History of Sonoma 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 time, Part 20

Author: Gregory, Thomas Jefferson
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif., Historic record company
Number of Pages: 1190

USA > California > Sonoma County > History of Sonoma 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 time > Part 20

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So the story and the name have drifted down the stream from the place of baptism-even changing the stream-the padre's Jordan, to Santa Rosa creek. They gave title to the township of Santa Rosa, to the plain or Llano le Santa Rosa, also to the Rancho Cabesa de Santa Rosa, in the center of which is the city of Santa Rosa, and through which the creek flows. Farther west the stream finds the Laguna de Santa Rosa and during a joint run north they meet Mark West creek, when after a few more miles towards the west, all three splash into the Russian river; and mingling, the quartet ripple on to the sea.

BEAUTIFUL SPANISH NAMES.

Saint Rose of Lima. almost three hundred years in her tomb, is but a shred of memory and a handful of ashes-possibly the ashes are but a memory, but her noble name is pretty well spread over the middle belt of Sonoma county. What a genius was the Spaniard-especially the Spanish padre-for titles. Having as a base the tonal harmonies of his language-itself a child of the sonorous Latin-he has given Las Californias names holding marvelous cathe- dral melodies that will never die.

The gringo in California seems to have made it his life-work to mar the noble music of these names. Occasionally he will change the native or Spanish to titles senseless, foreign and unfitting. Very few Spanish names or words are now correctly spoken in California by Americans ; even in the schools little effort is made to teach the perfect pronunciation of the state's geographical names. In San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles and in Vallejo the city names are on every street mis-spoken. In Santa Rosa the town-title is carelessly, even slovenly pronounced.

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The Indian girl here evoked from the forgotten past to round out a tale, was only a flash, an instant on the scene and was gone, but in that breath of being she was the medium through which passed the flower-title from saint to city-Santa Rosa.

TOWNSHIP OF SANTA ROSA.

Santa Rosa township, to locate it in description more simple than the mathe- matical phraseology of the surveyor, may be mapped thus: Beginning at its northwest corner, the junction of Laguna de Santa Rosa and Mark West creek the boundary line runs easterly up that creek as far as there is any creek, then takes a cross-country run to Napa county. North of this line are Russian river and Knight's Valley townships. Santa Rosa township then uses the county boundary as far south as a point east of Santa Rosa, thence the line veers west to the headwaters of Sonoma creek, thence down this accommodating stream through Kenwood-one time Los Guilicos-then jumping the creek in time to leave Glen Ellen to the east in her own township, then after a short northwest dash, corners and runs directly south towards Mount Sonoma as though it in- tended to run over that peak. But it doesn't, for it turns at right angles several miles short of that elevation and darts west across the valley to Laguna de Santa Rosa, near Sebastopol and uses that stream as the western boundary to the place of beginning. This incloses a space of about 130,000 acres of land, or an area equal to about fifteen miles square. Probably 100,000 acres of this-all not on the high mountain lands-are producing grains, fruits and grapes. Santa Rosa valley is the central part of the great Sonoma plain-a big auditorium lying between its side-walls of mountain range and reaching from San Pablo to Rus- sian river, while cupped within these mountain walls are tributary valleys, on the alluvial floors of which grow the cereals and fruits ; while on the warm upper slopes, where the ancient volcanic flame is yet in the soil, the grapes gather sugar for the rich vintage.

There was no further attempt after Amoroso's visit, to make Santa Rosa valley blossom as the rose or anything else until 1834, when Mexico bestirred herself to get more people into the territory. A number of immigrants from the republic and the southern portion of California came to this locality and a town called Santa Ana y Farias started into being on the bank of Mark West creek. They parted the name of the place in the middle because of the uncertainty of political conditions in Mexico. Gomez Farias was president of that republic, with vice president Santa Ana an exceedingly close second-too close in that land of revolutions and lightning official changes. To give present incumbent the honor, and have the near-president chase him out of the capitol the next day, would place the new colony without the executive's love and affection. The use of both names was a wise measure as Santa Ana soon dispossessed his chief, and all was well-for a brief season. The local aborigines showed such a desire to revert the settlement to a howling wilderness that the settlers packed themselves and chattels to the safer Pueblo Sonoma, and the coming city of Santa Ana and Farias went back to Potiquiyomi-the Indian name for the creek and locality. Among the colonists were the Carrillos, the pioneers of the valley. By reason of their relationship to Vallejo-the General's political pull in the territory at that time being Class A-the Carrillo family received large grants of land in the neighborhood, Senora Maria Ignacia Lopez-Carrillo the Rancho

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Cabeza de Santa Rosa, and Joaquin Carrillo, her son, the Rancho Llano de Santa Rosa. Mrs. Carrillo erected the family mansion on the south bank of the creek a mile above Santa Rosa, at the spot where Padre Amoroso ten years before baptised Rosa of the Cainemeros. The building, now relegated to the "old adobe" class of California architecture, and crumbling back to the earth whence it arose, was once the valley rendezvous of life and gaiety. The ten thousand virgin acres spread before the door provided good cheer. The Indian servant planted and winnowed the wheat, gathered the corn and beans-he was the pioneer granger, the charter member patron of industry in those far days when California's wonderful soil began to turn out the harvests. And while la senora and her kitchen assistants were shaping tortilla for the baking, some one would startle into action a dozing vaquero-the newly arrived Missourian in fluent Spanish called him "buckkero"-and a fat beef soon would be roped and butchered to make a Carrillo holiday. Barbecues by day and fandangoes by night with mañana always coming and never come, was a life in the olden California homes where over the entrance virtually was-"who enters here leaves care behind;" where the spirit of welcome filled every apartment and pure hospitality ran riot.

IN THE OLD CARRILLO ADOBE.

This madre of the early Santa Rosans died in '49, the year of the gringo and the gold, when the tidal wave of people was sweeping into every nook and corner of the self-unionized state. Maria Carrillo was of Spain, but Anglo Saxon in the spirit that led her to make a home in a wilderness-howling, but fertile-she saw to that. A true North American pioneer mother, she did not forget the census, and her five boys and seven girls was the contribution she made to the colony of "gente de razon," as the Californians called themselves in distinction to the aborigines. After her death the property passed to the children, the family casa de adobe becoming the home of Felicidad Carrillo, wife of David Mallagh, who with another early American importation, Donald McDonald (Mon, the thistle grows whence that name came) opened a general merchandise store in the building. They also started a wayside inn-meals and drinks for man, mule and mustang-which gathered to itself the name of "Santa Rosa House." May 18, 1849, there landed in San Francisco from the bark John Ritson, Berthold Hoen, Alonzo Meacham and F. G. Hahmann. Hoen and Meacham had come by way of the Isthmus of Panama, and Hahmann around Cape Horn. The latter went to Coloma with the nugget hunters, and the other two into business at San Francisco, where they remained till the great fire of 185I started them to wandering again. The next year they turned up at the old adobe, which property they purchased. In May, 1853, F. G. Hahmann, who was the book keeper of the large San Francisco shipping firm of Jabez Howes & Co., paid his two old fellow-voyagers a visit. It is not likely that a man of his practical mind and commercial inclinations would fail to combine business with pleasure as he looked on this noble valley in a blooming Maytime. Nor did he, and soon became the owner of Meacham's interest in the store and property. William Hartman presently became a partner and the firm name was "Hoen & Co." As immigration came into the great central llano the commercial im- portance of the place increased rapidly. It was the distributing point between the head of navigation on Petaluma creek and the settlements in the north and

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was the only trading post in the county. This was the coming to the locality of the two pioneers who had so much to do with the working out of the problem of Santa Rosa as that problem appeared fifty-seven years ago. Berthold Hoen and Feodor Gustav Hahmann made and introduced the new town to the grow- ing lists of county settlements, and the remaining years of their busy lives were spent here. Their children are of Santa Rosa's native sons and daughters, and in the local cemetery they rest-these two sturdy men whose names are first on the city's cornerstone.

In 1853 the firm of Hoen & Hahinann purchased from Meacham about seventy acres of land lying east of a line drawn north and south through the center of what is, or was, the plaza, the price being $1,600. This was a portion of the six hundred acre purchase of Oliver Bolio from Julio Carrillo. Bolio built what was afterwards known as the old Lucas house. and this with a house on the Hanneth place, and the adobe, were the first dwellings in this valley. The first house in Santa Rosa was the dwelling of Julio Carrillo, built for him by John Bailiff, at what is now near the southwest corner of Second and Main (C) streets.

RISE AND FALL OF FRANKLIN TOWN.

While Santa Rosa-floral city of the plain-was in early bud, a near-city was growing up-in the night, as it were. Its forefathers called it Franklin Town. Why "Town" and with a big T, has never been told. Only a few of the old guard yet this side of the cemetery gates really remember Franklin Town. As it came, it passed away in the night, or rather, in the morning of its first-day-after.

Its site is just withont the present city line on the east, near the reservoir hill. Some day, perhaps, the extension of the boundaries will take in the old place, and then Franklin Town will awake to life-becoming an addition to the Santa Rosa it sought to blight in tender flower. Chiefs of the city in embryo were Dr. J. F. Boyce-venerable "Doc Boyce" who medicined and surgeoned the later Santa Rosans for many a year, and eccentric to the point of profanity, which often drove his patients to recover quickly and get him out of the sick- room ; also S. T. Coulter-good old "Squire Coulter," Pioneer Patron of Hus- bandry, Lord of the Sonoma Grange, and who didn't believe that the grass and herbs and the trees that bore fruit in their season were first sprouted on the Third Day of Creation, and said even Luther Burbank couldn't grow things that speedy. Now, deep under the turf these "old forefathers of the hamlet sleep," and heaven speed their run to the saints.

One feature that shines like a star through this dark Tale of a Lost City, is, Franklin Town had a church, then the only church in the county except the Mission Solano at Sonoma. Its faith was Baptist, thoughi all shades of the "two and seventy jarring sects," as Omar Khayyam phrases them, were wel- comed to use that sanctuary for the uplift of any possibly sinful citizen of Franklin Town. The willow-bank creek consecrated by Parson Juan Amoroso when he baptized the Indian girl and called her La Rosa-spiritnal daughter of Santa Rosa de Lima-splashed and bubbled pure as the Jordan when John came preaching in the wilderness, but it is not positively known that Doc Boyce or Squire Coulter ever availed themselves of the lustral waters flowing by Frank- lin Town, unless to wash a shirt.

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But the finger of doom was writing on the clap-board walls of Franklin Town. Hoen, Hahmann and Hartman-the triple H-builders of Santa Rosa, were housing up C-now Main-street. The diplomatic dads of the coming place got up a Welcome-To-Our-City barbecue, and when the Franklinites saw the hosts of all-invited guests gathering around the Santa Rosa flesh-pots, they also saw the finish of Franklin Town. Soon it was in transit, the Baptist church, on four wheels, led the way like the Ark of the Covenant before the immigrant Israelites herding to the Promised Land, and it afterwards was the pioneer tabernacle, upholding the doctrine of close-communion and total immer- sion in Santa Rosa, and fitting the aging citizens for another immigration-into Eternity.

IN MEMORIAM.

So vanished Franklin Town. Perchance in some far day, the antiquarian with the dust of lost civilizations in his whiskers. will turn from Troy, Thebes. Baalbec and other municipal Has-Beens, to burrow deep in excavations of Franklin Town ; and there will discover the ruins of a Colt's-44 with many mys- terious notches on its barrel; or a fossil half-plug of tobacco with teeth mark- ings at one corner; or a metal plate bearing the talismanic word, which- though untranslatable into any modern tongue-appears to be "tomandjerry ;" and which did some household duty like the Latin "Cave Canem" (Beware of the Dog) found on the doorsteps of buried Pompeii. Thus will the delighted archaeologist discourse learnedly on his "find," and report to the Institute of Scientific Research that beyond all reasonable doubt even of a man from Mis- souri, a peaceable, moral and highly cultured people formerly inhabitated this county ; but the causes of their destruction, or migration, are unknown, and no sample of gun, plug or talismanic word can be found in the adjacent city of Santa Rosa.

VIEW IN SANTA ROSA

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CHAPTER XXXII.

MAPPING OUT THE CITY OF THE ROSE.

Meanwhile the "original survey" of Santa Rosa was made and the land lying between the streets First and Fifth, and Washington and a line drawn five lots east of E, was mapped out for the "city." According to an agreement Julio Carrillo donated one-half of the central square for a plaza and Hoen and Hah- mann the other, or east-half. A grand grove of oaks grew on the portion given by the firm, and there was an understanding that this would not be removed ; but when and where was an American woodsman known to spare a tree lie could get his axe into? There is a national vandalism in the blood of this peo- ple-a destroying microbe ranging fancy free. Whether it came over in the Mayflower or any other immigrant ship, or was a self-creation here, occasioned by the presence of the newly-arrived whiteman and the wide scope of country for him to destroy in. bacteriology fails of solution. Conservation may run riot through American politics, but the American Indian, was, is, and only can be the true conservist. It was a wise conserving provision or scheme of nature that set the Redman down here first (otherwise there would have been nothing left for us) and in contradistinction, the Exclusion Act might be said to have been born about four centuries too late. The noble growth was cut down and the plaza cleared for the county courthouse, although the plat of ground then could have been duplicated anywhere without its area for a mere nominal price. The only reason-if there can be a reason-is that whenever Santa Rosa mentioned "buying courthouse and grounds," other county towns mentioned "giving court- house and grounds." To be given to, is better than to buy from, and this para- phrase of the proverb was quite popular. Petaluma, growing by leaps and bounds, prosperous beyond the dreams of avarice, only needed that public build- ing to complete her happiness, and her standing offer of $100,000 and a block of land free, would not lie down. So the Santa Rosans sacrificed their little park and bequeathed a regret to their inheritors forevermore. Julio Carrillo, whose native and racial improvidence stripped hin of his broad acres, Old Julio- who could drop a league of rancho in a brief poker game with his gringo neigh- bors, with a cheerful "adios" to speed the parting bet, frequently found him- self repenting his plaza-liberality.

PERPLEXING THOROUGHFARE TITLES.

The "truly" oldest citizen of Anglo extraction was Achilles Richardson, who lived with his family and ran a small trading store on the west side of C street near the creek. When the surveyors pegged out the streets they desig- nated them with letters and numerals, wisely considering that the natural alpha- betic sequence of the Roman titles would ever be clear to the cloudiest memory, and that the mind of the average Santa Rosan must indeed be brief should he forget, under any mental stress, that "second," for all practical purposes closely precedes "third," and more remotely "fourth" and "fifth." However, the street

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alphabet ended at F, and the subsequent surveyors either forgot their a b c's, or the city government concluded to cut the primary department out of the civic-school for the public. Even the numerals fell from their individual places in the line. Whenever an enterprising citizen staked off a bunch of building lots as an "addition" to the town, he carefully marked the tract with his own name, but let the street-names, like Topsy, "jus' grow." Even C street blended into "Main," ran two blocks and fell into the creek. After a bridge had been constructed there, it got across and went on its way southward as "Petaluma road," having lost its "Main" in the stream. The "road" eventually evolved to "avenue," which was more municipal and aristocratic. In course of time it became Santa Rosa avenue, which if not in neighborly regard for a sister-city, was more patriotic. The fine thoroughfare, Sonoma avenue, was originally Walnut avenne, but somebody tacked "Sonoma road" onto the eastern end that hung over the city line, and this line of demarkation not always definite to the traveler, the country right-of-way began to get into town, confusing the tax col- lector and troubling the soul of the street commissioner. Afterwards "Sonoma" displaced "Walnut," which looks better on the city maps. On the east after it was noted that F was the omega of the surveyor's alphabet, an addition was attached to the city by a Mr. Pipher, who had learned to play football at Palo Alto, and the streets of the tract bore the academic legend "Leland-Stanford- Junior-University," names fully as unique and as inappropriate for the purpose as would be "In-God-We-Trust-All-Others-Cash." A late-at-night home-seek- ing resident, unless too-occupied with "lodge" affairs, may start in at the "Le- land" of the well-known educational title and easily work himself along the string of words, recalling them by their relative positions in the sentence. But should he strike the addition from the wrong point of the compass-and he might-the syntax of the street names is apt to become perplexing, and this in turn be the inspiration of thoughts or outspoken words very unbecoming. In proof of this contingency, one dark, rainy night "a highly respected citizen of Santa Rosa," alumnus of the great San Mateo county institution, became con- fused and wandered around in Pipher's Addition in geometric circles till the helpful dawn of another day worked out the verbal puzzle. The professor's pending damage suit against Street Commissioner Doc Cozad was compromised by the timely action of the local Woman's Improvement Club in equipping the addition with luminous street sign-boards.

ALPHABETIC AND PRESIDENTIAL STREETS.

The street laid out and called A was believed at the time to be the begin- ning-the alpha of the lettered streets-but the city moving westward from its center developed Washington street, the city council feeling that the Father of His Country merited a memorial in the municipality. Davis and Wilson streets followed this in turn, but when Hewitt's addition became a reality the presiden- tial line was again taken up. Adams, Jefferson, Madison and Polk were painted on the new street corners, but why Monroe, Jackson, Harrison and Tyler "too" were omitted in the jump across to Polk, has never been explained; nor is it known whether Adams street was named for John or John Q., and whether these omissions were caused by strong political partisanships or faulty his- torical knowledge, cannot be written. However, in later years the party-affil- iation of the itizens did manifest itself in this manner, and such is a living

McDONALD AVENUE, SANTA ROSA

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record of the various changes in the political complexion of the town. An Illi- nois man insisted on "Old Abe" for his street, and the consenting city council ordered "Lincoln" to the thoroughfare. A war-democrat was satisfied only when Andrew Jackson received a like distinction. When Cleveland ousted the republican hosts from the national capital, an avenue appeared to proclaim that fact for all time. And when he ordered Great Britain and other effete mon- archies off Venezuela and all the Americas in accordance with Uncle Sam's famous "doctrine," the popular democratic president came near getting his first name, also, and a double honor, in Santa Rosa. But the milder counsel prevailed and the author of the notable state paper was substituted. So Mr. Monroe came into his own.

FUNNY PIONEER MANNERISMS.

As mentioned, C street was the first, only and main street for years, hence "Main," its present name. A frame Masonic Hall was early erected there, and Edward Colgan, Sr., constructed the Santa Rosa House, which he occupied for almost a generation, and which two of his sons now occupy with their black- smithing plant. Clem Kessing's name is also a household word on old C street. G. and J. P. Clark, Charles W. White, Jim Williamson were part and parcel of the street. Such afterwards-prominent jurists as Jackson Temple and Will- iam Ross practiced law there, and J. F. Boyce, M. D., rugged old healer of many sick, who prescribed them medicine and "cussed" them well. J. N. Miller. storekeeper, successor to Barney Hoen, was the first county treasurer. The legend on his electioneering card was refreshingly frank-"Old Miller-Candi- date for County Treasurer. Unsolicited by His Friends and on his own Hook." He was the watch-dog of the county cash box for years. F. G. Hahmann up- held the dignity of the Federal Government-was postmaster and received as remuneration for his services the privilege of affixing "P. M." to his name if he cared for official distinction. In those days a postoffice had to get out and seek its own master. John Richards kept a barber shop on "The Street," and which vied with the postoffice as a popular resort, when whiskers were the topic of interest. C street was a close corporation, quite exclusive and tena- cions of its standing as the social and geographical center of pretty much all things. People who drifted away and showed indications of desiring to locate on "outside" lots became almost social outcasts, and were thought at some time in the past to have had insanity in the family. B. M. Spencer of Santa Rosa, when he first landed here received a cordial "welcome-to-our-city" from the older-timers, but when he began to build a frame store on Fourth street,-a thoroughfare then occupied only by the surveyor's stakes,-C street looked "out into the country" where Spencer was preparing to do business, and wondered if perchance he had committed some crime in his youth, the memory of which ever drove him to isolate himself in lonely places afar from his fellow men. But the street outgrew itself and spread into surrounding tracts. The "county- seat agitation" was coming to culmination and Santa Rosa purposed to win by one strong stroke, so a barbecue, a picnic, public oration, etc., was held July 4. 1854, which was followed by a grand ball in Hahmann's new store building, at night. People from "all over" attended, in wagons, on horseback and on foot and Santa Rosa got the county courthouse at the election.

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HAHMANN WANTED CHURCHES -- PLENTY OF THEM.

When the ballots were counted, Hoen, Hahmann and Hartman as usual, took the lead in preparing the city for the reception of the county government. They gave land near the northeast corner of Fourth and Mendocino streets for the public buildings. F. G. Hahmann donated lots to all the churches that cared to labor in this region. He was no respecter of cree ls-all who asked, should receive. It is not fully believed the near-coming of the county officials especially moved Mr. Hahmann in this regard and direction, or that he thought the city would need a denser religious atmosphere. Hoen-"Barney Hoen" he was called-provided the donated site with a temple of justice. It was a very small temple of justice, not considered imposing even for those days when town-architecture, like the streets, ran along lines of least resistance. After two years the edifice was found to be too small for the growing number of people seeking justice, and was itself tried and condemned. It is now the humble annex to a residence in Hewitt's addition to the city. Then the lower story of the second courthouse was constructed on the northwest corner of Fourth and Mendocino streets at a cost of $9,000. A jail was added-as a tender, the town jokers reported, the total expense about $16,000. This was in 1856, and three years later the upper story and additional buildings were ordered. The contract price was $15,000, but as the work neared completion it was seen that more expenditure was needed-the county would out-grow the new building before it was built. Then the superintendent of construction was empowered by the board of supervisors "to make such changes in jail and courthouse as in his judgment is necessary, having in view the best interests of the county." From the "extras" charged he appears to have done so. The changes amounted to $25,891.23, making a total of $40,891.23. When all the work was finished, the contractors' unpaid claim was $22,078.23, and the de- bate was on. Finally the matter was arbitrated with the following payments : Contractors in full, $26,500; superintendent's salary, $1,200; cost of arbitration, $1.601. Total cost of building, $29.601.30. This was in 1860, but the county law-mills had hardly got to grinding in the new house when the old question of removing the countyseat arose from the dead. Hon. Henry Edgerton officially announced the resurrection by a bill in the legislature authorizing an election of the voters of Sonoma county on the removal proposition. The counting of the ballots-314 for and 1632 against-seems to have returned the question to its tomb without any hope of any further resurrections. In 1866 the court-house was re-roofed and plastered at a cost of $2,600, and the next year the jail was rebuilt costing $8,999. Furniture and other additions were ordered, making a grand total of $60,000. The old property was sold, Hoen buying back the lot he had formerly donated.

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History of Sonoma 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 time, Part 20

Author: Gregory, Thomas Jefferson Publication date: 1911 Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif., Historic record company Number of Pages: 1190

Author: Gregory, Thomas Jefferson
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif., Historic record company
Number of Pages: 1190