USA > California > Solano County > History of Solano County...and histories of its cities, towns...etc. > Part 20
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It is now in contemplation to change the present route of the overland train, bringing it from Sacramento by way of Suisun and Benicia, thence
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crossing the straits of Carquinez to the line now running to Martinez and Oakland. Large ferry slips are being built for this purpose, but it will be some months ere the works are completed.
In conclusion we will draw attention to Benicia as a place for manufactures.
We have before this alluded in general terms to the advantages which Benicia possesses, and pointed out several classes of such enterprises to which it presents exceptional facilities. The list of these can be easily extended.
We do not know of a town in the State which offers a better location for a box manufactory than Benicia. Boxes can, in the first place, be made cheaper here than in San Francisco, the present great center of the business. The lumber can be brought here directly from the Coast mills and as cheaply as to San Francisco, and the ground for the establishment can be · bought or leased a great deal cheaper. This later is no small item. Box manufactories require a great deal of extra ground to hold their stock of- lumber and furnish a place for seasoning it. There is one box manufactory in San Francisco the value of grounds alone is worth, if our memory serves rightly, over a hundred thousand dollars. This represents an extra amount of capital which its business requires, and in reality increases the expenses of the building by about one thousand dollars a month or whatever the interest on the valuation may be.
Now as to the market. Benicia is right at the door of as good a local market, at least for some classes of boxes, as there is in the State. For fruit boxes the demand in this section is immense. There are the orchards and vineyards of Napa county, of Green Valley, Pleasant Valley, and in fact of the whole of Solano county-an area embracing one of the most abundant fruit producing sections of the State. All this section could be supplied to advantage from a Benicia factory. Last and by no means least are the immense and prolific orchards of the Sacramento river, but a step as it were from our city. Here is a supply of fruit requiring three or four fruit steamers to carry it to market; and the product rapidly increasing. This section promises to be one vast orchard before many years, as to supply almost the State with some kinds of fruit. A Benicia manufactory ought to be able from its position to meet at least a large share of the box con- sumption required in this immense business.
A sketch of the newspapers that have been published in Benicia has been given elsewhere. At the present time there exists The New Era-which was first printed on December 22, 1877, edited and published by F. A. Leach, manager of the Vallejo Chronicle Publishing Co. On January 12, 1878, Mr. E. A. McDonell was admitted a partner in the concern, and on May 22, 1879, owing to ill-health Mr. Leach withdrew from the firm dis- posing of his interest to Mr. McDonell, his partner. The Era has a circula- tion of about seven hundred, while most of the " old timers" who now reside in other parts of the United States are on the subscription list. We wish. prosperity to the pleasant sheet and its pleasant and kind editor and proprietor
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THE HISTORY OF SOLANO COUNTY.
VALLEJO.
To General Mariana Guadalupe Vallejo belongs the honor of selecting the spot on which the city which bears his name now stands. The Suscol ranch had been granted to him by the Mexican Government, and in it was comprised what is now Vallejo city. As far back as 1837, then what may be considered the dark ages of the Pacific coast, the district had no resident save the aboriginal Indians, the herds of undomesticated cattle and horses, the beasts of prey, and the fowls of the air. Wild oats grew in every valley and on every hill-top. Trees of any size were few and far between. The rivers and bays teemed with fishes; while game, both large and small, of every kind found shelter in the nooks and crevices of the cañons. In that year, or, perhaps, the following, the General undertook a pilgrimage to these fair leagues of his from Sonoma-a town which he had already laid out by direction of the Commander-in-Chief-accompanied by his youthful bride ; both were full of promise, high in spirits and exultant in aspirations; the journey was an arduous one for the fair Señora, but made as comfort- able as circumstances would permit, as might be expected for the wife of a heroic soldier. Seated in her chair-saddle (the precursor of those of a later date), she passed through mile upon mile and acre after acre of her husband's possessions, looking with satisfaction upon a territory worthy, in her eyes, of so great a hero. Her retinue were silent with wonder at what they saw, and conversed in whispers ; while the proud owner of so fair a domain, with head erect and eagle eye, pointed out the more prominent land-marks. Coming in view of a hill, which he named the Balcony, about six miles north of the present city, they rode to its summit and called a halt to enjoy the ravishing prospect, and here the General, after the manner of De Foe's hero, inferred :
" I am monarch of all I survey, My right, there is none to dispute ; From the centre all round to the sea, I'm lord of the fowl and the brute."
Resuming their voyage of discovery they arrived on the site where the Capitol was afterwards built, and ascended the knoll ; from this vantage ground could be viewed the undulating wastes promising a rare fertility, the sloping hills, the level shore, the Carquinez straits and the bay with its many inlets and well protected harbor, and from this height, almost in the
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THE HISTORY OF SOLANO COUNTY.
spirit of prophecy he declared that here should he found a city, a city which would not only hand down his name to posterity with honor, but make a name for itself in the annals of the world-he not only foreshadowed the line of railway which now stretches its giant arms across this vast American continent, but he also told of how ships of every flag would peacefully ride upon the placid bosom of her bays, and how every nation under the blue canopy of heaven should join in the busy whirl of business and this future city of his become the vast emporium of trade on the Pacific Coast, and the half-way house of commerce between Europe and Asia. To this the lady listened with bated breath and answered that she feared he was too visionary and far ahead of the times ; he may have replied thus, if not in so many words, assuredly he did so in spirit-mark my words ! what I have to-day spoken shall come true. I feel a spirit within which tells me that this Hacienda of mine shall be the neuclus of a vast State, of which I shall be Governor. It shall be bounded on one side by the Isthmus of Panama, the northern sea shall only check its limits on the other hand, while the Rocky mountains, high though they be, shall only encourage me to surmount them, so that my Province may be widened !!! "Twas from this spot that the Señora Vallejo cast longing eyes upon the fertile slopes of Mare Island, at the time expressing an implied wish that it was hers, when her magnanimous liege spoke forth "it is yours," and thereafter it was looked upon and known as her own private property.
For twelve years after the above described journey General Vallejo ruled his miniature kingdom of some 90,000 acres. The Aborigines were a happy and pastoral race, knowing no guile and living in a state of nature, they had quietly acknowledged the superior influence of the mighty mind and paternal government of their white chief, who had never hurt their feelings or ridiculed their prejudices. The Christian religion was expounded to them by missionaries capable of undertaking so high a labor while with filial obedience they looked to the General as their protector. He built an adobe house on the Suscol fresh water creek, about eleven miles from the sea, where he established Solano, the chief of the Suisun tribe, and former lords of the soil, and after his death, one of his eleven wives found shelter for years under the roof of this large hearted man. The following interest- ing.remarks are taken from the Vallejo directory of 1870. "The toilet of the women was more pretentious (than that of the males), consisting only of a scanty apron of fancy skins or feathers, extending to the knees. Those of them who were unmarried wore also a bracelet around the ankle or arm near the shoulder. This ornament was generally made of bone or fancy wood. Polygamy was a recognized institution. Chiefs generally possessed eleven wives, sub-chiefs nine, and ordinary warriors two or more according to their wealth or property. But Indian-like they would fight among themselves long before the Spaniards came, and bloody fights they often
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THE HISTORY OF SOLANO COUNTY.
were. Their weapons were bows and arrows, clubs and spears, with which they were very adroit. They had also a kind of helmet make of skins. In times of peace they kept up the martial spirit by sham fights or tourna- ments. Their women participated in their battles not as actual belligerents but as a sanitary brigade ; they followed their warriors and supplied them with provisions and attended them when wounded, carrying their pappooses on their backs at the same time. These Indians believed in a future exis- tence and an all powerful Great Spirit. But they likewise believed in a Cucusuy, or Mischief-maker, who took delight in their annoyance, and to him and his agent they attributed all their sickness and other misfortunes."
It may not be out of place to relate the following legend: When the Spaniards were crossing the mountain called Bolgones, where an Indian spirit was supposed to dwell, having a cave for his haunt, he was disturbed by the approach of the soldiers, and, emerging from the gloom, arrayed in all his feathers and war paint, with very little else by way of costume, motioned to them to depart, threatening, by gesticulation, to weave a spell around them; but the sturdy warriors were not to be thus easily awed. They beckoned him to approach ; this invitation, however, the wizard declined, when one of the men secured him with his lasso to see if he were "goblin damn'd " or ordinary mortal. Even now he would not speak, but continued his mumblings, when an extra tug caused him to shout and pray to be released. On the relation of this, the Indians pointed to Bolgones, calling it the mountain of the Cucusuy, which the Spaniards translated into Monte Diablo. Hence the name of the mountain, which is the meridian of scientific exploration in California.
The first authentic record of a carriage to be found is that in which Gen- eral Vallejo's family traveled from Sonoma to Benicia in the year 1848. The undertaking was a difficult one enough. The country was innocent of roads or bridges, so that when a creek was gained the horses were unyoked and forded over, while the vehicle was lifted bodily and carried to the opposite side. This may be called the first streak of daylight in the hith- erto darkness of locomotion on this part of the coast. About this period would-be settlers first made their appearance, and, after viewing the country, returned to whence they came. In the following year, with the discovery of gold, people from every quarter of the habitable globe flocked to Cali- fornia, which was admitted into the United States of America. The position of this hitherto unpopulated spot was brought prominently forth. Government Surveyors commenced operations, and towards its latter end the settlement of the city may be said to have commenced. No accurate data can be procured of what transpired in the first settlement of the city, or who were the very first families to locate here ; but this is beyond dispute, that in the spring of 1850, the name of Vallejo was given to the city out of compliment to that gentleman, who had worked so indefatigably in its behalf,
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THE HISTORY OF SOLANO COUNTY.
with what result will be hereafter shown. It had been decided that the Capi- tal should be removed from San Jose hither-a decision which was carried by an almost unanimous vote of the people-therefore the State House was finished toward the end of that year, and, to celebrate the event, the follow- ing card of invitation was issued for a grand re-union in the State building. There being few of these now extant, while, from the eminence since gained by many of the managers, this historical card-historical alike to California as a State and Vallejo as a city-has been deemed worthy of being repro- duced in its entirety :
" A grand Christmas ball will be given at Vallejo, on the evening of the 25th instant, in the SENATE AND ASSEMBLY CHAMBERS of the new State Capitol, on which occasion the HON. ISAAC E. HOLMES will address the ladies and gentlemen at 72 o'clock.
M the pleasure of your company is respectfully requested."
MANAGERS.
Hon. Isaac E. Holmes ; Gen. P. A. Morse ; Hon. T. Butler King ; Hon. L. M. Boggs ; Hon. William Smith ; Hon. Martin Cook ; Hon. Robert Hop- kins ; Hon. Daniel Fisk ; Hon. E. Heydenfelt ; Hon. B. F. Keene; Hon. Geo. Walton ; Hon. James Walsh ; Hon. Wm. H. Lyons ; Hon. J. C. Fre- mont ; Hon. P. W. Keyser; Hon. Jas. Hudspeth ; Hon. James Law ; Hon. G. D. Hall ; Hon. A. J. Cost ; Hon. N. Smith ; Hon. Jas. F. Graham ; Hon. Jas. F. Burt ; Hon. J. B. Weller ; Hon. T. J. Henley ; Gen. M. G. Vallejo ; Gen. D. F. Douglass ; Gen. John E. Addison, Gen. A. M. Winn ; Gen. S. M. Miles ; Gen. D. P. Baldwin ; Gen. Richardson ; Gen. Thomas J. Green ; Gen. A. McDowell ; Gen. G. F. Rains ; Majors P. B. Reading ; S. Cooper ; George Wyatt ; Loring, U. S. A .; E. H. Fitzgerald; N. Davis, U. S. A .; Wm. Mc- Daniel ; Robt. Allen ; F. A. Sawyer; Colonel J. Hooker, U. S. A .; Gens. J. M. Estell, and S. A. Booker ; Captains Folsom, U. S. A .; John A. Sutter ; H. Riddell; J. B. Frisbie ; Steel, U. S. A .; Doct. Dyerlie, U. S. A .; Lieut. G. Page, U. S. A. ; Captains J.Watkins, P. M. S.Co .; Randall, P. M. S. Co .; Totten, P. M. S. Co .; Walsh, P. M. S. Co. ; Cols. John C. Hays ; William Smith ; H. Clay Mudd ; J. B. Starr ; Captains C. Hyatt ; George Yount ; Sam Graham ; Wm. MeMickle ; E. Barry ; J. W. Hulbert; S. Smith ; Thomas Hunt : Col. R. Rust ; Harvey Sparks, Esq .; H. Lee, Esq. ; Hon. J. C. Winston; F. C. Ewer, Esq .; Judge M. Lewis; L. P. Walker, Esq .; M. T. MeLeland, Esq. ; Judge Stark ; Judge Kilbourn ; M. Combs, Esq .; Wm. Baldridge, Esq .; George M. Cornwell, Esq .; J. D. Bristol, Esq .; J. S. Cripps, Esq. ; J. O. Farrell, Esq. ; E. L. Stetson, Esq .; F. Vassault, Esq .; J. E. Lawrence, Esq .; L. B. Mizner, Esq. ; T. J. Harnes, Esq. ; S. Barnum, Esq. ; James Cooper, Esq .; L. Q. Wilbur, Esq .; E. F. Willison, Esq .; John Nugent, Esq .; Samuel Martin, Esq. ; Col. John R. Boyd ; Dr. Robert Semple; Dr. Morse ;
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THE HISTORY OF SOLANO COUNTY.
B. F. Osborne, Esq .; Capt. F. Marryatt ; Capt. W. A. Howard, U. S. R. S .; George N. Shaw, Esq .; Dr. P. C. Pope ; Cols. J. C. Johnson ; A. M. Latham; C. K. Fish; Stewart Perry; Dr. Pickering; Dr. Nicholas Parr; Hon. P. Tompkins ; Major John Caperton ; Col. J. Long ; E. C. Kemble, Esq .; F. Argenti, Esq .; Charles R. Strode, Esq .; Richard Maupin; Dr. Levi Frisbie ; S. C. Massett, Esq .; Major Burney ; Dr. Archibald Tennant ; Richard Barry, Esq. ; J. L. L. F. Warren, Esq .; T. K. Batelle, Esq .; Col. Gregory Yale ; E. G. Austin, Esq. ; F. R. Loomis, Esq .; W. F. Kelsey, Esq .; E. M. Hayes, Esq. ; L. D. Slamm, U. S. N .; Capts., U. S. N .: Aug. Case ; J. Alden ; S. R. Knox ; G. W. Hammersly; Lieuts., U. S. N. : T. H. Stevens ; L. Maynard ; T. B. King, Jr., Esq. ; Wm. H. Davis, Esq. ; Hon. S. E. Wood- worth ; R. H. Taylor, Esq .; Capts. A. Bartol, Douglass Ottinger, U. S. R. S .; Col. Geo. McDougal ; Capts. W. D. M. Howard, C. G .; N. H. Wise; Henry F. Joseph, Esq .; J. H. Redington, Esq .; Dr. Hitchcock, U. S. A .; Hon. H. Fitzsimmons ; James Hubbard, Esq .; Theodore Payne, Esq .; Wm. H. Tal- mage, Esq .; Dr. H. M. Gray ; Hon. P. A. Morse ; Charles L. Case, Esq., and Joseph C. Palmer, Esq. On the reverse side of the card the names of the committees were printed, as under :
RED ROSE.
COMMITTEE OF ARRANGEMENTS.
Captain John Frisbie ; Major Robert Allen; Gen. T. J. Green ; Capt. Edward Barry; Major Wyatt; C. H. Veeder, Esq .; F. Argenti, Esq .; H. Clay Mudd, Esq.
BLUE ROSE.
COMMITTEE OF RECEPTION.
Hon. Isaac E. Holmes ; Hon. John B. Weller ; T. Butler King; Capt. J. Alden, U. S. N .; Col. J. Hooker, U. S. A .; Hon. B. F. Keene ; Major F. A. Sawyer; Capt. G. W. Hammersley, U. S. N .; Col. E. J. C. Kewen; Hon. Tod Robinson.
WHITE ROSE.
BALL-ROOM COMMITTEE.
For Senate Chamber-Gen. S. M. Miles ; Gen. J. E. Addison ; Col. Hervey Sparks ; Levi D. Slamm, U. S. N. For Assembly Room-Dr. Dierly, U. S. N .; Capt. F. Marryatt ; Dr. L. Frisbie, and E. L. Stetson, Esq.
Thus by a ball of the most magnificent proportions was Vallejo inaugur- ated as the seat of Government.
Let us now consider the establishment of the State offices, the erection of the Capitol, its removal, its return, and then its final exit from Vallejo.
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THE HISTORY OF SOLANO COUNTY.
In the year 1850 General Vallejo, who had previously been elected to the Convention called to frame a State Constitution, became convinced that the capital of California should be established at a place which he desired to name Eureka, but which his colleagues, out of compliment to himself, sug- gested should be called Vallejo. To this end the General addressed a mem- orial to the Senate, wherein he graphically pointed out the advantages pos- sessed by the proposed site over other places which claimed the honor, dated April the 3d, 1850. In this remarkable document, remarkable alike for its generosity of purpose as for its marvelous foresight, he proposed to grant twenty acres to the State, free of cost, for a State Capitol and grounds, and one hundred and thirty-six acres more for other State buildings, to be apportioned in the following manner :
Ten acres for the Governor's house and grounds.
Fives acres for the offices of Treasurer, Comptroller, Secretary of State, Surveyor-General, and Attorney-General, should the Commissioners determine that their offices should not be in the Capitol building. One acre to State Library and Translator's office, should it be deter- mined to separate them from the State House building.
Twenty acres for an Orphan Asylum.
Ten acres for a Male Charity Hospital.
Ten acres for a Female Charity Hospital.
Four acres for an Asylum for the Blind.
Four acres for a Deaf and Dumb Asylum.
Twenty acres for a Lunatic Asylum.
Eight acres for four Common Schools.
Twenty acres for a State University.
Four acres for a State Botanical Garden; and
Twenty acres for a State Penitentiary.
But with a munificence casting this already long list of grants into the shade, he further proposed to donate and pay over to the State, within two years after the acceptance of these propositions, the gigantic sum of three hundred and seventy thousand dollars, to be apportioned as under :
For the building of a State Capitol $125,000
For furnishing the same 10,000
For building of the Governor's house 10,000
For the furnishing the same 5,000
For a State Library and Translator's office 5,000
For a State Library . 5,000
For the building of the offices of the Secretary of State, Comptroller, Attorney-General, Surveyor- General, and Treasurer, should the Commissioners
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THE HISTORY OF SOLANO COUNTY.
deem it proper to separate them from the State House
20,000
For the building of an Orphan Asylum. 20,000
For the building of a Female Charity Hospital 20,000
For the building of a Male Charity Hospital 20,000
For the building of an Asylum for the Blind. 20,000
For the building of a Deaf and Dumb Asylum 20,000
For the building of a State University
20,000
For University Library 5,000
For scientific apparatus therefor.
5,000
For chemical laboratory therefor 3,000
For a mineral cabinet therefor 3,000
For the building of four Common School edifices 10,000
For purchasing books for same. 1,000
For the building of a Lunatic Asylum 20,000
For a State Penitentiary 20,000
For a State Botanical Collection 3,000
In his memorial, the General states with much lucidness his reasons for claiming the proud position for the spot suggested as the proper site for the State Capitol. Remark the singleness of purpose with which he bases these claims : "Your memorialist, with this simple proposition " (namely, that in the event of the Government declining to accept his terms it should be put to the popular vote at the general election held in November of that year), " might stop here, did he not believe that his duty as a citizen of California required him to say thus much in addition-that he believes the location indicated is the most suitable for a permanent seat of government for the great State of California, for the following reasons : That it is the true centre of the State, the true centre of commerce, the true centre of population, and the true centre of travel ; that, while the Bay of San Fran- cisco is acknowledged to be the first on the earth, in point of extent and navigable capacities, already, throughout the length and breadth of the wide world, it is acknowledged to be the very centre between 'Asiatic and European commerce. The largest ship that sails upon the broad sea can, within three hours, anchor at the wharves of the place which your memo- rialist proposes as your permanent seat of government. From this point, by steam navigation, there is a greater aggregate of mineral wealth, within eight hours steaming, than exists in the Union besides ; from this point the great north and south rivers-San Joaquin and Sacramento-cut the State longitudinally through the centre, fringing the immense gold deposits on the one hand, and untold mercury and other mineral resources on the other; from this point steam navigation extends along the Pacific coast south to San Diego and north to the Oregon line, affording the quickest possible
,
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THE HISTORY OF SOLANO COUNTY.
facilites for our sea-coast population to reach the State Capital in the fewest number of hours. This age, as it has been truly remarked, has merged distance into time. In the operations of commerce and the intercourse of mankind, to measure miles by the rod, is a piece of vandalism of a by-gone age; and that point which can be approached from all parts of the State, in the fewest number of hours and at the cheapest cost, is the truest centre.
" The location which your memorialist proposes as the permanent Seat of Government is certainly that point.
"Your memorialist most respectfully submits to your honorable body, whether there is not a ground of even still higher nationality ; it is this: that at present, throughout the wide extent of our sister Atlantic States, but one sentiment seems to possess the entire people, and that is, to build, in the shortest possible time, a railroad from the Mississippi to the Bay of San Francisco, where its western terminus may meet a three weeks' steamer from China. Indeed, such is the overwhelming public sentiment of the American people upon this subject, there is but little doubt to ap- prehend of its early completion. Shall it be said, then, while the world is coveting our possession of what all acknowledge to be the half-way house of the earth's commerce-the great Bay of San Francisco-that the people of the rich possession are so unmindful of its value as not to ornament her magnificent shores with a Capital worthy of a great State?
" To enumerate more especially the local advantages of this position your memorialist will further add, that it is within two hours' steaming of San Francisco, and six hours from Sacramento and Stockton cities, and between these points much the largest travel in the State daily occurs. From this point three days' steaming will reach either Oregon on the north, or San Diego on the south ; besides, the above named location is unsurpassed for abundance of lime and other building materials, with large agricultural ad- vantages in the immediate neighborhood."
Upon receipt of General Vallejo's memorial by the Senate, a committee composed of members who possessed a thorough knowledge of the country comprised in the above mentioned document, both geographical and topo- graphical, were directed to report for the information of the President, upon the advantages claimed for the location of the Capital at the spot suggested, in preference to others. The Report, in which the following words occur, was presented to the Senate on April 2, 1850. "Your Committee cannot dwell with too much warmth upon the magnificent propositions contained in the memorial of General Vallejo. They breathe throughout the spirit of an enlarged mind and a sincere public benefactor, for which he deserves the thanks of his countrymen and the admiration of the world. Such a prop- osition looks more like the legacy of a mighty Emperor to his people than the free donation of a private planter to a great State, yet poor in public finance, but soon to be among the first of the earth."
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