USA > California > Contra Costa County > The history of Contra Costa County, California > Part 35
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and such other branches of natural science will be taught as will be most needed in the new settlement.'
"In pursuance of the above plan we went into the woods with a crew to get out timber for constructing a ship. Robert Douglass, a carpen- ter, commenced laying the ship's keel about the first of April, 1849. Douglass was alone the first week; the second week two young men joined him. The company increased until sixty-five men were at work on their own ship. On the 14th of November the ship, partly rigged, sailed for Boston. As the enterprise was a novelty, we were freely advertised by the newspapers ; merchants contributed freight, and became inter- ested in seeing the vessel supplied with all needed ship chandlery.
"March 4, 1850, we set sail for California, with two hundred persons on board, and arrived at San Francisco, all well, August 24th. The cholera was in San Francisco; many were sick, and some had died. I landed in good health the number that sailed from Boston, and three marines who swam aboard our ship in Rio Janeiro, and fourteen pas- sengers who came aboard at Valparaiso, making 217 men, women and children. My company soon scattered, and many went to the mines. I sold the ship, paid my bills, and sat down to rest. About the 15th of September, Rev. W. W. Smith came on board our ship, and invited us to go to Antioch and settle. It was then called New York Township. My brother, S. P. Kimball, went to Antioch; several others went with him and built houses for their families east of where my house now stands. A ship's galley was moved to a lot, near where the present brick school- house now stands, and Martha Douglass taught the first school in our settlement. After that my daughter, Adelia, taught the school. My brother and I hired a man and cut hay on Kimball and Sherman islands. I took it to San Francisco in my scow, and sold it for sixty dollars per ton. Mr. Smith afterwards moved away from Antioch, so that I am the first permanent settler. I built two small wharves for receiving coal. I was the first postmaster, the first notary public, the first justice of the peace, and the first school trustee in Antioch.
"I supposed I owned the section I lived on until 1865, as I had bought all the titles I knew of. Garcia told me his New York ranch did not reach me, but they finally located it over my place, and covered my im- provements, and the courts said it was all right. After the New York grant took my land I bought a few parcels of land to save some im-
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provements, and then fled to the tule island opposite Pittsburg Land- ing with my stock. I spent part of two seasons there, dairying and rais- ing hogs. I also bought the little island opposite Antioch; from this island my son, Edgar H. Kimball, supplies Antioch with milk."
Rev. W. W. Smith says : "We sailed from Boston harbor on the 11th of January, 1849, together with my brother, Joseph H. Smith, J. C. Mc- Masters, and about fifty others. On the 6th day of July, 1849, we passed through the Golden Gate, amid the cheers of the passengers, and three or four hours later came the ship 'Edward Everett,' which we had not seen since leaving Boston harbor. As we gazed upon the shore from the ship, nothing but a city of tents could be seen. Before leaving the ves- sel, the captain called us on deck to have a friendly chat before bidding each other farewell and separating on our various ways. Arriving on shore, we found but five American families in the city, the balance be- ing Mexicans and Indians. We remained in San Francisco five days, when we shipped on board the schooner 'Rialto' for the mouth of the San Joaquin River, where we arrived on the IIth of July, just six months from Boston Bay.
"Colonel J. D. Stevenson and Doctor William Parker had purchased a part of the Los Medanos grant, and had sent up the lumber, fixtures, etc., to commence the building of a city, to be called 'New York of the Pacific.' W. W. Smith, being a practical architect and builder, was en- gaged at fourteen dollars per day to take charge of and superintend the building of a house for the two families, who, for the present, had only a tent for protection. Mr. Beener and Antonio Mesa and family lived two miles farther up the river. Mesa's house was built of redwood logs stood on end for the sides, and was covered with tules in bundles for a roof, with a hole in the center to allow the smoke to escape, and con- tained two rooms.
"New York of the Pacific was fast becoming an inland city, and the harbor was full of vessels with men and cargoes for the mines. At the first election, under the new constitution, in 1855, we found, on shore and on shipboard, that we had from five hundred to eight hundred vot- ers when all were at home. Business continued to increase, and the New York House, conducted by the Smiths, became a popular temperance eating-house, while all the others sold liquor. When coin was scarce a pinch of gold dust paid for a drink.
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"The proclamation of Governor Riley had been issued to have all needed officers elected. W. W. Smith was the first elected alcalde of New York of the Pacific and of this newly formed district. The alcalde had charge of all sanitary, civil, criminal, and judicial affairs in his dis- trict, with full power to appoint his officers, levy taxes, and collect fees. The alcalde spent some two thousand dollars in time, money, and medi- cines, in caring for the sick and dead, none of which was ever reim- bursed, and he found the position honorary and very expensive.
"In September, 1850, W. W. Smith, hearing of the arrival of a ship- load of settlers in San Francisco, hastened down and found a number of families who wished to obtain land and settle in California. Captain George W. Kimball and brother, Robert Douglass, four or five Hatha- ways, a Mr. Marshall and son, and a Mr. Dennison, came to Antioch, which at that time was called Smith's Landing. A street was laid out running east by compass, and each family that wished to settle upon land was presented with a lot to build on. The Pulsifer brothers then established a garden on the point, watering the same by a simple wooden pump, fixed in the slough between the point and the mainland. By the united work of all, a fence and ditch were completed from the tules on the west of town to the tules on the east, in the spring of 1851, to keep the wild animals from entering the town.
"On the Fourth of July, 1851, a basket picnic was held at the resi- dence of W. W. Smith, then standing on the high ground near where the Antioch Ledger office now is. The all-absorbing topic of the day was 'What shall we name our town?' Between thirty and forty men, women, and children had gathered from far and near. Several names were pro- posed, among them 'Minton,' after a steamer that plied on the river, that she might be induced to stop at our town. Another proposed that the name be 'Paradise,' but Deacon Pulsifer remarked that there were many claimants to the lands in California, and they might lose their land, and then it would be 'Paradise Lost.' W. W. Smith proposed that, inasmuch as the first settlers were disciples of Christ, and one of them had died and was buried on the land, that it be given a Bible name in his honor, and suggested Antioch, and by united acclamation it was so christened."
The foregoing articles dispose quite thoroughly with the very early history of Antioch. Just at this juncture a few words of explanation
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might not come amiss. It must be remembered that the articles quoted above were written a good many years ago, and changes have occurred which make some of the statements not quite accurate today. For in- stance, Captain Kimball speaks of those who built houses "east of where my house now stands." Captain Kimball's house stood at that time near where Scout's Hall now stands. In fact, the Griswold home, next door to the hall, is the Captain's old house remodeled and added to, and is therefore the oldest house in Antioch, and is said to be the oldest resi- dence building in Contra Costa. The other buildings have all disap- peared, other more modern structures having replaced them. They were located east by compass from the Captain's house, the last one standing not far from where the water-tank is now located. Again, Captain Kim- ball speaks of a ship's galley being moved to a lot where "the present brick schoolhouse now stands." The brick schoolhouse is no longer standing, but Mrs. A. B. Schott, Captain Kimball's daughter, informs me that it stood just about where the present grammar-school building is now located. Edgar Kimball still lives in Antioch, but is no longer the official milkman. With these exceptions, however, Captain Kimball's sketch corresponds quite closely to present-day conditions.
The residence referred to in Mr. Smith's article as standing on the present location of the Ledger office is the old frame building now standing just east of the Belshaw building, and is not the present loca- tion of the Ledger. At the time Mr. Smith's article was written it stood on the present site of the Bank of Antioch building. The early settler mentioned in Mr. Smith's article who had died and was buried on the land was his brother, the Rev. Joseph H. Smith, and his earthly remains rested at that time in the old burying-ground, then located about where Mrs. Meyers now lives, on the corner of F and Tenth streets.
The Colonel J. D. Stevenson mentioned in Mr. Smith's sketch seems to have been a sort of early "Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford." He is de- scribed as a rather picturesque and romantic sort of grafter by Miss Pauline Jacobson in a series of articles dealing with the early history of San Francisco, published last year in the San Francisco Bulletin. With Miss Jacobson's kind permission, I give a brief extract from her article, dealing with the smooth Colonel. The reader will note that Miss Jacob- son is rather unjust in her estimate of the geographical location of New York of the Pacific; but this is undoubtedly caused by lack of accurate
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information as to its correct location. Excerpts from her article follow :
"The Colonel was now a 'land commissioner.' He was clad in closely buttoned frock coat and military fatigue cap, a fashion which clung to him till death. The Colonel could never quite live down his military past. And according to the account of Massett (a young adventurer of argo- naut days), no modern method had anything over the Colonel when it came to disposing of real estate in his 'New York of the Pacific,' which was somewhere in the region of the mosquito-infected, malarial-ridden marshes of Sacramento. The dodge was for the forfeiture of the lot if a house was not erected in thirty days. Lumber was hardly to be had, and the houses purported to be on the way by the Horn never came. The Colonel, upon finding that Massett had no definite object in coming to California, but was following his bent of drifting about, suggested that he come the next day to his office, in Montgomery Street, between Washington and Jackson.
""'You are just the young man for me,' said the Colonel. 'You, of course, understand drawing deeds, mortgages, etc .; in fact, the general routine of a lawyer's office. You've been in a good school, and I think we can get along very well together. I have just purchased a tract of land-am going to build a new city-a second New York, sir ! I'll make you alcalde, sir ! Notary public, sir ! Mayor of the city, sir! Come and breakfast with me, sir, tomorrow.'
""'At what time, Colonel?' asked Massett.
"'At six o'clock, sir-always rise with the lark,' replied the Colonel. 'There's nothing like getting up early, sir-business man, sir. Go to bed early-keep steady-don't drink, and your fortune's made in no time !'
"The next day, bright and early, Massett went to his office. The walls were adorned with large maps, most gorgeously got up. . . . On the outside the people were informed that that was 'J. D. Stevenson's Land Office and Agency of Lots in New York of the Pacific.'"
Colonel Stevenson's dream of a second New York at this point has not yet been realized, though it is hardly too much to say that in a measure it may be yet, for Antioch and Pittsburg are now growing by leaps and bounds, and will ere long be manufacturing and shipping cen- ters of no mean proportions. It is quite evident that the Colonel's first thought was to make money out of real-estate speculation, and it is hardly likely that the future greatness of his city in reality gave him any
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serious concern. It is also evident, however, in the light of present con- ditions, that he chose better than he knew. It is certain that if he could live again and see the scene of his activities of those early days, he would observe many things that would cause him the utmost astonish- ment. It must be remembered that he never saw a telephone, a phono- graph, an electric car or motor, or an automobile. In fact, the railroad- trains of his day were few and far between, and, compared with the palatial systems with which we are all so familiar, were crude and clumsy affairs. The past sixty years have been years of tremendous progress, and the New York City of 1850 actually compared quite poor- ly in all save size with the Antioch and Pittsburg of 1917.
Of the original settlers of Antioch only two are living here to- day-Edgar H. Kimball and Mrs. Adelia B. Schott, son and daughter of Captain Kimball, who have many interesting reminiscences to relate of life in Antioch as it was in the days of the argonauts. Of the build- ings which housed these original families, none are now standing intact, though one, the house now occupied by G. C. Griswold and family, next door to Scout's Hall, is composed for the most part of the material con- tained in the original residence of Captain Kimball, some of this ma- terial having been brought from Maine on the initial voyage of the Captain's good ship.
About the year 1859 coal was discovered in several places in the hills south of Antioch and formed the first substantial industry aside from farming and dairying of the inhabitants of this locality. This new in- dustry resulted in the founding of the towns of Somersville, Norton- ville, and Black Diamond (now Pittsburg), and added greatly to the importance and prosperity of Antioch. The Empire Coal Company was formed in 1876 by John C. Rouse and George Hawxhurst, and a rail- road built, which passed out of Antioch toward the mines over what is now F ( formerly Kimball) Street. The mine and railroad later passed into the hands of the Belshaw brothers. The mine has long since ceased operation and the railroad track has been taken up, though the building which served as the Antioch terminus of the road still stands on the corner of F and Fourth streets, and the grading, trestles, etc., still re- main much as they were in these early days.
In 1863 a great excitement arose over the discovery of copper near Antioch. Smelting-works were erected at Antioch, and from fifteen dol-
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lars to twenty-five dollars per ton was paid for ore, according to its rich- ness. The bubble eventually burst, to the discomfiture of all concerned.
Petroleum was first bored for near Antioch in 1865, but oil in paying quantities could not be obtained.
So much for the early days of the town. Antioch was ideally located and grew, developed and prospered much as many other communities of that period, and in due time churches, fraternal societies, and busi- ness enterprises were founded, many of which remain with us to the present. Mention of the principal ones will be made as we pass along.
The Antioch Ledger was first issued on March 10, 1870, and in all its forty-seven years never missed an issue. A copy of its first num- ber has been framed and hangs over the desk of the present editor. It is five by eight inches in size, printed on one side only, and its sole news item is a report and editorial comment on a woman's suffrage meeting which had just been held in the town. This paper was founded by James W. E. Townsend and Harry Waite, and conducted by them jointly un- til August, 1870, when Townsend became the sole proprietor. Townsend was a prolific and versatile writer, and had the reputation of having established more newspapers than any other man in California. He was a man of strong personality and captivating manner, and a raconteur of rare ability. So numerous and so wonderful were the anecdotes with which he used to regal his listeners, it is said that they earned for him the sobriquet of "Lying Jim" Townsend. Paradoxical though it may sound, in some of the works of Bret Harte he is referred to as "Truth- ful James." Whether this was satire or an indication of reformation on Townsend's part cannot be definitely stated now, but it is certain that many of the stories immortalized in the works of Bret Harte, Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain), and other Western writers of that period ac- tually originated in the fertile brain of Townsend, for he was an inti- mate friend and associate of these writers.
In December, 1870, J. P. Abbott succeeded Townsend as editor and proprietor of the Ledger, and during the eleven years it was conducted by this able journalist it was an important factor in State and county politics. After some years Abbott sold the paper to Charles F. Mont- gomery, who changed its politics from Republican to Democratic. He was also an able and aggressive writer and took an active part in polit- ical matters. Upon his death the management of the Ledger was taken
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up by his son, Curtis F. Montgomery, who remained in charge until April 1, 1905, when the paper was purchased by C. G. McDaniel, the present owner, who changed its politics back to Republican.
In both its news and editorial columns the Ledger has always been progressive but conservative, and has been an important factor in the development of Antioch and its vicinity, enjoying the friendship and respect of all, even of those who may not altogether agree with its po- litical policies.
Antioch's pioneer church, the First Congregational, celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in September, 1915, with elaborate exercises, re- ported in detail in the Ledger of subsequent date. It seems that a church had been founded prior to 1865 by a young man named Morgan, but was short-lived, and it was revived at this time and absorbed by this Congregational church, which has had a continuous existence from 1865 to the present. A Sunday-school, founded by Miss Adelia Kimball (Mrs. A. B. Schott), was later conducted by the Misses Drusilla Boo- bar and Annie Morrison (Mrs. Joseph Galloway){ prior to the church organization. This school met in the town hall, which then stood about where the Kelley undertaking parlor is now located. The Congrega- tional church, however, was the first permanent religious enterprise es- tablished in Antioch. Briefly, the details of its formation are as follows : On June 12, 1865, a meeting of those interested was held in the school- house for the purpose of forming a church. Captain G. W. Kimball acted as chairman and the Rev. J. H. Warren as secretary. A constitu- tion was adopted which, with slight changes and amendments, is still in force after more than a half century. As nearly as can be determined the charter membership consisted of the following persons : Mrs. R. H. Aldon, Mr. and Mrs. F. C. Barrett, Mrs. M. H. Boothby, G. W. Brown, G. C. Carmen, Miss Ida Fuller, Isaac Hardy, G. W. Kimball, Mrs. J. C. O'Brien, Almon Walton, and S. S. Woodruff. The first permanent board of trustees consisted of Joseph Galloway, David Woodruff, G. W. Brown, Captain G. W. Kimball, and William Utter. From this parent organization have sprung the other Protestant denominations-first, the Advent Christian, later the Methodist Episcopal, and, last of all, the Church of Christ, Scientist. The Congregational society owns the beau- tiful church and grounds on the corner of Sixth and F streets, also the parsonage next door.
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The Catholic church has been one of the most important religious in- stitutions of Antioch for the past forty-five years, and the circum- stances regarding its institution and development are briefly as fol- lows: In 1872 the Rev. Father Vincent Vinzes, of Benicia, was called to the Empire Mine, then being operated about six miles south of An- tioch, to attend one of the miners who had been seriously injured. Tak- ing advantage of the occasion, Father Vinzes called the men of the Catholic faith together and celebrated mass in the home of John Mul- hare, located a short distance southwest of Antioch, near where the high school now stands. Then for more than a year regular services were held at the Mulhare home. In 1873 the "old" church was built on the block between G and H streets, on Seventh, this land being donated by Captain George W. Kimball and a Spanish gentleman whose name could not be obtained by this writer. This building is still standing, and is used as a hall for lodge-meetings and other secular purposes. In 1875 Father Patrick Calahan came to Antioch and became the first resident priest, and in 1880 the rectory was built for his residence. Father Cala- han died in 1902, and was succeeded by Father Antone Riley, and it was during his ministry, in 1905, that the beautiful new church was erected, on the church property adjoining the old structure. This build- ing is of white sandstone brick, Romanesque in architecture, and is one of the most beautiful church buildings in Contra Costa County. The cost was over $25,000. Altogether the church property is valued at about $40,000, and the location is one of the most attractive in Antioch. Father Riley left Antioch, and was succeeded by Father J. G. Rourke, formerly of St. Dominic's Church, San Francisco, in 1912, and shortly afterward Father Rourke was joined by Father E. Lawrence, who came from Benicia to act as his assistant. These priests are still in charge, and are constantly improving the grounds and buildings, and under their able leadership the Holy Rosary Church of Antioch is growing and prospering.
The Advent Christian church was organized on September 25, 1877, by Mrs. M. J. Clark, an evangelist of that denomination, with a charter membership of more than thirty, most of whom were at the time mem- bers of the Congregational church. Prominent among these were John Schott, wife and daughter (Miss Louisa), T. N. Wills, H. F. Beede and wife, S. P. Joslin and wife, Isaac Hardy and wife, Dr. E.
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L. Wempler and wife. The evangelist, Mrs. Clark, remained for some time and served the church in the capacity of pastor. The Rev. W. R. Young was the first resident pastor, and remained with the church un- til about 1900, when he removed to Oakland, to assume the editorship of The Messiah's Advocate. The Adventist church owns its house of worship, located on the corner of Fourth and I streets.
The Methodist Episcopal church of Antioch was organized in Sep- tember, 1899, the principal figures in the movement being Judge J. P. Abbott (now deceased) and Doctor W. S. George. The preliminary meeting, at which a temporary organization was effected, was called by Wesley Dunnigan, L. S. Lafferty, Isaac Lafferty, and Doctor W. S. George in the old Hamburg Hall, which then stood near the present site of the Santa Fe station. These men secured the services of the Rev. James Blackledge, who held regular services and assisted in perfecting the organization of the new church. The State Conference sent the Rev. Dr. Brill late in the fall, and he completed the details of organiza- tion, and the men whose names appear earlier in this paragraph were appointed the first board of trustees. Doctor Brill at once began a vigor- ous campaign to raise funds for the purchase of a building-site and the erection thereon of a house of worship. His efforts were successful, and the building now occupied by the church, located on the corner of Sixth and G streets, was erected in 1890. The church also owns the parsonage property on Sixth Street, next door to the church.
Early in the year 1910 six Christian Scientists began to read the les- son sermon at the residence of one of their number, and through the work accomplished by this little company the number gradually in- creased until in the fall of 1910 it became necessary to secure larger quarters, and Union Hall was rented for midweek and Sunday meet- ings. In July, 1911, a society was organized with a charter membership of fifteen, and in 1912 a church building-lot was purchased on the cor- ner of Fifth and D streets. On March 12, 1915, the temporary chapel now occupied was begun on the rear of this lot, leaving room for a main church building when such is needed. This chapel was completed and the first meeting held on April 4th following. The seating capacity is about one hundred. The continued growth both in regard to attendance and membership attests the permanence of Christian Science in Antioch and its vicinity.
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