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, an account of the organization and settlement of Alameda County ... also, a gazetteer of each township, useful local and general statistical information, appropriate for the present time, to which are added biographical sketches of prominent pioneers and public men

Front matter

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Contents

Pages.

Preface xiii-xv

UNDER BPANJSH RULE.

Preface

For the following chapters no particular literary merit is claimed. They are simply the result of steady research and persevering labor. Some years since, while conducting and publishing a local newspaper, the author conceived the design of compiling and publishing such a volume as this. His duties had brought him in contact with the people of the county, and he became interested in their history and progress. He has learned to love the country and admire the people. The desire to compile their annals and note their deeds became strong within him. Circumstances compelled him for a time to relinquish his project, but the presence of the Centennial year of American independence, when all American communities were expected to " take stock" of the past and review the present, offered a most fitting opportunity to put his temporarily abandoned plan into execution.

The work is not now all that he designed, and is wanting in several features that he wished to present. He has found that there is a limit to space, and that even a book will not contain all that one wishes to print. Indeed, it is found necessary to reject or Jay aside nearly sufficient materials to make another volume. This fact will account for the absence, in the latter portion of the book, of several matters that are referred to in the beginning.

In preparing this volume the author had the advantage of personal acquaintance with all the localities mentioned, and many of the people whose names and acts appear in a subdued form or a conspicuous shape within it. In many instances he had heard the narration of their personal experiences in their sunlit fields or by their bright firesides. For omissions he has been compelled to make, he is sorry. There are some things in our short history that are pleasant to dwell upon. There are others that are painful. Candor and fairness are the lights by which he has been guided. There may be an instance or two where parties will consider themselves aggrieved. The knowledge obtained in the course cf his inquiries, however, satisfies the author that, in some cases, his pen might, with justice, have pierced more deeply and condemned more freely. Wrongs, wilfully and persistently perpetrated, should ever be condemned. When justice fails and iniquity triumphs, the sufferer should, at least, have the poor privilege of protestation left. Where public opinion is not strong enough, nor sensitive enough, nor just enough, to keep evil in check, or punish the wicked, it must be created and fostered.

To the old settler, to the pioneer citizen, who has made the pleasant Alameda valleys or bright hill-sides his home, the recounting of the events of the past, in which he has figured, and which have been gradually fading away, it is hoped the revival in these pages, of old memories, will be pleasing. A new generation will seize upon and perpetuate them. The spirit of the parent will be revived in the child. The ground that he contended for,

HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.

rescued from the wilderness and subdued, will be made holy. The child will cherish it as he does his life ; the feeling of reverence will be excited, and the fire of patriotism made to burn.

The day has not yet exactly come when we can boast of our sages and our soldiers, of our bards and our orators, sprung from the soil and racy of its valle3 7 s and glens, and bold mountain holds ; but there is, notwithstanding, when we look around us and reflect, much that is promising and to be proud of in the second generation of Alamedans. The deep canons, the sylvan glens, the sun-flooded valleys, the high mountain tops, the opaline fields and the burnished waters of our great bay, have already photographed their forms on the minds of our children, and inspired them with their geniuses ; and as bright and beautiful and bold a race of men and women as the world has ever yet seen, is preparing to assert itself and show how much of Heaven and earth there is in it. In the colleges of the East, in the studios of Germanj', Italy and France ; as cadets at West Point and Annapolis, they are making their mark. Others are already competing in the professions and the marts of commerce with the old and experienced, and achieving successes and triumphs.

Few localities have ever been honored with as superior a race of sires. In the walks of literature, science and education, we can with commendable pride refer to our Browne, Strong, Gibbons, Leconte and Durant ; in law, legislation and oratory, to our McKee, Tompkins, Haight and Felton ; in surgical and dental science, to our Pardee and Knowles. The list of prominent figures in the various walks of life might thus be largely extended. The sweetest poetess on the Pacific shores makes her home among us ; and it seems as if Alameda is destined to become the Attiea of the Pacific, and Oakland the Athens of California. But, unlike the old classic State of Greece,

" Her fruitful soil it teems with wealth, With gems her waters, her air with health."

The new-comer, it is hoped, will find in this humble volume much to instruct and inform him regarding our early aspects, our abnormal conditions, our Spanish and American pioneer life. How settlement progressed, how the Spanish and Mexican immigrants had to contend with untutored savages and wild animals ; with droughts, floods and earthquakes, and leagues of arid acres. How that quaint communism of the Missions arose and flourished and forever subsided; how a pastoral people appeared, prospered for a period, and disappeai-ed ; how the American pioneers, who everywhere expected to obtain land for the taking it up, everywhere found themselves trespassers and encroachers upon the rights of a preceding people ; how American law had no adequate remedy for the evil of American land-grabbing ; how titles were clouded, and men had to pay more than once for their possessions ; how the virgin mold yielded the abundant golden harvest ; how lawlessness had to be combatted ; how schools were established, churches erected, colleges and universities founded, commerce created, arts encouraged, railroads and steamboats built ; and all the plain and complex machinery of a high civilization set in active motion.

PREFACE.

This is the nrst local literary production, beyond the newspapot 1 , directory

and pamphlet, that has ever been offered to the people of Alameda County for their appreciation and patronage ; and whether another will follow from the same source, will depend upon the encouragement extended to this.

The advertising feature of the book is not altogether novel. It has been copied from another similar publication. Let not the fastidious be offended by it. Without it, the Centennial Year Book of Alameda County would never appear.

The author has to return his thanks to the many who encouraged him at the outset with their patronage : to the printers, Messrs. Francis & Valentine, whose liberal arrangements enabled him to proceed ; and to the kind friend in the back -ground who came to his assistance when assistance was needed.

Oakland, Dec. 6, 1876. THE AUTHOR.

TO THE

PIONEERS OF THE CONTRA COSTA,

THIS WOKE

IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED

BY THE AUTHOR.

UNDER SPANISH RULE.

Chapter I. Discovery, Exploration And Settlement

On the 12th of October, 1402, Columbus discovered America. He gave a new world, not alone to Castile and Aragon, but to mankind. On the 25th of September, 1513, Vasco Nunez de Balboa, from the heights of Panama discovered the greatest of oceans and obtained for the civilized world its first knowledge of the broad Pacific, the sea that washes our shore.

In 1519 Hernando Cortez conqxiered Mexico; and in 1537 his pilot, Zimenez, discovered Lower California. The first " overland " travelers we have heard of were Caliesa de "Vaca, Castillo Durantez, Spaniards, and a negro named Estavanico. They belonged to Narvaez' party of three hundred, which landed in Florida, in 1527, in pursuit of conquest and discovery. Ten years after they fell in with Zimenez' party, in Lower California, and went with them to Mexico. They were all that was left of that adventurous three hundred.

In 1542 Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo made a voyage of discovery along our coast, and on the 5th of July of that year landed at Cape St. Lucas, in Lower California. On the 28th of September following he entered the beautiful harbor of San Diego, in Upper California, and was the first white man to land there. He named the place San Miguel, but it was subsequently changed to San Diego by Viscaino.

HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.

In 1579 Sir Francis Drake, the English navigator, sailed along our coast, and it is an unsettled point whether or no he was the first to discover the harbor of San Francisco. The first "tramp" is said to have been his Spanish pilot, Movera, who is accredited with having left him at Oregon, and walked alone thence to Mexico, a distance of 3,500 miles, which speaks well for the hospitality of the native savages in those days, as well as his own courage and endurance. Drake called the country New Albion, and thought to secure it for his own sovereign.

Not until 1602 did the Spaniards seriously determine to possess the country and colonize it. Early in that year the Viceroy of Mexico, acting under instructions from King Philip III., dispatched Don Sebastian Viscaiho on a voyage of discovery up the coast, with three small vessels. Various points of Lower California were visited, as also San Diego, where the explorer and his companions remained ten days, and departed well pleased with the appearance of the country and the disposition of the natives. On the 10th of December he discovered and entered the harbor of Monterey, our ancient capital, and, for the first time, its sands received the impress of the conquering white man's foot. It he named in honor of Count de Monterey, the Mexican Viceroy, under whose orders he acted. Part of this expedition reached as high up as the Columbia River. The whole subsequently returned to Acapulco. Whether it discovered the port of San Francisco is as much a matter of conjecture and doubt as Drake's visit. At any rate, his expedition was considered satisfactory, and a glowing description was given of the country. Tiie time of the expedition was winter, and the land was covered with verdure, clearly showing it was not a " dry year."

Although much knowledge had been gained of the country by this expedition, from one cause and another it was not taken advantage of, and 168 years were allowed to elapse before the conquest and settlement of Upper California was successfully undertaken. A plan, with this purpose, was formed in 1683, but, although under the united management of Church and State, it failed. Admiral Otondo represented the State, and a Jesuit Father, named Kino, the Church. La Paz was their point of operation, but they did not at all visit Upper California.

Finally, the religious society of Jesuits undertook the settlement of the peninsula, in 1697, under Father Salva Tiei-ra, who founded sixteen missionary establishments in that barren region. The order,

UNDER SPANISH RULE.

however, subsequently fell into disgrace in Europe, and was banished from the Spanish dominions and from Lower California after a service of 70 years, in 1768. They had never set foot in Upper California. They wore succeeded by the Franciscans, an order of which the reigning Tope was himself a member; and they, in turn, were relieved by the Dominicans, the former proceeding to the conquest and conversion of this part of the province, under the guidance of Father Junipers Serra, who is recognized in the Catholic Church as the Apostle of Upper California, and in history as its founder.

In 1760 the first permanent settlement was made and the first mission established at San Diego. That place was made the base of operations for further explorations and the founding of other missions. The ruling spirit in this new movement was Jose de Galvez, the new Visitor-General from Spain, who was afterwards Minister-General for all the Spanish possessions in America. The governor of the California^ at this time was Caspar de Portala. lie commanded the expedition by land that had halted at San Diego. On the 14th of July, 1769, he left that place for Monterey, which, it will be remembered, had been discovered by Viscaiho in 1602. He stopped at Monterey and set up a cross there, but never knew it was the place he sought.

" Pioua Portala, journeying by land, Reared high a cross upon the heathen strand,

Then far away, Dragged his slow caravan to Monterey. "

He pushed on further north with his party, which included Father Junipera Serra, and discovered the broad and beautiful bay which washes our shores. Whether Drake or Viscaiho sought shelter with their ships here before, may remain in doubt ; but there is no uncertainty about Portala's discovery ; and that was just 107 years ago. Father Junipera recognized the locality as a desirable place for a mission, and in honor of the founder of his order, Saint Francis of Assis, in Spain, christened it San Francisco. Seven years later, on the 27th of June, 1776, the sand hill peiiinsula was taken possession of, and the presidio established near the entrance to the harbor, on a low piece of ground. The mission was located on the site where the old church now stands, and the foundation of the greatest city on the western shores of America was quietly, religiously, slowly, but certainly laid, and the 8th of October of the present year was celebrated as its centennial.

The establishment of missions, according to the plan adopted, rap-

HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.

idly followed the journey of exploration. That of San Diego, the first, was erected in 1769 ; that of Carmello, near Monterey, was built in 1770 ; in 1771 were built those of San Gabriel, in Los Angeles County ; San Luis Obispo, in the town and county of that name ; and San Antonio, in Monterey County ; in 1776 followed the Mission Dolores de San Francisco, and San Juan Capistrano in Los Angeles County; in 1777 was started the Santa Clara Mission, in what was then called the San Bernardino Valley, but now Santa Clara County; in 1782 San Buenaventura, in Ventura County, and in 1786 Santa Barbara; in 1787 La Purisima Conception, in Santa Barbara County; and in 1791 La Soledad, in Monterey, and Santa Cruz, in the town and county of the same name. In 1797 three missions were established — our own, San Jose, San Miguel, 'in San Luis Obispo County, and San Fernando, in Los Angeles County ; in 1798 San Luis Rey, in San Diego County ; in 1799 San Juan Bautista, in San Benito County; in 1804 Santa Inez, in Santa Barbara County; in 1817 San Rafael, in Marin County; and in 1823 San Francisco Solano, in Sonoma County — twenty-one in all.

Chapter II. Conjectures Concerning The First Visitors To Our Territory

DRAKE PORTALA DE ALBERNI THE CONDITION OF THE

COUNTRY AND THE INDIANS.

Who the first white man was to tread our virgin soil and breathe our salubrious air, is, we fear, a vain conjecture. Was he of Drake's or Poi-tala's parties, or some unlawful roamer of the seas, on wild adventure bent 1 Or did the first foreigners drift over upon our shores from China or Japan, and thus give the despised Mongolian preference over the pale faces of these latter days 1 Whomsoever entered our glorious bay by the headlands could hardly avoid being won to the opposite side, where the mists of ocean are dissipated by the early sun, and the shores sloped gently to the dimpled and brown-faced mountains, where the encinals stretched out their arms in welcome, and the oak groves gave shade and shelter. There, too, was the light from the wigwam to be seen glimmering in the distance, and the reflection of the shell mounds shimmering over the waters. Of what unrecorded romance may have this been the early scene ; what un-

DNDEB SPANISH RULE.

written history, what lost traditions may have been attached to the ground which now we tread or turn over : the lost heritage of a savage race, and which now blooms as land never bloomed before.

Ere we proceed further with our narrative, it is necessary that we should take cognizance of the conditions discovered here on the arrival of the Fathers. All was a vast aboriginal wilderness, but by no means an untenanted solitude, for the native savage had increased and multiplied ; the coyote's call was beard on every hill, and the emblematic grizzly roamed at large. Father Junipera stated that, even on the arid plains of San Diego, he saw a great many naked savages, whose unwholesome habits he described. They were, however, for a time hospitable and friendly, until their cupidity led them to revolt and murder.

In 1577 Sir Francis Drake, if he did not actually enter our great bay, tarried some time in its vicinity, and had friendly intercourse with the natives. The historian of that celebrated voyage to our shores, wrote as follows :

" They here discovered a bay, which, entering with a favorable gale, they found several huts by the water side, well defended from severity of the weather. Going on shore they found a fire in the middle of each house, and the people lying round it upon rushes. The men go cpiite naked, but the women have a deer-skin over their shoulders, and around their waists a covering of bull-rushes, after the manner of hemp. These people bringing the Admiral a present of feathers and caids of net-work, he entertained them so kindly and generously, that they were extremely pleased, and soon afterwards they sent him a present of feathers and bags of tobacco. A number of them coming to deliver it, gathered themselves together on the top of a small hill, from the highest point of which one of them harangued the Admiral, whose tent was placed at the bottom. When the speech was ended they laid down their arms and came down, offering their presents ; at the same time returning what the Admiral had given them. The women remaining on the hill, tearing their hair and making dreadful bowlings, the A dmir al supposed them engaged in making sacrifices, and thereupon ordered divine service to be performed at his tent, at which these people attended with astonishment.

"The arrival of the English in California being soon known through the country, two persons, in the character of ambassadors, came to the admiral and informed him, in the best manner they were able, that the king would assist him if he might be assured of coming in safety. Being satisfied on this point, a numerous company soon appeared, in front of which was a very comely person bearing a kind of sceptre, on which hung two crowns and three chains of great length ; the chains were of bones and the crowns of net work, curiously wrought with feathers of many colors.

" Next to the sceptre-bearer came the king, a handsome, majestic person, surrounded by a number of tall men, dressed in skins, who were followed by the common people ; who, to make the grander appearance, had painted their faces of various colors ; and all of them, even the children, being loaded with presents. The men being drawn up in line of battle, the Admiral stood ready to receive the king within the entrance of his tent. The company having halted at a distance, the sceptre-bearer made a speech, half an hour long, at the end of which he began singing and dancing, in which he was followed by the king and all his people — who, continuing to sing and dance, came quite up to the tent ; when, sitting down, the king taking off his crown of feathers, placed it on the Admiral's head, and put upon him the other ensigns of royalty ; and it is said he made him a solemn tender of his whole kingdom. All of which the Admiral accepted, in the name of the Queen, his sovereign, in hope these proceeding's might, one time or other, contribute to the advantage of England.

" The common people, dispersing themselves among the Admiral's tents, professed the utmost admiration and esteem for the English, whom they considered as more than mortal — and accordingly prepared to offer sacrifices to them ; but they were told, by signs, that their religious worship was alone due to the Supreme Maker and Preserver of all things. The Admiral and some of his people, traveling to a distance in the country, saw such a quantity of rabbits that it appeared an entire warren ; they also saw deer in such plenty as to run a thousand in a herd. The earth of the country seemed to promise rich veins of gold and silver, some of the ore being constantly found on digging. The Admiral, at his departure, set up a pillar with a large plate on it, on which was engraved her majesty's (Queen Elizabeth's) name, picture, arms and title to the country, together with the Admiral's name, and the time of his arrival there."

One cannot help thinking that the chronicler of this remarkable visit drew largely upon his fancy, and prepared his narrative with a special view to the pleasure of royal eyes. It was exceedingly considerate of the savage king to proffer his crown to the bold buccaneer ; and how gracious it was of the latter to accept it, in order that it might possibly contribute to the advantage of England, and become the pretext for future claims ! The judiciously-prepared

chronicle had its effect, for we are told by the writer of it that Queen Elizabeth afterwards knighted Drake for his services, " telling him at the same time that his actions did him more honor than his title."

It will not be uninteresting to note here what Father Juuipera had to say of the country and people generally on his arrival at San Diego. On July 3d, 17G!>, he wrote :

" The tract through which we passed is generally good land, with plenty of water, and there, as well as here, the country is neither rocky nor overrun with brush-wood. There are, however, many hills, but they are composed of earth. The road has been in some places good, but the greater part bad. About half way the valleys and banks of rivulets began to be delightful. We found vines of a large size, and in some cases quite loaded with grapes ; we also found an abundance of roses, which appeared to be like those of Castile. In fine, it is a good country, and very different from old California.

" "We have seen Indians in immense numbers, and all those on this ' coast ' of the Pacific contrive to make a good subsistence on various seeds and by fishing. The latter they carry on by means of rafts or canoes made of tide (bull-rushes), with which they go a great way to sea. They are very civil. All the males, old and young, go naked ; the women, however, and the female children, are decently covered from their breasts downwards. We found, on our journey, as well as in the place where we stopped, that they treated us with as much confidence and good-wdl as if they had known us all their lives. But when we offered them any of our victuals, they always refused them. All they cared for was cloth, and only for something of this sort would they exchange their fish or whatever else they had. During the whole march we found hares, rabbits, some deer, and a multitude of berendos, a kind of wild goat."

No doubt this was a pleasant change from the barren wastes of Lower California ; but had the time of year been January instead of July, the picture of the beauty of the country would be less open to the suspicion of exaggeration. It is to be supposed that the grapes and the roses of Castile were the fruit of the seed scattered by Yiscaino, or other adventurers who had preceded the devoted father many years before.

The first mention anywhere found of this section of the country is

HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.

in. Palou, the first historian of California. Speaking of the land journey of Captain Juan Bantista's party from Monterey, in search of San Francisco, in the year 1773, that writer mentions the following interesting incident :

"In the Valley of 8cm Jose, the party coming up by land saw some animals which they took for cattle, though they could not imagine where they came from ; and supposing they were wild, and would scatter the tame ones they were driving, the soldiers made after them and succeeded in killing three, which wei*e so large that a mule could with difficulty carry one, being of the size of an ox, and with horns like those of deer, but so long that their tips were eight feet apart. This was their first view of the elk. The soldiers made the observation that they could not run against the wind by reason of their monstrous antlers . ' '

The San Jose Valley here mentioned evidently had reference to the plain in the southern part of this county, near which the Mission of that name was subsequently established. Indeed, the level portion of Washington Township is yet often mentioned as the San Jose Valley, as well as a portion of Murray, in which was some of the mission lands. It is an important matter to have it on record that here was seen, for the first time, that magnificent animal, the elk, which no doubt was in the habit of crossing over through the passes of the Mount Diablo Range, from its home in the San Joaquin Valley, to seek the waters of the Alameda. We further learn from the same source that " after the presidio and before the mission was e itablished (in San Francisco) an exploration of the interior was organized, as usual, by sea (the bay) and land. Point San Pablo was given as the rendezvous, but the captain of the presidio (Moraga), who undertook in person to lead the land party, failed to appear there, having, with a design to shorten the distance, entered a canon somewhere near the head of the bay, which took him over to the San Joaquin River. So he discovered that stream."

Here it will be seen that after the Spaniards had effected a lodgment in San Francisco, this part of the country was the first to be visited. One party proceeded via San Pablo, and the other down to the head of the bay on the San Mateo side. Thence they crossed over to the Alameda Canon, and followed its tortuous course until the Livennore Valley was reached. They continued thence throxigh the Livermore Pass, thus reaching the San Joaquin River and Valley, in the same course that is now pursued by the Central Pacific

Railroad. Moraga conferred liis brother's given name on the newlydiscovered river.

The first official reference to the locality of this county was made hi 1706. The authorities in Mexico had at the first commanded the establishment of two towns, or pueblos, independent of the missions, in Upper California. The first of these was San Jose, the second Los Angeles. It was determined by Governor Diego Boriea, to establish a third, to be called Branciforte. With this view he instructed Don Pedro de Alberni to examine certain localities and report to him on the most desirable place in which to establish the town referred to. Alberni accordingly proceeded on his errand, and this is his report :

" Having examined the points set forth in the foregoing Superior Official Communication, as well as those requiring me to set forth all that I might think necessary, I might reply as follows : The principal object and view of the whole matter may be reduced to the project formed by Don Jose Maria Beltram, and forwarded by the Royal Tribunal de Cuentas to the Most Excellent Viceroy, in relation to the establishment of a Villa or Poblacion ; and its being necessary to remember that in order to attain the desired end, an eye must be had to such favorable circumstances as are required to give the inhabitants of the same the necessary advantages, such as a plentiful supply of water, wood, irrigable and arable lands, forest, pastures, stone, lime, or earth for adobes ; and haying been commissioned to this end for the examination, which I made with the Seiior Governor, Don Diego Borica, of the country, from the Mission of Santa Cruz, Arroyo del Pajaro, and the Mission of Santa Clara, to the place of the alameda, and the country around the Presidio and Fort of San Francisco, and the mission of the same name. After a careful and scrupulous examination of these places with the Engineer Extraordinary, Don Alberto de Cordoba, I found that the place of the alameda, although it contains a creek, still that it affords but little water, and that the channel is so deep [sunken ]] that it is difficult to obtain water therefrom for irrigating the extensive plains of what appears to be good lands ; but as the place is without fuel, timber and pasturage, which cannot be obtained save at the distance of many leagues, it is clear that it is unsuitable for the project under consideration."

What follows of this document is not particularly relevant, but it will be interesting as showing what the Don thought of San Francisco at that remote date as a location for a town. It is, therefore, quoted :