USA > California > Santa Clara County > History of Santa Clara County, California : including its geography, geology, topography, climatography and description > Part 28
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
In 1852, John Karr came to the township and entered the store of Rich- ard Carr, while in this year, too, the town of Alviso was incorporated by a special Act of the Legislature. William Erkson, of San José, joined his uncle, A. C. Erkson, in the Winter of this year, on the farm now owned by Mrs. Fenton. In 1853 there arrived, among others, William Boots and Thomas Pogue, the present proprietor of the Alviso Hotel, besides many more whose names we have been unable to gather.
From the above date the settlement of the township was rapid, the broad acres, hitherto unreclaimed, being put under contribution by the horny- handed sons of toil who had established themselves on its fertile bosom. In an almost incredible short space of time, handsome homesteads commenced to rise from the chaparral and the plain began to assume an air of true civil- ization, with what result it is unnecessary for us here to state; these efforts speak for themselves; let the prosperous fields, orchards and gardens tell their own story.
ALVISO .- It is unnecessary here to recapitulate the first steps taken towards the establishment of this town, suffice it to say that it was laid out in 1849, and every provision made for a large city. Docks were projected, squares arranged for, a plaza set apart, streets with high-sounding names ran at right angles to each other-indeed, on paper, in a Pickwickian sense, Alviso was a metropolis worthy of a better fate than has been its hard lot. The thoroughfares, some of which still carry their appellations, were planned from west to east, and south to north, the first being called Washington, Moffat, Hoppe, Dimmick, Catharine, and Elizabeth streets, and the latter, Bay, Hope, El Dorado, Liberty, Victoria, and Bernice streets.
That the town did make a start will be gathered from the following information received from Mr. and Mrs. Harry Wade, who arrived in Septem- ber, 1851, and have since dwelt there. At this time there stood at the corner of Hoppe and El Dorado streets, a store kept by an Englishman named Richard Carr; the premises still stand and is the last house near the bridge crossing the Guadalupe river on the road to Santa Clara. Next door to it was the American House, a hotel conducted by Moses Parsons, but which soon after got into the hands of John N. Appleton. Dana Brothers, of San Francisco, at that period had a store here; a French hotel named "The Four Musketeers " was kept by Marchand, it stood on the site of the hostelry now managed by Jules Pelle, while next door to where Mr. Wade resides, a man called Prince had a general mercantile establishment which was destroyed by fire in 1860. Contiguous to it Christian Baptiste had a tavern which was too burnt in the conflagration above mentioned. There was also Mr. Wade's residence, which he purchased from Pierre Duclos; the dwelling in which Robert Hutchinson now resides; and next to it was the workshop
249
ALVISO TOWNSHIP.
of a blacksmith named Arnold. Near Mr. Hutchinson's dwelling aforesaid there was the store of Rand, Snyder & Clark, while a man called Ricketts had a two-story dwelling close to the position now occupied by the hotel of Thomas Pogue. Such, or nearly so, was the town of Alviso in the latter part of 1851.
In this year there existed a wharf built by the Whitmore Brothers, the proprieters of the New Star, on the piece of ground originally intended for the plaza, where their boat used to ship and discharge cargo. The builders constructed it, we are informed, under the conditions that free use of it was to be accorded them, and at the end of eighteen months it should become the property of the corporation. Besides the quay alluded to, there was another landing constructed by a man named Merrill, about half a mile from town, on the Guadalupe, where he used a ship's galley for a dwelling-house.
As might be expected, with the accession of trade, more ample facilities for the storage of goods was necessary. To this end a number of warehouses were constructed. The first to be put up, we have said, was that of A. T. Gallagher, built in 1849. In 1850, Frank Barrows and - Ricketts erected one on the bank of the Guadalupe, precisely over the line where the canal connecting the slough and the river has since been cut; while Clark, Rand & Snyder, built another on the site of the present Union Warehouse. In the following year Flenoy and Pierce put up a warehouse on the south side of the Guadalupe on the neck of land formed by the confluence of that stream with the slough, and at about the same time Captain Ham erected the warehouse which long went by his name. In 1851 there stood above the Guadalupe bridge another building of this class, but to whom it belonged cannot now be recalled. Here, before it fell into decay, was wont to be stored quicksilver from the New Almaden mine for export to San Francisco. In the Fall of 1851 Robert Hutchinson and his partner, A. J. Wilson, con- structed a wharf on the slough, near its head, whither, on its completion, the warehouse of Burnett & Barrows was removed. To this point did the steamer Boston make her trips.
An Act to incorporate the Town of Alviso was approved March 26, 1852, when its limits were defined as follows: " The limits of the Town of Alviso shall include all the lands embraced within the limits of the several tracts of land conveyed by Berreyessa and wife, and by John Martin and wife, to Charles B. Marvin and Jacob D. Hoppe, and by James Alexander Forbes to K. H. Dimmick, Peter H. Burnett, R. B. Neligh and Jacob D. Hoppe." Power to levy and collect a wharfage tax, upon all vessels, of sixteen cents per ton, was invested in the Trustees; the annual tax levied and collected by the Board upon town property should not exceed twenty-five cents on every hundred dollars of the assessed value thereof; while an election for said Board of Trustees was called for the first Monday in May of that year.
250
HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
Unfortunately there are no records extant wherefrom we could cull the names of the first officers of the newly incorporated town ; we have, however, been informed that Thomas West and Robert Hutchinson were among the Trustees, and J. Snyder and A. T. Gallagher were respectively Treasurer and Marshal.
Affairs in the town remained in statu quo for several years, indeed, until an attempt was made to acquire the right over certain swamp lands within the incorporated limits, by A. M. Thompson. This action caused the Trust- ees to seek and obtain legal advice on the subject, the purport of which was that, though no municipal officers had been elected for several years, the incorporation had not lapsed; and all the swamp and overflowed lands within the prescribed limits were, by the Act of April 21, 1858, excluded from being considered as the property of the State. However, to set the vexed question at rest, the Legislature passed, March 22, 1862, " An Act to authorize the Gov- ernorof the State to convey certain lands." The first section granted to Albanus B. Rowley and Robert Hutchinson, as Trustees of the town of Alviso, all that tract of land described as follows: " Beginning at a point on the south- western bank of Steamboat slough, one hundred and sixteen and six hun- dredths chains south. and twenty chains west, from the points where sections thirty-three and thirty-four of township five south, of range one west, and sections three and four of township six south, of range one west, corner, and running thence south to the north-eastern or right bank of the Guadalupe river; thence down the said bank of the said river to a canal connecting said river with an arm of said slough; thence along the said canal to the said arm of said slough ; thence down the north-castern bank of said arm of said slough, to the junction thereof with said Steamboat slough ; thence up the south-western bank of said slough to the place of beginning, containing sixty acres more or less." In accordance with the second section of the Act, Messrs. Rowley and Hutchinson paid into the office of the County Treasurer, April 19, 1862, the sum of sixty dollars, as the purchase money, and a patent therefor was issued to them under the great seal of the State, May 1, 1862. The Act also directed the said Rowley and Hutchinson, and the survivor of them, to forthwith grant, bargain, sell, and convey, the lot, or part of the lot, according to the plot of said Town of Alviso, which is included within the boundaries of the aforesaid tract of land, to the person having, holding, or claiming, the same, by himself or his tenant, under title, or claim of title, derived from, under, or through, the grantee of the Rancho " Rincon de los Esteros," upon such persons paying to said Trustees, said Rowley and Hut- chinson, or the survivor of them, the sum of six dollars, for the expenses of the execution of each conveyance, and the further sum at the rate of twenty dollars per lot for the purchase money thereof. These conditions were not altered in the case of the Trustees themselves, section four making it a sine
251
ALVISO TOWNSHIP.
qua non that they shall account in the same manner as in case of conveyance to another person. Sections five and six authorized the sale of lots and directed that the streets and alleys should remain untouched, while seven, directed the application of the purchase money as follows: " First-They shall retain for their own use the sum of sixty dollars, for the amount paid by them to the County Treasurer of said county. Second-They shall retain the amount necessarily expended by them in procuring the title to said tract of land, and in surveying the same, if they shall have the same surveyed. Third-The remainder of the purchase money shall be paid by them to the Trustees of the school district which includes the Town of Alviso, for the support of common schools in said district. The said Rowley and Hutchinson, or the survivor of them, shall once each year render an account to the Trustees of said school district of the money received and paid out by them, and shall, at the same time, pay over to the said Trustees the money herein provided to be paid to them."
At the present time, the town of Alviso is a quiet place, In the Summer months, a considerable trade is done by means of several sailing vessels and one or more steamboats. It contains several handsome warehouses, and the famous flour-mill, a history of which will be found below, while through its center passes the line of the South Pacific Coast Railroad, but owing to some difficulty between the Company and the citizens, no depot has been erected, time being barely given to drop the mail, or take up passengers.
There are some residents who are still sanguine, and predict a great future for the little town. We, unhappily, are under the impression that the true legend is Ichabod! Ichabod! The glory is departed !
Like every town of pretensions, Alviso has its lodge. It has no church- it never had any-but its only secret society is in a most prosperous condi- tion.
Alviso Lodge, No. 77, A. O. U. W .- This lodge was instituted January 15, 1879, with the following charter members: S. F. Ayer, P. Borden, H. Carter, O. P. Emerson, M. D. French, A. T. Gallagher, Jr., I. B. Hart, C. H. Harker, J. Karr, A. W. Mills, H. W. French, J. W. Meads, F. Martin, J. Pelle, W. Shields, C. W. Vandegrift, F. Wells, M. Wagner, W. Zanker. The original officers were: C. W. Vandegrift, P. M. W .; M. D. French, M. W .; John Karr, F .; F. Wells, O .; W. H. Woods, Reed .; J. Pelle, Fin .; J. W. Meads, Recr .; O. P. Emerson, G .; C. H. Harker, I. W .; W. Zanker, O. W. The lodge meets every Tuesday evening, has a present membership of twenty-six, and the officers for the current term are: F. Wells, P. M. W .; J. R. Billings, M. W .; M. D. French, F .; C. W. Love, O .; W. H. French, Recd .; John Karr, Finan .; J. W. Meads, Recr .; C. L. McComas, G .; Peter Borden, I. W .; A. Jones, O. W.
252
HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
Besides the several large warehouses mentioned before, which do not pre- cisely come under the head of what we mean by "industries," Alviso pos- sesses but one manufactory of importance, viz., its flour-mill.
Alviso Mills .- This enterprise was started in the year 1853, by Colonel A. B. Rowley and George Adams, the edifice being at that time constructed under the superintendence of George H. Lewis. The mill is at present the property of Frank Bray; is run by a one hundred and fifty horse-power engine; has a capacity of three hundred and fifty barrels of flour in the twenty-four hours; supplied with six run of stones; and is the largest estab- lishment of the kind in the county. Connected with it is the large ware- house with a storage of five thousand five hundred tons, while every facil- ity exists for the shipping, storing, and discharging of grain.
253
BURNETT TOWNSHIP.
BURNETT TOWNSHIP.
-
Geography .- Geographically speaking Burnett township is situated in the eastern portion of Santa Clara county, and occupies a considerable portion of the vast Santa Clara valley.
Topography .- There is considerable of sameness in the topography of this township, comprising the large level plain-the bottom of the valley-and the range of mountains to the east and west. The highest point in the town- ship is the "Loma de Tora," now known as Murphy's Peak, situated due west of Burnett Station.
Soil .- The soil of this township is equal in productiveness to any other portion of the county. Towards the center of the valley it is of a sandy nature, while near the foot-hills it becomes a rich adobe.
Products .- Like nearly every portion of the Santa Clara valley, Burnett township will produce anything and everything. Grain, fruit and vegetables are cultivated to a large extent, while the line of railroad running through its center offers great vacilities for transport.
Timber .- Not much timber is to be found in Burnett township, though there is sufficient to supply the wants of its inhabitants.
Climate .- Like in other parts of the county, Burnett township has an equable climate, and though ranging hot in the months of July and August, are not too oppressive, but rather conduce to the harvesting which is then prosecuted with much vigor.
Early Settlement .- This township which received its name after the first Governor of California, Peter H. Burnett, is occupied chiefly by a number of thrifty farmers, there being no towns within its boundaries. The first settlers to locate within its confines, other than the early Spanish rancheros, were the Murphy family-Martin Murphy, Sr., his wife and children. This was in the year 1844. Here they established themselves, entered into the pursuit, then common, of stock-raising, and built a residence not far from the Eighteen-mile House, at the mouth of the Coyote creek.
The next family to arrive was that of Captain William Fisher, a gentle-
254
HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
man, who, coming from Lower California, in 1845, where he had resided for some years, purchased the Rancho Laguna Seca, and occupied it until his death, which was the first in the township, when his family succeeded to his estate, a portion of which is now occupied by them.
These two families would appear to have been the only residents of Bur- nett township until 1852, in which year William Tennant settled where the Twenty-one-mile House now stands. This gentleman informs us that when he arrived, there were no farms inclosed, and, save a little grain put in by Bernard Murphy, no cultivation of any kind was carried on. Soon, however, the richness of the soil became apparent, and to-day the land is one of teem- ing plenty.
The first frame building crected in the township, was the "Twelve- mile House;" but prior to this there were a few adobe buildings. The first ' orchard was planted by Dan. Murphy, at the back of his location, while the first vineyard was the effort of Captain Fisher's enterprise.
The population, at the present time, is five hundred and forty-all engaged in agricultural pursuits, while it possesses the election precincts of Burnett and Highland, and the school districts of Burnett and Coyote.
TENNANT'S STATION .- This point on the route of the Southern Pacific Rail- road, is a hotel and blacksmith's shop. The first of these was originally known as the Twenty-one-mile House, and was built by William Host in 1852. It was then a two-story building twenty by twenty-five feet. In November of that year the property was purchased by William Tennant, but the house was unfortunately destroyed by fire in 1853. Mr. Ten- nant, however, at once commenced its reconstruction, as it stands at present, two stories in height, twenty-two by thirty-six feet, with two wings, eighteen by twenty feet, and sixteen by eighteen feet respectively. Here Mr. Tennant conducts the post-office, which was established April 5, 1871.
In 1876 this same enterprising gentleman erected a blacksmith's shop, which, though at first intended for private work, is now used by the neighborhood generally.
255
FREMONT TOWNSHIP.
FREMONT TOWNSHIP.
Geography .- Fremont township is bounded on the north by San Mateo county and a portion of the Bay of San Francisco; on the east by Alviso and Santa Clara townships; on the south by Redwood township, and on the west by San Mateo county.
Topography -The topography of this township cannot be said to possess much variety, it for the most part being level valley land, ranging towards the western border into hilly country, which, rising tier above tier, finally attains a considerable altitude, these being for the most part timber ground. That portion facing on the San Francisco bay is entirely marsh land decussated by many creeks, sloughs and water-ways; some navigable and others not.
Soil .- The soil of this township is not a whit behind that of any other portion of the county, the rich, alluvial lands of the level country possessing marvelous properties in the production of grain, fruit and vegetables, while the higher lands afford ample pasturage for stock of every kind.
Products .- The produce of this section is entirely in keeping with those of other parts of the valley. Grain is grown in immense quantities, the harvest each year apparently increasing; butter is made to some extent ; there is scarcely a house without an orchard, large or small, while vegetables are raised in great variety and profusion.
Timber .- That portion of the township bordering on the eastern heights of San Mateo is pretty generally covered with redwoods, although the saw- mills supplied from them are entirely located in the adjoining county. It is estimated in Fremont township there are still from fifteen to twenty thou- sand acres of timber lands. Before the settlement of the country by Ameri- cans, the valley was covered to a much greater extent than it is to-day with white and live-oaks, sycamores, chemisal, and a dense jungle of undergrowth. With the advance of years many of these prime trees have fallen vietims to the woodman's ax, while indomitable perseverance has cleared away the brush wood, and left a park-like landscape, covered with teeming plenty.
Climate .- The climate of the entire township cannot be described as any-
256
HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
thing but fine. Warm days occur as they should in their proper season; the same may be said of the colder weather. Being within ken of the Bay of San Francisco the general influence of the sea-breezes, without the strong trade-winds, is felt, while there is no time of the year, from April till October, that out-door labor may not be conducted with profit to pocket and person alike.
Early Settlement .- It will be acknowledged on every hand that to treat of the early settlement of a district, is a task requiring research and patience. In our travels in Fremont township, the oldest resident we have been able to converse with is the wife of Captain A. Greer, now residing about a mile and a half from Mayfield. This lady is the daughter of Rafael Soto, the original owner of the Rinconada del Arroyo de San Francisquito and one of the very earliest settlers in the Pueblo de San José, where she was born in the year 1817. About the year 1827, she accompanied her father to the Mar- tinez Rancho, now in the adjoining county of San Mateo, and there resided with him until he obtained the San Francisquito grant. In the year 1835 they took possession thereof, and erected a dwelling near the site of the resi- dence at present occupied by Doctor Newell, of San Francisco. This house was built, says Mrs. Greer, of redwood sawed with a whip-saw on the Mar- tinez Rancho, and conveyed thence in the primitive wagons and along the still more primitive roads of the period. It was one story in height, con- tained three rooms, and was the first house in the township. Two years later, we are informed, the Fathers of the Santa Clara Mission constructed an adobe for the use of their Indians, not far from where Secundino Robles now resides, while, about the same time, another fabric of that ilk was constructed, and still stands on the property of ex-Governor Stanford. It was occupied by Antonio Buelna, and from having a position in close proximity to the creek, was known as El Paso del Arroyo. Prior to the building of this house, however, Soto had discovered the navigability of the San Fran- cisquito creek, had chartered some small craft to attempt a voyage up its tortuous way, had met them at its mouth, where, armed with a flag, he directed their winding and precarious course, and finally guiding them to their destination, loaded them with hides and established an embarcadero which is still in use.
The country was wild in the extreme; hill and valley were alike impene- trable; the lower grounds bore a crop of naught save chaparral and tangled undergrowth; trails were numerous but ran in perplexing confusion ; trav- eling was dangerous, for beasts of prey were plentiful, while all around bore evidence of impossible fertility. What, then, must have been thought of John Coppinger, who, as long ago as 1837, tilled the soil of Señora Maria Antonia Mesa, the widow of Rafael Soto, on ground now owned by Henry
Gray.
Daniel Trink
257
FREMONT TOWNSHIP.
W. Seals, near Mayfield. Coppinger, who owned the tract of land in San Mateo bearing his name, had no domicile in Santa Clara county, but in 1837 married Maria Luisa Soto, who is now Mrs. Greer. As this was the first marriage connected with this township, let us glance back at the merry- makings that then occurred. At an early hour of that bright and beautiful day two equestrians, mounted on a single horse, might have been seen thread- ing their way through the mazes of brushwood en route to the Santa Clara Mission. These were a man and woman; he in the prime of life, she in the first blush of maidenhood. The sacred edifice attained, the two are joined in accordance with the Holy Catholic Faith; the ceremony ended, the faithful steed is once more mounted, and the newly-made man and wife, alone with their happiness, their love, their hopes and their fears, commence the journey of life. Arriving at the homestead it is found that every preparation has been made for a wedding feast of more than ordinary grandeur; congratu- lations are showered in from every side ; the guests bidden to the fete give way to joy and gaiety unrestrained; to regale the inner man, a weighty beeve has been roasted whole among the bright embers which still smoulder at the bottom of the trench, viands are spread in prodigious profusion, the fiesta gives way to the dance, the dance to more feasting ; day succeeds night and still the joyousness continues, until the third day is ended, when each returns to his home, carrying in his mind recollections which many years of the " whips and scorns of time " will leave unimpaired.
The next to settle in the district, was one José Peña, a Spaniard, who owned the grant known as the Rancho Santa Rita, but in what vear he came, we have been unable to trace. About 1848 he sold his property to Secundino Robles who came to the district at that time and still resides on a portion of the original estate. This gentleman of pure Castilian descent, was born in Santa Cruz in the year 1813, and was a resident of that place until he moved into this county. In 1824 he became acquainted with the existence of the New Almaden mine, and with his brother Teodoro Robles, received four shares in the co-partnership formed in November, 1845, to work the mines by one Andres Castillero; in 1846 he commanded a troop of Mexican cavalry, during the troublous times being taken prisoner, when he broke his sword in twain, and thus surrendered it to his captors; two years later, as stated above, he acquired the Santa Rita Rancho. Here he found an adobe built by Peña, it is thought about the year 1840; to this structure Robles added in 1849; later, he made some frame-work additions, and on the roof laid a dancing floor, where, his neighbors in by-gone days were wont to trip "the light fantastic toe." To the rear of the premises stand some rare old pear trees, weather-beaten mementoes of the past, but which still bear excellent fruit, and a couple of vines, planted five-and- twenty years ago, whose rich clusters yet hang in luscious profusion; under 17
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.