USA > California > San Luis Obispo County > History of San Luis Obispo County, California, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 59
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99
The warm region east of the Santa Lucia is most favorable to the growth of the grape, there it being the richest and ripening the earliest, but in sheltered and favored localities near the coast, the grape grows as well as in any other portion of California, although ripening later.
The county has not become distinguished for the pro- duction of fruit, neither of the hardy varieties of the north temperate zone, nor of the most delicate for which the semi-tropic regions have become famous, but the reason why it has not is only in the neglect to plant and cultivate. Near the city of San Luis Obispo are orange trees of great beauty and in prolific bearing, grown from seeds planted by the owner, Señora Muñoz, and many young lemon, lime, and orange trees growing thriftily, planted by the same lady. In other parts of the city and county citrus fruits are growing, apparently as experi- ments or curiosities without any general attempt at their cultivation. The fact is established that all kinds of fruit grow to great perfection, leading to the opinion that in the future the county will become famous for its
products. Looking forward to this during the season of 1882-83, Mr. Frank McCoppin planted a vineyard of nearly 100,000 vines in Van Ness Cañon, one of the fertile valleys of the western slope of the Santa Lucia Mountains. During the same season Mr. H. A. Vachell planted a large vineyard and orchard of a great variety of fruit, on the eastern slope of the Mt. Buchon, or Coast Range, near the Arroyo Grande. Dr. W. W. Hays has a large vineyard in the northern suburbs of the town of San Luis Obispo. Mr. W. T. Sheid, on the Estrella, has for a number of years grown grapes that have acquired a local celebrity for their delicious flavor. Mr. Joseph Frederick, on the San Miguelito Rancho, but a few miles from the ocean, has an orchard produc- ing the most choice varieties of apples and Bartlett pears, equal to the best of that favorite fruit grown in Califor- nia. His grapes on the same rancho are of excellent quality. The Steele Brothers, on the Corral de Piedra, grow fruit of a great many varieties and of quality unsurpassed in the State. These examples of wide- spread localities are sufficient to show the condition and possibilities of the fruit interest of San Luis Obispo. Other notices of fruit-growing will be found in the bio- graphical sketches of individuals and of localities.
VEGETABLE PRODUCTS.
The vegetable products of many localities are some- times phenomenal in size and numbers, particularly the pumpkins, squashes, beets, cabbages, turnips, carrots, etc. The Tribune, in 1877, reported the measurement and weight of some pumpkins and squashes brought to town by Mr. D. F. Newsom from the Arroyo Grande, one of the former being three feet one and one-half inches long by six feet three inches in its least circumference, and weighing III pounds; and one of the latter measuring four feet in length by four feet four inches in circumfer- ence, weighing 136 pounds. Photographs of these were taken for the purpose of sending them to the Paris Exposition of 1878, Mr. Newsom being one of the Com- mittee on Agriculture and Horticulture for the State representation at that exposition. In 1882 Steele Broth- ers gathered twenty tons of beets per acre, the beets weighing from twenty to fifty pounds each. Roots and vegetables of this class are grown extensively for food for the cows of the dairy.
SILK CULTURE.
From the earliest date of California's history the opin- ion has been expressed of its favorable condition of soil, climate, and seasons, for the successful growth of the mulberry tree and the health and productiveness of the silk-worm. Other branches of business, however, were so attractive that none were induced to undertake the care and patience of experimenting in the culture. Newspapers, lecturers, and individuals advocated the sub- ject, and the public mind was brought to believe that, by proper encouragement, silk culture could be established as a leading industry, profitable to the small land-holder, giving employment at light labor to the families of farm- ers and the youth of the cities, and whose manufacture would afford rich returns to the investment of the capi-
231
AGRICULTURE CONTINUED.
talist. The many pleasant little valleys, ravines, and gentle slopes of the foot-hills were specially referred to where the mulberry would grow most thriftily and where was the most desirable home of the silk-worm, and these, exhausted of the gold that had once enriched them, would be re-enriched with a perpetual wealth many times more valuable, reaped with less toil, and providing greater happiness than did the golden grains for which they were torn and rent by the destructive methods of the miner. In these warm ravines the willow, the alder, the buckeye, the manzanita, and other shrubs and trees delighting in a rich, moist, and warm soil, had flourished spontaneously and luxuriantly, and there would grow the most perfect leaves for the silk-culturists' purpose. Many years have passed since the subject was agitated, and the occupants of these choice places have struggled with corn, barley, beans and other garden and farm products, some profit- ing with vines, peaches and other fruits, leaving the cult- ure of the royal fabric to bolder enterprise and intelli- gent experiment.
In 1867 the Legislature of California passed an Act authorizing the payment of bounties for the cultivation of mulberry trees and the production of silk. This en- actment was prepared so indefinitely and with such little knowledge of the question that when in 1868, the planters of the trees began to ask for their awards the bankruptcy of the State was threatened and the law quickly repealed. Many thousand mulberries were planted in various parts of the State, particularly in Sac- ramento and Yolo Counties, and every sprout of riding- whip size was called a tree. The attempted silk culture of that period was more of a "grab" at the public treas- ury than legitimate enterprise, and, as the business did not long survive, the proof of the inutilty of the State bounties in leading a people into great and permanent industry was made apparent.
The pioneers of silk culture in California were Mr. Prevost, and the brothers Neumann, of Santa Clara; Mr. Haynie, of Sacramento; Mr. Hoag, of Yolo; Mr. Edward Muller, of Nevada, and Mr. Bernhard Bernhard, of Placer. The reports of some of these, as a matter of history and as arguments, are interesting. Mr. Haynie reported that in 1868 he fed the leaves from three and a half acres of land covered with two-year-old morus multicaulis trees, grown where they stood, from cuttings. They had been cut back, the preceding winter and spring, close to the ground and the tops used for cuttings, so they did not furnish much over one-half the foliage they would have done had they been pruned with an eye to that purpose. The result was 486 ounces and 1312 pennyweights of eggs, sold at $4.00 an ounce-$1,946.70; value of eggs retained $1,897.50; perforated cocoons, sold at $75.00; or a total value of $3,920. The expense for labor, etc., was $472, leaving a profit of $3,448. The feeding commenced on the Ist of June, and on the 25th of July the eggs were all made. This gave a net return of $1,000 per acre from the second year of planting the trees, and not two months' time occupied in feeding the silk-worms and gathering the harvest. This, however, was at an exceptional period, when the demand
for eggs in France was great and the price high, but it nevertheless demonstrated the adaptability of the country for the culture. But the season's labor was not closed with the first crop of eggs. During the month of Au- gust the same gentleman, from the same trees, fed a like number of worms of the Japanese' trivoltine variety, and produced a large quantity of cocoons.
The experiments of Mr. Hoag, in Yolo, and of Mr. Mul- ler, in Nevada, were equally successful, the profits being from $1,000 to $1,500 per acre of trees. In 1868 and 1869, when these trials were made, the value of eggs was from $4.00 to $6.00 an ounce, and of perforated cocoons seventy-five cents per pound.
The principal efforts of the silk culturists were in the production of eggs to supply the ravages of disease in Europe. The demand at high rates did not continue, the bounty was withdrawn, the excitement declined, and the fine promise of silk culture disappointed.
The art of reeling silk is a necessary adjunct to its successful culture, and in silk-producing countries is the work of women and children, evincing the fact that it is not difficult to acquire. Light labor attends the whole process, from the picking of the leaves to the reeling of the cocoons, making it a most inviting industry on small farms with small capital, the labor that of the family, the market unlimited and the product imperishable.
THE INTEREST IN SAN LUIS OBISPO.
The interest in silk culture almost died out in Califor- nia until a few years since a number of ladies, of whom Mrs. Theodore H. Hittell, of San Francisco, and Mrs. Dodge, of San Luis Obispo, were prominent, turned * their attention to the subject. Mrs. Dodge labored with great intelligence in the accomplishment of her design of opening the way to a new industry and developing a re- source of great importance to this county and to the State. Upon this subject the San Luis Obispo Tribune, of May 18, 1883, says :-
The complete success of Mrs. Dodge's experiment in hatching and rearing silk worms has placed the matter beyond all doubts as a project worthy the attention of all who have the prosperity of the county at heart, as well as those seeking honorable and remunerative employ- ment. The work has been done under many difficulties. The eggs having been brought from a warmer climate than this, hatched prematurely, or before the foliage was ready for them, and they had to be kept alive on leaves unsuitable; furthermore there are few mulberry trees in a radius of ten miles. The weather was also unusually cold, yet in spite of all these difficulties not a worm has died, except from starvation, or such as had to be killed on account of the scarcity of feed, that the others might survive. They are now spinning their cocoons, which are up to the standard size. The subject is of so much importance that we feel justified in giving it considerable space. The California "Silk Culture Association," which is a society formed for the purpose of disseminating in- formation, has issued a pamphlet on the subject that contains ample directions for engaging in the culture. We quote from it :--
"Silk culture, which has done so much for Europe, has now become an established industry in several of the States of the American Union; but in no State are the
232
HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.
conditions more favorable for its future growth than in California. Its success is certain.
"In Europe the production of raw silk gives profitable employment to millions of people, while the subsequent manufacture of the raw material into thread, ribbons, dress goods, etc., forms one of the most important of home industries. The most prosperous nations there have wisely fostered this industry by national aid and by royal example. In France the raising of the silk worm and care of the cocoon and the reeling of the silk is made an important part in the education of the children in nearly all of the schools, convents, and academies. Educators in the United States will also do well to turn their attention to this subject, and especially here in California, it might be so applied as to furnish a practical solution of the perplexing question: 'What shall we do with our girls and boys?' Silk culture is peculiarly adapted for the employment of women and children, and in no State of the Union are we so much troubled to find employment for that portion of our population as here. We have a large and rapidly increasing population of juveniles, and fully nine out of ten, both in city and country, need and desire to find some honorable employ- ment in their minority. The necessity for meeting this demand is already imperative, and our inability to do so is one of the most embarrassing problems we have to face."
This statement is clear and to the point. The whole process of rearing silk worms up to the reeling of the silk is extremely simple, requiring less skill than the raising of chickens, and is much cleaner and more agree- able-is really a genteel work. The mulberry will grow almost anywhere. An acre in trees is quite a plantation. A town lot will answer. The trees grow from cuttings and are easily propagated.
The work comes in the spring between seed-time and harvest, when time is not pressing. The farmers' wives .and children would consider it only a diversion. Any loft of a building will answer for a cocoonery. Little capital is required.
When it is determined to engage in the business, the planting of the trees should be attended to first, as with- out proper food the worms soon perish. There are several varieties of the worms feeding on different plants. One variety which makes a strong, coarse silk, feeds on the Chinese paradise, or Ailanthus tree. Some advo- cate feeding the common kinds on the Osage Orange which is used extensively for hedges in some parts of the State. The varieties of the "Morus" are, however, the natural food for them.
E. P. BEAN.
In a pleasant cañada on the northern slope of the Santa Lucia Range, eight miles north of the city of San Luis Obispo, is the well-known and popular hostelry of Bean Brothers, whose place makes one of the fine land- scape views illustrated in this book. These gentlemen are successful farmers and horticulturists, as well as hotel- keepers, and their orchard of a great variety of fruits is an example of what may be accomplished among the hills of this county. A description of this place has al- ready been given in the biographical sketch of Mr. R. M. Bean, and it is not necessary to repeat it here.
The junior member of the firm is Edwin Petes Bean, who was born in Corinth, Penobscot County, Maine, May 1, 1844, his parents being Reuben and Mary (Smith) Bean, natives of Sutton, Merrimac County, New Hampshire, both of the stock of early New England settlers and descendants of soldiers of the Revolution.
The family of children was large, there being eight sons and four daughters, Edwin P. and Edward W. being twins. But this appears not to have been enough to make the " baker's dozen " and the father adopted an- other boy bearing the name of Petes, and preserved this name by giving it to his son. The boys grew to man- hood in their native town, dividing their time in attend- ing the district school and laboring with their father on his farm and in his saw-mill, the latter being the great institution of the "Pine Tree State." With such instruc- tion young Edwin learned the way to battle for life wher- ever the pine tree flourished, or the soil yielded to culti- vation, and in 1864, followed his brother to the Pacific Coast, seeking the forests of the Sierra Nevada, and en- gaged in the business of making lumber to supply the market of Virginia City and the mining regions of Ne- vada. In this he continued with good success until 1870, when he undertook farming in the San Joaquin Valley. A dry year followed and his farming was not a success, and renewing his efforts in 1871, another failure followed sweeping away the fortune he and his brother had made in Nevada. The details of his farming enter- prise and the struggles of the brothers have been given.
In 1877 he purchased the place which he has since made his home. December 11, 1878, he married Miss Rebecca Maude Sumner, a native of California, daugh- ter of Sandy and Nancy (Perigin) Sumner, who were natives of Lawrence County, Illinois. The marriage has been blessed with two handsome children, Nancy Marietta, born August 20, 1879, and Sandy Edwin, born April 9, 1881. The family is pleasantly situated and take delight in the entertainment of friends and in the social pleasures of the country.
LARGE LAND HOLDINGS.
The large ranchos, as they were granted, and some of the large purchases made have been given. Many of the grants have been divided into small farms, but there are still large tracts. Some of these, and the amounts at which they are assessed, are given in the following :-
ACRES.
ASSESSED.
J. B. Haggin
16,472
$ 28,215
John A. Patchett
7,680
11,560
Jeffrey Phelan
1,470
5,775
P. W. Murphy
53,000
239,372
Arza Porter
9,429
13,816
J. M. Price
.8,634
16,281
C. H. Phillips, trustee
3,905
25,966
M. Harlow and wife
8,986
21,014
J. H. Hollister
2,183
24,92I
Haggin & Cebrian
11,236
14,170
J. D. Grant.
1,794
40,731
N. and I. Goldtree
4,871
26,900
N., I. and M. Goldtree
5,697
24,505
Theodore LeRoy
12,695
40,968
C. P. Robinson
22,203
27,681
Steele Bros
13,593
61,035
A. Blockman & Co
4,109
2,292
Morrow, Higgins & Brown
16,000
39,000
Cox & Clark
15,900
20,806
Newhall estate
24,540
90, III
E. W. Steele & W. W. Stow -3,089
37,279
E. W. Steele
5,309
26,959
Scott & Moore
8,129
8,282
GEOLOGY.
233
Godcheaux & Blackburn
20,999
34,812
D. O. Mills
36,139
45,506
R. H. McDonald
15,520
17,850
J. & S. Schoenfeldt
40,284
46,157
Flint, Bixby & Co
45,665
103, III
Christy & Wise
25,140
34,592
John Biddell
18,155
36,592
J. M. McDonald
41,866
50,275
R. E. Jack.
3,91I
25,404
Jack & Adams
14,269
23,214
R. G. Flint
39,780
45,835
George Hearst
47,135
214,006
James Lynch
5,045
7,175
MEASUREMENT OF LAND.
A Spanish vara is 33 inches; a 50-vara lot is 1371/2 feet square; two 50-vara lots are a little less than one acre.
161/2 feet I rod
320 rods
I mile
66 feet
I chain
So chains
I mile
5,280 feet.
I mile
43,560 square feet
I acre
I mile square
640 acres
660 feet square.
Io acres
208 feet and 81% inches square I acre
933 feet and 41/2 inches square. 25 acres
HILLS IN AREA OF AN ACRE.
3 feet apart 4,840
5
1,742
7
889
8
680
9
5.38
IO
66
435
15
193
17
151
20
108
25
69
30
48
66
66
27
The usual distance between fruit trees is from 15 to 25 feet, thus taking from 193 to 70 trees per acre.
Vines are planted from 6 to 8 feet apart, containing from 680 to 1,210 vines per acre.
CHAPTER XXVII. GEOLOGY.
Section from the Pacific to the Sierra Nevada-Salinas River Val- ley-Santa Margarita Valley-Point Pinos Range and Sierra San José-Estrella River, Panza and Carrisa-Valley of San Luis Obispo-Salinas Valley-Of the Quaternary Period in California-Coast Mountains -- Division 1, Granite-Division 2, Serpentine and Trachytic-Bitumen of San Luis Valley- Bitumen of Nipomo Rancho.
N the year 1854, extending into 1855, a United States surveying party passed through the coast region, southerly from San Francisco; and from San Diego eastward across the desert and through southern Arizona to the Rio Grande, making a thorough explora- tion and examination of the country, in view of the practicability of constructing a Pacific, or Transconti- nental railroad. The expedition was under command of Lieut. John G. Parke, of the Topographical Engi- neers of the United States Army, accompanied by Dr. Thomas Antisell, a distinguished geologist, and a full corps of scientific gentlemen of various specialties. This expedition made the most complete geological ex- amination of San Luis Obispo County that has ever been published, and, as the United States Reports con- taining it are exceedingly rare, we consider ourselves fortunate in being able to reproduce here that which per- tains more particularly to this county.
From Geological Report of Dr. Thomas Antisell, ac- companying the Pacific Railroad Surveying Expedition under Lieut. John G. Parke, of Topographical Engi- neers, in the years 1854 and 1855.
SALINAS RIVER VALLEY.
The valley of the Salinas River is a plain of great extent, being almost 100 miles long, and, in places, nearly 20 miles wide, in general, narrowing as it advances southeast, until, in places, it is not more than half a mile in breadth. Its northern portion lies in Monterey County, stretching, as it advances south, into San Luis Obispo County. Like the Santa Clara Valley, it is also of a triangular shape, presenting its base N. N. W., toward Monterey Bay, upon which it opens without any inter- vening ridge, the slope of the valley being so slight, and its surface so much depressed at the level of the tide that much of the low land is swampy and overgrown with tule, brush, willows, and marsh vegetation, through which the river lazily winds its way, forming small la- goons, from not having force enough to sweep its waters into the bay. The lower sixty miles of its course is over the gradual slope of the plain, which does not ex- ceed twenty inches to the mile, so that its waters are easily arrested. Further up, south of San Miguel Mis- sion, where the valley narrows, and the river, in places, cuts through a granite region, its fall becomes more rapid. Owing to this slight momentum, sand bars are
SECTION FROM THE PACIFIC TO THE SIERRA NEVADA.
Sierra Nevada
PACIFIC OCEAN.
Buchon Mt.
Mission Peak.
San Luis Valley.
Salinas.
San Juan.
Carrisa.
Tulare Valley.
O
C
C
A
C
W
[ "A" granite rocks. "C" serpentine. "T" trappean and augitic. "W" asphaltic veins through the bituminous group of the San Luis Obispo Valley. "S" sandstones. ]
30
Santa Lucia.
Santa Margarita and
San Jose Mt.
Mt. Diablo Range.
.
S
A
T
T
66
60
1
I
60
40
234
HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.
heaped up by the ocean as its debouche into the bay, which completely destroys its navigation.
It is not possible to navigate this river far up, the depth, forty miles from its mouth, being under three feet in its deepest part, where its width might be nearly 100 yards; but when it is considered that this is the only river in the southern section of the State which does not cañon through mountain passes to reach the ocean, and which rolls through an extensive and fertile valley, no doubt, as the population fills in, some efforts will be made which will both free the bars from its mouth and narrow the area covered by the lagoons and marsh in the lower fifteen miles of the plain.
The whole valley may be described as an ancient allu- vium derived from the degradation of the granite, ser- pentine, chloritic, and sandstone formation which go to form the mountains on either side; above this alluvium, and intermingled with its upper layers, is the modern detritus and fluviatile additions. But how little has been accomplished by modern action in either denuding or covering up the ancient alluvium, is evinced by the smooth surface of the plain, running even up to the base of the hills, and by the remains of the terraces, both upon the valley surface and upon the edges of the hills a few yards above the present base.
The lower sixty miles of this valley is not a plain of uniform level, but a series of low, flat terraces which ex- tend in a north and south direction, and require to be ascended when the valley is crossed from west to east. The lower terrace is a fine, stiff clay, occupying the west side of the valley, and containing the present bed of the river in the lower part of its course; it is nearly five miles wide; above this rises the second terrace to a height of ten feet above the first; it is also a fine, stiff clay with less vegetable matter, and of a lighter color than the preceding; its width is a little more-about six miles in breadth; the third terrace lies at the slope of the Gavilan Range, is about five miles across in its widest place, and is not so level as the other two terraces. It
is covered over with the debris of the volcanic rocks and sandstones, and is the least fertile; wild mustard covers it to some extent, but its chief growth is a coarse grass. From the silicious character of the soil, it does not seem capable of producing vegetation in the abun- dance which prevails on the lower levels. Much of the lower plain is covered by the wild onion; cottonwoods grow on the river bank which is only four to ten feet be- low the level of the lower terrace; the bed of the stream is a fine, white micaceous sandstone, which forms quick- sands, and renders the fording of the stream very dan- gerous.
The capability of production of the lower terraces is very great when put under cultivation. At Mr. Hill's farm near the town of Salinas, sixteen miles east of Mon- terey, sixty bushels of wheat have been raised off the acre, and occasionally eighty-five bushels. Barley, one hundred bushels, running up to one hundred and forty- nine bushels, and vegetables in proportion. In Decem- ber (the time of my visit) these plains were crowded with wild geese, cranes, and brandt. The geese are in such multitudes as to darken the air, and cover hundreds of acres when they alight.
During most of the stay on these plains the wind blew from a southerly point, accompanied with cold and rain; but when the wind shifted round north and west the rain ceased, and a curious phenomenon presented itself-that of immense volumes of clouds pouring into the valley from off the sea, and centering it at its lower portion, rolling along the plain and collecting on the hill-tops of the eastern side, depositing its waters there. Such winds blowing over the lower valley through the funnel opening at the bay of Monterey, always occur in
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.