History of Santa Clara County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present, Part 23

Author: Sawyer, Eugene Taylor, 1846-
Publication date: 1922
Publisher: Los Angeles : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 1928

USA > California > Santa Clara County > History of Santa Clara County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present > Part 23

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Company K, New Almaden Cavalry-L. F. Parker, captain ; J. P. Dudley, first lieutenant ;

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

H. H. Curtis, senior second lieutenant : A. F. Foster, junior second lieutenant. Forty men in the company, all armed.

National Light Artillery-S. O. Houghton, captain : C. T. Henley. first lieutenant ; Jacob Weigant, junior first lieutenant: N. B. Ed- wards, senior second lieutenant ; Edward Ladd, junior second lieutenant.

Fifth Regiment, Infantry -- A. Jones Jackson, colonel; A. B. Rowley, lieutenant-colonel; J. Porter. major ; J. O. Wanzer, adjutant; Chas. N. Senter, regimental quartermaster ; A. J. Cory, surgeon.

Company A, Union Guard-Chas. P. Crit- tenden, captain ; E. J. Morton, first lieutenant ; George Evans, senior second lieutenant; N. Klein, junior second lieutenant. Sixty men, armed with rifles.

Company B, San Jose Zouaves-A. W. White, captain ; M. Campbell, first lieutenant ; F. B. Fuller, senior second lieutenant ; W. T. Adel, junior second lieutenant. Eighty men, armed with rifle muskets.

Company C, Alviso Rifles-Thatcher F. Barnes, captain ; John Root, first lieutenant; Edward W. Williams, senior second lieuten- ant ; Charles E. Morrison, junior second lieu- tenant. Sixty men, armed with rifle muskets.

Company E, Gilroy Guards-John H. Ad- ams. captain ; William O. Barker, first lieuten- ant; William Van Gundy, junior second lieu- tenant. Forty men, armed with rifle muskets. Company H, Santa Clara Guard-William H. Swope, first lieutenant; W. H. Menton, senior second lieutenant ; A. F. Harlow, junior second lieutenant. Sixty men, armed with rifle muskets.

Johnson Guard, unattached-John M. Mur- phy, captain ; N. B. Edwards, first lieutenant ; J. F. Faulkner, senior second lieutenant ; P. W. Riordan, junior second lieutenant. Fifty men, armed with muskets.

In 1864 a company of men, representing the Confederate government, was organized for the purpose of raising money for the Confed- erate cause by robbing stages and banks in California. Several recruits were obtained in Santa Clara County. In May of that year two Wells-Fargo stages were stopped near Placer- ville by this band, then under the command of Ralph Henry, alias Ingraham. He gave a re- ceipt for the several hundred pounds of bul- lion taken from the stages, stating that he was acting for Jefferson Davis. A day or two after the robbery Deputy Sheriff Staples of EI Do- rado County came upon the gang in a house in the mountains, and without sufficient assist- ance attempted to arrest them. He was killed in the attempt. A man named Poole was wounded in the fight and captured. The other members of the band escaped. The captive

made a confession, in which he named the members of the gang.

On the night of Thursday, July 14, between nine and ten o'clock, three men called at the house of a Mr. Hill on the New Almaden road, a few miles from San Jose, and asked permis- sion to stay overnight, stating that they were looking for some friends who would pass that way. Mr. Hill directed them to an unoccupied building close by, saying that if they could put up with such poor accommodation they were welcome to the use of it. The three men re- mained in the building all night and all the next day. Thinking that the actions of the men were rather suspicious, Hill came to San Jose and told his story to the officers. Sheriff John H. Adams at once organized a posse, con- sisting of Deputy Sheriffs G. W. Reynolds, Fred Morris and J. M. Brownlee, Marshal Pot- ter, Constable Scott and Citizens Senter, Wiles, Bowman and Gould, and proceeded to the Hill ranch. They arrived at night. The building was surrounded and Sheriff Adams. in a loud voice, commanded the three men to come out and surrender. But the men, who were members of the Ingraham gang, had re- solved to sell their lives dearly. Rushing out, they commenced firing at the officers. During the fusillade John Creal, one of the robbers, received three bullet wounds, either of which would have caused his death. He was brought to San Jose and died an hour after his arrival. Ab. Gillespie, or Glasby, another of the trio, had the handle of his pistol shot away, his clothes were perforated with bullets, but no wound was inflicted. He was soon overpow- ered and handcuffed. John Clendennin, the third robber, after firing twice point-blank at Sheriff Adams, and receiving a settler in re- turn, jumped over a fence and fled in the di- rection of The Willows, where he was found about midnight, in a dying condition, by Un- der Sheriff R. B. Hall and J. R. Lowe. Jr., of another party who had gone in search of the fugitive. He was taken to the county jail and died the next day.

One of the shots from Clendennin's pistol, aimed at Sheriff Adams' heart, struck a watch in the pocket of his vest and then glanced into the body, inflicting a slight wound. Brownlee received two flesh wounds in the leg. Creal fired eight shots before he fell and was at- tempting to use his pistol after he was down, but was prevented from doing so by Deputy Sheriff Reynolds. When found in The Wil- lows, Clendennin had two revolvers and a bag of gold dust on his person. It was believed that the object of the three men in stationing themselves on the New Almaden road was to rob the stage as it came along with gold to pay the miners on the hill.

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Another member of the Confederate band was John Grant, who, having had difficulty with Captain Ingraham, determined to play the role of a lone highwayman. In July word came that he was in San Juan and would shortly pay a visit to a young woman who lived near Forbes' mill, Los Gatos. Under Sheriff Hall, accompanied by Charles Potter and John Ward, went to Los Gatos and located the house where Grant was staying. He was in bed and the arrest was easily accomplished. As the officers and their prisoner were prepar- ing to leave, Grant, though handcuffed, seized Hall's gun and rushed for the door, Hall after him. Grant tried to use the gun, but the hand- cuffs were in the way and he was seized just as he reached the outer door. At the moment of the rearrest someone of Hall's party fired both barrels of a shotgun at Grant, severely wounding him. He was brought to San Jose and lodged in jail.

It was during war times that the Methodist Church at Berryessa was burned to the ground. The act was attributed to one or more mem- bers of the Dick Baker gang of Confederates, whose operations in aid of the Southern cause were mainly in the line of horse-stealing. The gang was finally scattered, some members go- ing to the Southern States, others to Arizona and Mexico.

When the news of the assassination of Abra- ham Lincoln reached San Jose there was at first a stillness as if the population had been stricken with mental paralysis. Then excite- ment grew until it reached fever heat. The residents were composed of two elements, the northerners and the majority of the western- ers who upheld the cause of the Union; and the southerners and southwesterners, who sympathized with the cause of the Confeder- acy. Good, honest, substantial men on each . side, but divided in opinion by the effect of early environment. Among the Confederate sympathizers were many of San Jose's promi- nent men. In the country districts the same conditions prevailed. While the excitement over the death of Lincoln was at its height some of the southerners were so indiscreet as to publicly express their joy over the death of a man who had been pictured to them as a human gorilla and a negro lover. The Union men were in a majority and whenever an anti-

Union sentiment found utterance the speaker was quietly placed under arrest. Several prom- inent citizens were conveyed to Alcatraz prison, San Francisco Bay, but their term of imprisonment was short, for after partisan bitterness had been partially allayed their re- lease was ordered and they came back to their farms and business.

It was while arrests were being made that a tall countryman passed the Auzerais House shouting, "Hurrah for Jeff." He was promptly seized by indignant Unionists and would have been hustled off to jail if he had not made vig- orous and what seemed to be honest protest. "Why, I'm no reb." he declared. "I didn't mean Jeff Davis when I hurrahed. I meant the milkman-George. H. Jefferson. I was having a bit of fun; had been taking a few drinks and wasn't at myself. That's true, boys, as true as preaching." His captors looked at the smiling face, noted the alcoholic condi- tion of the man, and concluded to give him the benefit of the doubt.

A short time before Lincoln's death a num- ber of San Jose young men, born in the South and filled with the desire to do something for the Confederate cause, met in secret and con- cocted a scheme to ride into San Jose some morning after the stores had opened and there were few people about, and rob safes and tills, hoping by this daring operation to secure enough money to take them out of the state and into Confederate territory. The plot had been fully arranged and all was ready for the raid when the news of Lincoln's assassination arrived. In the excitement over the event the scheme was dropped. The story of it was told to the historian years afterwards by one of the plotters, a man who stood high in the esti- mation of his fellow-citizens. He seemed to regard the affair as a joke, though he was glad that the robbery had not been attempted. He died many years ago and not one of his associates is now in the land of the living.

Times have changed since the days of the Civil War. Nowadays veterans of the South- ern Confederacy meet, shake hands and ex- change reminiscences with the veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic. Not only that, but their sons and grandsons bunk and fight together as Americans. This is as it should be.

CHAPTER XII.

The Fruit Industry of the County-The Largest Prune Producing Section in the State-History of the Development-Introduction of the French Prune-The First Fruit Cannery-The Vineyards and Olive Orchards- When Artesian Water Was First Obtained-Farm Loan Board-Cali- fornia Prune and Apricot Growers, Inc .- Some Interesting Statistics.

Santa Clara County is the banner fruit- producing county of the state. In 1919 there were 98,152 acres planted in fruit trees and 2,850 acres in vines. The total acreage of ce- reals, vegetables and berries was 86,695. The live stock numbers 62,248; value $1,288,175. It is the prune center of America. More prunes are grown in this valley than are produced in the whole United States outside. In 1919 the number of prune trees was 7,652,000. Apricots came next with 665,000, peaches third with 482,000, and cherries fourth with 380,000 trees. In 1919 the orchardists of the county received about $49,000.000 from the products of their trees. This was irrespective of the money made by the canners and packers. The grow- ers might not have obtained high prices had it not been for the efforts of the California Prune and Apricot Growers, Inc., an organiza- tion perfected three years ago for the purpose of creating stable prices and protecting the orchardists of California. In 1919 it operated with 75 per cent of the prune and apricot acre- age of the state. In December of that year a campaign to hold, if not increase, its strength resulted in the securing of about 80 per cent of the acreage. The association occupies a large, handsome and commodious building on the southeast corner of Market and San An- tonio Streets, employs a large force of men and women and does business every month in the year. The officers are: T. S. Mont- gomery, president; WV. A. Yerxa, vice-presi- dent ; H. G. Coykendall, general manager; H. C. Dunlap, secretary and treasurer, and J. T. Brooks, manager of Growers' Information Bu- reau. T. S. Montgomery, H. G. Coykendall, W. G. Alexander, H. C. Dunlap and A. Kam- merer form the executive committee. The di- rectors are W. A. Yerxa, Princeton; H. C. Dunlap, Yountville; Mark L. McDonald, Santa Rosa; G. C. Alexander, Healdsburg ; T. S. Montgomery, San Jose; H. G. Coykendall, Cupertino ; J. O. Hayes, San Jose; A. Kam- merer, San Jose; Nathan Lester, Santa Clara ; L. E. Mills, Santa Paula; C. G. Hamilton, Hemet, and W. J. Fulgham, Visalia. In 1921 a campaign resulted in giving the association control of over 80 per cent of the state acre-

age for the next seven years. All the officers were reelected.

As Santa Clara County is the largest fruit district in California, it follows as a matter of course that it is the largest canning and pack- ing district in the state. There are (1922) thirty packing houses owned and oper- ated by the California Prune and Apricot Growers, Inc., nine affiliated with that organ- ization and eighteen independent packers, most of them operating in San Jose. There are forty canning factories in the county. One of these, the Co-operative plant, is the largest in the world. In 1921 it absorbed 30,000 tons of fruit and employed nearly 1,000 people. In the busy season of that year the combined county payroll reached over two million dollars. A number of new canneries and factories will be built this year, for the business is increasing by leaps and bounds. There are several dehydrating plants in the county to take care of grapes, strawberries, prunes and other fruits and berries.

Practically all varieties of fruits and vege- tables except the tropical ones can be grown successfully in Santa Clara County. The prox- imity of the center of population and the ex- cellent transportation facilities have been great aids in the development of the valley.

The history of the fruit industry in the county is an interesting one. The adaptability of the climate and soil for horticultural pur- poses became apparent long before the first Americans visited the valley. The Fathers who planted the Missions, planted orchards at the same time, and found a full return for all their labor. The fertility of the soil was supplemented by a peculiarity of climate that enabled trees to grow many more weeks in the year than in other countries, while during the season of rest there was no freezing weather to chill their sap or delay their progress in the spring. The result was that a very few seasons brought orchards to a condition of fruitfulness. All this was demonstrated by the experience of the Fathers at the Missions, but even with this experience before them, the early horticultur- ists of the valley were astonished by the re- sults of their work.

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

The Mission orchard at Santa Clara was the only source of fruit supply to the valley for many years. It furnished stock for the few orchards that were planted in the early years of the American occupation. These plantings were few at first, owing to the gold excite- ment, but when people began to return from the mines the plantings became more numer- ous. The scarcity of fruit and consequent high prices gave a great stimulus to horticulture. Apples imported from San Francisco sold for a dollar apiece, and other fruits in proportion.

The first orchards planted after the Ameri- can occupation, with the exception of a few private trees, were by E. W. Case, William Daniels and Joseph Aram. Case's orchard was about 350 trees and was on property front- ing on the Alviso road. Aram's orchard was of twenty acres and was situated where the Woolen Mills were afterwards built. Daniels' orchard was about one acre and was in the northern part of town, on a tract lying be- tween Julian and St. James, Market and First streets. Part of the trees planted by these San Joseans were furnished by a man named Ganz and were brought from Ohio. This was in 1852. In the succeeding year Case and Aram imported more trees from the nursery of Charles Hovey, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

One of the popular fall eating apples of Cen- tral California is the Skinner seedling. It is a San Jose production and originated from seeds brought across the plains by the late Judge Henry C. Skinner. He was one of the pioneer orchardists of the city and one of the promoters of the Santa Clara County Agricul- tural Society. He arrived in San Jose in 1850 and purchased the family residence of Harry Bee at the northwest 'corner of Julian and Nineteenth (then Fifteenth) streets. The grounds were spacious, extending to Coyote Creek, and were enlarged by the purchase of many acres in what is now East San Jose.

In the spring of 1852 Commodore Stockton, who then owned the Potrero de Santa Clara rancho, which lies between San Jose and Santa Clara, imported from Hovey's Massa- chusetts nursery a large number of trees for the purpose of starting a nursery. With these trees came a professional botanist named Shel- don, with B. S. Fox and Thomas Egan as as- sistants. Sheldon died on the Isthmus and Fox took charge of the enterprise, Egan as- sisting. With the party came also J. F. Ken- nedy as salesman and commercial agent. The mitrsery was established in April, 1853, and for some time was the depot for nursery supplies for the valley. The trees consisted of apples, peaches, pears, plums, nectarines and apricots. With this importation came also the first strawberries grown in the county.

In 1854-55 a Frenchman named Lavalle im- ported fruit trees and planted them in both nursery and orchard form on the property ly- ing north and west of Julian Street and owned by Peter O. Minor. He planted two acres and afterwards removed the trees to the west side of the Coyote on the property of the late Ed- ward McLaughlin. In 1855-56 he had a very large collection of trees in his nursery, which he afterwards sold to H. H. Winchell, China Smith and William Smith, and they continued the nursery business for some years thereafter. L. A. Gould and B. F. Walkins planted three orchards and nurseries at Santa Clara at about the same time. J. A. Ballou, who was at that time employed in the Case orchard, and who at ninety-five years of age is still living, says that from the 300 trees planted then, about 800 pounds, mostly apples, were produced.

During 1856 the State Horticultural Society held a fair in San Jose, and from the exhibi- tion the reputation of Santa Clara County fruit spread and people came hundreds of miles to see it.

In 1853 a Horticultural Society was formed in San Jose. The meeting for the organization was held on the grounds of Louis Prevost un- der a giant live oak tree. There were present William Daniels, Louis Prevost. Louis Pellier, J. R. Bontemps, B. S. Fox and E. W. Case. Nearly all the old-time fruit growers became members. The names of Joseph Aram, R. G. Moody, Davis Divine, L. A. Gould and John Llewelling appear in the list. This pioneer society afterwards united with the Agricul- tural Society. Both societies ceased to exist many years ago.

In 1856 nearly all of these early orchards had commenced to bear, and the quality of the fruit and the promise of extraordinary produc- tion gave these pioneer orchardists an idea of the remarkable resources of climate and soil. This year stands out prominently as the date of the introduction of the French prune to this county, and in fact, to this coast. The fruit has become a standard and will always remain a favorite with orchardists. The history of its first importation is as follows: Louis Pellier, a vine and fruit grower of France, had come to California in the winter of 1848-49. After try- ing his fortune in the mines he journeyed to San Jose in 1850 and purchased a tract of land fronting on the west side of San Pedro near St. James Street. The tract was for years known as Pellier's Gardens. Here he planted a nursery and orchard and cultivated flowers and plants. His brother, Pierre, had come out a year before and was assisting him at his work. When Pierre arrived he brought with him the cuttings of some of the finest varieties of grapes, among them the Black Burgundy,

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

Chasselas Fontainebleau and Madeleine. In ples and pears on what is now the northeast 1854 Louis Pellier sent Pierre back to France with instructions to go through Burgundy and other parts of the country and secure the best varieties of fruit grown in each section. Pierre was assisted by his brother John, and two years were spent in gathering stock. When they returned to San Jose they had cuttings of the Petit prune, Gros prune and many va- rieties of cherries, pears and plums. The Petit prune at first was not very popular, but it was finally brought to the attention of John Rock. who recognized its value and soon popular- ized it.

B. S. Fox in 1853 established a nursery of his own on Milpitas road. He had with him Thomas Egan and the acreage was soon in- creased to 200 acres. Fox was not only a pio- neer fruit grower, but a man of great scientific knowledge. A large orchard was developed from the nursery and to his enthusiasm Santa Clara County owes much of its early horticul- tural development. He died in 1881 and his landed property was left to his nephew. R. D. Fox, who conducted the nursery successfully for many years and then became connected with the California Nursery at Niles.

In 1854 came James R. Lowe. He was an Englishman by birth and a professional botan- ist. He had been engaged in some of the most prominent landscape garden operations of the English nobility and had come to the United States to superintend some work for New Eng- land nurserymen. He came to California at the request of Major S. J. Hensley, of San Jose. He laid out the famous Hensley grounds on North First Street, which up to the time they were subdivided into lots contained more rare plants than any similar area in the state. Mr. Lowe was in constant communication with the superintendent of the Duke of Devonshire's gardens, and hardly a mail was received at the San Jose postoffice that did not contain some rare plant, bulb or cuttings from the Duke's gardens.

J. Q. A. Ballou went into the fruit business on his own account in 1856. At that time he purchased the place on the Milpitas, after- wards occupied by him as a homestead, and in February, 1857, he planted about 500 trees, principally apples and pears. In 1858 he added 1500 more trees. In 1861. he procured from Louis Pellier grafts for fifty French prune trees. From these grafts he had his first crop of prunes in 1867. In 1868 he dried eleven tons of fruit for the Eastern market.

The plantings in the celebrated Willow Glen district were commenced as early as 1868, when W. C. Geiger set out a portion of his cherry orchard on what is now Willow Street. In 1862 C. T. Settle planted an orchard of ap-

corner of Lincoln and Minnesota avenues. At that time this district was covered by a dense growth of willows and the lower portion was subject to overflow by the Guadalupe River. The only road was EI Abra, since called Lin- coln Avenue, and the main central portion of the district was owned by Settle, Cottle and Zarilla Valencia. Settle was soon followed by Royal and Ira Cottle, who also planted apples and pears. Soon afterwards Miles Hills and a Mr. Sampson purchased the Valencia tract and subdivided it into ten-acre lots. The first experiment was with strawberries. The ven- ture was so profitable that it created great ex- citement and soon everybody in The Willows was planting strawberries. The industry flour- ished for some years and then came into com- petition with the strawberry growers on the lowlands near the bay. Here the artesian wells gave a great flow and The Willows people could not pump water and successfully com- pete with their lowland neighbors. They con- verted their berry patches into orchards.

One of the earliest orchards of the county was that of D. C. Vestal, on Twelfth Street near the Berryessa road. It was started in 1854 and was devoted mainly to apples and pears. It was on Vestal's place that the Moor- park apricot was first propagated for market. George Hobson, who had an orchard and nur- sery on the tracts afterwards occupied by L. F. Sanderson and now known as Luna Park, had two of these trees, but held them in little estimation on account of their irregularity in ripening. From these trees Vestal procured buds and worked them into a few trees on his place. When the fruit appeared he was so greatly pleased with its size and flavor that, in 1869, he planted three acres. His experi- ments attracted attention and the Moorpark came into universal favor. The Vestal tract is no longer an orchard. A few years ago it was subdivided into building lots and but few of the old trees remain.

As there were varieties of fruit which could not wholly be taken care of by the canners, a company was formed in July, 1874, to meet the situation. It was called the "Alden Fruit and Vegetable Preserving Company," and the projectors were W. H. Leeman, F. C. Lee- man, C. T. Settle, Ira Cottle, Royal Cottle, Oliver Cottle, S. Newhall, W. W. Cozzens. R. C. Swan, K. D. Berre, A. D. Colton, Miles Hills, J. M. Battee, T. B. Keesling, M. Hale and Pedro de Saisset. They purchased an Alden evaporator and placed it at the corner of the San Salvator Street extension and Jo- sefa Street. During the few years of its ex- istence the company turned out some good fruit, but the machinery was not adapted for

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History of Santa Clara County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present, Part 23

Author: Sawyer, Eugene Taylor, 1846- Publication date: 1922 Publisher: Los Angeles : Historic Record Co. Number of Pages: 1928

Author: Sawyer, Eugene Taylor, 1846-
Publication date: 1922
Publisher: Los Angeles : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 1928