USA > California > Sonoma County > History of Sonoma County : including its geology, topography, mountains, valleys, and streams > Part 34
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84
The ordinance requiring the collection of the street tax was read the third time on May 22d, and passed. On June 26th, President Sweetland resigned his place on the Board, he being succeeded by M. Hinman. Consequent on the petition of E. Barnes and others, an ordinance was passed on the 23d of October, regulating the blowing of steam whistles within the city limits ; while on the same date Recorder Chandler tendered his resignation, which was accepted, George W. Reed being appointed in his stead, on the day fol- lowing. On December 9th, the committee which had been appointed to make a contract and superintend the building of a turn-table bridge across the creek at the foot of Washington street, reported that they had contracted with John Caddy to put in a turn-table, etc., for the sum of eight hundred and twenty-three dollars ; that the said contract had been carried out and the bridge completed, whereupon payment was ordered.
The event of greatest consequence, which occurred in the year 1865, was unquestionably the dastardly assassination of Abraham Lincoln, in Ford's Theatre, Washington, D. C., by John Wilkes Booth, on the evening of the 14th April. Perhaps no calamity of a like nature had ever occurred to any nation; is it any wonder, then, that the whole land was flooded with tears, and each mourned as if a father had been taken, and was he not a father to the people ? In him was vested the rule and safeguard of the people, at a juneture when a wise head and a pure heart, above all, was needed ; he had labored indefatigably in their behalf, was even then toiling to bring about an honorable peace, honorable to friend and foe alike, and then to be cut off in the very zenith of his power ; is it any wonder, we say, that the Nation, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, wept as one gigantic household for him who had led them through the uncertain quicksands of statecraft. In Petaluma
P. J. Canli
289
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
the intelligence was received with every sign of respectful grief; stores were closed, business suspended, while a special funeral service was held, when the citizens turned out en masse, and, after forming in procession, listened to an impressive sermon by Professor E. S. Lippett, on the life and death of the noble martyr. It may not be inappropriate here to quote the following tribute from the Petaluma Journal and Argus of April 20, 1865 :-
"Fulness of speech may not be indulged, while a sable-clad Nation weeps at the tomb of its mighty fallen. . Pearly drops from humid eyes, speak a language that tongue cannot utter, nor pen indite; the language of the heart as it has been since the stars sang together on the morn of creation. As Mary knelt weeping by the sepulchre of the World's Redeemer, eighteen hundred years ago, even so now a Nation mourns at the tomb of its Saviour. The harsh notes of trumpet-tongued courier did not blazon his fall, but from where the boisterous Atlantic hurls its crested waves against Plymouth Rock to where the placid Pacific laves our golden shores, the swift-winged messenger, with the rapidity of thought, and the low cadence of Summer winds, told the story of the assassin's deed; and scarce had the vaulted arch of Heaven been cleft to receive his noble spirit up on high, before around a million hearths sat unmanned manhood weeping, as it is seemly that women alone might weep. Never since the earth reeled as if rocked by a mighty tempest, and the vail of the temple was rent in twain, has mankind, uni- versal, bled in the representative of principle so pure, so lofty, and so God- like in their adaptability to all the wants and requirements of humanity, the world over, as in the person of ABRAHAM LINCOLN. Not like the meteor's fitful gleam athwart the sky, fading into the dark chaos of night, has been his going out; but as the bright orb of day sinking to rest behind the western hills leaves its last golden rays illumining the mountain gorge, and beetling cliff, so too will the light of his pure self-sacrificing devotion to Justice and Freedom, irradiate the dark corners of the earth, and the history of his life, and the story of his death, will be asigned a place in the world's archives; will be read by the glare of lamps, trimmed by servile hands, and do the bidding of those who claim to rule by right Divine; will be studied by peasants on sunny plains and Alpine hills; and yet farther on, where day and night comes and goes but once a year, the fur-elad Laplander, by the amber light of the Aurora Borealis will read the story, and pray that the assassin who struck him down, may be exiled to some frigid clime, where even the rays of a polar sun may be denied him. A Chieftain has fallen; his grave is in the hearts of his countrymen; let those pay heed whose foul tongues, in umbridled license, have aspersed his name! The assassin has done your work! Leave ns alone with our dead!" Thus had the mighty fallen !
" Hush, the Dead March wails in the people's ears: The dark crowd moves, and there are sobs and tears: The black earth yawns; the mortal disappears,
19
290
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust ;
He is gone who seemed so great- Gone; but nothing can bereave him Of the force he made his own
Being here, and we believe him Something far advanced in State,
And that he wears a truer crown
Than any wreath that man can weave himn.
Speak no more of his renown, Lay your earthly fancies down,
And in the vast cathedral leave him. God accept him, Christ receive him."
One of the absorbing topics which held the minds of the citizens of Peta- luma in this year was that of a railroad between this city and Healdsburg. To consider the best means of procuring it a meeting was held on March 13th, at McCune's Hall, when the question was fully discussed by gentlemen from all parts of the county. In the course of its proceedings J. R. Myers, of Windsor, estimated that a subscription of five hundred thousand dollars by Sonoma county would insure the completion of the work, but he could not correctly approximate what the income would be - he thought the cost would be about twenty-five thousand dollars per mile, with three thousand
dollars as a survey fee. Though this meeting was informal, and indefinite as the proceedings were, it showed an earnest desire on the part of the people to seek the most feasible plan to lead to the desired result. It was thought that with a railroad to Healdsburg and the creek rendered navigable to the wharves, Petaluma would soon take the position which nature had designed her to occupy, that of only the second city in importance in the State. At a subsequent meeting, held October 30th, Articles of Association for the proposed Petaluma and Healdsburg Railroad were adopted, and, on "motion of Judge Langdon, A. W. Thompson and L. A. Norton were appointed a Committee to ascertain the amount of stock subscribed, and they reported that thirty- two thousand three hundred dollars were subscribed, ten per cent. of which had been paid to the Treasurer. On motion, Messrs. A. W. Thompson, J. R. Myers, and T. W. Hudson, were appointed a committee on credentials. On motion adjourned to meet at seven o'clock P. M. The meeting having reas- sembled at the appointed hour, on motion, C. W. Langdon, proceeded to the election of seven Directors. The Chair appointed as Tellers, J. Sroufe, J. M. Williams, and R. Ives. L. A. Norton and R. Powell, of Healdsburg; L. S. B. Slusser, of Windsor; C. W. Langdon, of Santa Rosa ; S. D. Towne, I. G. Wickersham, and A. P. Overton, of Petaluma, having received two hun- dred and eighty-three votes, were declared duly elected Directors of the Company." Another public meeting of considerable importance to the city of Petaluma was convened at McCune's Hall on the 9th day of December, 1865, for the purpose of considering the question of changing the boundary line between the counties of Marin and Sonoma. O. Sweetland in the chair.
291
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
The subject had already occupied much public attention; this, however, was the first occasion of its assuming a definite shape in this section of the county. At the meeting J. H. McNabb introduced the following resolution, which was adopted. " Resolved, That the citizens of Petaluma and vicinity are in favor of changing the boundary line of Marin county, so as to include all that part of Sonoma county, lying south and east of Santa Rosa creek, so that the northern boundary line of Marin county shall be as follows: Commenc- ing at a point in the Pacific ocean, three miles, in a west line, from the mouth of Russian river; thence running up said Russian river to the mouth of a creek called both Mill creek and Mark West creek; thence up said Mill creek or Mark West creek to the mouth of the Laguna; thence up the center of said Laguna to the mouth of north Santa Rosa creek; thence up said Santa Rosa creek, following the main branch thereof, by the town of Santa Rosa, to the line of Napa county." The proceedings were of the most harmonious and unanimous character, resulting in the appointment of a committee of nine, consisting of J. M. Bowles, F. D. Colton, William Hill, E. Denman, G. Warner, William Zartman, Charles Hunt, L. W. Walker, and J. M. Charles, to prepare and circulate a petition for the signatures of all favorable to the change. Of the buildings erected in this year the principal one was the new Methodist Episcopal church, the estimated cost of which, when completed, would be nearly twenty-five thousand dollars. At the time of which we write, May, 1865, the society proposed to simply enclose it and finish the basement, at an expense of about fifteen thousand dollars. On the 20th of that month the ceremony of breaking ground for the edifice took place, when the Rev. E. S. Lippett, after a few remarks appropriate to the occasion, struck the first pick, in commencement of excavating the foundation, and on the 22d June the corner-stone was laid, with becoming ceremony. Other structures also sprang up in this year on every side, and progress was the watchword. At this period Peta- luma was unquestionably one of the most flourishing interior towns in Cali- fornia. The streets were crowded with wagons, and their merry tinkling bells; improvements were being pushed on every hand; there was little if any lounging on the sidewalks; everything presenting the appearance of business activity and energy.
Let us now resume the transactions of the municipality. On April 23, 1866, a communication was received from John Cavanagh and others asking for a recount of the votes given and cast at the city election held on the 16th, the officers elected . being: Board of Trustees, Joseph S. Cutter, Lee Ellsworth, President, J. B. Hinkle, B. F. Tuttle, and G. Warner; Clerk, F. W. Shattuck; Recorder, Edward Cole; Treasurer, F. T. Maynard; Assessor, D. A. Sackett; Marshal, James K. Knowles; Street Commissioner, Almon John- son. On motion it was ordered that the ballots cast at the election be care- fully preserved for the purpose of enabling any one to contest any election
292
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
of any officer at said election. A committee was appointed April 24th to draw up a bill to be sent to Congress to enable the Trustees to carry out the provisions of an act of the Legislature in relation to the improvement of Petaluma creek. To this end a preliminary survey was made by Mr. Brooks, C. E., and on May 29th it was directed that a notice be published in the local papers calling for tenders for the erection of a Lock, and the con- struction of a Dam on some point on the Petaluma creek, to be hereafter designated. June 11th, permission was granted the County Road Commis- sioners to open a road within the city limits from Lakeville to Petaluma; action was also taken at this time to prevent the throwing of loose paper on the streets, which tended to the frightening of horses, and thereby the occas- ioning of accidents. The city prison having, about this date been removed from its original location, we find the necessity for the erection of a new one was being discussed. On the 25th of June, D. D. Carder was elected to the office of City Attorney, while, on the same date, a remonstronce signed by citizens against the proposed manner of improving Petaluma creek was pre- sented, in which the levying of a tax each year for the purpose was recom- mended, and that the bends be cut as money is collected from the same source. On motion the further consideration of the petition was indefinitely postponed. July 2nd, bids were received and opened for cutting off the bends in Petaluma creek and building the lock and dam, and that of E. Gay, for cutting the bends was accepted, action in the matter of the latter being indefinitely postponed. Judge J. B. Southard appeared before the Board on August 26th, and objected to his assesment on the ground that he had no title to the land. He intimated that a magnanimous city should withdraw its opposition, and that between the City Fathers and one of their children there should be no gonging. In respect to the above, on August 28th, the following resolution was introduced by Trustee Hinkle and adopted: "Resolved, That the city of Petaluma does hereby surrender up and forever abandon all claim that it may have asserted to a parcel or lot of land filed on by J. B. Southard, adjoining lot number five hundred and forty-five (545) as laid down and described upon the official map of the said city as surveyed by the United States Surveyor General for California, and particularly all claim to a strip of land twelve feet (12) in width running along said lot on Howard street, the same having been claimed and filed upon by the said J. B. Southard. And, we, the Trustees of the said city, at a regular meeting assembled, do hereby authorize and request the Register and Receiver of the United States Land Office at the city of San Francisco and State of California to withdraw from their files and cancel any claim the said city may have filed to said land, and any proceedings had thercon, hereby agreeing and consenting that said J. B. Southard receive a patent from the United States for the land upon which he has filed his claim and made proof as required by law." September 17th, a petition numerously signed by cititizens and tax-payers
293
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
was presented, praying the Board to order the suspension of further work on the creek, and to reduce the tax for the current year from one-and-a-half to one per cent. The following minute appears on November 26th: "The members of the Board being desirous of attending the lecture of 'Mark Twain,'" by order of the President, the members concurring, the meeting was adjourned accordingly, until the 27th at half past seven o'clock in the evening. On the convening of the meeting, on the last mentioned date, it is placed on record that " Messrs. Pearce and Wood, attorneys at law, appeared before the Board and presented the claim Isaac Caplinger against the city for five thousand five hundred dollars damages sustained by him by falling and breaking his leg on the east side of Main street, north of Washington, on the 27th day of September, said damages being sustained by reason, as is alleged, of the neglect and omission of the City Trustees to lay out, keep open and in repair the side walk in the locality above named, through and . by means of which negligence and omission he, the said Caplinger, fell and broke his leg, and to loss of time, expense in curing his wounds and ailment, and incidental costs, doctor's bills, medicines, etc., amounting altogether to the sum named." December 3d, in order to reduce the expenditure to the city, it was directed that S. M. Hutchinson, from and after this date, cease to ring the bell morning, noon and evening, and cease to open and shut or attend to the draw-bridge on account of the city; it was also, on motion, ordered that the City Marshal cease to keep a night-watch or rent the city pound from and after this date on same account.
Perhaps the most interesting event which occurred in Petaluma during the year 1866, was the holding of a mass meeting of its citizens to take action in regard to the introduction of the bill in the Legislature entitled, " An Act to quiet titles in the city of Petaluma," held on Saturday evening the 24th March, Hon. J. H. MeNabb in the chair. The object of the bill will be gathered from the following resolutions drafted by a committee consisting of L. C. Reyburn, Hon. J. W. Owen, and A. P. Whitney: " WHEREAS, The Senator from Sonoma, the Hon. George Pearce, has introduced into the Legislature of California, an act entitled, 'An Act to quiet titles in the city of Petaluma;' and WHEREAS, We are satisfied that neither said act, nor a request therefor, came from the municipal officers of said city, or from any citizens thereof uninterested in the grant itself; and WHEREAS, We believe said Act, if passed. would be ruinous to the citizens and property-owners of said city, and would benefit only our old-time enemy, Valentine, and his associates. That our titles, now in a fair way to be perfected, would thereby be unsettled, property depreciated, improvements checked, and business become stagnant; and the attempt, so long and persistently made, to obtain a special act reinstating the Miranda claim in court, made almost certain. Therefore, Resolved, That we disapprove of the action of our Senator, in thus intro- ducing a bill of such vital importance without consulting the wishes of the
294
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
parties to be affected thereby. Resolved, That we do not desire to purchase, on any terms, the so-called Miranda claim; that we are satisfied with our titles, and most respectfully request the honorable Senator to cease his solici- tude in our behalf in this respect. Resolved, That we most earnestly urge our Senator to withdraw said act, if within his power, or to inform the Senate that his constituents are opposed to its passage, and permit the same to be indefinitely postponed. On motion of Mr. Campbell, a committee of three, consisting of George Campbell, Hon. George W. Reed, Captain T. F. Baylis, were appointed to draw up a petition to the Legislature, remonstra- ting against the passage of the act, which was duly reported and numerously signed by those present." One more matter of importance which presented itself in this year, was the proposed establishment of a Baptist College in Petaluma. To secure the location of it in this city, a sum of twenty thou- sand dollars was wanted from Sonoma county by way of subscription; any amount pledged in the county being payable whenever a like amount was secured elsewhere in the State, while it was decided that a preparotory department should be opened about the middle of the following August. The subject, however, dropped through want of appreciation of the benefits accruing to a place by reason of the possession of such a seat of learning. We now pass on to record another of those painful catastrophes which cause the blood to run cold through one's veins. On the morning of the 27th of August, the boiler of the locomotive that ran between this city and the steamer blew up, causing sad havoc. Of the occurrence an eye-witness writes: " Arriving at the depot we found the greatest consternation and confusion prevailing; people running hither and thither, some wringing their hands wildly, frantically; others using their utmost endeavors to relieve the killed and wounded from the wreck of the locomotive and one baggage-car, which were thrown against the side of the depot building. Stepping upon the plat- form, the first object that greeted our sight was a human body, unrecogniz- able to us, literally torn from limb to limb, which proved to be Joshua H. Lewis, the owner of the depot building. Upon the top of a baggage-car lay the mangled remains of Arthur Thompson, son of J. D. Thompson of this city. From these sickening sights we turned into the depot building, to behold S. B. Dodge, keeper of the warehouse, stretched upon the floor a corpse, and the engineer lying on the track a few rods in advance of where the locomotive had stood, mangled and inanimate. These were all beyond the reach of suffering, and needed not to be ministered to by mortal hands. There were others, however, the sight of whom would have moved the most unfeeling heart, most prominent among them was Charles Yeomans, so well known to all who have traveled on the steamer Petaluma. His face was mangled in a frightful manner, rendering his recovery extremely doubt- ful. Kind hands did everything in human power to alleviate his suffering, and he was soon removed to his residence, where the skill of surgery was called
295
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
to his aid. Captain White, of Newtown, was badly, but it is hoped not fatally injured. Mr. Rekert, a hand employed on the track, was badly, and it is feared fatally injured; so was a Mr. Flinn, also a laborer on the track, and Dan Barton, an employé in the warehouse. Others there were who received slight wounds and bruises, among whom are John A. McNear, Dan. Brown, J. W. Brier, Jr., and Rev. Jehu Barnes. None of these, however, suffer serious inconvenience from their wounds. Had the boiler exploded a few minutes sooner than it did, it is fearful to contemplate what would have been the terrible destruction of life. As it was, the word had been given, ' All aboard,' and the consequence was that sixty or seventy passengers, who a few minutes before were massed where the missiles of death swept, had taken their seats in the passenger cars, which hardly suffered a scratch. The boiler was literally blown to fragments, one piece weighing several hundred pounds falling at the foot of Main street, and another in the canal near the warehouse of McNear & Bro. The locomotive was completely demolished, not a wheel being left whole." The verdict of the coroner's jury was, " We find that the explosion occurred from the incompetency of the man in charge of the locomotive at the time." On the 26th of June, the city was again visited by a considerable conflagration, the fire on this occasion being confined to the Sullivan and Franklin hotels, the loss being in the neighborhood of six thousand dollars. The Public Library, inaugurated by the order of Odd Fellows, was started on this year, while we have to record the death at Santa Rosa of William Ordway, on the 5th of January, an old and highly esteemed resident of Petaluma.
Once more we turn to the records of the city. On January 4, 1867, we find that a petition from the citizens praying for the appointment of S. Odell as special policeman, night watchman and bell-ringer was presented to the Board, they, at the same time, agreeing to pay for his services as such, a matter which received the consent of the Trustees. Complaint was made, on February 11th, of the obstruction in the creek caused by the sinking of the old steamer "Oroville," whereby a bar was being formed to the detri- ment of navigation; while, on the 15th day of April, the Municipal election was held, and the following officers selected : Board of Trustees, J. G. Cutter, President, H. B. Hasbrouck, N. B. Lane, B. F. Tuttle, and George P. Land; Recorder, E. Cole; Marshal, James H. Knowles; Assessor, Charles Humphries; Street Commissioner, Al. Johnson; Treasurer, F. T. Maynard; Attorney, D. D. Carder; Clerk, Frank W. Shattuck. There would appear to have been some question as to the correctness of this return, for we find a special meet- ing called on May 27th, when the President stated that the object of conven- ing it was to cause to be drawn and delivered to I. G. Wickersham a war- rant or city order for one hundred and sixty-five dollars, being money advanced for the city of Petaluma in the matter of the suit to test the legality of the election of city officers for the year 1867. It was afterwards
296
IIISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
discovered that N. B. Lane had not been duly elected. July 11th, the office of Assessor was declared vacant through the absence, without leave, of D. A. Sackett, Charles Humphries being appointed in his stead. It was also ordered at this meeting that the Gity Clerk, with the assistance of the City Attorney, give notice that the Board of Trustees will, on and after the 2d day of Sep- tember, A. D. 1867, commence executing deeds to the lands donated to the city by Act of Congress, and to notify all persons owning lands in said city to file their claim to same with the Clerk of the Board of Trustees prior to that date; therefore, on September 16th, the following applications, they being the first, were heard by the Board: Hugh Stockdale, Frank Nason, James Galandett, Joseph G. Smith, Addison Crandall, John McGrath, I. G. Wickersham, William Sweeney, Delia Lane. On this date was also adopted the Seal of the City of Petaluma-a portentious impression, emblematic of the productions, trade and commerce of the district of which it is the center. About this period numerous applications for deeds were contested and argued before the Board, and, on October 28th, an Ordinance prohibiting bathing in the creek was amended, so that the reading should be during daylight.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.