USA > California > Alameda County > Past and present of Alameda County, California, Volume I > Part 11
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In February, 1889, John P. Irish of Oakland was appointed by the President one of the commissioners to examine and report on about twenty and one-half miles of railroad constructed by the Southern Pacific. On April 1, 1889, the trustees of Alameda granted a franchise to the Oakland, Alameda and Piedmont Railroad Company to construct and maintain a street car line on Park street from Santa Clara to Encinal avenue on which the Narrow-gauge then ran. The company already had a franchise on Park north of Santa Clara. Early in October, 1889, the council granted a franchise to F. K. Shattuck and others to construct an electric railroad along Second, Franklin, Thirteenth and Grove streets and on to Berkeley. This ordinance was vetoed by Mayor Glascock on the ground that it did not contain the five-cent-fare clause as specified in the city charter. The veto of Mayor Glascock to the electric street railway franchise ordinance in November, 1889, was nullified by its passage over the veto by the vote of Io to I.
On May 30, 1890, the Narrow-gauge train plunged into the creek while cross- ing the Webster street bridge and about thirteen people were drowned. The danger signal was not noticed or was not displayed. An immense crowd gathered to view the awful spectacle. Nearly all the dead were residents of San Francisco. The train engineer was blamed. The engineer fled and hid. In 1890 a shipyard was established on the Alameda side of Oakland harbor near the freight slips of the Narrow-gauge railroad and was placed under the supervision of Captain White.
On September 10, 1890, the county board was petitioned to grant a franchise to H. W. Meek, C. E. Palmer, W. J. Landers and E. B. Stone for an electric road connecting Haywards and Oakland. The petition was signed by Edward O. Webb, William Roberts, A. Jones, Franklin Moss, J. P. Dieves and S. Huff. The line was projected along the main county road connecting the two points.
The Piedmont cable road was at last completed in August, 1890; the cable was put in on the 20th. The suburban section-from Piedmont to the cable house-had been in operation already for about two weeks. Work on this line was commenced in July, 1889. The length of the cable was 36,000 feet, both
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divisions. The road was built by the San Francisco Tool Company, the contract price being $600,000. When the Piedmont cable line was completed, over 20,000 people went to the end to see the new transportation line and view the city from the hills.
In May, 1891, the project of an electric road from Oakland to Haywards was taken up in earnest and slowly carried into effect. The cost was fixed at $250,- 000 and landowners along the way were asked to donate the right of way or pay a bonus for the advantages gained. This was regarded at the time as the most important railroad project since the original railroad and ferry line was established. The Oakland and Berkeley Rapid Transit Company's electric road was put in operation in May, 1891; the cars were built at Stockton. The trial trips in the suburbs where the start was made were highly successful. It was regarded as an important historical episode. James Gamble of Piedmont was at the head of this enterprise. In June, 1891, Colonel Crocker of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company stated informally that the horse car and dummy service on Telegraph avenue would soon be replaced with an up-to-date electric equip- ment. In July, 1891, the board of trade decided formally to aid in raising means for the construction of the Oakland, San Leandro and Haywards electric road by raising a bonus of $10,000 to start with.
In August, 1891, many residents of Alvarado, Irvington, Mission San Jose, Niles and Centerville asked the county board to grant a franchise to D. Chap- pellet and others to build an electric road from Haywards to the Alameda county boundary on the way to San Jose. Henry Miller addressed the board on behalf of the project. He declared they had the necessary means in hand and would make gauge and equipment correspond with those of the proposed Oakland and Haywards electric road. Half a dozen towns asked the board to grant the franchise. The road was designed to branch at Decoto, one branch taking in Niles, Mission San Jose and Irvington and the other taking in Alvarado, Newark and Centerville. There was much enthusiasm in favor of the project.
In February, 1891, the county board passed a resolution requesting the mem- bers of the Legislature from this county to use every honorable effort to have the laws so amended as to permit the use of electricity as a motive power on street railways. This action was due to the growing demand for electric power and to the attitude of Mayor Glascock, who believed that such a franchise under existing laws was unconstitutional. There was great rejoicing in Oakland, and indeed in all parts of the county on February 12, 1891, when news was received that the electric street railroad bills had passed the Assembly. Not a vote was cast in the Assembly against either bill, although at one time there was sharp opposition to both. They went at once to the Senate where they likewise passed without difficulty.
The county board granted a franchise for a street railroad on Alcatraz and San Pablo avenues to the Oakland Railroad Company, and another to Herman Krusi on Washington and Fruit Vale avenues and Park street in May, 1892. In 1891 three horse-car lines yet remained in operation in Oakland-on Four- teenth street, on Telegraph Avenue road and on the Tubbs Hotel line. There were in operation a cable road on San Pablo avenue and another to Piedmont. The Berkeley electric road was in operation. The Sessions-Vandercook electric line and the Haywards electric line were to be built at once.
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For years before 1891 it was presumed by the citizens of Alameda that the Central Pacific Railroad Company owned a big strip through Railroad avenue and that therefore no improvement there could be taken into consideration by the municipality. Upon examination by a lawyer it was learned that the com- pany had no franchise, because there was no municipality when the tract was laid. Attorney Taylor informed the trustees that the avenue was an open street and that the railroad company need not be consulted concerning its improvement.
Late in October, 1891, the Southern Pacific Company definitely concluded, to the great delight of the citizens, to build at once an electric road on Telegraph avenue to take the place of the horse car line there.
The construction of the Oakland, San Leandro and Haywards electric rail- road in 1891-92 was followed by a marvelous change in the territory between the terminals. Several small towns sprang into existence. Whole farms were thrown into market by the real estate dealers who sold thousands of lots and acre tracts and reaped bountiful harvests. San Leandro grew rapidly and soon doubled in population. Haywards extended its limits, laid out new streets. Everywhere on that line growth appeared.
The horse car service rapidly disappeared. The Consolidated Piedmont Cable Company had transformed its horse lines into cable lines. The Telegraph avenue horse car line was converted into an electric line. The Consolidated company adopted and developed an electric street railroad system which was followed by enormous growth in the northern part. The Fourteenth street branch was operated as an electric feeder of the main cable system. The Haywards electric line was succeeded by wonderful growth. The Oakland Consolidated Company was expanding and uniting with other lines. No city in the state showed such stupendous growth and improvement in street railroad construction as Oakland during this eventful year. All the "back country" was threatened by the car invasion.
Cars on the new electric railroad of the East Oakland Company on Eighth street began to run regularly in November, 1892. The road was popularly called the Sessions and Vandercook line. The road ran from Broadway and Eighth streets eastward across the north arm of the estuary to near the Clinton station and thence northward past Peralta Heights, Lake Merritt Park and Lake View to East Oakland Heights and another branch ran out on Commerce street to Eighteenth where transfers were given to the Highland Park and Fruit Vale systems.
In 1893 F. M. Smith bought from other parties the franchise for an electric street railway on Twelfth street from Broadway to West Oakland and soon afterward bought a controlling interest in the Oakland Consolidated system which included the Grove street, Shattuck avenue, Lorin, West Eighth street and Six- teenth street lines. Soon afterward the whole system was conveyed to the Realty Syndicate. A little later the Highland Park and Fruitvale electric road was annexed, and then came the Piedmont and Mountain View line, the Alameda electric line, the California railway which extended to Mills College and finally all others in the county. The Oakland Street Railway Company, a branch of the Southern Pacific syndicate sold its San Pablo and Telegraph avenue lines to the Realty syndicate in February, 1901. It was not until the death of C. P. Hunt- ington that the last of the lines passed to the syndicate. The last act was the
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purchase in August, 1901, of the Oakland, San Leandro and Haywards electric line. Late in 1901 the Oakland and San Jose railway was incorporated by the syndicate, which at this time held seven-tenths of the capital stock of the Oakland Transit Company which operated 120 miles of street railroad in the three cities and elsewhere. It was necessary for the syndicate to change the road beds and the gauge from narrow to broad. The street lines and their extensions were built to aid the syndicate's realty sales in the cities and their suburbs, and Pied- mont, Berkeley and their adjacencies began to grow as never before, and many other sections equally desirable were in a measure neglected. However, the syndi- cate was not narrow in its methods, but bought large tracts in all the suburbs, sold many lots, built many homes and promptly supplied such sections with satisfactory street railway facilities. In a statement issued in October, 1901, the syndicate was shown to own a frontage of 285,474 feet which had cost $2,282,129, or $7.99 a front foot, and to have sold a frontage of 10,670 feet at an average price of $18.02 per front foot. In their purchases were the Laundry Farm quarries of paving rock, where large quantities of pyrites ore containing sulphur, copper, gold, silver and iron was obtained. In the hills bought were valuable water sup- plies which were utilized. The Piedmont Springs had been known for many years.
As early as 1893 Oakland had the most complete electric street railway system in the United States and nearly every mile was built in two years. There were lines on Seventh, Eighth, Twelfth and Fourteenth, Grove, San Pablo, Tele- graph, Broadway in part, to Alameda, Piedmont, Fruit Vale and Haywards. Half a dozen others were projected or commenced. In May, 1893, the Alameda, Oakland and Piedmont line was changed from a horse road to an electric one and there was great rejoicing. It had been long called the "Bobtailed Car Line."
The administration of Mayor Pardee took a pronounced and vigorous stand against the claims and pretentions of the Southern Pacific Company in June, 1893. Finally, under orders from the mayor, a strong force of police took possession of the company's wharf at the foot of Broadway, tore up the rails, threw out all the Southern Pacific Company's property and kept possession for the city. The railway company promptly brought injunction proceedings, and later suit in the United States court to restrain the city from interfering with the Broad- way wharf. When this case came on for trial in San Francisco H. W. Carpentier was one of the witnesses for the company. At that time he was sixty-nine years old. In this case the array of lawyers was powerful. For the company were W. F. Herrin, H. S. Brown, A. A. Moore, J. C. Martin, J. E. Foulds and for the city J. A. Johnson, H. A. Powell, W. R. Davis, E. P. Pringle and Mr. Hill. The piles were finally sold at auction by the city authorities.
In 1893 the Davie Ferry and Transportation Company established a rival line with the boats Rosalie and Alvira. It was called the People's Ferry and was designed to secure cheaper rates. Soon the Southern Pacific improved its service and reduced the fare between San Francisco and Oakland to ten cents. A big mass meeting of 2,000 citizens declared the company was trying to kill competition-wanted a monopoly of its own. The Davie line was instrumental in forcing the other company to reduce rates and afford better service, but was not well sustained by the people and in a short time was tied up by creditors.
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In October, 1893, a large force of men under the direction of Mayor Pardee pulled out many piles recently driven by the Southern Pacific railway on the new mole. This act was in response to the proceedings of the council which declared the existence of the piles a nuisance. The railway company promptly secured an injunction from Judge Henshaw, but the same night the council obtained an order vacating the injunction, whereupon the pulling of the piles was resumed. They were brought to the city and heaped up on the city hall lots.
In November, 1893, the Piedmont Consolidated Cable Company passed into the hands of a receiver. The Oakland and San Francisco Terminal Company was incorporated in November, 1893. This was an outgrowth of progress and not of hostility to any existing system of transportation. In December, 1893 Mayor Pardee vetoed the Dow Anti-Gate ordinance which prohibited the use of gates on railroad passenger cars. In 1894 the Oakland Terminal railway, of which F. M. Smith was president, embraced the following lines: The Grove Street road and its branches; Twelfth Street electric; Alameda and Piedmont electric; Laundry Farm (steam) railroad; control of the California and Nevada (narrow gauge and steam) railroad and others. On October 2, 1894, the smok- ing car on the rear of the Narrow-gauge train jumped the tracks on the south side of the Webster street bridge and plunged into the bay; two or three per- sons were killed and several injured.
The San Joaquin Valley railroad received great stimulus early in 1895 by the large subscriptions of the Spreckels-$700,000. Berkeley from the start favored the construction of the valley railroad. Land for a terminus at West Berkeley was offered with the right of way along the water front and with piers and wharves. A meeting of the citizens pledged a donation of $50,000 in consider- ation that Berkeley should be chosen as the terminus. This progressive step set a spur in the side of Oakland. Mayor Pardee promptly appointed a citizens' com- mittee to work for the terminus in Oakland. The mayor's committee called for subscriptions to be paid to secure the terminus. The subscriptions were not a bonus, but aid to a legitimate enterprise that would give Oakland a competing railway line. By February 20, 1895, $103,500 was subscribed by Oakland cap- italists to secure the terminus, the heaviest subscribers being F. R. Delger, $15,000; James Moffitt, $10,000; Oakland Bank of Savings, $10,000; Oakland Gas Company, $10,000; Adams estate, $10,000. The subscriptions for the val- ley road amounted to $187,350 by March 9, 1895.
On March 19, 1895, the Piedmont Consolidated Cable Company's entire property was sold at auction for $82,000 to Charles R. Bishop, vice president of the Bank of California; his bid was the only one.
In January, 1896, Egbert Stone and several men began to deposit rails near the Plaza in San Leandro with the avowed intention of building a double track for the Oakland, San Leandro and Haywards electric line. Marshal Geisen- hofer asked them to desist on the ground that they had no authority to lay a second track through the town. The marshal finally began to remove the rails. A large crowd gathered, the fire bell was rung; shots were fired to attract a crowd, blows were struck and several arrests were made. The company claimed the right to two tracks.
In April, 1898, came the announcement of the consolidation of the Southern Pacific, Northern, California Pacific and the Northern California railways. In
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CLAREMONT HOTEL OAKLAND'S WATERFRONT
SHIPPING SCENE, LONG WHARF CROWD WELCOMING FIRST OVERLAND TRAIN TO ARRIVE AT WESTERN PACIFIC STATION, OAKLAND
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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
April, 1898, the Oakland council passed an ordinance granting the railroad com- pany a franchise to run its tracks from Second and Webster streets to the foot of Harrison street where it was proposed to build a bridge across the estuary.
In the summer of 1901 there was little electric lighting in the county east of Oakland. Haywards had a small electric plant, but San Leandro was lighted from a private gas plant. By March, 1902, through the efforts of the Suburban Electric Company, dwellings and business houses from Oakland to Haywards and in the district around Centerville and Mission San Jose, were lighted by that medium. The Suburban Company secured its . power from the Standard Electric Company's plant of the Bay Counties Company at Colgate on the Yuba river. Thus the Suburban Company acted as a distributing agent. Altogether there were about 1,500 lights in use by March 1, 1902. The lines were being extended in all directions.
In July, 1901, William G. Henshaw bought two-thirds of the stock of the Oakland, San Leandro and Haywards Electric Railway Company. At this time the whole road was valued at over nine hundred thousand dollars. He took the stock subject to a considerable floating debt.
In 1900-1 the Oakland Transit Company's lines were consolidated with those operated by the Oakland Railway Company. This consolidation thus had com- plete control of all the street car lines operating in Oakland, Berkeley and Ala- meda, the Oakland, San Leandro and Haywards road being the only one not in the combine. The consolidation took in the Telegraph and San Pablo avenue lines. The Transit Company's interest controlled the new corporation. As the majority of its stock was owned by the realty syndicate of which F. M. Smith the "Borax King" was president, the latter became practically the boss of the new system. The old Pacific improvement company owned a large block of the Oakland railway stock. The new corporation held 1051/4 miles of track and of this 8514 miles was owned by the Transit system. E. A. Heron as president, and W. F. Kelly, as manager, had charge of the consolidated company.
In November, 1901, the county board granted a franchise to the Suburban Electric Company to erect poles and string wires along certain highways of the county.
The close of 1906 brought with it a certainty of the settlement of the bitter contention over the right of shippers to demand access on equal terms to all lines of road having tracks in the city. The Southern Pacific, Santa Fe and Key Route were practically forced to this settlement by the Oakland council which passed a resolution refusing to grant a franchise for industry plants, spur tracks, or belt lines, unless provision for interchange switching was incorporated in the ordinance.
Many new electric lines were planned by the Southern Pacific for Berkeley and vicinity late in 1908, all to cost about $3,000,000. Three roads were designed to converge at the north end of the Contra Costa county line and a fourth road was to extend from Adeline street to the University campus. The steam line to Berkeley was changed to an electric one. The Key Route, was also active in extending its lines and improving its service. West Berkeley was greatly bene- fitted by the changes. Ocean View was given better rail facilities. Previous to this date the Key Route and the Oakland Traction companies controlled the
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street electric lines, but now the Southern Pacific and Western Pacific systems planned to invade these fruitful fields.
The entry of the first through passenger train of the Western road into Oakland occurred August 22, 1910, and was celebrated on a grand scale by the whole city. It was the completion of the fourth great trans-continental line into the city-Southern, Central, Western and Santa Fe. All four companies, realizing the great advantages they would gain by such a course, prepared to concede many points in order to meet half way the magnificent plans for municipal improvement in progress under the city administration. They planned great docks, the reclamation of vast areas of tide land, warehouses, track exten- sions, etc. The leasing by the Southern Pacific Company for fifty years of a strip of the city's western water front was hailed as an admission that lawsuits between the city and the company over water front claims were forever past.
CHAPTER VI
THE COUNTY BOARD
Previous to 1853 what is now known as Alameda county was a part of Contra Costa county and its public affairs were managed by the authorities of the latter. As early as 1850 several public highways were laid out across this county-one extending along the west side of the San Pablo and the San Leandro hills and another extending from east to west through the Livermore valley.
Before the first roads were laid out by the county authorities numerous trails ran from ranch to ranch along the valleys and over the hills or led to the Mission San Jose towards which at first, like Rome, all roads led. The trails were well marked. One ran from the corral of Vicente Peralta, near Temescal along past the ranchos of Domingo and Ygnacio Peralta, Castro and on down to that of Vallejo near the Mission. Another began near the rancho of Robert Livermore at Las Pocitas Spring, thence on past the haciendas of Bernal, Sunol and Alviso, following the canyon in summer and crossing the mountains through the Corral Pass in winter, down to the mission. Another led from the Tules of the upper bay over the mountains and down through the beautiful valley where Amador lived, past the ranchos of Castro and Soto on to the mission. On this trail John C. Fremont and party rode on their way to Monterey, taking as they went such horses of Amador as they wished and never returning them or paying for them.
The latter was the first road considered by the Alameda county authorities on June 6, 1853, at Alvarado, then the county seat. Judge A. M. Crane then presided over the court of sessions. The trail was first called Stockton Road and at this time was declared a public highway. The second county road was formally located from Vicente Peralta's house to Oakland. F. K. Shattuck was one of the viewers of this road, which in time became Telegraph avenue. The third ran from Broad- way to San Pablo and was called San Pablo road and later avenue. Every one road on horseback in those days; that was the only way to cross the streams, val- leys, hills and marshes. There were no buggies till later.
The original boundary of Contra Costa county was as follows: "Beginning at the mouth of Alameda creek and running thence in a southwesterly direction to the middle of the Bay of San Francisco; thence in a northerly or northwesterly direction, following as near as may be the middle of the bay to the Straits of San Pablo; thence up the middle of the Bay of San Pablo to the Straits of Carquinez ; thence running up the middle of said straits to the Suisan bay and up the middle of said bay to the mouth of the San Joaquin river ; thence following up the mid- dle of said river to the place known as Pescadero or Lower Crossing; thence in a direct line to the northeast corner of Santa Clara county, which is on the summit of the Coast Range near the source of Alameda creek; thence down the middle of said creek to its mouth which was the place of beginning, including the islands
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of San Pablo, Coreacas and Tasoro. The seat of justice shall be at the town of Martinez."
The remainder of what is now Alameda county-that is, all south of Ala- meda creek-was a portion of Santa Clara county and was denominated Wash- ington township, which name was retained after the creation and organization of Alameda county in 1853.
In 1852, while Alameda was still a portion of Contra Costa county, an act provided that the stream called San Antonio creek, in the county of Contra Costa, should be declared navigable from its mouth to the old embarcadero of San Antonio, and no obstruction to the navigation thereof should be permitted. In this year the town of Oakland was incorporated.
On October 28th, the board of supervisors of Contra Costa county made a contract with T. C. Gilman to build a bridge across the San Antonio creek, in Oakland, the contract price being $7,500. It was stipulated in the contract that should the treasurer refuse to pay any warrant or order drawn in favor of Gil- man, out of any money belonging to said county, a penalty of five per cent per month, to be deemed an interest was to be paid Mr. Gilman. On March 8, 1853, the board of supervisors met and accepted the bridge and made an order directing the county auditor to draw a warrant upon the county treasurer, in favor of Gil- man, for $7,662.50, that being the contract price of the bridge, together with inter- est thereon at five per cent per month from the time the bridge had been completed up to the period the order was made. A warrant was drawn by the auditor in favor of Gilman and delivered to him March 8, 1853. After long litigation the county actually paid for the bridge $31,611.21.
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