Contra
Costa
County
History
SOURCE: The History of Contra Costa
County, California - published by The Elms Publishing Co., Inc., Berkeley,
California, 1917
EARLY HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Before proceeding with the immediate
history of Contra Costa County it might be well to give a brief outline of
the early history of California - California, whose shores Sir Francis Drake
touched and Don Gaspar de Portola explored! California, the land of
sunshine and flowers! of romance and gold "in the days of '49"!
Surely it is a promising field; but as this work is to
be a history of a locality and not that of the State, the latter will be
touched upon only in as far as is necessary to clear the way for what comes
afterward - the story of Contra Costa County.
To go back to the very beginning, the discovery and
settlement of California was made possible by that intrepid explorer, Vasco
Nunez de Balboa. When he gazed out on the Pacific from the summit of a hill
in Panama a new world was opened for discovery. He was followed by that
ruthless adventurer, Hernando Cortez, who conquered Mexico in 1519,
shamelessly butchering its people and devastating its wonderful cities.
The trend was steadily toward the north, but it was not
until 1542 that a voyage of discovery was made along the California coast.
Captain Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo it was who sailed into what is now known as
San Diego Bay on September 28, 1542. In 1602 Don Sebastian Viscaino, who
was sent out by Philip III of Spain, discovered Monterey Bay, and a party
under him journeyed north as far as the Columbia River.
Then an English explorer and adventurer, Sir Francis
Drake, on a marauding expedition, appeared on the scene. It has been a much
disputed point with historians ever since as to whether it was in San
Francisco Bay that Drake wintered in 1578. It is generally conceded now
that it was not San Francisco Bay, but Drake's Bay, a few miles north of the
former, and immediately under the lee of Point Reyes. Drake called the
country New Albion, and took possession in the name of his sovereign, Queen
Elizabeth. Little if any effort was made by the English to follow in the
trail blazed by Drake.
Although the Spanish settled and colonized Lower
California early in the sixteenth century, it was not until nearly two
hundred years later that any progress was made toward permanently locating
in Upper California, as our State was then called. The first permanent
settlement in California was made at San Diego in 1769. There, during the
same year, the first mission was established.
From Lower California in 1769 an expedition set out
under command of Don Gaspar de Portola, first governor of California. This
expedition was destined to have a great influence on the later history of
California, for it was Don Gaspar who discovered San Francisco Bay,
following a journey of innumerable privations and hardships.
Then followed the era of missions in California. The
impress of the missions, which formed so important a part in the early
history of California, is felt to this day. They stand out as historic
monuments to the piety and zeal of their great founder, Father Junipero
Serra. Beginning with the mission at San Diego, which he founded in 1769,
he established between that year and his death, in 1784, twenty-one missions
in California. In founding the mission at Monterey he rediscovered Monterey
bay, the goal of explorers ever since its first discovery by Viscaino, in
1602. Mission San Carlos de Monterey became his headquarters. Setting out
from there, the other missions were established in rapid succession in
various parts of the country. He succeeded with the Indians as no one else
ever did before or since. He possessed a character of great firmness,
balanced by gentleness, kindness and patience - one best calculated to deal
with the Indians, thousands of whom he converted to his faith and who
universally mourned his death.
The missions were generally quadrilateral, two stories
high, and inclosed a courtyard embellished with fountains and trees. The
sides of the quadrangle were usually about six hundred feet long, and the
whole inclosed the church, storerooms, workshops, and living quarters.
Young Indian girls inhabited one portion of the
mission. They were given careful training and instruction by skilled
matrons. Those who showed exceptional talent were given vocal and
instrumental training. None were permitted to leave until of a marriageable
age , this with a view of preserving their morality. In the men's quarters
the mechanical and agricultural arts were taught.
Let us glance at the daily routine of the missions: All
rose at sunrise and proceeded to the church, where they took part in
devotional exercises. After partaking of breakfast, they took up their
various duties. Following the noonday meal, they enjoyed a siesta, or rest,
until two o'clock, after which they resumed work until about an hour before
sundown, when the chimes of the evening angelus were heard. From then until
supper-time all participated in evening devotions at the church. After
supper was the time for recreation, and all took part in dancing, in games,
and in all manner of amusements. They did not lack for food, their diet
consisting of plenty of the choicest beef and mutton, with vegetables, wheat
cakes, and porridge. Such, in brief, was the life of the Indians at the
missions.
We will pass rapidly over the next period, during which
California belonged to Mexico, which acquired her independence from Spain in
1821, largely through the efforts of one Iturbide, who during the same year
caused himself to be declared emperor of Mexico.
This was the time of great land grants. Any citizen of
good character, by the payment of a small fee to the Mexican Government,
could secure a grant of land of from one to eleven square leagues. These
great domains were known as ranchos, and their
owners were rancheros. Over their broad acres ranged thousands of
cattle, since cattle-raising was the one and only industry. The rancheros,
who formed the aristocracy of California prior to American occupation, were
extremely hospitable, keeping open house the year round. They were fond of
social pleasures, especially of music and dancing, and even their horses
were taught to step in time to the guitar. Few, if any, could boast of pure
Castilian descent, a varying admixture of Indian blood being the rule, yet
many of the women were of notable beauty. Both sexes dressed in a striking
and picturesque manner. The men wore wide pantaloons, laced with ribbons
through eyelets from the waistband to the hips and fastened with immense
silver buttons. For a cloak they wore a gaily colored serape, made from a
blanket with a hole cut in the center, through which the head was inserted.
The serape hung down to the knees. They were shod with highly polished
boots, from which jangled heavy silver spurs, and a broad sombrero tilted
back on their heads completed the spectacular costume. The senoritas were
no less adept at decking themselves out to advantage, especially on a gala
occasion. The favorite ballroom dress was a scarlet petticoat, softened in
tone by being covered by a white lawn skirt, while a black velvet waist
plentifully decked with spangles heightened the attractive costume. Their
only head-dress was the mantilla, or shawl. They were the personification
of grace and were famous for their dancing.
The men were skilled equestrians, and spent a large part
of their time in the saddle. One of their favorite amusements was to pick a
silver dollar from the ground while riding by at a gallop. No less skilled
were they with the riata, which formed a dangerous weapon in their hands,
whether directed against a bull, a bear, or a human enemy.
They were all devout Catholics, their priests belonging
to the Franciscan order. Numerous were the saints' days which they kept, in
addition to Sundays, which made their working week often more shorter than
that observed in this modern age of efficiency.
Their homes were built of adobe, a black clayey loam,
which they made into sun-dried bricks, admirably adapted to primitive
building conditions. Rough timbers with the bark removed were used for
joists and beams, rushes and chaparral sufficing for a thatched roof. When
whitewashed within and without the whole was beautiful in its simplicity;
nor were they lacking in durability, for many of them are in an excellent
state of preservation to this day.
Beef and beans, well seasoned with chile peppers, formed
the most important part of their diet, and these the senoras were capable of
preparing in many dishes that were extremely appetizing. Their bread was
made from maize ground between two stones, and was baked in the form of thin
wafers, known as tortillas.
In 1846 the United States went to war with Mexico, after
which, by the treaty of 1848, California became American territory. One
year later, a date now Round the Horn they came in clipper ships, or across
the plains behind ox-teams. The golden halo of romance settled over
California, adventurous spirits wooed Fortune at every turn and became
wealthy over night. In 1850 California had sufficient population to admit
her to the Union - and here we shall begin the history of Contra Costa
County.
Transcribed by Sally Kaleta
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