San Joaquin County CA Archives History - Books .....SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY, THE GATEWAY OF THE VALLEY 1923 ************************************************ 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: Kellie Crnkovich markkell95@aol.com December 15, 2005, 1:38 am Book Title: History Of San Joaquin County NATURE, in her creative work, designedSan Joaquin County as the gateway of the great San Joaquin Valley. The slope of the land proves this. If it were possible to start rolling a large ball from the head waters of the Sacramento River, unobstructed by bush, tree, hill or river, it would land at a point not many miles distant from Stockton. A ball set rolling from the headwaters of the San Joaquin River would stop at nearly the same point. These two rivers rising in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, nearly 300 miles apart, fow into Suisun Bay, an airline distance from Stockton of less than thirty miles. The slope of the Sierras is towards this point, as is proven by the rivers' flow. The Sacramento River flows less than ten miles from the northwest boundary of San Joaquin County, and into it flow the waters of the Cosumnes and the Mokelumne rivers. The Stanislaus, Tuolumne, Merced and Fresno rivers flow into the San Joaquin River, whose waters ever flowing only three miles from Stockton, mingle with the waters of the mighty Pacific. Hence, as I have stated, Nature planned this county as the Central California gateway to the ocean and in the future it is destined to become one of the largest populated sections in the United States. This valley, or basin, as it is often called, 250 miles in length and averaging fifty miles in width, was at one period an inland sea. Its waters for ages beat against the foothills of the Sierras and washed the hills of the Coast Range. In course of time, says the Indian legend, "the mountain tops burned red, the earth shook and trembled, the mountains broke asunder, and the waters ran out into the ocean." Where did the Indians learn this legend? It seems like a dream or the fanciful imagination of a disordered mind. The truth of the legend is proven, however, by geological evidence. Along the base of the Sierras there are many indications to a scientific student that this valley was in the ages past beneath the waters. Oyster and clam shells have been found in the foothills and the imprints of fish upon the rocks. E.L. Flower, born at Knights Ferry and a student of geology, says in that locality that the cobble stones are all polished and rounded by water action, and no rough edged stones are found. Fish imprints have been found, he states, and at one time in a pebble stone, broken open, the imprint of a crab was seen. Another close observer of the creative period of California, E. L. Branch, says in his History of Stanislaus County, "If a person goes from Knights Ferry to Dry Creek, he will observe along the hillside three water marks, at different heights, just as if it had been a lake. Those marks can be seen for many miles. When in early days the soil had not been plowed up, it was covered with little knolls and sand just as may be seen in the bottom of lakes." As to the Indian legend "that the mountain tops burned red" we have proof of that even in our own day. Within the past three years, Mt. Lassen, in Lassen County, has been belching out fire and smoke, and throwing out acres of lava into the valley. Scientists tell us that Mt. Diablo and Mt. Tamalpais are extinct volcanoes. As to the earthquakes splitting the mountain asunder, ask the citizens of San Francisco regarding their experience of the earthquake that occurred in April, 1906. Before the creator can create, he must have the material at hand. And millions of years before this valley become dry land the Sierra Nevadas had been thrown up by volcanic eruptions, miles in height. We have ample proof of this in the granite and sandstone found at Columbia, products of that period of which the Bible speaks when it says, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." The Coast Range was formed in the later part of the secondary period. There soft coal is found, a product of vegetable matter that had "Williams & Moore yesterday shipped been buried for time indefinite. Time passed; by means of glaciers, icebergs, avalanches, snow slides and heavy rains, Nature began sending debris into the valley below. After a time shrubs, plants and trees grew upon the new-made earth. Then they disappeared, covered by mountains of new soil. Through aeons of time, this soil-building continued until the Sierras were worn down to the present height, an average of probably 6,000 feet. The soil has been deposited over the inland lake to a depth unknown. Borings have been made in this county to a depth of 2,000 feet with no indications of any different type of soil than mountain soil. How many years was Nature at work in the building up of the valley we have not the remotest idea, except from the great flood of 1862. In that year the entire valley was covered with water for nearly two weeks, and during that time the soil was covered with debris from one to four inches in depth. Old Mother Earth is still soil-building along the river bottoms, and upon the swampy lands. The rivers are fast filling up from the debris brought down by the spring floods --even San Francisco Bay is filling up--and one of the great problems of the day is how to keep our navigable rivers from destruction. Nature having practically finished her work, let us view it as the first discoverers beheld it. Albert C. Parker, the son of a pioneer, gave a very pleasing description in the opening lines of his poem: Snow-capped Sierras to the eastward rise; Their rugged peaks uplifted to the skies And in the west, bedecked in emerald hue, Low rolling hills lie mirrored in the blue; Like sentinels of old these ranges, twain, Guard well the borders of a broad domain; And down the poppied way that lies between In silent grandeur flows the San Joaquin. In this county on the return of Spring, Nature carpeted the soil with wild flowers of every variety and color, and with a fragrant perfume the air was heavy laden. In those days grass, filaree, oats and clover grew luxuriantly, and in some localities, especially along f the Calaveras River, the grass grew over six feet in height. It was the hiding place of squirrels, rabbits, quail and other small game, and the food of thousands of wild animals, including elk, deer, antelopes, bears and mountain lions. Coyotes or wild dogs were also plentiful, and as late as 1850 a lodger in the town complained that "the coyotes have already become vociferous and their hungry barking has nightly disturbed our slumbers for some nights past." Deer also were seen by the hundreds roaming over the plains, and, although later driven to the mountains, they were there ruthlessly killed for their hides. As late as December, 1881, it is recorded, 540 deer hides. During the past two months, the firm has shipped over a thousand hides Along the river banks wild roses grew in great profusion, and strawberry and blackberry bushes. The blackberry bushes were filled with berries and in the fall of the year the pioneers would form picnic parties and go blackberrying. Chinamen would gather the berries and hawk them about the street. Well do I remember one little Chinaman waddling along with his heavy baskets, one in front and one behind him, upheld by a bamboo pole, crying out in his piping voice "black-ba leese." The adobe belt was covered with a literal forest of white and live oaks. In Stockton there were thousands of these trees-- And along the streets from out the sighing trees The song birds caroled sweetly to the breeze. There were thousands of these blackbirds in the tree tops and sweetly they sang. They obtained much of their food from the barley wasted by the teamsters in feeding their mules upon the streets. The press in referring to them said, "Blackbirds are thick in the suburbs (now Sutter and Weber Avenue) and almost as gentle as barn fowl, but they are fast being reduced, as the Kanakas and Frenchman are shooting them for food." These birds were with us, singing throughout the day, until about 1870; then some wise individual imported and turned loose a number of male and female English sparrows. Propagating fast and being very aggressive they drove out all of the native birds. Returning to the forest of oaks, they varied in size from slender saplings to gigantic trees three feet in diameter and with an average height of forty feet. Some of these oaks were growing when in 1492 Columbus discovered America, while others are not over one hundred years of age. Thousands of those majestic oaks that have braved the storms of many a century were cut down for firewood. For over twenty years they supplied the homes, lour mills, factories and steamboats with fuel. In the flood of 1862 over one hundred cords of white oak, piled upon the river bank for steamer use, were swept onward to the Golden Gate. Single or small groups of these trees are still growing in various parts of the city and county. In the State Asylum grounds there is a grove of some thirty trees as truly in their natural state as when the wild Indians passed beneath their- shade. There- is another grove, now a public resort, called "Good Water Grove." What is the age of these trees? Experts claim that the largest are at least 500 years old. There is one oak tree now growing in the rear of the Christian Science Church on Flora Street whose age we positively know. It is the usual height, forty feet, and nine years. inches in diameter six feet from the ground. It has grown from an acorn planted by little Miss Nettie Van Valear on April 15, 1865, in her father's garden, in memory of President Lincoln, who was assassinated the previous evening by John Wilkes Booth Additional Comments: HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY By George H. Tinkham CHAPTER 1 HISTORIC RECORD CO LOS ANGELES, CA 1923 File at: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ca/sanjoaquin/history/1923/historyo/sanjoaqu236ms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/cafiles/ File size: 10.4 Kb