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 9

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 9

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).

Among the city's public buildings are the magnificent County Court House, completed in 1912 at a cost of $600,000. To this more recently have been added the Hall of Records and the County Jail, giving the county and city governments the best group of office and administration buildings of any municipality in the state. The police department and health offices of the city are maintained in the Hall of Justice. The City Hall, also a modern building of attractive architectural lines and modern appointments, is the seat of the city government, and houses the various depart- ments other than those just mentioned.

The State Capitol and its beautiful park, which contains a greater and better-kept vari- ety of trees and shrubbery than any other public park in the world, are a never-ending source of pleasure and admiration, not only to Sacramentans, but also to the thousands of tourists and travelers who come here to see the wonders of the semi-tropical valley and feel the touch of its romantic traditions and

HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY

historic past. After a delay of several years, due to war-time conditions which for a time suspended practically all public and much private construction, the Capitol Extension buildings have now been started on the two blocks immediately west of the present grounds. These improvements, consisting of two buildings in keeping with the stately appearance and architectural beauty of the main Capitol, will house the State Library and many of the state offices, some of which now and for several years past have been compelled to rent floor space in office buildings. The extension of the Capitol will cost $3,400.000. for which bonds have already been voted and appropriations made, covering the present esti- mated cost of the improvements.

Sacramento's geographical location in the "Heart of California" and in the center of the wonderful horticultural and agricultural activ- ities of both the Sacramento and upper San Joaquin Valleys, gives the city many advan- tages, which have been judiciously utilized through the keen foresight of her business men and enterprising commercial bodies and financial organizations, including the active Chamber of Commerce. From the ten-story Fruit Building is handled almost ninety per cent of the deciduous fruit business of Cali- fornia. Likewise, there are located here the largest rice-mills in the United States, which handle the immense crops of rice produced in the Sacramento Valley. The raising of vege- tables and the canning industry have also grown apace, with the result that millions of dollars yearly are realized from the products of these enterprises, for which the farmer and canner receive top prices. The city is sur- rounded for hundreds of miles by the richest agricultural lands in the world. These have been the source of Sacramento's wonderful progress, and will furnish in the years to come the golden opportunities for even greater growth and development. The great reclama- tion districts, with their millions of acres of virgin soil, insure this. More will be said of these lands in a subsequent chapter.

Transportation likewise is a moving factor. using a literal term, in the city's growth and prosperity. Two transcontinental railroads pass through here, and each has its network of arteries leading out into the rich agricultural districts and communities where their freight cargoes originate. Sacramento today is the greatest transportation center in the West. and more trains enter and leave its terminals than pass through any other city this side of Omaha. No fewer than 160 passenger trains come into and go from the stations in Sac- ramento every day in the year.

Besides the steam roads, there are two elec- tric interurban systems operating from here

to San Francisco, Oakland, Woodland, Marys- ville. Chico and Stockton, and intermediate points. These interurban lines also give local street-car service, which, together with the largest Sacramento system, the Pacific Gas & Electric Company, afford three separate sys- tems of conveyance by electric car within the city limits and extending to the outlying dis- tricts.

The city also is conveniently situated for utilization of the advantages resulting from hydro-electric power development, which sup- plies cheap electrical energy for municipal de- mands and for the needs of industrial and other consumers. Steps already have been taken to make filings on mountain water and power sites, with a view to installing, later, the equipment necessary to harness the city to these almost unlimited sources of power and energy.

The City in Early Days

The first survey of the plat of Sacramento was made in December, 1848. by Capt. William H. Warner of the United States Army. Pre- vious to 1844 Sutter's Fort was the principal trading post in Upper California. In that year Captain Sutter and some others at the fort determined to lay out and build a town on the river bank three miles below, which they called Sutter, now spoken of as Sutterville. A sur- vey was made by Capt. William Tecumseh Sherman (afterwards famous during the Civil War as General Sherman), and building was begun. The first house was erected by Cap- tain Sutter himself ; the second by a Mr. Hadel; and a third, a brick structure, said to be the first of its kind erected in California, by Mr. Zins. The city began to flourish unrivaled and continued to do so until the discovery of gold. Soon after that time, however, it came into a disastrous rivalry with Sacramento. Dr. Morse, the earliest historian of those times and a warm partisan of Sacramento, gives many interesting particulars of the struggle for supremacy between the two budding cities. which resulted in the ultimate downfall ot the city on the high grounds back from the river and the success of the city on the lower level. that was doomed in a few years to be inun- dated by the rising waters, although one of the principal arguments used by the traders and speculators in their arguments for the support of this city was that the ground where it stands had never been overflowed within the memory of white men, and never would be.

Bayard Taylor, in. his "Eldorado." says of his first visit to Sacramento in October. 1849: "The limits of the town extended to nearly one square mile and the number of inhabitants. in tents and houses, fell little short of 10.000. The previous April there were just four houses

HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY

in place. Can the world match a growth like this? The value of real estate in Sac- ramento is only exceeded by that in San Fran- cisco. Lots 20 by 75 feet, in the best locations, brought from $3,000 to $3,500. Rents were on a scale equally enormous. The City Hotel, which was formerly a sawmill erected by Cap- tain Sutter, paid $30,000 per annum. A new hotel, going up on the levee, was already rented for $35,000. Two drinking and gaming rooms on a business street paid each $1,000 monthly, invariably in advance. The value of all the houses in the city, frail and perishable as many of them were, could not have been less than $2,000,000. The inhabitants had elected a town council, adopted a city char- ter and were making exertions to have the place declared a port of entry. The political waters were being stirred a little, in anticipa- tion of the approaching election. Mr. Gilbert, of the 'Alta California,' and Colonel Stewart, candidate for governor, were in the city. A political meeting which had been held a few nights before, in front of the City Hotel, passed off as uproariously and with as zealous a senti- ment of patriotism as such, meetings are wont to at home."

Shortly after the great discovery that was to so influence the fortunes of the world and to become the ruin of General Sutter, a number of stores were located at the fort and an im- mense business was soon created there. The first of these was the establishment of C. C. Smith & Company, in which Sam Brannan was a partner. It was started a few months before the opening of the mines and the first ex- change of gold dust for store goods took place over its counters. Brannan afterwards bought his partners out and continued the business in the old adobe building which was subsequent- ly used as a hospital. In 1849 the building on the inside of Sutter's Fort was occupied by Rufus Hitchcock, the upper story being used as a boarding house. The front room below was used as a barroom and gambling house and the bar was kept open night and day. If a customer had coin, his drink cost him fifty cents, but he generally opened his sack and the barkeeper took out a pinch of gold dust, to be regulated by size or amount of drink con- sumed, and in those days very few drank alone. The cost of board at this place was $40 per week.

Hitchcock soon left the fort and went to the mines on the Stanislaus. In passing it may be stated that old residents say that in the fifties Capt. (afterwards Gen.) Ulysses S. Grant owned a ferry on the Stanislaus and they often saw him, dressed in red shirt and overalls, ly- ing under a shady tree on the bank, contented- ly waiting for a foot passenger to come along who wanted to be ferried over. In those days,

in fact, many a man who afterwards became prominent in the history of his country, was a resident of California. Hitchcock subsequent- ly became the owner of the Green Springs ranch in Eldorado County and died there in 1851. He was succeeded in the boarding house by M. F. McClellan of San Francisco. By summer all the business had become trans- ferred to the Embarcadero or landing place on the Sacramento River, now known as Front Street, which became a lively place. The blacksmith shop at the fort was carried on by a Mr. Fairchild, who paid an assistant $16 a day and charged $64 for shoeing a horse all round, . or $16 for a single shoe.

In the freighting to the mines, which was done by means of ox teams, John S. Fowler had a virtual monopoly and paid his teamsters from $200 to $250 per month. The rate for freighting was enormous. In the winter of 1848-1849 the roads to the mines were almost impassable. Freight from the fort to Coloma was one dollar a pound-$2,000 a ton. Even at that price it was impossible to transport the necessaries of life fast enough to prevent ser- ious apprehensions of famine in the more dis- tant mining districts.

The firm of S. Brannan & Company con- sisted of Sam Brannan, William Stone, W. D. Howard, Henry Mellus and Talbot H. Green. The stores of Priest, Lee & Company, Hens- ley, Redding & Company, Captain Dring. C. E. Pickett, Von Pfister & Vaughan, and the drug store of Drs. Frank Bates and Ward were inside of the fort. The prices demanded were enormous. One evening John S. Fowler, wish- ing to give a supper to his teamsters, saw on the shelf in Brannan's store a dozen two-pound cans of oysters and asked the clerk the price. "Twelve dollars each," replied the clerk. "How much if I take the lot?" asked Fowler. "One hundred and forty-four dollars," was the re- ply. "Well, I'll take them all," said Fowler, and he carried off his costly prize.

Brannan's employes were: Jeremiah Sher- wood, of New York ; Tallman H. Ralfe, after- wards editor of the "Democrat" in Nevada City: J. Harris Trowbridge, afterwards of Newburg, N. Y .; George M. Robertson, after- wards supreme judge of Oahu, Sandwich Is- lands; James B. Mitchell, subsequently public administrator of Sacramento County, who died in Benicia; W. R. Grimshaw, a well-known resident for many years on the Cosumnes River ; and James Queen.

The pioneers did not leave their patriotism behind them when they came here. The 4th of July, 1849, was celebrated in the shade of a grove of oak trees, the last survivor of which, hoary with age and covered with mistletoe, stood for many years in front of the old build- ing on L Street which was used as a hospital.

HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY

The orators of the day were William M. Gwin and Thomas Butler King, who after- wards served the state in the United States senate.

Shortly afterward came the struggle for supremacy with Sutterville. As soon as the survey of Sacramento City had been made George McDougal obtained a lease of the ferry at a point below the entrance to Sutter Lake, and located a store-ship on the river bank op- posite I Street, and in company with Judge Blackburn, opened it with a large stock of goods. When John A. Sutter, Jr., arrived, his father, the captain, transferred to him all the proprietary rights in the city of Sacramento. McDougal declared that his lease gave him control of 600 feet along the river front, and a dispute arose which was carried into the courts. Being defeated, McDougal in a rage determined to destroy the prospects of the city, and removed his goods to Sutterville. He then came out with immense placards stating that he would sell goods at cost and freight, and made a verbal declaration that if necessary he would sell goods at cost. This produced a lively agitation among the traders and they patched up a scheme of purchase which broke up many lines of McDougal's stock and, as it was no easy task in those days to replenish it, effectually extinguished McDougal's enter- prise and put an end to the budding hopes of Sutterville as well.

The latter end was accomplished largely by a shrewd speculative move on the part of Sam Brannan, Judge Burnett and Priest, Lee & Company. The Sutterville proprietors had offered to donate to these traders eighty lots in Sutterville if they would transfer their stocks and business to Sutterville. They in- formed young Sutter of the offer and per- suaded him that it would be for his interest to give them about 500 lots in Sacramento to in- duce them to stay here, and he did so. Such was the passing of Sutterville, and today the old brick brewery stands as a monument of its decease, while the big brick stores which stood there until later years have disappeared.

Sacramento grew apace. April 1, 1849, the number of inhabitants of the fort and city did not exceed 110. An election had been held the preceding fall for first and second alcaldes, re- sulting in the election of Frank Bates and John S. Fowler, respectively. Fowler re- signed in the spring and Henry A. Schoolcraft was appointed in his place. Early in the spring a board of commissioners, consisting of Bran- nan, Snyder, Slater, Hensley, King, Cheever, McCarver, McDougal, Barton Lee, Foote, Dr. Carpenter, Fowler and Southard, was elected to frame a code of laws for the district. The committee met under an oak tree at the foot of I Street and submitted a report which rec-

ommended the election of one alcalde and one sheriff, who should have jurisdiction from the Coast Range to the Sierra Nevada and throughout the length of the Sacramento Val- ley. H. A. Schoolcraft was elected alcalde and A. M. Turner, sheriff, and thus was laid the foundation of the judicial and political system in northern California, under a sturdy oak on the banks of the Sacramento.

Immigration was coming by sea, although as yet in no very great numbers between Feb- ruary and June, but improvement went stead- ily on. The condition was anomalous. There was no law or system of government, yet there was no discord or disorder. There was no le- gal restraint imposed on citizens, yet during these months the community was exempt from violence, and all seemed imbued with a feel- ing of forbearance and accommodation. The craze for gold had not yet fastened its deleter- ious influence on men, and right and a feeling of equality and independence seemed to guide their actions.

Trading yielded an enormous profit and everyone was absorbed in it. Two hundred per cent was the profit on goods procured from San Francisco and trading in gold dust was very profitable. At first the scale of pay- ment for goods with dust ranged from $8 to $16 an ounce. Clerks could hardly be retained in stores at from $200 to $300 per month. The trade between the mines and Sacramento was immense. Such was the prevailing feeling of honesty and security that neither merchandise nor gold dust was watched with anxiety for its safety. Miners came to town with bags of gold dust which they took no more care of than their hats and boots. Money was so plen- tiful that there was no temptation to steal. By the first of May there were about thirty stores, and two barks and a brig were moored along the shore. The "Whiton," one of the former, had astonished the residents by coming up from San Francisco in three days. from five to ten days having been consumed before then by small boats and launches.

In June there came a change. Immigrants began to arrive by thousands and to outfit for the mines, Sacramento being the point of de- parture for the northern mines. The Ameri- can, Yuba, Bear and Feather Rivers were the points of attraction and Sacramento was the place for outfitting. Business became a rush in which the calculation was only for today. Transportation from San Francisco was the source of enormous profits and every craft that could be procured was pressed into service. The cost of passage from San Francisco to Sacramento was from $16 to $25 and the freight rate was correspondingly high. On June 26 the city numbered 100 houses; and the City Hotel, on Front Street between I and

HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY

J, 35 by 53 feet and of three stories, originally framed for a saw and grist mill for Captain Sutter, was said to have cost $100,000. It was headquarters for the aristocracy of the times and the scene of many town-meetings.

Every sort of material from which tents, stores and houses could be constructed rose to enormous prices. Muslin, calico, canvas, old sails, logs. boards, zinc and tin were priceless possessions. The hundreds of immigrants coming in were lucky if they could have the shade of the trees to protect them from the noonday sun or the night. Gambling was everywhere carried on and magnificent saloons were built at enormous cost, the first place of public gaming being on J Street, between Sec- ond and Third, kept by James Lee, and eu- phoniously named "The Stinking Tent." Others followed, and a democratic and cosmo- politan crowd composed their patrons. Coin was scarce and the miners brought their bags of gold dust, depositing them with the game keepers and drawing from them as the game progressed, generally till all was gone, and then went back to the mines for more. Not one person in ten, either by absence or con- demnation, tried to discountenance gaming. Indeed, it is narrated by Dr. Morse that two ex-clergymen were conspicuous among the gamesters, one dealing monte and the other playing faro. Poker was played by the larger capitalists on a magnificent scale, the ante being often $100 and $3,000 being frequently bet on a single hand. One individual is said to have staked 1,000 ounces on a hand and won. after having lost nearly that much pre- viously. Many men who had been brought up to regard gambling as a stain on a man's char- acter and who had left their wives and chil- dren in straitened circumstances, says Dr. Morse, hastened to hazard and lose the first few hundred or thousand dollars they had made.

But a moral wave soon swept over the com- munity. In April, 1849, Rev. Dr. Woodbridge preached the first sermon ever heard in Sacra- mento. In May Dr. Deal, a practicing physi- cian, undertook to establish regular religious services and in July Rev. J. A. Benton began his long and beneficent services in the city. "His course," testifies Dr. Morse, "was from the first consistent. He was essentially a min- ister of the gospel-a seven days' advocate of the Christian religion." He extended his in- fluence by a pure life, winning the respect and confidence of the people, instead of making an onslaught on the tide of vice, and soon ac- quired great influence in the community. At this late day many of the pioneer Sacramen- tans who knew him speak in the highest terms of his character. He sometimes made mission-

ary excursions of two or three weeks duration, sleeping on the ground under the trees and living like the primitive Apostles.

Before the removal of McDougal's store, Hensley and Redding had erected a frame building in Sacramento, on the corner of I and Front Streets, the first frame house in the new city. Soon after that a Mr. Ingersoll erected a building half canvas and half frame, between J and K on Front Street and Mr. Stewart had put up a canvas house on the bank of the river, which was opened as a tavern. In February, 1849, Sam Brannan erected a frame storehouse on the corner of J and Front Streets, and this was soon succeeded by another belonging to Priest, Lee & Company, on the corner of Sec- ond and J, and directly afterwards two sub- stantial log houses were erected by Mr. Gil- lespie and Dr. Carpenter.

For a time the chief place for business was on First or Front Street between J and K, but soon it began to extend up J and K Streets to Third. The river bank was piled with the goods of immigrants and merchandise, and storage facilities were entirely inadequate. The chief business was in miners' supplies. Lum- ber was from fifty cents to a dollar per square foot, and hard to get at that. Teaming and packing earned enormous revenue. In Decem- ber $50 a hundred was charged for hauling goods from Sacramento to Mormon Island and Auburn. In July fresh beef sold for fif- teen cents a pound ; bread, fifty cents a loaf ; butter, from $2 to $3 a pound ; milk, $1 a quart ; dried apples, $1 to $2 a pound ; saleratus, $6 a pound; and pickles, whatever their owner chose to ask. Carpenters were paid $16 a day ; laborers, $1.50 an hour. Board without lodg- ing was $16 to $49 a week ; washing, $6 to $12 a dozen; doctor's fees, $16 to $32 a visit. A glass of liquor at a first-class bar cost $1, and a cigar cost fifty cents. Everything else was high in proportion.

But business did not entirely engross the attention of the citizens. There were some votaries of pleasure, and on July 4, 1849, a grand ball was given at the City Hotel, at that time the headquarters of Sacramento fashion and aristocracy. Money was spent without stint to enhance the success and dignity of the occasion, and the affair was on a magnificent scale. There was a dearth in the community of feminine attractions and the surrounding country was scoured thoroughly by a commit- tee of young men to gather in all the ladies that could be obtained to grace the occasion. Every mining camp, ranch, wagon, tent and log cabin was canvassed. with such success that eighteen of the fair sex were secured. To quote Dr. Morse again: "Not all Amazons, but replete with all the adornments and graces

HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY

that belong to bold and enterprising pioneers of a new country. Tickets to the ball were fixed at the moderate price of thirty-two dol- lars ; gentlemen were requested to have swal- low-tail coats and white vests. The supper was, of course, a profusion of all that money could obtain," and champagne flowed freely, despite its cost. Thus was the pace set for future occasions in the new city.

Organization of First City Government

In July, 1849, a movement was set on foot to organize a city government. An election for councilmen was held at the St. Louis Ex- change on Second Street between I and J, and the first councilmen for the city of Sacra- mento were chosen as follows: John P. Rod- gers, H. E. Robinson, P. B. Cornwall, William Stout. E. F. Gillespie. Thomas F. Chapman, M. T. McClelland, A. M. Winn and B. Jen- nings. The new council was organized on Au- gust 1, with William Stout as president and J. H. Harper as clerk. The first business trans- acted was the preparation of a constitution for local government. A. M. Winn was afterwards made president in place of Stout, who had left the city. On September 20 an election was held to decide on a city charter. A draft had been prepared by the council but the citizens did not turn out well to vote, and it was de- feated by a majority of 146 votes. Its rejection was charged to the gamblers, who opposed a change and worked hard and spent much money to defeat it. Up to this time there had been no law or government that was more than nominal, as there was no court except that of the alcalde, which, while expeditious. was costly in dispensing justice. The people therefore shunned litigation and this lawless state just suited the gamblers. This was a great mortification to the council, and the pres- ident issued a proclamation stating that the council was unable to determine what the citi- zens wanted, and as the powers and duties of the council were not defined, they desired to know whether the citizens desired still to act under the Mexican laws at present in force, although inapplicable to the present condi- tions, or to adopt a charter, striking out such features as were objectionable. Immediate action was necessary if the council was to be of any use. It therefore asked the citizens to meet October 10, 1849, and declare what they wished the council to do. The people, who had paid no attention hitherto to local govern- ment, awoke from their apathy. A Law and Order party was formed. The gamblers were defeated and the charter adopted by a major- ity of 296. The charter adopted, however, con- tained matter relative to taxation which ren- dered it unpopular, and it was soon amended.

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.

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 9

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