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 63

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 63

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There was a class of farmers, a minority to be sure, who were "go-getters." They came from the New England or Middle States and I will notice a few of them. It was the cus- tom of the State Fair directors to give prizes for the best farms and they sent out commit- tees for that purpose. The committee of 1858 in reporting San Joaquin County said, "The farm of D. J. Staples on the Mokelumne River consists of 600 acres, all well fenced. He has 40 horses and mules, 3 yoke of oxen, 35 cows, a fine lot, of young cattle and' 100 hogs. He has 500 fruit trees and a well-arranged an a sufficient quantity of ornamentals. He has large, substantial buildings, smith shop, etc."

E. H. Comstock, eight miles northeast of Stockton, took the first premium for his farm in 1857, the State Fair being held at Stockton. His farm consisted of 2,200 acres, "fenced with posts and four rails. He plows about 1,600 acres, has 3 gang plows, 2 large square and 7 triangular harrows, 4 large and 4 com- mon cultivators, 3 reapers, 2 horse rakes, 1 thresher, 20 horses and 14 oxen. The orchard contains a general variety of fruit trees, about 300 in number, and is enclosed by a fence six boards high. Mr. Comstock's business is grain growing and yet he has some very fine stock.'

In the vicinity of Stockton are many large and well cultivated farms. "Mr. Overheiser, three miles from town, has a beautiful and well. cultivated farm, 450 acres under fine fence, a fine cottage, granary and large barn."

In the spring of 1875 the Stockton Inde- pendent sent out a correspondent to report on county farms. In writing of the farm of J. H. Tone, on the Calaveras, he said, "The Tone place comprises 460 acres in wheat, barley, summer fallow and pasture." Tone was quite

a race-horse man. He owned a number of running colts which he started at the county fairs. "In 1852 he lived in an adobe house next to that of John Jones on the sand plains. Mr. Tone now has the finest two-story brick house in the county. The grounds are all tastefully laid out and I noticed honeysuckles, rose bushes, and other flowering plants in bloom." Some of the family are still living on the old homestead.

One of the largest landholders and most prosperous farmers in the county was John E. Moore. He owned a 1,048 acres of land in this county and several thousand acres in Mendocino County and died in the early '90s worth $158,000, a large sum at that time. Coming to San Joaquin in early days he began working for Jeremiah Sarles, driving a milk wagon. He was saving and industrious and getting an insight into the business in time purchased the ranch known to the pioneers as the Oak Grove Cottage and began dairying and farming. I might continue this recital mentioning the names of Jonathan H. Dodge, Shubal Dunham, Mr. Beecher, who was a rel- ative of Henry Ward Beecher, Cutler Salmon, John H. Cole and others who built handsome dwellings and lived comfortably and became wealthy. An illustration of what may be ac- complished by two thrifty persons is seen in the work of Loveman L. Rumrill and his wife. They came to California from Vermont, he for his health, and both went to work for J. H. Cole. He took charge of the dairying, she the housework. They made enough money off of the sale of chickens and eggs to pay the grocery bills. Saving their money in five years they had sufficient money to purchase a ranch on part time and at his death they were well-to-do.

Horticulture

The soils of San Joaquin County will pro- duce any cereal, fruit, vegetable, nut, plant or tree grown in any other clime on earth save a few edibles grown in the torrid zone. It will not produce cocoanuts, bananas, guavas and such like. They are a few exceptions. This is not an overdrawn statement but a well proven fact. Unfortunately we have at hand no figures to show the value of the prod- ucts mentioned for any one year. Joseph Dietrich of the Chamber of Commerce says that in 1922 there were 59,703 fruit-bearing, and 20.662 non-bearing acres, a total of 80,365 acres in fruit trees. There were 5,446 fruiting acres in almonds, 850 in apricots, 147 in apples, 4,684 in peaches, 1,540 in prunes, 1,336 plums, 1,011 pears, 1,570 cherries, 51 oranges, 6 lem- ons, 1,626 in English and 1,823 in black wal- nuts, 20,688 in table and 1,375 in wine grapes, 691 in figs, 651 olives, 65, nectarines, 74,

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quinces, 13, chestnuts, and 7 acres in pecans. As to peanuts, on the islands they are grown by the ton. This is not history but a mild boost for San Joaquin County whose citizens have been so modest that the world knows not . its greatness.

The first fruits grown in this county were grapes and, said an editor in 1852, "We are indebted to Captain Weber for the finest and largest grapes we have ever seen. The col- umns around the piazza and the trellis work of Mr. Weber's residence are covered with vines heavy with long bunches of luscious grapes." They were of the mission variety, imported from Los Angeles. They were lus- cious but unprofitable except for wine, as they could not be transported any great distance. The captain and a few citizens were the first to plant trees, planting cottonwood trees on the north side of Channel and El Dorado streets, west. . Said the editor, "Weber "'Ave- nue' is a misnomer, as they are cutting down all of the fine oaks. The street would present a noble appearance if on either side poplar trees or evergreens are planted."

About the same time George West and his brother planted a vineyard north of town which later was known as the "El Pinal" winery. Its vineyard produced millions of gallons of wine, brandy and the like until pro- hibition swept the state. According to the statistics San Joaquin County had planted in 1856, 13,467 grape vines; 1857, 28,640; 1858, 40,000 vines. In the year last named the the State Fair committee reported regarding Stockton, "G. N. Cannon, near the Asylum, had a lot 300 feet square under good cultiva- tion, with 74 three-year old fruit trees. Oppo- site Mr. Cannon Mrs. Lilly and son had a fine garden of two and one-half acres. In all there were 2,923 trees, peach, apple, plum, almond, cherry, pear, fig, nectarine and apricot, to- gether with currants, gooseberries and all varieties of vegetables, all looking remarkably well. The land was irrigated by windmills. The most remarkable garden showing what has been done and may be done today was that of Rev. Henry Kroh, on San Joaquin Street, 100 feet north of Channel. He had a lot 50x100 feet and a residence for the family. Behind the dwelling he had planted and in bearing condition trees and grape vines, be- side considerable shrubbery and vegetables." He had 245 grape vines, 73 nectarines, 27 ap- ple. Our family, living opposite Fremont Square, had on a lot 100 feet square, a large house, a tank and windmill, fruit trees and grapevines which gave a family of ten all the fruit they wanted summer or winter.

I will close the history of early day fruitage by three more illustrations. In 1862 Charles Von Detten had six acres planted to orchard

and vineyard, on the corner of East Street and Mokelumne Hill Road, now called Linden Road. He had 7,000 grapevines three years old, which he managed alone with his ten- year-old boy, making wine and peach cordial. Next south was the Helvetia garden, kept by the Gilgani brothers. They had planted on twenty acres. 50,000 grapevines and raised vegetables for market. On this same spot a large building is being erected for the use of the 100 and more vegetable gardeners who arrived in the city every morning at daylight with their wagons loaded with garden truck. Alonzo McCloud had 100 acres set out in 15,000 trees, 9,800 being peach trees. Mc- Cloud's addition to Stockton is now a part of this land. The ten acres, now the high school site, was as late as 1902 an orchard and vege- table garden managed by Italian gardeners. The site two miles out on the Lower Sacra- mento Road, now donated to the College of the Pacific, was a very profitable vegetable garden up to the time of its donation. The San Joaquin history, in speaking of it said, "James C. Smith, who owns a large tract of land two miles north of Stockton, has at pres- ent about eighty acres rented to persons who cultivate in fruit and vegetables. The garden is irrigated by windmills. The remarkable productiveness of the county is clearly shown upon this farm. Peaches, apricots, plums, cherries, quinces, apples, blackberries, rasp- berries, strawberries, currants and grapes are grown for market, and also all kinds of vege- tables. On most of the land two crops are grown in a season."

Stockton a Manufacturing City

Stockton, in San Joaquin County, is logic- ally the best-located city in the state for man- ufacturing cities. First, because of the three continental railroads passing through it, di- verging to the north, east and south; second, because of its 400-ton steamer and in the near deep water canal to the ocean; third, natural gas and an abundance of water and electrical power; fourth, its central location. W. N. Harris, of the Los Angeles Chamber of Com- merce, formerly of Stockton, said in 1919 re- garding location. "Excluding the territory south of Tehachapi, Stockton is the most centrally located city in the state. The dis- tance between Stockton and Bakersfield, at the southern extremity of the San Joaquin Valley, is 228 miles. The distance between Stockton and Redding, at the northern ex- tremity of the Sacramento Valley, is 217 miles. It is 100 miles from Stockton to the Pacific shore, and 108 miles from Stockton to the summit of the Sierra Nevada range. In other words, if a survey had been made and the center of California's inland empire act-

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ually located, it would be but four miles east and five and one-half miles north of the center of the city of Stockton. Think of this fact and contemplate for a moment the present and future of this territory as a producing area. The waterway which led pioneer navi- gators to this spot and fixed the location of Stockton, pulses rythmically with the great waters of the world. Through this channel the tides of the Pacific swell and recede. It is the way to the most remote shores. A po- tentially possible gateway to the commerce of the world."

As a manufacturing center even this day Stockton is no small city. It has within its bounds 208 manufacturing establishments em- ploying over 6,000 men and paying out yearly over $7,000,000, money that goes into the mer- chants' hands. The time was when the mer- chant was dependent upon the farmer. If there was a light crop in any season, or the price of wheat was low and the farmer would not sell his crop, then the merchant was com- pelled to reduce expenses and limit his pur- chases to the actual needs of the city. That time has passed, for with the raising of fruits and vegetables and the manufacturing of many products with the world for a market, the merchant is no longer dependent entirely upon the farmer.

Manufacturers of Food Products

The first bakers, among them Louis Mers- felder, Charles Potter and John Inglis, ob- tained their flour imported from Chile. In 1852 this flour was. so full of weevils that the legislature prohibited its further importation. Mersfelder since 1856 had a bakery on Chan- nel near Hunter. It is a bakery today. Potter had a cracker factory at the corner of Channel and California streets. There was a French · bakery on American, near Market, now a Chi- nese laundry. How well I remember it. One forenoon it was destroyed by fire. We boys ran away from school and I saw the little Frenchman, who had been asleep in the upper story, come tumbling head over heels down the stairs, his hair and whiskers all afire. Lager beer was manufactured about 1852 and Philip Niestrath had a small brewery run by windmill power on the present Sperry flour mill site. In 1857 Christmas eve about 9 o'clock it burned down. Sitting up in bed, I saw the fire through the window in our home near Fremont Square. In 1852 Peter Rothen- bush and Philip Umlauff founded the El Do- rado brewery near the Asylum. The Prohibi- tion Act ruined the lager beer business.

The City Flour Mill, corner Main and Com- merce streets, was founded by Austin Sperry and Lyons in 1852. Later partners with Sperry were Samuel Baldwin, then Alexander

Burkett, who had been the miller, then Wil- lard Sperry, his cousin. The Sperrys dying, it became a company, which now controls the flour milling interest of the state. At one time there were six flour mills in the county. The City Mill and the Avenue Mill, now the Chamber of Commerce site, owned by R. B. Lane and Stagg, one at Woodbridge, Clem- ents, Linden and Knights Ferry. The Sperry mill now occupies the site on Weber Levee of the old Franklin Flour Mill. It was built in 1853 by Calvin Paige & Company. It was an immense building for that time, three stories in height and installed with expensive ma- chinery imported from England. The walls were not strong enough to sustain the ma- chinery and in 1856 it closed down. The mill cost $75,000 and had a mortgage of $30,000. It lay idle until 1864, when it was taken over by the Sperrys and completely remodeled with the latest machinery. The mill caught fire Sunday, April 2, 1882, and was completely destroyed, with a loss of $140,000 and $70,000 insurance. Today the Sperry, Crown and Union mills in Stockton employ 500 persons, and their pay roll is the second largest in the city. These three mills can turn out '2,750 barrels of flour, 1,000 barrels of cereal, and 100 barrels of stock food per day.

Blacksmiths and Wagonmakers

Next to the food products the most essen- tial manufacturers were the blacksmiths, wagonmakers and harness makers. The prin- cipal blacksmiths were John Madden, the father of Frank Madden, with his shop oppo- site the Elks' building, Frank Dake, corner of Main and California, and Rudolph Gnekow, corner Main and Stanislaus streets. These men during the rush season of summer would work from ten to fifteen hours a day, shoeing horses and mules and mending broken wag- ons. For several years they were compelled to make their horseshoes and nails.

Among the wagon and carriage makers was J. C. Westbay on Weber Avenue, now the H. G. Shaw building site; J. R. Cory on Channel, now the Electric Light Company office; John H. Hickinbotham & Bro. on Main near Sutter, and Wm. P. Miller. Miller was one of the largest carriage and wagon manufacturers on the coast. Coming to Stockton in 1852 he built his first wagon from a bench under an oak tree. The hubs of the wheels were made from a ship's rudder. He was paid $1,000 for the wagon. In 1853 Mr. Miller established a wagon and carriage making and paint shop at Channel and California streets, and for over forty years carried on business. He erected the three-story brick still standing, and deed- ed the lot where now stands the W. C. T. U. building. He was a strong prohibition advo-

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cate. Another extensive manufactory was that of M. P. Henderson and Clark, estab- lished in 1869 at Main and American. Now there is not a wagon and scarcely a set of har- ness manufactured.

Tanneries and Leather Workers

Just as necessary as the wagon was the har- ness and the harnessmakers did an extensive business with the teamsters and farmers. Among the principal harnessmaking shops was that of Thomas Scott on Main near El Dorado, who sold to Thomas Cunningham, and he to Patrick Riordon when elected sher- iff ; that of H. T. Dorrance on Hunter oppo- site the court house; of J. P. D. Wilkins, Main near San Joaquin, who made the first leather fire hose in the state; and N. C. Hilke, who sold his property to the Commercial and Savings Bank.

These harnessmakers obtained their princi- pal supply of leather from the local tanners, four in number. They were Graham & Stew- art, on Stockton Channel; H. R. Potter, who tanned principally sheep skins on Mormon Channel; Harrison Bros., with a small tan- nery on Sacramento Street; and the Pacific Tannery, corner of Oak and El Dorado streets. The last-named tannery was founded in 1856 by Jacob Wagner on the bank of the channel. His tannery was in an old shed beneath an oak tree, and his tanbank was ground by an old horse in a tread mill. Mr. Wagner had sev -- eral different partners and at his death the tannery fell to his son and daughter. It is now owned by his son, Edward Wagner, and his son-in-law, George Houskens. They now em- ploy eighty men the year round with an an- nual pay roll of $100,000. The tannery has a capacity of 150 hides a day and they send their products throughout the world.

Paper Mill Products

In' 1870 R. B. Lane believed Stockton a good location for a paper mill. He sent East, bought the necessary machinery and estab- lished the mill in a building next to his flour mill. A papermaker from the East, John Lutherwaite, was put in charge and it was a success from the start. ' It was found that to accomplish much a large mill was necessary. A company was then formed, principally of San Francisco capitalists, and the California Paper Mill organized. A block of land was purchased south of Mormon Channel on Lin- coln Street, a one-story brick erected. Install- ing expensive machinery, March 1, 1878, they began the manufacture of wrapping paper, then print paper machinery was installed, the Stockton and four of the San Francisco dailies partly used the Stockton product. The mill

was run continuously from midnight Sunday night until midnight Saturday night, and eighty-five men were employed in twelve-hour shifts. A few years later the mill began using wood pulp to make paper and it was removed to Oregon, where the wood could cheaply be obtained.

Woolen Mill

Opposite the paper mill was the woolen mill established in June, 1870, by Elisha Lambert, a sheep owner, Wm. Dougherty, and James Tatterson, an experienced blanket and cloth manufacturer. The mill at first employed about thirty Chinamen, working under over- seers. Then the Chinese boycott came on, in which parties threatened to burn the mill, and the Chinamen were superseded by white per- sons. Their blankets were of the highest quality, the New York stores guaranteeing them as the best on the market. In a few years Mr. Tatterson died and there being no one to fill his place the mill was closed out. It is now the scouring and cleaning house of E. H. Tryon.

Stockton Iron Works

The first foundry was that of Birdsall & Co., a small concern on Miner Avenue. The Globe Foundry at the corner of Main and Com- merce streets was established in 1858 by E. I. Keep and Wm. H. Briggs. The foundry made mining machinery, and steam engines, and nearly all of the engines in the river steamers were manufactured at this foundry. ' Changing hands many times because of re- movals and death, it finally passed into the hands of Edward F. Cadle, who had long worked at a lathe in the foundry, and his son, Frank. They made ore cars for the mines, but refusing to employ union labor, the union min- ers would not handle their cars and the Globe Foundry passed out of existence.

The Stockton Iron Works, established in 1868 on California Street, now a part of the St. Leo Hotel site, is still doing business. It was founded by H. S. and H. L. Farrington, practical machinists, and Galen C. Hyatt, a draftsman. After H. L. Farrington's death the two surviving partners sold out to Treth- eway, Earle & Dasher, former employees. At this time the clam shell dredger machine had been invented and the foundry was turning out dredgers and smaller castings of various kinds. The clam shells were monster affairs weighing sometimes from four to six tons each, and it took from twelve to sixteen horses to haul one to the channel. The foun- dry property became too valuable to use for a foundry site and it was moved to the north side of Stockton below the shipyard.

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Shipbuilding

Shipbuilding was quite an industry before the coming of the railroad, then for a time the industry was on the decline, but the increase of business and population has developed an industry far and away larger than in the early days. The first shipbuilder was Stephen Davis, and when he launched the yacht Mary Buffington, it was the talk of the town, and when he launched the little forty-ton steamer from Lindsay Point in 1860 a large crowd wit- nessed the important event. Mr. Davis through the years from 1864 to 1878 built thirty-nine steamers, barges and tug boats, including the barge Sacramento, of 300 tons, and the steamer City of Stockton, 500 tons. Later, on the same point, E. W. Jarvis built several vessels. On Mormon Channel E. M. Small built the Mary Garrett, the Hattie Fick- · ett, and other river steamers. Now the Cali- fornia Navigation Company keep some fifty or seventy-five men steadily at work building and repairing their Stockton and Sacramento boats.

Agricultural Machinery

Matteson & Williamson, pioneers in the agricultural machinery business, manufac- tured plows, harrows, reapers, hay forks and harvesters until the death of Mr. Williamson. Haines & Houser, on Sacramento Street, and J. C. Holt, on Center Street, also manufac- tured harvesters. The Sampson Company made gas engines and tractors. In 1902 the Harris Manufacturing Company was incorpo- rated, the prime mover being Geo. H. Harris, a former superintendent of Matteson & Wil- liamson. Their harvester and header works are on Park and East streets, employing nearly 250 men. In 1883 the Stockton Wheel Company was started by Benjamin C. Holt and his brother on Aurora Street. From a wheel factory they enlarged the plant and formed a corporation and began making com- bined harvesters and caterpillar tractors. The business increased by leaps and bounds. They continued purchasing more property for the enlargement of their works until at present the plant covers fifteen acres of land; 1,600 men and women are employed with an annual

pay roll of $2,500,000. During the allied war they kept steadily employed between 3,000 and 4,000 men making caterpillars to be used against the German army. During that time the entire plant was surrounded by a high fence and guarded day and night by sentinels of the U. S. Army.

National Carton Works

This immense establishment owned and established by the Zellerbach. Paper Com- pany in 1918 is one of the most extensive manufactories of its kind on the coast. Pur- chasing some forty acres of west of Stockton and adjoining the Santa Fe Railroad they erected large brick buildings and installed machinery to the amount of a million dollars for the manufacture of all kinds of paper products. Their products are sent to all parts of the United States and one order alone from China called for 500,000 cartons. In 1920 they made 85,000,000 cartons and, said the superin- tendent, "that is just a start."

Just beyond the carton factory a lead pencil factory was founded some two years ago, and thousands of feet of logs piled up outside of the place will be made into lead pencils for the use of the civilized world.

Cigar Manufacture

In closing these paragraphs on manufac- tures I have not cited one-tenth part of the millions of dollars invested. One of the in- vestments that was not profitable was the manufacture of cigars from locally grown tobacco. It will surprise many readers to know that tobacco was ever raised in Stock- ton, but it could not be perfectly cured be- cause of the dampness of the climate. In 1863 Wm. Gibson, a native of Kentucky and a former school teacher, concluded to try the experiment of raising tobacco. He planted twenty-five acres of tobacco seed on the ground just west of the race track. The seed grew to maturity and was of excellent quality. In his factory he manufactured 3,000 pounds and had 10,000 pounds in the leaf, so the paper stated. Although it was a fairly good smoking tobacco, the experiment was not profitable.

CHAPTER XXVI MOSAICS OF HISTORY

P. T. BARNUM, the great New York showman, visiting Stockton, gave a lecture in the Methodist Church, North, for the benefit of that denomination. · His subject, "How to Be Healthy, Happy and Rich." Although the single admission was one dollar, the church was crowded, and for two hours he held spellbound his audience .- June 10, 1876.

The order of distribution of the Hubbard estate has been made by the court. Mrs. Maria Hubbard is to receive all of the prop- erty, aggregating nearly a half million dollars, and is to deed to each of the daughters, May and Lila, $100,000 worth of the property. The estate consists of $50,000 worth of property in Stockton; $80,000, property in San Fran- cisco; $65,000, farming land; $200,000 in se- cured mortgages; $26,000 in bank stock; household furniture $1,000, and Masonic hall stock $1,000 .- April 7, 1890.

For the past few days Captain Weber has had an engineer employed taking levels on his farm on Cherokee Lane for the purpose of digging a canal for irrigation and drainage. He is the first gentleman in the valley to plan a system of canals for irrigation on a large scale, and his enterprise and forethought has demonstrated the fact that the application of water is the most practical way of irrigating the soil .- October 5, 1865.

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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 63

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