Alameda County

History

Past and Present of Alameda County, California - S. J. Clarke Pub. Co., 1914

CHAPTER XX
OAKLAND

        Oakland was settled by the Americans under the assumption that it was Government land, the squatters refusing to accept the claims of the grantees under Spain or Mexico. They doubted the validity of these claims, but later when they reached the courts and when the claims were pronounced just and legal, they made the most of the situation and took as much as they could get.

        Moses Chase is given the distinction of having been the first settler on the present site of Oakland. When the Pattens came over from San Francisco early in 1850 they found him encamped in a tent at Clinton or what soon became Clinton. He was ill and intended to leave, but was persuaded by them to remain and join them in the settlement at that place. Soon afterward, also early in 1850, H. W. Carpentier, Edson Adams and A. J. Moon arrived and squatted at the foot of what is now Broadway. When warned off by the Peraltas they affected, or at least expressed, great surprise and after negotiation finally secured the lease that gave them color of title and enabled them to remain and outpoint the many squatters who began to arrive immediately afterward.

        H. W. Carpentier and his associates assumed that the Oakland site was United States Government land and hence refused to deal with the Peraltas. In his investigations Carpentier no doubt discovered that the claim of Luis Peralta had not yet been approved by the United States, possibly might never be, whereupon he and his associates took possession of the land and when opposed by the Peraltas secured a lease which gave them color of title and enabled them to retain possession in spite of the squatters who did not have as good a claim. Carpentier was a crafty and unscrupulous lawyer and at all times had a better legal standing than those who opposed him, because he was far-sighted and knew how to protect his interests when it came to the final tests in the courts. On the face of affairs his lease from the Peraltas was better than the squatter rights of his opponents, but, of course, his assumption that the claim of the Peraltas from the Mexican Government was not good under United States laws contradicted the validity and efficiency of his lease. But the majority of the squatters did not or could not see the matter in this light. However, there were several who apparently did. In March, 1852, John Clar, B. de la Barra, J. R. Irving, Col. John C. Hays, John Caperton and Jacob A. Cost, for the sum of $10,000, bought out the rights of the Peraltas in the Oakland site proper and thus as a matter of fact had a better title than the lease of Carpentier and associates. The sale contract was first made out in the name of John Clar, and the others later joined him, and on August 15, 1853, a deed of partition was executed for their several benefits.

        Doctor Mabin came here in 1850 in an open boat on Sunday with a party of ladies and gentlemen with lunch baskets; they went to Lake Merritt, which was full of ducks. All there was of Oakland then were a few buildings near the foot of Broadway, where a small pier had been built. Four other young men came to Oakland early: George M. Blake, F. K. Shattuck, William Hillegass and James Leonard. They came over at first as a pastime, liked the surroundings and prospects and concluded to remain. They selected a square mile of land above Vicente Peralta's residence. Levi R. Bixby arrived in 1852 when there were only from six to ten houses. A. Harper was already here when Bixby arrived. Thomas Gallagher's saloon on Broadway was established very early. Carpentier, Adams and Moon claimed their rights principally under a lease from the Peraltas. All the others who settled here and did not secure their rights from those three men, were squatters and their location here and improvements were opposed. All the squatters found it necessary to organize against those men to prevent their improvements from being destroyed. Numerous altercations and several hand to hand contests occurred. The squatters went so far as to secure an old cannon, which was fired as a signal to assemble prepared to repulse attacks upon their improvements. Fences were torn down and the erection of buildings was forcibly opposed. The squatters were armed with six-shooters and made a formidable appearance when engaged in repelling an attack on their property, but the others owned the lease and possessed the legal right to control the settlement.

        In 1851 the Pattens and Chase were in Clinton, James B. Larue at San Antonio, Henry C. Smith at the mission, John M. Horner near Irving, S. Castro at Haywards, Estudillo at San Leandro. Augustine Bernal and the families of Amador, Alviso, Noriego and Livermore owned much of the county. The Yankees were already whipsawing the redwoods of San Antonio. Indians were sleeping in the San Lorenzo ranchino and priests were shipping produce from the embarcadero at the mouth of Alameda creek.

        In 1852, the Americans of Oakland joined in giving a grand Christmas dinner, on which occasion there were present Rev. and Mrs. Samuel B. Bell, Horace W. and Edward Carpentier, Frank K. Shattuck, John Hays, John Potter, Judge S. B. McKee, Sabin Harris, Colonel Coffey, John Watson, Harper Glascock, Judge Black, General Howard, Captain Daily, Major Kirkham and Doctor Davis. They clubbed together and provided the feast. Preceding the dinner—really a supper about 8:30 P. M., the night before Christmas—the children's presents were marked, placed on a table and left for them to take at their pleasure. There were served wild duck, wild goose and venison in any quantities desired. Wine and brandy flowed like water and big bowls of egg-nog made from wild duck eggs graced the center of the table. The majority of the diners were Southerners, though several Spaniards were present—notably young Mr. Castro and his sister. The feast was held in an abandoned Spanish dance hall at Fourth and Broadway. After the feast all who cared to do so joined in the dance.

        In February, 1852, Oakland was a beautiful plain about four miles wide from the bay to the base of the hills and about ten leagues long from north to south. The trees were in clusters and in full foliage and clover covered the ground. The trees were the resort of countless birds throughout the year. The hills and plains were covered with numerous herds of wild cattle. All this was called Contra Costa at that time—opposite shore. William Watts ran a small schooner to the landing at Watts' creek, near Temescal, where he had built a small shanty and lived, though his wife kept a boarding house on Mission street in San Francisco. Along San Antonio creek was a substantial grove of evergreen oaks. At Broadway and First streets was the shanty occupied by Horace W. Carpentier, Edson Adams and Andrew Moon, who had staked off streets and laid out lots for a town. Near them toward the Point was another shanty occupied by Lowell J. Hardy. The first hotel was erected in 1851, after the last heavy fire in San Francisco, by Albert W. Burrell. At that time grants were made in this portion of the state by the Mexican Government. Castro's grant was in Contra Costa county, but he later claimed, though unjustly, that his grant extended over the present site of Oakland and it was partly upon this claim that Carpentier and his associates took possession and set Peralta at defiance.

        In 1852 there were here about fifty squatters in tents and shanties each holding 160 acres as homesharers. There was no regular ferry. Sloops and skiffs were used to cross the bay. There was a variable population—here today and gone tomorrow. Malachi Fallon came here in 1852 and bought of Harper a contract for a tract of land from the Peraltas, but Carpentier and his associates burned the Harper tent in his absence and squatted on the tract. Fallon bought ten acres at Oak and Seventh streets on which he built a house and remained though the land was claimed by the others. Harper's land was subsequently held by Colonel Heath and Ned Cohee. Fallon built in the style of a Long Island farm house and when the floor was laid went for his family, but during his absence the belligerent squatters jumped his property and compelled him in the end to pay $1,000 for a release; one piece of native woods here was called Hardy's Woods. Malachi Fallon had the first lath and plaster house in Oakland.

        Mr. Burrell came over here on a hunting excursion in 1852 and found Carpentier, Adams and Moon engaged in laying out the town. They offered him two lots if he would erect a hotel. Mr. Burrell considered the matter for a while and at last accepted their proposition. It was made, he thought, because he was a builder by occupation. He was told that such a house was needed here to accommodate travelers, hunting parties, picnics and others who came over from San Francisco in small boats. The hotel was the first built in the town and was leased to Ames and Kelly, who conducted it for a while, but finally sold their lease. This hotel stood at the northwest corner of First and Broadway. Before the house was fully completed a large party of young men came over from San Francisco on the small steamboat Hector—about one hundred and fifty of them—as many as could be crowded into the little craft, and held a "house warming" in the unfurnished building. The young men had plenty of money and enjoyed themselves in sports of various kinds, one of which was kicking ten-dollar silk hats about the grounds. Native oysters and edible birds formed the basis of their Sunday dinner at the hotel, which received about $500 from its guests on that occasion. The weather was fine and the surroundings beautiful. At that time Carpentier and associates were laying off streets parallel to Broadway, which had previously been located, and laterally from east to west. At Mr. Burrell's insistence they increased the width of the streets, though objecting that it was giving too much land to the public that was needed for stores and increased the cost of street improvement. Samuel Robinson opened the first store at Second and Broadway. Doctor Yard was the first postmaster and held the office about twenty years more or less continuously. He was succeeded by Mr. Benton and he by Mr. Marcellus and he by W. S. Dargie.

        In accordance with the provisions of the act entitled "An Act to Provide for the Incorporation of Towns," Horace W. Carpentier, a lawyer by profession, had passed, on May 4, 1852, an act incorporating the town of Oakland, the boundaries of which were declared to be as follows: "On the northeast by a straight line at right angles with Main Street, running from the Bay of San Francisco on the north to the south line of the San Antonio Creek or estuary, crossing Main Street (Broadway) at a point 360 rods northeast from. Oakland House, on the corner of Main and First Streets, as represented on Porter's Map of Contra Costa (the original name of Oakland) on file in the office of the Secretary of State; thence down the south line of said creek or slough to its mouth in the Bay; thence to ship's channel; thence north and east by the line of ship's channel to a point where the same bisects the said northeast boundary-line." Section 2 of the act declared the corporate powers and duties of the town to be vested in a board of trustees to consist of five members, to be elected on the second Monday of May in each year, and to hold office for the term of one year, provided they should receive no compensation for their services; and Section 3 stated what should be their official duties. On May 1, 1852, the town charter was signed at Benicia, where the Legislature was in session.

        The election was duly held, and A. W. Burrell, A. J. Moon, Edson Adams, Amedee Marier and H. W. Carpentier were chosen, the latter of whom, however, did not qualify. On the 12th of May they held their first meeting in the office of Mr. Adams. At this time only Messrs. Marier, Burrell and Adams presented their certificates of election. On having the constitutional oath administered to them they took their seats under the temporary presidency of Mr. Marier, with Mr. Burrell acting as secretary. The charter having been ordered transcribed on the record, the board passed Ordinance Number 1, entitled "An Ordinance to fix the time and place of holding stated meetings of the Board of Trustees," and thus was the official machinery of Oakland set in motion. On the 17th A. J. Moon took his seat with the board. Mr. Marier was elected permanently to fill the presidential chair, and F. K. Shattuck, to perform the duties of town clerk. Besides these transactions, ordinances were passed declaring certain streets public highways, concerning bonds of officers, disposing of the water front belonging to the Town of Oakland, and providing for the construction of wharves.

        John Cotter, a member of the San Francisco board of aldermen, and John Nugent, editor of the San Francisco Herald, came to Oakland to fight a duel in May, 1852. On board the steamer which brought them was a Sunday school picnic. The duelists went back to what became the site of Brooklyn, where it was believed they would not be molested. They were placed in position, armed with navy revolvers. At this juncture the sheriff of Contra Costa county appeared "on the upper surface of a large-sized mule" and demanded an immediate cessation of hostilities. David C. Broderick was one of the Cotter seconds, and Hamilton Bowie, one for Nugent. The sheriff was prevented from interfering by William Mulligan, James Hughes and a crowd of "muscle-men" who had come over to see the fight and fair play. Mr. Nugent was wounded at the second round, which put a stop to further hostilities. Edward McGowan was one of the party.

        Oakland Brewery was started by a Mr. Wilmer in 1853, at the corner of Ninth street and Broadway, but it was a miniature concern, capable of turning out only from ten to fifteen barrels of beer per month. It afterwards passed into the hands of Joseph Becht, and during the year 1863 was entirely consumed by fire, being however, rebuilt.

        The first attempt to establish a fire department in the city of Oakland was made in the early part of 1853. The result was the organization of two engine companies, the Empire and Washington and the Oakland hook and ladder company, and the election of John Scott as chief engineer. Three large cisterns were soon after constructed on Broadway between First and Fourth streets. This organization was within a year disbanded, the property delivered over to the council, and, up to 1869, Oakland had little or no means of controlling fires. Another department was organized March 13, 1869, under an ordinance approved February 4, 1869, by the election of John C. Halley as chief engineer and Thomas McGuire and George Taylor, assistants, who succeeded John Scott, chief, and John C. Halley and W. W. Moore, assistants, acting under authority of the previous organization. The apparatus of the department comprised a third-class Amoskeag fire engine, purchased by the city, and a hose carriage procured by funds temporarily advanced by Col. John Scott. The companies were: Steam fire engine company No. 1, steam fire engine company No. 2, steam fire engine company No. 3, steam fire engine company No. 4, hook and ladder company No. 1, hook and ladder company No. 2, hose company No. 1.

        On August 27, 1853, an ordinance was passed relative to the purchase of a fire engine. Mr. Staples and the clerk of the board of trustees were appointed a committee, and authorized to pay $2,000 therefor. On the 8th of October, John Scott and others petitioned for the organization of a regular fire department to comprise the Empire and Washington engine companies and the Oakland hook and ladder company. This organization was effected in 1854, $800 was allowed for the purchase of hose, necessary fixtures, and painting the engine-house. In his first message, Mayor Carpentier recommended the organization of a more efficient fire department. On June 24, 1854, Empire engine company and Oakland hook and ladder company were admitted into the department; and two cisterns were built at the corners of Broadway and Second and Fourth streets. On August 5, 1854, Washington fire company No. 2 was admitted into the department.

        Vicente Peralta and his wife, for the sum of $10,000 sold on the 1st of August, 1853, to R. P. Hammond, John C. Hays, John Caperton and Lucien Hermann, the Temescal, which was the remainder of their land, excepting a tract of 700 acres—about two miles from Oakland, on both sides of Telegraph avenue — reserved for a homestead, and afterward known as the Vicente Peralta Reserve, and a small tract at the mouth of the Canada de la Indica. At about the same time, Jose Domingo Peralta conveyed to Hall McAllister, R. P. Hammond, Lucien Hermann and Joseph K. Irving, for $82,000, his part of the San Antonio rancho, retaining for his own use about three hundred acres.

        Kellersberger, in the same year (1853), made a survey of that portion of Oakland lying south of the south line of Fourteenth street, and east of a line running parallel with and distant 300 feet westerly from West street. He divided the same into blocks of 200x300 feet, with streets 80 feet wide, excepting only the main street, the present Broadway, whose width is 110 feet. Six blocks were reserved for public squares. The streets were in later times extended some north, some west, at right angles with each other from the high tide line of San Antonio creek; those running north extending 200 feet northerly of what the surveyor designated as the northern line of Thirteenth street; and those running to the west from what was designated on the map as the westerly line of West street.

        On January 29, 1853, an ordinance was passed that all shade trees should be protected by the town trustees; and on August 27th the stumps remaining on Broadway then laid out as a thoroughfare, were directed to be removed. On December 24th the road, as surveyed and located 100 feet wide and running from Broadway to Cerito and known as the county road, was declared to be a municipal highway to be called "Contra Costa Avenue."

        On July 12, 1853, an ordinance for the protection of bridges and of people crossing the same was passed; and on the same day the clerk was directed to devise a common seal for the town, and cause the same to be engraved, at a cost of not more than $50. This seal was adopted as the seal of the corporation, under date May 6, 1854. On the last mentioned date the clerk was directed to cause to be erected around the "Public Square on Broadway a neat and substantial fence at a cost not to exceed $1,000," and on July 16th it was ordered that the clerk should receive $500 a year for his services. On February 14, 1854, ordinances were passed prohibiting bull fights.

        On Saturday, September 16, 1854, The Contra Costa, a newspaper published by J. R. Dunglison & Co., and edited by Mrs. S. M. Clarke, made its first appearance. From its columns it is learned that a duel was fought in the environs of Clinton on the morning of September 21, 1854, between Messrs. Dorsey and Bevin of Los Angeles, both of whom were wounded. It would appear that Sheriff Simmons, of Oakland, had been informed of the intended meeting but did not arrive in time to prevent the exchange of shots. He afterwards arrested some of the parties and took them before Justice Ferris of Oakland; but no one appearing against them they were discharged. Indeed, this was the day of duels, for not long after this meeting an affair of honor was had between Achilles Kewen and Colonel Woodlief. The weapons used were rifles, and the latter was shot through the heart. Oakland had a newspaper called the Alameda Express, a fire department, a school department, and other institutions like a much larger town.

        The act entitled "An Act to Incorporate the City of Oakland," was approved March 25, 1854. The boundaries were declared to be: "Northerly, by a straight line drawn at right angles with Broadway, formerly Main Street, in said city, crossing the extended line of Broadway 360 rods northerly from where stood the Oakland House, on the northwest corner of Broadway and First Streets and running from the Bay of San Francisco on the west, to the easterly or southeasterly line of that branch of the San Antonio Slough, or estuary, over which crosses the bridge from Oakland to Clinton; thence along the eastern and southern highest-tide line of said slough, and of the estuary of San Antonio, following all the meanderings thereof to the mouth of said estuary, in the Bay of San Francisco; thence southwesterly to ship channel; thence northerly along the line of ship channel to a point where the same intersects the said northerly boundary line extending westerly: Provided, that nothing in this section contained shall be so construed as to prohibit or abridge the right of the Trustees of the towns of Clinton and San Antonio, whenever the citizens thereof may elect to become a body corporate, under the provisions of any Act which may hereafter be passed, to provide for the construction of wharves and other improvements for the accommodation and convenience of the trade, travel and commerce of the said towns or villages, at their respective sites."

        On March 25, 1854, Oakland thus became a city. The officers were a mayor, council, assessor, treasurer and marshal. The treasurer was ex-officio clerk of the council. It was provided that the mayor should be elected for one year and the other corporate officers for two years. The election was duly held with the following result: For mayor—H. W. Carpentier 192, S. J. Clark 93, Z. Gower 44, B. F. Ferris 29, P. Rosasco 1, S. B. Bell 1, J. Hogan 1; for treasurer—J. R. Dunglison 121, T. Gallagher 82, W. H. Baxter 82, H. Horton 69, E. Gallagher 1, Mr. Donaldson 1, J. Hogan 1; for assessor—J. S. Tubbs 181, H. Douglass 83, L. N. Crocker 72, W. W. Nicholls 7, J. R. Dunglison 3, M. D. Cassin 3, H. Horton 1, William McNair 1; for marshal—J. Hogan 144, W. Hillegass 129, J. Brown 86, Mr. Bair 2, Mr. Pond 1, F. Johnson 1. The men voted for at the election of councilmen were as follows: E. Gallagher, G. M. Blake, A. D. Eames, John Kelsey, W. C. Josselyn, A. Marier, F. J. Meete, S. B. McKee, N. J. Thompson, A. R. Simons, A. D. McDevitt, L. Johnson, William McNair, G. H. Monroe, J. E. Whitcher, A. M. Brocklebank, William Harwood, E. Davis, George Coffey, G. Fogg, L. N. Crocker, Charles Stewart, William Card, William McCann, T. Connelly, E. Johnson, T. Holden, J. W. Taylor, G. Aldrich, John Woolsey and A. Durant. The total number of votes polled was 368. Carpentier alone received over that number for mayor and was elected. It was shown later under oath that when the ballot box was opened a large bundle of tickets folded together and on yellow paper were all for Carpentier. There was no reasonable doubt that the first mayor of the city was elected by fraud. Election laws in those days were easier to overcome and manipulate than in later times.

        At a special meeting of the city council, held January 24, 1855, the president gave official information that an attempt to destroy or abstract the whole or a portion of the records of the city had been made the previous evening. A reward of $1,000 was offered for the apprehension and conviction of the perpetrators, but apparently nothing further was done.

        Under date April 28, 1855, appeared an offer—H. K. W. Clarke, proprietor of the Contra Costa newspaper, sent the following communication to the council: "I will do the advertising of the city of Oakland, during the current year, in the columns of the Contra Costa without charge."

        Among the noticeable improvements in the city of Oakland, in the year 1855, was the opening of a drygoods store by Mr. Gallagher, who was also postmaster. This store was looked upon with wonder by an amazed and admiring population. It was a veritable piece of a city; a drygoods store fitted up with taste, and stored with articles sufficient to gratify the most ultra-fastidious.

        Carpentier was mayor in 1854 and was the first to hold that office. He was followed by Charles Campbell, 1855; S. H. Robinson, 1856; A. Williams, 1857­58; F. K. Shattuck, 1859; J. D. M. Davis, 1860-61; George M. Blake, 1862; W. H. Bierce, 1863; E. Gibbons, 1864; B. F. Ferris, 1865; J. W. Dwinelle, 1866;

W. W. Crane, 1867; Samuel Merritt, 1868; John B. Felton, 1869-70; N. W. Spaulding, 1871-72 ; Henry Durant, 1873-74; Mack Webber, 1875; E. H. Pardee, 1876-77; W. R. Andrus, 1878-79; James E. Blethen, 1880-81; C. K. Robinson, 1882; J. West Martin, 1883; A. C. Henry, 1884.

        On March, 19, 1856, the city treasurer made the following report showing the state of the city funds for the year ending March 5, 1856:

Total amount of accounts audited, including interest on the

funded debt of the city since the 5th day of March,

1855                                                                                                                         $8,475.66

Total amount of accounts audited by the council and con‑

tracted before the 5th of March, 1855                                                   $1,151.62

Total expense of the funded debt, including interest, engrav‑

ing bonds, salary of funding commissioners, station‑

ery, etc.                                                                                                $3,016.25

                                                                                                                                    4,167.87

                    Balance                                                                                                  $4,307.79

        On February 20, 1856, Talcott, Durkee and Webb laid claim to the reward of $2,000 offered for the apprehension of the defaulting ex-marshal, John Hogan. The council declined to settle, as they had reason to believe that Hogan had returned to the state with the especial intention of surrendering himself to the authorities.

Mayor Williams in September, 1857, said "For years had our poor, hide­bound city been groaning under the nightmare of the most bold and unmasked imposition, embargoed at both ends by odious and monstrous monopolies, illegal, oppressive, and iniquitous; her circumference manacled by unfounded claims, concocted by fraud and consummated by swindling, and her interior foully disemboweled by ruthless harpies preying on her vitals."

        On June 24, 1857, Dr. de Tavel offered to the council for a cemetery ten acres situated at the "back of Mr. Fountain's" on the Peralta road. Another offer of block number 200 was made by W. H. Bovee. On July 1st the cemetery ordinance was passed, accepting the first of these offers. Later the property passed into the hands of Isaac H. Brayton and Edward Tompkins, the latter of whom, under date June 23, 1863, petitioned the city council that the time had arrived when interments should no longer be permitted within the city limits; they therefore requested that the cemetery should be closed, and the owners thereof released from all obligations to keep the same open as a public burial ground. Mountain View cemetery, elsewhere, was selected and purchased in the latter part of the year 1863; it consisted of about two hundred acres and comprised a vale among the foothills. It was situated about a mile and a half east of Oakland. The following constituted the first board of directors: Hiram Tubbs, Dr. Samuel Merritt, J. A. Emery, Rev. I. H. Brayton, William Faulkner, S. E. Alden, Rev. T. S. Wells, G. E. Grant, J. E. Whitcher, Major R. W. Kirkham, W. H. Bovee, Henry Robinson.

        In his message of March 28, 1860, Mayor Davis said: "The city is slowly but surely advancing in prosperity. The unsettled condition of title to real estate within her limits, and the delay of dredging the sand bar at the mouth of San Antonio creek, which, if completed, might facilitate and render certain communication between here and San Francisco, still operate as drawbacks upon our progress. But notwithstanding these drawbacks, improvements of a permanent nature, although of a limited extent, are continually going on; society is steadily increasing in numbers and intelligence; her churches are well attended every Sabbath, with attentive and respectful congregations; her common school is crowded with children who are receiving the rudiments of a public education; her seminaries of learning are well patronized; these, together with other contemplated institutions of a kindred character whose foundations are about to be laid, are her surest guarantees of prosperity in the future. They, with the influences of her position, her climate, and her scenery, will in due time attract the attention of the State and draw to her  innumerable families to realize their benefits and make her what nature has intended her to be, one of the largest and most beautiful cities of the State." On March 28th, F. F. Fargo, proprietor of the Alameda County Herald, announced his willingness to publish the back ordinances to his Oakland readers to insure an increased interest in his paper, a proposition that was accepted by the council with thanks. On May 30th the office of city attorney was created.

        On January 1, 1863, a democratic newspaper named The Press was started in Oakland by S. B. English, a gentleman who had previously been associated with James F. Kapp in the publication of the San Leandro Gazette. It continued only three months, the material being subsequently purchased by Mr. Gagan when he started the Oakland News in September.

        Mayor Bovee, in his message of March 12, 1863, remarks, in reference to the city of Oakland: "The Funded Debt of the city now amounts to the sum of $39,100, bearing an interest of 7 per cent. The city is therefore required to pay in 1865 the bonds issued in 1855, and by section nine of the Funding Act of 1855, it is made your duty in each of the years 1863 and 1864 to raise by tax upon the property within the city a sum equal to one-half of the amount of the debt about falling due. It appears to me that with the prospect before us of an excess in revenue beyond our current expenses, but a small tax will be necessary. Our bonds are now selling in the market at about sixty-five cents on the dollar, which would make the amount required for the redemption of the issue of 1855, equal to $35,456." On February 5, 1862, there was passed by the council an ordinance granting the right to erect gas works in the city of Oakland.

        In December, 1863, a few men formed an organization under the name of the Mountain View Cemetery Association. The first trustees were: Hiram Tubbs, Geo. E. Grant, A. M Crane, J. A. Mayhew, Rev. S. T. Wells, S. E. Alden, Rev. H. I. Brayton, Dr. S. Merritt, J. E. Whitcher, R. W. Heath, Wm. Faulkner and J. S. Emery. Early in 1864 the association completed the organization and elected Dr. Samuel Merritt, president, J. E. Whitcher, secretary, and Hiram Tubbs, treasurer. In the same year a suitable site was selected and bonds were issued for its purchase. Rev. S. T. Wells was elected as the first superintendent, and remained in that capacity until the end of 1870. In 1871 Rev. Mr. Wells resigned, and William Collins was elected superintendent, and at the same time Gen. R. W. Kirkham was elected president of the board of trustees. Mountain View cemetery was about two miles from Oakland center and its approach was then one of the finest drives in Alameda county.

        In August, 1864, the North Oakland Homestead Association was incorporated, having for its object the purchase of large tracts of land in Oakland township, and their subdivision into lots for the members. The capital stock was $20,000, divided into $100 shares: Trustees, J. S. Emery, Thomas Bass, D. N. Hawley, T. B. Bigelow, Elijah Bigelow, J. G. Darves, W. W. Crane, Jr.

        On August 22, 1864, A. Muller, opened a hotel at the corner of Broadway and Second streets; and in September, the Oakland Flouring Mill did a large and profitable business, under the direction of Potter & Co. Leland & Harwood opened a lumber yard at the foot of Broadway in June. There were in 1864, 1,063 houses in Oakland.

        On January 25, 1865, the Oakland News passed into the hands of Gagan & Watson, by whom the paper was continued to the full standard of its former excellence. On January 27th, the Oakland Union Homestead Association filed its certificate of incorporation, the capital stock of the company being $12,500, its trustees being Thomas Bass, G. McAmes, W. W. Crane, Jr., W. Leonard and E. Bigelow. In this year the Pacific Novelty Iron Works were established. This company located at Oakland Point in April of the previous year under the superintendence of J. M. Wooster, the other officers of the company being B. D. T. Clough, president, and William McDonald, secretary.

        On Saturday, March 25, 1865, one of the most destructive fires that ever visited Oakland, broke out about two o'clock in a restaurant fronting on Seventh street. The wind was blowing hard at the time from the northwest, sweeping the flames and burning cinders before it. In half an hour the flames had communicated to all the buildings on the entire block (Delger's) save one on the northwest corner. The people turned out to render what service they could in saving the buildings. The damage was about $50,000. Twenty men, properly organized, could have saved five-sixths of all the property destroyed. The common council, notwithstanding repeated calls had been made for fire apparatus of some kind, had steadfastly ignored the necessity and the demands. At this time the fire limits were established by ordinance.

        In 1865 the first macadamizing was done on Broadway between Fourth and Tenth streets. It was an experiment, but the sand had become intolerable and the people were ready for any expedient that would improve street travel and conditions. The price paid was 8½ cents per square foot. At this time Oakland was thought of only as a small place near San Francisco where picnics and hunting parties could find and spend a pleasant day. A few business houses were scattered along Broadway as far north as Tenth street. The Basket Brigade (Chinese) had been formed long before this date, and the residents generally patronized San Francisco stores, crossing over and back by ferry. There were a few boarding houses at Seventh and Broadway, but no hotels of consequence. There was no bank and only a few manufacturing establishments. It was merely a little country village—a suburb of San Francisco.

        From 1862 to 1866 the population of Oakland doubled. Elegant and commodious residences were erected in all parts of the city. There were gathered within her borders a circle of society distinguished for its intelligence and refinement. The beauty and fertility of the adjacent country, the excellence of the roads diverging in all directions from the city, the delightful drives, the healthful invigorating atmosphere, and withal its proximity to San Francisco, proved sufficient guarantees not only of the stability of Oakland, but also of its rapid growth. The homes of the people showed the luxuriant blossoms of the peach and the pear, and their well-kept flower gardens gave character to the surrounding scenery.

        The growth of the city was very slow between 1854 and 1864; and in fact it was not until 1866 that the certain prospect of important improvements gave real estate an upward turn, and the building of a superior class of residences began. School facilities were very inferior; there were only two or three churches; the streets were not macadamized; fraudulent titles were abundant; litigation appeared endless; the city had a debt already, and her prospects were not then as promising as they had been at first. The opening of the creek, the establishment of an opposition line of steamers, the construction of the local railway, and the prospect of the terminus of the transcontinental railway being established in the city, caused the change for the better.

        On May 25th, Mr. Little, a resident of Oakland, made a formal tender to the city of that part of Webster street opened north of Seventeenth street, through the old cemetery to the San Antonio creek, a grant which was accepted by the council. In July the first street work performed in Oakland was commenced. By March 12, 1894, the city had about two hundred miles of macadamized streets and several miles of bitumized roadways. Real estate in Oakland had real booms in 1865-67 and 1874-76, but at other times the growth though rapid was steady and sure. On July 18th the first sewer in the city was ordered to be constructed between Fourth street and the water front on Broadway.

        On December 8, 1865, Joseph G. Eastland and W. W. Briggs were granted permission to erect gas works, but they were succeeded by the Oakland Gas Company, which July 3, 1866, was granted permission to erect works on block No. 6, bounded by First, Second, Washington and Broadway streets. These were the first gas lamps in the city. Messrs. Caduc and Williams were granted a franchise to erect gas works and lay pipes within the city limits on May 15th. January 16, 1866, the initial point of all surveys of the city was directed to be from the building known as "A la Mariposa," situated at the southwest corner of Fourth street and Broadway. On January 23d the Oakland and Alameda Water Company, petitioned the city council to the following effect: "That they propose conducting the waters of Temescal Creek to the city of Oakland, for the purpose of supplying the said city and the inhabitants thereof with pure fresh water. That to accomplish such an object they have already constructed reservoirs near the head-waters of said creek, and have expended large sums of money in furtherance of their designs," etc. Besides the above company the Amador Water Company, Contra Costa Water Company, College Water Company and others were organized. On July 3, 1866, A. Chabot, president of the Contra Costa Water Company, petitioned the council for the right to lay down pipes in the streets, alleys, and lanes for the purpose of supplying the inhabitants with pure fresh water. On July 18th an ordinance was passed granting them the privilege prayed for and on the same date like privileges were granted to the Oakland and Alameda Water Company.

        A gas light company was established in Oakland as early as 1866, in December of which year they were given permission to erect their works. They at once placed gas lamps at several points.

        The Oakland Bank of Savings was organized August 13, 1867, with the following directors: A. C. Henry, Edward Hall, Samuel Merritt, P. S. Wilcox, W. W. Crane, Jr., with a capital stock of $150,000, which on March 30, 1869, was increased to $300,000. The Union Savings Bank of Oakland commenced business in July, 1869, near the corner of Broadway and Eighth streets, the president being A. C. Henry, and the cashier, H. A. Palmer. The capital stock was originally $150,000, which, in a few years, was increased to $450,000. Union National Gold Bank was organized July 1, 1875, under the national banking act of the United States, and succeeded to the commercial business of the Union Savings Bank. The following were the first officers: A. C. Henry, president; H. A. Palmer, cashier; A. C. Henry, J. West Martin, R. W. Kirkham, D. Renshaw Ward, H. A. Palmer, directors; the capital being $100,000. First National Bank of Oakland was originally organized as the First National Gold Bank in May, 1875, with the following officers: B. F. Ferris, president; E. Case, vice president; G. M. Fisher, cashier; B. F. Ferris, E. Case, E. Delger, C. H. Twombly, W. Newcomb, A. Eberhardt, P. C. Huntley, V. D. Moody, J. E. Ruggles, G. M. Fisher, S. N. Putnam, directors. In 1876 V. D. Moody was elected to the presidency. The West Oakland Mutual Loan Association was incorporated July 21, 1875, with a capital stock of $600,000. The Odd Fellows Library of Oakland was established on August 12, 1867. The first event was the transfer of 295 volumes from the Oakland Philomathean Library Association. Then came a large donation from W. W. Crane, Jr., and in quick succession smaller donations from many individuals. For nearly four years the library attracted little attention from the order, and its friends often despaired of its success. On June 5, 1871, the association formally dissolved, handing over its assets to a board of trustees, consisting of an equal number of members from Oakland lodge, No. 118, and University lodge, No. 144, the only lodges then in existence. These lodges had agreed to assume the trust, and to pay the sum of 50 cents per quarter for each member in good standing. On January 10, 1872, Fountain lodge, No. 198, was instituted, and was admitted into the association, and a few years later Harbor lodge, No. 253, and Porter lodge, No. 272, were admitted.

        In 1867 the council awarded the contract for gas light to the Oakland Gas Light Company for 30 cents per lamp per night for an average of 27½ nights per month, there being at first but fifty lamps along Broadway, Telegraph, Central and Eighth streets. The next year the price was reduced to 22 cents with 150 lamps. In 1872 the number was 250 and the price 20 cents. In 1876 the price was 17½ cents with 346 lamps. In 1879 the price was 15 cents with 700 lamps. In 1881 the price was 13 cents and the number of lamps 800.

        When Oakland was really passing from town to city the authorities fully comprehended the importance of commencing a comprehensive system of public improvements. They began at once to improve the streets, build first class school­houses and erect a suitable city hall. Ground for the latter cost $17,673, and was opposed by many as extravagant, yet within ten years the property was valued at ten times the amount paid. Many thought they would be ruined by the large street assessments, but advances in their property contradicted this view within two or three years. Taxpayers were staggered when $20,000 was spent for a schoolhouse, but a short time not only proved its necessity, but demanded others equally as large.

        On March 19, 1868, an act authorizing the city council to purchase land and erect a city hall was passed by the Legislature, and directed the issuance of bonds therefor. On October 31st the contract for the mason work was awarded to J. S. Emery, at $11,784, and that for joiners' work to F. L. Taylor and J. V. Goodrich, at $23,965.

        On November 16, 1867, Mr. Moody offered a resolution to the following effect: To embody the city of Oakland and such other territory as might be fixed upon into a consolidated city and county of Oakland. The matter rested thus until 1874, when the scheme once more commenced to attract attention, but nothing of consequence appears to have resulted. On November 2d the following resolution was passed: That the thanks of the council are due to the Hon. W. W. Crane, Jr., whose resignation of the office of mayor of the city of Oakland has just been received, for the faithful manner in which he has discharged the duties of his office and especially for the assistance he has rendered the council in the management of the affairs of the city since his election to said office. On the same date Dr. Samuel Merritt was elected to the mayor's chair in place of Mr. Crane.

        On March 1, 1869, the city debt reached the amount to $110,400. This called forth the following observations from a committee appointed to ascertain the amount: "It is the unanimous opinion of your Committee that means must be adopted to liquidate the city's floating indebtedness that has been ignominously brought upon her by those who were too sanguine in the rapid development of the future of Oakland, resulting in the lamentable fact that with her annual interest and municipal expense she finds herself pecuniarily embarrassed and wholly beyond the power to honor the bills of her employes when they are due. Therefore, it is the opinion of your Committee that immediate measures be taken to dispose of some of the city's unproductive property, and the proceeds be applied to cancel her present floating indebtedness. We are already paying interest on $118,700, and should it be materially augmented, it is but reasonable to ask, when would our taxation be less, and when could we pay the principal unless our percentage on taxation was increased? And in view of the many obstacles that have arisen in the minds of your Committee to devise some way to pay the floating indebtedness of the city, they can see only one satisfactory way by which it may be done, and that is to have a Legislative power vested in the guardians of the city, and dispose of the City Hall, and with the proceeds pay the bills now knocking at the door of our Treasury for admittance."

                    INDEBTEDNESS, 1871-72

Old Funded Debt                                         $ 18,400.00

City Hall Bonds                                               50,000.00

Carpentier's Judgment Bonds                          16,000.00

School Bonds of 1868                                    50,000.00

New Funded Debt of 1870                             70,000.00

School Bonds of 1870                                    50,000.00

Total amount of Funded Debt                      $254,400.00

                        FLOATING DEBT

Warrants                                                    $10,000.00

Salary Bills unpaid                                        11,268.26

Miscellaneous Bills                                         5,974.32

Gas Bills                                                        8,616.98

City Hall Bills                                                 1,870.84

Total                                                            37,730.40

Making the sum total                                $292,130.40

CITY PROPERTY AT ITS COST

City Hall Lot and Buildings                        $72,000.00

School Lots                                                35,406.00

School Buildings                                         67,730.00

Water Front property (estimated value)       35,000.00

Fire Department property                           12,731.00

Total (exclusive of school furniture

and other personal effects of the city)      $222,867.00

        The Oakland Free Library was organized March 5, 1868, by a party of citizens called together for that purpose, upon which occasion about $6,000 was subscribed. Dr. Samuel Merritt was the first president. It originally occupied rooms in the Holmes building, corner Eighth and Broadway, and later rooms at Eleventh and Broadway. In the early part of 1872, a building was erected on the corner of Twelfth and Washington streets. Owing to lack of funds the association sold this lot for $12,500 cash. The city council gave the association permission to use a corner of the city hall lot, and the building was accordingly removed to that spot. In 1878, under the act of the Legislature and upon conference with the city council, it was decided to transfer all the property to the city on condition of its being sustained thereafter by taxation. The transfer was made; the building, from 4,000 to 5,000 books, and above $2,300 in cash, formed the nucleus of the new library. The Free Reading Room on Eleventh and Washington streets was also merged in the new library. The library building was raised, and a reading-room was erected under it. The old association had a paying membership of three hundred. In November, 1878, when it was opened as a free institution, there were upon the shelves 4,392 books. The library proper and reading-rooms were managed by a board of five trustees, elected by the people. The force of employes consisted of Miss Ina D. Coolbrith, librarian, who had held the position since October, 1874; H. F. Peterson, first assistant; Ina L. Peterson, second assistant; D. P. H. Brown, janitor and curator of central reading-room; L. D. Mason and Miss C. E. Bromley, curators of West Oakland and East Oakland branch rooms. Miss Ina D. Coolbrith, the librarian, was a woman of genius, and one among the gifted of California's daughters of song.

        In 1868, when the city council bought the property of the city hall park, public library site and engine house site and a small park adjoining for $17,672.91, the act was denounced as one of uncalled for extravagance. In 1898 when it was proposed to sell the city hall property its valuation was placed at $700,000. Shortsightedness in municipal affairs began thus early to check the progress of this extraordinary locality and promising city.

        The damages caused in Oakland by the earthquake of October 21, 1868, were light as compared with those of other towns in Alameda county. Dwelling houses received trifling injuries; in many houses crockery and glassware were broken, and great numbers of chimneys were thrown down or otherwise damaged. The city front suffered most. A portion of the wharf extending east from Broadway gave way, and several tons of coal were precipitated into the creek. At the lumber wharf of Taylor & Co., a trestle-work pier on which were 150,000 feet of lumber, was thrown into the creek.

        Early in 1869, the Toland Tract Association with a capital stock of $22,500 was organized, the trustees being Henry Durant, Edward McLean and Jacob Hardy. Its object was the purchase of land to be divided into lots suitable for homesteads. In January, Shattuck & Hillegass' hall was converted into a theatre, and opened as such on the evening of January 25, 1869. The enterprise of ship­building was progressing, there being at that time a two hundred ton schooner on the stocks at Allen's Yard at Oakland Point. It was a year of great prosperity.

        What was called Lake Chabot was constructed about 1868-69. Two years were consumed in building the series of dams that backed up the waters and created the lake. The eastern branch of Temescal creek, for a mile or more, ran between two steep hills about seven hundred feet apart. Instead of forming a gorge, as in most canyons, there was a valley some thirty or forty acres in extent. This was dammed up. Lake Chabot was about four hundred feet wide and three-quarters of a mile in length and its capacity was estimated at two hundred million gallons. Until June 1, 1872, all the water used in Oakland came from below Lake Chabot and from Fruit Vale. From the lake the water flowed through the original bed of Temescal creek for a mile and a half. The elevation of Lake Chabot is four hundred feet above Broadway wharf. Before the lake was built a large reservoir stored the water for city use. Its capacity was about 1,000,000 gallons. On an elevated locality near the head of Fruit Vale, there was later a distributing-reservoir, from which there was a main leading directly into Brooklyn (East Oakland). In Brooklyn two artesian wells were used. On February 12, 1872, the Lake Tahoe and San Francisco Water Works Company were granted the right to lay pipes through the streets of Oakland, and on October 15, 1877, like privileges were granted to the Oakland and Alameda Water Company.

        The foundation of the city hall was laid in the spring of 1869, the original contract price being $24,000; many other improvements added later raised the total cost to about $70,000. It stood on the irregular block bounded by San Pablo, Washington and Fourteenth streets. The basement was occupied in part by a city prison. The third story had just been fitted up for occupancy at a cost of $6,000. Before it was erected sessions of the city council were held in Shattuck's brick building at Broadway and Eighth streets.

        On February 5, 1869, the first number of the Alameda Democrat made its appearance and was said by one of its contemporaries to have "a countrified

appearance." At this time Oakland boasted of three daily papers, and in that respect took third rank in the state.

        Another fire department was organized March 13, 1869, with John C. Halley as chief engineer, and Thomas McGuire and George Taylor, assistants, who succeeded John Scott, chief, and John C. Halley and W. W. Moore, assistants, acting under authority of a previous organization. The apparatus of the department comprised a third-class Amoskeag fire engine, purchased by the city, and a hose carriage procured with funds temporarily advanced by Col. John Scott. On March 3, 1869, the Phoenix fire company was admitted into the organization, but soon disbanded for want of organization.

        In his message to the council March 15, 1869, Mayor Merritt, said: "Within the limits of the city surveyed into blocks and streets by Kellersberger, seven blocks were set apart for public squares, and as such have been dedicated to public use. They are named as follows: Lafayette, Jefferson, Washington, Franklin, Oakland, Madison and Caroline. Having been informed that some question existed as to the validity of the city's title to these squares, with the approval of the members of the Council, I had five of them inclosed with a good, substantial picket fence. The whole cost of inclosing these five plazas was $990.17. The remaining two, Washington and Franklin Squares are in the possession of the city."

        In March, 1869, Mayor Merritt said: "During my administration events have transpired of vital interest to the future welfare of Oakland. The water front controversy of sixteen years' duration has been satisfactorily adjusted and the terminus of the Western Pacific Railroad has been secured. The market value of real estate within the city limits has advanced more than one hundred per cent; many substantial brick buildings have been erected to accommodate increased business, and the rapid ingress of population has resulted in the construction of many elegant mansions and tasty villas in various parts of the city. Water has been introduced from the Coast Range of mountains; streets have been graded and macadamized; wharves have been built and the general appearance of the whole city has been vastly improved. The statistics of the Health Officer relating to the recent epidemic of small-pox, show conclusively that there is nothing in the climate or soil of Oakland to feed an epidemic. For many years Oakland has taken the lead on the Pacific Coast in the number and range of educational institutions; and within the past year the State University has been located at Berkeley, a suburb of this city, which establishes her position permanently as the educational center of the State. The securing of the terminus of the Western Pacific Railroad promises to result in the dredging of the bar and converting the San Antonio Creek into a basin five miles in extent, capable of receiving ships of ordinary draught, at any stage of tide, which, in my judgment, is all that is required to elevate Oakland to a prominent commercial position. At the time of the settlement of the water front controversy, two reservations were secured: The arm of the San Antonio Creek north of the Oakland Bridge was dedicated perpetually for a public lake. Since then a dam has been constructed near the bridge at a cost of at least $20,000, converting this branch of the creek into a beautiful lake. A road sixty feet in width and four miles in extent is now being built around the border of the lake. The second reservation is for a public landing, and embraces that part of the water front lying between the middle of Webster and the middle of Franklin Streets, and extending southerly to a line parallel with Front Street. Soon after it became known that the above described property had been reserved for the city, certain parties attempted to take possession under a pretended lease to the San Francisco and Oakland Railroad Company. Subsequently the railroad company instituted suit to quiet title to the property in question, claiming that the City Council had granted this property to the said company for a 'marine railroad and wharf.' On the first day of the present term of the Third Judicial Court, Judge McKee rendered his decision against the said railroad company and in favor of the city of Oakland."

        The extension of Broadway was accompanied with numerous legal difficulties and perplexities. The first step taken was to tear down the only fence in the proposed line by the road commissioner, then began the work of grading. The morning after this was commenced that official found the fence restored to its original place, and in a short time an injunction was served upon him, ordering him to suspend operations. In the year 1873 Oakland was chosen to be the future county seat by a majority of 985 votes of the people. In this year, too, there were surveyors at work on the proposed narrow gauge road to Walnut creek, Contra Costa county.

        In the year 1871 Elijah Bigelow sold to the San Francisco Land and Loan Association for $102,000, two-thirds of Broadway Block. In 1871 it was recognized that Oakland was fast becoming a city capable of sustaining the very best class of stores, and that unless that street furnished the proper accommodation, other and more enterprising capitalists would turn their attention to some other locality, and there erect the improvements demanded by the enlarged condition of the city. Their policy was a wise one, and, by carrying it out, they secured for a time the prestige of Broadway as the most important thoroughfare in Oakland. In May the Hurlburt block, bounded by Broadway, Washington, Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets, was sold to Armes & Dallan for $75,000, making the third heavy land sale within the city, and all aggregating $230,000. Heavier sales than these had taken place. The railroad company purchased sixty-six acres of land at the Point for $330,000; the Casserly tract for $125,000; and the Lake Side tract for $100,000. On November 13, 1871, an ordinance was passed levying a tax opening and widening Broadway from Fourteenth street, northerly, to the charter line. On December 4, an ordinance was passed changing the names of Caroline square to Lincoln square, and Julia street to Madison street.

        Mayor Spaulding, in his message to the council, dated May 15, 1871, speaks of city sewerage as follows: "Another matter which I deem of eminent importance to the city, and to which I wish to call your attention, is the subject of sewerage. The subject was brought before the City Council about two years ago, and by them submitted to a Board of Engineers. This Board was composed principally of the best engineering talent of the State—men of large practical experience—who spent a great deal of time in examining the topography of the city and determining the best and most economical method of drainage. They submitted to the Council an elaborate report, recommending the adoption of the pipe system of sewerage. This report was unanimously adopted by the City Council. Another point in connection with this subject to which I wish to call your attention is that many residing on the streets where sewers are laid have neglected to connect their house drainage with the sewers, thereby rendering void, to a certain extent, the salutary benefits calculated to be produced. I would therefore recommend that necessary steps be taken by your Honorable Body to compel these connections to be made with as little delay as possible." In this year (1871) the sewer on Webster street from Twelfth street to the water front was constructed, but no especial action was taken to establish a general system of sewerage. Late in the year 1871, the board of engineers recommended as part of the system of sewerage proposed by them to the council, the "construction of a main sewer, leaving Lake Merritt at Delger street and running thence along Delger street to San Pablo avenue; thence to Twenty-first street; thence to Market street; and thence continuing along Twenty-first street to the shore of the bay, a total length of 84 1/100 miles. During the year ending February 28, 1873, three miles and 3,150 feet of sewerage were laid at a cost of $26,075.07. But the construction of the main sewer became now imperatively necessary, and attracted much discussion. It was necessary to get an act passed by the Legislature. On March 23, 1874, "An Act to authorize the City of Oakland to construct a Main Sewer" was approved, and on the 18th of May, the City Council passed an ordinance directing the building of the sewer. On October 12th the contracts were awarded to Mr. Jordan and M. Miles & Co. The Main Lake sewer was completed in 1876, and connected Lake Merritt with the bay. The cost of the work is given below.

First Section—Contract price               $126,850.00

Extra work                                                   512.40

Second Section—Contract price              38,200.00

Extra work                                                   525.00

Total                                                   $166,087.40

Paid contractors                                  $157,483.73

         The News in the early '70s was published by William Gagan in a two-story frame building on the north side of Ninth between Broadway and Washington streets. The paper finally died of inanition. General Sullivan and Mr. Fairchild were connected with newspapers here later. Although the News was edited by Mr. Gagan, its editorial writer was really Calvin B. Macdonald. W. D. Harwood was local editor and general news gatherer. Gagan was the republican leader of the county and Col. John Scott was the democratic leader. William Harvey was connected with the News about this time. Soon the News passed to General Sullivan and Oscar Fairchild, who espoused the temperance cause during the local option era in the early '70s. Soon afterward the News was sold on foreclosure by Sheriff Harry Morse. The Transcript was published by Col. John Scott and in 1870 had its offices on Broadway near Eighth. It was previously issued in a frame building at Twelfth and Broadway. Harry Linden was its editor then, but was succeeded by Henry George, the world renowned single-tax advocate. In this city was evolved that theory of administration. Mr. Foote was connected with the Transcript for a while and so was Thomas Newcomb in 1869. Arthur McEwen and Daniel O'Connell wrote good prose and passable poetry for the Transcript. W. C. Morrow was another early local writer of merit. There was no steam power in the early days, all presswork being done by hand power. Pennybacker ran the Transcript's press and Fish ran that of the News.

        On April 15, 1872, the fire department was in possession of one steam fire engine; one two-wheel hose carriage; one hook and ladder truck and hooks; 2,100 feet of hose; forty-one fire hats and belts; two fire bells; thirteen hydrants and three cisterns, valued in all at $14,713.

        In 1872 the following land was annexed to Oakland: Bounded on the north by the line of division between the plots ten and eleven on Julius Kellersberger's map of the rancho of Vicente and Domingo Peralta, filed in the office of the recorder of Alameda county, January 21, A. D. 1857, said line being produced in a straight line with itself westerly till it intersects the westerly boundary of the County of Alameda in the Bay of San Francisco and produced in like manner easterly beyond the easterly line of Webster avenue until it intersects the small creek known as Cemetery creek, which rises in the grounds of the Mountain View Cemetery Association and flows southwesterly to its junction with another creek rising east of said Webster avenue; on the east by said Cemetery creek and the other creek aforesaid below their junction until they empty into Lake Merritt or Peralta, and then southerly along the west shore line of the northwestern arm of said lake until the same intersects the northerly line of the city of Oakland; on the south by the said north line of said city; and on the west by the westerly line of said county of Alameda in the Bay of San Francisco to its point of intersection with the north line already described as the line of division between Kellersberger's plots, numbers ten and eleven.

        In the early part of 1872 the following branches of business were in Oakland: Auctioneers, 3; liquor saloons, 84; barber shops, 8; boarding-houses (licensed), 10; billiard saloons, 6; bakeries, 11; breweries, 3; bathhouses, 2; bill posters, 2; cigar manufacturies, 3; cigar stores, 6; clothing stores, 3; carpet stores, 2; confectioneries, 4; drygoods, 3; drug stores, 6; express agents, 2; fruit stores, 8; furnishing goods, 4; furniture stores, 2; feed and produce, 3 ; flour mill, 1; game market, 1; groceries, 15; glaziers, 2; general merchandise, 2; hardware, 4; harness makers, 3; insurance agents, 12; ice depot, 1; jewelers and watchmakers, 5; livery stables, 8; laundry, 1; lodging houses, 12; lumber yards, 4; locksmiths, 1; markets, 14; marble works, 2; milliners, 4; music stores, 1; paint shops, 5; pawnbroker, 1; plumbing, 7; planing mills, 3; restaurants, 20; real estate agents, 9; roofing agency, 1; sewing machine agents, 3; stationers, 4; shoe and boot stores, 7; stove stores, 3; merchant tailors, 3; tinsmiths, 6; toy stores, 4; undertakers, 2; upholsterers, 2; vegetable stores, 4; variety stores, 3; wood and coal yards, 5.         Besides the above there were two banks, one cornstarch factory, one brass and one iron foundry, etc.

        In 1873 the boundaries of Oakland were greatly extended and the city lost its original encinal or peninsular form. The northern limit was extended over a mile and the eastern limit was extended to embrace the incorporated town of Brooklyn which had grown up at the same time as Oakland along the eastern margin of San Antonio creek. When the growth began in earnest at the time the railroad was built the population soon spread over the plateau and up the sides of the hills. Blocks near the center of the business section doubled and trebled in value. Soon Oakland proper comprised about nine thousand acres, besides the tide lands. In June the famous Grand Central hotel was completed under the personal supervision of Doctor Merritt. It was four stories in height with a mansard roof and brick basement, the whole surmounted by three immense towers. The building occupied the block bounded by Webster, Harrison, Eleventh and Twelfth streets. It was destroyed by fire in 1881. The tax levy for city purposes in Oakland was 70 cents on the $100; in 1874 it was increased to 90 cents on the $100. The population of Oakland in 1873 was 13,387 according to the school census. In 1874 the population was nearly twenty thousand. In September, 1873, half-hour boats were put on from Oakland to San Francisco by the Central Pacific Company to meet the enormous travel between the two cities. An important achievement was the construction of the city wharf, at the city's expense upon the only space of water front which the city had a right to call her own. The wharf at once proved itself a success beyond what its most earnest advocates had anticipated. It was completed August 5, 1872, at a cost of $19,635.90.

        On November 17, 1873, twenty or thirty citizens assembled in the reading room of the Grand Central hotel for the purpose of considering the organization of a humane society for Oakland. Henry Durant served as chairman. The organization was perfected and meetings were held regularly until April, 1874, and were then suspended for three years. It was revived in March, 1877, at which time Dio Lewis became president. Again in 1878 it went out of existence. In 1890 it was revived and continued vigorously until 1892. Towards the end of 1873 a silk manufactory was started under the superintendence of John Green, who had two looms at work and carried off the State Agricultural Society's gold medal for his exhibition of home manufactured silk.

        On April 29, 1854, the subject of city water works was first suggested. Mayor Carpentier regretted that the charter conferred no power upon the city council to authorize the construction of water works. At a meeting held December 22, 1873, the attention of the council was again called to the matter, and a committee was appointed to investigate the subject and report. They were Spaulding, Knox and Larue, and on January 19, 1874, reported that the cost would be as follows: Dam and reservoir, $98,473; thirty-eight miles, 22-inch pipe, $797,500. This was exclusive of the right of way, franchises, distributing reservoirs and distributing pipes. On December 3, 1873, considerable snow fell at Oakland. The ground on the lee side of buildings and clear open spaces was covered to a sufficient depth to enable an industrious person to scrape enough together to form snow balls.

        In 1874-75 the Castro Coal Mining Company was formed to mine for coal in this and adjoining counties. The capital was $1,000,000 and the directors were Patricio Castro, James Simpson, Jr., James A. Quinan, J. R. Bent and L. P. Larue. The water works were built at this time. The main connecting the big reservoir with the Oakland system was four feet in diameter near the reservoir on the mountain side which was sluiced down for the purpose. In the spring city scrip was worth only 80 cents on the dollar and all bids to furnish supplies were made on the basis of the depreciated scrip. By the spring of 1875 there was on hand $20,000 of general fund and the license paid the running expenses. This was brought about under the system of economy adopted. Washington Market, conducted by L. Schaffer, was an extensive establishment; pork packing was an important feature. In June the Tribune which had been issued from the press of Butler & Stilwell changed location and thereafter came from the press of A. W. Bishop. Mr. Dewes was still connected with the Tribune.

        For the fiscal year 1873-74 the city receipts came almost wholly from taxes; traders' licenses amounted to $2,702.50 and the wharfinger returned $525.65. There was on hand from the previous year $78,210.86; total receipts $225,453.38; total disbursements $85,990.77. The city finances were in excellent condition at this time. The school bond redemption fund alone amounted to $67,937.50. Every fund (twenty-seven in all) showed an excess. The fire and water committee reported that while the fire alarm telegraph would be a desirable addition to the fire fighting equipment, the condition of the city finances would not permit an indulgence in this luxury. The city ordinance provided otherwise, but in spite of that people disliked the old scraggy live oaks and cut them down whenever opportunity offered and planted other ones.

        In 1867 Mr. Chapellet, wood and coal dealer, located here and in one month, October, his sales amounted to $1,511.07. In 1871 for the same month they were $7,950.95, and for the same month in 1874, they were $14,738.98. One million four hundred and seventy-nine thousand one hundred and sixty pounds were sold in the last named month. This was an indication of the great advance of business operations here during the growing period; many other business enterprises advanced as rapidly.

        In November there were employed at the West Oakland shipyard, ship carpenters 70, laborers 50, machinists 25, on pile driver 10, on the dredge 10; total 165. The Central Pacific Railroad Company was drilling an artesian well here at this date. Four new houses were going up on one street. The growth was so rapid that hotel accommodations were inadequate. The West Oakland shipyards were growing fast and were a very important industry. The office of pound master was created and a new engine house was built for the Felton engine and the Relief hook and ladder company. The real estate union was incorporated November 12th with a capital of $400,000. Will Cubery was its first president.

        In December the city council passed a resolution extending a vote of thanks to Dr. Samuel Merritt and other citizens who had contributed to the erection of the dam across the estuary between West and East Oakland, thus creating what was called Lake Merritt and had conveyed all their interest therein to the city. The dam cost $21,000, of which over $17,000 had been paid by Doctor Merritt. He was granted the right to use seventy-five feet of frontage in the dam for a boathouse.

        Doctor Dinsmore, who was at the head of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals resigned his position, because he was unable to secure one conviction in the many suits he brought under the law. The defendants asked  for jury trials and their lawyers managed to render the execution of the law so ludicrous that no conviction could be secured. The police themselves succeeded in fining one man $30 for cruelly treating and abandoning an old horse. In December Mr. Dewes of the Tribune, owing to continued ill health advertised for a partner in the ownership and management of that newspaper.

        In December the council of Oakland passed an ordinance requiring liquor dealers whose sales exceeded $10,000 per quarter to pay a $100 license per quarter and those under $10,000 to pay $50 per quarter. The enactment took effect in January, 1875. The license here was thus $50 per quarter because no sales in Oakland at this time exceeded $10,000 per quarter. The granting of this license was strenuously opposed by the temperance people of the city. Early in December the library directors ordered rebound all books needing it and ordered bound the old files of the Tribune, Transcript, News and Encinal. Twenty new members were added between the l0th and 30th of November, and there was in bank $2,500 and $468 on hand, and the library was quite promising under the new order. On December 31st, Woodward & Co., real estate dealers, sold to Gen. D. C. Thompson a tract of sixty-two acres of land in the eastern suburbs for $25,000. It was located north of the San Leandro road on High street opposite Alameda street and was known as Prospect terrace. At the same time Blake & Moffitt bought the half block at Fourteenth and Broadway for $45,000. Mr. Williams had just previously bought the other half for $55,000. During 1874, according to the local press, 1,063 structures costing $2,422,113 were erected in Oakland..

        The enormous business done in Oakland water front in 1874 is shown by the following figures: Overland and way passengers 250,964; passengers between

Oakland and San Francisco 3,102,904; coin and bullion $65,494,712; wheat exported 127,678 tons; coal exported 57,677 tons; lumber imported 44,251,268 feet; shingles (thousands) 11,722,750; laths 3,093,200; brick 5,821,000; number of trains per day used in transporting freight 82; number, of vessels employed 1,813. The Bay Farm Island bridge was finished at this time. It was 745 feet long to the end of the wings. The draw allowed vessels a passageway of 50 feet; hunting on Bay Farm Island was excellent at this time.

        The sale of the D. Ghirardelli estate took place in San Francisco in December, 1874, and was regarded as second in importance only to that of the Lick estate. The bulk of the property was on the east side of the bay. Considerable fronted on Lake Merritt and comprised a precipitous bluff east beyond the Twelfth street bridge. The sale was made by the block or in subdivisions in different parts of Oakland and the Ghirardelli residence on Third street, in the yard of which were marble statutes of George Washington, Christopher Columbus and other notables, was included in the sale. Scores of tracts in all parts of the city were offered by the auctioneers. On the first day the sales amounted to $119,615; nearly all of which was for Oakland property. Lots in the Lake View tract brought prices ranging from $1,000 to $4,300. The Ghirardelli residence block at Clay, Jefferson, Second and Third avenues was subdivided and sold in lots 50x100 feet, the prices ranging from $300 to $3,300 each. The lot and brick building at Third and Broadway sold for $15,000.

        The year 1874 was an eventful one in many respects. There were the local option election; the race between Occident and Fullerton; the shooting of General Cobb; the weather unusual and queer; the reputed visit from King Kalakaua; the big building operations; the great increase in population; the new jail; court­house; hall of records, etc. The Contra Costa Water Company furnished water to 500 new houses in Oakland alone and to 700 in all. They supplied water to 1,800 houses in December. They had 30 miles of water mains, besides the construction in connection with the new reservoir on the mountain. During spring, summer and fall they supplied about 1,250,000 gallons to customers and 750,000 in the winter months and were making large extensions for future increased supply. During the year 601 vessels arrived at Webster street wharf. Among the articles landed were 4,000 cords of wood, 3,281,000 bricks, 2,190,000 feet of lumber and 12,111 tons of coal. The gross earnings of the wharf were $4,973; in 1873 they were $3,536.

        The first number of the Oakland Daily Evening Tribune was issued on Saturday evening, February 21, 1874, by Ben. A. Dewes and George B. Staniford, under the firm name of Dewes & Staniford. The paper was small in size, but presented a creditable appearance and was well edited. With the first issue the editors said, "There seems to be an open field for a journal like the Tribune in Oakland, and we accordingly proceed to occupy it, presenting the Tribune, which is intended to be a permanent daily paper, deriving its support solely from advertising patronage." The paper attracted attention, and a paying patronage soon warranted its enlargement. The first number contained only three columns to the page, and carried only forty-three business advertisements. Three months later it was enlarged to double its original size, and the place of public action was changed to rooms in the Wilcox block, over those occupied at that time as the postoffice. The following year it was moved to rooms in the adjoining block, on Broadway, between Eighth and Ninth streets. In the early part of 1876 Mr. Dewes, who had previously purchased the interest of Mr. Staniford, disposed of one-half his interest in the paper to A. B. Gibson, of San Francisco, who retained the share but a short time, disposing of the same to A. E. Nightingill. On July 24, 1876, William E. Dargie bought out Nightingill. Under the new management the paper quickly improved in appearance and widened in usefulness and patronage. Within a month Mr. Dargie succeeded in obtaining the Associated Press dispatches, and was thus the first Alameda county journalist to do so. To accommodate the improved conditions the Tribune, on October 1, 1877, was removed to 406 Twelfth street, and a book and job department was added. One of R. Hoe & Co.'s patent improved double-cylinder presses was placed in the book and job printing department. On November 1, 1881, the Tribune was moved to 413, 415 and 417 Eighth street. It was republican in politics, and was printed by the "Tribune Publishing Company," W. E. Dargie, manager, A. K. P. Harmon, Jr., secretary.

        The Oakland Daily Times was the descendant of an old-established paper known as the Transcript, owned and controlled by Col. John Scott, and a leading democratic journal. The old office was located on Broadway, between Eighth and Ninth streets, and the paper was printed on a hand press. Mr. Powers later became the proprietor. Under his control the politics of the paper was changed, from democracy to republicanism. On the 8th of January, 1878, J. A. Johnson and J. B. Wyman purchased the entire plant, and extensive improvements were immediately inaugurated. The title of the paper was changed to the Daily Times, and in addition to the daily publication, a large and valuable weekly edition was issued, chiefly for circulation throughout the county and state. Soon after the change was made William D. Harwood became editor­in-chief, and in 1879 Alfred J. Share, a journalist of long experience, was engaged. The building at the corner of Ninth street and Broadway was leased and a large and well-appointed job-printing office was added to the institution, and Alfred J. Share was installed as city editor. On October 1, 1882, John P. Irish, editor and proprietor of the Iowa City Press became part owner and editor. Soon after his advent, the Times was issued as a seven-day paper, the Sunday edition consisting of eight pages and the weekly edition was enlarged. The Enquirer was established in the seventies, and at first, like all the newspapers of Oakland had a precarious existence, with many changes, but is today one of the most aggressive and successful sheets on the whole coast.

The Oakland Press was started by G. W. Barter, in 1872, and at that time was a twenty-eight column paper. He conducted it until 1875 when it was purchased by DeWitt C. Lawrence, and in 1876 was changed to a forty-two column-sheet and became democratic in principle.

        In 1875 the families of East Oakland, the Point and Oakland proper were served with fresh vegetables and fruits each morning at a nominal price by from 100 to 150 Chinamen who came over from San Francisco on the 7 and 7:30 o'clock trains, each carrying a brace of immense baskets filled with fish, fruit and vegetables weighing at least 100 pounds each, making 200 pounds for each Chinaman and aggregating each day about 30,000 pounds in weight. The newspaper called them the "Basket Brigade." The Odd Fellows Library was in a prosperous condition; the circulation for march was 778 volumes, mainly of fiction.

        All the apparatus of the fire department was estimated to be worth $30,512 in January, 1875. The Oakland library had a total membership of 367; the number of books drawn in December was 1,512. There was $326.87 on hand. A special committee reported against opening the library on Sunday, which report was adopted. The deaf and dumb asylum was burned down in January. No loss of life. Loss of property $150,000 to $250,000. On January 16th the snow showed on the hills east of Oakland. A careful tabulation showed the population to be as follows: For 1873—males 8,534, females 6,853; total 15,387. For 1874—males 11,099, females 8,901; total 20,000. Of this number 266 were blacks and 1,323 copper colored; white population in 1874, 18,411.

        The artesian well in West Oakland was down to a depth of 450 feet by January 15th. Scows were busy scooping up the mud from the ship channel which was three-fourths of a mile in length with a depth of about six feet below tide-water. The passenger boat Chrysopolis was nearly completed; so were the mammoth freight boats which were to run in connection with the thoroughfare between Long Wharf and San Francisco. The council called for bids for 100 telegraph poles, ten miles of telegraph wire and a lot of insulators for an electric fire alarm system in March. In January 300 lots at Oakland Point were offered for sale; also the entire block of Brayton Hall by order of the regents of the university; also 250 lots on the Watts tract out on San Pablo avenue; also half acre lots in the suburbs for $400 each. A large quantity of Oakland real estate was sold at auction late in January; it was situated at Railroad, Eighth, Chester and Henry streets; the lots brought from $1,000 to $3,000 each.

        The Central Land Company was to Oakland what the Real Estate Associates were to San Francisco. They sold lots and houses on the installment plan. In five months' time in 1874 (their first year) they built and sold twenty-five houses and eighty lots. Their land was on Telegraph and San Pablo avenues. In January the Oakland Fire Department consisted of four hydrants, five cisterns and 3,000 feet of hose. Mr. Montanya was chief engineer. The engines, hose carts and horses were in good condition.

        The Brayton Hall block was sold in lots at public auction on February 19, 1875. Lots 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24 with the hall sold for $11,000; lots 13 and 14 with the Mansion home sold for $3,525. The prices were considered very low, the single lots brought from $2,500 to $3,000. The new Chabot reservoir and connections were nearing completion in February. The big main was nearly laid from the reservoir down to the San Leandro road. Water from the San Leandro works was promised early in 1875 and the supply was announced as sufficient for a century to come. In spite of all this many wells were dug.

        The growth of Oakland in the spring was rapid and extensive. Scores of buildings were in process of erection in all sections. The newspapers expatiated on the great importance of improving the harbor, adding new ferry facilities, building more ships, multiplying the number of street cars and increasing the number of business houses. The old El Capitan and the reconstructed Chrysopolis and the steamer Capital were deemed sufficient for all reasonable ferry services. The overland trains were dumping here monthly thousands of home seekers, many of whom remained. There seemed to be lacking only one important element of growth—business blocks. The famous Gibbons tracts of land—two—were advertised to be sold at auction at Stanford hall on February 13th. This was one of the most important sales of homestead lots ever conducted in Oakland. The larger tract was bounded south by the Central Pacific railroad lands and embraced about sixty acres and contained the company's ship-yard where two large steamers were on the way south. The tract was bounded north by the Casserly tract, on the east by Peralta street, which extended from Oakland Harbor to the State University. The smaller tract was bounded south by Division street (extension of Eighth) and bordered on the bay with waterfront privileges.

        At a big credit sale of lots in West Oakland in February, 1875, $81,375 was realized. Lots on Railroad avenue brought from $550 to $1,350. On other streets the prices ranged from $350 to $500. A total of 197 lots were sold. Lots were sold in blocks 466, 499, 498, 501, 502, 526 and others. The gas and water companies complained at this time. The facts were that both the gas and water companies had extended their lines far beyond the wants of the population and were thus poorly paid for their expenditures and efforts. Miles of pipes were laid that paid the companies nothing. They laid a splendid ground work for an immense city of villas, all laid out into lots, blocks and streets, but all so thinly inhabited that no adequate return for the outlay could be expected until the population should be vastly increased. Quite often could be seen whole blocks devoted to a single small residence where the owner refused to subdivide but wanted all the gas and water privileges now extended to a dozen or a score of palatial residences.

        The Mountain View Cemetery Association stated $13,000 had been received from the sale of bonds and that $390 had just been paid as a premium upon the bonds. Judge Stephen G. Nye, county judge, decided that W. T. Hurll, who was convicted of selling liquor without a license, was illegally convicted and the judgment against him was reversed and a new trial ordered. The sales at auction of the Ghirardelli estate amounted to $125,000. Original bids to the amount of

$76,000 were rejected by the trustees and the land was resold. Block 51 East Oakland valued at $25,000 was not resold.

        The great number of incendiary fires called for strenuous work from the municipal authorities. The newspapers said there was an "epidemic of fools." A public meeting of citizens was held, but no action was taken except to urge the officials to action and to denounce the malefactors. In 1875, Capt. Edgar Wakeman died in East Oakland. In his active life time he was famous for his nautical ventures in all lands and in numerous vessels. He was a marshal of the Vigilantes in San Francisco. He was the Capt. Ned Blakely of Mark Twain's "Roughing It."

        Early in 1875 it was evident that real estate values in Oakland were certain to double within a short time. The great increase in population, the new business enterprises and the desirability of the city as a place of residence betokened an approaching advancement second only to that consequent upon the completion of the great overland railroad. Broadway property was particularly high and advancing at this date. Half a dozen men—Williams, Blake, Droffit and others—were after a half block at Broadway, Washington, Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets. Vast real estate deals in the near future were already casting their shadows before. The enormous savings in the San Francisco banks were finding their way to Oakland real estate. At this time there was not an empty house in the city and none had "To Let" on it but for a day.

        At a public spelling match held in West Oakland in April, 1875, $125 was realized at the door. At this time that part of the city was building about one mile of sidewalk a month. J. W. Pearson's residence at Wood, Taylor, Pine and Chase streets was planned to cost $75,000. The grounds were probably the finest then in Oakland and embraced a gigantic wind mill and water mains, fine fencing, double rows of eucalyptus and poplar and an inner hedge of cypress. About forty of the natural oaks which early made Oakland famous and from which it took its name, were preserved in this beautiful property. At the Wood street front were two superb grottos with fountains. Everywhere over the tract were clumps of trees among which with charming effect wound the carriage road. There were magnolia, gralin, origoria, orange, island pine, many native woods and rare imported plants. The grounds cost $20,000, residence $75,000; other features $30,000; total $125,000. In April, 1875, thirty-three new buildings were going up in West Oakland.

        From the start Oakland was famous for its homes, residences, churches, schools and social spirit. The splendid amphitheater of hills to the eastward, beginning at Berkeley and extending east and south as far as Fruitvale, commanded an enchanting view of mountain and sea—even of the old ocean itself. The Contra Costa Water Company and the numerous wells insured a bountiful supply of good water for consumption and irrigation, and fine residences were going up in the Water Cure vale, the Ross Browne and Livermore places, the White tract, and in fact along the whole suburbs from Berkeley to Piedmont, Brooklyn and Fruitvale. Thus far nearly the whole of this suburban district was peopled by families that could afford their own conveyances to the ferries. But now the people faced the problem of transportation, because poorer families were seeking these choice residence districts and required public conveyance to the wharves and depots. Thus arose the golden opportunity for the street car magnate and the real estate genius. Already they were at work planning comfort and convenience for the public accompanied with power and fortunes for themselves. They said, "There are millions in it," and there were. No one doubted that a great city was sure to grow here—rise up from the level lands along the bay and climb the rugged slopes of the eastern hills and mountains.

        In 1875 Brooklyn was the manufacturing center of Oakland; already there were three potteries, two tanneries, one terra cotta factory and one brickyard. Nearly all the commerce there centered at Larue's wharf; five or six vessels could be seen there at one time. Brooklyn was made a freight depot in 1874 by the Central Pacific Company. The chief imports of Brooklyn or East Oakland were wood, coal, grain, jute, tanbark, lumber and clay. The chief exports were grain sacks, flour, leather, bricks, pottery, terra cotta ware and cattle. A street railroad was in process of construction out to the upper end of Fruit Vale. This was not the same as the Oakland, Brooklyn and Fruit Vale railroad already in operation. Both were horse railroads. Washington hall near Tubb's hotel was the principal public assemblage room. Balls, theatrical entertainments, mass meetings and political caucuses were given there. The grain fields around Brooklyn in May, 1875, were green and fine.

        Butler and Stilwell conducted a large printing office here in the early seventies. They operated four Gordon presses and turned out all sorts of job work quickly and in first-class style. This was a home industry that came to the front on its merits in spite of the allurements of San Francisco. In 1875 the Oakland Journal, a German newspaper, was issued by C. Schmitt, K. F. Wiemeger and A. M. Schutt at 911 Broadway. For the construction of the first section of the main sewer in April, 1875, the Alameda Macadamizing Company bid $119,110; the Pacific Bridge Company, $126,850; Remillard Brothers $129,990. The Alameda company withdrew its bid, whereupon the contract was awarded to the Pacific company. W. H. Jordan was at work on a big sewer contract at this time. Early in May, 1875, E. C. Sessions & Co. offered for sale at auction the real estate of J. B. Scotchler, deceased; the property consisting of eighty large lots, at Tenth, Twelfth, Fourteenth, Union, Poplar and Kirkham streets and within three blocks of the Adeline street station.

        About the year 1870 D. Ghirardelli established soda works on Broadway; but about 1872 sold out to James J. Biven, who moved the factory to Thirteenth and Franklin streets. By 1875 he kept two delivery wagons running constantly to supply his customers. An immense sale of reclaimed marsh lands at Oakland took place June 8th in San Francisco, and about $23,000 was realized. Lots sold for from $50 to $300 each and blocks for from $1,230 to $2,500 each. Among the blocks sold were Nos. 753, 754, 756, 757, 766, 767 and 768. The auction sale of the Scotchler real estate in 1875 brought good prices—the lots selling for from $675 to $1,025 each.

        In June so great was the consumption of water from the pipes for the use of lawns and other purposes, that the supply gave out occasionally; whereupon the water company asked to be allowed to shut off the supply from the city at night in order to allow filling anew the reservoir for the morning's use. It was a fact that the water companies at this date were unequal to the task of supplying Oakland with the necessary water. Hundreds of human beings and animals were thus forced to depend upon artificial means for water supply. This was true in wet seasons and was oppressively apparent during seasons of severe drouth. It was hoped that the new reservoir would remedy the situation—it was the catchment or "cow-pasture" plan, but the hills back of Oakland and San Leandro were free from animals. The inhabitants looked eagerly forward to the time when Chabot & Company and an abundance of rain should render the supply never-failing. It was a serious situation to be met and overcome at once. At this time Oakland had an estimated population of twenty thousand; fifteen public schools, which cost about two hundred and twenty-four thousand dollars; fifty-one daily trains—twenty-six out from Oakland and twenty-five from San Francisco, connecting at West Oakland with two swift and commodious steamers; scores of miles of macadam streets; three lines of horse railroads; scores of excellent business houses; ten factories of all sorts; three banks with capitals respectively of $1,500,000, $1,000,000 and $100,000; about seventeen religious organizations, which in the end gave Oakland much of its fame abroad. In fact by this date the Basket Brigade had been put almost out of commission by the active and adventurous business houses of this city.

        The long fought for glory of East Oakland departed in June, 1875, when the county offices were removed to the new courthouse on Broadway. The Tribune said July 29, 1875: "During the past two years over two thousand houses have been erected in Oakland, but rents are higher and houses scarcer than ever before here." In July the Kelsey Nursery tract was thrown into market; it was in the northern section of the city, about half a mile, from the city hall between San Pablo and Telegraph avenues—in all seventy-five lots were disposed of.

        In 1875 the Chinese quarters were situated on the San Pablo road, a few blocks north of the city hall. The houses were constructed of rude boards and rested in dirt and filth. The Tribune of March 13th said: "If a hotbed of filth and vermin ever existed it is at this spot; decaying vegetable matter, deceased chickens, cats, rats, etc., have found their last resting place upon the ground around this Celestial village and the odor emitted therefrom would annihilate the olfactories of the staunchest stomach." The entire surroundings were unsanitary to a striking degree. The "settlement" was in the center of a beautiful part of the city and seemed like a "plague-spot in the midst of a paradise." Attention of the board of health was called to this disease-breeding condition. For a decade previous to 1875 a gypsy camp was a permanent settlement near the Stanford stables at the Point. Self-styled Egyptian fortune tellers there were patronized by thousands of citizens and others. The queen or madame was about forty years old. The camp was squalid, dirty, wholly uninviting and unsanitary. Colored children were admitted to the public schools in the county early in the '70s. In 1875 a colored man of Brooklyn township was drawn on the petit jury; this was the first case of the kind in the county.

        The Home Security Building and Loan Association began business in July; its president was Mack Webber and its capital stock $250,000. In October the Newark Land Association was incorporated, with a capital of $75,000, the directors being C. Mitchell Grant, J. Cochran, J. Barr Robertson, Stewart Menzies and D. A. McDonald, the objects being to purchase, sell and lease real estate in Alameda county. In this year S. B. Martin chartered the Archer, and. loading her with wheat, dispatched her direct to Liverpool, a new departure, the first venture of the kind in the county.

        About 1876 a plan for a parking system for Oakland was prepared. It included Lake Merritt and four or five hundred acres to the northward in the direction of Piedmont. The park proper was to be connected with Lake Merritt by broad drives or boulevards that were to encompass the lake and wind among the natural oaks and other trees. But the people were not ready for such a progressive and advanced measure and so it expired. In the light of history the failure to secure the land and lake at that time was a mistake which will be regretted for all time—will never be wholly remedied. It retarded the growth by failing to make the city attractive to newcomers to that extent. In one week late in February fourteen families came from San Francisco and became residents of West Oakland. It was said that the fogs of the mornings and the wind and dust of the evenings in San Francisco were too much for them. Late in February a new fire engine was secured by West Oakland. It was a Sibby machine which threw two streams at once, with it came a hose cart.

        In February, Thomas H. Clark, a reporter of the Transcript, assaulted A. B. Gibson and was prosecuted in the police court. City Attorney Vrooman and Zachariah Montgomery appeared for the state and William Van Voorhies for the defendant. The jury found the defendant guilty. The Tribune in 1876 was using the old Transcript press, a second and third hand affair which could turn off only about 600 papers per hour. At this time they ordered a new power press from Chicago which could turn out 2,500 copies per hour; rapidly increasing circulation demanded this improvement.

        Under the Ward bill it seemed necessary that two city elections should be held and they were ordered by the council—one on the first Monday in March and the other on the second Monday in March; the latter was necessary under the recent act to district the city into wards. Representative Bogge introduced in the assembly a bill authorizing the city of Oakland to construct a fire and burglar proof safe in the city hall for the safe custody of the public records and the public moneys. The corporate limits of the city of Oakland were quite extensive in the centennial year, comprising about four and a half miles of territory running north and south and three and a half miles from east to west. At the council meeting in February a resolution was offered requesting the Alameda county delegation in the Assembly to secure the passage of an act authorizing the city of Oakland to levy and collect a tax to defray the expense of constructing a bridge across the estuary of San Antonio from Eighth street to East Ninth street.

        The main lake sewer was newly built in 1876 and was 9,924 feet long. It was divided into two sections, one of brick and one of wood. It left Lake Merritt by the line of Delger street near the west line of Harrison street, thence ran to San Pablo avenue, thence to 22nd street, and thence to the bay. It was declared in the Tribune that Oakland was the only town of its population in the United States where petty private interests did not give way to the public good and the march of general improvements. At a previous date it declared there was bitter and persistent opposition of factions to the Central Pacific Railroad. Meetings were held and speeches against the construction of that road through this city were made.

        In his message of February 28, 1876, Mayor Mack Webber stated in regard to the improvement of Lake Merritt: "By your direction temporary repairs have been made to the Lake Merritt dam. As long as the present structure can be maintained with a moderate outlay for repairs, it is not necessary to construct one of a more permanent nature; whenever replaced it should be by one that will last for all time. It is to serve a double purpose: It gives us a beautiful lake and has made possible the construction of the main sewer, just completed. The dam and roadway should be combined in a single structure, thereby saving a needless expenditure when it shall become necessary to build another bridge. There is at present a roadway running by the margin of the lake on its eastern side. This should be continued around it and connected with Webster, Harrison or Alice streets. I recommend that the Council take suitable steps to open a street over the designated route and cause the same to be improved, if it can be done under existing laws. This can easily be made one of the most magnificent water parks in the world." During the first six months of 1876 first-class brick buildings worth over $500,000 were erected in Oakland or were in course of erection. The number of frame houses going up was very large.

        The value of all the taxable property within the limits of the city of Oakland, as shown by the assessment for 1875-76, was $22,207,499, the rate of taxation being 88 cents, giving a gross revenue $195,425.99. In the beginning of the year 1876 the funded debt amounted to $664,400 on which there was interest amounting to $55,688 per annum. Of this $166,000 was incurred for the construction of the lake sewer. The interest on these bonds was $13,200 per annum; but these items should properly be deducted from the sum first stated. The actual debt then was $499,400 on which the annual interest was $42,488. The debt was but 2¼ per cent on the assessed value of the property within the limits of the city.

        On June 19, 1876, an ordinance granting to the American District Telegraph Company of Oakland the right to construct and maintain telegraph lines in the city was passed. In August of this year the submarine cable across the bay putting Oakland and San Francisco in direct telegraph communication, was laid by the Western Union Telegraph Company.

        The Pacific Press Publishing House began business in 1876. The building, together with a one-story brick engine house in the rear, was erected that year. In it was placed a large Cottrell & Babcock four-roller press, run by steam, on which was printed the Signs of the Times, newspapers and books and pamphlets for the Publishing Association. The same year a bookbindery was established and on hand was kept a large stock of book and newspaper, and printer's stationery.

        In 1876 the following men and concerns were doing business in Oakland: First National Gold Bank, V. D. Moody, president, C. M. Fisher, cashier; Oakland Bank of Savings, E. C. Sessions, president, Ad. Cramer, cashier; Union Savings Bank, A. C. Henry, president, H. A. Palmer, cashier; Oakland Carriage Manufactory under M. W. Allen; Oakland Paint Planing Mill by Price and Moore; Harris Brothers, clothiers; Woodward & Taggert, real estate and commission agents; Young & Rothenberger, upholsterers; Oakland City Directory by D. M. Bishop & Co.; Chas. B. Rutherford, paints, oils, glass, etc.; S. P. Olmsted, dealer in poultry, game, etc.; Townsend & Wright, furniture; Sanford, Kelsey & Co., drugs; J. E. Hows, house and sign painting; L. P. Berger, jewelry; W. G. Dinsmore, drugs; Adam Koob, city Market; Henry Weeks, carriage factory; D. Stewart, boots and shoes; Bankhead & Sons, auctioneers; Luke Doe, real estate; E. W. Woodward, real estate; W. & M. Evarson, hardware; Rice & White, city market; L. M. Newsom, nursery, East Oakland; Bowen Brothers, grocers; William Sagehorn, flour, hay and grain; W. C. Ralston, blacksmith; J. T. Gardiner, painter; A. Lippmann, auctioneer; Smith & Mather, real estate—they offered for sale lots on the north side of Twelfth street between Franklin and Broadway, 25 x 100, 20 per cent cash and the balance on time; London & Co., feed store; A. Cohen, dry goods in West Oakland; Frank A. Marston, harness, saddles, etc.; David's bookstore; Dr. W. Newcomb; George A. Case, dentist; Dr. Ferguson, dentist; Dr. T. H. Pinkerton; H. L. Plomteaux, dentist; Dr. A. MacRae; Dr. J. Watson Webb also opened a free dispensary to the poor; Welsher & Westerman, brewers; William Kirk, architect; Newson Brothers, architects; H. L. Paddock, produce and commission; Sohst Brothers, carriages and wagons; Sage & Hurll, contractors and builders; W. W. McKenzie, undertaker; Philip Schreiber, furniture; Jones, Japan tea; Chase & Baker, groceries; R. Horton, groceries; E. Kreyenhager & Co., groceries; W. T. Hurll, groceries; E. Johnson, groceries; A. Hansen, groceries; R. McCrum & Co., groceries and provisions; Thompson Brothers, bakers; Miley & Lodge, ice cream parlor; Philip Mulauff, baker; Joseph Brandstatter, baker; Chappellet & Miner, coal dealers; Shapespear & Walter, coal and wood; Thomas & Anderson, Seattle coal; Lynch, Maloney & Fitzell, wood and coal; S. P. Boyce & Co., stock brokers; W. W. Fowler & Co., real estate; Carl & Co., real estate; Mellis Brothers, auction house; S. Francis, merchant tailor; W. S. Murphy, doors, windows, blinds, etc.; Farwell & Garrigan, painters; Herman Bordes, broom factory; A. Geanwell, plumber; J. J. O'Shea, stoves; Campbell & Spears, city market; Union Hotel by C. Schneider; Sorocco House by Frank Lorber; Christian Bander, hotel and restaurant; Mrs. M. Maguir, dining rooms.

        The famous Amoskeag fire engine, which had been exhibited at the Centennial Exposition in 1876, was tested in Oakland in March, 1877, at Fourth and Broadway in the presence of Mayor E. H. Pardee and the other city officials. It was tested in comparison with the Felton engine, then owned by the city. The former engine made a little better showing than the latter. In the spring the city council prepared to finish the second story of the city hall; the total cost was estimated at $6,000. In April the newspapers claimed for Oakland a population of 30,000. The city had seventeen regular policemen and eleven special officers.

        D. H. Rand was chief of the force. The Potter Garden property in forty-six subdivisions between Telegraph and San Pablo avenues at Sixteenth sold at public auction. Lots 1, 2, 3 and 4, block A, brought $30,000. Lots 1, 2, 3 and block B, brought $20,000. In one hour's time the sales aggregated $165,000, and at all times the bidding was spirited; the total sales amounted to $715,000.

        The Oakland Hack and Transfer Company was a new corporation with a capital of $400,000; M. G. Kennedy was president. It was said that this company supplied a long-felt want in this community.

        In 1877 there were 75 business establishments between Center street and the bay at West Oakland: 2 drug stores, 3 restaurants, 14 saloons, 8 groceries, 2 stationery stores, 3 barber shops, 5 cigar shops, 1 harness store, 4 plumber shops, 1 tailor shop, 2 bakeries, 6 butcher shops, 5 shoemaker shops, 4 fruit stores; hardware store, 1 furniture store, 5 dry-goods stores, 1 watchmaker, 2 real estate offices, 1 clothing store, 2 coal yards, 1 art gallery, 1 paint shop, 1 livery stable and others.

        Horace W. Carpentier and James Larue were rival claimants for a large tract of marsh and overflowed land stretching from San Antonio creek to Brooklyn station and out past the overland track to the channel leading up from the Alice street bridge to Brooklyn. A fence built around a portion of this tract by John Watson for Mr. Carpentier was attacked and destroyed by a force of men under the direction of Mr. Larue in August. The citizens of East Oakland looked on with much interest.

        The old Oakland cemetery was bounded by Franklin, Harrison, Sixteenth and Eighteenth streets; but the first cemetery for the little village of Oakland was located on Eighth at Oak. The growth of the city forced the removal of the bodies to the new one on Eighteenth street, which was then out in the woods. But by 1877 it was found that the city had grown around this yard, and that another removal was necessary. In April a large plow used there in grading tore the top from a buried casket and left the body beneath exposed to the weather, animals, etc. The left hand and arm nearly to the elbow protruded from the ground and the face though covered with dust was visible. When the latter was brushed away the features of the dead man stood out in bold relief. The whole body was in a remarkable state of preservation, though having lain in the ground for about seventeen years. In the end this body was shown to be that of William F. Denman, of Jersey City, a civil engineer, who died at the City Hotel in 1860 and was buried by his friend, Thomas Wallace, who still (1877) resided in this city. About twenty-two bodies had been disinterred by April 28th.

        The period from 1867 to 1877 in Oakland was noted for new residences, improved streets, sewerage system, new churches and schoolhouses. It was then demanded that immediate and steady attention should be given to the business interests, such as merchandising, lumbering, manufacturing and commerce generally. Already the work on the harbor was in a measure available. A large vessel drawing thirteen feet of water found in the channel three additional feet to spare. At high tide vessels drawing fifteen feet of water, it was boasted, could enter the harbor. Grain warehouses were demanded and planned. A further deepening of the channel to admit the large clippers was now deemed essential. This was the natural t