History of Santa Barbara county, California, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 63

Author: Mason, Jesse D; Thompson & West. 4n
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Oakland, Cal., Thompson & West
Number of Pages: 758

USA > California > Santa Barbara County > History of Santa Barbara county, California, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 63

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" Your committee, therefore, feel prepared to recommend the construction of an inland harbor by deepening the estero and the building of a pier out to deep water, which shall serve as a breakwater and prevent the entrance from choking up with sand. No sand is found in the water outside of the break- ers, the sand shifting and piling up only in shallow water on shore; hence, the pier need not be extended to any great length.

" It is recommended by the committee that the cut or canal be made 200 feet wide and half a mile long,

with a depth of thirty feet at low tide, the entrance at the sea to be the same width as the main channel, namely, 200 feet, the pier to extend beyond and partly enclose the entrance.

" The walls inside the basin or canal may be con- structed of stone, and the mason work finished before the excavation is made. The stone can be brought from the hill-side at a small cost by a horse railroad, the descent being sufficient to bring the loads down to the harbor. The pier may be made of artificial stone, by the Freer process, from beach sand, cheaper than quarried stone, and cast in huge blocks of even thickness and easily laid. An inex- haustible quarry of magnesian limestone is found within three miles of the estero, on the Los Positas Rancho, from which a lime is made almost equal to hydraulic cement.

" The cost of excavating a canal 200 feet wide and half a mile long to a depth of thirty feet (according to the charges for work done by an excavator) would be exactly $98,000. But this includes the cost of building levees by the machine, which would not be necessary in excavating the estero. Concerning the cost of building the wall, your committee has made no full and accurate estimate, but would place it at something less than the cost of excavation, as the estimate for that work is high.

" In conclusion, your committee would recommend that application be made to Congress for an appro- priation of at least 8250,000, to construct an inland harbor at Santa Barbara.

" All of which is respectfully submitted. [Signed]

" J. A. JOHNSON, "O. L. ABBOTT, "C. E. HUSE."

NEWSPAPER COMMENT.

The Times of February 22, 1873, proposed that the salt pond should be scooped out, as having the best situation for a harbor. This subject, as did every- thing else, afforded ample scope for the belligerent editors of the Times and Press. It one refrained from making faces at the other and calling hard names, it was to gather strength for a more furious attack. The Times was accused of favoring Tom Scott's plans.

The Times of February 26, 1873, contained the following squib on the estero scheme :-

" REPORT OF BROTHER JOHNSON, AS PRESIDENT. ENGI- NEER, AND COMMITTEE ON DRAINING THE ESTERO .- " The achievement of draining the estero will be of great benefit to the community. It will afford a safe harbor for our shipping, if we can succeed in decoy- ing a large vessel into the unparalleled basin. We can then wreck her, and the stripping of the copper from her bottom will afford employment to the enter- prising citizens of this place. If, by any unfortunate circumstances, this project proves unsuccessful, we can ballast her with rocks taken from the tunnel which we intend boring through the Santa Ynez Mountains preparatory to building a narrow-gauge railroad, freight her down with soft-shelled almonds and oranges, provided she did not bring such com- modities to this market; and mail a large number of copies of the Santa Barbara Press to the world. The cost of making such a harbor will be about $2,347,- 961.99, and it can be safely assumed that the exports of this place will amount to $200 per annum. So you see it will be a magnificent enterprise."

* Will not this astonish Chicago?

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HISTORY OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY.

In January, 1874, the Times editorially said :-

" Col. C. S. Stewart, acting under instructions from Washington, based on an Act of Congress, has made and presented a project for the conversion of the estero near Santa Barbara into a harbor, showing that this conversion of a thread of stagnant water and green slime means the excavation of an artificial basin out of solid earth from top to bottom. The work would cost nearly $1,400,000, and it is, of course, not believed that the benefit to commerce to be derived from this project, if ever executed, would be at all commensurate with such expenditure. Santa Barbara must, therefore, be content with its present facilities, which are doubtless ample for its needs."

With this the interest in harbors suffered an abate- ment for some time, being diverted into the more immediately interesting subjects of apricots, fat hogs, and almonds. Nothing was heard of breakwaters or artificial harbors until, on February 26, 1876, the News, in consequence of injudicious praise of Santa Barbara, was moved to indulge in a vein of irony, as follows :-

" We are informed that, although the wind blew a gale from the southwest on Friday last, the harbor was smooth as a mill-pond. Santa Barbara is a little gem of a city, filled with first-class, enterprising people, and delightfully located. Providence seems to have made the site for just such a city as has been built by these good people. He (to use a vulgarism) laid himself out when he leveled the mesas and orna- mented them with beautiful evergreen, and scooped out the cosy nooks and hollows. He lovingly em- braced with his strong arm the little landing, to protect it somewhat from the winds which, per- chance, might come upon it. He, it would seem, had done everything | ossible for the place. He has made the sea-weeds grow to keep off the southeast winds and swells, and we are pleased to be informed by the Press that he has so arranged matters that the winds blow just to the edge of the water and stop there, and leave the water just as smooth as a mill-pond! Blessed city! Thrice blessed! Blessed with sunny skies during rain-storms! Blessed with gentle breezes that blow only to the water's edge! Blessed with lyres and poets to sound its praises!"

The great storms of 1878, mentioned elsewhere, in which several vessels were dashed in pieces against the wharf, onc, being stronger than the others, being driven quite through it, and the subsequent loss of 1,000 feet more in a storm, induced another attempt to have a breakwater constructed. Public meetings were held, and the following pretition was sent to Congress :-

PETITION TO CONGRESS.

" To the Honorable the Senate and House of Repre- sentatives of the United States: The undersigned, your petitioners, citizens of the United States and resi- dents of the county of Santa Barbara, in the State of California, most respectfully show that the city of Santa Barbara now contains a population of 6,000, and the county of Santa Barbara contains 15,000 or thereabouts; that the population and wealth of both city and county are rapidly increasing; that we have no communication by railroad, either upon or down the coast; that all of the carrying trade of the

products of the county and of merchandise is done exclusively by ships and steamers, and that the inhabitants here are dependent entirely upon the same for transport of passengers and freight; that the nearest point by which a railway can be reached is eighty-five miles inland, in the northwest part of Los Angeles County, sixty miles distant from the coast; that Santa Barbara is situated on the coast, about 300 miles south of the city of San Francisco, and about the same distance north of San Diego; and that there is no safe harbor for shipping in rough weather between San Francisco and San Diego, a distance of 600 miles; that the channel of Santa Bar- bara is an open roadstead exposed to the violence of southeast gales in winter, in which no ship can safely ride at anchor; that our only wharf, con- structed at an expense of $50,000, has, during the present winter, been swept away and rendered use- less by southeast gales, which always occur on this coast during the rainy season; that, by reason thereof, passengers and freight require to be landed on the beach, through the surf, at great inconvenience and peril; that competent engineers are of the opinion that no wharf can be constructed anywhere along this coast, outside of a harbor, without the protec- tion of a breakwater sufficiently strong to resist the winter tempests.

" Your petitioners therefore represent that a break- water is necessary to be constructed at Santa Bar- bara by the Government of the United States, as the only secure means of transmitting freight and passen- gers to and from this city, and to preserve and pro- tect our freight and commerce.

" They further represent that rock and material necessary for the construction of a breakwater at this place is found near at hand, within two miles of the beach, without cost, on public land, and that the exhibits hereto annexed, of competent engineers, show that an enduring breakwater can be constructed for a moderate outlay, which will render the exist- ing roadstead a safe and ample harbor, at all seasons, for shipping. We further respectfully show that a bill, anthorizing the construction of a breakwater at this port, was reported by the Committee on Com- merce and Navigation in the year 1869, as we believe with a recommendation that the same be passed, and the same would have been passed, as your petitioners are informed, if action on the same had not been deterred by the intrigues and machinations of jealous land speculators at other places on this coast. Where- fore your petitioners now earnestly pray that your honorable body will authorize the construction of a breakwater at this port, and make an appropriation of the sum of $200,000 for that purpose.

Santa Barbara, February 5, 1878.

Shortly after the above petition was circulated, a second meeting was held to consider the subject of breakwaters, and to invite discussion thereupon. The meeting was held March 16, 1878, with Dr. Brinkerhoff in the chair.

MR. WIGGINTON'S POSITION CONSIDERED.

Whether Mr. Wigginton, considering that Santa Barbara had given 600 majority against him, would support the measure, was doubtful; would he not rather favor the San Luis Obispo or Port Harford breakwater, since that place had given him 200 majority ?

Russel Heath scouted the idea that Wigginton

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would entertain any ill-feeling towards Santa Bar- bara on that account.

Judge Huse stated that the project of building a breakwater was in a fair way of succeeding in 1869, and the bill was before the House of Representatives to make an appropriation of $100,000, but that the owners of the Guadalupe Rancho, who wanted a landing at Point Sal, intrigued against it, and the bill was killed. If a man from Santa Barbara, work- ing in the interests of the bill, had been present, the bill would have passed. Richards, Eddy, Fernald, Huse, Heath, Hollister, and Dibblee were appointed a committee to consider ways and means of sending an agent to Washington, to report at a subsequent meeting.

MATERIAL FOR A BREAKWATER.

It may be mentioned in this connection that the sandstones along the Santa Barbara Mountains, though inferior to granite, are quite equal to the resistance to wave action required, and that a rail- road three or four miles long would reach inexhaust- ible quarries either up the Mission or Montecito Cañons. The cost of putting the rough material in place could not possibly be over 82.00 per cubic yard, although some engineers have placed it as high as $6.00 per cubic yard. Whether influence can be brought upon the Government to make an appropri- ation sufficient for the construction of a breakwater is extremely doubtful, though many works of inferior importance have been constructed at Government expense.

CHAPTER XXXI.

SUBURBS OF SANTA BARBARA.

Suburbs of Santa Barbara -- District of Montecito -- Products of

Lowl nds-Successful Farming -- A Rural Home-Ornamen- tal Trees -- The Hot Springs-Virtues of the Springs -- Fire -Views Near the Springs-Picture :que-Big Grapevine -- The Carpenteria Valley-The First Family-William S. Callis-Thomas C. Callis-Farmers in 1869-Lima Beans- John Bailard-First Baptist Church of Carpenteria-Floods -The Rincon-The Carpenteria Wharf-F. and J. M .- Smith-Guleta-Early History-La Patera-The Farm of J. D. Patterson-San Jose Vineyard-James McCaffrey- More's Home Ranch-The Santa Barbara Nursery-Joseph Sexton-W. N. Roberts-The San Antonio Dairy Farm -Dos Pueblos-Greenleaf C. Welch-The Stow Estate- Hollister's Place-Ellwood -- Eucalyptus-Olive Oil-Fine Arts-Pedro Barron.

IN this portion of the chapter it is proposed to re- view the history and description of the portion of the Santa Barbara Valley lying eastward from the city. The total extent of country which will be treated under the head, reaches from the city on the west to the boundary of Ventura County on the east, and from the Channel of Santa Barbara on the south, northward to the summits of the Santa Barbara Range, a distance of some seven or eight miles, the extent east and west being about fifteen miles. Within this tract lie some of the most valuable agricultural

lands in the whole State. The face of the coun- try is diversified with hills, plains and valleys. There are groves of oaks, regular in their order as the columns of a stately cathedral. There are glimpses of the sea and descents into sylvan shades; the shadows of the hills and the lofty grandeur of the mountains; the music of running streams. There are groves of orange and lemon trees, and green vine- yards. There are the tasteful homes of wealth and the neat cottages of middle life. There are elegant gardens and the perfume of myriad flowers-in a word, everything that invites to happiness and native pleasures.

THE DISTRICT OF MONTECITO

Lies at a distance of some four miles to the eastward of Santa Barbara, and is of the nature of a suburb to the town. This beautiful vieinity is largely occu- pied by private residences, and small ranches devoted to fruit-growing. Too much cannot be said in praise of the beauty and utility of the surroundings. Pos- sessed of an admirable climate (whose peculiarities are dwelt upon at length in another part of this vol- ume), a soil of the highest productiveness, an ample supply of the purest and softest water, and lying in a region of perennial beauty and grandeur of scenery, the Montecito Valley and its vicinity are uusurpass- able.

The first American settler in the Montecito Valley was Newton M. Coats, who arrived there in 1858. Since that time it has acquired a considerable popu- lation of agriculturists and others, many of whom possess means earned by their energies in tilling the fertile soil of the delightful valley. Men of leisure also have brought their families here to enjoy the advantages of its unequaled climate and soil. Among the prominent residents may be named Mr. Dinsmore, who went to his present place in March, 1867, lo- cating on an elevation 500 feet above the lovely valley and overlooking its entire extent. In the September after his arrival, Mr. Brechtel settled upon land adjoining, and which has since passed into the possession of John H. Shephard. Colonel W. A. Hayne, another resident, came to the county in 1867, since representing (in 1875-76) the county in the Leg- islature. Col. S. Bond also came to Santa Barbara in that year. Robert W. Smith came to the county in 1861, and after serving the Government in the capacity of keeper of the light-house until 1868, came in the same year to Montecito, and has since resided there. In 1869 he planted an almond orchard, a fact which has proved of great importance.

As in the case of neighboring localities, Montecito owes much of its importance to agricultural pursuits. Among others, the record of whose productions will prove of enduring interest, the Swift Farm at Mon- tecito may be instanced.

Josiah Doulton purchased in 1876 a tract of twenty acres, and began experimenting with foreign seeds, mostly derived from England. The place lies along

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HISTORY OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY.

the sea-shore, and is called "Ocean View." Some of the gentleman's experiments are of importance as serving to introduce new and superior species of farm products. This ranch is carefully tilled, as is that of Russell Wallen. The latter embraces twenty- seven acres lying upon the foot-hills, sloping gently, and was originally covered with a very dense under- growth, but the richness of the soil repays the trouble of clearing and cultivating it, many fold. Mr. Wallen purchased the land in 1870, and devoted it, as fast as it was cleared, to the growth of straw- berries, corn, squashes, potatoes and other vegetable crops. For years he gathered strawberries from his vines every week. Excellent water is derived from a spring on the place, by which irrigation is satis- factorily accomplished.

Mr. S. Conkling's specialty is the culture of oranges and lemons, of which he has several varieties. Other fruit trees make up a fine orchard. The Doma Vine- yard, close to the foot of the mountains, is the prop- erty of W. W. Haynes. It contains over 240 acres of rolling and bottom lands, of which sixty acres were in grapes in 1877; 8,000 vines of the Black Hamburg, Flaming Tokay, White Muscatel, and other varieties were then in a state of high cultiva- tion, producing abundantly and yielding wine of high quality. This ranch has the advantage of a thor- ough system of irrigation. The water is brought down the mountains, by means of ditches and flumes, to four extensive reservoirs, from which it is taken through a series of pipes to the desired spot. The hay crops are extraordinarily increased by irrigation, several crops being produced each year. The orange orchard, stock-raising, and wine-making constitute the remaining industries at this notable ranch.

In 1876 Mr. Richardson purchased sixteen and one- half aeres at $100 per acre, in an unimproved state, which he has devoted to fruit culture, and erected suitable dwellings. A neat picket fence surrounds the entire farm.

Mr. J. H. Shephard's fifty-eight acres lie high up in the foot-hills and is nearly or quite all under cul- tivation, planted in 1877 with 6,000 grapevines of choice varieties, 800 apple trees, 200 orange, 150 apricot, and 150 peach trees. Besides these there were two acres of strawberries and three-fourths of an acre of blackberries. The farm cost Mr. Shep- hard $4,000 in 1874.

Mr. Dinsmore, previously mentioned, has sixty aeres, which he has owned for thirteen years, begin- ning when it was in a condition of primitive wilder- ness. Improving well every year and with every day's work laid out upon it, it has become one of the finest country seats in the whole region. There are 1,000 orange trees, twelve years old. and bearing well; half as many lime and lemon trees, of the same age, and in as good condition; almond trees, several acres of strawberries and a large assortment of apples, pears, peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots, figs, quinces and other fruits. Being elevated above

the ordinary level there is no occasion to fear dam- age by frost. Here it may be proper to remark upon the importance of a location of this kind to avoid that influence. It is a well-attested fact that an elevation of from 500 to 1,000 feet above the gen- eral level of the valley lands in almost any section of the State, provides immunity against frost. This truth has been proved in the inhabited valleys throughout the Coast Range. In Sonoma, Napa, Santa Clara, and other valleys, lands occupying positions upon the slopes of the surrounding mountains, and at sufficient altitude, are found to be the best for fruit culture; and the rule of course holds good in Santa Barbara. The applica- tion of the theory of the frostless belt lies in this fact. There are many thousands of acres of pro- ductive land in this county, which are situated in the belt, and their advantages have as yet been scarcely noticed. Valley lands are eagerly scrambled for, but the side-hills are of equal richness, and of total immunity from frosts which destroy the products of the lowlands.

Colonel Dinsmore's place contains a banana planta- tion, something unique, inasmuch as they are of the Chinese dwarf variety, the bulbs having been imported from the Hawaiian Islands.

In describing the soil of this part of the valley it should be borne in mind that it is derived from rocks of the high range of the Sierra de Santa Barbara, which through atmospheric agencies has crumbled and slid downward, disintegrating and forming a gravel which, at first hardly able to support vegeta- tion, gradually becomes richer by the successive depositions of fine sediment and organic remains. The recurrence of large bowlders on the land is explained on analagous grounds, as these bowlders are composed of a more durable variety than the great bulk of the hills, which partly preserves them from the destructive action of water and air. Numer- ous tracts of land are nearly covered with these obstacles to tillage, but, as indicated below, the land so covered is not rendered useless for culture. The following is an extract from a letter written to the Press by Colonel Dinsmore in 1872, which will throw light upon a number of subjects connected with the above pursuits :-

SUCCESSFUL FARMING.

In answer to your inquiry about farming, I can say that I have had first-rate success in getting rid of brush and rocks. Oats, wheat, barley, corn, and potatoes have done extremely well here when put in at the right time and without irrigation. Also a.l kinds of garden vegetables.

I have 350 orange trees four years old; 350 three years old, and 300 two years old. I have 250 lemon trees and fifty lime; also apples, pears, plums, peaches, figs, bananas, and pineapples-all growing finely and looking healthy.

My first attempt was the cultivation of strawber- ries. They have been a success. We commence picking for market about the first of January, and continue to pick until September. We have them

F. & J.M. SMITH'S SANTA

WHARF AT CARPENTERIA BARBARA CO. CAL.

著

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SUBURBS OF SANTA BARBARA.

for family use every week in the year. I sold from one-fourth of an aere $400 worth. Blackberries do well here, and this is the home of the grape. The slope on the south side of the Santa Ynez Mount- ains is undoubtedly the best grape region on the Pacific Coast. I set about 150 cuttings three years ago in a bluff of sandstone' bowlders. I had to remove large quantities of rock to find places to put them in. Every one of them lived, and the second year had a bountiful crop, and without irrigation. They were Muscats, Black Hamburg, White Chas- selas, and other varieties. They had larger berries, more of them, and ripened tour weeks earlier than the same kinds of grapes set in rich, deep loam. We have picked 300 pounds of White Chasselas grapes this year from one and a half rods of land set with cuttings three years ago.

I have 100 almond trees four years old, 600 three years old, and 600 two years old, which are all in good condition. The three and four-year-old trees blos- somed and set very full this year, and grew as large as small beans, when the cold northerly winds came, and they dropped from the trees.

I have forty olive trees four years old which fruited the second year from cuttings. They are thrifty and free from blight or dark color on the leaf. B. T. DINSMORE.

No description of the Montecito would be deemed complete without some allusion to the splendid property of Col. Silas Bond on the road to the Hot Springs. Mr. Bond's land is of an average character of the soil of all the stretch of country between Gaviota Pass and the Rincon. Commencing with ten acres which required much labor to remove superin- cumbent bowlders and brush, Mr. Bond transferred the wild tract, fit only for the hiding-place of quails and rabbits into as fine a country seat as exists on the coast. This place, like Mr. Dinsmore's, is located at a considerable altitude. Other business men and men of leisure have beautified portions of the valley, the more prominent settlers being Col. W. A. Hayne, I. R. Baxley, Judge E. B. Hall; Dr. E. W. Crooks, H. C. Thompson, O. A. Stafford, Edward Cunning- ham. The latter is a Bostonian, who, attracted by the unequalled advantages, came out with his family and purchased the W. M. Eddy place. The Eldy place, one of the most beautiful in Montecito, owes its charms to the taste of Mrs. Eddy, who superin- tended the work of laying out the grounds, planting and cultivating the shrubbery. No more elegant or refining employment can be conceived than the cultivation of grounds like those. Judge Hall's place has been purchased recently by J. M. Forbes, a Bos- ton millionaire, who is making great improvements in the vicinity. In concluding this account, the fol- lowing extract will serve to increase the reader's stock of information concerning Montecito, as a por- tion of it applies to the district in general as well as to Mr. Bond's ranch. It was written ten years since, but still presents a reliable picture :-

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History of Santa Barbara county, California, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 63

Author: Mason, Jesse D; Thompson & West. 4n Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Oakland, Cal., Thompson & West Number of Pages: 758

Author: Mason, Jesse D; Thompson & West. 4n
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Oakland, Cal., Thompson & West
Number of Pages: 758