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 5

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 5

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Many centuries ago a vast sea occupied the place now known as the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys. The action of sun, rain and air slowly disintegrated the surrounding moun- tains and erosion set in, the detritus forming soil which was washed down into the inland sea, eventually filling up the great basin. It is no wonder then, that, like the valley of the Nile, which was formed in the same way, the valley of the Sacramento became one of the richest and most fertile in the world. For near- ly half a century it was one of the great wheat- producing sections of the United States. As the soil became exhausted for wheat-raising under the one-crop system, the farmer began to find it necessary to change the crop. He found that it would not only raise all varieties of fruit and berries, but that on a much smaller acreage he could raise a far more profitable crop, as well as a more certain one. So in a few years Sacramento developed into a great fruit-shipping center and today the Florin dis- trict is one of the largest, if not the largest, of the strawberry-growing centers in the state. Sacramento County also leads in the produc- tion of the Tokay grape. the color and quality of which always secures for it the highest price in the Eastern market. The county also leads in Bartlett-pear production.

Nor must the tule lands along the Sacra- mento River in the southwestern part of the county be overlooked. Alluvial lands of the richest quality, for some distance back from the river, have been reclaimed and thou- sands of acres have been planted with orchards of deciduous fruits or sown with alfalfa and used as dairy farms. Of late years they are being reclaimed faster, and asparagus and cel- ery have been found to be very successful and profitable crops, the former being canned in immense quantities and sent East to supply the markets of the world.

In fact everything that can be produced in a semi-tropical country can be grown in the Sac- ramento Valley, and even some fruits and other products that really belong to tropical climes. Rice is being grown with great suc- cess and of the finest quality in Butte County, as well as to a limited extent in Sacramento County, a large portion of the soil of which is admirably fitted for its culture. Hemp and ramie bid fair to become profitable textile pro-

HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY

ducts, and much of the land is suitable for flax. Hops are also an important product, being grown of the finest quality along the Sacra- mento and Cosumnes Rivers.

Early Spanish Grants

A large portion of the area of Sacramento County, which is now in private ownership through subdivision, was in the early days comprised in the old Spanish grants. The boun- daries and other matters were the cause of much costly and vexatious litigation. The grants were as follows:

The Rancho Rio de los Americanos, or Leidesdorff Grant, lying along the American River and embracing the country around Folsom.

The Sutter Grant, or New Helvetia.

The Sheldon Grant, embracing the estates of Jared Sheldon and William Daylor, on the Cosumnes River, originally known as the Rancho Omochumnes.

The Hartnell Grant, also on the Cosumnes River.

The Rancho San Jon de los Moquelumnes, generally known as the Chabolla Grant, on the lower Cosumnes around Hicksville and run- ning to the Mokelumne River.

The Arroyo Seco Grant, in Alabama Town- ship, on Dry Creek.

The Rancho San Juan, on the north side of the American River and embracing the Car- michael colony, Fairoaks and also a part of Orangevale.

The Rancho del Paso, formerly known as the Norris Grant and now generally spoken of as the Haggin Grant. This stood for more than fifty years as a barrier to the extension of the city on the north, and was the last of the great land holdings in this county to be sub- divided.

The Rancho Sacayac, on the north side of the Cosumnes, between the Sheldon Grant and the east line of the county.

The Rancho Cazadores, on the northwest side of the Cosumnes, opposite the Chabolla Grant.

Property Values

While Sacramento County is fifth among the counties of the state, according to property valuation, she excels her rivals in other ways. According to the figures prepared by State Controller John S. Chambers for 1920, the as- sessed value of the property of the county was $130,162,551, an increase over the figures re- ported in 1912 of $43,581,756. The present standing of the counties with respect to prop- erty valuation starts with Los Angeles, first ; San Francisco, second: Alameda, third; Fres- no, fourth; and Sacramento, fifth. The won- derful increase in property values in Sacra- mento County is to be ascribed primarily to the remarkable growth in agricultural, indus- trial and other productive activities, of which it has been the pivotal center ; but contributory causes are also found in favorable climatic and market conditions.

CHAPTER II

CLIMATE OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY

S ACRAMENTO County has the most ideal climate of any section of California. This assertion may at first be challenged by non-residents who have heard only tales of "torrid heat," which in a careful analysis are found to be far from representing real climatic conditions in the county. The county, in keep- ing with its location in the vast inland empire comprising the two great river valleys, has indeed its fair share of warm weather, which is at the same time its salvation and the secret of its wonderful productivity and remarkable adaptation for the ripening and curing of fruits, and the general requirements of profit- able horticulture. For its gift of summer sun- shine puts a wealth of sugar in the myriad plums, apricots, peaches, pears, grapes, raisins

and other fruits which grow so abundantly in its fertile valleys. However, the exceedingly low humidity, which throughout the summer season usually records a mere trace, takes the oppressiveness out of hot weather, and the dry heat on the warmest days is far from being unbearable even in the open fields, much less in the shaded parks and playgrounds. At night the cooling trade winds, blowing in from the Pacific Ocean, bring temperatures which make blankets comfortable for sleeping practically 365 days in the year.

The balmy weather throughout the winter, with very infrequent killing frosts, enables the fariner to work outdoors almost the entire vear, except during the rainy season, which brings its blessings of brimming reservoirs

HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY

and well-soaked lands. thus insuring abundant crops in field and orchard. To the inhabitant of the frozen North, where snow, ice and sleet reign for several months in the year, such a condition and opportunity make a strong appeal, and many of the present-day farmers in this most favored territory are of those who have forsaken the cold, bleak regions for the land of flowers, sunshine and happiness.

Nor is one prohibited here from enjoying the winter sports, for within a three-hour drive by automobile from the Capitol may be found snow of almost any depth up to ten or twelve feet; during the winter season; and in July and August one may engage in a snowball contest with his comrades by going a little higher into the lofty Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Comparative Data

Writers and travelers the world over have compared the climatic conditions in Sacra- mento County with those in Italy ; and indeed there are many marked resemblances in cli- mate and productiveness between the "Heart of California" and the sunny southern land on the shores of the Mediterranean, particu- larly with respect to the successful culture of lemons, olives and grapes. During more re- cent years, also, this county has developed its orange industry, until today it is fast taking the lead in the growing of that variety of citrus fruit. The Washington navel orange ripens here from four to six weeks earlier than in the groves of the southern part of the state, thus insuring an early and inviting mar- ket, both locally and in the East. The grow- ing of figs, olives and table grapes, likewise, is established on a steady and profitable com- mercial basis, with increasing acreage and pro- duction.

Indeed, the county possesses all the advan- tages of unsurpassed climate and soil; and to these are added unexcelled railway facili- ties, co-ordinated with the main trunk lines and cross-country laterals of the greatest sys- tem of state highways ever built by any com- monwealth in the nation, touching seashore, mountain and valley, and affording the quick- est, easiest and most pleasant and fascinating routes of ingress and egress in every direction.

When the topic of climate is presented for consideration it is customary to bring Los Angeles into the discussion by way of com- parison. The records of the United States Weather Bureau, carefully taken and compiled at the government station here, tend to dis- prove any claims of our beautiful Southern metropolis to a monopoly on sunshine and flowers. To convince the skeptical, and fur- nish food for thought to those who seek in- formation and are willing to accept official data from so reliable an authority as the

United States Weather Bureau, the following comparative statistics, covering a period of a quarter of a century, are given :

Southern Italy: Average winter tempera- ture. 47.3: average spring temperature, 57.3; average summer temperature. 73.7; average autumn temperature. 61.9; average yearly temperature, 60.0; average highest tempera- ture. 85 ; average lowest temperature, 20; aver- age clear days. 220.

Los Angeles: Average winter temperature, 52.0; average spring temperature, 60.0; aver- age summer temperature, 70.0; average autumn temperature, 65.0: average yearly temperature, 62.0; average highest tempera- ture. 109; average lowest temperature, 28; average clear days, 250.

Sacramento: Average winter temperature, 48.0: average spring temperature, 60.0; aver- age summer temperature. 75.0: average au- tumn temperature, 61.0: average yearly tem- perature, 61.0; average highest temperature, 100; average lowest temperature, 29; average clear days, 238.

The record of the blossoming of fruit trees for twenty-five years previous to 1894 showed the earliest date to have been January 20, 1888, and the latest March 8, 1871. No later data are at hand, but the seasons have varied very little for cycles of ten years since the settlement of the state and the growing of fruits, so that these figures may be regarded as a fair average of conditions. Cherries ripen and are shipped from here in April, and in exceptional seasons a few boxes have been shipped earlier. the usual period of blossom- ing, however, being about the 15th of Febru- ary. The long, dry summer ripens all kinds of fruit perfectly, and but rarely do the au- tumn rains come early enough to damage the fruit crop not already marketed. The farmer leaves his hay or grain in the stack for months if necessary, secure that it will not be dam- aged by untimely rains. Each season thus brings its own work. As the fall months ad- vance and the winter begins, the rains make their appearance. The summer fallow is mois- tened and the grain is sown and harrowed. The winter plowing is begun as soon as the rain has penetrated the soil to the proper depth and when the seeding is completed the farmer leaves the rainfall to complete the work.

In the matter of rainfall, Sacramento County enjoys the happy medium, the average rain- fall being nearly twenty-one inches. Taken in connection with the fertility of the soil, and the conditions surrounding the valley and in- fluencing its climate, the fact is that a crop failure in this county has never been recorded, and that it was the boast of the past genera- tion of farmers that irrigation was not neces-

HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY

sary in order to secure a crop. That boast was made in the days of wheat-raising and does not apply so strictly to fruit-raising and later methods of farming. Still in most sec- tions of the county the raising of grapes and deciduous fruits and nuts is in many cases made profitable by thorough cultivation with- out resorting to irrigation. While this is true, there are several irrigation systems of ditches from which water can be obtained on reason- able terms, and this is found necessary for the production of citrus fruit and alfalfa.

The absence, or rather scarcity, of humidity in the atmosphere at Sacramento during the summer time, as already stated. is a great factor in making the heat more endurable when the thermometer shows a reading that is high. As is well known, a high degree of atmospheric humidity intensifies the suffering when the temperature reaches one hundred degrees or more. In fact, in the country east of the Rocky Mountains, where showers are more or less frequent in the summer, there is more suffering when the thermometer rises to ninety degrees, and the air is charged with moisture, than there would be in Sacramento when it marked one hundred degrees or more. In the one case fatalities from sunstroke are common, while in the other sunstroke is 1in- known. The breeze blowing from the ocean along the Sacramento River in the summer afternoons has a cooling effect on the atmos- phere and renders the evenings delightful for outdoor amusements. It seldom occurs in Sacramento, in fact not more than two or three nights in the year. that a person can- not sleep comfortably under a sheet or even under a blanket or two. The spring and fall weather are delightful, and winter almost seems a misnomer when one enjoys the sunny days and a coat seems almost a burden. No wonder, in such a climate, that the fruit trees haste to break into blossom and fill the air with their fragrance. To the Easterner, im- pelled by the cold of his native state to seek a more balmy climate. Sacramento offers one not to be excelled by any other place, in win- ter or summer.

Sacramento presents further advantages to the settler. As has been stated, all kinds of fruits of the temperate zone. all semi-tropical fruits, and even some tropical fruits ripen here to perfection ; for a peculiarly favorable cli- matic condition prevails in the foothills of the Sierras of Sacramento and adjacent counties, a section known as the thermal belt. The southern part of the state has been extensive- ly advertised as the home of the orange and the lemon. While this is true, it is equally true that Sacramento and adjoining counties are also the home of the orange and all other citrus fruits, and the shipment of such fruits

is a constantly increasing factor in their pros- perity. Hundreds of carloads of oranges, lem- ons and pomelos, or grapefruit. are shipped to the East annually. The very decided advan- tage that Sacramento has over the southern part of the state is that her oranges ripen from a month to six weeks earlier than in the south and her crop is practically disposed of in the Eastern market for the Thanksgiv- ing and holiday trade at high prices, before the southern oranges are ripe enough to be- gin shipment. Such being the case, the freez- ing of the orange crop is a thing unknown in Sacramento County, nor do the later vari- eties ever suffer from frost.

Olives thrive and bear profitable crops in Sacramento County, where there are many orchards of them. As fine a quality of oil as is to be found in the state is made at Fair- oaks, and both there and in several other places the business of pickling the ripe olive is made a paying industry.

METEOROLOGICAL DATA

The editor of this edition of the History of Sacramento County renews his thanks and obligations to Nathaniel R. Taylor, meteorolo- gist of the local United States Weather Bu- realt, for his assistance in furnishing the val- table data contained in the reports and com- parisons herewith presented concerning cli- matic conditions, including temperatures. rainfall and other matters, which make this work the most complete in this respect of any obtainable. While it is true that there is a considerable difference in rainfall and temper- ature during individual years, it will be seen that taken in cycles of five or ten years, the average weather of the seasons shows but little variation, and there is no great amount of change for the past sixty years. The in- crease in irrigation which has been made dur- ing the past few years, and which will increase rapidly within the next decade, may make a perceptible change in the course of time, as the creation of the Salton Sea has brought about an increased rainfall in the southern part of the state, but as yet no noticeable change has occurred here. As has been seen in a preceding table, our climate is, if any- thing, better than the vaunted climate of Italy and is not materially different from that of Los Angeles, upon which so much stress is laid by the inhabitants of the South. Taken all in all. the climate of our glorious state is unequaled by that of any similar extent of country in the world, and the Californian who desires a change of climate can easily obtain it in a few hours, without leaving his own state.

As will be seen by the table of absolute maximum and absolute minimum temperature

HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY

for the last forty years, taken in cycles of ten years, the average maximum for the ten years from 1881 to 1890, inclusive, is 102.6° ; from 1891 to 1900, it is 104.8° ; from 1901 to 1910, it is 103.6° ; and from 1911 to 1920, it is 105.3º. On the other side, the average mini- intim from 1881 to 1890 is 27.1º ; from 1891 to 1900, it is 27.6° ; from 1901 to 1910, it is 29° ; and from 1911 to 1920, it is 27.7°.

Rainfall

The following table gives the monthly, sea- sonal and annual rainfall from 1849 to July 1, 1920, and will be found a very valuable one for reference. As will be seen by it, the aver- age seasonal rainfall for the sixty-two years from 1849 to 1911 was 19.48 inches, and the annual rainfall was 19.24 inches ; and there has been no material change since.

Sacramento rainfall, monthly, seasonal and annual, 1849-1920 :

1849-50: July, 0; August, 0; September, 0.25; October, 1.50; November, 2.25 ; Decem- ber, 12.50; January, 4.50; February, 0.50; March, 10.00; April, 4.25; May, 0.25; June, 0; seasonal, 36.00; year, 1850; annual, 19.50.

1850-51: July, 0; August, 0; September, 0; October, 0: November, T .; December, T .; January, 0.65; February, 0.35; March, 1.88; April, 1.14; May, 0.69; June, 0: seasonal, 4.71 ; year. 1851; annual, 15.10.

1851-52: July. 0; August, 0; September, 1.00; October, 0.18; November, 2.14; Decem- ber, 7.07; January, 0.58: February, 0.12; March, 6.40; April, 0.19; May, 0.30; June, 0; seasonal, 17.98; year, 1852; annual, 26.99.

1852-53: July, T .; August, 0; September, T .; October, 0; November, 6.00; December, 13.40; January, 3.00; February, 2.00; March, 7.00; April, 3.50; May, 1.45; June, T .; sea- sonal, 36.35 ; year, 1853; annual, 19.99.

1853-54: July, 0: August, 0; September, T .; October, T .; November, 1.50; December, 1.54 ; January, 3.25; February. 8.50; March, 3.25; April, 1.50; May, 0.21; June, 0.31; seasonal, 20.06; year, 1854 ; annual, 19.83.

1854-55: July, 0; August, T .; September, T .; October, 1.01 ; November, 0.65 ; December, 1.15; January, 2.67; February, 3.46; March, 4.20; April, 4.32; May, 1.15; June, 0.01; sea- sonal, 18.62; year, 1855; annual, 18.56.

1855-56: July, 0: August, 0; September, T .; October, 0; November, 0.75; December, 2.00; January, 4.92; February, 0.69; March, 1.40; April, 2.13; May, 1.84; June, 0.03; sea- sonal, 13.76; year, 1856; annual, 14.26.

1856-57: July, 0; August. 0; September, T. ; October, 0.20 ; November, 0.65; December, 2.40; January, 1.38; February, 4.80; March, 0.68; April, T .; May, T .; June, 0.35; seasonal, 10.46; year, 1857; annual, 12.91.

1857-58: July, 0; August, T .; Septem- ber, 0; October, 0.66 ; November, 2.41 ; Decem- ber, 2.63; January, 2.44; February, 2.46; March, 2.88; April, 1.21; May, 0.20; June, 0.10; seasonal, 14.99; year, 1858; annual, 16.80.

1858-59: July. 0.01; August, T .; Septem- ber. T .; October, 3.01; November, 0.15; De- cember, 4.34; January, 0.96; February, 3.91 ; March, 1.64: April, 0.98; May, 1.04; June, 0; seasonal, 16.04 ; year, 1859; annual, 16.86.

1859-60: July, 0; August, 0; September, 0.02; October, 0; November, 6.48; December, 1.83; January, 2.31; February, 0.93; March, 5.11; April, 2.87; May, 2.49; June, 0.02; sea- sonal, 22.06; year, 1860: annual, 19.79.

1860-61: July, 0.63; August, 0; September, 0.06; October, 0.91 : November, 0.18: Decem- ber, 4.28; January, 2.67; February, 2.92; March, 3.32; April, 0.48; May, 0.59; June, 0.14; seasonal, 16.18; year, 1861 ; annual. 21.48.

1861-62: July, 0.55 ; August, 0; September, 0; October, T .: November, 2.17; December, 8.64; January, 15.04; February, 4.26; March, 2.80; April, 0.82; May, 1.81; June, 0.01; sea- sonal, 36.10; year, 1862; annual, 27.44.

1862-63: July, 0; August, 0.01 ; September, 0; Octboer, 0.36; November, T .; December, 2.33: January, 1.73; February, 2.75; March, 2.36; April, 1.69; May, 0.36; June, 0; seasonal, 11.59 ; year, 1863; annual, 12.20.

1863-64: July, 0; August, 0; September, T .; October, 0; November, 1.49; December, 1.82; January, 1.08; February, 0.19; March, 1.30; April, 1.08; May, 0.74; June, 0.09; sea- sonal, 7.79; year, 1864; annual, 19.27.

1861-65: July, 0; August, 0.08; Septem- ber, T .: October, 0.12; November, 6.72; De- cember, 7.87; January, 4.78; February, 0.71; March, 0.48; April, 1.37; May, 0.46; June, 0; seasonal, 22.59; year, 1865; annual, 11.15.

1865-66: July, T .; August, 0; September, 0.08; October, 0.48; November, 2.43; Decem- ber, 0.36; January, 7.70; February, 2.01; March, 2.02; April, 0.48; May, 2.25; June, 0.10; seasonal, 17.91 ; year, 1866; annual, 26.52.

1866-67: July, 0.02; August, 0; September. 0: October, T .; November, 2.43: December, 9.51; January, 3.44; February, 7.10; March, 1.01; April, 1.80: May, 0.01 ; June, 0; seasonal, 25.32: year. 1867; annual, 30.03.

1867-68: July, 0; August, 0; September, 0.01 ; October, 0; November, 3.81 ; December, 12.85; January, 6.04; February, 3.15; March, 4.35; April, 2.31; May, 0.27; June, T .; sea- sonal, 32.79; year, 1868; annual, 19.50.

1868-69: July, 0: August, 0; September, 0; October, 0; November, 0.77 ; December, 2.61; January, 4.79; February, 3.63; March, 2.94; April, 1.24; May, 0.65; June, 0.01; seasonal, 16.64; year, 1869; annual, 18.19.

HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY

1869-70: July, 0; August. 0; September, T .: October. 2.12; November, 0.85 ; December, 1.96: January, 1.37: February, 3.24; March, 1.64; April. 2.12; May, 0.27; June, T .; sea- sonal, 13.57 : year, 1870; annual, 10.21.

1870-71: July, T .; August, T .; September, 0: October. 0.02; November, 0.58; December, 0.97 : January, 2.08; February, 1.92; March, 0.69; April, 1.45; May. 0.76; June. T .; sea- sonal, 8.47; year, 1871 ; annual, 18.92.

1871-72: July. 0; August, 0; September. T .; October, 0.21; November, 1.22: December, 10.59: January, 4.04; February, 4.74: March, 1.94; April, 0.61; May. 0.28; June, 0.02; sea- sonal, 23.65 ; year, 1872; annual, 19.17.

1872-73: July, 0; August, 0: September, T .; October, 0.22; November. 1.93; December, 5.39; January, 1.23; February, 4.36; March, 0.55; April, 0.51; May, 0; June, T .; seasonal, 14.19; year, 1873 ; annual. 18.20.

1873-74: July, 0.02; August, T .; Septem- ber. 0: October, 0.31 ; November, 1.21 ; Decem- ber, 10.01; January, 5.20; February, 1.86; March, 3.05: April. 0.99: May, 0.37; June, T .; seasonal, 22.92; year, 1874; annual. 17.92.

1874-75: July, T .; August, 0; September, 0.05; October, 2.26; November. 3.80; Decem- ber, 0.44; January, 8.70; February, 0.55; March, 0.80; April, T .: May, T .; June, 1.10; seasonal, 17.70; year, 1875; annual, 23.31.

1875-76: July, 0; August, 0; September, 0; October, 0.44: November, 6.20; December, 5.52; January. 4.99; February, 3.75; March, 4.15; April. 1.10; May, 0.15; June, 0; seasonal, 26.30; year. 1876; annual, 18.12.

1876-77: July, 0.21 ; August, 0.02; Septem- ber. T .; October, 3.45: November, 0.30; De- cember, 0; January, 2.77; February. 1.04; March. 0.56: April, 0.19; May. 0.64; June. 0.01; seasonal, 9.19: year, 1877; annual. 8.44.

1877-78: July, T .: August, T .; September, 0; October, 0.73; November. 1.07: December, 1.43; January, 9.26; February, 8.04; March, 3.09 : April. 1.07 ; May, 0.17; June, 0; seasonal, 24.86; year, 1878; annual, 23.45.

1878-79: July, 0; August, 0: September, 0.29; October, 0.55: November. 0.51; Decem- ber, 0.47: January, 3.18; February, 3.88: March, 4.88; April. 2.66: May, 1.30; June, 0.13; seasonal. 17.85; year, 1879; annual, 22.37.

1879-80: July, T .; August, T .; September, 0; October. 0.88; November, 2.05; December, 3.41; January, 1.64; February, 1.83; March, 1.70; April, 14.20; May, 0.76; June, 0; sea- sonal, 26.47 : year, 1880; annual, 31.99.

1880-81: July, T .: August, 0; September, 0; October, 0; November, 0.05: December, 11.81; January, 6.14; February, 5.06; March, 1.37; April, 1.64; May, T .; June, 0.50; sea- sonal, 26.57; year, 1881 ; annual, 20.71.

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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 5

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