Germans in Los Angeles - Chapter II This file is a part of a manuscript entitled "The Germans in Los Angeles County California 1850 - 1900" by Lamberta Margarette Voget, written in February, 1933. Scanning and OCR by Joy Fisher ------------------------------------------------------------------ USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. ----------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER II THE FOUNDING OF ANAHEIM The present town of Anaheim, located in Orange County- is a living monument to the influence of the German population on the development of Southern California. Since prior to 1889 Orange County was a part of Los Angeles County, the phase of Anaheim's history which was peculiarly German rightly belongs to the place and time under discussion in the present study. The circumstances under which this town was founded were somewhat peculiar; although not communistic, as was frequently thought, the colony owed its beginnings to the cooperative efforts of a large number of men, none of whom were wealthy. [1] The success of the settlement was largely due to Mr. George Hansen, the manager and superintendent of the colony, whose capability in this task was proven when time demonstrated the permanence of the project. The name of the settlement, Anaheim, was compounded from the German word "Heim" meaning "Home," and the Spanish name of the river near which the "home" found itself, the Santa Ana River. [2] The native Californians frequently spoke of it as "Campo Aleman." the German camp. [3] A COOPERATIVE ENTERPRISE At the instigation of George Hansen, a civil engineer of Los Angeles, the Anaheim Vineyard Company, at first known as the Los Angeles Vineyard Company, was organized. Efforts were immediately put forth to find Germans in San Francisco who would not only become members of the association but, at a later time, residents of the proposed colony. [4] The purpose of this new business organization was to purchase, with the combined resources of the stockholders, a tract of land to be subdivided into small farms, enclosed with fences, and planted in grape vines and trees. While the plants were growing and the other necessary preparations were being made, the stockholders were to pursue their various professions in, San Francisco; but as soon as the land began to yield an income they were to move onto the farms, taking full possession in the capacity of private owners. In 1857 the plans were consummated, and fifty men signed their names to the agreement; Mr. Hansen was chosen as the agent and manager. Each man was assessed a certain amount to be paid monthly, as no one was wealthy enough to contribute a large lump sum. Of their financial circumstances Mr. Nordhoff says: [5] Very few had more than a few dollars saved; most of them had neither cash nor credit enough to buy even a twenty-acre farm; and none of them were in circumstances which promised them more than a decent living. Land was bought and work progressed as the funds were available. While their agent was tending the acreage, the stockholders continued their several types of work in San Francisco, meeting occasionally to listen to the reports and to discuss plans for the furtherance of their ambitious undertaking. The land which Mr. Hansen selected was a tract located twenty-eight miles southeast of Los Angeles and three miles from the Santa Ana Rive, and consisted of one thousand and eighty acres which had been a part of a rancho at one time owned by Don Bernardo Yorba, one of the big landowners of that region. [7] The situation of the land was such that the climate, drainage, and accessibility of water were favorable to the cultivation of fruit, as was the composition of the soil. The price of the property was two thousand three hundred and thirty dollars, which was about two dollars per acre. [8] The deed included a right of way to a strip of land to be used for a ditch to supply water to the farms. The acreage was divided into fifty twenty-acre tracts and as many village lots, the village to be located in the center of the tract. Fourteen of the lots were designated to be used for a school house and other public buildings. Work on the land was now commenced under the direction of Mr, Hansen. Spaniards and Indians were employed as laborers, and an extensive program of ditch-digging was undertaken. The system included a ditch seven miles long leading water from the Santa Ana River to the colony site, and more than four hundred and fifty miles of ditches leading the water to each of the twenty-acre lots. When the land was ready for cultivation, eight acres of each farm were planted in grape vines, the other twelve acres being reserved for pasturage and fruit trees. [9] To insure freedom from roving animals and other outside disturbances, the whole tract was enclosed in a willow fence which soon took root, thus forming a living protective wall about the settlement. This same fence later became a valuable source of firewood. Inside the wall, streets were laid out; four great gates were arranged through which passed the only roads open for travel. Mr. Hansen had the further task of cultivating the vines and pruning the trees after planting; he was general caretaker until such time that an income was forthcoming from the property. After two years a crop was ready, and arrangements were made whereby the proprietors were to take possession. The immediate problem was to apportion the farms to the shareholders. This was done in the manner described by Mr. Guinn as follows: [10] Each shareholder had paid into the general fund $1,200. [11] Each lot had a value placed on it according to situation, improvements, etc., the values ranging from $600 to $1,400. The division was made by lot. As each stockholder had paid in the same amount-viz. $1,200-the man who drew a $1,400 lot paid over $200 to the equalization fund, and the man who drew a $600 lot received $600 in cash. In addition to his vineyard lot, each shareholder received a lot in the town plot. Each man now received a deed to his farm from the Vineyard Company. One of the effects of the improvement of the property had been that money could be borrowed on the security of these farms. "Moreover," Mr. Nordhoff tells us, [12] "when the drawing was completed, there was a sale of the effects of the company-horses, tolls, etc.; and on closing all the accounts and balancing the books, it was found that there remained a sum of money in the general treasury sufficient to give each of the fifty shareholders a hundred dollars in cash as a final dividend." The actual settlement of the colony was now possible, and with the arrival of the pioneers Anaheim changed from a company to a village. THE COMING OF THE STTTLERS The stockholders in San Francisco were notified that their farms were ready to be turned over to the owners, the division of lots described above took place, and in the early autumn of 1859 the settlers began to arrive by steamer in larger or smaller groups. Miss Dickson has given the following graphic description of the first newcomers: [13] The first to arrive were Mr, and Mrs. Philip Hammes, their two daughters and Mr. and Mrs. Behm. They arrived on the steamer Senator in the harbor of San Pedro Sept. 12, 18590 A small steamer carried them from the Senator to the nearest point it could enter and anchored there while Indians waded out from the land and placed each a passenger on his shoulder, "And thus," says Mrs, Frohling, [14] "we were carried like babies to terra firma." The persons who thus undertook to enter the career of vineyardists and winemakers were sadly deficient in training, their former occupations having been in widely varied fields. Mr. Nordhoff speaks of their professional background in the following words: [15] The Anaheim associates consisted in the main of mechanics, and they had not a farmer among them. . . There were several carpenters, a gunsmith, an engraver, three watch-makers, four blacksmiths, a brewer, a teacher, a shoemaker, a miller, a hatter, a hotel-keeper, a bookbinder, four or five musicians, a poet (of course), several merchants, and some teamsters. But these men set to work with a will. They were thrifty, industrious, and eager to build up a prosperous community. The fact that a group rather than individuals were involved made it easier to develop the necessary conveniences. A few buildings were already in use upon their arrival, and the problem of water had been practically solved. Immediately upon the coming of the settlers, the building of homes commenced, although in some cases these none-too-wealthy village-founders had to borrow money in order to erect even slight shelters for themselves. [16] The lumber came from San Francisco by steamer; other necessary items came from Los Angeles by stage. Mechanics from Los Angeles came to the village to work for wages; a school was soon established; and the life of the community as such was soon underway, with lots rising in price as conveniences increased. EARLY STRUGGLES AND HARDSHIPS The founding of a colony is no easy task, as can easily be shown by the large number of efforts that have been made, but that have failed. The colony under consideration seems almost unique in that it survived the many adverse circumstances which had to be faced. One of these, which has already been suggested, was the lack of financial resources. The early years were occupied with efforts to support families and to pay debts. It has also been suggested that the plucky individuals who undertook the development of this vineyard colony knew nothing of either grape culture nor winemaking. They had to learn in the slow and tedious school of experience. The problem of earning a living was, consequently, no easy one. But there were also other difficulties. One of these was due to the heterogeneity of the group. Mr. Nordhoff has explained it thus: [17] The founders of Anaheim were not picked men. I have been told that they were not without jealousies and suspicions of each other and of their manager, which made his life often uncomfortable, and threatened the life of the undertaking. They had grumblers, faultfinders, and wiseacres in their company . . .; and I have heard that Mr. Hansen, who was their able and honest manager, declared that he would rather starve than conduct another such enterprise. Another problem came as a result of the Indian labor employed. When the ditches were being dug before the coming of the settlers, fifty Indians from Mexico were used as workmen. [18] In 1860 these returned to their native country, evidently as the result of a call to war, and were replaced by California Indians. The latter proved unsatisfactory; they were very inefficient. Also, there were unfriendly Indians who often caused trouble, occasionally making it necessary for the Anaheim settlers to protect their property with guns. Not only were the hostile Indians a menace, but there were also wild, roving cattle which threatened frequently to break through the willow fence and disturb the population. Thousands of them sometimes gathered in times of drought, making necessary the digging of ditches outside the fence and the picketing of a guard to hold back the invaders. [19] Another source of trouble was the heavy rains which at times wrought great havoc. What was probably the worst flood came in the winter of 1861 to 1862, and has called forth the following statements from Miss Dickson: [19] In the winter of 1861-2 the rain fell almost steadily for a month. Vineyards were half ruined with layers of sand that washed over them; water ran four feet deep in the streets; great trees came down from the mountains. It was dangerous to venture out and some people were carried away by force of the waters. The overflow of the river was also responsible for the damaging of the first schoolhouse, an adobe structure which had been used as an assembly hall as well. It had to be abandoned, and the school session was transferred to the building of the water company, where the classes were maintained until the erection of a new structure in 1869. Squirrels, gophers, hawks, coyotes and grasshoppers also had a share in annoying the German colonists. Constant warfare had to be waged against them. Last may be mentioned the inconvenience resulting from isolation from the rest of the world. Los Angeles was far away, and yet all supplies had to be obtained from there until the building of Anaheim Landing on the ocean front twelve miles away. But life was not all dark. The inhabitants had enough food to eat; they had a school to which they could send their children; they had music and dancing; [21] and above all, they had the independence that comes with the ownership of property. They all succeeded in pulling themselves out of debt, not one losing his holdings. That the settlers were satisfied was shown by the fact that prior to 1872, the year in which Mr. Nordhoff visited the colony, no one had moved away from the community. [21] Moreover, property had risen in value from one thousand and eighty dollars, the amount which the colonists had paid for their farms, to a price ranging from five to ten thousand dollars. GROWTH AND TRANSITION Early struggles and hardships did not prevent the colony from developing in a healthy manner. Shops and stores were erected; Anaheim Landing, to be discussed more fully later, was established in the early 'Sixties; the first church, belonging to the Presbyterian denomination, was founded in 1869; [22] the following year the pioneer newspaper, The Gazette. made its appearance; [23] in 1875 a branch of the Southern Pacific Railroad was completed to Anaheim, and in 1887 the San Diego line of the Santa Fe system was built through the town. The year 1887 also saw the division of certain vineyards into building lots whereon were erected hotels, banks, stores, factories and manufacturing plants. As early as 1869 the fight for the separation of that section of the county from Los Angeles County began to be waged. [24] Anaheim Landing was significant because of its importance as a connecting link with the outside world. This enterprise came as a result of the Anaheim Lighter Company, each member of which was assessed for the building of a wharf, warehouse, and lighter. A road twelve miles in length was constructed, which soon was traversed by as many as thirty, forty and even more teams per day, Panama steamers as well as the usual coast steamers stopped at the wharf for the exchange of goods, not only for Anaheim but for points as far distant as Salt Lake City. [25] It was inevitable that the years would bring changes greatly altering the German vineyard colony, American-born individuals moved into the community and although they found it difficult to buy land from the pioneers, [26] the interests of the two groups gradually blended, American influence becoming more and more evident. In 1885 a disease, understood by no one, attacked the vines, and in a few years this district which for twenty-five years had been a center for wine production had to be planted in other fruits. Orange trees replaced, with greater success, the grape vines. German influence continued to be strongly felt, but Anaheim was more and more becoming an essentially American town. [1] Nordhoff, C., Communistic Societies of the United States. 361. [2] Guinn, J. M., History of California. I, 478-479. [3] Dickson, L. E., Founding and Early History of Anaheim. 70 [4] The chief sources for the founding of the colony of Anaheim are: Dickson, L. E., Founding and Early History of Anaheim; Guinn, J. M., History of California. I; Nordhoff, C., Communistic Societies of the United States; and Thompson and West, History of Los Angeles County. [5] Nordhoff, C., Communistic Societies of the United States, 362. [6] No debts were contracted. Nordhoff, C., Communistic Societies of the United States. 363. [7] Dickson, L. E., Founding and Early History of Anaheim, 2 The property was bought from Juan Pacifico Ontiveras. [8] Ibid.. 3. [9] "Almond, walnut, fig, orange, and lemon trees were planted." Dickson, L. E., Founding and Early History of Anaheim, 6. [10] Guinn, J. M., History of California. I, 479. [11] Mr. Nordhoff states that he had been told that a few had fallen "behind, somewhat, but were helped by some of their associates who were in better circumstances." See Nordhoff, C., Communistic Societies of the United States, 363. [12] Ibid.. 364. [13] Dickson, L. E., Founding and Early History of Anaheim. 8. [14] Mrs. Frohling was one of the daughters from whose manuscript Miss Dickson obtained the information. [15] Nordhoff, C., Communistic Societies of the United States. 362. [16] Nordhoff, C., Communistic Societies of the United States, 364. [17] Nordhoff, C., Communistic Societies of the United States, 365. [18] Dickson, L. E., Founding and Early History of Anaheim, 5, 8-9. [19] Dickson, L. E., Founding and Early History of Anaheim, 9. [20] Guinn, J. M., History of California. I, 480. [21] Nordhoff, C., Communistic Societies of the United States. 365. [22] Guinn, J, M., History of California. I. 481. [23] Ibid.. 480-481. [24] Dickson, L. E., Founding and Early History of Anaheim, 12. Coy, Owen C., The Genesis of California Counties, 33. [25] Dickson, L. E., Founding and Early History of Anaheim. 10-11. [26] Ibid., 11.