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 8
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53
A sharp contest had been going on from the first between Mr. Smith and Mr. Carpentier, for the county seat, each desiring to have it in his own locality, and, as the result shows, the former triumphed by a bare majority of two. Thus was born, at the City of Benicia, then the State Capital, a bantling which soon waxed robust and strong, and in a few years outstripped all her elder sisters, being now possessed of the largest population of any county in the State, except- ing the consolidated City and County of San Francisco. John Bigler, who was then Governor, stood sponsor for the new-born babe, which, in every sense, has proved a healthy and promising child.
The Act of Incorporation, as it finally passed, is as follows :
AN ACT to create the County of Alameda and establish the Seat of Justice therein, to define its boundaries and to provide for its organization. Approved March 25, 1853.
The People of the State of California, represented in Senate and As- sembly, do enact as follows:
SECTION 1. The following shall constitute the boundaries and Seat of Justice of Alameda County : Beginning at a point at the head of a slough, which is an arm of the Bay of San Francisco, mak- ing into the mainland in front of the Gegara Ranches ; thence to a lone sycamore tree that stands in a ravine between the dwellings of Fluhencia and Valentine Gegara ; thence up said ravine to the top of the mountains ; thence in a direct line eastwardly to the junction of the San Joaquin and Tuolumne Counties ; thence northwest-
73
UNDER THE STARS AND STRIPES.
wardly on the west line of San Joaquin County to the slough known as the Pescadero ; thence westwardly in a straight line until it strikes the dividing ridge in the direction of the house of Joel Harlan, in Amador Valley ; thence westwardly along the middle of said ridge, crossing the gulch one-half mile below Prince's Mill ; thence to and running upon the dividing ridge between the Redwoods known as the San Antonio and Prince's Woods ; thence along the top of said ridge to the head of the gulch or creek that divides the ranches of the Peraltas from those known as the San Pablo Ranches ; thence down the middle of said gulch to its mouth ; and thence westwardly to the eastern line of the County of San Francisco ; thence along said last-mentioned line to the place of beginning. Seat of Justice, Alvarado.
SEC. 2. There shall be held an election for county officers in the County of Alameda, on the second Monday of April, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, at which election the qualified voters of said county shall choose one County Judge, one District Attorney, one County Clerk, who shall, ex-officio, be County Recorder, one Sheriff, one County Surveyor, one County Assessor, one Coroner, and one County Treasurer.
SEC. 3. James B. Larue, Michael Murray, J. S. Watkins, J. S. Marston and Gustavus Harper are hereby appointed Commissioners to designate the necessary election precincts in the County of Ala- meda for said election, and to appoint the Judges and Inspectors of Election at the several precincts designated to receive the returns, and to issue certificates of election to the parties receiving the high- est number of legal votes, and in all other respects said election shall be conducted according to the provisions of the "Act to Regulate Elections," passed March 23d, 1850.
SEC. 4. For the purpose of designating the several precincts in said county, said Commissioners shall meet on the Monday two weeks previous to the day of election, and at said meeting shall designate the Judges and Inspectors of Election for such precincts. The Commissioners shall appoint one of their number as President, and one as Clerk, who shall keep a record of their proceedings in a book to be provided for that purpose, which record shall be deposited in the Clerk's office after the Commissioners shall have closed their labors. A majority of said Commissioners shall at all times consti- tute a quorum for the transaction of business.
SEC. 5. The Commissioners shall, immediately after designating
74
HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
the precincts, and appointing the proper officers to conduct said election, give notice of such election, and the names of the officers appointed to conduct the same, by written or printed notices, to be posted at each of the precincts, and said notices shall be thus posted, at least ten days before the election.
SEC. 6. Sealed returns from the offices of election may be delivered to any member of said Board. The Commissioners shall meet in the town of New Haven, on the tenth day subsequent to the day of election, and the returns shall then be opened by said Commissioners and canvassed, and the persons having the highest number of legal votes for the several offices to be filled shall be declared elected, and the President shall immediately make out and send or deliver to each person chosen a certificate of election, signed by him as President of the Commission and attested by the Clerk.
SEC. 7. Each person chosen shall qualify and enter upon the dis- charge of the duties of his office, within ten days after the receipt of his certificate of election. The person elected as County Judge shall qualify before the President of the Commissioners. Persons elected to the other offices may qualify before the County Judge or before said President.
SEC. 8. The President of the Commissioners shall transmit with- out delay an abstract of said election returns to the Secretary of State, and retain the original returns until the Clerk shall qualify, when he shall file the same in the Clerk's office.
SEC. 9. The County Judge shall hold his office for four years, and until his successor is chosen and qualified. The other officers shall hold their offices for two years, and until their successors are chosen and qualified pursuant to law.
SEC. 10. The County Judge and two Associate Justices, to be chosen from among the Justices of the Peace that may be elected from among themselves, shall form a Court of Sessions for the trans- action of all county business authorized to be transacted by Boards of Supervisors in other counties of the State.
SEC. 11. At the first term of the Court of Sessions of said County of Alameda, said Court shall appoint two Commissioners, to meet a corresponding number of Commissioners to be appointed on the part of the County of Santa Clara, and the like number on the part of the County of Contra Costa, for the purpose of ascertaining and set- tling the amount of indebtedness said County of Alameda shall assume of said counties ; and when so ascertained and ratified by said
75
UNDER THE STARS AND STRIPES.
Commissioners, or a majority of them, the Court of Sessions of Ala- meda County shall issue a warrant in favor of the County Treasurer of each of said counties for the sum awarded to each respectively, payable out of any funds that may come into the treasury of Alameda County. The said Commissioners shall meet in the town of Alva- rado on the first Monday of July, A. D. one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, which shall be known as the seat of justice of Ala- meda County.
SEC. 12. The County Judge shall receive, as compensation for his services, two thousand five hundred dollars per annum, payable quar- terly out of the county treasury ; and the District Attorney shall receive, as compensation for his services, one thousand dollars per annum, payable quarterly out of the county treasury of said county.
SEC. 13. The county seat of Alameda County shall be at the town of New Haven.
SEC. 14. Alameda County shall be in the Third Judicial District, and there shall be four terms of the District Court holden in said county each year.
SEC. 15. The Commissioners appointed to conduct the election, as in this Act specified, may also, at the same time, place and manner, order an election for not less than five Justices of the Peace in said county, to qualify in manner as other officers elected under the pro- visions of this Act, and shall hold their offices for one year, and until their successors are chosen and qualified.
SEC. 16. The Recorders of Contra Costa and Santa Clara Coun- ties, upon application and payment of the fees, shall transmit to the Clerk's Office of the County of Alameda, certified copies of all deeds or other papers recorded in their offices, wherein the subject matter of such deed or other paper is situated in Alameda County. The Clerks of Contra Costa and. Santa Clara shall transmit all files in their offices, wherein both parties reside in Alameda County, or where the subject matter is situated in said county, and for such services the Clerk shall receive the fees allowed by law ; said Clerk shall transmit, as aforesaid, and upon like conditions, all papers and files relating to unfinished actions, or proceedings in the nature of actions, whether original or on appeal, wherein both parties reside in said Alameda County ; and also in local actions, wherein the subject matter in controversy is situated in said Alameda County. Nothing in this Act shall be so construed as to prevent those persons now citizens of Contra Costa County, who, by the operation of this Act,
76
HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
shall become citizens of Alameda County, from participating in and voting at the election to be held in Contra Costa County, on the 26th of March, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.
SEC. 17. The parts of counties out of which the County of Ala- meda is formed, shall, for judicial purposes, remain in and constitute parts of the counties to which they respectively belonged before the passage of this Act, until the County of Alameda shall be organized under the provisions of this Act. Approved March 25, 1853.
The following is the Amendatory Act already referred to :
AN ACT amendatory of an Act, entitled an Act to create the County of Alameda and establish the Seat of Justice therein ; to define its boundaries and provide for its organization. Passed March 25th, 1853.
SECTION 1. The second section of an Act entitled " An Act to create the County of Alameda and establish the Seat of Justice therein, to define its boundaries and provide for its organization," passed March 25th, 1853, is hereby amended so as to read as follows: There shall be held an election for County Officers, in the County of Alameda, on the 4th Monday of April, 1853, at which election the qualified voters of said county shall choose one County Judge, one District Attorney, one County Clerk, who shall, ex-officio, be County Recorder ; one Sheriff, one County Surveyor, one County Assessor, one Coroner, one County Treasurer, and one Public Administrator. Approved April 6, 1853.
At its birth, the population of the new county was about 3,000, having increased at a rapid rate during the two years previous.
The derivation of its name is simple and easily given. It comes from the Alameda Creek, its principal stream, which runs through its most southerly township, east and west, and had been the dividing line between Santa Clara and Contra Costa before separation. It rises in the mountains of the Contra Costa Range, emerges thence at Niles, and winds through the plains until it enters San Francisco Bay near Alvarado. Its banks being lined with trees all the way through the otherwise sparsely wooded plains, gave it the appearance of a shaded avenue, road or walk, which in Spanish is called an ala- meda. When the Mexican pioneers first discovered the territory, they knew it by the name of the place of the alameda.
The division gave dissatisfaction in Santa Clara and Contra Costa, as was to be expected, and some of the people of Santa Clara yet feel a little sore over the same, as it took from them one of the most val-
77
UNDER THE STARS AND STRIPES.
uable portions of their territory, which included the old, historic Mission, and the passes of the mountains to the San Joaquin Valley, through which the track of the C. P. R. R. now runs.
Citizens of the northern portion of the late Contra Costa sent a memorial to the Legislature for a new county to be called Contra Costa; certain citizens of San Pablo prayed for another division of said county ; and citizens of Contra Costa and Santa Clara asked for the creation of another new county. Certain citizens of Contra Costa sent to the Legislature a petition remonstrating against being set off into Alameda County. Mr. Carpentier introduced the bill for another county. The Committee reported in favor of its indefinite postpone- ment; but at a subsequent date it was taken from the table and or- dered engrossed. The purport of it was to reorganize Contra Costa County and take back some of the territory gained by Alameda. It was finally defeated on a vote of 25 to 19, Mr. Smith and Mr. Letcher of Santa Clara, voting with the majority, and Mr. Carpentier with the minority. The old name continued, with Martinez as the county- seat, for the northern county.
Oakland gave the name of Contra Costa to the original county, be- cause it was the part of the "opposite coast" that suggested it, and in the old county organization, what is now known as Oakland Town- ship was then Contra Costa Township.
It does, therefore, seem a little anomalous that, on a division, it should have abandoned its original title of local suggestion and allow it to be taken by its cast-off connexion. But the acquisition of the new territory to the south, and the abandonment of so much on the north, made all the difference. The Alameda was the principal stream of the new county ; the name sounded nice, and was accepta- ble generally.
The division left the new Contra Costa with a territory of upwards of 500,000 acres, or an area of 756 square miles, as at present. Its length, from east to west, is about forty miles, and its width, from north to south, about twenty miles. Its outlines are very irregular, being bounded on the north by San Pablo and Suisun Bays and the San Joaquin River; on the east by the western channel of that river ; on the south by Alameda County, and on the west by the Bay of San Francisco. It contains several handsome and fruitful valleys, some of them, such as the San Ramon, with its different divisions, being equal to any in the State for beauty and productiveness. It has a large quantity of swamp and overflowed lands, situated on the
78
HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
margins of Suisun Bay and along the banks of the San Joaquin River, and much of it has been reclaimed. Portions of them, brought under cultivation, have produced great crops of grain, fruit and veg- etables, without irrigation. There is a great sweep of this tule land -about 75,000 acres-in the northeast corner of the county, which has, for the most part, been brought under cultivation, but which is not yet altogether secure from overflow. The mountains and hills embrace about 250,000 acres, including Mount Diablo, which con- tains the only remunerative coal mines in the State. There is hardly an article that is produced in any portion of California, from the orange to the tobacco plant, that is not or cannot be grown within its boundaries. The county is well supplied with the means of ready transportation, having a great circuit of coast, and its various land- ings being daily visited by steamers and sailing craft. The southern portion, however, is not in so good a condition, on account of the height of the mountains, that present such a formidable barrier between it and Oakland. It is proposed to build a railroad from the latter place to Walnut Creek, which is about eighteen miles distant and in the centre of the county. It is also proposed to build a bet- ter and more direct wagon road than that now existing, which will include a tunnel of a half a mile, in a suitable place at the summit of the mountain. The C. P. R. R. Co. has laid out a branch line all along its front, and which will extend from Oakland to the main line between Ellis' and Banta's stations, on the one side, and across the Straits of Carquinez, at Martinez, to Colusa, on the other. Its prin- cipal streams are the San Pablo and San Ramon Creeks-the former rising in the Contra Costa Hills and emptying into San Pablo Bay ; the latter rising in the Monte Diablo range, near the Livermore Pass, and emptying into Suisun Bay about five miles southeast from Martinez. When this stream reaches the tules it becomes a tide-water stream, navigable at high tide for schooners drawing six feet of water. The portions adjoining Alameda are the San Pablo flats and the Taylor and Moraga Valleys, on the south, and the San Ramon and Tassa- jara on the east. The county town is Martinez. On the west, or bay side, the only town is San Pablo, about ten miles north of Oak- land, and where the late Ex-Governor of California, J. B. Alvarado, resides. On the north side, at the confluence of the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers, is the thriving town of Antioch. Pacheco is a prosperous town, and has considerable commerce and trade ; and Con- cord, Clayton, and Walnut Creek, are small but thriving valley
79
UNDER THE STARS AND STRIPES.
towns. Nortonville and Summerville are extensive mining camps in the east side of the mountains ; and Limerick, Danville, Alamo and Lafayette are small places with post-offices. Mount Diablo, one of the principal land-marks in the State, is set down in the middle of it, and which, with its spurs, is seventy-five miles in circumference ; it is 3,381 feet high, and has considerable influence on the climatology of the county, which is subject to variation. Contra Costa has no forests suitable for lumber, but there is a profuse scattering of oaks, sycamores and other trees, over its surface, suitable for fuel. There are splendid wagon roads, built by private enterprise, leading to the summit of Mount Diablo, from both the west and south sides, and which, no doubt, when better communication is had via Oakland, will be much used by tourists and pleasure-seekers. Contra Costa has an intelligent, law-abiding population, and continues to increase in numbers and productiveness. It has many resources that capital
and labor will yet develop. The population in 1870 was 8,461, and is now estimated at 10,500. Contra Costa and Alameda naturally belong to each other, forming as they do the twin sides of a penin- sula, and only requiring better means of communication in overcom- ing the barriers of the mountain range to make their interests, as of yore, identical.
. The division of the county made a new apportionment of repre- sentatives necessary in 1853. The Counties of Santa Clara and Ala- meda were created the Fourth Senatorial District, with one Senator between them. She continued to have two members of Assembly, and Alameda was given one for herself. The Counties of San Joaquin and Contra Costa were made the Eighth Senatorial District, with one Senator. San Joaquin was given two Assemblymen, and Contra Costa one.
The charges against the county by the State for the year ending May 1st, 1853, were as follows : Per diem and mileage of members of the Legislature, $10,540 ; salary of District Judge, $5,500; salary of District Attorney, $1,916 ; taking the census, $960 ; transporta- tion of prisoners, $50. Total, $18,966. The State charges against Santa Clara for similar benefits were $32,050; and against Sacra- mento, $78,435.
80
HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
H. W. BARNES,
Manufacturer and Dealer in
DOORS, WINDOWS
Blinds, Transom Sash,
WEIGHTS, CORD, ETC. .
Constantly on hand and made to order,
ALL KINDS OF
Mullion and Bay Window Sash,
SEGMENT HEAD, CIRCLE TOP, ROUND CORNERS, Etc.
Inside and Outside Blinds made to order for same.
OFFICE AND WAREHOUSE,
Removed to East Twelfth Street, EAST OAKLAND.
MANUFACTORY :- BROOKLYN PLANING MILL, cor. Commerce and East Twelfth Streets, East Oakland.
RESIDENCE :- East Fourteenth Street, between Eleventh and Twelfth Avenues, East Oakland.
81
UNDER THE STARS AND STRIPES.
CHAPTER XIII.
THE NEW COUNTY PRIOR TO ITS ORGANIZATION-SOME OF ITS PIONEER SETTLERS-THE VICISSITUDES OF LIFE AMONG THEM-WONDER- FUL CROPS YIELDED BY THE VIRGIN SOIL-THE FIRST ELECTION OF COUNTY OFFICERS AND THE MEN CHOSEN-LEGISLATIVE AND JUDICIAL OFFICERS.
Those who had the largest share in shaping affairs in the new county, at the start, were Henry C. Smith, Judge A. M. Crane, A. M. Church and Horace W. Carpentier. The southerly end possessed the controlling influence, as it carried off the county seat and nearly, if not all, the offices.
It had to reconcile the 722 inhabitants, given by the census of Contra Costa in 1850, with the thousands in Alameda alone three years later. But people commenced to come in fast in 1851, when most of the lands bordering on the bay were taken up, and it has had, ever since, a never-ceasing flow of settlers.
A picture of the county, as it appeared in 1851, will be here appro- priate and may prove interesting. It will show the commencement of occupation and settlement ; show what the second race of pioneers had to encounter ; who some of the men were who took possession, broke up the soil, utilized the harbors, seized upon the natural re- sources that were going to waste, set the wheels of trade and com- merce in motion, and administered laws. It is true these men had not the hardships to encounter and privations to endure that beset the pioneers of more rigorous latitudes and less hospitable regions. There were no forests to fell, no savages to subdue, no malarias to encounter, and no climatic hardships to guard against. Yet, they had a land in a state of nature to cultivate, and all the necessaries. and conveniences of life to procure. Everything that goes to make- a home had to be provided, and no inconsiderable amount of "rough- ing " to be done. Women were very few and children more scarce, and those elements that go to make up social happiness were nearly altogether wanting. But the favorable conditions offered by so beautiful and bounteous a land enabled them to bear their conditions.
6
82
HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
hopefully and perform their labors cheerfully ; and they prospered marvelously.
In 1851 the forerunners of American civilization on our soil were but few ; who they were has already been sufficiently described. This year Adams, Moon and Carpentier appeared upon the scene, for the first time, in Oakland. The Pattens and Chase had settled in Clin- ton the year before, and became the pioneers of that place. Jas. B. Larue this year settled at San Antonio and started it; men were whip-sawing lumber in the redwoods of San Antonio, and between there and the Old Mission, a stretch of more than twenty miles, there only resided two or three Mexican rancheros and their retainers. At San Leandro there was only the Estudillo residence ; San Lorenzo was an Indian rancheria ; Guillermo Castro's residence alone monop- olized the site of the present pretty town of Haywards ; Amador, in the valley beyond, possessed undisputed possession of his broad acres; Mount Eden was a wilderness ; New Haven was the Mission embark- adero, without a house ; Centerville had in its neighborhood a few settlers who came in the year before, and John M. Horner, almost alone, inhabited the vicinity of the "Corners." The Mission town had some white settlers, as well as a considerable number of natives. Henry C. Smith kept store there, and was administering justice as Alcade under appointment of Gen. Riley. The virtues of the Agua Caliente, or Warm Springs, afterwards so famous, were only known to the few native Californians and Indians, and the old chief, Mor- giana, was yet an object of respect. Sunol alone inhabited the beautiful valley to which his father has given his name. Augustine Bernal had removed from San José and settled at Alisal, now Pleas- anton, in 1850, and held half the county, divided between himself, Livermore, Noriega, Francisco Alviso, and Amador.
Wild cattle roamed at large in thousands; wild oats covered the hills, and wild mustard grew so long and luxuriantly in the vicinity of the Alameda, that, in the somewhat exaggerated but humorous language of a pioneer, "you could climb the stalks and look over Mission Peak !" Deer and all kinds of wild game were abundant.
Presto, change ! The land has awakened from its slumber of ages, and the pine-benders of civilization are climbing its mountains, tread- ing its valleys and upturning its soil. The wilderness will soon bloom like the rose, and the activity of modern life will be observed on every hand.
It has already been mentioned that in 1851 Oakland was started,
83
UNDER THE STARS AND STRIPES.
that Clinton had been commenced, and that San Antonio had received settlers from the new invasion. They grew apace and their pioneer occupants were soon joined by hundreds of others. As some of their histories shall be given elsewhere, it will not be necessary to enlarge upon them here. Suffice it to say that in 1852' Oakland was incorporated as a town, possessing hundreds of voters. The men of the Redwoods commenced to scatter and occupy some of the adjoining lands. The numerous sloughs along our western mar- gin were followed up and landings established upon them.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.