Anaheim, Orange Co., CA - German Settlement ------------------------------------------------------------------ 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------- This information is from: "The German settlement at Anaheim" by Dorothea Jean Paule. 1952. Thesis (M.A.)--University of Southern California, 1952. Scanning and OCR by Joy Fisher. CHAPTER III ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COLONY With the Society incorporated, a site selected, and land purchased, a next step was development of land and planting of vines in preparation for taking possession of their land by the shareholders. Improvements were to be made gradually, not only because of the physical difficulties to be overcome, but because it must be watched that payments for labor and supplies did not exceed the monthly assessments of the shareholders, who in general would be considered poor economically, for the organization did not have credit in the beginning and could not contract debts.[1] The tract to be developed was one and one-fourth miles long (north and south) and one and one-half miles wide (east and west), subhumid and practically barren except for cactus, sage-brush, and weeds. It is said that Don Juan Ontiveras told his purchasers the land was not fit pasturage for goats.[2] It was sandy, however, and with waters of the Santa Ana for irrigation, there was good reason to believe it could be developed for viticultural purposes. One of the first acts of the superintendent after the purchase was to begin construction of the zanja or irrigation canal. A ditch was dug from the Santa Ana River to the settlement, a distance of approximately five miles, and on through the colony for two and one-half miles. The ditch was six feet wide on the bottom, eight feet wide on top, and two feet deep.[3] Conductors for leading the water over the grounds were dug, nine of which were one and one-half miles long and fourteen, one and one-quarter miles long. These canals were four to five feet wide and one and one-half feet deep. In addition there were three hundred miles of subsidiary ditches through the grounds. The average velocity of the water was two miles per hour, discharging 211,200 cubic feet per hour or 5,068, 800 cubic feet of water per day.[4] Water reached the settlement through a main canal at the northeast corner of the tract and by a secondary canal a little farther south near the present location of Santa Ana and East streets, a fall of twenty feet from the river. The tract was located on the lower end of a large alluvial fan of the Santa Ana River, and distrlbutary ditches were surveyed to conform to the slope of the fan.[5] The canal banks were lined with willow cuttings to shade the stream from excessive evaporation. The willows, however, absorbed too much water, so they were eventually uprooted and used for firewood and not replaced. Another important early project of the superintendent was division of the colony into fifty twenty-acre lots, with the central forty acres of the tract divided into fifty village house lots and fourteen additional village lots reserved for a schoolhouse and other public buildings. It was originally intended that colonists would build their homes on the town lots, which were 140 by 181.5 feet, and commute to their vineyards. Time proved that they preferred to have their homes on their twenty-acre farm lots. Six streets running north and south were planned and received the names of Los Angeles, Orange, Lemon, Olive, Palm, and Citron, and bounded by East and West streets. Three streets were to run east and west: Sycamore, Center, and Santa Ana, with North and South streets on the boundaries.[6] Each of the twenty-acre lots was fenced with willows, five and a half miles of outside fencing and thirty-five miles of inside fencing.[7] It is estimated forty to fifty thousand willow cuttings,[8] planted three feet deep and placed at intervals of one and one-half to two feet and strengthened by three horizontal poles composed the outside fence.[9] Cross pieces with rawhide were fastened on the willows. A ditch four feet deep, six feet wide at the top, sloping to a breadth of one foot at the bottom also surrounded the colony. For further protection, the Anaheim Water Company, meeting January 10, 1862, authorized that six feet of ground all around the colony outside the fences be plowed and planted to cactus. Intrusion of cultivated fields by cattle, coyotes, foxes, badgers, and other destructive animals throughout the southern California area necessitated these several protective measures. Planting of the vines was a major task of the superintendent who in January, 1858, declared his intention to fence the acreage and plant vines on each of the twenty-acre lots and the following year to plant five more acres in vines.[10] Eight acres of vines, estimated at 8, 000 vines, were planted first on each of the lots.[11] The cuttings came from vineyards in Los Angeles and Santa Ana areas. In speaking of Mr. Hansen, one contemporary said, "I remember that I supplied him some eighty thousand grape cuttings in the winter of 1858- 1859, which I obtained from the vineyards of Mr. William Wolfskill. "[12] The board of the Los Angeles Vineyard Society in November, 1857, had decided to write the Patent Office in Washington for information regarding the best grape varieties to plant for the different wines.[13] As it developed, Mission grapes were the chief variety planted, although in years to come, Muscat, Carignon, Zinfandel, Black Malvoisie, Mataro, Trousseau, Biesling, Golden Chasselas, and Fontenac (Berger) varieties were to be found in Anaheim vineyards.[14] The Mission grape, also known as the Spanish Barcelona grape, was introduced into California by padres of the order of San Francisco and held the reputation of most productive, healthy, and remunerative species to be cultivated in the state.[15] Digging an irrigation canal, dividing land into lots, constructing a fence, planting vines and fruit trees, and launching various other projects in connection with creation of a settlement required considerable personnel and equipment. The Los Angeles Star, January 30, 1858, reported that "as may be expected, Anaheim is a busy place. All is life, industry and activity." The article stated that at the time there were employed seven men, fourteen horses, and seven plows in making ditches; one man, one wagon, and two horses procuring provisions and firewood; fourteen men, fourteen wagons, and fifty-six horses in hauling fence poles; one wagon and ten horses in bringing cuttings; thirty-three men making ditches and fences; two overseers, besides cooks and miscellaneous help, making a total of eighty-eight men, ten women, eighty-four horses, seven plows, and seventeen wagons, all at a daily expense of $216. Indians were employed as laborers. The Yaquis from Mexico were satisfactory workers and could be trusted if treated well. These, however, disappeared late in 1860, and the California Indians which replaced them proved to be inefficient workers because of their general lack of dependability and ambition.[16] Chinese brought from San Francisco proved more capable, were industrious, sober, clean, and peaceful in contrast to the Indians. According to the minutes of the Los Angeles Vineyard Society of September 20, 1857, a committee was appointed to see about sending Chinese down to work for the Society, their wages to be twenty dollars per month with board and lodging. Mrs. Frohling, wife of John Frohling, wrote in her memoirs that thirty Chinese came to the colony and each was given a town lot.[17] Naming the Settlement An important item in formation of the colony was selection of its name. At a meeting of the stockholders at Leutgen's Hotel on Montgomery Street in San Francisco on January 15, 1858, the decision was made. On the first ballot, the name "Annaheim" (spelled at that time and in the minutes of the Society until March 12, 1859, with two "n's") as submitted by Theodore Schmidt polled eighteen votes, with "Annagau" second with seventeen votes, and "Weinheim" the third choice, receiving one vote. On the second ballot "Annaheim" received twenty votes and "Annagau" eighteen, the name "Annaheim" then being declared the name of the colony.[18] Distribution of the Property The colony was progressing so that the time could be foreseen when owners of shares in the Society would take occupancy of their property. In October, 1858, the directors decided to sell the fourteen building lots at $100 each, providing the purchaser of each by May 1, 1859, would put on $250 improvements. He would then get the deed to his property a year after that.[19] The building lots were distributed by a drawing on February 28, 1859. In August, 1859, it was resolved to set September 12, as the date for distribution of the twenty-acre lots to their respective owners.[21] Expenses of the settlement up to September 13, 1859, two years after purchase of the land, amounted to approximately $60,000.[22] The land itself cost $2,330. Wages paid to field laborers amounted to $20, 000. For grape cuttings $2,300 was expended; for job expenses, $1,156; transportation, $1,138; provisions, $14,500; stable, $219; smith's shop, $560; horses, $1,200; kitchen, $550; fence poles, $3,353; carpenter shop, $205; lumber and buildings, $2,200; agricultural tools, $2,500; blankets, furniture, forage, arms, fuel, legal services, medicines, and stationery, $5,459. Money had been forwarded regularly from San Francisco, where the stockholders made their payments, to the sub- treasurer in Los Angeles, in order to meet these expenses. At a stockholders meeting on September 12, the twenty-acre lots were distributed by lottery. Since the lots had been appraised at values ranging from $600 to $1, 840, with an average value of $1,400, it was resolved that those who drew lots valued at more than $1,400 must pay the difference to the board of directors by October 21, so that by November 21, those who drew lots valued less than $1,400 could be paid the difference, and after these adjustments the owners would then receive their titles.[23] The personal property of the Society was sold at public auction on November 21, 1859, on which date all workmen were discharged and owners of lots assumed their management, the cooperative character of the colony ceasing.[24] These effects of the company consisted of tools, horses, and materials that had been used in the development during formative days. Disposal of resources remaining after this sale was handled by a resolution on February 11, 1860, by the board of directors as follows: RESOLVED, that the money on hand, after retaining $650.00 for attorney fees, notary fees and other expenses that might occur before final closing of the Society's business, be distributed equally to stockholders on February 14, 1860."[25] On November 1, 1859, the certificate of incorporation of the Anaheim Water Company, the successor to the Los Angeles Vineyard Society, was discussed by the Vineyard Society shareholders. On November 2, an indenture was signed between the directors of the Society and the Los Angeles Vineyard Society to which for one dollar the directors granted rights and privileges to the land on which the colony was established and which Juan Pacifico Ontiveras had granted to Messrs. Frohling and Hansen over two years previous.[26] The certificate was filed ten days later, providing for capital stock of $20, 000, with a duration of fifty years. The number of shares of capital stock was to be fifty and the number of trustees, who were to manage the concerns of the company for the first three months after its formation, five. There could be no sale or transfer of the company stock or water-right except by conveyance of the vineyard lot to which the stock was appurtenant. The purpose of the water company was said to be for "supplying and selling water for agricultural, mechanical, and manufacturing purposes to the inhabitants of the settlement known by the name of Anaheim. "[27] The Los Angeles Vineyard Society deeded to the Anaheim Water Company for $10, 000 title to the 1,165 acres of land, the irrigation ditch to the Santa Ana River, the strip of land bordering the ditch, and privilege of bringing water from the river to the colony. In this indenture each of the fifty lots sold to the Water Company was specified as twelve chains wide and seventeen chains long and containing 20.4 acres. The following streets, three rods wide, were mentioned in the deed; Orange, Olive, Los Angeles, Lemon, Palm, Citron, West, North, Sycamore, Center, Santa Ana, and South; and East Street, four rods wide, was also included in the deed.[28] The last recorded meeting of the stockholders of the Vineyard Society was held April 30, 1860, after which the records were assigned to the Anaheim Water Company. George Hansen, superintendent of the Society, before its dissolution, received from the company he had been serving one of the twenty-acre lots-Lot G five-and a building lot-Number 17-which was eleven rods long and eight and one-half rods wide.[30] Dissatisfaction with Manager Hansen During these years of 1858 and 1859, Superintendent George Hansen and his crew had been busy developing the land, making general preparations for occupancy by the shareholders. Minutes of the Society evidenced a certain amount of disappointment during these months that the shareholders in San Francisco were not advised as fully as they would like to have been of progress in the colony. At one point it was recorded that the fourth steamer had arrived without bringing any report from Mr. Hansen.[31] There is a statement in May, 1858, that the secretary was to write Mr. Hansen suggesting that seven acres in each lot be planted in fruit trees and inquiring 32 how many acres he intended to plant in grape vines the next winter.[32] By the end of June, it was resolved by the directors of the Society not to send any further money to Los Angeles for colony development until it was asked for, and the secretary was instructed to ask again the manager for an immediate answer to questions asked in May about various aspects of the planting.[33] By July, a report from the manager had been received and the board expressed satisfaction.[34] The October 27, 1858, meeting recorded regret, however, that Mr. Hansen found it necessary to answer certain questions of the board "in such a sarcastic manner."[35] Dissatisfaction with Mr. Hansen was not temporary, and an increasing lack of harmony among the shareholders, coupled with lack of confidence in the work of Hansen, hastened division of the common property. For example, the manager had been issuing warrants directly to the treasurer in San Francisco without any explanation instead of through Mr. Felix Bachmann, sub-treasurer in Los Angeles.[36] He had also neglected to keep the shareholders informed as to progress he was making. The directors at a May, 1859, meeting resolved to request Mr. Hansen to come to San Francisco that month so that rumors that could be explained only by his personal appearance might be handled.[37] There was discord at this time because he had not sent a map of the colony which had been requested. The end of his contract was May 1, 1860, and in the previous July he was asked to present an estimate of the amount of money necessary for his work until the end of his contract.[38] It is debatable whether Mr. Hansen actually deserved all the criticism he received, for he is frequently spoken of as honest, patient, and sufficiently able to conduct the responsibility that was his. The fault for the accusations against his integrity may very well lie in the cooperative nature of the enterprise. Mr. Hansen has been said to declare "he would rather starve than conduct another such enterprise. "[39] He continued to live in Anaheim about two years after giving up his position as colony superintendent.[40] Arrival of the Colonists The first colonists arrived at San Pedro harbor from San Francisco on the ship Senator, September 12, 1859, the ship anchoring three miles out at sea. By rowboat the party was taken near shore where one Indian for each person then placed an individual on his shoulder and carried him through the water to land.[41] Included in this party were Mr. and Mrs. Philip Hammes and their two daughters, and Mr. and Mrs. Carl Rehm. (If Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Keller were not in this party, they soon followed, according to reports.) By wagon the party was then taken to their new home by way of Los Angeles, passing but one house en route from Los Angeles to Anaheim where they could rest and have refreshment.[42] There were six structures in the colony when these first settlers arrived: a store belonging to August Langenberger, the residence and office of George Hansen, Kuchel's butcher shop, an adobe lodging-house belonging to some Indians, and the new store constructed for Mr. Langenberger and Mr. Benjamin Dreyfus.[43] Barren as it must have been, a brilliant picture of the colony was painted just two months later in the Weekly Alta California of November 12, 1859: A beautiful oasis has grown up in the desert; Anaheim is an evergreen garden, brilliant with perpetual verdure and ever-blooming flowers. The climate is both temperate and semi-tropical; the heats of the south are tempered by the breezes of the cool Pacific, but never turned into frosts. The orange and date flourist in the Santa Ana valley, alongside of wheat and the grape. More settlers followed after this initial group, the steamer arriving at the harbor every two weeks, and by December 17, 1859, there were ten German families 44 in the colony. An omnibus passed through the settlement three times a week from Los Angeles. There was still no post office in November, 1859, but it was expected that an express office would soon be established. It was also anticipated that a dozen houses would be erected by the end of that year, and by 1861, Anaheim was predicted to be, after Los Angeles, the most thriving town near the coast south of Monterey.[45] As it was, there were twenty houses by the end of 1859, nine in the town proper and eleven in the adjacent vineyards, and orders had been given for building four or five others. There were then, two months after the first colonists arrived in "Campo Aleman" ("German camp" as it was termed by the natives) two stores, a blacksmith shop, a butcher shop, a tin shop, a bakery, and preparations for a saddler shop.[46] A hotel was to be completed early in the next year. Employed in the colony were seventy Chilenos, Mexicans, and Indians, who lived in tents. Some shareholders waited to occupy their property after more improvements were made and sent men down from San Francisco to occupy their lots while they were being developed. Lumber bought at wholesale was shipped from San Francisco for construction needs, and other supplies were taken by stage from Los Angeles. The price paid for lumber in January, 1860, was $55. 00 per thousand feet, and there was some difficulty in getting all that was demanded.[47] By March, 1860, the shareholders were nearly all in residence and engaged in improvements of their holdings. FOOTNOTES [1] Charles Nordhoff, The Communistic Societies of the United States (London: John Murray, 1875), p. 362. [2] Major Ben C. Truman, Semi-Tropical California (San Francisco: A.L. Bancroft and Co., 1874), p. 146. [3] William Hammond Hall, Irrigation in California (Sacramento: State Office, 1888), p. 617. [4] Sacramento Union, February 10, 1858, quoting Los Angeles Star, January 30, 1858. [5] The streets followed the same plan of conforming to the slope of the fan and thus Anaheim is not laid out by the cardinal points of the compass. [6] Los Angeles and Center were the main streets and four gates to the colony were placed at the terminals of these streets. Los Angeles gate was placed at the north and Santa Ana gate at the south end of Los Angeles Street; San Pedro gate was at the west and San Diego gate at the east end of Center Street. [7] Nordhoff, California: For Health, Pleasure, and Residence, p. 176. [8] Southern Vineyard, April 8, 1858, stated the fence was made of cottonwood, alder, and sycamore poles as well as willow poles. [9] Harris Newmark, Sixty Years in California, 1853-1913 (New York: Knickerbocker Press, 1916), p. 212. [10] L.A. Vineyard Society Minutes, January 10, 1858. Southern Vineyard, April 8, 1858, spoke of the intention to plant 8, 000 additional vines the next season, which then would make sixteen acres in vines, with four acres to be devoted to fruits or ornamental trees and gardens. [11] Charles Nordhoff, California; For Health, Pleasure, and Residence, p. 175. According to Southern Vineyard, April 8, 1858, it was expected that the planting of the 8,000 vines on each lot would be completed by the fifteenth of that month. [12] H. D. Barrows, "Two Notable Pioneers-Col. J.J. Ayers and George Hansen, " Annual Publications, Historical Society of Southern California, 4:58, 1897. William Wolfskill was a Kentucky trapper who engaged in the Missouri-Santa Fe- Chihuahua trade and later settled down in California to become a citrus and vineyard agriculturist. [13] L. A. Vineyard Society Minutes, November 26, 1857. [14] Thompson and West, History of Los Angeles County, p. 154. [15] Daily Alta California, September 28, 1865. [16] Dickson, "The Founding and Early History of Anaheim, California, " p. 30. This writer said the Yaquis were summoned home to go to war against the Mexicans. [17] Mrs. Amalie Frohling, "History of First Days in Anaheim, " 1914, MS in the Anaheim Public Library. This manuscript, written by memory when the writer was over eighty years of age, cannot be depended upon for complete accuracy. [18] L.A. Vineyard Society Minutes, January 15, 1858. The name is taken from Ana of "Santa Ana River" and "heim, " the German word for "home. " [19] L.A. Vineyard Society Minutes, October 27, 1858. [20] Ibid., February 28, 1859. [21] Ibid., August 8, 1859. [22] Southern Vineyard, December 22, 1859. Daily Alta California, September 28, 1865, quoting George Hansen's journal, reported that $65,000 was expended on the colony from September, 1857, to January 1, 1860. [23] L.A. Vineyard Society Minutes, October 10, 1859. [24] Ibid., October 10, 1859. [25] Ibid., February 14, 1860. [26] Deed from the directors of the Los Angeles Vineyard Society to the Los Angeles Vineyard Society, as recorded on December 5, 1859, in Book No. 4, Records of Deeds of Los Angeles County, pages 585 to 587, cited in Works Progress Administration Research Project No. 3105, "Anaheim Water Appeal," 1936, p. 90. [27] Certificate of Incorporation of the Anaheim Water Company, filed November 11, 1859, in the office of the Clerk of Los Angeles County, cited in "Anaheim water Appeal, " p. 74. The five trustees were George Hansen, Carl Behm, Philip Hammes, Jacob Keller, and John M. Metz. [28] Indenture dated January 2, 1860, between Los Angeles Vineyard Society and Anaheim Water Company, recorded on February 9, 1860, in Book No. 4, Records of Deeds of Los Angeles County, pages 624 to 628, cited in "Anaheim Water Appeal, " pp. 84-88. [29] The meeting on April 30, was adjourned to meet again Wednesday, May 2, but there is no record of that meeting. [30] Indenture dated January 16, 1860, between Los Angeles Vineyard Society and George Hansen, recorded on March 23, 1860, in Book No. 5, Records of Deeds of Los Angeles County, pages 20 and 21, cited in "Anaheim Water Appeal," pp. 91-92. [31] L.A. Vineyard Society Minutes, March 29, 1858. [32] Ibid., May 11, 1858. [33] Ibid., June 28, 1858. [34] Ibid., July 12, 1858. [35] Ibid., October 27, 1858. [36] Ibid., May 10, 1859. [37] Ibid., May 10, 1859. [38] Ibid., July 16, 1859. [39] "Anaheim, " The Land and Emigration Review. I (March 9, 1880), p. 19. [40] Anaheim Water Company v. Semi-Tropic Water Co., 64 Cal. 185:281. [41] Mrs. Amalie Frohling, "History of First Days in Anaheim, " MS. [42] Dickson, "The Founding and Early History of Anaheim, " p. 30. [43] Mrs. Amalie Frohling, "History of First Days in Anaheim, " MS. [44] Weekly Alta California, December 17, 1859. [45] Ibid., November 12, 1859. [46] Ibid., December 17, 1859. [47] Daily Alta California, January 4, 1860.