History of San Joaquin County, California : with biographical sketches of leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present, Part 10

Author: Tinkham, George H. (George Henry), b. 1849
Publication date: 1923
Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif. : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 1660

USA > California > San Joaquin County > History of San Joaquin County, California : with biographical sketches of leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present > Part 10

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Court House Square and Title

Among the many valuable donations of land given to Stockton and San Joaquin County, none are more valuable than block No. 3, now known as the Court House Square. It is val- ued at $600,000, some say $1,000,000. Pre- vious to 1885 it was believed, and such was the fact, that the city and county had an equal share in the property. That year, however, the board of supervisors commenced suit against the city for the full possession of the block in order that they might build a new and much larger court house. The two judges of the superior courts, Swinnerton and Patter- son, sitting en banc gave a very peculiar deci- sion. It was a fifty-fifty decision that began and ended nowhere. They said in substance that Captain Weber deeded the square to the public for a court house and for public use only, as the fee remained in the Weber heirs.

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HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

"The legislative authority of the City of Stock- ton is empowered to manage and control the use of said square" "and that the county has a right to a reasonable space for a county court house and other buildings as the legislative authorities of said city shall deem advisable, for public use and benefit. The city also shall have a reasonable space for public buildings." The Ninth section of this remarkable decision reads as follows, "that since the right to man- age and control the said block within the scope of the use dedicated rests with the legislative authority of the city and since said officials are not parties to this suit the court cannot adjudicate therein how much of said square said plaintiff is entitled to use for a court house."

Back of this decision there lies an interest- ing history. When Captain Weber laid off the site of the present city of Stockton, he, with his usual foresight, designated block No. 3 on the map as a "public square" for the purpose of erecting a court house and other public buildings. In some manner he overlooked or forgot to give the county a deed of the prop- erty. "After the first session of the Court of Sessions the attention of the donor was called to the matter and he readily signified his will- ingness to give the county a title deed to the block," said the grand jury report to Judge Root in 1853. A deed was made but as it was not in legal form it was returned to the grant- or together with a blank, legal in form. This blank deed was not filled out so far as known. At that time Captain Weber had no perfect title to his grant and a magistrate of the coun- ty, Hariston Amyx, squatted upon the south- west corner of the block, claiming that it was Government land. The Court could not dis- possess the squatter, by the law of possesory action as they never had possession. The court, however, employed an attorney, and un- der Captain Weber's name the squatter was ejected. But no record was made by the court of this action, and they did not perfect the title.

In August, 1851, Captain Weber deeded the "public square" to the City of Stockton in trust for the county. Why the change was made is not known, but the grantor probably was very much displeased because the county had failed to perfect its title to the block. The Republican editor commenting on this change said in August, 1852, "Thus the city were ap- pointed guardians of this portion of the county property with no limited power and they have shown a determination to hold on to it." May- or Kenney, in his message to the city council the same year said, "The deed is expressed in such doubtful and vague language that the parties who hereafter are to exercise control have as yet come to no final agreement as to

their authority and rights in the matter." The county affairs moved along smoothly, the city and county togeher erected a court house, and the board of supervisors, appointed in 1855 "learned with surprise that the county had no legal right to the county square." The matter was settled in August, that same year, when the common council passed an ordi- nance authorizing the conveyance of one-half of the public square to the county. The deed was recorded October 25 of that year. The city and county officials lived in peace and harmony until 1884. Then there was a great need for a new court house, for the old dilapi- dated building had outworn its usefulness. The board of supervisors, determined to hold possession of the ground, made several prop- ositions to the city council, but they could come to no agreement. The supervisors with- out any delay commenced suit against the city, claiming ownership of the block since 1851. The city denied their claim, and the trial took place September 4, 1885, before the judges above named. The county was represented by the district attorney, Ansel Smith, and Jos- eph H. Budd, the city was defended by the city attorney, Frank Smith and W. L. Dudley. and Hall McAllister of San Francisco guarded the rights of the Weber heirs. The judges, October 2, gave that 50-50 decision. The pres- ent court house was built, finished in 1891. and by agreement, the city of Stockton offi- cials were to occupy the north half of the first floor for fifteen years, the time dating from February 7, 1891. In February, 1901, the su- pervisors by resolution notified the city coun- cil that their lease expired in 1906 and the su- pervisors desired to give them sufficient notice so that they could build a city hall or secure suitable rooms. Two years before the expira- tion of their lease, the common council of the city pleaded for a further ten-year lease of the rooms they were occupying. This request was refused by the board of supervisors. They, however, granted the city an extension lease from year to year. Time went on, however, there was no effort made by the leasors to move and February 4, 1909, the supervisors passed a resolution which they enforced, "Re- solved, that the City of Stockton be asked to procure other quarters as soon as possible" for the county was overcrowded for room. Unfortunately for the progress of the city, at that time the Hotel Stockton was being erect- ed, and the city obtained rooms in the annex of that hotel. They are there today paying a heavy rent-an unnecessary expense to the city. This is the exact spot, where in 1860 Captain Weber offered the city the entire block free of cost for a city hall or market place.

HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

Court House and City Hall

Poverty makes no distinction between the individual and the corporation poor, and as the young county had no money or revenue they were compelled to rent rooms. These rooms were in what was then known as the McNish Building, a large two-story wooden structure on the northwest corner of Hunter and Channel streets. It was occupied by the county officials, the court of sessions, lawyers' offices, sleeping apartments and jail. The pris- on was in the basement. The expense to the county was heavy, $7,900 a year, this includ-

ing $290 a month for two watchmen to guard the jail. The grand jury in their December, 1851, report to Judge Stakes said, "the rent money, if applied to the erection of an edifice (court house and jail) would give to the coun- ty suitable buildings and relieve the county of one of its heaviest expenses." "The county at the time was heavily in debt, $45,000," said the judge, "and the county securities were almost valueless." We must keep in mind that the court of sessions managed the entire business of the county, and the county was enabled to considerably decrease the debt dur- ing the following two years, says the Times, "for the court is disposed to economize in every particular in order that public buildings soon may be erected." The press was strongly partisan and the editor continuing, says, "Al- beit Judge Stakes is a Whig, we must do him the justice to say he has exhibited a sincere desire to place the county financially on a stable basis." Necessity; is ofttimes the mother of action, and the court losing no time, in the spring of 1853, a bill was introduced into the legislature and passed granting them permission to erect a court house and jail. The city council also took action, and in May both agreed to the plans and specification and bids were called for, for a court house and jail. The call was signed by Judge A. G. Stakes for the county, and B. E. Owens, P. E. Jordan, two merchants of the city, and W. W. Stevenson, a pastor of the Christian Church, for the city of Stockton. The contract to erect the court house was signed early in July, the work was rushed along, and in August the foundation was ready for the laying of the cornerstone.

This honor was offered to the San Joaquin Lodge of Masons; they refused to accept it because F. E. Corcoran, the architect of the building and a member of the lodge, had not been appointed as constructing supervisor. The invitation was then offered and accepted by the two Odd Fellow lodges, Charity No. 6 and Stockton No. 11. The laying of the cor- nerstone, August 6, 1853, was a very crude affair. The Odd Fellows, assembling at their Center Street hall at 9 o'clock in the morning,

marched to the site of the new building. The articles to be placed in the cornerstone were placed in a glass jar and sealed, the cap of the stone was then cemented in place by. Deputy Grand Master Edward W. Colt; an address was delivered by Judge Stakes and an oration by George Ryer, a favorite actor then playing an engagement in the city. This was the only cornerstone laid by the Odd Fellows save their own building in 1867. The Masons cornered all of the subsequent honors.

The building, of the Doric style of architect- ure, in size 60x80 feet and about 50 feet in height, was completed late in 1853, and occu- pied jointly by the city and the county offi- cials. The city occupied the south and the county the north half of the building. There were twelve rooms on the lower, two court and two jury and a city hall on the upper floor, with a single stairway. The building was of brick, walls and foundation faced with Vallejo sandstone. There were two wide halls on the first floor leading to the entrances on the four streets of the square. The city hall was the assembling place of the common council, fire- men and military balls, church festivals, polit- ical conventions, etc., until the erection of the agricultural hall in 1861 on the east side of the square. In that year the court house clock and bell tower were erected, both of which are now on the Hunter Street engine house. The building is said to have cost about $80,000 and to have been paid for equally by the city and county, but in the court evidence in 1885, S. Williams, a supervisor in 1855, testified that the city paid the principal part of the debt, as no great revenue was derived from the county until 1870 because the land was of so little value.

For some time no effort was made to im- prove the square, but in 1858 a chain fence was built by the city and county at a cost of $1,700. It was a curious fence made of posts painted and sanded; in each post four holes were bored, through which one inch link chains were run. It was neither rabbit nor hog proof, but it would have kept out the stray horses and cows, had the gates to the enclosure been put in place. This neglect caused the editor to inquire in 1861, "The cows were in the plaza Sunday afternoon re- galing themselves on the flowers, shrubs and trees recently set out. Where are those whirl- ing contrivances to be put upon the posts?" In 1860 there was a complete change in ad- ministration, from Democratic to Republican, and Mayor E. S. Holden presented a plan to the council for beautifying the plaza. The coun- cil accepted the plan and immediately appro- priated fifty dollars for the work. An addi- tional $100 was obtained by subscriptions. The ground was plowed up, sown with Bermuda

HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

grass and trees, shrubs and flowers planted from the beautiful home gardens of Dr. E. S. Holden, B. P. Kooser, George West and Cap- tain Charles M. Weber. These improvements remained until the erection of the present court house; then the trees and flowers were all uprooted and the present single terraced blue grass lawn and palm trees planted.

Old Time Dirt Roads

Traveling today at thirty-five miles an hour, the speed limit of the law, over the 488 miles of good roads in San Joaquin County how many realize the time, trouble and expense it took to bring those highways up to the pres- ent standard? The present roads have been in existence less than fifteen years. Previous to that time the roads, with two or three exceptions, were thick with dust during the summer and deep with mud in winter. The winter of 1860-61 seems to have been unusu- ally bad and the reporter said, "At no period have the roads been as bad for many years as this year and the footman in coming into the city is compelled for a half mile at a time to work his way along the fence rails."

The Legislature of 1850 passed an act con- cerning roads and highways and under this act the Court of Sessions appointed road over- seers, one to each township. So large was the area under their jurisdiction and so few the population, they accomplished nothing, for no roads were laid out or surveyed. The farmers purchasing ranches, laid off roads to suit their own convenience. They wanted the main road to pass their door thus increasing the value of their land. One farmer, Dr. L. C. Chalmers, a Southern man and friendly with the Government officials, pursuaded them to drive the Government wagons, en route to Fort Miller, Fresno County, over his road. This made it a Government road and to this day it is a public highway, and known as the Mariposa Road. Chalmers later founded Col- legeville, now known as Eight Mile Corners.

The Court of Sessions in 1852 appointed road commissioners and authorized them to lay off roads 100 feet in width to the ferries, as the population had increased largely and there were well defined lines of travel to the Doak & Bonsell, the Slocum, and the Heath & Emory ferries on the Stanislaus and San Joaquin rivers, to French Camp, Knights Ferry and the Woods and Staples ferries on the Mokelumne River. The laying off of the highways compelled the traveler to ride along certain lines, and an old pioneer, complaining of the Lower Sacramento or Woods Ferry Road, declared, "I have traveled this road for the past ten years and hope to see the time when it will not be necessary to box the com- pass in going a distance of less than two miles

on the level plain. The time was when we had graceful curves in the mud to keep on high ground, but since the county has become civilized we are obliged to turn square corners and go through bottomless pits of mud and through neighbors' fields and pay toll." He was also complaining of the location and the crooked condition of the road. If the road were straight and "there are no valuable lands, no improvements such as houses, barns, orch- ards or trees to prevent the road being run in a straight line it would intercept the northern extremity of El Dorado Street. But in the space of three quarters of a mile there are two obtuse and two right angles which causes the road to end 300 yards west of El Dorado Street." This year, 1921, the city council paid $3,000 for a lot 100 feet front, in order to straighten the roadway and make it safe for the speeding automobiles, probably 3,000 a day passing that point. The old pioneer con- demned the road, as "the land for the most part is wet alkaline soil, which it will cost a large sum of money to make passable during the winter. And if the supervisors think such a road will be tolerated just because one or two individuals own the land and want to get their hands into the county pocket for land that is worthless they will soon hear from the public." The land is some of the best in the county and for many years Italian gar- deners have been cultivating it. It was at that time a very poor location for a public road and we find that in 1860 the road commissioners, I. V. Leffler and Thomas K. Hook, and Dun- can Beaumont, the county surveyor, called for bids for the replanking of nine culverts and the building of a bridge over Mitchell slough, at a cost of $1,600, within a distance of three miles.

The automobilist finds that almost every road has many unnecessary crooks and turns, and I will give one more reason for the cause. The so-called Sonora Road does not run to this city but connects with the Mariposa Road about two miles out. The road commis- sioners were desirous of laying a straight road towards Sonora, on what is now called the Copperopolis Road, which extends from Main Street east. But the farmers held them up and demanded exorbitant prices for the right of way. In the meantime Captain Weber and General Conner succeeded in obtaining rights of way for a road leading from the gravel pits two miles from town, directly east. Then Alexander Burkett, James Marsh and others got out an injunction stopping work on the new road. Judge Creanor dissolved the in- junction, declaring that the road commission- ers had full power to build the road where they deemed it advisable.

HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

Beginning of Good Roads

There was much trouble, lawsuits, fights and one or two murders over the question of public roads. Happily it ended in the new era, the building of gravel turnpike · roads by public-spirited men. Stockton, for over three months during the winter season, was cut off from the interior by the insurmount- able sea of mud that surrounded it. If it were possible to reach French Camp, travel from there to the mountain camps over the sandy road was easy. Late in the '50s a movement to build a winter road to that point was un- successful. In March, 1867, another move was made to build the road and a number of merchants and farmers met in the office of Simpson & Gray, lumber merchants, for the preliminary organization to build a turnpike from Stockton to the "camp." They again assembled in the Court House, April 22, and effected a permanent organization by electing Edward Moore, president; Herbert E. Hall, secretary ; B. W. Bours, treasurer, and Louis M. Hickman, Samuel Fisher and Martin Mc- Clelland, directors. The company was organ- ized with a capital stock of $20,000, with 800 shares at $25 each, the corporation to remain in existence twenty years. In the meantime subscription books had been opened and Wm. McKee reported $12,075 had been subscribed. Henry B. Underhill offered a resolution in the meeting, which was adopted, that they pro- ceed to begin work as soon as possible and without any delay. John Wallace, the pio- neer surveyor, was ordered to report the cost of three routes to French Camp. He reported that the route on the west side of the race track, now called the Hogan Road, five and a half miles in length, covered with gravel and including culverts, would cost $77,040. The middle or present French Camp route, three and a half miles in length, would cost approxi- mately $42,104, and the present west embank- ment road, four miles in length, forty feet in width, covered with sand thirty feet in width, twelve inches deep in the middle, would cost $42,104. As the company had nearly enough money subscribed to pay for the last-named road the capital stock was increased to $30,000 and the work was commenced and completed in September, 1867. It was a toll road and so heavy was the travel the road averaged seventy-five dollars a day, the secretary, An- drew W. Simpson, reported, and the first year they paid off $2,000 of the mortgage.

It has been the great trouble with Stock- ton that when one party would start a progres- sive movement, some other element, instead of encouraging and boosting the project, would start a counter movement. This envy on the part of fossil citizens killed the enterprise. In the good roads project the case was differ-

ent, for the city could not have too many good roads leading to it, but even in this they came near ruining the whole movement by over- doing it, for in 1868 four projects were started and subscriptions requested for several lines of turnpikes.

In March, 1867, a meeting was held in the city hall for the purpose of building a gravel turnpike to the thriving village of Linden. It was quite a large settlement, and they wanted a winter road into Stockton. Rynerson & Was- ley, proprietors of the Linden flour mill, had subscribed $1,000. L. M. Hickman $750, and Dr. Christopher Grattan $5,000 in gravel from his ranch gravel pit at twenty cents a load. The meeting was a complete failure. Alder- man C. G. Hubner, an enterprising German, who later founded Hill's Ferry in Stanislaus County, said: "I am ashamed to tell you how many were there, they were so few in number. I went home very much disheartened and discouraged." The success of the French Camp turnpike seems to have given the weak- hearted projectors courage, as a year later the Stockton and Linden Turnpike Company was organized and carried on to completion. The capital stock was placed at $20,000, with 800 shares at $25 each. The time of existence twenty years. Roley E. Wilhoit was elected president, Charles S. Stevens, secretary, and B. W. Bours, treasurer. Henry Ortman, Will- iam Tierney, Charles Moreing, John Wasley and Thomas Corcoran were the directors. A survey was made by Engineer Wallace and a gravel road completed to the home of Henry Ortman, eight miles out. Winter travel was possible from that point into Stockton from Linden, as it is a gravelly soil.

In April, 1868, the Calaveras Chronicle, hav- ing in mind the failure of the Stocktonians to build the Linden turnpike, presented this not overdrawn picture : "On Monday last our town was invaded by a pack-mule train com- prising fifty mules owned by Louis Beysser of Stockton. They were loaded with freight of various kinds for our merchants. This means of conveyance was necessary in consequence of the glutinous condition of the black mud of the valley, which being about the consistency of glue, will not allow the passage of teams. Where are the gravel roads of which our Stock- ton friends have been raving about for years? We would advise our merchants to patronize the Latrobe railroad to Sacramento, over which goods can be obtained any time of year."

The citizens and farmers were now trying to outdo each other in road building. In March, 1868, a petition was presented to the board of supervisors requesting the grant of a char- ter to James Gillis, Alexander Burkett, James Marsh and James Smythe to construct a gravel road seven and a half miles out on the Copper-

HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

opolis road. This was the first- traveled So- nora road and, as Copperopolis was a big thriv- ing town because of the discovery of copper, there was heavy travel over that route. The supervisors granted the charter. The com- pany was organized with James Smythe, presi- dent: George W. Melone, secretary, and Ed- ward Hickman, treasurer. The capital stock was $30,000, divided into 1,200 shares at twenty-five dollars per share. Twenty years was the time of life.

Another turnpike projected and constructed at this time was the Cherokee Lane gravel turnpike. John Grattan, the pioneer farmer who lived upon that road, said in speaking of the natural road, "The conditions had be- come so bad that it was almost impossible to reach Stockton by a rig." One year his fam- ily had consumed all of their flour, and Mr. Grattan, going to Stockton on foot through the mud, purchased a fifty-pound sack of flour and packed it home on his back. It is there- fore not surprising that he was very enthusi- astic over the construction of a gravel road .. At this time a gravel road had been constructed a mile in length from East Street of the city to Madame Fisher's. There the road forked, as it does today, the right hand dirt road.run- ning to Waterloo, Lockeford and Sutter Creek, and the left hand or Cherokee to Sacramento. In April, 1868, a petition was presented to the supervisors for the construction of this road. The petition was signed by L. U. Shippee, John Grattan, Cornelius Swain, Elias Hildreth, Joseph C. Davis, W. D. Ashley, W. H. Post, George Moshier, John E. Moore, Dan McCoy and Lois M. Cutting. The officers were L. U. Shippee, president; Henry T. Compton, secre- tary, J. M. Kelsey, treasurer, and James C. Gage, L. H. Bannock, Cornelius Swain and W. D. Ashley, directors. The estimated cost was $30,000. As many of the city streets were im- passable in winter, the company were com- pelled to start their road on Poplar Street, and running north connect nine miles distant with the sandy soil. The gravel was obtained from the Hildreth gravel pit and the the road was completed in time for the winter travel. The travel over this route was very heavy, as all the mountaineers came into Stockton over that road.

Another gravel road constructed at this time, June, '69, was the Waterloo gravel turnpike. One might suppose that the farmers would have built the road long before this time. The following item gives the reason why. April 7, 1867-"A gentleman informs us that there are eight wagons stuck fast in the mud on the Waterloo road not much more than a mile from the city. One farmer yesterday had to be hauled out with ropes, and a driver of a light wagon had to pay an Italian two dollars for

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History of San Joaquin County, California : with biographical sketches of leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present, Part 10

Author: Tinkham, George H. (George Henry), b. 1849 Publication date: 1923 Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif. : Historic Record Co. Number of Pages: 1660

Author: Tinkham, George H. (George Henry), b. 1849
Publication date: 1923
Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif. : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 1660