Contra
Costa
County
History
SOURCE: The History of Contra Costa
County, California - published by The Elms Publishing Co., Inc., Berkeley,
California, 1917
SETTLEMENT
AND EARLY HISTORY
Contra Costa County became a definite locality in 1850,
created by the California legislature that opened its initial session at San
Jose on December 15, 1849. At that time twenty-seven counties were
established. In later years, by subdivision, they were increased to
fifty-eight.
General M. G. Vallejo, who was probably better informed
on early California history than any other man of his period, in a report to
the legislature on the derivation of the names of the several counties, paid
this tribute to Contra Costa County: "The name signifies 'Opposite Coast,'
and the country is so called from its situation opposite San Francisco, in
an easterly direction. It is undoubtedly one of the most fertile counties
in the State, possessing rich agricultural lands, which embrace an interior
coast of thirty leagues, extending along the bays of Santa Clara, San
Francisco, San Pablo, the Straits of Carquinez, the Bay of Suisan, and the
San Joaquin River; a circumstance which, united to its mild climate, will
render it very important.
"The pueblo of Martinez is its chief town, and the 'New
York of the Pacific,' as well as other towns on the shores of San Pablo and
the San Joaquin, will soon effectually contribute to its importance." So
spake General Vallejo half a century ago.
When the treaty of peace was signed with Mexico in 1848
there was but one American citizen living permanently in the region that we
now know as Contra Costa County. This solitary representative of the United
States was Doctor John Marsh. He lived at the base of Mount Diablo, and
later came into considerable prominence , Elam brown, the founder of
Lafayette, was also among the early illustrious citizens of Contra Costa
County. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention which met at
Monterey in September, 1849. The constitution was completed after six weeks
of deliberation and was adopted by the people at an election on the 13th of
the following November.
Another citizen mentioned in the chronicles of the
times was Captain Seth M. Swain, of Martinez. To him belonged the
distinction of carrying the first mail up the Sacramento River, in the
schooner "John Dunlap." All the mail was in one bag, and Captain Swain
received six hundred dollars for the voyage, although the total amount of
postage on the mail amounted to less than sixty dollars.
Contra Costa County originally comprised 1500 square
miles of territory, but in 1853 it was reduced nearly one-half, the portion
which Contra Costa County lost helping to form the newly created Alameda
County. The ceded territory constituted the southern and western half of
Contra Costa County. After this change she retained, as at present, 877
square miles.
The act to form Alameda County was passed by the
legislature in session at Benicia. The county of Santa Clara was
represented in the assembly by Henry C. Smith and W. S. Letcher, Contra
Costa County was represented by H. W. Carpentier. Then, as now, San Jose was
the county seat of Santa Clara County, and Martinez occupied a similar
position in Contra Costa County. The desire for a new county arose out of
the fact that the inhabitants of Santa Clara County residing near where
Oakland is today were compelled to cross a range of mountains to reach their
county seat, San Jose, thirty miles away. A petition, signed by citizens of
both counties, asking that a new county be formed, was presented to the
legislative act of 1853 was passed which made Contra Costa and Santa Clara
counties the parents of Alameda.
Commenting on this topic in a "Centennial Paper,"
published in the Contra Costa Gazette in 1876, Doctor J. R. Howard
wrote:
"By the creation of Alameda County we lost more than
half of our shore-line on the San Francisco Bay, and a valuable territory of
land, with not less than three prosperous and handsome trade centers now
clustering and growing on the opposite coast.
"Still Contra Costa County has a most enviable natural
position on the map of the State, with advantages possessed by few other
counties.
"It is now bounded by the San Joaquin River, Suisun
Bay, Straits of Carquinez, and San Pablo Bay on the north; by San Francisco
Bay and Alameda County on the west; by Alameda County on the south; and San
Joaquin County on the east. The map shows our geographical position to be
about midway of the coast-line of the State, immediately in front and
contiguous to the great heart of the State, with a shore-line of seventy
miles or more on our northern border, along the magnificently linked system
of bays, strait, and main rivers of the interior."
A comparison of the original boundary with the present
boundary, as taken from the records, will make apparent to the reader the
amount of territory lost by Contra Costa County. At the risk of being
tedious, both are here given in full.
The original boundary as established by the legislature
in 1849, was as follows: "Beginning at the mouth of Alameda Creek and
running thence in a southwesterly direction to the middle of the bay to the
Straits of San Pablo; thence up the middle of the Bay of San Pablo to the
straits of Carquinez; thence running up the middle of said straits to the
Suisun Bay, and up the middle of said bay to the mouth of the San Joaquin
River; thence following up the middle of said river to the place known as
Pescadero, or Lower Crossing; thence in a direct line to the northwest
corner of Santa Clara County, which is on the summit of the Coast Range,
near the source of Alameda Creek; thence down the middle of said creek to
its mouth, which was the place of beginning, including the islands of San
Pablo, Coreacas, and Tesoro.* The seat of justice shall be at the town of
Martinez."
The present boundary, as established by the legislature
on March 25, 1853, when Alameda County was formed from the southern part of
Contra Costa County and a slice of Santa Clara County, is as follows:
"Beginning in the Bay of San Francisco, at the northwest point of Red Rock,
being the common corner of Marin, Contra Costa, and San Francisco
[counties]; thence up the Straits and Bay of San Pablo, on the eastern
boundary of Marin, to the point of intersection with the line bearing south
twenty-six and one-half degrees east, and about six and one-quarter miles
distant from the southwest corner of Napa County, forming the common corner
of Marin, Solano, Sonoma, and Contra Costa [counties]; thence to the Straits
of Carquinez; thence up said straits and Suisun Bay, to the mouth of the San
Joaquin River; thence up said river to the confluence of the west and main
channels thereof, as laid down in Gibbe's map; thence up said west channel
to a point about ten miles below Moore and Rhode's ranch, at a bend where
the said west channel, running downward, takes a general course north, the
point being on the westerly line of San Joaquin County, and forming the
northeast corner of Alameda, as laid down on Horace A. Higley's map, to the
easterly line of San Francisco City and County; thence due northwest along
said easterly line of San Francisco, four and one-half miles, more or less,
to the place of beginning, the county seat, Martinez."
*Tesoro is a
Spanish word meaning treasure.*
In the first division of the State into counties
Contra Costa County elected a State senator jointly with Santa Clara
County; and this method of procedure remained in force until 1854, when it
elected a joint senator with San Joaquin County. A change was again made in
1862, whereby one senator served Contra Costa and Marin counties, which
situation still remains in effect.
When California was divided into judicial districts,
on March 29, 1850, John M. Watson became judge of the Third District, which
comprised the counties of Contra Costa, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and
Monterey. In 1853 Contra Costa was attached to the Seventh Judicial
District, which included, Solano, Napa, Sonoma, and Marin counties. Change
followed change, and in March, 1862, the county was placed in the Fourth
Judicial District, being in the following year annexed to the Third
District. It became a part of the Fifteenth District in 1684, and remained
so until the adoption of the new constitution, establishing the various
superior courts.
In the early days of Contra Costa County all the
county business was transacted by the Court of Sessions. These courts were
authorized by the legislative act of April 11, 1850. The court comprised
the county judge, who presided at the sessions, assisted by two justices of
the peace. The latter, who sat at associate justices, were chosen by their
brother justices from the entire number elected in the county. All the
intricate civil machinery of the county was administered by this court, and,
according to reports of the period, it succeeded admirably. The numerous
duties of the court included the examination and settling of all accounts
charged against the county; the auditing of the books of all officers who
handled county funds; the directing and raising of funds through taxation on
real and personal property; the management of public roads, turnpikes,
canals and bridges; and the division of the county into townships and the
establishment of election precincts. The preceding list, which covers only
a few of the most important duties of the court, would indicate that the
positions held by these officials were no sinecures.
The first county judge of Contra Costa County after its
creation was F. M. Warmcastle, who took office on April 17, 1850. The
associate justices were Absolom Peak and Edward G. Guest. Thomas A. Brown,
a son of Elam Brown, was county clerk. The first sheriff of Contra Costa
County was Nathaniel Jones.
One of the first acts performed by the Court of
Sessions, on April 17, 1850, was the partitioning of the county into three
townships, comprising Martinez, San Antonio, and New York (now Pittsburg).
A further peep into the records of the period reveals the fact that on May
13, 1850, the court convened and ordered that all real and personal property
of the county be assessed, and fixed the amount of tax thereon for county
expenses at twenty-five cents on the hundred dollars. A like sum for the
construction of public buildings was ordered collected. The county clerk
was directed to secure a suitable building for temporary use as a
courthouse. On June 3, 1850, the county clerk was directed to receive
sealed bids for the erection of a county jail.
On August 19th of the same year the court fixed the
license to be collected on certain occupations. To vend goods, wares and
merchandise, with a capital of five thousand dollars or less, a license of
twenty dollars per annum was collected. The vender of spiritous, vinous,
malt, and fermented liquors had first to pay a license of fifty dollars per
annum.
On the same date a license was granted to Oliver C.
Coffin (ominous name!) to establish a ferry between Martinez and Benicia,
after he had filed a bond in the amount of two thousand dollars. The court
permitted him to charge the following fares: For each foot man, $1; man and
horse, $2.50; single horse, mule or ox, $2; wagon, $5; carriage, $4; each
head of sheep or hogs, 50 cents.
In early times the roads of Contra Costa County were
few and far between. Here and there they wound about over the country,
following the lines of least resistance, in many instances only enlarged
trails. Naturally, one of the first acts performed by the Court of Sessions
was the establishment of road districts and the creation of new highways.
This step was taken on July 20, 1850, when seven road districts were
established. Two districts were defined between Martinez and Pueblo de San
Jose, the overseers appointed being N. B. Smith and Joseph Rothenhostler.
The streets of Martinez comprised district three, and A. Van Herne Ellis was
placed in charge of them, as supervisor. District four was the road
traveled from Martinez, by way of the home of Silvio Pacheco, to New York of
the Pacific (now Pittsburg). Henry F. Joye was appointed overseer. The road
from the Moraga Redwoods to its intersection with the Martinez and San Jose
highway was designated as district five, its overseer being E. Miller. Elam
Brown was appointed overseer of district six, the road that connected his
rancho with that of Vicente Castro, and which intersected the road from the
Moraga Redwoods to Martinez. District seven extended from the crossing of
the San Joaquin River to the Pueblo de San Jose, and was placed in charge of
Greene Patterson. At the same meeting of the court an order was established
requiring all able-bodied men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five to
perform their share of road work during five days of each year.
From this time forward rapid strides were made in the
building and improvement of roads. On July 15, 1852, orders were issued for
the laying out of the road between Oakland and San Pablo. By 1860 there
were seventeen road districts within the county limits. Today no better
roads are found elsewhere in the State of California than in Contra Costa,
for which condition the citizens of the present age are vastly indebted to
the zeal of pioneer road-builders. The modern phases of Contra Costa roads
will be discussed in another chapter.
SETTLEMENT AND EARLY HISTORY
The first Board of Supervisors for Contra Costa County
was elected June 14, 1852, comprising the following five members: William
Patten, Samuel H. Robinson, Victor Castro, Robert Farrelly, and T. J.
Keefer. Upon the board devolved all the duties of administering county
affairs, previously performed by the Court of Sessions.
A glance at the assessment report made by Supervisor
Samuel H. Robinson, on July 23, 1852, throws considerable light on the large
landholdings of the period, these being whole or in part of the old Mexican
land grants. The largest individual holdings were those of W. Castro, who
was assessed $82,704 on 27,568 acres, at the rate of three dollars an acre.
Silvio Pacheco paid taxes on an assessment of $141,696, covering his rancho
of 17, 712 acres, at eight dollars an acre. The land holdings of Doctor
john Marsh, which also comprised 17,712 acres, was assessed at one dollar an
acre. The farm of Jose Jesus Vallejo, which covered 19,926 acres, was
assessed at 99,630. These are but a few of the largest holdings. The
assessment-roll shows scores of others ranging from one thousand to ten
thousand acres.
The Board of Supervisors continued in existence until
replaced by the Court of Sessions, on March 25, 1854. Following an act of
the legislature, passed March 20, 1855, the Board of Supervisors again came
into being, and since then has remained permanent in county affairs.
Passing on to the year 1856, it is found that on the
17th of November the Union Hotel, of Martinez, was destroyed by fire, and
with it most of the records of the county treasurer, Robert E. Borden, who
was also proprietor of the hotel. He made a report to the Board of
Supervisors, showing that a thousand dollars was saved, but that nineteen
hundred was lost. Concurring in the belief that the loss was unavoidable,
the board succeeded in having Borden relieved of the obligation of making
good the loss.
An act of unusual magnaimity on the part of a county
official was recorded on the 5th of February, 1861. On that date Judge
Thomas A. Brown released the county from paying him six thousand dollars,
this sum being a portion of his salary for four years as county judge. The
salary provided by law was twenty-five hundred dollars a year, but Judge
Brown declared in a favor of a salary of one thousand dollars a year, which
sum he drew, and at the end of his term refunded to the county the accrued
six thousand dollars.
No unusual events are recorded during the intervening
years until June 20, 1868, when an election was held, submitting to a vote
of the people the proposition for the county to make a donation to Martinez
& Danville Railroad Company. This was to aid in the construction of a
railroad from Martinez to Danville. The proposition was defeated by a vote
of 391 in favor to 522 against.
Further records for the year for the year 1868 show
that the courthouse sustained grave damages from the great earthquake of
October 21st, and that the District Court was compelled to meet in the
carpenter shop of E. W. Hiller, the former office being considered
insecure. On October 23rd extensive repairs were begun on the courthouse.
The record for 1868 ends with the authorization of R. B. Hard to build a
calaboose at Antioch. For the benefit of the uninitiated, it is here
explained that the word calaboose is derived from the Spanish phrase el
calabozo (the jail). The granting of permission to build calabooses
forms no small part of the records of those days.
That coyotes were still numerous in 1876 is evidenced by
the action of the Board of Supervisors, on February 9th of that year in
offering a bounty on the scalps and ears of these canny pests.
The trend of the times is eloquently set forth in the
brief record of the vote on Chinese immigration, at the election of
September 7, 1879. For Chinese immigration 16 votes; against Chinese
immigration, 2039 votes; majority against Chinese immigration, 2023 votes.
Such was the laconic but decisive verdict.
Early in 1880 a number of franchises for the erection
of wharves were granted to Port Costa, a hamlet then fast coming into
prominence as a shipping point and also because it was there that the
steamer "Solano" landed its western-bound trains from the Atlantic. The
records of the year show also that the Northern Railroad Company had over
twenty-three miles of railroad in the county, while the San Pablo & Tulare
Railroad Company had more than thirty-four. The former was valued at
$13,060 a mile, and the latter at $11,200. An official seal for the Board
of Supervisors was ordered on July 7, 1880. The design chosen was a sheaf
of grain, a horn of plenty, with grapes and melons, all surrounded by the
words, "Board of Supervisors of Contra Costa County, California."
During 1880 the public debt of the county, amounting to
$94,100, was funded, and bonds bearing interest at six per cent and payable
semi-annually, were directed to be issued on August 4th. One month later
another debt of $38,000 was ordered funded by the issuance of bonds bearing
interest at the above rate.
Contra Costa County was rapidly emerging from pioneer
conditions. Small but thriving towns were springing up all along her
water-front; shipping was receiving a great impetus from her numerous
products, including millions of bushels of grain, which were marketed all
over the world; orchard and vegetable gardens were thriving in her fertile
valleys; roads and schools were rapidly improved and railroad communication
was steadily increasing.
Turning from the pioneer days, the commercial growth of
the county and its cities will be taken up in the succeeding chapters.
Transcribed by Sally Kaleta
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