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 56

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 56

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Alviso is headquarters for the South Bay Yacht Club. In 1922 there were twenty-four yachts and other boats in the harbor. The club was organized in April, 1896, with J. O. McKee as commodore, Dr. H. A. Spencer, vice commodore; J. E. Auzerais, secretary, and S. E. Smith, treasurer. C. Keaton is the present commodore.

Milpitas

This town, seven miles north of San Jose, stretches from San Francisco Bay to the east-

ern foothills and is bounded on the north by Alameda County and on the south by the Berryessa and Alviso sections. It came into existence in 1856 when Frederick Creighton erected the first building and opened a store. A postoffice was also established at the time with Creighton as postmaster and J. R. Weller as assistant. In 1857 the first hotel was opened by James Kinney, who was succeeded by A. French. The building was destroyed by fire in 1860, but it was rebuilt by French and conducted by him until his death, over twenty years ago. Of late years the town has made a rapid growth. It now has a popula- tion of about 800. It boasts of the California Packing Company, two warehouses, one for hay and grain and the other for grain, solely, a sugar beet company, a spinach ranch, a Standard Oil plant, some of the largest dairies in the state, a squab farm and large potato and grain ranches. There is but one church (Catholic), the Protestants going to San Jose for religious services ; and a grammar school, a bank and a free library. There is one paper, the Post, published in San Jose.

Agnew

This town is situated about three miles north of Santa Clara, on the Oakland branch of the Southern Pacific Railway. There are several stores, no church and the California Hospital for the Insane, a state institution. The hospital was established in 1885 and the first superintendent was Dr. W. W. MacFar- lane. The present superintendent, who as- sumed office in 1902, is Dr. Leonard Stocking. There are 1650 acres in the tract. On April 18, 1906, all the buildings were destroyed by the earthquake and over 100 patients were killed. Legislative appropriations from year to year permitted the erection of thirty-two buildings. A few are of brick, the others con- crete. The cost of all the buildings approxi- mates $1,300,000. These are of modern archi- tecture, convenience and sanitary require- ments and the grounds are beautifully laid out in wide drives, lawns, trees, shrubbery and flowers. The names of the present board of trustees are : T. S. Montgomery. Dr. W. S. Van Dalsen, W. L. Biebrach, San Jose : Dun- can McPherson, Santa Cruz, and Horace Wil- son, San Francisco.

A short distance from town, on the east, is the plant of the Western Industries Company. It operates a distillery. It is under Govern- ment supervision and at present is engaged in the manufacture of alcohol from the resi- duum of beet sugar."

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Saratoga

Saratoga, in the western foothills, is about eleven miles from San Jose on the Peninsular Electric system. It is 450 feet elevation, so that one may look over the valley where over eight million fruit trees are planted and revel in nature's most beautiful landscape. Lumber Street, the main thoroughfare, keeps alive a faint memory of the old days when ranchers from all the county round came to town to buy lumber for roofing and fencing their newly established homes. Aside from the perennial beauty of the hills, Saratoga's next claim to distinction lies in her country homes and the friendly folk who have made them. A gra- cious and sincere hospitality seems to per- vade the neighborhood, from the little inn with its rose-embowered gateway to the stately Villa Montalvo, the home of Senator Phelan, or the scores of cozy country homes, whose latch-strings hang waiting the pull of the ever-welcome guest.

Senator James D. Phelan, formerly mayor of San Francisco, a world-traveled man of vast means, has selected the foothills a mile from Saratoga for his splendid out-of-town home, being in business in San Francisco. He spent a large sum for the erection of a pala- tial residence. It is an Italian villa, with tiled roof, concrete foundations, cellars and columns. It is approached by three flights of steps rising on terraces. The house is set in a natural amphitheater, with a canyon on each side, and these run into sylvan glades and sheltered creeks always flowing with crys- tal water. Redwood groves abound. On the slopes are birch, wild cherry, madrone, oak, and other wild and beautiful shrubs and trees.

The view of the Santa Clara Valley from this home is unsurpassed, the elevation above sea-level being eight hundred feet. The Bay of San Francisco, Mount Diablo, Mount Ham- ilton and Mount Madonna are in full view, and the orchards, now in bloom and again in fruit, giving greenness in summer to the carpeted valley, lie at one's feet, stretching far away in the distance, twelve miles to San Jose. Villa Montalvo, the Phelan home, was named in honor of Montalvo, the fourteenth century Spaniard who wrote "Sergas de Esplandian," in which the name California was first men- tioned.

The house is entered by a loggia from which a large hall opens, and through the hall one can see the patio around which is an ar- cade. From here steps rise ten feet to an- other elevation, where a pergola incloses an oval swimming pool sixty feet long, set in a margin of lawn and flowers. The pergola terminates in a casino commanding the whole

scheme, whose steps descend to the lawn, close to the pond, and on the rear garden-side doors open to a stage fifteen by thirty feet, whose auditorium, after manner of Greek the- aters, is the forested hillside. Mr. Phelan se- lected the site after inspecting hundreds of others. He feels that the climatic, scenic, and general advantages of the location are the very best in the United States. Proximity to San Francisco, transportation facilities, and the character of the community were also factors.

The reason for Saratoga's untiring hospi- tality may be found in the fact that, like the spider in the old nursery rhyme, "We've so many pretty things to show you while you are here." First and foremost, there is the wonderful Twenty-Seven Mile Drive, from which, at the summit, the new road to the Big Basin branches off. Either of these moun- tain drives provide a day of pure delight. So clear is the air at the mountain top that the snow-crowned peak of Half-Dome in Yo- semite Park could be clearly seen. But the time of all times for a visit to Saratoga is in late March or early April, at the blossoming of her vast prune orchards. Then away and away, as far as the eye can see, lies spread before the enraptured gaze, a vision of spring loveliness-acres upon acres of snowy or- chards, with here and there a little patch of pink to add fresh beauty to the scene and suggest the promise of luscious peaches to come. Every year, generally in March, a Blossom Festival is held, to which come vis- itors from all parts of Central California. The idea of holding these annual treats originated with the late Rev. Edwin Sidney Williams, and thousands of people are always present when the happy day comes.

Saratoga is a center as well as a gateway, so that the wayfarer cannot exhaust his pleas- ures in a day or a week. There are the early morning walks to Congress Springs, with its fine hotel and medicinal springs; the "hike" to the historic "John Brown Place": the horse- back trails among the hills, the fishing in the mountain streams and the floral treasures that await the eager botanist.

Nor is the community spirit without its fit abiding place. At the Saratoga Foothill Club the women of the town hold their bi-weekly meeting and here the intellectual hunger of the town is fed by lectures, concerts and other forms of entertainment befitting a normal well-balanced life. The churches are repre- sented by Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist, Congregational and Christian denominations. There is a commercial club, an improvement club, and lodges of Foresters of America, Fra- ternal Aid Union, Modern Woodmen and Odd

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Fellows with Rebekah auxiliary. A live weekly, the Star, is published by L. C. Dick.

In 1921 the County of Santa Clara bought nineteen acres of land known as "The Quarry." The consideration was $85,000.

Los Altos

Los Altos is a suburban town in the wooded foothills of the Santa Cruz Range, a few miles from Palo Alto and Mountain View. It was settled ten years ago when the Peninsular Railway was extended toward Palo Alto. It is the nucleus of a large home center for San Francisco business men, many of whom al- ready are daily commuters. By hourly elec- tric service Los Altos is less than fifteen min- 1ttes from Stanford University. It has sev- eral good stores, a modern school house, a bank, telephone exchange, electric lighted streets, water company, garage, restaurant, transfer company, and other conveniences. Scenically the situation is delightful, as it is on rolling hills, combining woodland and or- chards, with a living mountain stream run- ning through the town. There are extensive views of the Santa Clara Valley and San Fran- cisco Bay. The climate is typical of a favored mountain region and most of the homes are built to take advantage of an outdoor life. The improvement club is doing much to put Los Altos in big letters on the map. A prom- inent educational feature is the Los Altos School and Junior College, an open air school for boys and young men. It is highly com- mended for its efficiency. The town is on the line of the Southern Pacific Railway, with di- rect service to San Francisco, and may be reached from San Jose by both electric and steam roads. It is an ideal residence place. Construction on the great $1,000,000 new Cath- olic Seminary near Los Gatos was started in July, 1920. It will soon be completed. The grounds will cover 700 acres.

Evergreen

Evergreen, Yerba Buena Rancho, was first owned by Antonio Chaboya, who held a Mex- ican grant title. When the Americans ac- quired California, Chaboya had to secure a United States title. This was granted to him in 1858. The grant, seven miles east of San Jose, was called Evergreen on account of the beautiful oaks that covered the entire acre- age. J. B. Hart, who was one of the lawyers engaged to obtain the grant and was paid in land, cut up his portion into farms, and C. C. Smith was one of the first purchasers and es- tablished the first business, a blacksmith shop. In 1866 the Evergreen school district was es- tablished. The first trustees were John Hol- loway, Tom Farnsworth and Henry McClay.

I. P. Henning was the first teacher. In 1892 a new and modern building was erected. The original building was moved and became the First Methodist Church. On May 15, 1868, C. C. and F. J. Smith opened the first store the village had. In 1870 the Legislature re- solved that Evergreen should have a postof- fice and the same year the resolution was car- ried into effect, F. J. Smith becoming the first postmaster. For fourteen years the salary was $12 per year. The office was discontin- ued January 1, 1914, and since then the resi- dents have been served by rural carriers. In 1886 the Evergreen Hall was built and an en- tertainment for the W. R. C. Home Fund yielded $300. The home was built a few years later. It is a state institution, though under the management of the Woman's Relief Corps. It houses and cares for the widows and or- phans of Civil War soldiers and army nurses. There are five acres of ground ; inmates, 1920, twenty-three ; matron, Mrs. Alice Arthur. On October 10, 1920, the home was destroyed by fire. In 1921 the Corps purchased from Dr. A. E. Osborne the buildings and land of the Feeble-Minded Home, near Winchester, on the Saratoga Road. The Home is now located there and has twenty-five inmates. Ever- green is connected with San Jose by five paved roads. Prunes, apricots and peaches are the principal fruit crops. It is a very rich section for early vegetables.

Mountain View

Mountain View is situated nearly in the center of the Santa Clara Valley, eleven miles northwest of San Jose and six miles south of Palo Alto. It is noted for its mild and even climate and is in the very heart of the fruit district, being particularly known for its pro- duction of apricots and prunes, which here reached a degree of perfection unexcelled any- where in the country. Such is the excellence of these varietes of fruits that they are dried and sent to Europe as well as the East. There are also in the vicinity of Mountain View splendid vegetable gardens where nearly all kinds of products known to temperate and semi-tropical climates are raised in great abundance and of the best quality. Just out- side the corporation limits are magnificent greenhouses in which are grown millions of the choicest flowers known to the florists' art and every day in the year immense quantities of blooms, of great variety, are shipped to the metropolis, and the supply never equals the dlemand. The population of the town is about 2,000. There are seven church organzations, including Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist Church South, Roman Catholic, First Meth- odist church, Seventh Day Adventist and

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Christian Scientist. The public schools are of the highest order and graduates of the high school are admitted to all the colleges and unversities of the state without examination. The grammar and high school campus com- prises five acres. There are several private and church schools and the fraternal orders are well represented. The town also boasts of two banks, a movie house and a weekly newspaper, published by P. Milton Smith. It is a progressive, up-to-date paper and ably edited and managed. There are two canner- ies and a pickle factory, and the plant of the Pacific Press Publishing Association, which is owned and operated by the Seventh Day Ad- ventist denomination. It is the largest of its kind this side of Chicago. In it are published several religious papers and magazines and a large number of denominational books which are printed in about seventy-five different lan- guages and dialects, and are distributed and sold all over the world. All the work con- nected with these publications is done at the plant in Mountain View, from setting up the type, either by hand or linotype to the final binding, and including all photo-engraving and electrotyping. The annual amount of business exceeds $1,000,000. The buildings are located in a beautful park of five acres just outside the town limits. The town trus- tees are J. S. Mackbee, James Cochran, Claude Redwine, L. K. Watson, E. D. Minton.

The old town of Mountain View consisted of a stage station on the San Francisco road, built by James Campbell in 1852. The town was surveyed into lots and blocks by Frank Sleeper and Mariano Castro, but the town never evinced any dispositon. to stray away from the one principal street. In 1869 S. P. Taylor erected a hotel. The new town of Moun- tain View, in which the business now centers, was the outgrowth of the railroad. It was laid out by S. O. Houghton, of San Jose, in 1865. The first building constructed was used for a saloon. Soon the town spread, business blocks, fine paved streets, school houses and churches came until the town became one of the busiest and most prosperous settlements in the county.

A new ice and precooling plant will be built in 1922. It will be large enough to manufac- ture ten tons of ice a day. There will also be storageroom for 500 tons of ice, 150 tons of fruit, and 1,000 barrels of frozen berries.

Mayfield

Mayfield is sixteen miles northwest of San Jose. It has a perfectly working $35,000 sewer system and a supply of artesian water, pure and inexhaustible. After a chemical

analysis of the water, the Southern Pacific Railroad Company selected Mayfield as a site for the erection of a 60,000-gallon water tank for through trains. The town has fine rail- way connections. There are the Blossom route to San Jose, the Waverly Avenue ex- tension from Palo Alto, and Stanford Univer- sity and other lines in prospect. A municipal water plant is run on a paying basis, there is a modern grammar school, churches, electric lighting and every up-to-date public service, including a newspaper, the Mayfield News, published by W. J. Nichols. There are two fruit canneries, the Bayside and the Lock Foon, the latter conducted by a Chinaman who owns and operates another cannery at Alviso. The town also has a Chamber of Commerce, a town hall, a bank, churches, schools and fra- ternal organizations. Fruit growing, dairy- ing and chicken raising are the principal in- dustries. The California Chicken Company's ranch is one of the largest on the coast. The proximity of Stanford University gives the town exceptional educational advantages. The trustees are R. L. Pitcher, chairman ; Stephen Anderson, Frank Minaker, T. B. Scott, E. J. Kingham. S. M. Cuthbertson is the clerk.

Mayfield was settled in 1853, and in 1855 a postoffice was established. The railroad ar- rived in 1864, but the station was located three-quarters of a mile from town. Two years afterward it was removed to its present position. William Paul regularly laid out the town in 1867.

Morgan Hill

It is not generally known that Portola's ex- pedition, as it crossed the Coast Range, com- ing in from the ocean, first looked upon the Santa Clara Valley from the heights above what is now known as the incorporated town of Morgan Hill, twenty miles south of San Jose on the Southern Pacific Railroad. Strang- ers, as they pass by train through the Santa Clara Valley are always impressed wth the sharp outlines of the cone-like peak just west of Morgan Hill. This is El Toro (the Bull), and it has a well-defined spur running south, and another branching east, ending in two, rounded, wooded hills that lie in the corpo- rate limits of the town and on which cluster several beautiful homes. Morgan Hill is the name of a pioneer resident, the old home, with its vine-covered porticos, being near the high school and situated on the tract of land that was subdivided several years ago. To ascend El Toro is the desire, usually accomplished, of every person who spends even a few days in this neighborhood. It has a good climb, none too strenuous and well worth the trip, if

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only for the pleasure of the exercise and the splendid view at the summit. On the way half a mile from town, the experimental grounds of the Leonard Coates Nursery Com- pany are passed. Horticulturists from vari- ous parts of the United States, as well as from abroad, often visit these grounds. Mr. Coates is an enthusiast on the subject of the cultiva- tion of native plants and trees of California.

Morgan Hill lies on the crown of the val- ley, with a fall of nearly 300 feet, either north to San Jose or south to Gilroy. On the east the Coyote River pours through a most pic- turesque gorge into the valley, running toward San Jose. The hill scenery is magnificent and the country through the various ranges up to Pine Hill is wild and untouched by man. It is on the eastern side of the valley, near Morgan Hill, where Charles Kellogg lives. He is a noted bird lover and lecturer and his lectures are always illustrated by the singing of bird songs so that the hall itself will seem to vibrate with the melody. The Kellogg home is in a ravine, far up the mountainside, in the midst of a great grove of oaks.

Small farming is the main industry about Morgan Hill. Of the fruits the prune is the main crop, apricots, peaches, pears and all other deciduous fruits also being extensively grown. Apples do well, a good interest on the investment being realized. Grape growing is an extensive industry, the vineyards mainly nestling on the hillside. Prior to the enforce- ment of the prohibition law, a large winery a few miles south, the property of the Califor- nia Wine Growers' Association, was profita- bly operated. Nut growing is a money-mak- ing industry. Almonds and walnuts do well. The Live Oak Union high school, just north of Morgan Hill, on the state highway, is well situated amongst a grove of live oaks, with spacious grounds well planted with a variety of trees and shrubs. Five school districts are included-Packwood, Madrone, Machado, San Martin and Morgan Hill.

A few years ago an additional concrete building or annex was added to accommodate the increasing attendance at the school. The town is on the great state highway and there are many beautiful drives in the valley and mountains. One favorite drive is through Paradise Valley and over "The Divide" into Llagas Avenue. A few miles further on, at Redwood Retreat is the Robert Louis Steven- son bungalow, now the summer residence of Lloyd Osbourne, Stevenson's stepson. Still higher up, not far from a mountain stream, is a crescent-shaped stone bench, surmounted by an iron cross, under which is the inscription : "Frank Norris, 1870-1902. Simpleness and

gentleness and honor and clean mirth," Nor- ris, one of the greatest of American writers, lived in a log cabin nearby. It has a charming situation on the mountainside. The purity of the air and the aromatie fragrance of the woods gave him inspiration for some of his popular novels.

The Morgan Hill ranch was subdivided in 1892, and the town was incorporated in 1906. The Bank of Morgan Hill was established in 1905. The town has one newspaper, the Times, which came into existence in 1892. For twelve years G. K. Estes was editor. He sold out to the present owner, H. V. Pillow, in 1918. Now there are several general merchan- clise stores, one bank, a cannery, a packing house and a lumber yard. The churches are well represented. Population about 1500. The town is not merely noted for its fine horticul- tural and agricultural apportunities but also for its hundreds of cosy farm houses and for its poultry farms, dairy and stock ranches. In 1919 the enterprising women of the town or- ganized The Friendly Inn. The object was to have a civic center to take the place of the saloon. Here are found rest room, library, coffee and lunch room, and a large room for meetings.

In 1917 the farmers of the section formed a Farmers Union Stock Company and opened a general merchandise and agricultural im- plements store. In 1919 the receipts were $270,000. The latest progressive movement by the farmers is a cooperative garage.

A shocking event occurred near Morgan Hill on Tuesday, July 6, 1909. On that day Miss Isola Kennedy, a prominent temperance worker and president of the Tri-County W. C. T. U., went for a picnic in the eastern foot- hills about four miles from town. With her was Henry Merkle, a ten-year-old boy from Fruitvale, and Curtis Lane, another boy of about the same age. These boys, with an- other lad, Earl Wilson, were bathing in a creek that flowed past the picnic grounds, when a California lion of large size came out of the bushes and attacked young Wilson, in flieting ugly wounds on the scalp and ear. Miss Kennedy, ran to the boy's assistance to have the lion leap upon her and knock her down. She fought heroically, using a hat pin as a weapon of defense and trying desperately to save her neck from the teeth of the vicious beast.

The boys ran to the tents of the Bay Cities Water Company and called Jack Conlan. He seized a shotgun and ran to the relief of Miss Kennedy. She was still on the ground and the lion was tearing at her flesh. Two shots were fired by Conlan, but as they seemed to

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have no effect, he hurried back to the camp, procured a rifle and returning shot the lion in the head and breast.

Miss Kennedy was removed to town as quickly as possible and the next day a thor- ough examination of her wounds was made by Dr. J. T. Higgins, assisted by Dr. F. W. Watt. It was found that one car was com- pletely eaten off, the other ear badly lacerated, while a three-cornered cut by the right eye had laid the bone bare. The left arm was fearfully mangled from bites and scratches, there being fifteen deep gashes from the shoul- der to the wrist. The right arm, leg and back were also lacerated. After suffering greatly Miss Kennedy passed away in September. Earl Wilson, the boy first attacked by the lion, died of lockjaw, superinduced by blood poisoning, shortly before this.

Berryessa

This village lies four miles northeast of San Jose, close to the eastern foothills. It is a populous fruit section and the trees are large and thrifty. Apricots, prunes, peaches, walnuts and cherries are grown in the vicinity of Berryessa Corners, where Capital Avenue and the Berryessa road come together. There is a general merchandising store, a Methodist church, a grammar school and an improve- ment club. The climate is similar to that over the floor of the valley. The elevation is at least 100 feet greater than that of San Jose and because of this fact the village has be- come an important apricot district. The elec- tric cars from San Jose to Alum Rock pass through the village. There are telephones, rural delivery and electric power for pumping.

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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 56

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