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 43

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 43

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Governor Bigler had been working from the beginning of the conflagration wherever help had been needed, and when the State Capitol was threatened, he asked a number of bystanders to aid him in saving the furniture. They demurred to doing so on the ground that the state could better afford to lose its

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HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY

property than private parties could. Pointing to a full-length portrait of Washington that hung on the southern wall. Governor Bigler said: "See! there is the portrait of the father of your country ; will you permit it to be de- stroyed ?" His appeal was successful, and they made a general rush and saved the picture.

The Golden Eagle Hotel, a substantial brick building, finally checked the fire until it could be controlled. The news of the fire having reached San Francisco, the Monumental En- gine Company of that city made an earnest effort to reach Sacramento in time to be of assistance, but was unable to arrive until the next morning, when they were cordially thanked by the citizens for their generous attempt.

The next important fire occurred on July 3. 1855, and burned over the whole triangle be- tween the levee. 1 and Sixth Streets, but as the buildings were mainly old shacks occupied by Chinese, the loss was not heavy. Several fires, each occasioning a loss of from $10,000 to $20,000, occurred in the following nineteen years.

About 5:30 a. m., on September 15, 1874. the Capital Woolen Mills caught fire and were destroyed, causing a loss of from $75,000 to $100,000. The mills were soon rebuilt. No- vember 21, 1886, they were burned again, and were not rebuilt.

January 9, 1875, a fire started in the after- noon in the lamp room of the Western Hotel and spread rapidly to the whole building. By desperate efforts the fire department, which was promptly on hand, managed to confine it to the hotel building, which was totally de- stroyed. Three lives were lost, two of the victims being compositors in the "Union" office. The financial loss was estimated at about $100,000.

The most disastrous conflagration of later years occurred on Saturday morning, Jan- uary 31, 1903, when the fine department store of Weinstock, Lubin & Company, at Fourth and K Streets, running through to L Street, was discovered to be on fire. The iron doors in the rear of the K Street part were locked and could not be opened by the firemen until after the flames had gained such headway that they could not be con- trolled. They swept across the bridge con- necting the annex, and the inflammable con- tents soon made the whole store a seething furnace. At daybreak only the walls were left standing, the loss being over $750,000. The firm moved to the old pavilion on M Street, and in twenty-four hours was doing business again with a limited stock. Within a year they were housed again in their present handsome building.

Other serious fires of recent years have oc- curred at Charles Nathan & Sons' Departinent Store, Sixth and J Streets, with a loss of $458,000; the Sacramento Lumber Company's plant, when the west end of their yard burned with a loss of $58,000; the Valley Seed Com- pany's store, 1319 Front Street, with a loss of $174,000; and the California Packing Com- pany's Cannery, with a loss of $400,000.

Early Fire Companies

The honor of having organized the first fire company in the state belongs to Sacramento. February 5, 1850, the first steps were taken toward the organization of Mutual Hook and Ladder Company No. 1. The following offi- cers were elected: Demas Strong, foreman ; J. S. Fowler, first assistant ; M. D. Eyre, sec- ond assistant ; T. A. Warbass, treasurer ; H. G. Langley, secretary ; J. O. Derby, steward. The company turned out to the fire of April 4. 1850, using a fire engine belonging to Lewis & Bailey. They continued in active service until October 30, 1859, when they disbanded by mutual consent, turning over their appa- ratus to the fire department. They had twen- ty-six members when they disbanded, and had occupied the same building with Confi- dence Engine Company No. 1.

Alert Hook and Ladder Company No. 2 was organized September 27, 1852, electing Thomas W. Noyes, foreman; Charles W. Cook, assistant foreman : Alexander C. Folger. secretary; W. B. H. Dodson, trustee; John L. Polhemus and Joseph F. Cloutman, dele- gates. Their building was a two-story brick one, located on Eighth Street between J and K. Both this company and the Mutual re- ceived an outfit of hooks and ladders in 1853. In 1860 the Alert had twenty-nine members. and M. McManus was their foreman.

On March 6, 1851, Confidence Engine Com- pany No. 1 was organized with W. S. Eakins, foreman : William D. Hunt, first assistant ; John J. Balentine, second assistant; H. E. Urner, secretary: Leander Culver, treasurer. It was housed in a two-story building on the east side of Third Street between I and J. It maintained its organization until the in- troduction of the paid fire department, when it numbered sixty-five members.

Protection Engine Company No. 2 was or- ganized March 22. 1851. electing William Arents, foreman ; Francis R. Folger, assistant ; H. Burdick, secretary. It had sixty-five mem- bers and its house was erected on the west side of Eighth Street between } and K, and was afterwards for many years known as Exempt Firemen's Hall. It was torn down in 1911 to give place to a new building.

Sacramento Engine Company No. 3 was or- ganized March 27, 1851, by electing J. R.

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Beard, foreman; H. J. Beams, assistant fore- man ; F. McGilvery, secretary ; J. C. Freeman, assistant secretary. It had erected for it two years later a fine house on the west side of Second Street between K and L, and in 1860 the company numbered fifty-nine members. The building was later occupied by No. 1, of the paid fire department.

Eureka Engine Company No. 4 was organ- ized August 15. 1853, electing W. H. Jones, foreman: John H. Burgess, assistant: Jacob Greenbaum, secretary; H. P. Osborn, treas- urer. They occupied a two-story brick build- ing, the present Corporation House, on Fifth Street between J and K, and numbered sixty- five members in 1860.

Knickerbocker Engine Company No. 5 was organized July 21, 1854, the officers being as follows: H. Polley, foreman ; James Calwyn, first assistant: P. Holland, second assistant ; John F. Hall, secretary ; John C. Keenan, treas- urer. The company numbered fifty-eight members, and its building was a two-story brick on the east side of Fourth Street be- tween K and L.

Young America No. 6 was organized by the residents of the Third Ward, June 21, 1855, with Robert Robinson, foreman ; E. Kimball, first assistant : Sylvester Marshall, second as- sistant ; Anson Perry, secretary ; Charles S. White, treasurer. Its house was a two-story brick, located on Tenth Street between I and J, and is at present used by a company of the paid fire department, No. 2.

Tehama Hose Company No. 1 was the first hose company in this city. It was organized April 21, 1853, but disbanded November 24, 1855.

Neptune Hose Company was an independ- ent company organized October 6, 1856, with C. T. Ingham, president; P. Holland, fore- man; Thomas Bartlett, assistant foreman ; A. P. Norton, treasurer : Alexander Badlam, secretary. The company had considerable trouble in gaining admission into the depart- ment. A building was erected for it on the north side of I Street, fronting on Fourth Street. It had a membership of twenty-five.

Broderick Engine Company No. 7 was or- ganized June 1, 1860, electing Matthias Ault, foreman; R. B. Bishop, first assistant ; Ber- nard Riley, second assistant; D. O. Brown, secretary, and W. S. Higgins, treasurer. Its membership was sixty-five. The company was named after United States Senator David Broderick, and was faithful in its attendance at fires, but was not admitted into the depart- ment, and was disbanded immediately after the flood of 1861. It occupied a one-and-a-half- story building at the corner of Third and R Streets. The building was removed a number of years ago and converted into a residence ;

and the engine, hose, etc., reverted to the de- partment.

Several other companies of less note and various continuance were organized during the period of the volunteer department, and did good work when necessity required, but their names have passed from recollection. The fire- fighters of the old volunteer days were men of daring, men who were in the ranks for the love of the work as well as for the protection of their own property and that of others. Many of them had been members of similiar organ- izations in the East, and brought to their work here the experience gained in former fields.

Chief Engineers of Volunteer Fire Department

The following were chief engineers of the volunteer fire department during its continu- ance from January 25, 1851, to August, 1872, their terms of office being one year: Hiram Arents, David McDowell, R. M. Folger, I. M. Hubbard, J. H. Houseman, J. B. Blanchard, Henry Polley, Hiram Arents, Joseph S. Friend, George H. Brickman, R. J. Graham, Hugh Kelly, George Schmeizer, David C. Wilson, John Donellan, W. Gillan, Frank Johnson, A. H. Hapeman, William D. Farrell, George Schmeizer. Houseman and Kelly resigned, Blanchard, first assistant, succeeding the for- mer, and Schmeizer succeeding the latter.

Rivalry of the Companies

As was usual in the days of volunteer fire departments, there was great rivalry between the different companies, and many incidents occurred, humorous and otherwise, that would make interesting reading if their history had been preserved. There were tournaments, races, balls, presentation of banners and prizes, and various other features. At one time much complaint was made against the companies, in the papers, on account of these rivalries. It was charged that some of their members laid plans for getting ahead of the members of other companies by ringing false alarms, hav- ing warned enough members of their own companies to enable them to have their appa- ratus ready and get to the scene of the sup- posed fire before their rivals could do so, there- by gaining credit through the papers for being the most active in the performance of their duties. The rivalry between the volunteer companies often became so keen that bad blood was engendered and fights were com- mon. Spanners, wrenches, any available weap- ons, were used, and sanguinary encounters occurred on many occasions. One of the fiercest and most notable of these occurred at the burning of the first building erected for the Jefferson Primary School. Two of the com- panies between which there existed a strong feeling of antagonism, met at a wooden bridge

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HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY

that spanned a little slough near the school. Each was determined to beat the other, and they arrived simultaneously at the bridge. It was too narrow for both to cross at the same time, and in consequence one engine struck the railing, smashing it, and was precipitated into the slough. In a moment the fray was started, spanners and other weapons being used freely, and the bitterest fight in the his- tory of the department was on, the combatants paying no more attention to the fire, which was burning fiercely. Several were seriously injured, and carried the marks of the combat to their graves. The men who comprised the volunteer department were fearless and ag- gressive, energetic and ready to court opposi- tion, all of which qualities were valuable in fighting fire, even though they found a vent in other less worthy directions.

Exempt Firemen

The first Exempt Firemen's Association was organized on August 14, 1865. Twenty-two members were present at the meeting on that day, and the following were chosen as officers : George Rowland, president ; J. H. Houseman, vice-president; J. J. Smith, secretary : J. F. Crawford, treasurer. In 1871, when this asso- ciation was abolished, it had only sixty-five members. It was a charitable association, but its charities were neither compulsory nor sys- tematic. The fund was under the control of the board of delegates, which had been incor- porated June 10, 1868, and in the treasury was about $38,000, in 1872, which was turned over to the new association formed at that time.

The latter, which went out of existence some years ago, was organized under an act of the legislature, approved in April, 1872, it having been instituted December 4, 1872. The first officers elected were: W. L. Herndon, presi- dent; A. H. Cummings, first vice-president ; Joseph Davis, second vice-president; George A. Putnam, treasurer ; also a board of trustees of the general fund, and a board of trustees of the charitable fund.

Although in 1871 the old association had only sixty-five members when it was dissolved, the new one began business in 1872, with 324 members, and many others joined it later on. Its objects were of a social and beneficiary nature, including fraternal aid and pecuniary benefits. The pecuniary benefit given was eight dollars per week in case of disability, ten dollars a month to widows of deceased members in case they were in need of it, and a hundred dollars for funeral expenses. Besides this, all the friendly aid the association could bestow in case of sickness or distress was cheerfully given. These benefits were not given to a member, however, if his distress was the result of gross dissipation. By death and

removals the number of members was gradu- ally reduced to 151 in 1890, and finally to sixty-seven in 1901, when the association wound up its affairs.

By the act which created the paid fire de- partment of the city, it was provided that the Exempt Firemen's Association should have the privilege of selecting one of the old engine houses of the volunteer department for its use. The old engine house on the north side of the alley. on Eighth Street between J and K, was accordingly chosen and the property was put up at auction, to avoid complication of the title. No one would bid against the Exempt Firemen, and the sum it brought was $100. The building was remodeled and a hall built for their use. while the lower story was fitted up for stores, which brought a good rent. The change made in it by the Exempts cost about $7,000, and it was occupied by them for the first time on July 12, 1875. When the association wound up its affairs the prop- erty was sold, and it has been demolished to make way for a fine modern building. Thus landmark after landmark of the old days is passing away, and like the Pioneers, the Ex- empts still living have dwindled away in numbers, and soon only the memory of them will remain to us.

John F. Dreman, who was a member of No. 1. in the old volunteer department, and turned out in parade with it in 1851, and who was afterwards a member of No. 3, and of Nep- tune Hose Company, was the last president of the Exempts, and the proud possessor of a handsome badge presented to him when they disbanded. Mr. Dreman was for many years a member of the city board of educa- tion, and served also as a supervisor of the county. He died in 1917. James Coffroth. a brilliant lawyer of a generation ago, was the first member of the Exempts to die, and William L. Herndon the first president.

Paid Fire Department

A paid fire department for the city was established by the legislature April 1, 1872, and the volunteer department was super- seded. A board of three commissioners was established, the first members to be appointed by the governor, and their successors to be elected by the people, one being elected each year at the regular city election. The city was authorized by the act to issue bonds for $50,000, payable twenty years after date, with interest at eight per cent per annum. The first commissioners, appointces of the gover- nor, were Sylvester Tryon, George Rowland, and W. C. Felch, the latter being elected president of the board. Two engine compa- nies and a hook and ladder company were or- ganized the ensuing fall.

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Engine Company No. 1 was organized Sep- tember 15, 1872, and Henry Burnham was made foreman and O. Collier, engineer. There were twelve other men, but only the engineer, foreman and drivers were permanently em- ployed. The engine-house was for years situ- ated on Second Street between K and L, but is now on Sixth Street between H and I.

Engine Company No. 2 was organized at the same time as No. 1. with J. W. Thomp- son as foreman and E. H. Williams as en- gineer. The engine-house is on Tenth Street between I and J.

Engine Company No. 3 was organized and placed in service on April 1, 1888. The engine- house is on Nineteenth Street, between L and M. where Hose Company No. 1, organized June 11, 1884, had previously been located before disbanding.

Station No. 4, on Twenty-sixth Street be- tween L and M, was installed and put in service March 1, 1902, at a cost of $12,800, and the apparatus cost $5,550.

Station No. 5, on Ninth Street between T and U, was put in service in June, 1911, at a cost of about $11,000, with apparatus costing $5,550.

By 1912, the department was thoroughly equipped with chemical engines, including a modern auto chemical engine; also with up-to-date steamers, hook-and-ladder trucks with extension ladders and a water-tower, be- sides an ample supply of first-class hose-carts and hose. The annexation of the suburbs was then necessitating the building of stations in Oak Park and other localities. Oak Park already had a volunteer fire company. This is no longer in existence, paid stations of the Sacramento Fire Department having since been established both at Oak Park and at Curtis Oaks. At that time the board of under- writers had stated that no city in the state had a better-equipped fire department, or a more efficient force of firemen, than had Sacra- mento. The city trustees were alive to the fact that the better equipped and more efficient the department was, the better the protection afforded to the property of taxpayers, and the more reasonable the rates of insurance. For this reason they were more liberal in their appropriations for the purchase of apparatus, to keep up with the growth of the city and its needs. The erection of six- and eight- story buildings having then become quite common, the board, in January, 1912, pur- chased an auto hook-and-ladder truck, with an eighty-five-foot extension ladder, of the latest and most approved pattern, at a cost of $6,300.

The fire department now consists of seven engine companies, three truck companies, and four chemical companies, their locations being as follows:

Engine Company No. 1: Sixth Street be- tween H and I.

Engine Company No. 2: Tenth Street be- tween I and J.

Engine Company No. 3: Nineteenth Street between L and M.

Engine Company No. 4: Twenty-sixth Street between L and M.

Engine Company No. 5: Ninth Street be- tween T and U.

Engine Company No. 6: Fourth Avenue between Thirty-fourth and Thirty-fifth.

Engine Company No. 7: Twenty-sixth Street and Portola Way.

Truck Company No. 1 : Sixth Street be- tween K and L.

Truck Company No. 2: Nineteenth Street between L and M.

Truck Company No. 3: Fourth Avenue between Thirty-fourth and Thirty-fifth.

Chemical Company No. 1: Fifth Street between J and K.

Chemical Company No. 2: Twenty-second Street between S and T.

Chemical Company No. 3: Twentieth Street between D and E.

Chemical Company No. 4: Thirty-eighth Street and Folsom Boulevard.

The present Sacramento Fire Department is efficient, both in its equipment and in the personnel of its several stations. Under the new city council, Michael J. Dunphy was ap- pointed chief of the department. He was for- inerly assistant to Chief Loyal C. Moore, who about one year before had been appointed to succeed Charles Anderson, who is now a mem- ber of the city council.

All the equipment of the department is now motor-driven with the latest type of hose and ladder trucks, nozzle hoist derricks, high- power pumps, and other apparatus. It is claimed Sacramento has more fire hydrants than the majority of cities of its size; that it stands third in the entire United States, when compared with cities up to 100,000 population ; and that its fire department is excelled in Cali- fornia only by Los Angeles and San Francisco.

In 1919 the two-platoon system was adopted, giving the department greater efficiency, and always providing for the fullest cooperation of all the units in all emergencies arising in unusual conflagrations.

The annual appropriations for the city's fire department since 1913 have been as follows:

1911 : $130,000.00 1918: $126,446.55

1912: 76,135.73 1919 : 128,404.00

1913: 152,691.00 1920: 165,820.80

1914: 120,074.52 1921 : 230,917.36

1915 : 154,819.00 1922 : 250,349.40

1916: 140,569.00 1923 : 318,996.80

1917 : 150,205.00

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HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY

Chief Engineers of Paid Fire Department

The chief engineers of the paid fire depart- ment since its organization have been : William B. Hunt, 1872-1874; William H. H. Lee, 1874- 1876; Henry Burnham, 1876-1878; William H. H. Lee, four months, 1878; Cornelius Sullivan, 1878-1887; M. O'Meara, 1887-1890; H. A. Guthrie, 1890-1910; Charles Anderson, 1910- 1920: Loyal C. Moore, 1920-1921 ; Michael J. Dunphy, 1921 to the present time.

In 1887 O'Meara was elected chief engineer by the board of fire commissioners at a pri- vate meeting, and Sullivan and his friends held that the election was illegal. Both par- ties claimed the office and both gave orders at fires. The situation became embarrassing, the matter having been taken into court, and the commissioners finally called in H. A. Guthrie, who was at the time foreman of No. 1, and asked him to take the position of acting chief engineer. He demurred at first, but con- sented, and on October 13 he was appointed acting chief engineer. On October 21 he was appointed assistant chief engineer. About three months afterwards the courts decided in favor of O'Meara. In 1890 O'Meara left the city suddenly and Guthrie was appointed chief engineer on September 29, to succeed him. January 22, 1894, when the new charter for the city went into effect, he was reelected

chief engineer and continued to hold the posi- tion until August 1, 1910, when he requested to be relieved and tendered his resignation, retiring of his own volition and being placed on the pension list. He had been a member of the old volunteer department, becoming a member of Alert No. 2, while yet only a boy, and previously had been torch bearer of Pro- tection No. 2. He was presented with his certificate by Alert No. 2, January 29, 1872. and became a member of Hook and Ladder No. 1, in the paid fire department. During his term of service as chief engineer he brought the department up to a high degree of efficiency and by his aggressive energy and insistence with the trustees was able to in- troduce many improvements, such as chem- ical engines, extension ladders, etc., into the department. Chief Engineer Anderson, who succeeded him, proved to be an efficient chief, both in the handling of his force and in meth- ods of controlling fires. During his incum- bency the annexation of Oak Park and other suburbs was accomplished, and the erection of additional engine-houses for the use of the department and the protection of the outlying districts was planned and carried to comple- tion. Under Chiefs Moore and Dunphy, the department has maintained its record for effi- ciency and service.

CHAPTER XXXV

PUBLIC UTILITIES

Gas-Works

E ARLY in the history of Sacramento the necessity became apparent for a system of lighting more generally available and more elaborate than the tallow-dip. Kerosene at that date was not in general use and acety- lene and other substances were not then known. Gas had been in use in cities for a long time and was therefore the logical means for lighting streets and houses. Early in 1854 a Scotchman named William Glenn obtained a franchise for establishing and maintaining gas-works in the city of Sacramento. He made no attempt to build the works, but in- stead sold his franchise to a joint-stock asso- ciation, which organized August 18, 1854, as the Sacramento Gas Company. Angus Frier-

son was elected president and N. W. Chitten- den, secretary. The capital stock was $500,- 000, and by May, 1856, $200,000 had been expended. The initial step in constructing the gas-works was taken October 20, 1854, by Mayor R. P. Johnson, who turned the first soil excavated for placing the gas-meter tank, the location being in Slater's Addition. The new enterprise was pushed forward energet- ically until March 7, 1855, when the rise of the American River and the submergence of that part of the city caused its temporary abandonment. The prosecution of the work was resumed August 4, 1855, and energetic- ally carried out. The city was lighted with gas for the first time on the evening of De- cember 17 in the same year. The officers of the company at that time were: R. P. John-

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son, president and superintendent; W. H. Watson, secretary ; D. O. Mills, treasurer ; P. B. Norman, engineer ; James Murray, W. F. Babcock. L. McLean, Jr., R. P. Johnson, and W. H. Watson, directors.

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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 43

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