Contra Costa County CA Archives History - Books .....Township No. 1, Part 2 1882
************************************************
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/cafiles.htm
************************************************

File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Joy Fisher sdgenweb@gmail.com November 23, 2005, 7:17 pm

Book Title: History Of Contra Costa County, California

   THE FISHING INDUSTRY.—The following interesting account of the Fishing
Industry at Martinez we copy from the Contra Costa Gazette of June 3, 1882:
"Within the last few years the exportation of canned salmon has become generally
recognized as one of the leading industries of the Pacific Coast. This fish has,
from very ancient times, been everywhere esteemed as an article of food, and it
was formerly widely distributed throughout the whole of northern Europe, Great
Britain, Germany, France, Russia, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Holland,
and was found extensively in the waters of Canada, Newfoundland and New England.
Years of successive fishing have exhausted many of the streams, in which they
once abounded, of this favorite fish; and the poisonous debris of saw-mills and
manufactories has totally exterminated them from their old haunts in New England
streams. In consequence of this depletion of Eastern and European waters,
California and Oregon salmon finds a ready sale in almost every market in the
world. That our supply is fully equal to the demand, has been made possible only
by the exertions of the Fish Commissioners, who have worked steadily and
faithfully to surround our fish interests with a net-work of laws, rules and
regulations through which unscrupulous fishermen cannot break. It is safe to
affirm that ten years ago there was not more than one cannery on the Pacific
Coast where there are now a dozen -and yet the average number of salmon canned
by each cannery is fully as great now as then.

   "The Commissioners have done a good work. There is still much to do in
ferreting out those who secretely violate the laws applicable to fish, and it is
desirable that every officer vested with power should use all legal means to
bring offenders to justice. The Chinese fishermen are open and persistent
enemies, not only to salmon, but to all kinds of fish. With their shrimp
mesh-nets, constructed so that small fish of every description are hopelessly
entangled therein, they drag the waters of the Bay and annually destroy millions
of fry, thus constituting a constant drain on the fish resources of the Coast.
The severity of the laws have for a few years past partially precluded them from
pursuing their nefarious occupation, but they still work in secret, when
possible to do so, and there is not a week but that the laws are, to a certain
extent, violated. The bulk of fishermen in this State are composed of Italians
and Greeks, the Italians being probably in the majority. There are employed in
the salmon fisheries between San Francisco and Sacramento, about eight hundred
boats. Each boat is manned by two fishermen; there are, therefore, one thousand
six hundred men employed in catching salmon between the two points named, or in
a distance of only one hundred and twenty miles. There are two hundred and fifty
boats in the Straits of Carquinez alone. There are nine canneries along the
river and Suisun Bay, and several in San Francisco, employing, on an average,
from sixty to eighty men to each establishment. There are, therefore, no less
than two thousand five hundred men employed in taking salmon and canning them
for home and foreign consumption. These figures convey some idea of the growing
importance of this comparatively new industry; but a more definite conception of
the enormous amount of fish taken yearly from our rivers and bays may be formed
by considering the fact that the San Francisco markets alone, this season,
dispose of two thousand fresh salmon daily, to say nothing of the Sacramento,
Stockton, Oakland and San Jose markets, and the sales made throughout the
smaller towns of the interior. The cost of a fishing outfit ranges from $450 to
$800. A suitable boat can be purchased for an average price of $260. The nets in
use up the river are comparatively small, and cost about $200; those used in the
Straits will average at least $300 apiece—they are of much greater depth, and
contain a great deal more material. The thread for their construction costs one
dollar per pound, and some few nets contain as high as three hundred pounds of
netting. The ropes, lines and corks for each net costs about $50. The
construction of a good net is worth $180; but fishermen generally save this
amount by making their own nets. If hired done, fishermen pay twenty cents a
fathom for the work. The fishermen pursue their vocation at all points on the
river and bay during the season. The fish, after remaining a short time in the
brackish water below the Straits, begin to ascend. The first catch will be made
in the Straits; the following day the fish will have reached Collinsville; and
the next day they may be found at Bio Vista. In this manner they ascend,
gradually lessening their speed the further up they go. The Winter run commences
in January, and consists of a variety of salmon much longer and thinner than
those caught in the Fall. In February the number of fish to be found are but
limited. The Spring run, which commences in March, is composed of a variety much
thicker than the fish of the preceding run. They ascend in limited quantities,
only.

   The Fall run is the largest, and commences in August. These salmon, known as
the hook or hawk-nosed salmon, are the very largest variety. The run continues
for six weeks, the principal body going up in September. The average daily catch
varies according to the season. Last season the salmon ascended in such numerous
quantities that the fishermen could have caught each day per boat, for a period
of six weeks, over one hundred fish. But the markets were glutted, and as it was
impossible to dispose of that number, they contented themselves with catching
merely enough to supply the demand. This season the average daily catch per boat
does not exceed twenty fish; and the supply is not sufficient to keep the
canneries running at their full capacities. The price, of course, varies
according to the supply and demand. The canneries started at Martinez and
Benicia, by creating a more extensive demand, have doubtless influenced prices
this season to some extent. Last year the average price per fish was but
thirty-five cents. This year the price has been as high as sixty-five cents,
owing to the scarceness of salmon and the competition of the canneries; but a
compromise, resulting in an equal distribution of fish to the several canneries,
has reduced the price to forty cents. The principal buyers are Bradford & Co.,
Booth & Co., Colville, Johnson & Co., Lusk & Co., the Fisherman's Cannery (at
Benicia), Black, Kendall & Shields, A. Lusk, and Pardini & Co. Suisun flats and
the Straits of Carquinez are the principal fishing grounds. A number of boats
fish at Sonoma flats, below Mare Island, but the fishing there is difficult,
owing to the roughness of the water. Within the last two years a place above
Vallejo, on Napa river, commencing at what is known as Slaughter House Point,
has become quite a favorite fishing ground. The grounds up the Sacramento river
are also extensive, and thousands of salmon are caught there daily during the
season. The fishermen are, as a class, brave, hearty men, to whom an almost
constant open-air life, and the fresh, salt breezes of the sea, have imparted a
ruddy countenance and a healthy circulation. The peculiar nature of their
occupation brings out the muscles of their arms, expands their chests, and gives
them an air of activity peculiarly their own. Their costume is simple and
picturesque; and, as a whole, they form an unique group among the various
industrial classes of the coast. They are all governed in their relations to
each other by unwritten but effective laws, created by themselves for
self-protection. When the tide is running out, the head of a "drift," or group
of boats, has the privilege of first letting out the net; the second boat then
follows, each awaiting its turn. Any attempt to secure an undue advantage by
crowding into some favored position would be resented by the balance of the
drift in a manner not tending to the pecuniary advantage of the offending party.
At slack water, when there is no movement of the nets, the fishermen take their
respective positions within about one hundred yards of each other.

   SALMON CANNERIES.—Allied to the subject of fisheries, and dependent upon it
for its existence and prosperity, is the industry represented by the numerous
salmon canneries which have within a few years past started into operation along
the bays and rivers of the Pacific Coast. It is impossible to state in round
numbers the amount of revenue that flows into California each year from the
exportation of canned salmon, but some conception may be formed by making a
tolerably approximate estimate of the business operations of the ten canneries
situated on the banks of Suisun Bay and the Sacramento River. These canneries,
when working a full force, will put up an average of one thousand five hundred
fish each per day; while many fish of twenty-five to thirty pounds weight or
more are caught, the average weight will not exceed sixteen or seventeen pounds;
and the average weight after they have been divested of heads, tails, and
insides, preparatory to being cut up for canning, is about twelve pounds. The
bulk of them are put up in cans containing one pound net. The capacity of a
cannery depends upon the number of its retorts, in which the fish are steamed,
and which are capable of disposing of nine hundred cans per hour, or nine
thousand per day, each. In each of the two canneries at Martinez there are two
retorts; the cannery at Benicia has three; and those at Collinsville, Chipp
Island and Black Diamond, four each; the one at Courtland has probably two; and
those at Sacramento, four each; making in all twenty-five retorts in the ten
canneries. These are capable of canning two hundred and twenty-five thousand
cans per day. Generally the supply of fish is not sufficient to keep the
canneries running more than ninety days, during which time they can put up
twenty millions two hundred and fifty thousand cans containing one million six
hundred and eighty-seven thousand five hundred fish.

   The wholesale price last year averaged $1.15 per dozen cans; this season the
market is firm at from $1.35 to $1.47 1/2 per dozen. At an average of $1.25 per
dozen, the gross income of the canneries named, if running at full capacity,
would be $2,109,375. The fact is, however, that the canneries do not run,
generally, at more than one-third their capacity; the actual average daily put
up this season being two thousand five hundred cans for each retort. The
fishermen this season will not average more than twenty fish per boat each day;
last year one hundred was not an extraordinary catch. Canneries that have worked
as many as eighty men at a time are now working only from twenty-five to forty.
Two-thirds of the salmon exported from the coast are caught in the Columbia
river and other northern streams, and prepared for the market at adjacent
points. Although it is but a short time from the moment the salmon is entangled
in the meshes of the fishermen's net to the moment it appears tightly-canned,
and neatly labeled for the market, the processes by which it is prepared are
numerous and interesting. Before the season commences, a number of hands are
kept busy, manufacturing cans. By accurately gauged machinery, the tin is cut
into strips for the sides and into bottom pieces properly flanged, after which
they are soldered. The tops are left open for the reception of the fish. They
are then piled up until wanted. At Black's cannery, in Martinez, there are at
present over one hundred thousand cans not yet used. The salmon, having been
caught, are deprived of their heads, tails, fins and in-sides, by the fishermen.
They are then delivered at the canneries. Here they are rinsed in clear water
and thrown into a large draining receptacle, from which they are taken and
placed upon a table, to which is fastened a cutter, composed of a half dozen
long, sharp blades. One motion cuts each fish into requisite lengths for filling
the cans. The pieces are then passed along and cut lengthways by a huge knife in
the hands of a skillful operator; generally two of these pieces fill a can.
Having been properly cut, they are transferred to another table, where the cans
await them. The cans are then filled, and if done by experienced persons, they
will not vary more than an ounce in either direction from a pound. A portion of
them, however, are weighed in order to maintain the average. Having been filled,
a small portion of salt, accurately measured, is dropped in a dozen of them at a
time, and the cans are passed to another group of operatives, who put on the
tops and solder them. There are two methods of soldering. Where the tops are so
flanged as to pass over the cylindrical body of the can, they are immersed in
the melted composition, about ninety at a time, and thus simultaneously
soldered. Where the tops are inserted into the upper portion of the can, they
are soldered in the ordinary way, the operation being performed very rapidly.
Next comes the testing, which is done by plunging the sealed cans into hot
water. If there is a leak in any can, it will be indicated by bubbles, caused by
the expulsion of the air contained within. Each defective can is taken out and
returned to the solderer, who remedies the defect. The cans are held in large
crates, constructed of iron, and are of sufficient depth to hold them. Each can
is now punctured in the center of the top piece, for the purpose of allowing all
the air to escape; and while still hot, the perforation is soldered, thus
hermetically sealing them. They are then removed to the retorts, which are
capable of receiving ten crates, or nine hundred cans. Here they are thoroughly
cooked, by means of compressed steam, the operation requiring about one hour.
The fish are now in suitable condition for consumption, and the remaining
processes do not affect the contents of the can. Having been cooked, the cans
are withdrawn from the retorts and placed in a lye vat, for the purpose of
cleansing them of grease or dirt of any character that may have accumulated upon
them during the previous processes. Having been thoroughly cleansed, they are
immersed in a solution of yellow lacquer and benzine. This prevents them from
future rust or tarnish, and at the same time imparts a beautiful, light-golden
finish to the outer surface. The cans are now ready for labeling. This work is
done principally by girls, many of whom become very skillful. A dexterous hand
will label from four thousand to five thousand cans per day, although from three
thousand to three thousand seven hundred is a fair average. The next and last
process is  boxing. They are placed in wooden cases, each containing four dozen
cans, and are then ready for shipment. There is scarcely a market in the world
which does not furnish consumers for the Pacific Coast salmon, although the
principal shipments from the canneries at Martinez are confined to Australia and
the larger cities of the United States. New York, Chicago, Galveston, St. Louis,
Boston and Kansas City are some of the points to which frequent car loads of
salmon are sent. One noticeable feature of both Black's cannery and that of the
Martinez Packing Company is the scrupulous cleanliness that characterizes their
manner of handling the fish. The salmon, before cutting, are thoroughly washed,
and the tables upon which they are placed are kept constantly clean, as are also
the crates, vats and retorts. The operatives are cleanly, and although the smell
that necessarily pervades an establishment in which many thousands of fish are
handled daily is not pleasant to persons possessed of sensitive olfactory
nerves, there is nothing in any of the various processes through which each fish
passes to offend the sight or smell of even the most fastidious. That the salmon
canning industry in this State will in the near future assume still larger
proportions than at present, is certain; and that Contra Costa county, by means
of the vast fishing grounds bordering upon its extended water front, is destined
to receive a large share of the pecuniary benefits to be derived from the
industry, is still more certain.

   SALMON CANNERY OF JOSEPH BLACK.—Was established January 1,1882, in a building
two hundred by eighty feet, where are employed from eighty to one hundred hands,
who turn out eight thousand cases per month, each case containing four dozen
cans, while each can holds one pound of fish. The goods are shipped to Europe,
the Eastern States, Australia, New Zealand and Honolulu.

   MARTINEZ PACKING COMPANY.—The process of canning salmon by this Company was
commenced at Martinez in March, 1882. Sixty hands, mostly white labor, are
employed, boys and girls doing the filling and labeling. It has a capacity of
turning out three hundred and fifty cases per day, of four dozen cans each,
which find a market in the Eastern States. The President of the Corporation is
George Shiel, while F. I. Kendall acts as Secretary and Treasurer.

   THE CHRISTIAN BROTHERS' INSTITUTION.—The largest and most important
architectural recent improvement in Martinez or its vicinity is the handsome
structure of the Christian Brothers, work on which was commenced in 1881, and
completed in the Spring of 1882. Occupying, about half a mile south of the Court
House, a commanding central position upon the slope of the semi-circular sweep
of hills that wall the town around except upon its water front side, a fine
prospect is to be had from the building over the town, the straits and bay, to
the Coast Range and Sierra Nevada summits, while its fine, imposing proportions
and situation make it a conspicuous object from many points of view. The order
of Christian Brothers is organized, as we are led to understand, under authority
of the Roman Catholic Church, for the instruction and training of teachers for
its parochial and other schools. Those entering the order, after a novitiate
term, are ordained for life as teachers, if found suitably qualified. The order
has a membership of nearly fifteen thousand, engaged in its work over the world,
with a Superior Director, whose residence is in France. The executive Principal
of the establishment at Martinez is Brother Pirmian, whose gentle and parental
kindness of manner makes a favorable impression upon all who meet him, and is
calculated to gain him the confidence and affection of those who are committed
to his charge for instruction and training.

   Since the property here now occupied by them (comprising about seventy acres
of what was formerly known as the Bush farm and homestead) came into possession
of the Brothers it has been greatly improved in other respects, as well as by
the grand new building. Fruit, ornamental trees and shrubbery have been
extensively planted, several wells sunk, one of which, entirely in the sandstone
rock, affords a copious and unfailing supply of fine water, which is pumped by
windmill into a cemented rock cistern, excavated upon an elevated portion of the
grounds, and drawn thence under large head pressure for the irrigating and
domestic uses of the establishment. Advantage has been taken of the bold outcrop
of a sandstone ledge along the side of one of the sloping ravines, to form
several picturesque rustic grottoes, seated alcoves and rests, fronted by rock
mounds, fountains, rough rock water pools, and other rustic fancies.

   Besides the quite extensive original fruit orchard upon the place, some two
or three acres have been planted in 1882 with choice peaches, apricots, apples,
and other fruits. The roomy and convenient dwelling house on the place, since it
came into their possession, has been renovated, and, in its fresh paint, made to
harmonize with the improved surroundings. The new building, planned for the
school purposes, stands upon ground sloping northward, the direction in which it
fronts. It is of the best selected materials, faithful workmanship, and good
finish in all details throughout. Its plan is that of two wings, each twenty by
fifty feet, connected by a central section, the broad verandas and balconies of
which extend its width to a flush line with the wings. The building is two and a
half stories in height. The study room occupies the lower story of the west
wing, and above that is the chapel, a beautiful room twenty by fifty feet in
size, and twenty-one feet in height, with in-reaching cornice that forms a
ceiling panel of fine proportions and effect. The lower story of the east wing,
under which is a fine, dry cellar, its full size, furnishes a large dining room
and pantry, above which are the neatly furnished and kept dormitories and
wash-rooms. The central portion of the building affords a large library room,
six or eight handsomsly finished office or recitation rooms, each furnished with
marble mantel and fire place, and as many handsome bedrooms. The building is
also well provided with conveniently situated water closets, bath rooms, and
water supply pipes. A spacious and well-furnished detached kitchen stands about
ten feet in the rear of the pantry and dining room section, and large sewer
pipes carry the flush water and sewage to a cistern pit on a lower and distant
portion of the grounds, where it can be composted and utilized for fertilizing
purposes when desirable. In excavating for site of building, the material from
the rear side hill slope was deposited in front, where it forms a broad level
esplanade, beautified with bordered walks, flowers, shrubs, and water fountain.
For the purposes of the institution, the establishment seems now to be well
provided in almost every conceivable particular; and it could not have found a
more desirable location, so far as pleasant surroundings, facilities of
communication, or pleasant and healthy climatic conditions are concerned. The
present number of novitiate students is small, but is certain to increase to the
extent of the large accommodations of the establishment.

   CEMETERIES.—The "God's Acre" in Martinez is one of the most beautifully
situated "Resting Places" in the State. Commanding a prominent position on a
considerable elevation, here lie in peace many of the county's dead, whose
headstones tell their tale, and whose well-kept graves attest the love which
binds those remaining on earth to those who have journeyed to that "undiscovered
country from whose bourne no traveler returns."

   ALHAMBRA CEMETERY.—The Alhambra Cemetery was originally a portion of the town
of Martinez, surveyed into town lots, and formed a part of the Pinole Grant of
the Martinez heirs. Here, as early as 1854, was buried A. M. Holliday, and here,
too, rests that venerable pioneer Captain Joseph R. Walker. Born, says his
epitaph, December 13, 1798, he emigrated from Tennessee to Missouri in 1819; to
New Mexico, 1820; to the Rocky Mountains, 1832; to California, 1833; camped at
Yosemite, November 13, 1833; died October 27, 1876. In the year 1862 the open
ground was enclosed by the people of Martinez and its vicinity, by subscription,
and in March, 1869, the Alhambra Cemetery Association was incorporated, with the
following Trustees: O. C. Coffin, E. W. Hiller, Thomas A. Brown, L. I. Fish,
Mark Shepard, C. C. Swain. Those at present serving (1882) are: W. M. Hale,
President; G. A. Sherman, Vice President; L. C. Wittenmyer, Secretary; E. W.
Hiller, Treasurer and Superintendent; M. H. Bailhache, and Dr. J. H. Carothers.
The ground, which is five acres in extent, is supplied with water by windmill
power and retained in a large reservoir for facility of distribution. The
property is now owned by the Association, they having acquired it by purchase.

   ROMAN CATHOLIC CEMETERY.—Contiguous to the Alhambra, and on still higher
ground, is the cemetery of the Roman Catholics. At one time the resting place
for their dead was on the same hill as that of the protestants, but a fire
having destroyed many of th'e monuments, they moved to higher ground. Here lie
many of the early Spanish settlers and their descendants; underneath the high
wooden-cross, which is to be distinguished from far and near, is buried one of
the Briones family, while in close proximity to it is the chaste and beautiful
tomb of the late respected and much regretted Supervisor John Tormey. This point
commands an extensive view; below —at one's feet—lies the little town, nestling
in its frame of hills, and sheltered by umbrageous trees; to the north we trace
the bays and creeks of the opposite shore of Solano, and its thriving town of
Benicia. To the right rises Mount Diablo in all its beauty of shape and color;
to the left in the blue distance we gain a peep of Mount St. Helena, at the head
of Napa valley. Anon the shrill shriek of the locomotive is heard as it rounds
the military lines on the opposite side of the Carquinez straits, its journey
may "be traced until it is swallowed by the capacious maw of the Solano, the
leviathan ferry-boat which transports it to the shores of Contra Costa; we see
the giant slowly leave her berth, and quickly traverse the intervening space of
water, and safely glide into the slips at Port Costa, and off the cars rush for
their destination. Again, as the sun sinks, the lengthening shadows of the trees
warn us of approaching night. The air becomes chill, we leave the hallowed spot,
having communed with nature and her "departed spirits."

   PORT COSTA.—This is the name given to the point whereat the Central Pacific
Railroad Company land their trains from the East, en route to San Francisco.
From its immense advantages as a shipping point, a number of vessels load wheat
here every year for Great Britain and elsewhere, while the immense storing
facilities, in mammoth warehouses, has earned for it a name, second to none, as
a shipping center on the Straits of Carquinez. The Ferry-boat Slip was completed
in the year 1879, and is a splendid piece of workmanship, while the Solano
itself is one of these truly gigantic boats that have to be seen to be
appreciated. So far, Port Costa has been purely a place for loading and
discharging ships. It has no roads leading into nor out of it, while its
situation at the foot of a considerable bluff precludes the possibility of its
ever extending into a town of any magnitude. Of this rising little town the
Contra Costa Gazette of June 24,1882, says: "Although it is not yet two years
since the first export cargo of wheat was loaded at Port Costa, it has already
out-stripped San Francisco, Vallejo and Oakland, loading more ships during the
grain year now drawing to a close than either one of those places; and within
two years more, more than half of all the exported flour and wheat will be
loaded at the wharves along the south shore of the Straits of Carquinez, between
Martinez and Vallejo Junction. From the first of July, 1881, to Tuesday last,
Geo. W. McNear had loaded one hundred and three ships at his Port Costa
warehouses, and some eighty or ninety cargoes have been loaded there and at the
California Grangers' warehouses, below, by William Dresbach and other shippers."

   CROCKETT.—The town of Crockett, upon the Straits of Carquinez, about six
miles below Martinez, and named in honor of ex-Judge J. B. Crockett, late of the
California Supreme Bench, has a pleasant bench location with a fine outlook over
the San Pablo Bay to the Coast Range from Mount Tamalpais to those of Mendocino
in one direction, and to the Sierra Nevada in another. The town site is laid out
from the Edwards Ranch, and is to have an ample supply of good spring water,
distributed through iron pipes. The location of Heald's extensive machine shop
and foundry at that point created the necessity for, and insures the
considerable future growth of the town, in which the sale of intoxicating
liquors is forever prohibited by provisions in all deeds for sale and conveyance
of lots. Besides the large three-story hotel completed and opened recently by
Mr. Pinker-ton, several well-planned cottage dwellings are being erected by
employes of Heald's works, and others will likely be commenced at no very
distant date. A roomy building, erected and used for boarding the men employed
in building the machine shop and foundry, has been utilized for a school-house,
furnished with handsome seats and desks, blackboard and interior walls whitened,
making a school-room amply spacious and of pleasant aspect, which has been
placed under the superintendence of Miss Lottie Bent, of Martinez, a graduate of
the State Normal School.

   As now laid out, the town tract of Crockett consists of eighteen blocks,
divided into lots of fifty by one hundred feet each, the streets running east
and west. The first thoroughfare to the north is named Loring Avenue, next is
Winslow, Alhambra and Edwards streets; the others are called Bay, Heald, Jackson
and Vallejo. Within the town limits there are thirty-one acres, and all most
desirable as a place of residence and a center of trade. The town site was
surveyed by T. A. McMahon, County Surveyor.

   HEALD'S FOUNDRY.—The most important and extensive industrial enterprise of
permanent character ever undertaken in Contra Costa county is that of J. L.
Heald, at Crockett, on the railroad and deep water frontage of the Straits, six
or seven miles below Martinez. Mr. Heald had developed his business to large
proportions at Vallejo, where he found himself under disadvantages for its
enlargement and prosecution, and, in looking up a new location with superior
advantages, determined upon the one he has chosen as better suited to his
requirements than any other to be obtained. With the Messrs. Edwards, father and
brothers, he made satisfactory arrangements for shop site and wharf franchise,
and joint interest with them in the lots of the adjacent tract laid out as a
town site. The town and his works are supplied with water from springs on the
Edwards farm, through iron main and distributing pipes furnished and laid by Mr.
Heald. The foundry and machine shop building is of brick, laid in cement mortar,
three hundred feet long by one hundred wide, inside clear measure; the openings
are all over and under arched for equal distribution of roof and wall weight
upon the foundations. The roof covering is heavy corrugated sheet iron,
supported upon iron truss girders and rafters, making a completely fire-proof
structure, and one of the largest and most substantial in the State, for the
purposes designed. While the establishment is provided with first-class
appliances for the manufacture of almost any description of boilers, machinery,
and stationary and movable steam engines, it is more particulary intended for
the manufacture of threshing steam engines, separators, grape-crushing, stemming
and pressing machinery, barley mills, and other agricultural machinery, of the
styles Mr. Heald has originated or greatly improved, and which have won high
favor upon their tested merits. In the absence of Mr. Heald, on our visit to the
works, we are under obligations to Mr. Etchells, the Superintendent, and to Mr.
Charles, of the separator construction department, for information given us
concerning the various classes of machinery manufactured at the establishment.
Among the leading specialities of the manufactory are Mr. Heald's straw-burning
threshing engines, all of which now made are constructed with cylindrical shell
firebox, and tubular flues of direct draft to the smoke-stack. This arrangement
is found to be superior to the old style square, restricted fire-box, and return
flue boilers; and has an advantage in an arrangement for getting at the fire end
of the tube flues, through tubular apertures from either side of the boiler, to
clear them if they become obstructed, and thereby avoiding the necessity of
raking out the fire-box at all during a day's run, and permitting it to be
cleaned only in the morning before starting-up, and when the ashes and cinders
are cold and can be taken out without danger of fire. The threshing engines are
made of three sizes, respectively of twenty, thirty-five and fifty-horse
power—and one of the largest size is now at the shop receiving its finish for
shipment to Dr. Glenn, at Colusa. The threshing engine boilers are all covered
with thick non-conducting felting, on which is first a wood slat, and, outside
of that, a galvanized iron sheathing. The engine crank shafts are all bent to
form in the solid bar, while hot, by hydraulic pressure, and are in no danger of
breakage from cold shuts, strain cracks, or imperfect welds. Mr. Heald's
separators are built of various sizes, from thirty-six to forty-eight-inch
cylinders, and, besides having been brought under test of practical field
operation, to the highest degree of threshing, separating and saving perfection,
he combines with them in the same frame, a re-cleaning apparatus, that turns the
wheat out as thoroughly cleaned as it is in going through the process in a
special cleaning machine. Grape crushing, stemming, elevating and pressing
machinery, and handling appliances, with specially adapted stationary steam
engines of several sizes, for operating the machinery, are among the
specialities of this establishment; and those of the grape raisers who require
any or all of the appliances for their work in wine making, will do well to
inspect Mr. Heald's grape-working mechanism. Heald's Roller Crushing Barley Mill
has been amply tested, and does its work, as is claimed, better and more
economically than any burr mill. It is simple and consists of two strong, plain
cylinder rollers, eighteen inches in diameter by eighteen inches width of face,
both driven by a belt upon the shaft pulley of one of them, the grain feeding
down from the hopper between the two rollers. Running with a twenty-horse steam
power threshing engine, this mill is said to have the capacity of sixty tons per
day. Hydraulic presses of various sizes, for grape pressing or other purposes,
are also among the specialities of the establishment. Besides the threshing, and
the compact and handsome style of the stationary steam engines for grape
crushing and pressing, almost every other description of stationary and portable
steam engines, boilers and other machinery, are made at the establishment, as
may be ordered; and at the present time there are two magnificent tubular
boilers there, of great heating surface and steam-making capacity, for a large
flouring mill at Marysville. The location of Mr. Heald's foundry and machine
shops, with a side track of the trunk line of the two inter-state and
continental railroads at its south-side doors, and deep water facilities at
those of the north side, for receiving coal and other material, or shipping its
wares for river or ocean transportation, must be of many hundred dollars
advantage per annum, with only the present extent of his business; and with its
probable expansion, in course of a few years the saving thus effected in
drayage, tolls, and other incidental expenses, will reach the amount of
thousands per annum. With the high reputation of his machinery, for its special
purposes, his advantageous location, the already well-established qualities and
large demand for his machinery, there is every reason to anticipate that Mr.
Heald's business will soon expand to as large proportions as any in its line
upon this coast. The advantages of the deep water frontage along the Straits,
from Bull's Head to Vallejo Junction, with the railroad alongside all the way
for large manufacturing industries, and especially for flouring mills, are so
great and apparent that they cannot long remain unimproved, and we may look in a
few years to see many of the available sites occupied for such purposes.

   PINOLE.—This landing takes its name from the Rancho granted to Don Ignacio
Martinez, in 1824, and which derived its peculiar cognomen, it has been already
said, from the fact that here some famished Spanish soldiery, on their way to
the mission of San Rafael, received a mess of pinole, (corn meal) from some
friendly Indians. The first foreign settler in the vicinity was Doctor S. J.
Tennent, who still resides about a mile from the hamlet.

   As early as the year 1850, however, Pinole was recognized as one of the
landing places en route to the inner waters of the State. In that year, a man
named Manuel Sueyras, who had located on Doctor Tennent's land, had a five ton
sloop named the Citizen, plying between that point and San Francisco, making her
headquarters at Pinole. It remained, however, for Bernardo Fernandez, to develop
the trading facilities of the locality. In 1854, after having sailed along the
much indented shore of the San Pablo Bay to fix a place for landing, brought up
his sloop, aptly named Unexpected, and thus started a regular trade. So he
continued until early in 1855, when he purchased the Beed Ruch, and kept her on
the route for about twelve months. He next located on shore, the beach being
then smooth, and water deep. In the year 1856, Mr. Fernandez erected a
warehouse, which stood where now is the railroad depot, and in it, in
partnership with H. Cruz, opened a store, or trading post. At the same time he
constructed two small wharves, one thirty feet in length by twenty in width, and
the other twenty feet long and eight feet wide. There was eight feet of water at
the end of each. One of these wharves has disappeared; that last mentioned has,
in the intervening years, been from time to time extended, until to-day it has
attained a length of two thousand three hundred feet, yet with this extension,
in like ratio, so has the depth of water decreased, for, as an absolute fact, at
the extremity of this jetty which in 1856, when only twenty feet in length, and
where was found water eight feet deep, twenty-six years later only the same
depth is to be found at more than half a mile from shore.

  The original warehouse as constructed in 1856, was one hundred by twenty feet
in dimensions, and served its purpose until partially carried away by a freshet,
on January 4, 1862, destroying a large quantity of grain stored therein. From
time to time, Mr. Fernandez has added to his property at Pinole. At the present
writing he has four excellent warehouses, with a capacity of storing one hundred
thousand sacks of grain, his entire premises covering fully five acres.

  In 1861 he severed his connection in the store with Mr. Cruz, since when he
has maintained that trade on his own account.

  About a quarter of a mile from the depot and the store of Mr. Fernandez, is
the blacksmith and carriage shop of Messrs. Boyd and Fraser, surrounded by a few
buildings, all presenting a neat and thrifty appearance.

  Situated as Pinole is, at the mouth of the rich and beautiful valley of the
same name, with such facility of access, proximity to San Francisco, on the
pebbly beach of the San Pablo Bay, there is no reason why the little hamlet
should not, in the near future, become a favorite location for suburban
residences, desirable building sites in the neighborhood being plenty and
capable of high improvements.

  HERCULES POWDER WORKS.—These works are situated in the vicinity of Pinole
station, and like those of the "Vulcan," have had their share of accidents. A
terrific explosion occurred January 11, 1882, at 11:55 o'clock, A. M., in the
mixing house of the Hercules Powder Works, at Pinole Station, which is about
eighteen miles north of Oakland. The shock was perceptible at Oakland, and the
cause was at once attributed to the blowing-up of one of the powder works north
of the City. Twenty minutes after the calamity, a telephone dispatch announced
that the explosion had occurred at the Hercules Powder Works which are located
half a mile northeast of Pinole Station. The buildings were erected in a series
of gullies and ravines. In the first were the acid works, in the second were the
mixing and packing houses, and in the third was the magazine, so that in the
event of an explosion in any one, the others would escape injury. The cause of
the trouble was the explosion of the steam chest in the mixing-house. There were
twenty-five white men and twenty-five chinamen employed in that building, and
just as soon as they perceived evidences of trouble, they all ran for dear life.
When the works went up, they were all outside, making tracks for a place of
safety. The concussion exploded fifteen hundred pounds of powder, and several
boxes in the packing-houses adjoining; the flying timbers killed one chinaman,
and injured two others. The windows of all the dwellings in the vicinity of the
place were also blown out. In the residence of the Superintendent, E. Scott,
there was not even half a pane of glass left. Only one white person was in any
manner hurt, and he received a cut from a flying piece of glass. The big still
at the acid house, which cost fifteen thousand dollars, was entirely uninjured.
The damage amounted to about twenty-five hundred or three thousand dollars, The
works had only been up about five or six months. The body of the defunct
celestial was taken in charge by the Coroner. The mongolians would not approach
it, and would not suffer its removal to their quarters, and it was temporarily
deposited in an adjoining warehouse. At San Rafael, the houses were shaken by
the concussion, as if by an earthquake, and in Oakland the shock was so severe
as to cause many, apprehending danger from an earthquake, to run out of their
houses. In Livermore, the shock was distinctly felt, and was attributed to an
earthquake. Another chinaman since died, the others received injuries, but not
beyond a few bruises and cuts.

   SAN PABLO.—This village derives its name from the Rancho granted to Don
Francisco Castro in 1823, and is one of the earliest settlements in the county.
It is not authenticated who the actual first foreign settler in the place was.
The residence of the Castros was the same as that lately occupied by Governor
Juan B. Alvarado, who died there on July 13, 1882, aged seventy-three years and
five months.

   Governor Alvarado moved to San Pablo in 1849. He owned the greater portion of
the large San Pablo Rancho, numbering thousands of acres, extending south from
the bay of that name to about what is now the Alameda county line. Many
claimants have appeared for the land and contested the ownership. Gradually
acres have been relinquished, until at present only about fifty acres remain
about the homestead. There is an important suit of Joseph Emeric vs. the
Alvarados at present before the Supreme Court, and it was thought that a
decision would be rendered on Saturday, July 10th, the day of the defendant's
burial. The Emerics have a large place in the village, and are now among the
principal land-holders.

   The homestead of the Alvarados at San Pablo is one of the oldest and most
picturesque in the State. It was built about 1838, and was on the property at
the time it was purchased by ex-Governor Alvarado. It is about a mile and a half
from the railroad station. A winding country road leads to the place, through
hay-fields most of the way, and stops abruptly in front of the romantic old
house. At present the house stands about thirty feet back from the road.
Formerly it stood alone in the center of the large Rancho. But now there are
about its few acres the houses of the villagers, and directly opposite the old
vine-covered house is the village saloon. The house is one-story in height, and
is built of adobe. It is long and low, after the manner of old Californian
houses. Across the outer front, about one hundred feet wide, and around the
northern side and rear, is a broad porch. Over this grapevines and climbing
roses trail in the wildest disorder, running up to the roof on the moss-covered
stringers, and trying to force an entrance to the low windows. The walls are
about two feet thick at one end of the house. On the outside is a stairway which
leads to the attic above. Huge roof joists of hewn timber project at both ends
of the house, and support the broad eaves. Many improvements were made when
purchased by the Alvarados. The adobe walls were covered with clap-boards, and
the interior was improved in many ways. The entire yard is overrun with
shrubbery and flowering plants. Over the front path and winding walks about the
house are low arbors covered with grapevines. Traces of former taste and care
are visible in the arrangement of the yard, but now weeds and thistles are among
the flowers, and a general appearance of ruin and neglect is about the entire
place. Near the house is an old orchard of many hundred bearing trees. In the
rear are old sheds and yards for poultry, and near by is the stable with
tumble-down "lean-to's" about it.

   The funeral ceremonies of the Roman Catholic Church were celebrated by Rev.
Father Cummins, who is in charge of the San Pablo Mission. On the coffin were a
few simple floral offerings, and at the head lay a cross of tea roses. The
church is a plain little affair, and the ceremony was much simpler than is usual
in the Catholic Church, the priest having only one assistant. A high mass was
said, and at the head of the coffin the absolution, with the requiescat in pace
was repeated, accompanied by sprinkling of holy water over the coffin. In the
chancel, under a picture of Christ, six candles in brass candlesticks were
burning at the side of a small crucifix. The Latin services were read and
recited in a low monotone, while the small assemblage of villagers listened in
respectful silence.

  At one time in his life the deceased was a regular attendant at the little
church, and during his lifetime was the priest's helper in many charitable
works. He gave the parish several acres, on which the present church building
and the school house and priest's residence are now standing.

  We are informed by William H. Martin, who came to the State in Stevenson's
famous regiment, that when he first saw San Pablo there was a store, kept by
Weatherby & Poole, where now the Union Saloon stands, while John Proviso kept a
like establishment on the opposite side of the street, which had, however, been
first opened by a Chileno, whose name is now forgotten. In 1855, a hotel was
conducted by Peck & Dohrmann, and known as the San Pablo Hotel. This was an
adobe house, and stood next to the site now occupied by the above-mentioned
saloon. John Galvin lived where his widow now resides.

   On December 6, 1860, a meeting was held in the village for the purpose of
organizing a joint-stock company to purchase a steamer, to run daily between San
Pablo and San Francisco as a ferry-boat. On August 14, 1864, the new Catholic
church was dedicated to St. Paul by Archbishop Allemany, the cost of the church
being three hundred dollars.

   To-day San Pablo is a quiet little town about twenty miles from San
Francisco, with which it is connected by the Bay Shore Line of the Central
Pacific. It is situated on the San Pablo Flat, about five miles from the bay,
Around the railroad station are a few scattered houses, and farther east, nearer
the ridge of hills, is a small group of houses in the neighborhood of the
Alvarado place. The country is comparatively level, having a slight slope toward
the water.

   The place and vicinity is not in a very flourishing condition, owing hitherto
chiefly to the unsettled condition of land titles. It is hoped, however, that,
owing to recent litigation, such may be at an end. No settler, although he may
have resided on the land for many years, cares to expend much in the way of
improvements until his title is perfected. The moment this difficulty is finally
settled, San Pablo will improve rapidly, as its nearness by rail to San
Francisco makes it a desirable location. Now the village has few good buildings,
the Roman Catholic Church and school property being the best. Here they have had
an organization ever since the country was settled. There is also a Baptist
Church in San Pablo, a commodious and well-appearing building.

   VULCAN POWDER WORKS.—This establishment is situated near Stege Station, on
the San Pablo Rancho, where the company has extensive works and several
buildings, established about three years ago. No less than three disastrous
explosions have occurred on the premises, but the last has been the most
terrific and lamentable. The tale of the harrowing accident is as follows: At
ten o'clock on the morning of March 27, 1882, the Vulcan Powder Works was
running in full operation, engaged in making bank blasting powder, technically
known as "BB" powder. There were two large buildings, which are entirely
destroyed. In a two-story building, known as the main building, in which the
operation of granulating was conducted, the mixing was carried on and the
engines were located. The other building was the dry room. This was a large
frame structure about sixty by fifty feet, and forty feet high. An important
addition was building to the dry room at the time of the tragic accident. The
two buildings were separated and some distance apart, but a wooden elevator ran
from the main building to that used for drying purposes. At five minutes past
ten o'clock a fire broke out in the jig in the granulating room. The small
amount of powder there blazed in an instant, and the fire was communicated to
the wood work adjoining. A stream of fire rushed along the elevator to the dry
room, in which three tons of powder were stored. When the fire reached this
there was no loud report noticed at the works, and there seemed to be no
concussion. No windows were broken, even in the houses within two hundred yards.
The dry house was blown apart in an instant, wounding and killing the men
engaged there. The main building did not fall until after the dry room had gone.
A small building used as an office was also consumed. The officers at the Powder
works call particular attention to the fact that the devastation was caused by a
fire, and not by an explosion. There were five white men and six Chinamen
killed. Four white men were injured. Following is a list of the killed. George
Stansfield, engineer; Lamb (initials supposed to be H. C.), was a carpenter of
Temescal, working on the improvements to the dry house; L. W. Starr, a carpenter
at work in the dry house; Thomas Mills, a carpenter at work in the dry house;
Stewart, first name unknown, reported as a general assistant at the works.

   Following are the men injured: Gottlieb Koch, carpenter at work on dry house,
was wounded in the neighborhood of the liver, not thought to be serious. W. B.
Dales, foreman of the BB works, was fearfully burned about the face and head.
Dales may not be fatally injured, but it is impossible to tell at this time the
result. Peter Schafer, a carpenter, has severe and probably fatal injuries to
the spine. He lives on Twenty-sixth street, between Mission and Howard, San
Francisco, and has a wife and two children. Ferris, first name unknown, a
carpenter and partner of Lamb, was severely burned, and has internal injuries.
The body of the engineer, Stansfield, was lying face downward, near the door of
the main building. The clothing was entirely burned from the upper part of the
body. The lower limbs were distorted terribly. The face was badly burned, and a
string of clotted blood hung from the lifeless lips. Men who were at work on the
dry room when the fire occurred were probably killed by the fall. The bodies of
Lamb and Starr were lying in the Pound, burned and blackened so that
identification by any marks of feature or countenance was impossible. The bodies
were recognized by the remnants of clothing, and by the position in which they
were found. Starr is brother-in-law of the Superintendent of the works, O. B.
Hardy. The six Chinamen fell in the midst of the flames, and when the fire had
burned over nothing but skeletons remained. Every trace of clothing, skin and
flesh was gone. Lamb, whose name is Horace C., is a resident of Temescal, and a
very well-known builder. His partner, W. H. Ferris, who is lying, very severely
wounded, resides on Linden street, near Cherry, Temescal. Ferris says he fell a
distance of forty feet, and the fire jumped from the main building to the dry
room instantaneously, and no chance for escape was given. Dr. W. Hilton, a
physician of East Berkeley, went to the scene of the disaster and attended to
the wounded men. Other physicians came from Oakland as soon as carriages could
take them. The boarding-house of the Vulcan Powder Company has been transformed
into a temporary hospital. Koch, Dales and Schofer are lying on pallets made on
the floor; Ferris is lying on a cot in the office of the Tonite Powder Company,
which is separated from the works of the Vulcan Powder Company by about one
hundred yards. O. B. Hardy, the Superintendent of the works, was not present at
the time the fire began, but returned in twenty minutes. Men in adjoining works
rushed to the rescue as soon as the fire began, and removed the wounded men as
best they could. The fire was terribly hot, and it was almost impossible to
approach the burning buildings. Whether the engineer and Chinamen were burned to
death, or killed by concussion, or by falling timbers is not known.

   No one can tell the cause of the fire. It is a mystery. The most probable
explanation offered thus far is that the friction at the jig in the granulation
was too great, and caused such heat as to ignite the powder which was being
worked at the time.

   The Vulcan Powder Works Company is an incorporation, of which Sol.
Heydenfeldt is President, and Julius Baum is the principal owner. The
Superintendent is O. B. Hardy. The loss to the Company will be probably covered
by twenty-five thousand dollars, and the works are situated in Contra Costa
county, about nine miles from Oakland. They occupy a charming site near the
water, on the slope from the hills to the bay. The Stege Station is on the
Overland Railroad line, very near the works, to the east of the Vulcan Works,
and separated by but a short distance are the Tonite Works. On the west side are
the Eureka Works. No damage was done to any of the adjacent mills. The debris
from the buildings was not thrown any distance, and the bodies of the men lay
where they fell. The explosion, when the fire reached the powder, therefore,
could not have been severe. The Coroner of Contra Costa county was notified by
telegraph of the terrible event, and took charge of the bodies of the five white
and six Mongolian victims of the disaster.

   Every man who was at work at the mills at the time of the fire, was either
killed or wounded. Not one escaped the fury of the powder. Dales, the foreman of
the "BB" works, was burned in the face, and it is very likely that his eyesight
is destroyed.



Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

HISTORY OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY,
CALIFORNIA,
INCLUDING ITS GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY, TOPOGRAPHY, CLIMATOGRAPHY AND DESCRIPTION;
TOGETHER WITH A RECORD OF THE MEXICAN GRANTS; THE BEAR FLAG WAR; THE MOUNT
DIABLO COAL FIELDS; THE EARLY HISTORY AND SETTLEMENT, COMPILED FROM THE MOST
AUTHENTIC SOURCES; THE NAMES OF ORIGINAL SPANISH AND MEXICAN PIONEERS; FULL
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF THE COUNTY; SEPARATE HISTORY OF EACH TOWNSHIP, SHOWING
THE ADVANCE IN POPULATION AND AGRICULTURE;
ALSO,
Incidents of Pioneer Life; and Biographical Sketches
OF EARLY AND PROMINENT SETTLERS AND REPRESENTATIVE MEN;
AMD OF ITS TOWNS, VILLAGES, CHURCHES, SECRET SOCIETIES, ETC.
ILLUSTRATED.
SAN FRANCISCO: W. A. SLOCUM & CO., PUBLISHERS
1882.




File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/contracosta/history/1882/historyo/township93ms.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/cafiles/

File size: 55.7 Kb