CHAPTER IV EARLY ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES Cultivation of grapes for the purpose of wine-making was the economic support for establishment of the German colony at Anaheim. Although other agricultural pursuits found a place in the colony, until the destruction of the vines by a mysterious disease in the last half of the 1880's, these other interests were of much less importance than were grapes. The spring of 1858, 400, 000 vines were planted, 8, 000 on each of the twenty-acre plots. The vines grew well, for as early as December, 1859, they were reported to be in general two inches thick with twigs three-fourths inches thick, and many were twelve and fourteen feet long. The main stems were a foot or fifteen inches high. Only one in twenty of the vines had died. [1] The vines were expected to produce a considerable quantity of grapes the next year. [2] The crop of autumn, 1860, was small, but in 1861, there were enough grapes to make 75,000 gallons of wine. In 1862, 125,000 gallons were produced; in 1863, 200,000 gallons; and in 1864, 300,000 gallons. [3] Anticipation was a gallon of wine for each vine planted. Actually, 600, 000 gallons were produced in 1868, and by 1884, 1,250, 000 gallons were the yield. Returns were never lower than thirty cents a gallon, and computed at that rate, income from wine-producing in Anaheim was $22,500 in 1861; $37,500 in 1862; $60,000 in 1863; and $90,000 in 1864. [4] For an investment of $65, 000 for vines plus an estimated $50, 000 for cultivation for these years, the total of $210, 000 income was good. On an individual basis, the vineyards gave their owners a clear annual income of from $250 to $1,000 above living expenses. [5] Actual costs of vineyards in Anaheim were lower than those near the center of the state. However, southern vineyards were confronted with a great disadvantage of distance from market and high cost of transportation. Boxes, packing, and freight cost of grapes from Los Angeles to San Francisco amounted to as much as five or six cents a pound for grape shipment, and casks also were expensive.[6] Grape harvest commenced about the first of September and continued for two months. Indians were the chief hired laborers, being the most available, even though not the ideal. The best Indian help came from the Pala reservation. Pay for Indians at harvest time ranged from fifty cents to a dollar and a quarter per day. Their great weakness was susceptibility to inebriation, but their docility was a compensation. Local Mexicans were also employed, and Chinese were sent down from San Francisco for labor in the vineyards. There was an influx of Chinese into Anaheim about 1870, adding not only a labor supply for the vineyards, but also a colorful oriental flabor to the colony. An Anaheim Wine Growers' Association was managed for many years by Benjamin Dreyfus, one of Anaheim's leading grape-growers and wine-makers. Dreyfus and Company manufactured both wines and brandies and also bought grapes, wines, and brandies. [7] The company had depots in San Francisco and New York. In 1879, 187, 000 gallons of wine and 15, 000 gallons of brandy were produced by this firm. Mr. Dreyfus owned 240 acres of vineyards in 1880, and about 9,000 acres of vineyard land which were for sale in Los Angeles. [8] He is said to have had 170, 000 vines at this time out of a total 914, 000 vines within the colony and immediate suburbs, with preparation for planting 400, 000 more. [9] Wineries in Anaheim numbered about fifty by 1885, eight of which would be considered important. Anaheim had become the greatest wine-producing center in California, and many spoke of Anaheim wine as among the best in the state. Agents for the Anaheim Wine Growers' Association were John F. Carr and Company of New York City, which listed in 1869 the following among the choicest of wines produced by the Anaheim Association: Rock or White Wine, Claret or Red Wine, Port, Angelica, Sherry, Santa Ana, Muscatel, Sparkling Angelica, Eureka Champagne, Grape Brandy, and Wine Bitters. [10] The vineyards were affected by certain pests and natural phenomena. Hares, squirrels, and gophers inhabited vacant areas and ate near-by vines. [11] A flood in 1861-1862, when water was four feet deep in the streets, deposited layers of deep sand over the vineyards. [12] A severe drought imperiled crops from 1862-1865, and although the good irrigation system kept the land green, protection against invading thirsty cattle which threatened to trample the vineyards demanded much attention. The menace of cattle became too great for the willow fence, and a mounted guard had to be placed outside the willow enclosures. [13] Grasshoppers were also destructive during this dry period. Frosts in 1872 and 1873 reduced the yield of wine to 300, 000 gallons compared with the average of 700, 000 to 800, 000 gallons. Vine Disease The greatest and final catastrophe came at the peak of the grape economy when Anaheim had achieved recognition as California's leading wine-producing community. A mysterious disease struck the vines and began to kill them. Record of evidence of the disease is found as early as 1882, but 1884 is the date accepted as that when the fatal disease first became prevalent. [14] The Anaheim Gazette reported on October 24, 1885, that the vineyards were in their last stages, although it was stated that the yield that season had been much more satisfactory than anticipated. Over six tons to the acre were said to have come from the vineyards of Dreyfus and Company that year. [15] A call for all grape-growers to meet to discuss the disease was published in the Gazette in July, 1886, and from the meeting which was convened, proceedings of the discussion of the disease were published, which was the first public acknowledgment of the impending disaster. A branch of the State Viticultural Society was organized, and two of the grape-growers were appointed to correspond with Professor Eugene W. Hilgard of the University of California regarding the disease. Evidences of the disease appeared first on the foliage of the vine, but by the second season a reduced growth of cane was apparent. [16] Some varieties were more resistant than others, but no variety completely withstood attack. The Mission vine, which was most predominant in Anaheim, was easily affected and first to be killed. Wine grapes were hit before raisin varieties. "So marked was the destruction of the wine grapes and the apparent immunity of the raisin grapes that many regarded the disease as a judgment on the wine traffic. " [17] The effects of the disease were disastrous to the economy of the community. Before 1885, for example, the Dreyfus vineyard had produced ten tons of grapes to the acre; in 1885, the production dwindled to six tons; and in 1886, one wagon load of grapes was harvested from eighteen acres of vines. [18] The new Dreyfus winery had just been completed at a cost of $40,000. By 1891, government reports showed only fourteen acres of Carignon, Mission, and Muscat varieties left. [19] Pursuits Other Than Viticulture The end of a viticultural economy did not mean termination of all agricultural endeavors in Anaheim. Although grapes had been the chief product, other items were being grown successfully. Oranges had been a profitable crop for several years, output in 1888-1889 being some one hundred carloads, with an even larger harvest expected the next year. [20] It was principally to oranges that agriculturists of the settlement turned after the grape destruction. Walnuts were also grown for commercial purposes. To a lesser extent for export, but more for domestic use, were lemons, limes, apricots, apples, pears, peaches, plums, quince, olives, nectarines, figs, and pomegranates, all grown in Anaheim. In 1870, it was estimated there were 10, 000 fruit trees of various kinds in the community. [21] Vegetables of all kinds, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, corn, barley, wheat (chiefly of the Odessa variety), rye, oats, flax, castor beans, potatoes, sugar cane, and sugar beets were all part of the Anaheim agricultural economy. Livestock was also raised: sheep, cows, hogs, and poultry. Anaheim, although this may have been a statement intended for publicity purposes chiefly, was said to be the best farming and fruit-growing locality in the state. [22] Anaheim also had a coal mine at one time. In the hills fourteen miles east of the community was the Black Star Coal mine, owned and controlled by residents of Anaheim. Coal was sold in the town at eight dollars per ton. [23] The coal, tested by the Southern Pacific Railway Company on a trial from Los Angeles to Yuma, was found to be satisfactory for use of locomotives and stationary engines. Silver ledges, gold, and tin mines were also in the hills to the east. To the north there were said to be deposits of asphaltum, gypsum, and bituminous coal. [24] An ostrich farm also made its way into the economy of Anaheim when in April, 1883, twenty-two ostriches were imported direct from South Africa and located six miles west of the town in the Centralia district. [25] Transportation To transport products of Anaheim to market was a major problem. Roads in the early days were little more than wagon trails and did not allow for rapid transportation. Rivers had to be forded for lack of bridges, and there was constant danger from bandits. There was a stage carrying mail and express which passed through the colony every Tuesday from San Francisco and Los Angeles to San Diego, returning through on Saturday. There was also passenger and express service to and from San Pedro, thirty-five miles distant, on the arrival and departure of the steamer from San Francisco. [26] This service, however, was far from adequate for shipment of viticultural produce to the main Pacific Coast port, San Francisco. Ocean travel was the only expedient means of transportation from the southern coast to the metropolis of the north. It was essential that Anaheim have a seaport, not only as a point of embarkation for products being sent to market, but also as a receiving point for goods and materials needed for the course of living in the colony. It was very shortly after the first residents arrived at their Anaheim homes that search for a near seaport began. In the January 4, 1860, edition of the Daily Alta California, complaint was registered in a letter from an Anaheim resident of having to trade at San Pedro. "Some of our citizens are going down soon to the beach-only ten miles distant-to see whether we cannot have a port of our own. " At one time in the quest for a port closer than San Pedro, a site fifteen miles east of the colony was examined. This location was sixty miles from San Bernardino, twenty miles from San Juan Capistrano, and thirty-five miles from El Monte. [27] There was an estuary here of one-half mile which entered into the land for a distance of eight or ten miles. A sand spit half a mile wide ran parallel with the shore at this point. Water inside the spit and in the estuary was about twenty feet deep. A chart was made of this location and displayed in the store of J. P. Zeyn and Co. in Anaheim, and it was agreed that the Superintendent of Coast Survey should be asked to have the place examined. It was rumored that silver mines were discovered between Anaheim and San Juan Capistrano, and an agent of a company of miners who wanted to send machinery for crushing and amalgamating auriferous quartz in Bear Valley in San Bernardino County also examined this prospective port to see whether machinery could be landed there. [28] The Los Angeles Star on February 23, 1861, mentioned that a project for a landing on the coast about twenty miles from Anaheim was temporarily given up, but not abandoned, "as the trade to the tin mines, San Bernardino, etc. may yet render it necessary." It is possible that this is the same location as that stated above as fifteen miles from the settlement. A site for Anaheim's port was ultimately selected in October, 1864, on the ocean twelve miles south of the town. The Anaheim Lighter Company was formed in the early sixties by citizens of the community for the purpose of financing this port. Each member of the company was assessed to build a wharf, warehouse, and lighter at the harbor which was named Anaheim Landing. [29] Three lighters of eighty-ton capacity each were taken by cable to and from the steamers which called at the port, one end of the cable being fastened at the warehouse and the other anchored near where the steamer would stop. Eight or ten men pulled the cable. Depth at the port was seven feet in the slough at low tide. A hard, level road was built across the twelve miles to the Landing. At last a shipping point for wine, corn, wool, and other products not only from Anaheim but also from the neighboring country was established. Freight was landed at this port for points as far distant as Salt Lake City, being taken by wagon team to San Bernardino and by pack mules from there to Salt Lake City. A record from the year 1872 shows that thirty or forty teams were making the trip daily from the Landing to Anaheim, and one day's report mentioned seventy teams. Usually two coast steamers stopped at the Landing each week. Anaheim Landing served Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Arizona, as well as Anaheim, for many years, but never achieved a major seaport name for itself. The Lighter Company was terminated with the coming of the railroads to Anaheim. The Southern Pacific Railway came to Anaheim with a branch in January, 1875, its terminus there for nearly two years before it extended to Santa Ana. The community had wanted a railroad for many years, so when the Southern Pacific constructed this branch, there was great rejoicing. The editor of the Anaheim Gazette in relating the advent of the railroad wrote: ... there is assured a paradise of wealth and refinement in Southern California. All praise to God, who, after years of frowning, smiled upon our land with an exceedingly gracious smile. [31] Santa Fe built its road into Anaheim in 1887, and as a result of its depot being some distance out of town, the boom hotel, Hotel del Campo, was built and a streetcar company organized with a track down Center Street connecting the stations of the two railroads. Irrigation Just as Anaheim needed a port, it needed an irrigation system, for without irrigation there could not have been an agricultural colony at Anaheim. The colony site near the Santa Ana River was selected because of proximity of water. Procurement of water from the Santa Ana was of vital importance in the early days and continued to be important for many years in the life of Anaheim, until the population of the Santa Ana Valley became greater than the river could adequately supply. [32] As stated previously, in 1860, the Anaheim Water Company assumed ownership of the ditches and water rights originally belonging to the Los Angeles Vineyard Society and was incorporated with $20,000 capital stock. The first ditch built in 1857, tapped the river about six miles above the colony site. A fifteen-mile ditch was completed in 1878, by the Cajon Irrigation Company which was formed to irrigate sections north and east of Anaheim in the Placentia and Fuller-ton areas. This ditch which reached the river at Bed-Rock Canyon was three feet deep and eight feet wide and cost about $100, 000. [33] The Anaheim Water Company that same year bought a half interest in this ditch for $20,000 and increased its capital stock to $50,000 with 500 shares. In March, 1879, construction of a flume, 6,970 feet long to connect the Cajon canal with the Anaheim canal was made. [34] That year the capital stock of the Anaheim Water Company was increased to $90,000. Stock of the Anaheim Water Company in 1880 was divided into 3,000 shares representing one acre each. Only 2,000 of these shares were in the market, 1,000 being reserved until a sufficiency of water should be assured beyond possibility of failure. Par value of the stock at that time was eight dollars per share, but this price was constantly being increased by the annual assessments which were charged up pro rata against the unsold stock. There were then about 1,600 shares sold, and about four hundred yet offered for sale. [35] No speculation in stock of the Water Company was allowed, only owners of land being allowed to purchase it. It could be transferred from one piece of land to another. When assessments were not paid, stock of the individual was advertised and sold at public auction, anyone, whether owning land or not, being eligible to purchase it. [36] The North Anaheim Canal Company and the Farmers' Ditch Company were established or reorganized in 1882, and with the Anaheim Water Company and the Cajon Irrigation Company consolidated in 1884 under the name of Anaheim Union Water Company with a capital stock of $1,200, 000. [37] For domestic purposes, privately owned wells, giving out in dry seasons, supplied water for the Anaheim colony until 1879, when an artesian well 103 feet deep was sunk. Water from this well was forced by a six horse-power engine up into a tank of 22,000 gallon capacity thirty feet high and distributed throughout the colony by means of a pipe line laid along the principal street. A tax levied upon those inhabitants partaking of water from the well carried its expenses. [38] The Anaheim Water Company was engaged in a lawsuit in 1880 when it brought suit against the Semi-Tropic Water Company to prevent that company from taking water from the river and diverting it to uses of the land on the south side of the river. [39] Don Juan Warner, an early pioneer testified that he saw Don Bernardo Yorba, grantee of Rancho Canon de Santa Ana, with his men, irrigating lands on the south side of the Santa Ana River in 1831. Anaheim Water Company lost its case with this testimony. [40] FOOTNOTES [1] Weekly Alta California, December 17, 1859. [2] Southern Vineyard, December 22, 1859. [3]Daily Alta California, September 28, 1865. [4] Ibid. [5] "Anaheim," The Land and Emigration Review, p. 18. [6] Bancroft Scraps, "Los Angeles County, " p. 29. [7] Wine is defined in Webster's New International Dictionary as fermented juice of grapes, while brandy is said to be a spirituous liquor distilled from wine. [8] Thompson and West, History of Los Angeles County, p. 154. [9] San Francisco Chronicle, December 19, 1879. [10] John F. Carr, Anaheim; Its People and Its Products (New York: John F. Carr and Co., 1869), p. 5. This pamphlet is in the Bancroft Library collection "Wines and Viniculture in California. " Each of these varieties of wine in listing was preceded by the word "Anaheim. " [11] John S. Hittell, The Resources of California (San Francisco: A Roman and Co., 1869), p. 418. [12] Newmark, Sixty Years in California, p. 309. [13] Ibid., p. 329. [14] Newton B. Pierce, The California Vine Disease, U.S. Department of Agriculture Division of Vegetable Pathology Bulletin No. 2 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1892), pp. 62-63. [15] The Los Angeles Times, January 1, 1886, mentioned that 500 acres of vines were set out in the year just passed and twenty-five new wineries were built, illustrating that prediction of disaster was not accepted by all. [16] Newton B. Pierce, Grape Diseases on the Pacific Coast, Farmer's Bulletin No. 30 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1895), p. 8. [17] Ibid. [18] Raup, German Colonization of Anaheim, p. 136. [19] Raup, Ibid., p. 136. [20] The Gazette, April 17, 1880, mentioned as a possible future industry of Anaheim the making of orange wine from surplus oranges expected in a few years when production would exceed demand. [21] Mary Cone, Two Years in California (Chicago: S.C. Griggs and Co., 1876), p. 70. [22] Richard Melrose, editor, Anaheim; The Garden Spot of California (Anaheim, California: Anaheim Gazette Job Print, 1879), pp. 3-6. [23] Ibid., p. 13. [24] Bancroft Scraps, "Agriculture," vol. 19, p. 748. [25] Anaheim Immigration Association, Anaheim Southern California (Anaheim, California: Anaheim Gazette Job Print, 1885), p. 20. Lucile Dickson in her article, "The Founding and Early History of Anaheim, California" gives 1875 as the year the ostrich farm was begun, stating in 1878, the ostriches were moved to Placentia. [26] Bancroft Scraps, "Los Angeles County, " p. 29. The date accompanying the article is 1862. [27] Bancroft Scraps, "Los Angeles County, " p. 29. No date is given, but it was undoubtedly before 1864 when the port problem was solved by Anaheim Landing. [28] Bancroft Scraps, "Los Angeles County, " p. 28. No date. [29] Dickson, "The Founding and Early History of Anaheim, " pp. 31-32. Frederick Schneider was president of the company, a Mr. Halberstadt, superintendent, and Max Nebelung, freight clerk. [30] Dickson, "The Founding and Early History of Anaheim, " p. 32. [31] Quoted in Robert G. Cleland, The Irving Ranch of Orange County (San Marino, California: Huntington Library, 1952), p. 98. [32] The Los Angeles Star, January 30, 1858, stated in an editorial that at one-third cubic feet of water for each square foot of land, it would require 8, 712, 000 cubic feet of water to irrigate 1,000 acres in Anaheim. Only in periods of heavy rains has the Santa Ana in recent years had any water in it. [33] Thompson and West, History of Los Angeles County, p. 151. [34] Hall, Irrigation in California, p. 618. [35] Thompson and West, History of Los Angeles County, pp. 151-52. [36] Ibid., p. 156. [37] Samuel Armor, History of Orange County, California (Los Angeles: Historic Record Co., 1921), p. 49. The Anaheim Union Water Company is still in existence today, supplying residents and ranchers in the vicinity with water. [38] Adalina Pleasants, History of Orange County, California (Los Angeles: J.R. Finnell and Sons Publishing Co., 1931), I, 339. There were four artesian wells in the township in 1880, according to Thompson and West, History of Los Angeles County, p. 152. [39] Anaheim Water Company v. Semi-Tropic Water Co., 64 Cal. 185. [40] Orange County Historical Society, Orange County History Series (Santa Ana, California: High School and Junior College Press, 1931-1939), II, 87.