attorneys in the state. He filled the office of city attorney during several terms, and also that of city justice. From 1867 to 1875 he was assistant adjutant- general of the 4th Brigade, N. G. C., with the rank of major. He died June 24, 1919. Mr. Owen was a farmer living near McConnell's on the Cosumnes, where he has a large ranch.

1895. L. T. Hatfield, John E. Butler and Judson C. Brusie. Mr. Hatfield, an attorney, was for a number of years legal adviser of the Sacramento Electric Gas and Railway Com- pany of this city. Mr. Butler was a farmer who lived above Folsom. He died some years ago at his home in Oak Park.

1897. Scott F. Ennis, L. M. Landsborough and William M. Sims. Mr. Ennis is a prom- inent citizen of Sacramento, in the wholesale produce and commission business. Mr. Lands- borough was a fruit-raiser of Florin and is now a successful business man in that town. Mr. Sims was for a number of years a prac- ticing attorney here, but removed to San Fran- cisco, where he practiced his profession. He died in the spring of 1921.

1899, W. D. Knights, Grove L. Johnson and Morris Brooke. Mr. Knights was for a num- ber of years engaged in business here, but has for some years past been a resident of San Francisco. Mr. Brooke was a fruit-raiser for some years, but is at present the head of a large and successful real estate firm.

1901. Louis F. Reeber, W. W. Greer and Grove L. Johnson. Mr. Reeber was a well- known citizen of Sacramento. He was elected as a Democrat and was backed by the labor organizations of the city. Mr. Greer was a farmer and prominent in Grange circles. He is at present prohibition officer in Sacramento.

1903, Grove L. Johnson, W. W. Greer and J. M. Higgins. Mr. Higgins has been for a number of years foreman of the bindery in the state printing office and is very popular among the labor unions. He was city purchasing agent up to July 1, 1921.

1905, Frank J. O'Brien, Edward F. Lynch and C. O. Busick. Mr. O'Brien and Mr. Busick are both practicing lawyers of this city. Mr. Lynch is a farmer living near Mills Sta- tion on the Folsom and Placerville Railway. Mr. Busick is now superior judge.

1907, Grove L. Johnson, Frank J. O'Brien and Edward F. Lynch.

1909, E. L. Hawk. W. W. Greer and Grove L. Johnson. Mr. Hawk has been for many years a prominent real estate dealer of this city, and is very prominent in Grand Army circles, having been department commander in 1910.

1911, John C. March, Charles A. Bliss and E. F. Lynch. Mr. March is well known in this city, and was city justice for two terms. Mr. Bliss, a practicing attorney here, was elected one of the city commissioners at the election in 1911 under the new charter. He was again elected for two years, ending his service as president of the commission with the advent of the new city council, July 1. 1921.

1913, Hugh B. Bradford and J. M. Inman. Mr. Bradford has been a very successful dis- trict attorney, and still holds that position. Mr. Inman has two terms in the upper branch of the legislature to his credit.

1915, Lee Gebhardt and Walter W. Cheno- weth. Mr. Gebhardt and Mr. Chenoweth were practicing attorneys. Mr. Gebhardt is still actively engaged in his profession, but Mr. Chenoweth died several years ago.

1917. Lee Gebhardt and John W. Johnston. Mr. Johnston, like Mr. Gebhardt, is a practic- ing attorney of Sacramento.

1919, Lee Gebhardt and John W. Johnston.

1921. John W. Johnston and Percy G. West. Mr. West was formerly a deputy under Sheriff Ellis Jones. He is a rising young attorney and a very active member of the Native Sons of the Golden West and other organizations.

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CHAPTER XVII

TOWNSHIPS AND TOWNS

Alabama Township

A LABAMA Township was established on October 20, 1856, a prior division of the county having been made February 24, 1851, by the court of sessions, by which eight townships (known as Sacramento, Sutter, San Joaquin, Cosumnes, Brighton, Center, Missis- sippi and Natoma) were established. It was bounded on the north by Lee and Cosumnes Townships, on the west by Dry Creek Town- ship, and on the south and east by the county line. It was originally part of Cosumnes Township and included township six north, ranges seven and eight east, which lie north of Dry Creek, and also a strip from the west side of townships five and six north, range nine east, nearly a mile wide, in this county.

John Southerland came into this township in 1850 and engaged in stock-raising, and Roberts and Chaplin, who were the first ones to raise barley in the township, settled on a ranch near him the same year, and Joshua and William Hewald, adjoining them, also raised grain and hay. In 1851 Ed Thompson, an old sea captain, settled with his family in the township, but afterwards sold his farm to the Goodwin brothers. Soon after selling he had a dispute with a laborer, and calling him out of the house, shot and killed him, then left the country and was never found. Dr. George Elliott settled in 1851 at the crossing of the Stockton road and Dry Creek, and kept a stage station and hotel, owning the stage line. The place was known as Elliott's Station and a postoffice was established there in 1852, Elliott being appointed postmaster. He sold out in 1858, a Mr. Mitchell being appointed to suc- ceed him, until the office was discontinued, when Martin Scott purchased the hotel and moved it across the creek into San Joaquin County. James M. Short and W. Lords came to the township in 1852; and other early set- tlers who came previous to 1855 were S. B. Lemon, James Crocker, Thomas H. Fowler, William Mitchell (a large sheep-raiser), Richard White, William H. Young, William Callon, John Bowen and Joshua Bailey. In 1858 Thomas Steele settled at what is now known as Clay Station, and a postoffice was established there in 1878, Steele being post- master, storekeeper and blacksmith. The Sac-

ramento and Stockton stages ran through the township and by the station and hotel kept by Dr. Elliott. The Forest Line Stage Com- pany began running in June, 1869, and ceased in 1876, running from Galt to Mokelumne Hill. George Brusie kept a station and hotel. S. B. Lemon opened a hotel in 1854, which was closed in 1861 or 1862, and Calvin Bates opened one in 1863, on the Michigan Bar or Laguna road, which closed in 1866.

The first school in the township was a pri- vate one, kept by George H. Stringfield, in 1857, which lasted one term, and in 1858 a public schoolhouse was built by private par- ties, Miss Mary McConnell being the first teacher.

The soil of the bottom lands is a black loam. The upland is gravelly, mixed with adobe, and considerable red loam and sandy soil. The chief industry was stock-raising until the passage of the "no-fence" law, since which time the land is more profitable for farming than grazing. Thompson and James brought several herds of cattle into the town- ship in 1853, and until 1860 "Uncle Billy" Hicks, of Hicksville, also had many cattle. In 1858 sheep-raising obtained a hold and has ever since proved profitable. After 1877 bar- ley, wheat and hay began to be raised profit- ably. Very little fruit has hitherto been raised in this township, but of late the large ranches have been purchased and are being cut up into small tracts, with the idea of colonizing them for the purpose of intensive farming and planting vineyards. Dry Creek is a torrential stream coming down from Amador County, which carries water only in the winter and spring. The Lagoon, as it is known, carries a great deal of water in winter, sometimes overflowing its banks, half a mile wide. It ran nearly through the center of the township.

American Township

On July 30, 1851, the court of sessions cut off from Sacramento Township all of the land north of the American River, creating it into a township to be known as American Town- ship. On the 20th of October, 1856, the board of supervisors established the boundaries of the townships as they existed up to the recent rearrangement, all but Riverside Township,

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which was carved out of Sutter Township in 1909. In 1874 the supervisors changed the boundaries of Sacramento City, throwing all the land north of A and North B Streets into American Township. At present almost all the land in the township is swamp and over- flowed land, comprised in Old Swamp Land District No. 1. The Natomas Consolidated Company, however, has obtained ownership of most of the overflowed land, and has begun the work of reclaiming many thousands of acres, at a cost of several million dollars, and the area embraced in the township is already the site of hundreds of small holdings of alluvial land of great fertility and will make a thickly settled section tributary to the city of Sacramento. The township contains about fourteen thousand acres of the Norris Grant, or Rancho del Paso. This also is being sub- divided, and many settlers are making im- provements on it. The Southern Pacific sta- tion at Arcade is situated near the southeast corner of the township.

The Six-mile House on the old Marysville road was built by Mr. Holmes in 1852 or 1853, but sold in 1857 under foreclosure to H. C. Harvey, who was interested in a stage line from Sacramento to Marysville, and who kept it as a hotel and farm-house. It was later the headquarters of a game club. The Arcade House was about two miles from the Ameri- can River bridge. The Star Hotel was on the Nevada road on the Norris Grant. It was a favorite stopping place for teamsters and was owned by a Mr. Pitcher in 1857. The Twelve- mile House was a stage station on the Nevada road. The land, being sedimentary deposit, is very rich on the bottoms, and much sedi- ment was deposited on it by the flood of 1862, which nearly ruined the farms overflowed, carrying away barns, houses, tools, etc., and the indications are that at some time previous to the American River occupation the water was much higher than in 1862.

This township was the scene of one of the early duels-that between Philip W. Thomas, district attorney of Placer County, and Dr. Dickson, one of the physicians of the State Marine Hospital of San Francisco. Thomas had made some remarks derogatory to the character of J. P. Rutland, one of the clerks in the office of State Treasurer McMeans, and Rutland sent a challenge, which Thomas de- clined, saying he did not regard the challenger as a gentleman. Dr. Dickson appropriated the insult to himself, and sent a challenge to Thomas in his own name, which was accepted, and a hostile meeting was arranged for four a. m., March 9, 1854. The parties left the city at two-thirty a. m., but found they were pur- sued by the sheriff and his deputies, and it was arranged that a mock duel should take

place between two of their friends, H. O. Ryerson and Hamilton Bowie. They took position and exchanged shots, and Ryerson was immediately arrested and taken to the city, where he gave bonds. The principals proceeded to the ground, about two hundred yards from the residence of H. M. LaRue, where Bowie acted as second for Thomas and Judge McGowan as second for Dickson. The distance had been fixed at ten paces, but was changed to fifteen, in hopes of saving their lives. The weapons used were dueling pistols, and both fired promptly at the word, Thomas being a little the quicker of the two, which probably saved his life, as Dickson's bullet struck the ground at Thomas' feet. Dickson fell and was brought to the city, where he died at midnight. James H. Hardy was then dis- trict attorney, and the other participants were indicted, but through the exertions of Col. P. L. Edwards, their counsel, the indictments were quashed. Thomas was later twice re- elected district attorney of Placer County, and in 1860 was elected to the state senate, but resigned before the expiration of his term. He died in Auburn in 1874 or 1875.

Brighton Township

Brighton Township, as originally estab- lished by the court of sessions, February 4. 1851, was described as follows: Beginning at the southeast corner of Sacramento Township. thence along the eastern line of said township to the county line of Sutter County; thence easterly along said line for three miles ; thence in a southeasterly direction to Murray's Ranch and including the same; thence in the same direction to the intersection of San Joaquin, Sutter and Cosumnes Townships; thence along the northern line of Sutter Township to the place of beginning. This included part of what was later known as Center Township. In 1856 the board of supervisors changed the boundaries.

The town of Brighton was started in 1849 by a party of Sacramento speculators, the town plat made, lots staked off, a race track and the Pavilion Hotel built by the originators of the enterprise. It was located on the bank of the American River, nearly a mile north of the location of what is now known as Brigh- ton. In 1849-1851 it was a lively place. The Pavilion Hotel burned down in 1851, and another hotel, the Five-mile House, with John and George Berry as proprietors, was started, but closed in 1856. There were two stores and several dwellings in the town, but in 1852 it was abandoned, on account of land troubles, defective title and other reasons.

The station and postoffice now known as Perkins was called Brighton until the early eighties, when the name was changed. At one

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HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY

time the postoffice at Brighton was moved to what is now called Brighton Junction, remain- ing there for four years, and then going back to its present location. T. C. Perkins built the first store and was the first postmaster there in 1861, and his son, C. C. Perkins, suc- ceeded him. S. H. Pugh built the Wash- ington Hotel and the first blacksmith shop in 1874.

Hoboken, or Norristown, was laid off by Samuel Norris in 1850 on the south bank of the American River. Very little was heard of it till the flood of 1852, when Sacramento was cut off by water, and Sacramento merchants had to move to the high ground in order to reach their customers. The town was re- christened Hoboken, and grew quickly. Janu- ary 10, 1853, there were from thirty to fifty houses and tents. Prominent business houses of Sacramento swelled the population to sev- eral hundred. In January of 1853 the vote for the election of mayor of the town stood, after an exciting campaign: E. L. Brown, 613; Samuel Norris, 546; J. B. Starr, 598. Mayor Brown made a speech to the voters, promising faithfully to perform the duties of his office, "provided I am paid for it." When the waters subsided Hoboken was deserted and became farm land.

Routier postoffice, named in honor of Joseph Routier, is on the Placerville railroad. Rou- tier settled there in June, 1853, as the agent of Captain Folsom, occupying the house built by Leidesdorff in 1846. He bought part of the property and lived there until his death in 1898. The first railroad station in this vicinity was at the American Fork House, or Patter- son's. A few years later the station was moved to Mayhews. In 1871 Mr. Patterson lost his new house by fire, and rebuilt at Routier's. In 1872 Mrs. Mayhew, postmistress at May- hews, resigned, and the office was moved to Routier's and Patterson was appointed post- master.

A. D. Patterson came to this country in 1849 and started the American Fork or Ten-mile House on the Coloma Road, remaining there until 1871. The house was constructed prin- cipally of cloth, and was about ten miles from Sacramento. It became popular, and flour- ished so that in 1850 he built a wooden house costing, it was said, about $40,000, owing to the cholera season in that year. On Christ- mas Eve, 1850, a ball was held that realized $1,500, of which Patterson paid $250 to Loth- ian's band for music. In 1853 the "Plank Road." built on the continuation of J Street, reached Patterson's Hotel, which was its east- ern terminus. The house immediately became a great place of resort, and flourished till he sold it in 1872.

The Magnolia, also known as the Five-mile House, was built originally in 1849, on the old Placerville and Jackson stage road, and was well known in its day. It was burned twice in 1863, and rebuilt the second time. The Twelve-mile House was built in 1853 by a man named Caldwell, and was known as the Ante- lope Ranch. The Fourteen-mile House was built on the old Coloma Road in 1850, and sold to John Taylor in 1854.

Among the early settlers in the township we have gathered the following: N. J. Stevens settled near Patterson in 1850. Charles Malby settled here in 1849, and kept the Nine-mile House on the Coloma Road. James T. Day came in 1849. Israel Luce came in 1850. James Allen came with his family to the American River, and was driven out in the Squatter riot, the sheriff having been killed at his house, as heretofore narrated, and an adopted son of his having also been killed. He returned, and sold his place in 1861. W. B. Whitesides settled in the township in 1850, on what is known as the Rooney place. A. B. Hawkins came in 1849. A. Cerytes came in 1850, but moved away later. A. Kipp and Charles Petit set- tled on the Allen place in 1851, but when he returned they gave it up to him. John Rooney came in 1851. W. S. Manlove and Dr. Kellogg settled there in 1849.

Mills Station, formerly known as Hangtown Crossing, has a store owned by John Studarus, and formerly a gristmill from which it took its name.

Walsh's Station is situated on the Jackson road about nine miles from Sacramento, and a postoffice was established there in 1873, J. Walsh, who kept the store, being postmaster. Enterprise Grange Hall was built there the same year by a business association connected with the Grange.

Center Township

Center Township was established by the court of sessions in 1851, and comprised part of the present township, as well as parts of Brighton, Granite and Lee Townships. The supervisors in 1853 changed the boundaries of Brighton and Center Townships, making the portions of both lying north of the Ameri- can River, Center Township. In 1856 new boundaries were established. The township is almost entirely composed of Spanish grants. About 30.000 acres of the Norris Grant, known now as the Rancho del Paso, are in the town- ship ; also about 8,000 acres of the old San Juan Grant, the latter having been subdivided and sold in smaller parcels. Some years ago the Rancho del Paso was sold by J. B. Haggin to Eastern capitalists, and has been rapidly cut up and sold in small farms to settlers. The

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price paid for it is stated to have been about $1,500,000. For fifty years its 44.000 acres stood like a stone wall in the way of the city's expansion on the north, as Mr. Haggin refused to sell it, except as a whole. The proprietors of the Norris Grant made three separate at- tempts to reach artesian water or to find a flowing well, but were unsuccessful, and the last of the three wells was abandoned in 1879. The depth of these wells was, respectively, 900 feet, 640 feet, and 2,147 feet.

The Auburn road runs diagonally through the township, and in the early days houses of refreshment were located along it at short in- tervals, the most prominent of them being the Oak Grove House, about seven miles from Sacramento, which was a popular resort in 1851-1852. It was kept by D. B. Groat, and was the one at which the parties of the Denver-Gilbert duel took breakfast on the morning of the tragedy, the ground being only a few yards away. The house disap- peared long ago. This was one of the most noted duels in the early history of the state, and had its origin in a newspaper controversy in 1852. Denver was at the time in charge of the supplies for overland immigration, and Gilbert attacked him editorially, charging members of the expedition with dishonesty. He finally sent Denver a challenge, which was accepted, Denver, as the challenged party, choosing rifles, and the distance thirty paces. At sunrise August 2, 1852, the combatants met on the ground, and in the toss for choice of position Denver won, and placed his back toward the rising sun. Ex-Mayor Tesche- macher was Gilbert's second and V. E. Geiger was Denver's, while Dr. Wake Briarly was surgeon. The first fire resulted in the bullets of each striking the ground in front of the other. At the second shot Gilbert was shot in the bowels and fell into the arms of his friend, dying without a struggle. His body was carried to the Oak Grove House. Gilbert was born in Troy, N. Y., and worked himself up from the printer's case to a seat in con- gress. He came to California with Stevenson's regiment in 1847, having previously been as- sociate editor on the Albany "Argus," though at the time of his death he was only thirty years of age. Early in 1849 he combined the California "Star" and the old "Californian," from which sprung the "Alta California." He was a delegate to the first constitutional con- vention, and the first man from the Pacific Coast to take a seat in congress. His body was taken to the residence of J. H. Nevett in Sacramento, and impressive funeral services held by Rev. O. C. Wheeler at the First Bap- tist Church, the procession being headed by a company of cavalry under command of Cap- tain Fry. The body was taken to San Fran-

cisco, and final services held at Rev. T. Dwight Hunt's church, every newspaper edi- tor and reporter in San Francisco attending the funeral.

Antelope is a village on the Southern Pacific Railway. In 1876 a large brick warehouse was built by J. F. Cross, costing $3,000. The first store was started in 1877 by the Antelope Business Association, and the second by R. Astile in 1879 in the hotel building. The post- office was established in 1877, Joel Gardner being postmaster. For many years it has been a shipping place for hay and grain into the mountains, and of late fruit- and almond- raising is increasing in that section. Arcade is a way station on the Southern Pacific. Within recent years the Western Pacific Rail- way and the Northern Electric Railway have been built through the township and have established some way stations.

Cosumnes Township

Cosumnes Township originally embraced parts of Dry Creek and San Joaquin Town- ships. The township boundaries were estab- lished by the board of supervisors in 1856, and the villages of Cosumnes, Michigan Bar, Sebastopol, Live Oak and Buckeye were with- in its limits.

Michigan Bar was so named because the first settlers were from Michigan. Much gold mining was done in Cosumnes Township, gold having been discovered there in 1849, and it was probably discovered by the two Michi- gan men who founded the place. This was the largest mining camp in the district, and the first claims were only allowed to be six- teen feet. When hydraulic mining began the miners made their own rules. In the fall of 1851 the miners began working the gulches, hauling the dirt in carts to the river. This was the first dry mining done in this locality. In the summer most of the mining was done on the river and bars. The Knightsomer ditch in 1851 (the first built), and the David- son ditch, built in 1854, were both on the north side of the river. In 1858 hydraulic mining began, and some 200 to 300 acres were washed off to the depth, sometimes, of twenty feet, the district being one of the best for placer mining in California. At one time Michigan Bar had from 1,000 to 1,500 popula- tion, some estimating it as high as 2,000, and in the fifties it polled as high as 500 votes.

A toll bridge, built in 1853 by Samuel Put- namı. was bought by the county in 1879 and made free. A new iron bridge, 362 feet in length and costing $3,300, was built in 1887. The Michigan Bar Pottery Works were built in 1859 by J. W. Orr, who discovered what was thought to be the best bank of clay for pottery in the state.

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A man named Prothero was the first set- tler, and brought his family of four sons and two daughters with him. Larkin Lamb and wife settled there in 1851.

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History of Sacramento County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present, 1923, Part 20

Author: Reed, G. Walter Publication date: 1923 Publisher: Los Angeles : Historic Record Co. Number of Pages: 1026

Author: Reed, G. Walter
Publication date: 1923
Publisher: Los Angeles : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 1026