In connection with his great lumber
interests in Oregon and California, C. A. Smith during the summer of 1907
began an investigation of the possible sites on San Francisco and adjacent
bays for the establishing of a much needed manufacturing and distributing
plant for his product. Three essentials had to be considered - proximity to
railroad lines for shipment of the forest product, deep water for his
vessels that brought the raw product from the mills, and proper drying
conditions for lumber. After much investigation, the Contra Costa County
shore and Suisun Bay was decided upon as most attractive. The present site
of Bay Point was then ranch land and tule bog. Smith, with a companion, went
over the district afoot, and in crossing the fields now occupied by the
town-site was held up at the point of a gun by one of the owners of the
property as a trespasser and ordered off the premises. Naturally, he
complied with such moral suasion.
However, the attractive site and suitable
location for his purpose was settled in his mind, and shortly thereafter he
became acquainted with the owners of the property he coveted. On November
26, 1907, a deal was made with the Cunningham heirs and those of A. H.
Neeley, conveying to Smith's interests about fifteen hundred acres and a
mile and a half of tide-water frontage, now Bay Point. This land, while
originally a part of a Spanish grant, had been patented to the antecedents
of the Cunninghams and Neeleys by General Grant when President of the United
States.
On part of this tract was immediately
established the Bay Point plant of the C. A. Smith Lumber Company, and a
strip 2658 feet wide on tide-water, extending back to the foothills, was
reserved for the town-site, officially designated on the filed plats as "The
City of Bay Point." The transcontinental tracts of the Southern Pacific
Company and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company divide the
town-site into practically two equal parts. That portion between the
railways and the bay was set aside for manufacturing sites, and the portion
between the railroads and the foothills of Monte del Diablo was immediately
platted as the town proper, the idea being to provide a site for the homes
of the employees of the C. A. Smith Lumber Company.
At the time of the purchase of the property
that later became Bay Point consisted of a post-office, a grain warehouse, a
ranch house, a saloon, and a general store. Before long it began to grow,
and today it has a population of about one thousand people. The town has a
ten-thousand-dollar graded school and a number of excellent stores handling
groceries, meats, drugs, hardware, general merchandise, and in fact
everything necessary in a community of this kind. There are two churches
(Congregational and Catholic), with another (Lutheran) about to be built.
Here in the shadow of Monte del Diablo, where rail and water meet, are the
neat and happy homes of hundreds of contented citizens. The Club House and
office building of the C. A. Smith Lumber Company are notable for a city of
the size. Streets, curbs, and sidewalks are established and a sewer system
is completed.
The water supply is provided by four wells
each one hundred feet deep, located in the foothills one and a half miles
from the town. The water is pumped from these wells to two large tanks upon
the hill back of the town. The bases of the tanks are from seventy to ninety
feet higher than the town, and the water is distributed by gravity at good
pressure.
In disposing of the town property, the C.
A. Smith Lumber Company put into deeds a clause forever preventing the sale
of liquor; so Bay Point until recently had no saloons. Owing to the
activities of "bootleggers" and "blind pigs" the liquor question became a
serious one to the citizens. After a conference, the company consented to
put a saloon upon its land not included in the liquor restrictions and turn
the whole business over to a club of the citizens of Bay Point as a
municipal saloon as soon as it had paid for itself. This was done May 10,
1916. This arrangement makes Bay Point unique in the family of cities, and
has brought her much note from political economists and sociologists the
country over. The municipal liquor business is being watched with interest
by many people. In the conveyance of the saloon to the club of citizens
provision has been made that all profits from the business shall be used for
the benefit of all people of Bay Point; and further, that the sale of wines
and liquors shall be conducted in such manner that the cause of temperance
will be legitimately promoted. As a result, the traffic in liquor has been
lessened, drunkenness done away with absolutely, and new sidewalks, streets,
and improvements are planned and under way which will make the town a model
village at no cost to the taxpayer.
Bay Point is admirable as a manufacturing
site, and will undoubtedly in the future be a strong rival of other San
Francisco Bay cities in the manufacture of Pacific Coast products.