San Mateo County CA Archives History - Books .....Chapter III The Redwood Forests 1893 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/cafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher cagwarchives@gmail.com January 12, 2007, 1:57 am Book Title: Memorial And Biographical History Of The Coast Counties Of Central California. CHAPTER III. THE REDWOOD FORESTS. ONE of the first things which attracted the attention of Americans and other foreigners on their arrival in central or northern California, when the country was under Mexican rule, was the redwood forests of the coast counties; and there many of the first comers to the province commenced their California life. This is especially true of San Mateo county. It is believed that the first foreign settler in the county (though Joseph Chapman, who came in 1818, was the first in the county) was one William Smith, known at the time as "Bill, the sawyer." The late James Pease claimed to have deserted from a Hudson Bay Company's ship, the Nereid, in Yerba Buena, in 1823 or 1824, and that he wandered into the redwoods near Woodside, where he found Smith, who was married at the time, and lived in a hut with his wife and baby, near where John Coppinger afterward built his residence. He was the only foreigner there, and had already dug a saw pit, felled some trees, cut them into proper lengths, and had sawed some lumber, with much difficulty. He had to get his Indian help from the missions. The arrival of Pease was a fortunate event for "Bill, the sawyer," who at once engaged the newcomer as an assistant. They cut timber for a number of years with whipsaws, and supplied the Californians with such timber as they needed in the adobe houses, which were being built then on the ranchos of that region. They worked at this business alone for several years. One day, however, they were joined by George Ferguson, who had deserted from a ship at Sausalito, and who, after many adventures, arrived in the redwoods. Ferguson took up a claim near Smith and Pease, and was soon after joined by a fellow-seaman named James Weeks. From that time on others came, but did not remain permanently, until the arrival of John Coppinger, a deserter from the British navy, in 1834 or 1835. He set about felling trees and making lumber in a systematic manner, procuring the aid of Calitbrnians, Indians, and of foreigners, whenever they could be- found. James Weeks was first employed by "Bill the sawyer," and Ferguson, who was with Smith when he came. He staid there some time, learning to whipsaw, and afterward went with Ferguson to San Jose, and built the first flour mill there. He then returned to the redwoods, and with Smith built a saw-pit, felled trees, and began to hew lumber for sawing, sometimes sleeping in the pit, the log cabin of Bill being some distance from the work. Smith and Weeks parted when Coppinger came, and Weeks joined the latter in making shingles and sawing lumber. ARCADIAN LIFE. Weeks gives the following picture of his Arcadian life in the San Mateo redwoods: "I spent a happy life working in the Pulgas redwoods. Sometimes I would go to San Jose, Yerba Buena, Santa Clara, Monterey or Santa Cruz; was not overburdened with constant hard labor. Our time was our own, and we knew how to enjoy it. Except the house of 'Bill, the sawyer,' and the residence of the Soto family, there was not a building in the township. The Indians who had not been gathered into the fold of the missions, had rancherias in the canons amid timber-clad mountains. Hill and vale were alike thronged with game, while the herds of the ranches roamed literally upon a thousand hills. "The marsh lands occupied a greater area than they do to-day, while the cultivated or occupied (pasture) lands were covered with wild oats that grew ' shoulder high with a horseman.' "Thus the land lay for many quiet and peaceful years. Immigration began in 1841, and increased with each succeeding year, compounding in numbers like interest on a note of hand in the flash times of the gold discovery. "In 1844, Dennis Martin arrived in the Sacramento valley, and in the following year came into San Mateo redwoods, to the Corte Madera rancho, then owned by John Coppinger, James Pease, John Pepper and Charles Brown was then there. Brown was occupying the Mountain Home ranch. "The country was now on the eve of an eventful change. It passed under the sovereignty of the United States in 1846, but nothing more than the rumor of the war with Mexico reached the shades of the San Mateo redwoods. "It was not so with the discovery of gold, which took place two years later. That event came like an electric shock, and was felt in every town, mission, ranch and camp, not only in California, but throughout the civilized world. Dennis Martin and others rushed from the peaceful redwoods to the gold placers. Martin, contrary to the general rule, was successful; and in 1850 he returned and located near Searsville, and in the fall of that year, he erected a water-power sawmill on San Francisquito creek, about three-fourths of a mile below Searsville. This was the first sawmill ever built in the country. But it was only run for a few weeks, when it was carried away by a flood. "The next mill was built by a man named De Hart, on the Mountain Home ranch, then owned by Charley Brown. De Hart let a contract to one Whipple to run the lumber to the tail of the mill at $25 per 1,000. Whipple soon made money enough to buy the mill, selling a large quantity of lumber at $75 a 1,000, for which he did not have to pay for the hauling at the rate of $25 per 1,000. He afterward moved the mill and broke up. Whipple, who was a Mormon, died recently in San Francisco." REDWOOD AND ITS CHARACTERISTICS. It is apparent from the foregoing that its redwood forests were a very important factor in the first settlement of San Mateo county. Eventually the products of the forests gave name to the estuary, whence they were shipped, and afterward to the city which was built on its shore and in fact, the lumber interest played an equally important part in the development of other sections of California. The first steam mill of any kind in the Territory was built in the Bodega redwoods, by Captain Stephen Smith in 1843. General Vallejo, who was present when Captain Smith started the mill, said afterward, "I distinctly remember having predicted on that occasion that before many years California would have more steam engines than soldiers." This prophecy was soon verified. The redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), in many of its valuable qualities, equals, if it does not surpass, any tree known in the forests of America. It belongs to the same general family as the so-called "big trees," but differs materially from it in the texture of the wood and its foliage. The redwood proper grows only on the coast of California. It approaches on the north the Oregon line, but does not cross it. It is not found south of Monterey county. It grows best in the fog belt along the coast, or within the influence of the sea breeze. Beyond that line it does not flourish. Formerly the canons facing the ocean were literally packed with redwood trees, as they are still in northwest California. It is a grand sight to see the gray line of fog crawling like a living creature through the high foliage of a redwood forest. It is the tribute of the sea to the greatest of, the productions of its embracing shore. As the mist moves slowly on it is condensed, drops from the foliage and moistens the feeders of the tree to the tips of its outlying roots. This mild but effective process of irrigation is continued every day and night during the season of fog. Undoubtedly the tremendous height and girth, which the tree attains in favorable localities, are due to the moisture it distils from the northwest summer trade winds blowing fresh from the ocean. Wherever this influence is felt within the line of its growth, the canons contained more or less redwood. On the rich bottom land on Russian river, there was a forest of many thousand acres, where the trees ranged from ten to eighteen feet in diameter, and from 250 to 400 feet in height. QUALITY OF THE TIMBER. Redwood does not warp; its grain runs strait and therefore it splits true; and it takes on a fine polish as a finishing wood. This is especially true of what is known as "curly" redwood, which can be made to surpass in beauty the finest mahogany. Redwood contains no resin, and when green or wet is difficult to burn, although when thoroughly seasoned it burns very rapidly. It is very durable, both in or above the ground, in the water or out. It is said that the stockades, built by the Russians at Fort Ross, in 1820, is still a solid structure. Fences built in the early settlement of San Mateo county are still sound. For water, wine, and other tanks, it is the best material known. Redwood water tanks are universally used throughout California, and in the arid regions of Arizona and New Mexico. Tanks of this material are used by all the brewers on the coast for the storage of beer, and it is coming into use in the East for the same purpose. About 1,500,000 feet of this tank lumber was used by brewers in Milwaukee, Toledo and Detroit, in 1890; and during the same year 12,000,000 feet of redwood lumber of all kinds was shipped to the East, with every prospect that this trade will largely increase in the future. John Muir, the naturalist, thinks some of the Sequoia gigantea, cousins of the redwood, may be 6,000 years old. On a sixteen-foot redwood tree, as many as 1,280 rings of annual growth have been counted. There is an extensive business done in wood, tanbark and other forest products, which are shipped direct to San Francisco by sea. A large area of redwood timber, in the same section, owned by private individuals, will prove valuable to the county in the future. The forests at present inaccessible are practically untouched, which is in some respects fortunate, as standing redwood timber is getting scarce, especially so near San Francisco, and every year adds to its value. The question of facilities for marketing it is only a question of a short time, as there are a number of shipping points along the coast which can be utilized for this purpose when it will pay to build roads to them. New channels of trade are being opened up in the Eastern market, where the reputation of this valuable timber will steadily improve and hold its own against any wood on earth. When all of its good qualities are more generally known, the demand for it will be enormous. The products of the county include all the crops common to the country bordering on the bay of San Francisco. The staples are wheat, barley, oats, potatoes, beans, and in some parts of the county flax has been successfully grown for the manufacture of oil from the seed. The dairying interest of San Mateo county is large and profitable. The largest dairies are at Visitacion, San Bruno, Millbrae and Belmont, nearly all of which send their supply of milk daily to San Francisco. Additional Comments: Extracted from: Memorial and Biographical History of the Coast Counties of Central California. Illustrated. Containing a History of this Important Section of the Pacific Coast from the Earliest Period of its Discovery to the Present Time, together with Glimpses of its Auspicious Future; Illustrations and Full-Page Portraits of some of its Eminent Men, and Biographical Mention of many of its Pioneers, and Prominent Citizens of To-day. HENRY D. BARROWS, Editor of the Historical Department. LUTHER A. INGERSOLL, Editor of the Biographical Department. "A people that take no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote descendants."-Macaulay. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/sanmateo/history/1893/memorial/chapteri205gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/cafiles/ File size: 12.2 Kb