USA > California > Sonoma County > History of Sonoma County : including its geology, topography, mountains, valleys, and streams > Part 46
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HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
lame and halt and the blind-in fact everybody who had, or who could influence or control a vote. The smoke of the sacrifice of whole sheep and huge quarters of beef ascended to heaven freighted with the prayers of the Santa Rosans to dispose the hearts and ballots of the people in their favor, and, like the pious Greeks of old on similar occasions, when the smoke had ceased to ascend and the offering was cooked to a turn, they partook of the sacrificial meat-the incense of which had tickled their nostrils, whetting at the same time their appetites and their devotion." It is said there were present not fewer than five hundred people from all parts of the county around; the oration was delivered by a Baptist minister named A. A. Guernsey ; the Declaration of Independence was read by James Prewitt, and speeches were made by Joe Neville, John Robinson and Sylvester Ballou. So great a success was this entertainment, that taking its beat from that date, the barbecue has become the standing feast of Sonoma county. This feast was held in a magnificent grove of oaks which stood on the Hassett place, then belonging to Commodore Elliott. In this year masonry made its start in Santa Rosa, a fact which may be considered as peculiar when we regard the very short time which had elapsed since the laying out of the town The third house built in Santa Rosa was the Masonic Lodge. It was constructed by John Ingram, and was weather-boarded with eastern pine, according to the specifications, and at immense cost, the durability of the redwoods not having as yet been fully proven. After working under dispensation for come time, Santa Rosa Lodge, No. 57, Fand A. M. was granted a charter on May 2, 1854, among the original officers being, Achilles Richardson, Worshipful Master, John Ingram, Senior Warden, and William Noel, Secretary; a full list of these, however, will be found elsewhere. The lower floor of the hall was, immediately on completion, opened as hotel by E. Colgan, but he after- wards moved and erected another hotel-the fourth house to be put up in the city-on the ground now occupied by the Santa Rosa House on C street. The building was constructed also by John Ingram. Early in the year, Barney Hoen disposed of his share in the business conducted at the old a lobe of historic memory to his partners Hahman and Hartman, and moving into Santa Rosa, put up the first store in the city-for it must not be forgotten that the store of Achilles Richardson was just without the surveyed limits- erecting it on C street on the site of John Richard's barber shop. Hah- man and Hartman, however, quickly took in the situation, and perceiv- ing that Santa Rosa was the coming town, they too moved from the a lobe. Hoen, however, had occupied with his building the site intended to be used by the other firm, Hahman therefore purchased and built upon the lot sit- uated on the northwest corner of Second and C Streets, opposite to the livery stable of J. P. Clark, at that time belonging to Julio Carrillo. The building was completed and thrown open on the memorable fourth of July; a grand ball wound up the earlier barbacue, at which some forty or fifty
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couple tripped the light fantastic until daylight. On September 18, 1854, the die was cast; the Supervisors met in Sonoma and having duly canvassed the votes polled, declared that henceforth Santa Rosa was the capital of Sonoma county. So soon as the news went abroad that Sonoma was van- quished, beeves were slaughtered by Hoen and Julio Carrillo, and a sumptu- ous feast got up, and great was the rejoicing, which we are told was kept up unceasingly for two days. We have stated above that the Supervisors met on the 18th September. At this session it was moved by S. L. Fowler, one of their body, that the archives be removed to the new county seat on the 22nd, which was unanimously passed. How were they removed? Mr. Robert Thompson graphically tells us: "On the day appointed, Jim Williamson, with a four-horse team and wagon, accompanied by Horace Martin and some others, went down to Sonoma, captured and brought up the archives, amid due threats of injunction and violence from the Sonoma people, who saw with no little chagrin, the county seat slip through their fingers. The Santa Rosans had the law, wanted only possession, and would not have hesitated to use all the force necessary to get at that; as it was, they captured the archives by strategy, and the dry and dusty documents of former drowsy old Alcaldes were whirled over the ground as fast as Jim Williamson's four- in-hand could take them to the new capital, where they safely arrived, and were deposited pro tem. in Julio Carrillo's house, which was rented for that purpose." On the 20th September, at a meeting of the Board of Supervis- ors convened in the above named house of Julio Carrillo, Barney Hoen bound himself to have a court house erected within the space of six months, the building to occupy the lots presented by himself and Hahman and Hartman; happily the work was accomplished inside the specified time, and at once occupied by the government of the county. The building stood on Fourth between Mendocino and D streets, and was afterwards removed across the railroad track to Hewitt's addition, where it is now a dwelling house. In the year 1856 the lower story of the present court house was built by the county by J. M. Phillips, a contracter of San Francisco, at a cost of nine thousand dollars, the old one being sold, as well as the lots on which it stood. The upper story, which cost twenty thousand dollars, was erected in 1859, while the Recorder's office was built, for a like sum, in the years 1871-2.
Early in the year 1855, G. N. Miller purchased the store of Barney Hoen, and therein started on his own account, but he dying, his business was pur- chased by Dr. Hendley. From him an interest was purchased by E. T. Farmer, and the firm, who conducted their affairs on the east side of the Plaza, became Hendley & Farmer, the partnership being ultimately carried on by Mr. Farmer alone.
In 1856 Hahman & Hartman sold their business to B. Goldfish, and being joined by Henry Wise, the firm was styled Wise & Goldfish, who are at present the oldest mercantile establishment in the city. The lower story of
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HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
the first house mentioned above, built in this year, was the first brick build- ing constructed in the city; the second, is that brick building next to the office of the Sonoma Democrat, originally erected for Buck Williamson by John Ingram. The first saddler was a man named Bernard; in 1856 he was succeeded by T. B. Hood.
The first lawyers to practice in the city were Colonel W. Ross, who removed hither on change of the county seat, in 1854. In the following May, Judge Jackson Temple commenced the practice of his profession, since when his rise has been steady, until he has attained that position on the Dis- trict Bench which he fills with dignity and impartiality, a living example of uprightness and sterling worth, respected and loved by all, irrespective of political creed. As far back as the year 1851, Doctor J. F. Boyce arrived in the township, and pursued his calling as a physician, it was not until 1854 that he came to the city of Santa Rosa, since which year he has continuously practiced there. The second permanent medical man to arrive was Doctor Williams in 1855, but previous to his coming there had been an itinerant medico named Martin, who used to attend to the wants of the halt, the lame and the blind. The first merchants were Achilles Richardson, B. Hoen, Hahman & Hartmann; the first saddler was - Bernard; the first school was taught in the Masonic Hall by W. M. Williamson; while the first term of court was held in the residence of Julio Carrillo by Judge Frank Shat- tuck. The first Postmaster was Donald McDonald, appointed April 23, 1852.
Robert A, Thompson, the able County Clerk, informs us Santa Rosa grew quite rapidly from 1854 up to 1859, having that year, by actual count, two churches and two resident preachers, nine lawyers, tive doctors, one academy for two hundred and fifty pupils, two notaries, one newspaper (the Sonoma Democrat, which had been established in 1857 by A. W. Russell), nine dry goods and grocery stores, one drug store, two hotels, two restaurants, two saloons, one saddle shop, one butcher shop, one shoemaker, one jeweler, one paint shop, one carriage shop, and three carpenter shops, one pump factory, two livery stables, one bakery, seventy-four residences, and a population of four hundred.
The number of houses having increased so radidly, and the value of perishable property trebled, the organization of a Fire Department was urged early in the year 1860, but it was not until after the burning of Doctor Todd's house, on Third street, on January 20th of the following year that anything was done. On the Ist of February, 1861, a meeting of citizens was convened, at which the following names were enrolled as a hook and ladder company : W. G. Alban, C. N. Sichrist, W. H. Crowell Thomas L. Thompson, T. W. Brown, D. McDonald, G. H. Matthews, D. Schulty, A. Bromberger, J. Boser, W. P. Bull, M. A. Martin, J. H. J. Rich- ardson, F. W. Shattuck, W. A. Buster, W. M. Williamson, James McCoy,
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E. T. Farmer, Charles W. White, B. Goldfish, John F. Kessing, Andrew Earton, C. W. Matthews, H. B. Martin, C. G. Ames. On the 9th the organ- ization was completed by the election of the following officers : President, W. H. Crowell; Foreman, Thomas L. Thompson; First Assistant Foreman, James P. Clark; Second Assistant Foreman, T. W. Brown; Secretary, R. M. Martin; Treasurer, J. T. Kessing; Standing Committee, C. W. White, C. W. Matthews, J. H. J. Richardson; and Trustees, W. G. Alban, A. Brom- berger, Fenwick Fisher.
In this year, as has been mentioned in our history of Petaluma, the question of moving the county seat from Santa Rosa to that city occupied a considerable share of public attention; the matter had been carried to the Legislature of the State, and a petition put in circulation requesting that body to aid the passage of the bill, against which the sympathizers with Santa Rosa placed the following protest in one of their principal stores, and asked those in favor of its purport to attach their names: "To the Honora- ble the Legislature of California-The undersigned, citizens of Sonoma county, earnestly protest against the passage by your honorable body of any act requiring the people of Sonoma county to vote upon a change of location of the county seat of said county, as being unnecessary, unwise and burdensome to the citizens of the county, already heavily taxed, because of a large county indebtedness. The present county seat is located as nearly as possible in the geographical center of said county, and is equally as near the center of population, and could by no possibility be located at any other point so convenient of access to the mass of the citizens of the connty." The bill was passed on April 10th, notwithstanding the objections put forth. It was severely criticised in all parts of the county, and when put to the vote of the people, in the month of September, at the general election, was lost and Santa Rosa sustained.
Throughout the year 1861 the city still continued on the increase ; the erection of houses was still the order of the day, while in the month of August we find a new Methodist Church, fifty-four by thirty-two feet in dimensions, and eighteen feet from floor to ceiling, was being proceeded with. A visitor at this period writes : "Santa Rosa is as pretty as its name. A romantic bridge greeted us at the entrance, overhung by oaks, whose branches were festooned with the graceful Spanish moss. A pretty stream circles round the village, celebrated for its delicious mountain trout ; it reminds us of a quiet little hamlet 'far away from the noisy world, pur- suing the even tenor of its way.'" On December 8th, Santa Rosa was visited by a freshet in the creek, which flooded the streets and houses, and caused damage to the extent of eight thousand dollars. Such devastation and its immediate cause being without parallel in the recollection of the proverbial earliest inhabitant.
The hook and ladder company established in 1861 not proving enough to
No & Marker
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maintain the prestige of the Fire Department in the rapidly increasing city, Santa Rosa Engine Company No. 1 was added to the organization on January 9, 1862. Onward being the watchword, we find them on the 15th adopting a constitution, passing by-laws, and electing the following officers: W. H. Crowell, President ; Thomas L. Thompson, Foreman; Frederick Fraser First Assistant; Fenwick Fisher, Secretary; B. Goldfish, Treasurer; John Ledwedge, C. W. White, George Matthews, Investigating Committee, and Trustees, A. Bromberger, J. S. Van Doren, C. W. Matthews.
During the early part of the year strenuous attempts were made to effect a division of the county, apportioning certain townships in the lower part to Marin, and desiring to name the upper division of Sonoma county, Sotoyome. The boundary line proposed to be run was from the mouth of Russian river up to the mouth of Mark West creek; up Mark West creek to the Laguna; thence along the Laguna to the southern boundary of Santa Rosa township; and thence in a direct line east to Napa county, thus taking in the townships of Analy, Bodega, Petaluma, Vallejo, and Sonoma. A petition being circulated to this effect, a remonstrance was put in circulation, with what outturn the present boundary line of the county best shows. On the 30th April, at two o'clock A. M., the slumberers of Santa Rosa were aroused by the dread cry of "fire." It was discovered that the Eureka Hotel, owned by Rippeto & Bills, and occupied by J. S. Van Doren, was in flames. Notwithstanding the indefatigable exertions of the Fire Department, the flames gained so complete a mastery that the Eureka was entirely destroyed, at a loss to the proprietors of four thousand five hundred dollars, and to Mr. Van Doren of twenty-three hundred, only one thousand dollars of which was covered by insurance; besides these, J. G. Maxwell sustained damage to the extent of two thousand dollars, while O. Reichardt and J. Burgess lost fifty and seventy-five dollars respectively. On June 6, 1862, the first exhibition of the Santa Rosa Seminary was held, under the superintendence of Mr. and Mrs. R. K. Marriner; while, on October 11th, a military company named the Washington Guard was organized under the following officers: Captain, W. A. Eliason; First Lieutenant, O. T. Baldwin; Senior Second Lieutenant, H. T. Hewett; Junior Second Lieutenant, N. W. Bostwick; Orderly Sergeant, B. C. Westfall; Second Sergeant, W. Wilks; Third Sergeant, C. Kessing; Fourth Sergeant, W. E. Cowper; Fifth Sergeant, J. A. Woodson; First Corporal, J. Linville; Second Corporal, J. G. Maxwell; Third Corporal, W. H. H. Whitlock; Fourth Corporal, W. T. Scott. Among the other matters which showed the onward march of the city was the increase in the number of its churches; on November 30th, the building of the Methodist Episcopal denomination was dedicated by the Rev. Mr. Thomas of San Francisco; and in the end of the year death crept in, and on December 7th took Donald McDonald, that old pioneer and almost first settler in the city. He it was, it will be remembered, who joined Mallagh at the "old adobe " in business, as he was also the first to receive the official appointment of postmaster for Santa Rosa.
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HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
In the year 1863, matters proceeded surely and quietly; the project of a railroad was first publicly discussed by a meeting of the citizens, the subject however, to remain for some time longer in abeyance, while still another matter of benefit to the community was reported in November by the contemplated establishment of a Seminary by Mr. McCorkle, of the Christian Church, in the old Academy building. The succeeding year was hailed with yet one more improvement; on February 15, 1864, Santa Rosa was con- nected by telegraph with the outside world. The office was located in the Court House under the supervision of Melville Johnson, who performed the duties of first operator. The influence of electricity soon made itself felt, the local newspaper began to devote a special department to these messages, and all felt a strong desire to correspond by this novel method. We find that the incubus of debt had fastened itself around the neck of the Fire Department and that the ladies had with their usual generosity come to their assistance, and by holding a fair and a festival raised a sum sufficient to defray the expense of erecting a new engine-house which they presented to the " flame-fighters " on July 2, 1864. On August 1st, died the Honorable C. P. Wilkins, who had been County Judge in the year 1853 and represented Sonoma in the State Legislature in 1860, positions which he filled with satisfaction to all His remains were followed to the grave by a large con- course of friends, the pall bearers, members of the legal profession, being Messrs. Jackson Temple, L. C. Reyburn, W. D. Bliss, G. W. Reed, L. D. Latimer and John Brown.
We find that on February 7, 1865, Mrs. Ryan was brutally murdered by her husband, Michael Ryan, by striking her on the head with a pick. They had been but a short time resident in the town, and lived unhappily together, the husband being addicted to dissipated habits. On the 29th June he was arraigned before Judge Sawyer and sentenced to death, this being the first conviction of murder in the first degree which had taken place in the county since its organization. The murderer was decreed to pay the extreme penalty of the law on the 17th August, but in the meantime a stay of pro- ceedings was granted upon motion for a new trial. He was hanged on March 23, 1866, within the jail-yard at Santa Rosa-the first execution in the county. In the month of March the popular voice was once more heard on the subject of railroads; while, on April 15th, intelligence of the assassi- nation of President Lincoln was received amid the profoundest grief. On the 18th a public meeting of the citizens of Santa Rosa was held at the Court House, W. A. Eliason in the Chair, when a committee, consisting of T. H. Pyatt, L. D. Latimer, T. B. Hood and William Ross, was appointed for the purpose of making general arrangements for the due observance of the obsequies of the lamented dead, and William Churchman, C. W. Langdon and Rev. Thomas Fraser, a Committee on Resolutions. In the evening an adjourned meeting was convened, at which the following resolutions reported
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by the committee were adopted and ordered published: "In the hour of National triumph we are suddenly called to mourn with a deep and bitter mourning. Our beloved and venerated Chief Magistrate, Abraham Lincoln, the choice and hope and pride of the American people, has been slain by an assassin. Our hearts are smitten and crushed, but we bow in humble sub- mission before Him who raised up, guided and prepared our deceased Presi- dent for the emergency through which he passed. THEREFORE, Resolved, That as President of the United States, he was the property and friend of every man, woman and child in the nation; his death is therefore a national calamity, a universal bereavement, and demands universal sorrow. Resolved, That we sorrow under the dispensation of Providence, not only because of our high estimate of Abraham Lincoln as Chief Magistrate of our nation; because by his wisdom, firmness and prudence he had guided and was guiding our troubled country through perils which threaten her existence to safety and perpetuity; but because by his death we have lost one who happily united the good man, the patient and exemplary citizen with the highest statesmanship and executive ability. Resolved, That we wear a badge of mourning on the left arm for thirty days. Resolved, That this community assemble at the Methodist Church, Santa Rosa, to-morrow, at noon, the hour appointed for the funeral of our beloved President, and together humble themselves in prayer for the restoration to health of William H. Seward and for the direction of the judgment of Andrew Johnson, now President of the United States, and for the direction and guidance of Ulysses S. Grant, the present leader of the army, and for the restoration of our dis- tracted country to peace and prosperity." At the appointed hour the impres- sive ceremonies took place, the stores and public buildings being closed, and every other mark of respect paid to the lamented President. Under the caption, "The National Calamity," the Sonoma County Democrat of April 22, 1865, has the following: "The sad tidings flashed across the wires since our last issue have stricken with horror the popular heart of the great Pacific States. The effect of the terrible tragedy enacted at Washington on the 14th instant, by which the nation was brutally robbed of its Chief Magistrate and a murderous assault made upon its next most responsible functionary, has been felt in every hamlet and in every household. Never before had our people such cause for lamentation as on this occasion. Coming upon us as it has, at a time when the popular pulse throbbed with joy at the bright prospects of a speedy peace, and the reuniting of our distracted country upon terms of brotherhood and affection, the blow is even more severely felt, and the heart that does not deeply deplore this unparalleled tragedy in the history of nations, must indeed be devoid of all feelings of national pride. To assume that there is any party or body of our people who do not sympathize with the nation in this its hour of trial, or to attempt to fasten the responsibility of the deed upon any considerable body of our
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citizens, is an outrage upon the American people, and such an idea could only emanate from the crazed brain of a fanatic, who would rejoice at the sight of more blood and lamentation in the land. By all means let those who are guilty atone for the heinous crime they have committed, by suffering the severest penalty known to the law, but let not the hand of the avenger be imbrued in innocent blood. We have heard but one expression, and that of the deepest sorrow, over the sad calamity and disgrace which has befallen us as a people. The humiliation is shared in alike by every party and sect. No pen is adequate to the task of portraying the deep sorrow and humilia- tion of our citizens, and we must rely alone upon a just God, who presides over the destinies of all mankind, to deliver us from the fearful complications in which we are involved on every side."
In May of this year Hood & Co. commenced the erection of a new mill on the south side of the creek, the apparatus and machinery of the Santa Rosa mills being removed; while, in view of the erection of brick buildings in the town, houses being in great demand at the time, August Kohle had estab- lished a yard in the outskirts of the city. In October we find the new public school-house for court-house district was fast proceeding towards completion in the hands of Hewitt and Petit. The following are the dimen- sions then given of the structure: The main building is forty-one fret nine inches in breadth by forty-six feet three inches in depth, exclusive of the porches in front, which are nine feet six inches wide, with an outward pro- jection of six feet. The edifice is two stories high, the first being eleven feet and the second, thirteen. The front story has two school-rooms, twenty by thirty-four feet, and a room ten feet six inches by twenty-two feet six inches all in the clear. On each side of the front is a hall, nine by ten feet six inches, with two flights of stairs leading to the second story, where there is one large school-room, thirty-four by forty feet, and six inches in the clear, and a room in front ten feet six inches by twelve feet six inches. The foundation is of stone laid in cement, which is three feet wide at the base and two feet at the top, and two feet high.
During this month railroad affairs still attracted attention, while on account of the large attendance at the courts the want of proper hotel accommodation was making itself felt, and, notwithstanding the offer of a large bonus to any one who would expend ten thousand dollars on such a building, it was a considerable time before any one with sufficient public spirit would make the attempt.
On March 24, 1866, the propriety of having Santa Rosa incorporated was first discussed; and at a meeting called on the 9th April to consider the matter, Judge Ross was elected chairman, and H. Wise, secretary. On motion of J. W. Morris, a committee was appointed by the chair, composed of James M. Williams, Murray Whalon, Thomas L. Thomson, and Judge Ross, to define the boundaries of the town, make a plot of the same, to be
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