USA > California > Alameda County > Past and present of Alameda County, California, Volume I > Part 13
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On July 13, 1874, the boundaries of Alameda township were changed as fol- lows: "Beginning in the center of San Leandro bay, thence northwesterly to the mouth of Brick Yard slough ; thence westerly along the center line of Washington avenue to the westerly line of Park avenue, at the bridge; thence northwesterly along the middle of Main slough, emptying into the Estuary of San Antonio, to said estuary ; thence westerly along the main channel of said estuary to its mouth in San Francisco bay; thence westerly in said bay, following the deepest water, to the western boundary line of Alameda county; thence southeasterly along said boundary line 63/4 miles, more or less, to an angle in the same, and due east 11/4 miles, more or less, to an angle in the same; thence northerly to the most easterly extremity of Bay Farm; and thence northerly in a straight line to the place of beginning."
On the 3d of August the board of supervisors was classified as follows : First- Two members to be elected at the next general election, in September, 1874. Second-Two members to be elected at the general election in 1875. Third- Three members to be elected at the general election in 1876. The supervisors for the First and Sixth districts were to be elected in 1874; those for the Second and Fifth, in 1875; and those for the Third, Fourth and Seventh districts in 1876. The election was held on the 7th of September. The new board was James Beazell, district No. 1 ; H. Overacker, district No. 2; J. B. Marlin, district No. 3; Isham Case (chairman), district No. 4; W. B. Hardy, district No. 5; O. H. Burnham, district No. 6; F. K. Shattuck, district No. 7.
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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
On November 2, 1874, the boundary line between Murray and Washington townships was changed as follows: "Commencing at a point where the line between Murray and Washington townships crosses the Alameda creek, running thence up the Alameda creek to the junction of the Alameda creek and the Arroyo Laguna; thence up the Calaveras creek to the Arroyo Honda; thence up the Arroyo Honda to a point where it intersects the boundary line between Alameda and Santa Clara counties; thence following the said boundary line west to Monu- ment Peak; thence in a southwesterly direction following the line between the two counties to the Bay of San Francisco."
During the year 1874 the courthouse, situated on Washington Square, on the west side of Broadway, between Fourth and Fifth streets, was constructed of wood, brick, stone and iron at a cost of upwards of $200,000. Connected with it, was a jail complete in all its details and a credit to the county.
In 1874 there were cultivated in Alameda county 116,911 acres; 1,450,383 bushels of wheat were raised; 875,612 bushels of barley; 16,000 bushels of onions; 32,741 tons of hay ; 624,756 pounds of wool. In the county were 627,611 grape vines; 62,720 apple trees; large numbers of almond, peach, cherry, pear and. plum trees; 100,000 gallons of wine were made; sheep, 60,338; horses, 8,747 ;. cows, 6,600 ; assessed valuation of all property, $25,070,867.
On the 15th of March, permission was granted to the Livermore Spring Water Company to lay down water pipes in the public highways in and about that town. On the 29th of March the sheriff was granted permission to have the prisoners, photographed. The county was divided into assessment districts corresponding to the townships; this act abolished the former county assessor. The assessors, of each township were thereafter chosen at the general election. This remained the law until 1881 when they were elected every four years. In 1874 the county board agreed to pay over half the expenses of buying and installing a town clock in the new courthouse at Oakland provided the council would appropriate the. other half ; but the latter, owing to its great indebtedness and close money matters, procrastinated and failed to take definite action. There also arose local jealousy. Many said the clock should be in the city hall instead of in the courthouse. By December the county had already paid on the new courthouse $93,000. The' roof was put on at this time.
It was attempted about this time to take a strip of land of about two miles from off the southern portion of Alameda county and annex it to that of Santa" Clara, but the scheme failed. The Tide Land Commissioners had in prospect the sale of a part of the tide land at the head of Lake Merritt, but this also failed on" the passage of an act ceding the territory in question to the city of Oakland.
The board of supervisors met in the new courthouse for the first time for the transaction of public business on Monday, June 14, 1875; the first session of the Third District court commenced there on the 2Ist of the same month, while the county court met here for the first time on the Ioth of July. In July, the Contra Costa Water Company offered to supply water for interior use in the county buildings for $18 per month in gold coin, or it agreed to set a meter and furnish water through the same at the following rates: 10,000 gallons at 75 cents per M and by a graduated scale falling to 50 cents for 35,000 gallons. The latter proposition was accepted by the county board.
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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
According to the assessor's returns in 1875 the following were among the rich men of Oakland township : Edson Adams, $355,680; Samuel Merritt, $293,- 675; Fred Delger, $210,390; S. E. Alden, $190,750; Michael Reese, $141,350; P. S. Wilcox, $127,350; Peder Sather, $112,072; G. C. Potter, $108,314; H. W. Carpentier, $103,250. In Brooklyn township were the following: Hiram Tubbs, $133,725 ; Mrs. Sarah Larue, $154,200. In Eden township: William Meek, $261,- 730; Theodore Leroy, $139,650; F. D. Atherton, $111,170; C. W. Hathaway, $106,390. In Washington township: J. G. Clark, $165,000; J. R. Reene, $439,- 000; George W. Patterson, $125,075. In Murray township: Charles Mclaughlin, $245,066; Joseph F. Black, $103,250. In 1875 the assessed valuation of property in the county was $37,310,557, and the rate of taxation $1.28. The funded debt of the county was $179,944 and the floating debt, $89,325; property owned by the county was worth $90,804, and the cash in the county treasury was $120,945.
Early in 1875 the House of Congress passed the Page bill which prohibited the importation of Chinese coolies under contract and of Chinese women for immoral purposes. The latter provision was as stringent as the California statutes on the same subject. The county board in February removed the old cells to the new county jail. Upon petition Alameda school district was declared a squirrel inspection district with H. S. Barlow inspector. The contract to erect two bridges over San Lorenzo creek in Eden township was let to the California Bridge Company which submitted the lowest bids ($668) and ($768) out of seven competitors ; the bridges were called Lovin and Willow. A burying ground for county poor was ordered bought at Livermore. The grand jury preferred serious charges against the management of the county hospital, whereupon the county board ordered an investigation upon the special invitation of the steward, Fred- erick Gerstenberg. The investigation comittee were Case, Hardy and Overacker of the board. They reported that there were forty-six inmates in the county infirmary and that all were well cared for with one or two exceptions; that the attending physician had had only three skeletons prepared since he was connected with the institution ; that he should be censured for neglect of duty ; but that as a whole the infirmary was well conducted.
In March, 1875, the contract to build a bridge across the Arroyo del Leon in Brooklyn township was awarded to J. H. McCracken for $475. W. J. Tucker was allowed to repair the windmill on Telegraph avenue in Oakland township at an expense of $85. The board of supervisors met for the last time at East Oakland in June. June Sth was proclaimed by the board as the date when the new courthouse, etc., should be occupied by the county officers.
On September 6, 1875, Juana M. Estudillo presented a claim to the board of supervisors as follows :
Iron vault taken from old courthouse $5,000
Nine iron cells. 8,000
Rent from June 25 to January 25, 1875. 2,850
Rent from January 25 to August 25. 700
Damages to premises (courthouse) 1,500
Total
$18,050
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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
The vault here referred to was placed in the courthouse to be used for stor- ing the public funds, and figured also in the suit entered by F. Rhoda, the pro- prietor of the temporary county buildings in East Oakland. After being referred to the district attorney, the supervisors rejected the claim of Senora Estudillo. On December 6th, Judge Nye appointed Valentine Alviso to the board of super- visors in place of James Beazell, who was elected to the Legislature. In this year the taxable property of the county had grown to about ten million dollars, thus putting it at the head of all the counties of the state, with the single exception of San Francisco. The year 1876 was one full of interest to Alameda county. This year the city of Oakland was first partitioned into wards, while it saw the incorporation of the two towns of Haywards and Livermore. The con- struction of the sea-walls for the protection of Oakland harbor entered upon its second year.
On January 24th, the road fund tax paid in by townships amounting to $38,218.28 was ordered distributed among the several township districts. On the 21st of February, the city council of Oakland requested a conference with the board of supervisors in the matter of repairing the Twelfth Street bridge. The result was that the Alameda delegation in the Legislature requested to obtain the passage of a bill authorizing the building of a solid causeway in the place of the bridge, the cost not to exceed $20,000. On March 13th, the board of supervisors received a petition from the citizens of Ocean View Road dis- trict, asking for an issue of $44,000 in township bonds for the purpose of macadamizing their streets, which was denied on the 29th of May, on the ground that it would inflict too great a burden of taxation on the people.
On the 22d of January, 1876, a franchise was granted to F. Chappellet for a horse railroad along Shattuck avenue from the terminus of the Central Pacific railroad at East Berkeley, to Cordoneces creek. In February, a bill in the Legislature provided for the consolidation of the offices of county treasurer, tax collector, clerk and auditor. Mr. Bogge introduced the bill. On the 27th of November, permission was granted to the Berkeley Water Works Company to lay their pipes in certain streets. In 1876-7 the county assessment roll was as follows :
Alameda township $ 2,139,525
Brooklyn township
5,003,210
Eden township
3,136,670
Murray township
2,860,019
Oakland township 19.727.232
On the 4th of December, the new board took their seats ; they were Valentine Alviso, district No. 1; Howard Overacker, district No. 2; Joseph B. Marlin, district No. 3; William C. Mason, district No. 4; Peter Pumyea, district No. 5; O. H. Burnham (chairman), district No. 6; Jerry A. Chase, district No. 7. On the IIth of December, certain additions to the county infirmary were com- pleted, and the bills of the contractor, J. W. Watson, and architect, J. J. New- som, amounting in the aggregate to $3,365 were accepted and allowed.
On January 2, 1877, Supervisor Alviso presented a deed for certain lots in Oak Knoll cemetery near Livermore, to Alameda county, which were con- tracted for when Mr. Beazell was a member of the board of supervisors. On
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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
February 2d, the Secretary of State impressed upon the board of supervisors the necessity under the statutes of having a set of standard weights and meas- ures, at a cost of $300.
On February 5th the Central Pacific Railroad Company offered to pay $3,- 806.24 in full of all taxes unpaid by them to the County of Alameda for the year 1872-73, it being understood that all suits against them should be discon- tinued. This matter was referred to the district attorney, who, under date July 16th, consented to the plan provided it should receive the approval of the Attorney-General of the State, which it did, June 2, 1870, when all suits against the Central Pacific Railroad Company were ordered to be abandoned. On the 24th of April, the clerk was directed to communicate with the board of supervisors of Contra Costa county with a view to more definitely establish- ing the boundary line between the two counties to whichi a reply signifying their willingness was received May 25, 1876. About this period Alameda township petitioned that the Webster Street bridge being over a navigable stream, should properly become a charge upon the county and that the township of Alameda should be relieved from the payment of the balance due thereon, amounting to $13,000, incurred under the act approved April 4, 1872, but when referred to the judiciary committee they reported adversely to the proposition and there the matter rested for the time.
On the Ist of October the reorganized board of supervisors, composed as follows: John Green, district No. 1; H. Overacker, district No. 2; J. B. Mar- lin, district No. 3; William C. Mason, district No. 4; Peter Pumyea, district No. 5; John F. Smith, district No. 6; J. B. Woolsey, district No. 7, had their first session. Mr. Overacker was chosen chairman. On the 22d of the same month a standing reward of $1,000 was offered for the arrest and conviction of any person or persons unlawfully setting fire to any property in Alameda county. A resolution that had been for some time before the board was adopted, Novem- ber 26th, authorizing the Oakland Railroad Company to operate their road on Telegraph avenue on the extension outside the city limits of Oakland with dummy engines in lieu of horses. On the 3d of December, the custom hereto- fore prevailing of drawing monthly warrants in favor of outside indigents was declared to be wrong; it was therefore directed to be discontinued, while it was commanded that thereafter all such matters should come before the board at the regular monthly meetings in the form of bills and take the usual course. On the 17th of December, the supervisors, by resolution, earnestly protested against the passage of a bill then pending in the Legislature, whereby the control of the Webster Street bridge, Oakland, would be transferred to the county. In spite of this opposition, however, the act was approved December 21, 1877. On December 12th the Oakland Homeopathic Hospital and Dispensary Asso- ciation set forth in a petition to the board that it was a corporation formed by the ladies of Alameda county for the purpose of affording free medical and surgical advice and treatment to the poor; that they proposed to establish a hospital and dispensary in the city of Oakland that would largely benefit the county, and they asked the board to furnish them two rooms free. A motion to allow the society $40 per month was lost, and the petition referred to the hospital committee, who later reported favorably on the matter. On February
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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
II, 1878, that amount was granted for rent, the supervisors retaining the priv- ilege to send patients thither.
In September, 1878, the board decided that the supervisors-elect from the third, fourth and seventh districts should not take their seats until the first Monday of March, 1880. The code declared the term of office of a supervisor to be three years, but was silent in regard to the commencement of the term. On December 8th the new board organized and consisted of: John Green, district No. 1; Henry Dusterberry, district No. 2; J. B. Marlin, district No. 3; W. B. Clement, district No. 4; Fred. F. Myers, district No. 5; John F. Smith, district No. 6; W. S. McClane, district No. 7.
The city of Oakland conveyed to Alameda county, Washington and Franklin plazas with the proviso that buildings should be erected thereon on or before March, 1878. In the spring of 1877 the county board prepared to build a hall of records on Franklin plaza.
In regard to the establishment of another hospital and poor-farm, the com- mittee appointed to report on the scheme, on January 28, 1878, set forth rea- sons adverse to it stating that they were furnishing aid to many parties outside of the infirmary at much less rates than could be done inside. On the same date the maps prepared by Thompson & West were declared to be the official maps of the county. In the month of March the board decided to adopt a new plan in the matter of the county infirmary, and advertised for proposals for the care of the inmates at a stated per diem rate per head, the contractor to fur- nish medical attendance, medicines, nurses, food, etc. On August 8th, a res- olution for building the new hall of records on Franklin plaza was taken under advisement for two months. On the 4th H. Dusterberry and F. F. Myers were elected supervisors for districts Nos. 2 and 5, respectively, thus making the new board, when they took their seats on October 7, 1878, to consist of John Green, district No. 1; Henry Dusterberry, district No. 2; J. B. Marlin, district No. 3; William C. Mason, district No. 4; Fred F. Myers, district No. 5; John F. Smith, district No. 6; James B. Woolsey, district No. 7.
On the 2d of December the board of supervisors passed the following resolu- tion: "That commencing January 1, 1879, this board will grant no further relief to those indigents now dependent upon the county and receiving aid, nor to any others who may apply at any time thereafter for the payment of rent, or for groceries, or fuel, as all the dependent poor of the county will then and thereafter be required to go to the county infirmary, and no outside relief will be granted, except in extraordinary cases, and then only by a vote of the entire board."
On February 28, 1880, water rates were established for the following which were named as the water companies of the county: The Contra Costa Water Company, the Mission San Jose Water Works Company, the Livermore Spring Water Compay at Livermore, and the Washington and Murray Townships Water Company in Washington township. The board decided that the same rates be established as were charged by these companies during the past year, the scale to commence on July Ist. Under the provisions of the act approved April 7, 1880, authorizing the appointment of a board of education, O. S. Ingham, Joseph Mckown, A. L. Fuller and W. H. Galbraith were chosen on April 19th to fill the offices, their salaries being fixed at $5 per day for the time necessarily
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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
employed, and 20 cents allowed for mileage in going to their place of business. On June 14, 1880, the county treasurer made the following statement of the outstanding indebtedness of the county :
Outstanding warrants on general fund. $52,457.13
Outstanding warrants on infirmary fund. 9,457.03
Outstanding warrants on district road fund 8,875.89
Interest on above warrants 882.50
Total $71,672.55
Claims allowed and not yet drawn by auditor about. 3,000.00
NILES BRIDGE BONDS
Thirty in number; $500 each, issued August 5, 1872; 10 per cent interest ; semi-annually ; ten years to run; redeemable after five years at option of board of supervisors. Statutes 1871-72, p. 206. ..... $15,000.00
WEBSTER STREET BRIDGE BONDS
Four outstanding; annual interest, Io per cent; statutes 1871-72, p. 83 ; also minutes of board of supervisors, Vol. 3, p. 589; also Stat- utes 1877-78, p. 942. $8,444.66
COUNTY BUILDING BONDS
Two hundred in number, $1,000 each; issued July 6, 1874; interest Io per cent ; semi-annually ; one-tenth of said bonds due in 1885; and one-tenth each year thereafter until all paid. Statutes 1873-74, p. 594.$200,000.00
$223,444.66
On June 1, 1880, the board issued order to have prisoners confined in the county jail made to perform eight hours work daily in and about public build- ings, roads and highways. On June 14th, a resolution consolidating the offices of county clerk and recorder, tax collector and treasurer, on and after July Ist, was referred to the committee of the whole. The building committee having had under advisement the establishment of a receiving hospital in Oakland, reported favorably on the scheme on June 21st. The report was adopted and was handed over to the hospital committee, who, at the following meeting of the board recommended the fitting up of rooms in the basement of the new hall of records. On July 19th, a resolution to fund the debt and issue bonds there- for was referred to the committee of the whole, but the matter fell through on account of the county government bill being declared unconstitutional by the supreme court. On the same date the county was re-partitioned into supervisor districts, the same districts being reestablished with the boundaries heretofore designated. On July 3Ist the board adopted a seal. A communication was received from Sidney Sanders, attorney, setting forth that James M. Goggins
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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
owned six-thirty-sixths undivided interest in Washington and Franklin squares in the city of Oakland, and wished to know what action the supervisors would take in the premises. The document was laid on the table. In October Mr. Smith introduced J. J. Hanifin as his successor and the board then reorganized as follows: John Green, district No. 1; Henry Dusterberry, district No. 2; J. B. Marlin, district No. 3; W. B. Clement, district No. 4; F. F. Myers, dis- trict No. 5; J. J. Hanifin, district No. 6; W. S. McClane, district No. 7. Mr. Dusterberry was unanimously chosen chairman. On the 26th of September, 1881, the proper condolatory resolutions were passed on the death of President Garfield.
In 1883 the total assessment of the five townships Brooklyn, Washington, Eden, Alameda and Murray was $20,006,357. Brooklyn had 26,256.99 acres; Washington, 105,728.16 acres; Alameda, 6,608.38 acres; Murray, 215,993 acres. The total assessment of the county in 1883 was $4,382,821 more than in 1882. In Oakland township the increase was about $2,000,000. At this time there was organized in all three cities a league to resist the payment of the county license tax. Lawyers were employed and funds raised to make the fight. The county board offered for sale bonds to the amount of $120,000.
Marko P. Kay, auditing clerk of the county clerk's office, was defaulter to a large amount in January, 1883. He raised warrants over $10,000. Alameda county brought suit against the Oakland Bank of Savings and the First National Bank to recover the money paid them from the county treasury on the forged warrants of Mr. Kay. The county agreed to relinquish its claims of a penalty if the banks would return the money. The total amount was about $5,572.
In September, the county funded debt was $200,000 and the floating debt $101,180.95. The property of the county and the funds on hand were estimated to be worth about $340,000. A new bridge was ordered built at the Mountain House.
Late in October, 1883, the committee of the whole of the board of super- visors voted on the question whether the charges against Doctor Burdick were sustained with this result: five voted not sustained; two voted sustained. The charge was that the food supplied to the inmates of the infirmary was bad and ill-cooked and that the sick and well were treated alike, no difference being made in their diet; he was also charged with neglect of duty and incompetency. Thirty-two witnesses appeared against him and fifty for him. The examina- tion consumed twelve days before the full board on full pay and the county paid the cost of investigation.
In 1883-84 the county board performed their duties under the newly enacted and more or less revolutionary county government bill under which they were compelled to pass ordinances and cover matters formerly governed by statutes, such as the license and pound ordinances. The most perplexing problem was to manage the finances of the county under new conditions and on a gigantic scale. Formerly all warrants, to pay which no money was on hand in the sev- eral funds, were registered and thus a floating indebtedness was carried over from year to year. This was prevented by the supreme court, which caused a financial climax, but was met in a masterly manner by the board. The whole indebtedness was funded and bonds were issued, saving the county thousands of dollars. The bonds though drawing less interest than the warrants were sold
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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
at a premium. In a few months $10,000 of the bonds were redeemed, and as much more a little later. It was apparent that if the wise measures of the board of 1883-84 were continued, the time would soon arrive when the county would not owe a single dollar. The new board of January, 1885, were Messrs. Duster- berry, Hanifin, Morgan, Mollay and Pelonse; Mr. Hanifin was chosen chair- man. The board decided to hold regular meetings on the first Mondays of Janu- ary, April, July and October.
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