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 84
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San Luis Obispo County lies midway on the southern coast of California, and its climate may be regarded as the nearest perfection in its general average of any equal area in the State. The physical features of the county resemble the State in miniature, with its sea coast, the mountains and valleys bordering it, the Sierra Santa Lucia and the interior large valley and river and mount- ain ranges, giving a variety of climatic conditions. The sea and the winds from it affect the climate of the coast. The usual temperature of the water of the ocean is about 53°, varying but one or two degrees with sum- mer and winter. The summer winds, sometimes disagree- ably strong, coming over the broad expanse of the Pacific, bear no malaria from decaying vegetation or germs of disease from sickly humanity, but are the airs of heaven's purest freshness and salubrity, bringing with them the vigor and health which characterize the sections exposed to their influence. There is but little change in the tem- perature of the coast during the year, the summers being cooler and the winters warmer than in the region east of the Santa Lucia. Snow sometimes falls on the mountains and on the elevated plain of the Carrisa. Frosts often occur at night in the winter, except in limited localities in the coast region, but not so severe as to check the growth of the orange, olive, grape, fig, palm, and other delicate fruits and trees. The successful cultivation of such fruits are evidence of the mildness and equability of the climate more readily understood than the tables of the meteorologist.
TEMPERATURE DURING 1874 AND 1875.
The following review of the climate for the years 1874
and 1875, taken from the Tribune of January 8, 1876, and from the reliable reports of Dr. W. W. Hays, will give the most comprehensive view possible to obtain :---
We have often had occasion to speak of the delightful climate of San Luis Obispo, but until the present time have not been prepared to bring the figures to show the actual condition of affairs. Through the courtesy of Dr. W. W. Hays, who makes meteorology a study, we are enabled to lay before our numerous readers a table showing the mean temperature of San Luis for each month during the years 1874 and 1875. These results are obtained from three daily observations: at 7 A. M., and 2 and 9 P. M.
1874.
1875.
January
51.08
50.82
February
50.02
52.48
March
49.2I
52.17
April.
53.47
57.II
May
58.99
62.47
June
62.55
63.05
July
65.18
64.80
August
64.37
61.91
September
63.15
62.12
October
60.65
68.58
November
- 55.00
58.62
December
49.84
54.30
Mean of the year.
56.96
59.04
From the foregoing it will be seen that for two entire years there was a difference of only two degrees and eight hundredths (2.08) in the mean annual tempera- ture. This of itself is remarkable, but when we look at the small difference between the coldest and hottest months it is more remarkable still. We take, for in- stance, January, February, March, and December of each year and they tabulate as follows :-
1874.
1875.
January
51.08
50.82
February
50.02
52.48
March
49.2 1
52.17
December
49.84
54.30
50.03
52.44
Here in the two winters there is only two degrees and thirty-one hundredths (2.31) difference in temperature. We take June, July, August, and September, our hottest months, as follows :-
1874.
1875.
June
62.55
63.05
July
65.18
64.80
August
64.37
61.91
September
63.15
62.12
63.81
62.97
Here we find less than one degree difference, or, to be exact, eighty-four hundredths (.84) of a degree, and, as between summer and winter, as follows :-
MEAN FOR SUMMER AND WINTER MONTHS.
1874. 1875.
Summer
63.81
62.97
Winter
-50.03
52.44
Difference
13.78
10.53
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
I
1
I
I
I
1
I
I
1
1
4
I
The greatest difference for two years is but 13.78 de- grees. As between the extreme hottest and coldest months in the time under consideration is-
329
METEOROLOGY.
October, 1875, the hottest month. 68.58
March, 1874, the coldest month 49.21
Difference
19.37
This represents a difference far smaller than often re- sults in less than one hour in localities not so highly-fa- vored as ours. Here, shut in from the bleak winds of the ocean by encircling hills-dignified by the name of mountains-our valley gets the full benefit of the sun's heat, which is absorbed by rock and hill and stored up to await the demand made for it by the evening hours, when it radiates forth and keeps up the warmth indi- cated by the foregoing tables. Under such circumstances it is not a matter of wonder that tourists who have visited the far-famed Italy, and the south of France, or less widely known Florida, should be so lavish in their adjectives when speaking the praise of San Luis Obispo. Neither should we wonder at the rapidity with which weakened vitality and broken-down constitutions regain their normal condition when transported to our hospitable shores.
EARTHQUAKES.
In the phenomena of nature, affecting the physical features of the earth or the condition of mankind, there appears none so terrible or so dreaded as the mysterious trembling and rending of the solid ground, and of all the United States California is regarded as the land of earth- quakes. The few movements of the kind that have oc- curred have sent a terror wherever the name of California is heard, yet so little damage has been done by them that all fears should be classed as absurd. The damage and deaths by any one of the elemental phenomena of the summer heats, cyclones, lightning, tornadoes, cloud-bursts, hail-storms, or floods of swollen rivers of other sections of the Union, in almost every State, will in any year far exceed all that has ever been known in California. The fear of earthquakes in San Luis Obispo need not be enter- tained. But there have been such disturbances of the earth's surface. In the region between the Salinas and the Estrella are protruding dykes of rock that are pointed out as the effect of some ancient temblor, and in the Monte Diablo Range, east of the Carrisa Plain, is a pass bearing the name of "Temblor," as if in the convulsions of the earth the mountain had been rent asunder. Quien sabe?
The most destructive earthquake in California's history occurred on the morning of December 8, 1811, rendered memorable by the destruction of the mission of La Puris- sima. in Santa Barbara County, and the loss of life by the fall of the church. The walls being of adobe would be apt to fall with but a slight shaking, and the coincidence of the earthquake occurring on a festal day when the building was unusually filled with people has probably given the event a greater importance than it would other- wise have borne.
A few instances of earthquakes are given in the follow- ing extracts from various papers :-
In San Luis Obispo, January 1, 1868, at seven minutes past I o'clock, P. M., the citizens were startled by a se- vere shock of earthquake, which had a tendency to empty the houses of their occupants with considerable celerity. A whizzing sound, which was heard by many,
preceded the shock by several seconds. There was a noise resembling the escape of steam from a pipe; there were two shocks, at about two or three seconds interval, lasting some six or eight seconds, and although not so severe as those in San Francisco in 1865, were a little over and above the average, and would "do for a new country."
On the 15th of December, 1869, about 4 o'clock in the morning, there was an undeniable earthquake in San Luis Obispo. It was short and sharp, not lasting more than a few seconds.
At 10 P. M., on the 18th of February, 1870, a shock of earthquake, slight, but clearly perceptible, took place at San Luis Obispo. It created no alarm, and many persons were ignorant of it, but all those experienced in such matters recognized the earthquake.
On the morning of the 26th of March, 1872, there occurred a sharp shock of earthquake in San Luis Obispo, at a quarter past three A. M. Many persons were alarmed. The regulators of Mr. Pepperman's and Mr. Osgood's stopped at that precise minute. The Eagle Hotel shook most perceptibly. At Paso Robles Hot Springs the effect of the shock increased the flow of water one-third.
The upheaving of the 26th of March, which only slightly disturbed the equanimity of the rest of the State, was felt in Inyo County to an extent which exceeded all former California experience. The town of Lone Pine was leveled with the ground, twenty-seven persons were killed, thirty-four seriously injured, and many others slightly. The Court House at Independence, and many brick and adobe buildings were thrown down. Seventy shocks occurred and the earth was in a state of vibration nearly all day.
On January 9, 1873, San Luis Obispo was treated to quite a lively shock of earthquake at a few minutes past two A. M., lasting several seconds.
On the 12th of October, 1873, at half-past 10 o'clock, San Luis Obispo was visited by two distinct shocks of earthquake.
A series of earthquakes appeared to disturb the earth about that time, and the period will occupy an important position in geological history for its earthquakes and volcanoes, commencing on the 26th of March. On April 3d, the terrible earthquake of Antioch laid that ancient city in ruins. In this commotion the earth was disturbed over a considerable extent, the shocks being severely felt from Aleppo to Orfa, beyond the Euphrates, and occurring at intervals for more than a week.
On April 14th and 15th, violent shocks of earthquake were felt at Accra on the gold coast of Africa, and these were attended by a hurricane, which wrecked nearly every vessel in the harbor of Zanzibar.
On April 24th Vesuvius again burst her bonds, and became more active than at any time since the eruption that overwhelmed Herculaneum and Pompeii, Europe, Asia, Africa, and America-four out of the five great divisions of the globe-showing serious disturbances of their surface at almost the same time. It is as if Mother Earth were shaking the finger of admonition at those who deny the old geological doctrines, and advance the hypothesis that the globe is not fluid in its interior, but is solid through and through.
TIDAL WAVE. [From the San Luis Obispo Tribune.]
On the 22d of November, 1878, a tidal wave swept along the coast, doing considerable damage to many of the landings. It was observed as far south as Wilming-
42
330
HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.
ton, where the water fell about three feet below the breakwater, and in about half an hour rose as many feet above it. The culmination of the wave was within a few miles of San Luis Obispo. The principal damage was done at Point Sal. About half of the wharf at that point was carried away, involving a loss of several hun- dred sacks of grain, and the drowning of one man. The Point Sal Wharf was a strong structure and in thorough repairs. The steamer Gypsy was at Point Sal taking on grain when the disturbance commenced, and was obliged to put over to Port Harford. Such a heavy sea had not been seen for years. The greatest part of the old Peo- ple's Wharf at Avila was carried away. The reef which protects Port Harford presented a grand appearance dur- ing the raging of the waters. The waves would break against the rocks, throwing the spray in clouds many feet above the highest rock. In the vicinity of Price's Surf Landing (Pismo) was an unusual commotion in the ocean early in the day. It was low tide at the time, and the waters would recede and rush in with great force to above high water mark. At Morro the sea ran so high as to break over the sand ridge which divides the bay from the ocean. The Cayucos Wharf was slightly damaged. The most remarkable feature of the phenom- enon was the turbulence of the water in the absence of wind. The disturbance was doubtless occasioned by a submarine earthquake.
A very slight shock of earthquake inflicting no dam- age was felt in San Luis Obispo about 6 o'clock on the morning of the 16th of April, 1877.
On the 16th of April, 1877, a strange irregularity in the tides occurred at Cayucos. In the morning at ten minutes past 7, the peculiar freaks of old Neptune were observed. The sea had submerged the debris of ex- treme high water deposits, and on watching it for a few seconds, found the water receding extremely fast. Dur- ing the period of one-half hour three vibrations took place, the sea regularly rising and falling a perpendicular height of twelve feet by actual measurement.
Contemporaneously with this, Peru, in South America, was visited by an earthquake and tidal wave, doing immense damage, amongst which was the destruction of the town of Arica, on the Peruvian coast. The tidal wave of 1868, that was so disastrous to life and property, was observed along the western coast of America from the Columbia River to the Straits of Magellan, and crossed the Pacific at the rate of 600 miles an hour. The wave of 1868, as observed on the coast of Califor- nia, did not anywhere show greater fluctuation than on +1. th of April, 1877. At Anaheim, there was a IL.2 ( twelve feet in a few moments, whereas the ordi- nary tide rises only four feet in not less than three hours. The entire losses of South America by earthquake in 1868 were estimated at 30,000 lives and $300,000,000 in property.
TORNADO.
On the morning of the 9th of October, 1873, between Rafael Villa Creek and the Cayucos on the coast, a fear- ful whirlwind overtook and nearly annihilated the propri- etor of the Cambria Stage Line. His wagon was raised from the ground several times. The cushions and every- thing in the vehicle were carried away. The air was filled with debris, and the howling of the wind so terri- fied his horses that they stopped and screamed aloud with fright. On coming farther south he found that the large sand-hills lying between the lake below Old Creek and the ocean had been razeed to a level with the sea. Nothing like this had occurred in San Luis Obispo be- fore, either in the memory or tradition of the inhabitants.
EFFECTS OF THE CLIMATE.
Many remarkable stories are told of the salubrity of the climate of San Luis Obispo, of which the following is an example :-
There once lived in this region a man who had at- tained the age of one hundred and fifty years! Although that number of years had passed over him, such were the life-giving and youth-preserving qualities of the climate that he was in the perfect enjoyment of his health, and every faculty of mind and body which he had ever pos- sessed. But he was tired of life. Having lived so long in a turbulent and unquiet world, he anxiously desired some new state of existence, unincumbered with its cares, and unruffled by its passions and its strifes. But not- withstanding all his efforts to produce a result which he so much wished, and for which he daily and hourly prayed to his Maker, health and vigor, and life still clung to him-he could not shake them off. He sometimes contemplated suicide; but the holy padres, to whom he confessed his thoughts, admonished him that that was damnation; he was a devout Christian, and would not disobey their injunctions: A lay friend, however (his heir, probably), with whom he daily consulted on this subject, at last advised him to a course, which, he thought, would produce the desired result. It was to make his will, and other arangements, and then remove to some distant land (probablyto Bakersfield). This suggestion was pleasing to our venerable patriarch in search of death, and he immediately adopted it. He visited the adjoin- ing county, and very soon, in accordance with his plan and wishes, took sick and died.
In his will, however, he required his heir and executor, upon pain of disinheritance, to transport his remains to his old rancho in San Luis Obispo and there entomb them. This requisition was faithfully complied with. His body was interred in great pomp and ceremony, in the desired cemetery, and prayers were rehearsed in the mission church for the rest of his soul. He was happy, it was supposed, in heaven, where, for a long series of years, he had prayed to be, and his heir was happy that he was there.
But what a disappointment ! Being brought back and interred in San Luis Obispo soil, where the health-bringing breezes from the broad Pacific were wafted over his grave, the energies of life were immediately restored to his inanimate corpse! Herculean strength was imparted to his frame, and, bursting the prison walls of death, he appeared before his chop-fallen heir, reinvested with all the vigor and beauty of early manhood! He submitted to his fate, and determined to live his appointed time.
W. W. HAYS, A. M., M. D.
The name of Dr. Hays has been quite freely used in these pages, and a more extended mention of this learned scientist and gentleman would be a necessity in the com- pleteness of any history of San Luis Obispo. His records of the meteorology of San Luis Obispo, brief ex- tracts from which have been given, and his study of the archæology of the county have been of invaluable benefit to science. Dr. Hays is a native of the State of Mary- land, born some forty-five years ago, of one of the most prominent families of "The Old Line State." In his youthful days he had aspirations for a military or naval career, like most ambitious youths, but political questions prevented their gratification. Entering college he in due time graduated with high honors, and obtained his de- gree of Artium Magester, and continued in the study of
331
TOWNS AND LOCALITIES.
medicine and other sciences. He afterwards became a surgeon in the United States Army, and was for a num- ber of years connected with the Smithsonian . Institute at Washington. Declining health admonished him to relinquish these arduous duties and to seek the more genial climate of California, and good fortune-to San Luis Obispo-directed his footsteps to this county, se- lecting it as the most favorable for staying the ravages of the insidious disease, pulmonary affection, which threat- ened his life. Since 1866 San Luis Obispo has been his home, being one of the first physicians, and his family the pioneer American family of the county. In this sa- lubrious climate and by his care and skill he has preserved his life, if not fully recovered his health, and bids fair for many years of usefulness to his fellow-men and of com- fort and prosperity to himself. Mrs. Hays is the daugh- ter of Rev. Dr. Park, Rector of Trinity Church of New York. This eminent divine was a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he served many years as Chaplain and Professor of Ethics and Law to the Academy, retiring in 1847 to accept the rectorship of Trinity Church. The family of Dr. Hays is distin- guished for high culture and accomplishments, and are pre-eminent in the society of San Luis Obispo.
CHAPTER XXXVIII. TOWNS AND LOCALITIES.
The Northern Coast Towns-San Simeon-The Wharf-Improved Business-San Simeon Township-The Climate and Products- Piedras Blancas Light-house -The Farmers-R. J. Hazard-A Whaling Station-Fight with a Whale-Captain Clark's Whal- ing Business-Luis Yori.
THE county of San Luis Obispo is divided into eighteen election precincts, alphabetically named as follows: Arroyo Grande, Beach, Cambria, Cayucos, Estrella, Huasna, Josephine, La Panza, Las Tablas, Morro, Nipomo, Oso Flaco, Paso Robles, Piedras Blan- cas, San José, San Luis Obispo, San Miguel, and Santa Margarita. There are fifty-three school districts, and seventeen post-offices, whose names have been given. There are numerous localities of more or less impor- tance, some bearing names different from their names as election precincts, as Piedras Blancas includes San Simeon; and Beach includes Port Harford, Avila, and others. In the special description of the localities a more clear understanding of them will be obtained by arranging them in geographical than in alphabetical order. The most northern of the coast towns is
SAN SIMEON.
The bay of San Simeon has in the past years attracted much attention as a probable commercial port for the productions of the neighboring country. Its advantages and disadvantages as a place of anchorage and a haven of safety to the vessels that ply along the coast have been canvassed thoroughly. The Coast Survey in early years examined and reported upon this harbor as of others, and arrived at certain conclusions in respect to the place, which are inserted elsewhere in this book.
The Government engineers, as well as subsequent travelers and voyagers, have recognized the ba.
value to commerce, and a considerable trade has taken place through the port. This trade has been mostly in the agricultural products of the neighboring region, and is owing mostly to the neighborhood of Cambria, whose dairy and other domestic products make up the greatest share of San Simeon's exports. Butter, cheese, eggs, grain, wool, quicksilver, and chrome ore from the coun- try and whale oil from the sea, are the principal staples upon which trade depends. The following statement is inserted to show the relative proportion of exports in the earlier years. From January 1, 1869, to July Ist of the same year, the shipments from San Simeon were as fol- lows :-
SHIPMENTS IN 1869.
Butter
$30,000
Wool
8,00c
Whale oil
8,000
Chinese produce, etc 3,000
Eggs
8,000
Beans
5,000
Hides
250
Cheese
300
Terrapins
100
Total
$62,650
In this list is not included the hogs shipped from the bay, which, on the authority of Mr. Mowatt, agent of Messrs. Wilson & Stevens, pork packers of San Fran- cisco, little less than 2,500 head had been fattened and disposed of in that end of the county during the six months; some were sent on foot to San Francisco, others by steamer, while the remainder were made into bacon, for sale for home consumption.
As might be supposed, with the gain in population and the increased attention paid to farming, the trade of San Simeon flourished in an increasing ratio. The coastwise steamers of Goodall, Nelson & Perkins have touched regularly for many years, exchanging freight, and taking away the rich products of the newly settled land.
San Simeon took on a new aspect of prosperity when, in 1878, the new wharf was built. For some time pre- vious it was felt that the old one was entirely inadequate to the needs of commerce. Mr. George Hearst, propri- etor of the Piedras Blancas Rancho, which surrounds the landing, invested in that year a considerable sum of money in the improvement of the port.
THE WHARF.
The new wharf built by Mr. Hearst begins at the northeastern side of the bay, and terminates in deep water I,coo feet distant. Its outer end has a depth of water nearly twenty feet at low tide-a depth sufficient for the very largest merchant steamer. The outer end of the wharf for a length of 250 feet is fifty feet wide, and is built upon six rows of piles, with fenders of Oregon pine. The side plates, of hard wood, are twelve inches thick, with stringers of the same size, dove-tailed between the piles. Upon the wharf a heavy floor is lai' T' gangway which connects the main part of the wnar with the shore is twenty feet wide, and is upheld by three
332
HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.
rows of piles. The whole structure was built in the most desirable manner, satisfactory in every respect. Warehouses for the reception of goods were provided, one, a very fine structure, being 48x100 feet in size, and very well constructed. It resembles a railroad depot in form. R. E. Osgood acted as superintendent of con- struction, and employed thirty men on the work.
This wharf, as before stated, is the exclusive property of George Hearst, and cost $20,000; cost of repairs dur- ing the year ending September 30, 1880, $450; receipts of wharfage, $2,873; expenses of operating $967.40. Dur- ing the year there were shipped over the wharf 3,934 boxes of butter; 930 firkins and barrels of butter; 26,385 pounds of wool; 250 boxes of eggs; 169 flasks of quick. silver; 94 coops of fowls; 374 beef hides; 5,350 calf- hides and skins; 299 packages of whale oil; 725 tons of grain; 14 barrels of tallow; 104 neats of sea-weed; 169 sacks of abalones; 1,209 live hogs; 1,277 miscellaneous packages.
IMPROVED BUSINESS.
As remarked, the construction of the wharf gave a very . sensible impetus to business, which, up to this time, had been moderate in its demands. In the Centennial year two stores existed in San Simeon, and the freight traffic was considerable. Brown, the stage manager, had put a new passenger coach on the line to Cambria. The Ocean View Mining Company, Burdick, superintendent, had resumed operations. A telegraph line, running through to San Luis, had been erected and set to work. These substantial enterprises helped the country largely, and made their benign influence felt over a wide extent. Mr. Frankl, now the ruling spirit of San Simeon, con- ducted a large business in 1878 and since, his being the only merchandising business in the place in the latter- named year. In addition to his private affairs he had charge of the new wharf, which furnished statistics of interest. It seems that the then export of quicksilver averaged, for 1878, 300 flask per month, worth forty dollars per flask. The transportation charges for general merchandise to San Francisco, much reduced from former rates, was four dollars per ton. Flour paid three dollars, which was also the rate for chrome ore, of which consid- erable was sent from that place.
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