History of Santa Clara County California with biographical sketches, Part 27

Author: Sawyer, Eugene T
Publication date: 1922
Publisher: Los Angeles : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 1934

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fer was accepted and the county occupied the premises until February, 1856, when the own- ers failing to make a good deed to the prop- erty, the contract for the purchase was re- scinded. The county then advertised for pro- posals for taking care of the indigent sick. The first contract was let to Dr. G. B. Crane, who agreed to maintain the patients and fur- nish medical and surgical attendance for $4,600 per year, the number of patients not to be more than seven a day, or if in excess of that number, to be paid at that rate. For sev- eral years the patients were taken care of in this manner.

In 1860 the necessity for a hospital building became very apparent and a committee to se- lect a site was appointed. Many offers were made but the proposal of Hiram Cahill was accepted. His tract contained twelve acres of land, situated on the south side of South Street, just west of Los Gatos Creek. The price paid was $4,000. The buildings on the tract were re- paired and enlarged and a pest house was built near the creek on the south. These premises were occupied until 1871. Before this time, in 1868, the hospital became too small to accom- modate all the patients. The city had grown much larger and there was considerable ob- jection to the location of the institution so near the city limits. An effort was made to secure another location, but it was three years before a new site was chosen. The board finally purchased of John S. Connor 114 acres of land on one of the roads to Los Gatos, three and one-half miles from San Jose. The price paid was $12,400. In 1875 the contract for the building was awarded to W. O. Brey- fogle for $14,633.70. Messrs. Lenzen and Gash were the architects. Before this, the old buildings from the old grounds had been re- moved to the new site and the old premises cut up into lots and sold for $4.518.64. In 1884 eighty-one acres of the new tract were sold to different parties, leaving thirty-three acres to the present grounds. Afterward more land was bought so that now the tract con- tains thirty-eight and one-half acres. The money accruing from the 1884 sales amounted to $14,727.71, being $2,327.71 more than the cost of the entire tract. Since the removal of the hospital to its present location many build-

ing additions and improvements have been made. The average number of patients dur- ing 1919 was about 200. The main hospital has five wards and is replete with every sani- tary requirement. Outside are the tubercu- losis hospital, Old Ladies' Home, with thirty- seven inmates; Old Men's Home, isolation hospital, and pest house, and residences for the eighteen nurses and the superintendent, Dr. D. R. Wilson. Edward Halsey is the sec- retary.

Up to 1883 there was no almshouse in Santa Clara County. Invalids in destitute circumstances were cared for at the county hospital, while the indigent who were not in- valids were cared for by allowances by the board of supervisors. These allowances were of money, provisions, elothing, fuel, etc., as each ease might demand. For many years the destitute children were cared for by the La- dies' Benevolent Society, this society receiv- ing from the board a monthly allowance of a certain amount per capita. Each supervisor exercised a supervision over the destitute of his district and all allowances were made on his recommendation.

The expense necessarily incurred by this system of affording relief began to be very burdensome and in 1883 steps were taken to establish a county farm. In March of that year a committee was appointed to examine the matter and the report was in favor of es- tablishing an almshouse. The present site- on the Oakland road, half a mile south of Milpitas-was selected. A tract of 100 acres was purchased from James Boyd for $25,000. The tract contained the present main building, which had been erected as a residence some years before by John O'Toole at an expense of $21,000. Now nearly all aid to destitute persons is extended through this institution. Persons not residents of the county are not aided at all, but are returned to the counties where they belong. For several years indi- gent women were cared for here, but when an Old Ladies' Home was built at the county hos- pital they were removed to the new location. The superintendent is James Carson and the number of patients (1920) is 198. Those who are able to work are employed about the grounds, mainly in gardening.

CHAPTER XV.

The Resources and Attractions of San Jose, the Garden Cty of California- Soil, Climate, Productions and Opportunity-What a Man From the East Learned From an Old Resident.

"San Jose? In California? Never heard of the place. Must be some old Spanish village, eh? Pueblo-that's it, pueblo. I've read Span- ish history and when I was a youngster I had a lot of Spanish lingo at my tongue's end. I never heard of but one San Jose on the Western Continent and that is San Jose de Costa Rica. Perhaps you were not referring to California and your San Jose is the Costa Rican city. No? Then where is your San Jose and what do they raise there, coffee or pump- kins ?"

The speaker was a man from the East, who had come to California in search of a home and also a field for the profitable investment of the money he had saved after years of toil in the cold, cheerless communities of New England. The scene was the reading room of one of San Francisco's palatial hotels and the person addressed was an old resident of San Jose, who had been introduced to the East- erner by a mutual friend.

"San Jose is of right the fourth city in the state and is located in the heart of the rich- est valley in the world; distance from San Francisco, forty-eight miles. It is-"

"Hold on, hold on," was the quick inter- ruption. "Let me get my breath-you quite took it away by your surprising announcement. I am a tenderfoot, it is true, but I thought I had California sized up pretty well before I bought my ticket in Boston. I knew there were a large number of towns and villages where they dig for gold, but I had formed the idea that the only two cities worth men- tioning were San Francisco and Los Angeles. As San Francisco is hardly the place for a home, I had concluded to go to Los Angeles."

"Have you bought your ticket?" "No," was the reply. "Then before you do so let me suggest that you take a trip to San Jose. You are looking for a place suitable for a resi- dence. San Jose offers the best inducements of any community in the state of California. You have money to invest-invest it in the Santa Clara Valley."

"But I am very particular. I have a family, children not yet grown up. There are many things to be considered and I am afraid, my good friend that a country town or city --- for I have heard that out here in the West a town becomes a city when it can show a popu-

lation of 800 or 1.000-will hardly afford the facilities which are essential to the well-being of my family."

"Let me tell you something about San Jose and its environs. Perhaps I may be able to furnish facts that will suit all your require- ments."

"I shall be pleased to hear you." The man from the East lighted a cigar, then sinking in his chair waited for the promised exposition. "You spoke of Spanish villages," began the old resident," and that reminds me that San Jose was once a Spanish pueblo, where all the houses were of adobe, where the seat of education and religious enlightenment was in the Mission and where wild cattle roamed the valley and a dolce far niente people lived lives of ease and dreamed not of the time when fair and stately homes should dot the lands given over to the chapparal and the wild mus- tard, and the busy hum of industry indicative of an advanced civilization should be heard in places where happy feet kept time to the se- ductive strains of the Spanish guitar, or where the matador and picador imperiled their lives for love or gold. San Jose was settled in 1787 as the result of an exploration made at the instance of the Spanish authorities in 1769. Until 1830 no Americans had ever penetrat- ed California. In that year they began to ar- rive so that when the discovery of gold was made San Jose was practically dominated by the American population. In February, 1848, the United States, by treaty, acquired title to California and the first Legislature held its first session in San Jose, which for a short time was the capital of the state. Had gen- eral and not sectional interests been consult- ed, it would be the capital today; but by a series of bargains, governed solely by selfish considerations, the capital was removed first to one point and then another until it reached Sacramento to stay. In 1849-the year the Argonauts came from all parts of the world- San Jose, as now, was the paradise of the homeseeker, its location, climate and other at- tractions combining to make it the most fa- vored city in the state. Seekers for the gold. which was to be found in the mountainous counties to the north and east left their fami- lies in San Jose, well knowing that while they delved for the yellow metal their loved ones

SANTA CLARA VALLEY

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

were surrounded by all the conditions calcu- lated to make life worth living. And if life were worth living in San Jose and the Santa Clara Valley in 1849, what must be said of the advantages which it possesses today ? Then the valley, outside of the pueblo, was practic- ally an unbroken plain where the wild cattle roamed at will. Today is presented a trans- formation that would hardly be looked for out- side of an Arabian romance. The late Judge Belden, in a graphic and beautifully worded picture of the valley in the vicinity of San Jose, thus set forth some of the attractions :

""To the visitor approaching San Jose, through the upper end of the Santa Clara Val- ley, each mile traversed ushers in some de- lightful surprise, introduces a new climate. If his advent be from the north, the hills of ver- dure which encircle the bay recede on either hand and assume a softer contour and a rich- er garb. The narrow roadway that skirts the salt marsh has widened to a broad and fer- tile valley that stretches as far as the eye can reach in luxuriant fields of grass and grain and miles upon miles of thrifty orchards. Border- ing this verdant plain, in hues and splendors all their own, come the hills and into the re- cesses of these hills creep the little valleys and as they steal away in their festal robes they whisper of beauties beyond and as yet unseen. In full keeping with the transformed landscape is the change of climate. The harsh, chill winds that pour in through the Golden Gate, and sweep over the peninsula, have abat- ed their rough work as they spread over the valley, and, softened as they mingle with the currents of the south, met as a zephyr in the widening plain.

"'If the approach to San Jose be from the south, the traveler, wearied with the desert and its hot, dry air, is conscious of a sud- den change. The sterile desert has become a fruitful plain and the air that comes as balm to the parched lungs is cool and soft and moist with the tempered breath of the sea. If it be spring or early summer, miles upon mile stretches the verdant plain; over it troops sunshine and shadow ; across it ripples the waves. Summer but changes the hue and heaps the plains with abundant harvest of grain, vegetables and fruit, while the first rain brings again the verdure and the beauty of spring. "An ocean of beauty," exclaims the charmed beholder.'"

"From that very pretty description I infer that your climate is not to be sneezed at."

"We are proud of our climate," replied the old resident, "and with reason. There are all sorts of climate in California but it is general- ly conceded by those who have traveled the state over and are not afraid to express an

honest opinion, that the climate of San Jose and the Santa Clara Valley is unsurpassed in mildness and salubrity. It is all owing to topographical situation. With moderately high mountains rising on the east and west and closing in on the south, the valley is pro- tected from the fog and winds that in cer- tain seasons envelop more exposed sections in less favored locations. Protected from ex- tremes of heat and cold by the sheltering arms of the mountains, the hottest days of summer are never oppressive on account of the cool breezes that sweep in from the bay. Climat- ically considered, San Jose and the Santa Clara Valley is open to no objection."

"Your climate I admit is all right, but what about resources ?"

"The valley is one of varied resources and San Jose, as the county seat, enjoys the major part of the benefit derived from the orchards, grain fields and berry and vegetable sections. The shipping facilities are unexcelled. In the first place San Jose is the terminal point and therefore growers are not compelled to send their products to a great distance at local rates in order to reap the benefits that always accrue by reason of the rates offered at ter- minal points."

The man from the East was becoming vastly interested. His cigar had gone out and his eyes were fixed intently on the face of the old resident. "What kinds of fruit do you raise ?" as asked, and on the moment out came his notebook.

"Prunes, apricots, cherries, pears, apples, peaches, quinces, olives, nectarines, plums, limes, lemons and oranges." "Oranges?" "Yes, oranges in the section we call the warm belt, but our prunes, apricots and peaches give such better returns that we do not count on citrus fruits, leaving that line to the southern coun- ties. Prunes take the lead and San Jose han- dles about all of them. There are twenty-three packing houses and twenty-four canneries in San Jose alone ; outside there are fifteen pack- ing houses and about the same number of canneries. The number in city and country will increase before the year is out.

"Gee Whiz!" ejaculated the man from the East, "San Jose must handle hundreds of tons of fruit each year."

"Hundreds of tons? Thousands of tons would hit the mark. In the shipment of dried fruit San Jose's contribution is about half of that of the whole state."

"How about marketing?" was the next in- quiry as the business sense of the man from the East came to the fore.

"We are exceptionally favored," was the re- ply, "in having an organization allied with the packers which controls more than eighty per-

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cent of the prune and apricot output of the entire state. It is called "The California Prune and Apricot Growers, Inc.' It came into ex- istence in 1916 and its growth has been such that it now owns forty packing houses, has alliances with many packers and costly ex- tensions and improvements have been mapped out for the near future. By the rules which govern its conduct it is able to prevent troublesome fluctuations and the expensive in- terventions of middlemen and bring security and good prices to the orchardists. It is a combine in which the interests of producer, buyer and consumer are equitably adjusted."

"That's good. I like that. And now another question. What are fruit lands in the vicinity of San Jose worth?"

"On account of the large profits, prices have gone up during the past ten years. Suitable lands with bearing trees sell all the way from $800 to $1500 per acre. On some of these lands, planted to prunes and apricots, the profits per acre, in 1919, ranged from $500 to $1.000. So you see the prices are not high when profits are considered. As an instance of money I will cite one case. A San Franciscan in the spring of 1919 bought a twenty-acre bearing prune orchard for $30,000. The fall of that year brought him a profit of $15,000 on his truit. So you see half the value of his prop- erty was paid for in one year."

The man from the East looked at his watch. "I find I have yet more than an hour at my disposal," he said.

"While San Jose is noted as a horticultural center its industries along the line of manu- factures are not unimportant. There are many lumbering manufactories in the city and vicinity. There are four mills, iron and brass foundries, tanneries, carriage factories, mar -. ble works, cigar factories-but stay, it is bet- ter to give you a list prepared by the Chamber of Commerce, so you see what San Jose can

boast of: Acme Sheet Metal Manufactory. Anderson-Barngrover Mfg. Co., manufactures fruit and canning machinery : T. D. Anderson. awning and tent makers: Banks Corporation. manufactures Banks' Evaporator : Bean Spray Pump Co., manufactures pumps, gas and trac- tion engines ; Beech Nut Co., jams and pre- serves; E. Benone, Ravioli and Noodle Mfg. Co .: Harry Bobbitt, California Wall Paper Mills ; Braslan Seed Growers Co. : Burns Mat- tress Co .; Byron Jackson Iron Works, cen- trifugal and turbine pumps: California Seed Growers' Association : Campbell & Budlong Machine Works, pumps and engines; Chase Lumber Co .: Christian Mfg. Co., harvester teeth : Cowell Lime and Cement Co .; Delmas Paper Co .: Eagle Body Mig. Co., auto body builders and repairers; Farmers' Grain and Poultry Supply Co .; Finnett-McEwen Co .. tractors ; Fisk Rubber Co .; Garden City Glass Co .; Garden City Pottery ; Garden City Rub- ber Works; Garden City Implement and Ve- hicle Co .: Glenwood Lumber Co .: James Graham Mfg. Co., stoves and ranges; Hart's Auto Signal Tail Light Co .; Hubbard & Car- michael, lumber and mill work: Kimberlin Seed Co .; Knapp Plow Works: San Jose Bot- tling Co .; San Jose Wire Strapping Co. : Moenning & Harvard, pumps and engines : Mussos Outing & Equipment Co. : Pacific Gas & Electric Co. : Pacific Mfg. Co. ; Pacific Shin- gle and Box Co .; Peterson-Kartschoke Brick Co .: Pioneer Rubber Co .: National Axle Mfg. Co .: San Jose Broom Factory : San Jose Flour Co. : San Jose Marble & Granite Works : "Then I will talk rapidly." replied the old resident, "though I could put in a week and not exhaust the subject. San Jose Foundry: San Jose Lumber Yard : San Jose Paper Mills; Ravenna Paste Co. ; Schuh & Vertin, granite and marble works: "The soil in and about San Jose offers the prime requisites for the raising of all kinds of vegetables and small berries. This with a climate equally suited, a ready market in San Jose and a still larger one in San Francisco, makes the business of production a most prof- itable one and gives employment to a large number of people. The seed output will more than double the amount of other garden prod- ucts. One of the seed farms located near San Jose is the largest in the world. In the future another soil industry may be added-flax cul- and in the opinion of experts the climate and soil of the valley meet every requirement. Security Cold Storage Co .: Sperry Flour Co .: Vacuum System Oil Refining Co .: San Jose Implement Co. ; Marvel Compound Co., boiler, gas engine and radiator compounds: Litch Pump & Supply Company, Smith Manufac- turing Company, and several others. Besides these four Building and Loan Associations. eighteen dairies and creameries, eight whole- sale flour and grain houses, nineteen butcher shops, over one hundred grocers, five sani- tariums and hospitals, a telephone company with over 14,000 subscribers, and other lines ture. Statistics show that it is very profitable . of business. One drawback to the proper de- velopment of manufacturing industries was the lack of cheap fuel, but a factor of the greatest importance was furnished in 1901 when the Standard Electrical Power Com- pany, with plant at Blue Lakes, put up poles and wires in Santa Clara County and fur- nished 15,000 horsepower for every purpose for which it could be used."

"Tell me more about San Jose, itself. 1 want the details."

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

"San Jose," said the old resident. with glis- tening eyes, "is the garden spot of California. the Queen City of the Pacific Coast. It is beautifully situated in the center of the val- ley, surrounded by the richest fruit growing section in the world, and having within its boundaries all the elements conducive to a happy existence. I have told you of the cli- mate, you know something respecting the re- sources of the contiguous territory, and you will therefore understand that trade must nat- urally gravitate to the city by reason of its location with outlying' sections. The con- stancy and certainty of trade enables the farmers and orchardists to pay cash for sup- plies and in turn insures the prosperity of the merchants. But the fruit industry and the manufacturing concerns form but two factors in promoting commercial healthfulness. Hun- dreds of thousands of dollars flow in annually from the educational and other public institu- tions situated in San Jose and its near vicinity.

"It is one of the most beautiful residence cities in the state on account of its charming situation, unrivaled climate, beautiful land- scape, educational facilities, accessibility to the great metropolis of the coast, and to the intelligence, refinement and enterprise of its people. It is connected with San Francisco with three lines of steam railroads, one line, a transcontinental one, running from San Fran- cisco and San Jose along the coast to Los An- geles and thence East. There are also elec- tric lines running to Palo Alto on the north, Los Altos, Cupertino and Saratoga on the west and Los Gatos and Campbell on the south. In the near future the electric cars will convey passengers from San Jose to San Fran- cisco. A new transcontinental line, started in 1917 and finished in 1922, is the Western Pa- cific. A branch line was built from Niles."

"How about anto stages? Do you have them ?

"Of course," replied the old resident, se- renely. "for we're up to date in San Jose. There are hourly auto stages to San Fran- cisco, Oakland, Stockton, Sacramento, Gilroy, Los Gatos, Saratoga and other points. In fact you can get an auto to take you any- where in the state. And talking about autos- I will inform you that San Jose is the pride of the automobilists of California, for it has more roads, better roads, more beautiful spots - valley or mountain - more orchard avenues than any other section of the state. The state highway runs through San Jose with branches to Santa Cruz, Gilroy and other towns in the county. Besides there are hun- dreds of miles of paved roads paid for by the board of supervisors acting for the county."

The man from the East made a movement in the direction of his watch pocket, but it was not completed. Some restraining influ- ence was at work. Presently he said: "You speak of educational facilities. A city or town may have climate to burn, the scenic beauties that poets rave about, but unless it possesses a full measure of the best of civilizing influ- ences it fails of being the 'one and altogether lovely spot' to me."

The old resident listened complacently. "} think I can satisfy you." he replied, "for one of the strongest appeals that San Jose makes to the seekers of homes is that it is the center of the finest system of education to be found on the Pacific Coast. In the city itself are the public schools from primary to high, and many academies and private schools. The high school buikling, or buildings, for there are many of them, cover acres of ground, and with the improvements mapped ont for this year-athletic grounds, new structures and an increased equipment-makes the cost upwards of one million dollars. The school has the highest university rating and the course of study embraces almost every department of culture from the rudiments of learning up to the arts, sciences and classics. The grammar schools, nine in number, are comparatively new, are built in the mission form with spa- cious grounds, up-to-date sanitary conditions and all the appliances of first-class metropoli- tan institutions. And there are in the city com- mercial schools, church schools, and schools of painting. industrial arts and metaphysics. In San Jose is located the State Teachers' College, with an efficient corps of instruct- ors for the education of teachers ; the College of Notre Dame, one of the leading Catholic institutions of learning and morals in the United States, devoted particularly to the training of young girls ; and the St. Joseph's school for boys. Two miles from the heart of the city at College Park is the College of the Pacific, the leading Methodist College of the Pacific Coast, with a Conservatory of Music attached ; at Santa Clara, three miles distant. is the University of Santa Clara, founded by the Fathers of the Society of Jesus and hav- ing commercial, law, scientific and classical courses, and with a reputation that extends to every part of the United States. Palo Alto. nineteen miles distant, about half an hour's ride from San Jose, boasts of the Leland Stan- ford Jr. University. It is designed in this university to represent the crown and out- come of the new education, specialized, how- ever, on the highest planes in utilitarian di- rections. This university is really an asset of San Jose and as such I speak of it.

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History of Santa Clara County California with biographical sketches, Part 27

Author: Sawyer, Eugene T Publication date: 1922 Publisher: Los Angeles : Historic Record Co. Number of Pages: 1934

Author: Sawyer, Eugene T
Publication date: 1922
Publisher: Los Angeles : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 1934