Riverside County CA Archives History - Books .....The Colony Days 1912 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/copyright.htm http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/ca/cafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com March 2, 2006, 9:00 pm Book Title: History Of Riverside County California CHAPTER II. THE COLONY DAYS By E. W.Holmes There are few among the thousands now resident in Riverside who can fully realize the marvelous change which forty years have wrought. The treeless plain, with its frame of encircling hills, rocky and barren, and only briefly beautiful when the rains and sunshine of early springtime had awakened to life the dormant native flowers and grasses, is now perennially beautiful with its wealth of orchard and vineyard and clover fields, amid which hundreds of miles of fine shaded avenues, dustless and smooth, converge upon a business center, where tasteful public and private buildings serve all the needs of modern urban life and furnish in an exceptional degree the most desirable features of both town and country life. When the little party of pioneers came to this coast in 1870, for the purpose of selecting a site upon which to locate a colony, only a single railway line had been built across the continent, with its terminus at San Francisco. From that point the only easy means of reaching the southern part of the state was by the little coast steamers, and even these could not enter the shallow harbor at Wilmington, and passengers and freight were taken ashore in lighters. Los Angeles at that time was a half-Mexican pueblo of a few thousand inhabitants, and Santa Barbara and San Diego the only other towns worthy of notice. San Bernardino, originally settled by the Mormons, was an insignificant village, and the Germans had but just started a little vine-growing colony at Anaheim. The credit of organizing the idea, out of which grew the colony and city of Riverside, belongs to Hon. J. W. North. He was a man of restless energy and fine ability, who had previously founded the city of Northfield, Minn. During the Civil war he served as associate justice of the territory of Nevada. The document appointing him to this position is signed "A. Lincoln," in the great president's well-known handwriting, and this long adorned the walls of the law office of his son, the late John G. North, and is highly prized by the surviving grandchildren. While living in Knoxville, Tenn., Judge North conceived the idea of getting up a colony of people of means and intelligence to engage in semi-tropical fruit growing in Southern California. On the 17th day of March, 1870, he issued his first prospectus calling attention to his project. In this circular he stated that in connection with personal friends he was engaged in organizing a colony for settlement in Southern California, on or near the line of the projected Southern Pacific railroad. The following extracts will indicate the character of the original plan: "Appreciating," it says, "the advantages of associated settlement, we aim to secure at least one hundred good families, who can invest $1,000 each in the purchase of land; while at the same time we earnestly invite all good, industrious people to join us, who can, by investing a smaller amount, contribute in any degree to the general prosperity. We do not expect to buy as much land for the same money in Southern California as we could obtain in the remote parts of Colorado or Wyoming; but we expect it w ill be worth more in proportion to cost, than any other land we could purchase within the United States. It will cost something more to get to California than it would to reach the states this side of the mountains; but we are very confident that the superior advantages of soil and climate will compensate us many times over for this increased expense. Experience has demonstrated that $100 invested in a colony is worth $1,000 invested in an isolated locality. "We wish to form a colony of intelligent, industrious and enterprising people, so that each one's industry will help to promote his neighbor's interests as well as his own. It is desirable, if possible, that every one shall be consulted in regard to location and purchase; but since those who will compose the colony are now scattered from Maine to Texas, and from Georgia to Minnesota and Nevada, this seems next to impossible. For this reason it is proposed that some men of large means, who are interested in the enterprise, shall, in connection with as many as can conveniently act with them, select and purchase land sufficient for a colony of 10,000 persons. Let this be subdivided and sold to the subscribers at the lowest figure practicable, after paying the expenses of purchase and subdivision. We hope in this way to arrange it so that each individual shall receive his title when he pays his money and commences in good faith to improve his property. It is also proposed to lay out a town in a convenient locality, so that as many of the subscribers as possible can reside in the town and enjoy all the advantages which a first-class town affords. We expect to have schools, churches, lyceum, public library, reading-room, etc., at a very early day, and we invite such people to join our colony as will esteem it a privilege to build them. "Many who wish to join the colony have not the money in hand to defray traveling expenses and pay the full price of the land at once. We hope to make arrangements for the accommodation of all such, so that they can pay part down, and balance in yearly installments with interest. Each subscriber will be allowed to purchase 160 acres of farming land and two town lots—or a less amount if desired. It is expected that every subscriber will reside upon and improve his property within one year of the time of subscribing, otherwise he will lose his rights as a member of the colony. We hope to make up a party of subscribers to visit California in May next and determine on a location, and it is desirable that subscribers should be well represented in that party." Dr. James P. Greves, one of the most prominent among the pioneer colonists, and for many years the popular postmaster of the town he had done so much towards creating, published in 1883 the following story of the search for a location: "In April, 1870, J. W. North, E. G. Brown, A. J. Twogood, the late Dr. Eastman and myself came from the east to Los Angeles for the purpose of securing a tract of land where a colony of eastern friends might find a home, —first, as a healthful resort, and second, for the raising of semi-tropical fruits. Some four months were expended in endeavoring to secure a suitable tract in Los Angeles county, but without success— mainly for the reason that an abundant supply of water could not be insured. Finally, Judge North was inclined to purchase the tract known as the San Pasqual ranch (now Pasadena), containing some 1,700 acres. With this object in view, the Judge went to San Francisco to make arrangements for the purchase of that tract. Soon after Thomas W. Cover called on Mr. Brown and myself and expressed a wish that we would examine a tract of land in San Bernardino county, owned by himself and others, which had been purchased in 1869 for the purpose of establishing a silk culture colony. The death of the man selected as manager had compelled them to give up the project, and now they were desirous of selling the property. Mr. Cover urged us to examine the tract before we made a final purchase. To us, at that time, it seemed located too far inland for our use, and we declined. Mr. Cover then offered to take us to the tract free of expense. As we were temporarily at leisure, and wished to see more of Southern California, we accepted his offer. As soon as we visited this spot we were convinced as to its great value for the purpose we had in view, and immediately addressed a note to Judge North at San Francisco requesting him to make no purchase until he could personally inspect this tract. He followed our request by viewing the property, and negotiations commenced for the purchase of the same, which was completed September 14, 1870. A. J. Twogood and Dr. Eastman had in the meantime returned to their eastern homes, leaving only Judge North, Mr. Brown and myself. Dr. K. D. Shugart did not arrive until August, I think. Mr. Brown and myself visited the spot on the 24th of June, 1870. Judge North and myself first originated the idea of a colony in Knoxville, Tenn., and the Judge issued a circular inviting others to join in the enterprise." The land selected consisted of 8,735 acres, being the Rubidoux rancho, and the eastern end of the great Jurupa, or Stearns' rancho. The purchase price was about $3 per acre. The broad plains thus purchased for the use of the "Southern California Colony Association," as the company was named, was entirely destitute of trees, houses or improvements of any kind, except on the bottom lands of the Santa Ana river, which ran through the Rubidoux rancho, and which was covered with willows, tules and occasional clumps of Cottonwood trees. But this bare plain was not a desert, as it has been so often called. The soil was rich and produced luxurious grasses whenever there was rainfall enough to bring them up. All the soil needed was water, and this it was now to have. Among those who came to Riverside as settlers in its colony days—between 1870 and 1875—was James H. Roe, the full details of whose life will be found in the biographical department of this volume. He was a gentleman of versatile tastes, with a gift for literary work which led him to start the first successful newspaper in the settlement. Being familiar with the men and the work of those early days, and feeling the importance of having a record kept of those times, he gathered considerable data with the intention of writing a history of Riverside. Ill health and finally death prevented the carrying out of his plans, but the writer has been allowed the use of his record in preparing this chapter regarding the colony days. Mr. Roe says that almost immediately after Judge North completed the purchase of the first 6,000 acres he moved upon the ground, accompanied or shortly followed by E. G. Brown, Dr. Greves, Dr. Eastman, Thomas W. Cover, D. C. and A. J. Twogood, L. C. Waite, T. J. Wood, J. W. Linville, David Meacham, S. O. Lovell and "Dick" Reeves. Many of these were accompanied by their families. The man who furnished the principal part of the money needed for the purchase of the colony lands and the construction of the first irrigating canal was Hon. C. N. Felton, a wealthy California gentleman. The company was organized in 1870, and its stockholders were: J. W. North, C. N. Felton, James P. Greves, Sanford Eastman, John C. Brodhurst, G. J. Clark, T. W. Cover, H. Hamilton, M. W. (or Barbara) Childs, J. H. Stewart, Dudley Pine, W. J. Linville and K. D. Shugart. The officers were: President, J. W. North; secretary, J. P. Greves; treasurer, K. D. Shugart; superintendent of canals, T. W. Cover. The land was surveyed by Goldsworthy and Higbie, including the government section east and south of the company lands. In April, 1871, the name "Riverside" was selected by the association as the name for the new town. Hon. C. N. Felton, or his agent, selected this name. Dr. Shugart suggested "Joppa," doubtless because fine oranges were grown there. It had already been dubbed "New Colony" and "Jurupa"—in fact, "Jurupa" had been mentioned by the company in its articles of incorporation, as its principal place of business. "But," comments Mr. Roe, "Riverside it was to be, and although a bit prosaic, it has answered very well up to date." The land around Riverside was not all inhabited at that time. Along the borders of the Santa Ana settlers had lived for some years. Cornelius Jensen was one of these. He was a man of intelligence and energy, who with his family lived in comfort and affluence within a mile of the new settlement for many years before it came into existence, serving several terms as a supervisor of San Bernardino county. Old Louis Rubidoux was another conspicuous citizen whose descendants still live among us in the county. Moses Daley was another, who lived in the old adobe ranch house, the ruins of which still exist on the north of the county road west of the river. Arthur Parks, William Bensted, Joshua and James Casteel and doubtless others had homes along the banks of the Santa Ana river. In an address delivered before an "Old Settlers' Meeting" on the 19th of April, 1897, the late S. C. Evans gave some interesting facts regarding the steps by which the various tracts of ranch and government land in the valley came under the control of the Riverside Land and Irrigating Company, of which he was the president, and which subsequently were incorporated as the city of Riverside. He says: "About the year 1842 Bandini and B. D. Wilson, with about twenty families from New Mexico, settled upon the Jurupa grant, and Bandini through Wilson made a gift conveyance to the New Mexicans of all that part of the Jurupa rancho north of the Rubidoux rancho, in consideration of services to be rendered by said New Mexicans in protecting the rancho from the incursions of the Indians. Many of the descendants of these New Mexicans still occupy the tract so set apart, which is known as " Agua Mansa" settlement; among them are the Bustamento, Trujillo, Moya, Garcia, Alvarado, Archuletta, Baca, Artensio and other families. "On the 6th of May, 1843, Juan Bandini conveyed to B. D. Wilson for the sum of $1,000 about one and a half leagues of land, now known as the Rubidoux rancho. In 1844 Wilson conveyed this to Capt. James Johnson and Col. Isaac Williams, and in 1847 Johnson and Williams sold this to Louis Rubidoux. Mr. Rubidoux occupied and improved the ranch until his death in 1869, and many of his children and grandchildren still reside in and around Riverside. "At the close of the Mexican war, in 1848, the United States maintained a garrison of soldiers, two hundred in number, at Jurupa, for something like eight years, to protect the early settlers from the incursions of the Utah Indians. "In 1859 Bandini conveyed the remainder of the Jurupa rancho to Abel Stearns, and some ten years later the latter deeded his portion of the rancho to the Los Angeles Land Company, Alfred Robinson, trustee. The California Silk Centre Association then came into possession of 3169 acres of this land, as well as the Rubidoux rancho and some 1500 acres of the Hartshorn tract adjoining it. All of this territory became the property of the Southern California Colony Association, organized by Judge North and his associates. The first irrigating canal was commenced October 1, 1870, and completed so far as to deliver water for domestic and irrigating purposes in July, 1871. It cost $60,000. It tapped the Santa Ana river near the Colt on bridge, and is known as the upper canal of the Riverside Water Company. In 1874 the Colony Association purchased the oldest water right in Warm creek (a stream rising in the San Bernardino valley, and furnishing the principal supply of water for the Santa Ana river) to obtain water for a new canal to be constructed through the government land situated east of the company's tract." In June, 1874, S. C. Evans and Capt. W. T. Sayward became the owners, by purchase, of 8600 acres of land known as the Hartshorn tract. This is the territory south of Arlington avenue, upon which the now famous Magnolia and Victoria avenues and the beautiful section known as Arlington are located. Soon afterwards they commenced the construction of what is now called the lower canal to supply the newly purchased territory with water. At this stage of development Mr. Evans organized the Riverside Land and Irrigating Company, and purchased the lands and water rights of the Southern California Colony Association. They also purchased the Hartshorn tract and the land belonging to the Tin Company, thus consolidating under one corporation the whole of the land and water interests of the Riverside valley. They then undertook the perfecting of the grand water system which has been the foundation of the valley's prosperity, and immediately put their lands on the market. The business portion of the settlement was originally laid out in a square, one mile across, and contained one hundred and sixty-nine blocks of two and one-half acres each. These blocks were divided into lots, and the whole blocks first put upon the market at $300 each, but owing to the slow sale were finally offered at $200 each. Even in 1874, during a dull time, they were sold as low as $250. In the address from which we have quoted the above Mr. Evans says, in regard to the acreage property adjoining the village, that it was placed upon the market in 1871 at $20 and $25 an acre for the choicest locations, and that the same lands, with water facilities and improvements in the way of orchards and vineyards, were selling in 1897 at from $1,000 to $3,000 per acre; while the village blocks which sold in 1871 at from $200 to $400 each were being sold twenty-five years later at from $10,000 to $20,000, according to location. To-day, it is proper to add, single lots in these city blocks are considered a good investment at prices equal to the average amount paid fifteen years ago for an entire city block. The prophecy of Judge North in his original circular that lands in his colony would sell for $1,000 an acre have thus been more than realized, but not in five years, as he so confidently anticipated. It took fifteen to reach that figure, but in recent years the results have far exceeded his most sanguine hopes. The block bounded by Main and Market and Seventh and Eighth streets was originally laid out as a "plaza" or park, after the Mexican fashion, but this was finally sold for business purposes and the land where White park is now located was given to the public in exchanged This change was made when B. D. Burt refused to locate and build the first brick store building unless he should be allowed to erect it upon the plaza, at the corner of Eighth and Main streets. It was in October, 1870, that Thomas W. Cover (whose mysterious disappearance fifteen years later, when in search of a reputed gold mine upon the desert, excited so much speculation and sympathy) began the construction of the first canals which were to provide water in generous quantity to insure the development of the great valley. After many vexatious delays this work was completed. In the meantime Messrs. Shugart, Waite, North, D. C. and A. J. Two-good and others had planted orange and other trees in the spring, and had to haul water from the river, a mile away, for several months, to keep them alive. A. R. Smith divided his time during this season between furnishing the people with meat and hauling that still more necessary article, water, for which he received twenty-five cents a barrel. On the arrival of the water in the canal a little jubilee was held by the settlers. The first water used was upon the block where the Santa Fe station stands. It reached that point late in the afternoon, and two young men who later became prominent citizens, J. G. North and W. P. Russell, rolled up their trousers and spent the entire night barefooted in flooding the block. The first canal ran along on about the easterly limit of the company's land, where the Santa Fe railroad tracks were afterwards located. For years there were but three or four houses above or east of this canal. On the south the border of the colony was at Jurupa avenue. South of that were three sections of government land, one of which was within the lines of the Southern Pacific railroad grant. Palm avenue, one mile in length, marks the width of this government tract. Settlers soon settled upon this land, and, since it had not been surveyed, occupied it as "squatters." It was, however, carefully surveyed by the company's engineers, and the canal continued to its easterly border. Upon the construction of their own ditches by the government settlers, and connection being made with the main canal, the company furnished the settlers with water at first upon the same terms as were given those who purchased the company's lands. This liberality ultimately led to serious contention and expensive litigation between the settlers and the Land and Irrigation Company, which, some five years later, purchased all the unsold lands and water rights, of the original colony. It was natural that the men who had furnished the capital with which to build canals and maintain them should feel that they had a right to require higher rates for water delivered to those who had not purchased land nor water stock than of those who had. The fact, however, that the government settlers had been allowed to use the water for years, aided by legislation secured in their behalf, strengthened their position. But the bitter contest over this matter proved a serious bar to the valley's growth, and an amicable adjustment of the differences was finally reached. Many of the settlers ultimately purchased water stock, and from that time on the development and growth of the valley was assured. The plans of the original company included three main canals, of which the one actually built was to be the lowest. The second was completed for some miles by Mr. Cover, and the evidences of his work were visible for many years on the mesa where are now the groves and business centre of Highgrove. There was no need of this canal at that time, and in fact no water then available with which to fill it; and when the effort to obtain water was found to involve excessive cost the work was abandoned. A list of the pioneer settlers and a recital of their experiences in home building in a locality which has since become famous, although necessarily incomplete, seems a proper part of this history, even though much of the matter is personal and comparatively unimportant. The first building erected in Riverside was the Company's temporary office, built in September, 1870, a board and batten affair. It stood within a few feet of where, in January, 1871, Judge North built himself what in time became a cosy, vine-covered home, where the settlers often gathered for social enjoyment. These buildings occupied the land between the present Santa Fe and Salt Lake railroad stations. T. J. Wood's house, which is still to be seen on the north side of Seventh street, near the corner of Vine, was probably the second building erected in the colony. David Meacham immediately after built a dwelling on the spot where the Salt Lake grounds are now located. Rev. I. W. Atherton, the first minister who settled here, and who for some time had charge of the church which later organized as the First Congregational, built himself a dwelling on Fourteenth street, at the end of Main. This building was burned in January, 1873. Mr. Roe is authority for the statement that the citizens generously contributed $800 to enable him to rebuild. Considering the small number of colonists at that time such liberal action was remarkable. Later he traded his new house for the one built by Mr. Meacham on Seventh street, and this was known as the "Atherton house" years after the pioneer clergyman had left Riverside. During this first year A. R. Smith erected a meat market and restaurant, with living rooms adjoining, on or near the site of the Dickson Block on Main street, and his family occupied it in December. On the 31st of March, 1871, there was born to this family a daughter, Jessie Riverside Smith, the first white child born within the limits of the original colony. There was, however, a previous birth in the valley. Capt. John Brodhurst occupied a government claim on the dry land above the canal, which in recent years has been known as the Keyes tract, and on December 6, 1870, his wife gave birth to a daughter. The Brodhurst house and the D. C. Twogood house—also first located on the "dry side"—were among the earliest buildings constructed. In 1871, finding that there was no prospect of getting irrigating water from the second canal, the Brodhursts moved to town, building upon the block where the Salt Lake freight depot now stands. For the same reason Mr. Twogood, in 1872, moved his house and nurseries to the corner of Prospect and Olivewood avenues. In recent years Mr. Twogood sold this place and built himself another house on the opposite corner, where he now resides. Dr. K. D. Shugart finished his house on the corner of Ninth and Mulberry streets in January, 1871. This is the property now owned by Mrs. Maynard. When the new home was ready for occupancy he brought his family down from San Bernardino, where they had been staying for a few months. L. C. Waite came with the Shugarts, taking up a government claim at the corner of Centre street and South Brockton avenue, which he subsequently sold to Edwin Hart. A little cabin was built by a man named Crow, who squatted upon the government land which later came into the possession of E. G. Brown. In this rough shelter Mr. and Mrs. D. C. Twogood lived while their own house was being built. Mrs. Twogood, the first woman resident of Riverside, in later times told many interesting stories of the hardships of those first years, but often declared that she was never happier than when pioneering in this makeshift hut, being full of hope and the inspiration of beginning a new enterprise under such strange surroundings. E. G. Brown built his first house on Colton avenue, on the site of the popular resort known as The Anchorage. Here, when time and labor had transformed the barren looking land into a very bower of flower and foliage the spot was made the center of attraction for the increasing tide of winter visitors. Mr. Brown's family joined him in the summer of 1872. George Fish built a house on Vine street about this time, and a Mr. Ross built on Seventh street the little cottage which, later, when it had become so absolutely covered with a luxuriant growth of roses as to attract the admiring notice of the picture makers-became the property of Rev. Dr. George H. Deere, who made it his home in the first years of his life in Riverside. Dr. Sanford Eastman's family came in 1872, but he did not build his home on Dewey avenue until the beginning of 1873. A. J. Twogood, after helping to locate the colony, returned to Iowa and brought out his family in June, 1871, and resided with D. C. Twogood for a year or two. It was not until the spring of '73 that he built a house for himself, under the shadow of old Pachappa. He had bought the forty acres from M. F. Bixler for $400, and upon this erected one of the most comfortable homes on the "lower plain." This place he made the first of the highly productive groves of the valley, ultimately selling at a handsome figure to James Hewitson, and afterward making his home in town. William P. Russell came up from San Diego in February, 1871, "footing it" with a companion all the way. His uncle, P. S. Russell, who was "Uncle Prior" to many of that name who were among the earlier settlers, did not come until the following year. It was the latter gentleman who started one of the first nurseries in the colony, the other being that of G. D. Carlton. These were located in the neighborhood of what is now Russell street, and it was from these that the larger part of the seedling orange trees were obtained in the boom years of 1876-7. Charles E. Packard built a house on Brockton avenue, about where Homewood place is now located. It was subsequently owned and occupied by Capt. B. B. Handy, and later still by C. A. Tinker. Early in 1871 the small dwelling long known as the Pink house was built by Mrs. Estudillo on the site of the present electric light plant. She was a daughter of Louis Rubidoux and mother of Senator Miguel Estudillo. She does not appear to have lived in the house herself, but stimulated by the company's offer of a free lot to any one building within a certain time, she built it as a speculation. Soon after Mrs. Rogers, a widow with two children, opened the first school in Riverside in this house, and taught for three months. The building was afterwards temporarily occupied by G. W. Garcelon, Edwin Caldwell, John Thomas and others. In the summer of 1871 Riverside's first school-house was put up. It was located on the site of the present Sixth street school, and was about 16x24 feet in dimensions. It was not lathed and plastered until the fall of 1874, and cost when completed about $1300 The first school trustees were T. J. Wood, Dr. William Craig and Dr. Montgomery. The latter soon moved to San Bernardino and Dr. Shugart was appointed to fill the vacancy. A tax of $800 had been voted to pay for the building, but $200 had been spent in maintaining a three months' school and there were available only $600 with which to make payment. Trustee Wood called a meeting to try to raise the balance required. There was strong opposition, but the company pledged $100 and those present $50 more, and a personal appeal to every property owner in the valley resulted in obtaining a sum sufficient to clear off the debt. This precedent of a liberal provision for schools has always characterized the people of the valley. C. W. Brown, who afterwards went to San Bernardino and became a physician, was the first teacher employed. The attendance ranged from ten to twenty pupils during the first year of Riverside's life. At the end of the first term L. C. Waite was engaged as teacher, which position he held until the close of 1873. Mr. Waite was at this time the only practicing lawyer in the place, and was for a time justice of the peace. He was succeeded in the management of the school by James H. Roe, the attendance having increased to upwards of forty. Some time in 1871 a store building was erected on or near the site where S. A. White's Central Block now stands. Here for a time Ben Burchard had a general store, and later Dr. Burke used it as a drug store. In 1875 R. F. Cunningham occupied the building, he in turn giving place to Dr. S. S. Patton, who put in a stock of hardware. A year or two later a larger store building was erected on the site of the Evans building by Charles F. Roe and I. R. Brunn of San Bernardino. It was merely a board and batten affair, but was for several years the most prominent building on Main street. In it was located the postoffice, Dr. James T. Greves acting as postmaster on a salary of $5 per annum. Here Lyon & Rosenthal kept a large stock of merchandise until, in 1875, the growth of the business led them to build for their own use the brick building on the opposite corner which, after the death of these pioneer merchants, was long occupied by the Hardman Drug Co. and later by the Riverside National Bank. G. W. Dickson was among those who assisted in building the first canal, but remained but a short time. He, however, returned in 1876 and located permanently in 1877, marrying a Mrs. Newcomb, widow of a pioneer of that name. He built a livery barn and corral on the east side of Main street, between Seventh and Eighth, and was conspicuous among those who, a few years later, organized a sort of vigilance committee to put a stop to the depredation of the Mexican horse thieves, whose activities made such effort necessary. He recently moved to Los Angeles, but retains property interests here. E. R. Pierce and John Tobias came in '71, the former building where the National Ice Company's plant now stands, and the latter on the corner of Eleventh and Almond streets now occupied by Dr. H. A. Atwood. Frank Petchner was the camp blacksmith when the canal was being built, and soon after its completion put up a shop on Market street about where the Southern Pacific station stands. When Samuel Alder became his partner in 1874 they moved to the present site of the Loring block. The following year they built a larger shop on the site of the present West-brook block, and it was in this building that the settlers held their first Christmas gathering in 1875, an affair long remembered with pleasure by the participants. The subsequent rapid growth of the settlement made a similar gathering of all the people of the valley for Christmas jollification impracticable. A. J. Myers, who came in 71, and was for many years the head zanjero of the water company, was a "gun man" from the mining regions, and "toted" a gun regularly on his rounds, much to the annoyance of that numerous and lawless Mexican element having a penchant for horse-borrowing. John Meyer, a Civil war veteran from Indiana, who located in this first year, started a saloon where something stronger than ditch water was dispensed. Some years later he married a native Indian woman named Felicite who was much esteemed by those whom she had faithfully served. From this marriage several children were born who have grown up respected citizens of their native city. One of these, "Jack" Meyer, is the leading catcher of the champion New York National Baseball Club, and has won by his sobriety and ability as an athlete a prominence and an income greater than many of our alleged national statesmen have enjoyed. E. J. Southworth built a house in the river bottom north of town, where is now located the popular Elliotta Springs. J. W. Linville built upon a claim north of town, selling in 1872 to Dwight S. Strong, who has resided there ever since, Linville moving to San Bernardino. Among those who first settled on the mesa south of the arroyo were James D. Clapp, who bought and improved twenty acres between Brockton and Cypress avenues. He finally sold to Samuel A. Ames, who several years later sold and built the fine residence owned in recent years by Dr. Wood. Mr. Clapp built a second residence on the corner of Ninth and Mulberry streets, where he lived for the remainder of his life. The ranch long known as the Rice place, on the edge of the arroyo, was first built upon by a man named Kimball, who died suddenly of hemorrhage of the lungs in 1874. A Mr. Cranz was the next owner, and there lived with him a popular young man named Sherrill, the pair being conspicuous in social circles. A Dr. Emmons built upon the site of the Koethan residence, and Dr. Emory located upon the twenty acres on Cypress (now Magnolia) avenue which has long been the property of J. S. Castleman. Dr. Emory was one of the pioneers who experimented with poppy planting and opium making, as a source of income, but the dry atmosphere proved the unfitness of the climate for profitable poppy growing. He also started one of the earliest seedling orange tree nurseries, and it was from this that the writer obtained in 1875, some of the best trees planted in Brockton Square. Beside those already mentioned as having settled upon the "lower plain," as the government tract was then called, were Oscar Traver (whose widow still resides upon the original claim), L. C. Tibbetts, M. F. Bixler, S. D. Stephenson, W. F. Pettit, Dr. Elihu H. Smith, John Thomas, Charles Rouse, Mr. Baker, William Morton, Mrs. Seibold, Dr. William Craig and his son Scipio, Prof. Charles R. Paine, Fred Rowe, J. H. Stewart, and Dudley Pine. Many of these were not permanent residents. Baker and Morton sold their claim to Tibbetts. Thomas soon came to the village. Mrs. Seibold, who was a sister of Professor Denton and Mrs. Cridge, sold to Thomas. Dr. Craig came to town and built a little hotel on the site of the present Carnegie library. He afterwards moved to Crafton, as did ultimately Scipio and Professor Paine. Scipio Craig was for years the editor of the Colton Semi-Tropic, and finally established in the new town of Redlands the very successful newspaper known as the Citrograph. Professor Paine made a reputation as a successful educator, and finally located at Crafton, and is now one of the leading horticulturists of this section. It is interesting to note that these last named settlers were led to surrender the government claims and seek other means of livelihood because of a plague of grasshoppers that swept over the valley from the surrounding hills during several of the early years of the colony. In some seasons every green thing was destroyed excepting such few plants as were carefully protected. Even the bark upon the orange trees was in many cases eaten clean. In the first years of the colony there came to settle here a coterie of spiritualists and free thinkers, rather clannish in their ways, all of whom have long since passed away, leaving no descendants here to take pride in the beautiful city whose building they helped to initiate. Nothing remains to remind one of their presence except the names of a few of our public streets—Denton, Cridge, Tibbetts, etc.,—and the record of the efforts of Mrs. L. C. Tibbetts to secure from the government the original navel orange trees from which have been propagated the millions of trees which have made Riverside and California famous and wealthy. Prof. William Denton, one of this party, was a state geologist, a voluminous writer upon psychological and scientific topics, and a lecturer of ability. He resided here for a short time only. His sisters were Mrs. Seibold and Mrs. Cridge. Mr. Cridge built the cottage on the edge of the great arroyo which was so long occupied by Dr. John Hall and family, and when the doctor's son, Priestley Hall, came into the management of his father's estate he subdivided the tract now known as Hall's Addition and named two of the streets, after his father's old neighbors. L. C. Tibbetts was a farmer rather than a horticulturist, and devoted such time as he could spare from his numerous lawsuits in caring for his grain fields and his horses and cattle. He probably had less to do with the introduction of the beautiful navel orange which has made the country so famous than others whose work has never had recognition. It was his wife—a woman of strong personality and influence in the little neighborhood —through whose efforts the trees were obtained. The story as told the writer by two of those who shared in the work which resulted in so much good to the state is about as follows: One evening when Josiah Cover and Samuel McCoy were visiting with Mrs. Tibbetts, the subject of obtaining new varieties of fruit with which to experiment in the new country came up, when one of them told of his having read in the encyclopedia of a seedless variety of the orange grown at Bahia (or Bay-hay-eye as "Si" called it) in Brazil, which was described as the finest orange in the world. "Si" wondered if it wouldn't be possible to obtain a tree from that distant country, when Mrs. Tibbetts answered that she believed it would. She had personally known Mr. Sanders of the Department of Agriculture while a resident of Washington, and knew that it was a part of his duty to secure desirable trees and plants from abroad. She would write at once to inquire. This she did, and as a result in due time there arrived from Washington two small specimens of the desired variety. The work of planting and caring for these trees was given to "Si" and "Sam," who were engaged in the nursery business near by, and in order to facilitate the fruiting of the variety T. W. Cover got them to put buds into his vigorous seedling trees. A few years later the writer was one of a committee of eight or ten citizens who gathered at the home of G. W. Garcelon to sample the first perfect specimen produced here of this wonderful orange. Its quality proved so greatly superior that its propagation by budding was immediately forced to the limit, and this so weakened the original trees that a healthy eight-year-old offspring averages larger than either of the parent specimens do today, one of which was in recent years moved to the junction of Palm and Magnolia avenues and the other planted by President Roosevelt in the patio of the Glenwood Mission Inn. Perhaps there is no better way to convey a correct idea of the lawless conditions existing in those times than to relate some of the experiences of those who first located. The miserable half-breed race which had so long ranged without restraint over the entire section seemed to have no respect for the new settlers' rights, and not only allowed their own stock to bother the newcomers, but felt perfectly free to appropriate all the desirable animals of the others not properly protected. Among those conspicuous in organizing to protect private rights was Luther C. Tibbetts. A strong corral was built upon his ranch where stray horses and cattle were impounded, and, cowardice not being one of his failings, he, as pound master, stood ever ready with his gun to defend the stock placed in his care. On the inside of the corral he built a bullet-proof fort, in which he spent his nights to be ready for marauding horse thieves. It was afterwards necessary to organize a sort of vigilance committee, composed of the young and vigorous citizens, to put a stop to the persistent thieving of the Mexicans. Several affrays occurred in which shots were exchanged, with fatal results in some cases, Jack Myers being handy in the use of his rifle, but few of these shooting affairs seem to have resulted in bringing matters into court. One of these that did not result in bloodshed deserves record as illustrating the conditions at that time. Horses had been stolen from D. S. Strong, and for many months no information was obtained as to their whereabouts. An itinerant Jewish peddler finally gave information concerning them, saying he had seen the animals in a distant neighborhood none too safe for honest citizens. Lots were drawn to select the man who should take charge of the effort for their recapture, and the duty fell upon Thomas Cundiff. He was a well-built man, with good nerve and an eye that meant business, and when, backed by Mr. Strong, he boldly rode into the thieves' den with his gun ready for action before they had opportunity to get their own weapons, they were forced to surrender the stolen animals. It was only after the law-breakers were killed or imprisoned that an end was put to these lawless conditions. Above and below the original colony there were considerable tracts of government land "and many interesting tales are told of the claim-jumping indulged in. The "Anchorage" resort, on the Colton road north of town, is located on a claim which the original squatter lost when he yielded to his perennial thirst and went away to indulge in a drunken spree. All the squatters in this earthly paradise were not saintly in their habits, and when they indulged in practices such as would horrify present-day W. C. T. U. members there was always someone more or less worthy ready to take advantage of their foolishness. Sometimes a title properly held led to a struggle rather serious in character, like that resulting from the efforts of the litigious Tibbetts to gain possession of the land of S. D. Stephenson, located at the corner of Palm avenue and Sierra street. The former, who always believed himself a better lawyer than the judge, was of the opinion that a man could not hold two eighty-acre tracts which were not contiguous, arid when the crop was ready to harvest on one of Mr. Stephenson's tracts he sent H. F. Cleine with a mower to cut it, and came on the ground himself armed with a scythe. At an old settlers' meeting in 1897, John G. North, a son of the founder of the colony, who later attained prominence among the attorneys of the state, told in a humorous way the result of the conflict. He said: "It is the story of the jumping of a claim and a dispute over the possession of the grain crop. The two men concerned were Sandy and Luther. The grain was ready to harvest, and then came the jumping. As I remember it, Luther thought he had a right to harvest it, and Sandy objected, and a difficulty came out of it, in the course of which it is said that Luther sang a hymn. Sandy protested. Luther insisted. Sandy went and got a double-barrelled gun and filled Luther reasonably full of number twelve shot. It was then that Luther sang the hymn: 'A charge to keep I have.' Sandy was arrested, tried, and fined $250. Just what crime he was supposed to have committed I do not remember, but after a careful consideration of the act performed and the penalty imposed, I think it must have been for a violation of the game law." Mr. Stephenson, forty years later, is a peace-loving and respected citizen living with his family at Highgrove; Mr. Cleine, the chief witness in the case, runs a grocery store on Park avenue, while Mr. Tibbetts, after wasting his means in years of needless and costly litigation, died in poverty at last, an object of the kindly pity of his neighbors. It seems remarkable that so many of the original settlers should have left none of their names among the citizens of the Riverside of today. But there are some who are still with us, or have left children who take pride in the work of their parents in the making of the city. Among them are Rev. C. Day Noble, an invalid brother of Mrs. H. M. Streeter, whose children are still living here. His nearest neighbor was George Leach, a musician of ability, who gave his services freely for the entertainment of the people. His sister Sarah was an army nurse during the Civil war and spent her last years as an inmate of a home in this state, provided for those who had so served. Lucy G., another sister, recently ended a long and useful life at the county hospital. Among those who held a government claim on the east side was James Patton, who is spending his remaining years with his daughter, Mrs. J. A. Simms. E. M. Sheldon and his son Fred took up eighty acres each, and the family have remained in Riverside ever since. John Wilbur, with his sons, took up 240 acres, and occupied the home upon it until his death. He was a school trustee for several years. Twelve of his thirteen children, and many grandchildren survive him. James Boyd, a native of Scotland, was one of the earlier settlers, and still remains a vigorous man at seventy-three. After trying Australia and different places in California he finally took up a claim of 160 acres in Riverside, upon which his wife and himself have ever since resided. It was he who took the contract for the original grading and planting of Magnolia avenue, and he also did the first work upon Main and other important streets of the city. But more than all, he takes pride in the large family of boys and girls, to whom he has been able to give the advantages of a college schooling. It is, of course, impossible to give a complete list of those who settled here in the colony days—or previous to the purchase of the unsold lands by S. C. Evans and his associates in 1875. But among those not heretofore mentioned whose families have remained in Riverside are George W. Garcelon, D. H. Burnham, Rev. M. V. Wright, Capt, C. C. Miller, P. D. Cover, Dwight S. Strong, Dr. Joseph Jarvis, David Battles, A. McCrary, Ezra and Otis Sheldon, J. R. Huberty, J. W. Van Kirke, E. J. Davis (who built the Reynolds hotel), Dr. Stephen Volk, Wilson B. Russell, Mrs. Rebecca Shaw, Dr. S. S. Patton and Walcot Burnham, the last-named being the first to build a house on Magnolia avenue. What faith and hope these pioneers must have possessed who dared to undertake the establishment of their farms and orchards sixty miles from the only local market which the little village of Los Angeles then offered, and with only the promise of a railroad across the continent to carry their products to larger and more distant ones. But the genial * and stimulating climate helped their optimism. Distance did indeed "lend enchantment to the view" of the rugged encircling mountains, and the beauty of the flower-decked plains in springtime was a source of happiness to the men and women who undertook the hard and prosaic duties of home-making in a new land. The water was made to flow in the newly constructed ditch, and the plows turned up the virgin soil to fit it for cultivation. The list of things planted experimentally is a long one, including almost everything grown in the temperate and semi-tropic regions. Nobody knew what would prove the best adapted or most profitable. Besides the orange, lemon and lime, there were large plantings of apple, pears, apricots, almonds, walnuts, olives, figs and innumerable varieties of grapes. All did well, but the raisin grape and the apricot were the first crops to give a satisfactory profit. Riverside was the first community in the state -to export raisins in large quantities, her shipments for one year amounting to over 200,000 boxes. Alfalfa growing was, of course, a source of quick and certain revenue, but it was not until the growth of the cities of the state in recent years provided a market for the stock grown upon it that it took the prominent place it now holds. But from the first it was the culture of the orange and lemon that held the interest of the people and led to the developments which have made Riverside the most conspicuous among the orange growing sections of the world. The first orange tree brought into Riverside was hauled from a Los Angeles nursery by L. C. Waite. He got in too late on a Saturday night to allow of their being immediately planted, and Dr. Shugart, fearing that the tender roots would suffer from exposure, got out early on Sunday morning, March 1, 1871, and promptly planted those brought for himself, and therefore has the credit of having planted the first orange trees in Riverside. Judge North and Mr. Waite planted their trees on the Monday following. As common seedling trees cost $2 apiece, it prompted the early starting of nurseries for their home propagation, and orange seeds were obtained from Tahiti for this purpose. The first nursery of this kind was established by D. C. Twogood on his dry claim, but owing to the failure of the plan to build a higher canal he was compelled in 1872 to move this to that portion of his land lying where irrigating water could be had. The wonderful stories told of the profits of orange growing helped greatly to encourage those prospective millionaires under the hardships they suffered during the eight years required to bring a seedling tree into profitable bearing. So they worked and waited. Some of them found great encouragement in visiting the bearing orchards of B. D. Wilson at San Gabriel, where they saw seedling fruit selling to peddlers for cash at $60 a thousand. As this was equivalent to from $7 to $10 a box it is no wonder they dreamed confidently of the wealth to be theirs when their trees reached maturity. It is a fact that when the first few trees came into bearing in Riverside their product netted the owners from $50 to $100. The first three winters were excessively dry and the land had to be flooded to fit it for breaking, but the work was pushed diligently. A heavy frost, such as occasionally handicaps the California orange grower, came one winter, and had a deterrent effect upon the weak-hearted among intending settlers. But, in spite of discouragements, the growth was steady and the people hopeful and happy. In April, 1872, the first wedding occurred, when Lillian, the sixteen-year-old daughter of Dr. K. D. Shugart, became the bride of L. C. Waite; and "they lived happily ever after," and have run no risk of Rooseveltian criticism because of failure to raise a good family to share the material blessings their industry has won. The Rev. I. W. Atherton, the Congregational clergyman who performed this first marriage ceremony, had just organized the first church in the settlement, calling it the "Congregational Union" with a view to uniting in it Christians of all denominations. Its members were Mr. Atherton and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Charles B. Comstock, W. J. Linville, William Sayre and Miss Nancy M. Burt, the latter being the only survivor of those pioneer members. A year later they built the little white church which stood for so many years on the corner of Sixth and Vine streets. When the Congregationalists, needing larger quarters, built on Seventh street, they sold this building to the Christian church, who finally moved it to Seventh street and incorporated it in the larger edifice which they now occupy. By 1873 the settlement became almost self-supporting. There were but a little more than sixty acres planted to the orange and lemon, but the grain and hay grown on the irrigated lands, and the alfalfa, fruits, cattle and hogs, were a sure source of revenue, since the increasing population created a home market. Of those who came in these years there was a large proportion who became permanent residents. G. W. Garcelon built, on Seventh street, a residence more modern and complete than were most of the makeshift shanties of the first settlers. James H. Roe, in telling of this period, says "the most luxurious vehicle in the valley—a two-horse lumber wagon—was sent to Los Angeles to meet Edwin Hart, myself and family, and in this we were driven across the country to Riverside, it taking two days for the trip." After crossing the desert, where thousands of acres of vineyards now cover the wide expanse, the party forded the river, and, passing through the hills over a shoulder of Rubidoux mountain, caught their first glimpse of their future home. "It must be confessed," he says, "it was a desolate prospect. A dozen or so of small houses scattered over the mile square; a few streets outlined by little pepper trees; the giant mountains and bare granite foothills all around, seeming, in our ignorance of distance, to take nearly all the room or view. It is no wonder that for the moment we felt that we had come to the ends of the earth and that a feeling of homesickness would creep in. But as we clasped hands with old friends and caught the infection of their hope we soon came to accept the golden visions of those who had come before." H. W. Robinson soon after put on stages to San Bernardino and Los Angeles, with a fare of ten cents a mile; but the public felt it was worth it. Expectations were held that the Texas Pacific would build to San Francisco within a year or two, and this hope of easier communication with the outside world, and a means provided for marketing the crops when they should mature, gave courage to push on in the work undertaken. The village at this time had some three hundred inhabitants, and there were 3000 acres under cultivation, one-third or more being set to fruit trees. Already some 10,000 shade trees had been planted along the streets, a feature which, continuing in later years, has given the city a reputation for beauty, of which it is justly proud. On Christmas day all the citizens assembled in the little school-house, where a banquet was provided and the people fraternized happily, regardless of political or religious differences, which so often divide older communities. The telegraph was extended into town about this time, John GK North being the first operator. Few of the pioneer families have had a larger share in the upbuilding of the city than has that of Capt. C. C. Miller, who first came to do a bit of engineering work for the Temescal Tin Mine Company, and, finding other work, brought his family here in the fall of 1874. His children are: Frank A., Edward E., Mrs. G. O. Newman and Mrs. Alice Richardson. The family lived for a time in the tiny little Deere cottage, on Seventh street, which has in time sheltered under its rose-covered roof so many of the early families. In 1875 he purchased the block where the elegant Glenwood Mission Inn now stands, building the first little adobe "Glenwood" from bricks made from a mound which stood in the center of the lot, and here the family ran a hotel so successfully as to compel its repeated enlargement. In 1881 he sold it to his son Frank, whose energy and taste have made of it, if not the largest and finest, at least one of the most unique and popular in the United States. Benjamin Hartshorn of San Francisco had become the possessor of some 8,600 acres of government land lying south of Arlington avenue. In 1874, S. C. Evans, a banker from Fort Wayne, Ind., who was looking for an investment in California, joined with Capt. W. T. Sayward in the purchase of this property, at a cost of about $8 an acre. Later they acquired some 3,000 acres of land, joining it on the south, called the "Rancho Sobrante de San Jacinto." This purchase extended their holdings to the dry wash of the Temescal creek, north of Corona. This consolidated territory they first called the New England Colony, and the owners filed claims on the Santa Ana river for water with which to irrigate it. It was ultimately subdivided and put upon the market under the name of Arlington. In surveying for their irrigating canal they discovered that they could not deliver the water high enough to serve the larger and more. desirable portion. They also found that the owners of the Southern California Colony Association lands objected to the building of a large canal through their property, and negotiations were finally entered into which led to the purchase of four-sevenths of the stock of the association, owned by Hon. Charles N. Felton of San Francisco, and the consolidation of nearly all the territory in the valley under the control of a corporation known as the Riverside Land and Irrigation Company. This change of ownership ended the colonial period of Riverside history. Judge North ceased longer to shape the policy of the settlement, although a conspicuous and influential citizen until 1880, when he left with his family to become the manager of the Washington Irrigated Colony near Fresno. In 1888 his advancing age caused him to give up active business, and he lived a retired life at Fresno with one of his daughters, Mrs. Shepard, until death claimed him on the 22nd of February, 1890. Additional Comments: Extracted from: HISTORY OF Riverside County CALIFORNIA WITH BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF The Leading Men and Women of the County Who Have Been Identified With Its Growth and Development From the Early Days to the Present HISTORY BY ELMER WALLACE HOLMES AND OTHER WELL KNOWN WRITERS ILLUSTRATED COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME HISTORIC RECORD COMPANY LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 1912 File at: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ca/riverside/history/1912/historyo/colonyda403nms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/cafiles/ File size: 58.3 Kb