USA > California > Alameda County > The centennial year book of Alameda County, California : containing a summary of the discovery and settlement of California, a description of the Contra Costa under Spanish, Mexican, and American rule, biographical sketches of prominent pioneers and public men > Part 34
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The following offer was made to the Board of Supervisors at their March meeting :
GENTLEMEN :- The undersigned having a large number of young trees on hand at Fitchburg, Alameda County, offers from two to four thousand as a gift to the county, provided your Honorable Board will have them taken up and transplanted on the two sides of the county road between San Antonio and San Leandro-two rows on each side of the road. . Respectfully, HENRY S. FITCH.
It does not appear that this offer was acted upon, or that any notice was taken of it, although a liberal one, and the subject of planting the county road with trees had been contemplated by the Board as one of the improvements to be inaugurated upon that thoroughfare.
At the same meeting appeared Mr. W. F. Boardman, who made some remarks on the subject of a county map. He recommended that the Board have the proposed county map made in two parts, one re- presenting Oakland, Alameda and Brooklyn Townships, on a scale of ten chains to an inch, and the other representing Eden, Washington and Murray Townships, on a scale of twenty chains to the inch. He also informed the Board that it would take fully a year to make a suitable map of the county, and that it would cost from five to six thousand dollars. Mr. Boardman showed to the Board a beautiful map representing San Mateo County, which was the same style as he recommended for this county.
The proposition to build a narrow-gauge railroad from Oakland to Walnut Creek, in Contra Costa County, engaged a good deal of atten- tion this year. The farmers of Contra Costa were very much alive to the importance of the enterprise, but nothing has yet been done in the matter, although there was much earnestness shown in the matter then, and a powerful company to carry out such an enterprise was organized in 1875.
At a meeting held in Walnut Creek on the 22d of March, W. L. Boardman, for the engineers, made a verbal report, which embraced .the following facts : That they had made a preliminary survey of the
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road from Oakland over the hills ; that they had surveyed several routes, either of which they found practicable; but the best route was by way of Berkeley. They commenced the survey at the west side of the hills, about five miles from Oakland, ascending the moun- tain with a grade of one hundred and fifty feet to the mile, to an alti- tude of about eight hundred feet ; thence, by running a tunnel near the Berkeley House, two thousand five hundred feet, they commenced the descent on the eastern side of the range, down by Heuston's, with a grade of one hundred feet to the mile, with another short tun- nel of two hundred feet, making a gradual descent to Lafayette and Walnut Creek-distance, nineteen miles. The cost will not exceed $15,000 per mile, complete, in running order, thus bringing Walnut Creek within thirty minutes of Oakland. An average engine, of twenty-seven tons weight, will take one hundred and twenty-three tons over the proposed road at a good speed. There are no curves on the line of less than eight or ten degrees. The tunnel can be made shorter by giving the road a greater grade. The tunnel will proba- bly cost $40,000. He stated that, in making the surveys, they had found the very best indications of coal, and had no doubt but that the building of the road would develop some of the best coal mines in the State.
The following resolutions were passed :
Resolved, That we, the Farmers' Club of Contra Costa County, are in favor of building the railroad from tide water at Oakland to Wal- nut creek, and thence to Antioch ; also,
Resolved, That we recommend the County of Contra Costa to give a subsidy of $200,000 in bonds to aid the building of said road.
An old Mission Indian named Umbry, well known at San Leandro, where he was often employed by the inhabitants at sawing wood and doing chores, died at Pierce's ranch, about two miles from the town, about the middle of March. Old Umbre was the last of his tribe left about San Leandro, and was over sixty years of age.
Nothing has as yet been said in this work about our oyster beds. The Alameda Encinal of March 22d contained the following piece of information concerning our oyster industry :
"Alameda promises to become an important point for the growing and cultivation of oysters. Parties long engaged in the business have recently purchased some of the tide lands lying in Alameda Bay, and have already commenced to plant extensively. The schooner B. F. Lee, Captain J. J. Winant, has just brought from Shoalwater
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Bay a cargo of about five thousand baskets, for the Washington Oyster Company-a company formed by the oystermen of Shoal- water Bay, who are largely interested in the business there, and have formed themselves into a co-operative company for the purpose of marketing their oysters in San Francisco. J. J. Winant is their agent. Their depot is at 107 California Market. The Pacific Oyster Company, whose beds are at present located at Oakland, have also purchased land, and will remove to this place. They have made ar- rangements with parties in New York to ship them several car-loads this spring. Their depot is at No. 27 San Francisco Market. In addition to these, Mr. S. Winant, who has been engaged in the busi- ness in this State for twenty years, has made arrangements with large dealers in New York to send fifteen or twenty car-loads in the spring, to be planted adjoining the beds of the first-named companies. So the prospect is that Alameda Bay will soon contain the most extensive oyster beds in the State."
A meeting of the movers in the railroad project between Oakland and Contra Costa County held a meeting at No. 24 Wilcox Block, on Wednesday, March 26. Judge W. H. Glascock was called to the Chair, and Franklin Warner, Esq., was chosen Secretary. Articles of Incorporation of the Oakland and Contra Costa Railroad Company, drawn by eminent attorneys, were presented, but upon examining the Code in connection with a late decision of the Supreme Court, were deemed informal. It was then decided to defer incorporating until Saturday, April 5th. A committee was appointed by the meeting, to solicit subscriptions to the stock. . The Contra Costa delegation named E. Brown, Esq., as a special committee for that county for that pur- pose. Several subsequent meetings were held, but nothing came of the movement at this time.
About two years ago this community was startled by a cold-blooded murder commited in Suñol Valley, at the store of Thomas Scott, an ex-supervisor of this county. The victim was Otto Ludovisco, a clerk in the store, and the perpetrators supposed to be three native Cali- fornians. Sheriff Morse traced one of the supposed murderers, Juan Soto, to his mountain retreat in the lower county. The attempt of Morse to arrest the assassin led to a desperate and deadly fight, in which Juan Soto was killed. Bartolo Sepulveda, another one of the suspected parties, who had not been seen in this county since the night of the murder, gave himself into the custody of the Sheriff, stat- ing that he desired a trial to establish his innocence. The prelimi-
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nary examination, before Justice Smith, resulted in the prisoner being bound over to appear before the Grand Jury.
The case was brought before the first Grand Jury of the County Court, and an indictment found, but the case was transmitted to the District Court, in which it was tried in the July term. It com- menced on the 26th of the month, and occupied one week. The prosecution was conducted by the District Attorney, A. A. Moore ; and Mr. Spencer of San Jose, and Mr. Van Voorhies of Oakland, appeared for the defense. On the 1st of August the Jury brought in a verdict of murder in the first degree against the prisoner. A new trial was demanded and the case continued till the next term.
The May-day festivities were very general this year, and picnics were held in almost every locality in the county, in grove, pavilion and hall, with the sound of music, the spreading of flowers, and the wreathing of bright garlands. At Dry Creek, near Decoto, the festi- vities were kept up for four days.
The corner-stone of the College of Letters of the University of California was laid at Berkeley on May 3d, by A. J. Moulder, in the absence of Governor Booth.
There was no June term of the District Court this year, on account of the removal of the county seat.
There was a meeting of settlers at Altamont, on the 31st of May, for the purpose of having a new and general survey of Murray Township, in order to trace out the lines of the government survey accurately, as they were surveyed by Sherman Day, as Department U. S. Surveyor under Col. John C. Hays, when he was Surveyor- General, and which survey is the correct one. Subsequent to that the settlers complained there were all manner of surveys, of which no two were alike, and trouble among neighbors was the result.
The final division of the Las Poscitas or Livermore rancho was made on Friday, May 30th, subject to the approval of parties interested, by Commissioners Col. A. J. Coffee, R. A. McClure and Newton Ingram, with the assistance of Mr. Louis Castro and his corps of surveyors. By this decision J. H. Mahoney was allowed 302 acres ; F. Aurreocochea, 4,500 ; H. Bailey, 865 ; Rolland Saunders, 965 ; George May, 315 ; Robert Livermore, Jr., 400 ; John Green, 500; Mariana Avila, 395 ; V. Alviso, 815. Bailey gained 100 acres on the old survey ; R. Livermore, 10; Saunders, 140; Avila, 21 acres and $1,000 for improvements ; and John Green, 100 acres. The following are the losers : May, 85 acres; Mahoney, 108;
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Aurreocochea, 240 ; and Alviso, 10. The case for final decision was placed before Judge McKee, with Pringle and Hamilton, attorneys for Alviso, May, Aurreococheo, Bailey, Saunders and Avila. Crane and Johnston for Green; and J. R. Palmer for Mahoney.
A company of Scotchmen, through a Mr. Robertson, purchased of E. L. Beard, of Mission San José, 18,000 acres of salt marsh, between Alviso and Alvarado, with the intention of reclaiming it and putting it under cultivation. The tract has a length of over twelve miles on the bay of San Francisco, with many inlets having the necessary depth of water for navigation. The soil is exceedingly rich, and has great depth. In winter the fresh water, by the overflow of Mission and other creeks, covers the tract and leaves a deposit of rich mud for fertilization, and leach out the salt left by the tides of the previ- ous Summer. The company intended to prevent the salt water over- flow at high tides, and to control the Winter overflow of fresh water, distributing it at pleasure by an improved system of canals and small locks. The reclamation, it was thought, could be easily and cheaply made, compared with Sherman and neighboring islands. The work was a great one, and in a few years, at the farthest, the spot promises to teem with agricultural products. Since then 4,000 or 5,000 acres of the land have been reclaimed and placed under crop.
The anniversary of our national independence was celebrated with the usual enthusiasm and in the usual manner in various parts of the county. At San Lorenzo, the orator of the day was Dr. J. W. Van Zandt, of Haywards, and J. V. B. Goodrich, County Clerk, read the Declaration of Independence. Both those gentlemen have since left us-the one having removed to Virginia City and the other to Mich- igan. They will not forget the years they spent in the pleasant places of Alameda.
The following petition for a franchise was received by the Board of Supervisors, on July 25th, and referred to the proper committee :
To the Hon. Board of Supervisors of Alameda County :
The undersigned petition your honorable body to grant them and their associates or assigns the right to lay down, construct, operate and maintain, for a period of twenty-five years, an iron railroad, to run cars thereon and to carry passengers and freight from the Mis- sion San José to the City of Oakland, upon the following route, to-wit : Commencing at the Mission San José, Alameda County, thence westerly and southerly along the main county road through the villages of Washington Corners, Centreville, Alvarado and San
24
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Lorenzo, to San Leandro ; thence upon and along the main public road to Adams Avenue, extended, and along and upon Adams Avenue, extended, to the Oakland city limits. E. L. Beard, J. West Martin, S. Huff, Robt. Simpson, Wm. Meek, A. W. Swett, W. F. B. Lynch, James Larue.
Nothing has yet been done to show that said petitioners were in earnest.
A fire broke out in the storehouse of the C. P. R. R. Co., at Pleasanton, about 2 o'clock, on July 26th, which resulted in the destruction of property belonging to the company, estimated at the value of $10,000 to $12,000. Besides the storehouse, the passenger station was also destroyed. These buildings were on either side of the railroad track, which also received some injury. The telegraph wires were destroyed, and for some time communication was sus- pended.
In the east end of the warehouse resided Mr. Stewart, the Station- master, with his family, who lost everything he possessed, including a quantity of money. In a vevy brief space of time, let it be said to the credit of the people of Pleasanton, a sum of $200 was collected for his relief.
At a baby show in San Francisco, the prize for the smallest speci- men of humanity was taken by a child born in East Oakland, which weighed but two pounds. It was leased for exhibition as a curiosity, which it certainly was, and probably went the rounds of the world.
At the State election, this year, one of the candidates for office was the notorious absconder, Geo. M. Pinney, who set up for the position of State Senator and made a promising canvass of the county. Before the party nominations, however, he withdrew, leaving the field clear for Messrs. Spaulding and Howard-other candidates for the Republican nomination. Neither, however, won the prize. Pinney gave as a reason for his withdrawal from the contest that the fact that he had killed a man in Helena, Montana, in 1868, in self- defense, was being used to his disadvantage by his enemies. There were other reasons besides this for his withdrawal, which was only used as a pretense.
The contract for constructing a map of the county was awarded August 4th, to G. F. Allardt, he having undertaken to do the work for the sum of $6,750. One large map was to be furnished for the Supervisors' room, and fifty copies of a smaller size, printed or photo-
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lithographed. The following were the specifications for the construc- tion of said map :
After the boundaries of the county are established, the work of preparing a map to proceed as follows :
1st. The division of the county into townships, and the area of each given.
2d. The location of each Spanish grant, and the area thereof as confirmed ; the name of the grant and date of confirmation.
3d. The location of all sobrante grants (so called), and the esti- mated area of each, and the date of confirmation, if confirmed.
4th. The public lands and the estimated area of such, whether occupied or not, and the subdivisions of such by sections and one- fourth section lines (Mount Diablo base and meridian).
5th. The location of all the School and Supervisor Districts, properly defined, and the names of each.
6th. The location of all the public roads in the county, and the survey number of each.
7th. All the railroads and railroad stations in the county, and the names thereof.
8th. The location of all the principal creeks, by actual survey, and the general topography of the county.
9th. The location of all cities, towns and villages, with plans of streets, if laid out.
10th. The location of each rancho, farm or tract of land compris- ing forty acres or more, and the name of the owner thereon.
11th. The location of homestead tracts and names and smaller subdivisions as far as practicable, but without the name, the names of lessees and what are known as squatter claims should not be given.
12th. The location of the swamp and overflowed and salt marsh lands, and subdivisions of the same, according to the surveys of the State and Tide Land Commissioners' survey.
13th. The segregation line between the marsh and upland, as established by the State.
14th. The maps shall be made on a scale of forty chains to the inch ; also, one map to be made on the scale of twenty chains to the inch, and hung on rollers.
By order of the Board of Supervisors of Alameda County.
J. V. B. GOODRICH, Clerk.
By C. G. REED, Deputy.
Oakland, July 8th, 1873.
The Republican County Convention was held in San Leandro, on the 11th of August, Geo. M. Pinney acting as Chairman. Chas. Webb Howard was nominated for State Senator, and Messrs. W. J. Gurnett and I. A. Amerman, for Assemblymen. With the excep-
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tion of Senator and Treasurer, all the nominees of the Republican Convention were elected.
The Independent Reform Convention was held at the call of the Democratic County Committee, August 23d, when a full ticket was nominated.
Dr. Beverly Cole was appointed Chairman, and J. M. Estudillo, Secretary, of the Convention.
Hon. Edward Gibbons, Independent, received the nomination for State Senator, and Hon. J. W. Dwinelle, Republican, and Hon. Daniel Inman, Democrat, both former representatives of the county, were nominated for Assembly. For Treasurer, Robert Far- relly was nominated by acclamation. Mr. Farrelly had been a candidate before the Republican Convention, having hitherto co- operated with that party ; but, by one of those mysterious political manœuvre, which sometimes surprise people, the nomination was snatched from him. This was believed to be done through the in- fluence of a secret politico-religious organization, known as the " Crescents," which had a strong delegation in the Convention, and Mr. Farrelly felt free to accept the Independent nomination, which he did. Ellis E. Haynes, a Republican, was nominated for Sheriff; J. M. Estudillo, Democrat, for County Clerk ; Eben C. Farley, Democrat, for Recorder ; Henry Evers, Republican, for Auditor ; W. W. Foote, Democrat, for District Attorney ; Newton Ingram, Democrat, for Tax Collector ; Thos. W. Millard, Democrat, for As- sessor ; V. S. Northey, Independent, Commissioner of Highways ; John Doherty, Democrat, Surveyor ; Eugene Thurston, Democrat, for Superintendent of Schools ; S. W. Mather, Republican, for Coroner ; and Dr. W. P. Gibbons, Republican, for Public Adminis- trator.
The election took place on the 3d of September, the result showing that, with the exception of Senator and Treasurer, the Republicans elected their whole ticket. The majorities were as follows : Gib- bons (Independent), for State Senator, 345 ; Amerman, for Assem- bly, 272 ; Gurnett, for Assembly, 326 ; Farrelly (Independent), 515; Goodrich, for Clerk, 1098; Borein, for Auditor, 1165 ; Stevens, for Tax Collector, 363 ; Moore, for District Attorney, 775; Marsten, for Recorder, 954; Morehouse, for Assessor, 893 ; Castro, for Sur- veyor, 924; Lynch, for Superintendent of Schools, 526. Mather and Gibbons (for Coroner and Administrator) were without opposi- tion, having been endorsed by both parties.
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At the September session of the County Court, Judge Nye deli- vered a charge to the Grand Jury on the abuse of the ballot and the necessity of punishing offenses against the elective franchise. It was charged that corrupt practices had been resorted to in the late election, and the Judge desired the jury to investigate the matter. No inquiry was made, however, and the matter was allowed to rest.
The price of grain this year was good. In September, 1872, wheat sold in San Francisco for $1.90 per hundred ; the same month, this year, it brought $2.27 to $2.35. The harvest was not so large, but, in addition to better prices, freights were much lower.
On the 25th day of September the State University reopened at Berkeley, when the first session there was formally commenced.
The People's Independent party was organized this fall in Califor- nia, with the Governor, Newton Booth, at its head.
On September 29th the new time table of the San Francisco and Oakland Ferry and Railroad, making half-hourly trips, went into operation.
On the 30th a contract was signed between John A. Ball and Seth H. Wetherbee, on the one part, and Henry Durant, Mayor of Oak- land, on the other, for the dredging of the Oakland bar, the cost of the work having been fixed at $20,000.
The County Teachers' Institute met in the Oakland High School building on the 30th, when there were about 100 teachers in attend- ance.
At the judicial election, held on the 15th of October, there were four candidates in the field for Judge of the Supreme Court. McKee was the Democratic nominee, Mckinstry the Independent, and Dwi- nelle the Republican. The Republicans ran a second candidate, Judge Brunston, to fill a possible vacancy. Mckinstry, the Inde- pendent nominee, was elected by a large majority in the whole State, but McKee carried his own county by a very large majority, the fig- ures being as follows : McKee, 1,316 ; Mckinstry, 465; Dwinelle, 400.
At a meeting, held to organize a Grange, the second in the county, at Livermore, the following officers were chosen : Daniel Inman, M .; J. A. Neal, O .; E. M. Carr, L .; J. T. Taylor, S .; E. P. Bragdon, A. S .; E. S. Allen, T .; F. R. Fassett, Sec .; W. W. Wynn, C .; J. H. Brackett, G. K .; Mrs. A. P. Francis, Ceres ; Mrs. Mattie Rinaldo, Pomono ; Mrs. M. Taylor, Flora ; Mrs. J. J. Inman, Lady Assistant Steward.
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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
The calendar of the Third District Court, for the October term, was an extremely long one. The case of Bartolo Sepulveda, con- victed at the last term of murder in the first degree, but applying for a new trial, was continued till the 11th of November. Sebastian Flores was indicted for the murder of Francisco Garcia.
County Assessor Hunt was arrested on the 21st of October, on a warrant, issued by Justice Asa Howard, charging him with appro- priating to his own use money belonging to the county. The sum to be accounted for was $8,085.20. It was understood there was $5,102 of the amount on deposit. Judge McKee gave a decision in the case on the 2d of December, and sustained the demurrer to the complaint on the ground that the provisions of the Political Code, authorizing assessors of counties to collect poll-taxes, were inap- plicable to those officers who were elected before the adoption of the Code.
Mr. Northey, who was elected Commissioner of Highways at the general election, was refused a certificate of election by the County Clerk, on the ground that the law did not authorize the office in this county. Mr. Northey applied to the District Court for a writ of mandate to compel the issuance of the certificate asked for. On the 5th of December Judge McKee rendered a decision against the exist- ence of the office.
Rev. Frederick Buel, a well-known Presbyterian minister, died at his home in East Oakland, on the 27th of October. He organized the California Branch of the American Bible Society, and was its agent for about twenty years. He took an active interest in educa- tional matters on this side of the bay. He was a graduate of Yale College, and a native of Litchfield, Conn. When California was a territory of Mexico, Mr. Buel was in the Bay of Monterey as the first officer of a ship then trading to this coast. There had not been rain enough for two seasons to produce a crop, and Mr. Buel sent ship-bread ashore to supply the natives. Deceased was aged 60 years, and left a large family.
The trial of Flores, for the murder of Garcia, commenced in the Third District Court, on the 6th of November. Flores had once been the principal witness against Garcia, in a trial for murder at San José, but the evidence was not sufficient to convict, and Garcia was cleared. From that time a grudge existed between them. They met on the 12th of August, at a wake, which was held over the body of a young Spanish girl, at the house of Higuera, at
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Warm Springs, and a slight difficulty occurred between them during the evening. About 10 o'clock they left the house and went a short distance together down a road, where another altercation took place between them, and Garcia received a wound from which he died a few days afterwards. When found, he lay on the ground with his throat cut. After several days' trial and an elaborate charge by Judge McKee, the jury brought in a verdict of man- slaughter. The prisoner was sentenced on the 21st to five years' confinement in the State Prison.
The rare occurrence of a strike among vegetable-growers took place in November, in consequence of the San Francisco authorities disallowing them the use of Sansome Street on which to longer sell their produce. Even in this vicinity they refused to sell until their troubles were settled. The result was, a dearth for some days of garden stuff, for which Oakland was largely relying on the San Fran- cisco market, the strange anomoly existing of Alameda producers sending their stuff first to San Francisco and Oakland consumers buying it back again from them.
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