USA > California > Sonoma County > History of Sonoma County : including its geology, topography, mountains, valleys, and streams > Part 21
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Carp Ponds of Levi Davis .- These are situated three-quarters of a mile north of Forrestville, and were commenced in January, 1876. At this time the venture was made with but five fish; and at the end of the first year they had increased to two thousand and forty-four; the next, to two thousand six hundred and seventy-one; all of them being from the original five fish. The ponds cover an area of about one acre, differing in size, the smallest being about six square rods, the second ten square rods, the third twenty square
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rods, and the fourth forty square rods. Mr. Davis has so far found fish- culture a paying business; since starting he has cleared about four hundred dollars, and has about seven thousand carp on hand.
Carp Ponds of J. R. H. Oliver .- Mr. Oliver made his first essay in the culture of fish at the same time as did Mr. Davis, but in the first venture was unfortunate enough to lose his-fish. In January, 1877, he purchased three from that gentleman wherewith to make a fresh start. These pros- pered, and increased to three hundred and thirty-one in the first year; in the second, to two thousand; and now their number is three thousand five hundred. Mr. Oliver's ponds are situated near Freestone, and are three in number, being in size forty-eight feet square, sixty feet square, and seventy-five five feet square respectively. He has not yet commenced to put his carp on the market.
Grants .- The Mexican grants included partly or wholly in this township are the El Molino, Cañada de Jonive, Llano de Santa Rosa, Blucher and Cañada de Pogolome. Almost the entire township is covered with them which is a sufficient guarantee for the quality of the land, as grants always covered the cream of the country.
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HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
BODEGA.
GEOGRAPHY .- Bodega township is situated on the western side of Sonoma county, its western boundary being the Pacific ocean. It is bounded as fol- lows: On the north by Ocean and Redwood townships, on the east by Analy township, on the south by Marin county, and on the west by the Pacific ocean. Like all the townships in the county, the boundary lines are very irregular, following as they do the sinuosities of stream and ocean shore. There are no navigable streams in the township, but on the south boundary of it is the stream known as the "Estero Americano," which is deep enough to float small vessels for some distance up at high tide.
Topography .- The general surface of this township is very uneven, but there are no mountains in it. It is composed of rolling, broad-sweeping hills, with wide and fertile valleys lying between. But few of the hills are so steep that they cannot be cultivated with ease, while the most of them are grand, long-reaching undulations. The valleys are not so extensive as in some of the other townships, but are more numerous.
Soil .- The soil in this township is mostly of a sandy loam; in fact, there is scarcely any clay in it at all, except on now and then a hill-top. This soil is very fertile, and produces cereals and vegetables in the greatest abund- ance. Fruits and vines also thrive well, and yield their full share of wealth to the industrious husbandman. In the valleys of course the soil is much more productive than on the hill-sides, still there is nothing to complain of on them. The soil is by far the most evenly dispersed in all sections of this township than in any other in the county.
Climate .- The climate of this township is very similar to all the sections immediately adjacent to the coast. During the Summer months the sea- breeze sweeps over it ad lib., as there are no mountains to break its force. In the valleys leading directly up from the coast this wind sometimes assumes the magnitude of a small tornado. The result of this is that the climate in these valleys is temperate and cool. This wind is sometimes heavily laden with fogs which bank up in the heads of the valleys and overshadow everything, from the later hours of the afternoon till it is dispelled by the rays of the mid-day sun upon its near approach to the zenith. Although these fogs are oftentimes very dank and disagreeable, yet they are wonderful agents for good, acting almost as effectually upon all growing vegetation as a shower of rain or an irrigating. The result of this is seen most potently upon the redwood trees. It is in this township that the redwood belt begins; and
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it is also observable that those trees at the beginning of the belt, do not grow on the south sides of the hills, but rather on the north sides, and in. those ravines which pierce a ridge upon its north side, in the heads of which ravines the fogs bank up the most dense. However, we do not wish to con- vey the idea that there are no bright and beautiful days in this most charm- ing and fertile section of the county. On the other hand, there are days and days the most bright and beautiful, such days as only a California elimate can produce, with their azure skies and fleecy clouds. In the later Autumn, when the fierce blast of the trade winds is heard shrieking no more amid the swaying boughs of the towering redwoods ; when the sunlight is filtered down upon the world through a radiant film of amber haze; then, indeed, is it a lovely place, and its climate such to be remembered to the end of one's days. In the Winter season it is mild and temperate. The winds do not blow so strongly, and come from another direction. It is really the most excellent time of the year as far as climate is concerned.
Products .- This township is decidedly agricultural in its products, yet they are varied, ranging through all the grades of rich semi-tropical country. Vegetables, and especially potatoes, seem to be the best adapted to the soil. In the warm sandy loam of this section this tube grows in the most profuse luxuriance, thriving even to the very hill-tops with no other irrigation than the natural moisture of the earth, sequent upon the Winter's rains, and the dense fogs which come up from the near ocean. On every hill-top, hill-side and valley may be seen great fields of potatoes. Wheat, oats, barley and corn thrive moderately well here, though the fogs are so heavy that the grain does not ripen very readily. The business of dairying is carried on somewhat extensively in some parts of the township. The pasture is very fine at all seasons of the year, being kept fresh and green by the fogs. As the soil is becoming somewhat worn in the prolonged seige of potato raising, and a change is becoming absolutely necessary, the most of the farmers drift into the dairy business. Lumber is also one of the chief products of the township; as stated above, the redwood belt has its begining in this township. It was in . this township that the first steam saw-mill on the Pacific Coast was put in operation in 1843, and since that time the making of lumber has been more or less vigorously prosecuted as an industry. Even in the early days when all the products of the township had to be brought to the port, often over rough roads, for shipment to San Francisco, the lumber industry throve, and some of those early mills are standing and doing some good work to-day, on the same sites they occupied a quarter of a century ago. These woods also yield a goodly supply of fence-posts, railroad ties, cord-wood, etc. Now that the metropolitan market is reached in a few hours by rail, the industries of this character have increased many fold, and are fast becoming the promi- nent features of the business enterprises of this section of the country.
Early Settlement .- To Bodega belongs the honor of having the first
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permanent settlement of Europeans north of the bay of San Francisco, and within the limits of the State of California; while the entrance of the beau- tiful little bay bearing that name was made by Europeans at least one year previous to the location of the mission at Yerba Buena, now San Francisco. It is stated that in the year 1775, a distinguished Spanish navigator by the name of Lieutenant Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra, in a naval vessel called the "Sonora," entered this bay, and after carefully exploring it gave it the name of Bodega, in honor of himself. From that time, however, until the year 1811, a period of thirty-six years, we do not find the bay was ever visited at all, but, however, it is to be presumed that it was visited occasionally by the vessels which chanced to pass that way. In January, 1811, there arrived in the quiet waters of the lovely little bay a strange looking craft bearing a burden of human freight. They were men with unkempt hair and shaggy beards, and with frames of iron, well inured to a life of excessive toil and exposure to the rigors of an inclement climate. To them, as they entered this beautiful cove on that mid-winter's day, the surrounding country must have seemed to be a veritable Paradise. Accustomed as they had been all their lives to see naught but the deep snow lying over all the face of the earth at this season of the year, the sight of the vernal hills basking in the bright sunshine must have been the most lovely view which ever greeted their gaze. These brawny strangers were Russians, who had come from Sitka for the purpose of establishing a military post, and a headquarters for a band of fur hunters; they also proposed to farm quite extensively, using their products for supplying their fur-hunting colonies in Sitka. At this time there were twenty Russians and fifty Kodiae Indians, under the leadership of Alexander Kuskoff, a man with a wooden leg, and to whom, on this account, the native Californians applied the soubriquet of "Pie de Palo." To Bodega bay the new comers gave the name of "Romanzoff," and the stream now known as Russian river they called "Slavianka." Knowing full well that they had no just title or claim to the land, they framed a pretext for landing there, by stating that they had been refused a supply of fresh water at Yerba Buena. To strengthen this claim they asserted that they had purchased all the land lying adjacent to the bay from the Aborigines, and this claim was ultimately extended until it covered all the land lying between Point Reyes and Point Arena, and for a distance of three leagues inland. We will hear more of this Russian claim to the Spanish domain farther on. As a matter of fact the Russians could not purchase any of this land from the Indians, for at that time the entire country of the Alta Californias belonged to Spain, and General M. G. Vallejo has truly remarked of them that as they "came without invitation, and occu- pied the land without the permission of the owners, they may well be called the first 'squatters' of California." The Russians, however, went to work with a will, whether they had any right to the soil or not. They proceeded into the interior of the country, about six miles from the bay, and there established
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a settlement. Houses were built, fields fenced and agricultural pursuits vigorously engaged in by them. It was not long however before they found that there was a strong opposition to them, and that it would be necessary to build a fort for their protection if they would keep possession of their newly acquired domain. With this object in view they started in search of a place most suitable for the location of their stockade. About thirty miles to the northward, on the coast, they found the desired location. This point was within the present limits of Salt Point township.
As soon as the first crop had matured, and was ready for shipment, it became necessary for them to have a warehouse at the bay where their vessels could be loaded. Accordingly a building for this purpose was erected on the south side of the point of land extending into the sea and forming the northern shore of the bay, near the extreme westerly end of the headland. This building was eighty by one hundred feet in dimensions. It was probably used extensively at the same time for the storage of furs and peltry, for it must be borne in mind that one great object of the establishment of a settle- ment at this point was to make it a headquarters for their hunters. This building was very strong and durable, and would probably be standing at the present writing but for the fact that a land slide swept the most of it into the bay some years ago. They also had another house at the bay near this warehouse, but what it was used for is not now known, it was used by the American settlers in later years as a sort of a dwelling house and hotel, and it is from a mention of this fact that we know of its existence at all. We will now speak more extensively of the Russian settlement in the interior. This was situated just north of the present town of Bodega Corners, and the Capt. Smith adobe ranch house stands directly upon the site of the Russian buildings.
It is impossible now to give the exact original number of these houses, owing to the fact that they are all demolished, not a vestige remaining of them to tell the story of their existence. There were, however, certainly quite a number of them at one time, if the statements of the very earliest settlers in that section are to be credited. These houses were small and rough, the boards being hewn from redwood logs. They were each strong enough for a bastion, and were doubtless built with the double purpose of shelter from the storms, and protection from the enemy in view. They were nearly square, and about twelve feet in dimensions. Some of them, presumably those earliest constructed, were made of hewn logs, well mortised together at the corners. It does not appear that they ever farmed so extensively here as at Fort Ross. It is quite probable that this part of the country, being most excellently adapted to grazing and dairying purposes, was devoted almost exclusively to this business. An extract from the journal of Captain John Hall, who visited Bodega bay in June, 1822, would seem to sustain this idea. He says that the Russian Commander paid him a visit while he was in Bodega
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bay, and brought on board with him two fine fat sheep, a large tub of but- ter, and some milk. He also says that vegetables were plentiful in their season.
We now pass on to the year 1841. During all this time the Russians had been able to hold possession of all the country they claimed, and had used it pretty much to suit their own wants and .conveniences. In the sketch of Salt Point township will be found a full and complete detailed narration of the Russian occupancy of that section, which, owing to the fact that Fort Ross was their head-quarters, is recorded there. Hence, we refer the reader to that sketch for further detailed information on this most interesting his- torical topic.
We will now take up the settlement of this township by the Americans, as distinguished from the Russians. The first settlers of this kind of which there are any records were: James Dawson, James Black, and Edward Manuel McIntosh. These three men came to California probably as early as 1830 with Captain Juan B. R. Cooper, brother-in-law of General M. G. Vallejo, as sailors on board of his vessel. Once here, and getting into the free and careless habits of the natives, they preferred to remain on shore. We find that Dawson and McIntosh applied for citizenship under the Mexican Gov- ernment as early as the year 1833. General Vallejo says, that upon assuming the position of commandant of the military of California in 1835; he was ordered to extend his settlements as far in the direction of Fort Ross as pos- sible, and to thus encroach upon the Russian territory and usurp their claims. For this purpose he chose the three hardy pioneers mentioned above, and promised to give them each a large grant of land provided they would go and settle right upon the border limits of the Russian claim. The gentlemen readily consented, as they were sure they could live on amicable terms with the Russians. Black settled upon what is now known as the Cañada de la Jonive Rancho, while Dawson and McIntosh settled upon the Estero Americano Rancho. In due course of time it became necessary to have proper papers made out by the higher authorities confirming this title which General Vallejo had given these men to their land. Black and
McIntosh went together to Monterey for this purpose, Dawson remaining at home to look after the property interests of both ranchos. Black got his papers made out to the Jonive Rancho all right, there being no occasion for any crookedness in them, but not so with McIntosh. In having his papers made out he purposely left out the name of his partner, James Dawson.
Lest some should say that it is rather unjust to charge him thus boldly with fraud, we would say that we have the best of evidence to substantiate the assertion. Some may say that grants were not made to partners, but that was only true upon the sea shore. All grants fronting on the sea were given to one man only, and he was charged with certain special duties, espe- cially in time of war. But more of this when we come to consider the Ran-
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cho de Herman. When Dawson discovered the rascally trick which had been perpetrated by his partner, McIntosh, he naturally enough flew into a rage and at once proceeded to administer an appropriate chastisement to the offender. Having appeased his wrath to his entire satisfaction, he took a saw, and severing their common house in twain moved his half of it entirely off the rancho. This part of that remarkable house is still standing and in use, forming a part of the residence of F. G. Blume at Freestone. It was strongly and roughly constructed, and has certainly proved very durable. The joists are round, and about five inches in diameter. The outside boards were truly rustic, being riven or split from redwood logs. We will follow the fortunes of these pioneers to the end now, as in the settlement of other sections of the township they do not appear as prominent figures. Jas. Black, a few years later, exchanged the Jonive rancho with Hon. Jasper O'Farrell for a rancho in Marin county, where he lived honored and respected by all who knew him. McIntosh remained on his rancho, the Estero Amer- icano, for some years, but finally entered into an agreement with Jasper O'Farrell which was as follows: McIntosh granted, sold and transferred all his right, title and claim to the said rancho, and to all the stock, improve- ments and whatever else there might be appertaining to the said rancho, for and in consideration of an annual rental of eight hundred dollars, during the natural life of McIntosh. O'Farrell failed to pay this annual rental, and a lawsuit grew out of the matter. It was eventually compromised byO'Farrell paying McIntosh the sum of five thousand dollars, and McIntosh relinquish- ing all claims to the rancho and to the annual rental. McIntosh then went to Marin county and made his home with his old ship-mate, James Black, till his death, which occurred some ten years since. As soon as Dawson had moved his half of the house off the Estero Americano Rancho he made appli- cation for a grant to the tract of land on which he had located his house. The application for this grant was made December 27, 1837. It was called the Cañada de Pogolome, from an Indian village which was located upon the same tract. In June, 1840, James Dawson was united in marriage with Donna Maria Antonia Cazares, who was the daughter of a dragoon officer under the old Spanish regime. Senorita Cazares was only fourteen years of age at the time of this union. He continued to reside on his rancho with his wife until his death, which occurred in October, 1843. He died without any issue, and his wife became the sole heir to the vast and fertile rancho.
It is probable that to Dawson belongs the honor of the first attempt to make lumber with a saw of any kind in Sonoma county. He dug a pit, and placing the log over it, he stood upon it and used a long rip saw. As early as 1834 he had enough lumber on hand, sawed in this manner, to build a house. This lumber was disposed of to General Vallejo, and he used it in the construction of a house in Sonoma. The pits used by Dawson are still to be seen. And thus is closed the parts which these three pioneers performed
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in the settlement of this township. They have long since passed from the scenes with which their names have been the most intimately connected, and even now tradition is getting somewhat cloudy concerning many important facts. All honor to whom honor is due, and to them certainly a meed of praise should be vouchsafed by the pen of the historian who records and pre- serves their memories and their deeds.
We will now turn our attention to the incidents which occurred on the old Russian claim from the year 1841 to 1843. General John A. Sutter purchased the entire Russian claims for the sum of thirty thousand dollars in the year 1840. He sent agents-major domos-from New Helvetia, now Sacramento, to take possession of this property as soon as it was relinquished by the Russians. The stock and many of the personal effects were moved from the Russian settlements to New Helvetia, still a major domo was maintained by Sutter at Bodega during all the time mentioned above. The last man who held this position at Bodega was at that time known as Don Juan Bidwell, now General John Bidwell of Chico. Bidwell was Sutter's private Secre- ary and book-keeper, and a inan in whom Sutter had the utmost confidence .
BODEGA PORT .- This was a shipping place at the head of the bay of that name. It was here that the first faint attempt at founding a town in this township occurred. As was stated above, the Russians had erected two build- ings on this bay, but they were near to the mouth of the bay, and hard of access to those who came to the port from the interior, hence settlers naturally built their stone houses at a point the most accessible. * Captain Smith owned a small schooner called the "Fayaway," which plied regularly between the port and San Francisco, in the early days. We do not now know how long this was continued by him, or what became of the vessel. He used it prin- cipally in shipping his lumber to market. In the year 1850, two men named John Keyes and - Noble, put in a crop of potatoes. This was the first crop of the kind which had ever been grown in that section. They were merely squatters, not having leased the land of Captain Smith. They raised the crop on the headland known as Bodega Point. After the crop was matured they had to get a vessel to take it to market. A small schooner of about fifteen tons burden was purchased and run by John Keyes. It was called the "Spray." Keyes continued to run this vessel until the spring of 1857. The fare on this schooner was eight dollars to San Francisco and fiftten dollars for return. Sometime during this year one Captain Tibbey began to run a schooner which he called the "Mary" in this trade. This schooner was built in Australia. The principal exports from the port at this time were lumber, shingles and potatoes. Cattle and sheep were sometimes shipped also.
A schooner called the "Sheriff," in 1853, Captain Tibbey, master, went ashore near Cape Mendocino, and all on board perished. In the Fall of 1850, or Spring of 1851, a large schooner called the "Caroline," with a valuable
* For Captain Smith's arrival and location at Bodega, see page 51, an I following. of this work.
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cargo on board, bound for Trinidad, went ashore on the sand-spit which projects into Bodega bay. The vessel and cargo were lost, but the officers and sailors escaped. Captain Andrew Rutherford ran a propeller between the port and San Francisco a few trips about 1858, but could not make it pay, and hence discontinued the trips. From 1852 to 1860 there were sev- eral vessels plying in this trade, there being often as many as six at one time making weekly trips to the city and return. The first man to rent and of Captain Smith was Edward Cheeney. He leased two hundred acres from him during the winter of 1850-51, on the Point. This land had been culti- vated previously, first by the Russians, and during the previous season by Keyes and Noble. The terms of this lease were that Cheeney was to pay two dollars per acre for rent, payable when the crop was sold; Smith would allow five cents a rail for fencing the land. Smith sometimes rented land on shares, furnishing everything to the renter and taking half the crop. This was really the better way for him to rent his land, as the half of the crop would net from fifty to one hundred dollars per acre. If a man were poor and appeared to be honest, Captain Smith would advance him the necssary amount of money to put in his erop, without interest. It is said that many of his renters took advantage of his liberal terms, and rewarded his kindness by disposing of the crop and leaving the Captain's claims unsettled. This land in that early day was very productive. Mr. Cheeney raised sixty bushels of wheat and one hundred bushels of oats to the acre, and one renter had an acre of potatoes which brought him five hundred dollars. February 20, 1851, Stephen L. and James E. Fowler, two brothers, an l Messrs. Loper and Hedges arrived at Bodega. We have at hand a diary which was kept by Stephen L. Fowler at that time. To it we are indebted for a number of facts contained in this sketch, and we will here, once for all, give him the credit for all the extracts we may use from his diary. The four men men- tioned above formed a company, and styled themselves the "Suffolk Com- pany," for the purpose of farming. They located about two and a half miles from the port, across a creek (from Captain Smith's house), and on a tract which would not need to be fenced. This was quite an object. This com- pany planted quite an extensive erop this year, and the yield was very good both in quantity and price. The seed they used for their garden came from the Colonies (Australia). A box for which they paid fifteen dollars, contained six quarts of peas, two of beans, four ounces of onion seed, five ounces of cabbage seed of different kinds, celery, raddish, broccoli, mustard, spinage, cucumber, beets, carrots, capsicum, pepper-grass, lettuce, all in small parcels; also one-half pound each of three different kinds of turnip seeds. All these seeds were planted, and all throve well in the rich soil of that section. As high as eight cents a pound was paid by them for . seed potatoes that spring. It rained until very late into the season that year. They mowed wild oats for hay. This hay was easily cured, and served
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