Sonoma County CA Archives History - Books .....Santa Rosa 1877
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Book Title: Historical And Descriptive Sketch Of Sonoma County, California

SANTA ROSA.

   Friar Juan Amoroso was the person who had the honor of giving the beautiful
name of Santa Rosa to the stream from which the valley, the township and the
town were afterwards called. It is recorded of Friar Amoroso that he wan one of
those missionaries who dared everything in behalf of the Cross; earnest,
faithful and bold, he preached the story of the Master without fear. He was a
true disciple of the Church militant on Earth, and believed in teaching the
heathen the practices of Christianity, and, as far as possible, the arts of
civilization by force, if they would not adopt them by persuasion. His zeal led
him, in 1824, to accept the difficult, not to say dangerous task, of founding
the mission of San Rafael. He successfully accomplished that task. Five years
after, in 1829, he made an excursion northward in company with one Jose Cantua,
hoping, doubtless, to find some stray heathen who by his zeal might be brought
into the fold of the faithful. He came to the territory of the Cainemeros tribe
of Indians, who resided on the river Chocoalomi, the Indian name of what is now
Santa Rosa creek. At the rocky point opposite the "old adobe," a mile and a half
from the present town, he captured an Indian girl, baptised her in the stream
and gave her the name Santa Rosa, from the fact that, on that very day the
Church was celebrating the feast of Santa Rosa de Lima. He was attacked by the
natives and fled, arriving safely at his mission of San Rafael. Fortunately the
stream and the valley took its name from this beautiful incident Friar Juan
Amoroso and Padre Altimira were the very first pioneers whose eyes were
gladdened by the sight of the hills and valleys of Sonoma in their virgin beauty.

   The adobe house, on Santa Rosa creek, a mile and a half above town, was the
first house built in this valley, or anywhere north of Sonoma, with the
exception of the houses at Boss. The land upon which the house stood, and two
leagues around it, was granted to Mrs. Carrillo, a sister of the wife of General
Vallejo The house was built in 1838-39; it still stands, and is owned by F. G.
Hahman, of Santa Rosa.

   A graphic writer gives the annexed picture of the "old adobe" in July, 1850,
and its then occupant, Ramon Carrillo; the description will be recognized and
relished by all old Californians. We cannot forbear quoting it: "In front of the
house was a court-yard of considerable extent, and part of this was sheltered by
a porch; here, when the vaccaros have nothing to call them to the field, they
pass the day looking like retainers of a rude court; a dozen wild, vicious
little horses with wooden saddles on their backs stand ever ready for work;
while lounging about, the vaccaros smoke, play the guitar or twist a new riatta
of hide or horse hair. When the sun gets lower they go to sleep in the shade,
while the little horses who remain in the sunshine do the same apparently, for
they shut their eyes and never stir. Presently a vaccaro, judging the time by
the sun, gets up and yawns, staggering lazily towards his horse, gathers up his
riatta and twists it around the horn of his saddle—the others awakening, rise
and do the same, all yawning with eyes half open, looking as lazy a set as ever
were seen, as indeed they are when on foot; 'Huppal Anda!' and away they go in a
cloud of dust, splashing through the river, waving their lassos around their
heads with a wild shout, and disappearing from sight almost as soon as mounted.
The 'vaccaro' wants at all times to ride furiously, and the little horses' eyes
are opened wide enough before they receive the second dig of their riders' iron
spurs." The writer, though he knew it not, saw and described the last of this
kind of life at the "old adobe" on Santa Rosa creek; it was, as it were, the
very close of the old and the opening of a new area. Don Ramon went south, and
in 1851 the building came into the possession of David Mallagh, who had married
one of Mrs. Carrillo's daughters. Julio Carrillo owned all on the north side of
the creek; the daughters fell heir to that portion lying between Santa Rosa and
Bennett Valley creeks. In the fall of 1851, Mallagh and Donald McDonald were
keeping a public house at the "old adobe," and had also a small stock of goods
and groceries; it was the first attempt at merchandizing in Santa Rosa valley.

   In June of 1852, Alonzo Meacham came up from San Francisco. He and his
partner, Barney Hoen, had been burned out in the great May fire that year. He
bought out Mallagh & McDonald, and established a general store and trading post.
Shortly after he sent a petition for a post-office, which was established. Mr.
Meacham was made postmaster and gave the office the name of Santa Rosa, to which
the town of Santa Rosa succeeded. At that time the mail was carried once a week
from Benicia to Napa, to Sonoma, Santa Rosa, Miller & Walker's store and thence
to San Rafael. Mr. Meacham's commission was signed by James Buchanan, and Mr. M.
is entitled to the gratitude of posterity that he did not call the post-office
Mallaghsville, Buchanansburg or some other stupid name of like derivation.
Barney Hoen, who had gone to Oregon after the May fire of 1852, returned in the
fall, and hearing that his old partner, Meacham, was in Santa Rosa, came up on
the second trip of the steamer Red Jacket, in November. He landed at New Town
and came on horseback to Santa Rosa, and purchased of Meacham a half interest in
his business. Meacham in the meantime had bought a tract of seventy acres of
land from Julio Carrillo, where the town of Santa Rosa now stands, for twelve
dollars an acre. On May 1, 1853, F. G. Hahman purchased Meacham's interest in
the business at the "old adobe," and, a few weeks after Hoen & Hahman sold an
interest to Hartman, and the firm took the name of Hoen & Co.

   That summer of 1853 business was lively at the "old adobe;" all the
freighting was done by pack-mules, and it was a purchasing point for settlers up
the Russian River valley, and as far north as Clear lake. Trains of pack-mules
might be seen at all hours, either loading or unloading freight. In August,
1853, the following entry appears on the books of Hoen & Co.: "Real estate— to
Alonzo Meacham. Bought of him August 9th, payable two months after date, one
piece of land (say seventy acres) opposite Julio Carrillo, $1,600". The west
line of this tract ran through the plaza of Santa Rosa; the land was valued at
twelve dollars an acre,—the additional ten dollars an acre paid was for the
fence which had been built around it. The "old adobe" was sold by Mallagh to
Walkinshaw, of Santa Clara, and he wanted Hoen & Co., who had been paying
twenty-five dollars a month for part of the house, to pay three hundred dollars
a month for the whole. They refused to pay it, and made the Meacham purchase
with the view of laying off a new town. Julio Carrillo agreed to give as much
land for that purpose as there was in the tract of Hoen & Co. In the first rough
survey of the place the creek was taken for a base, and a line was run northerly
from an oak-stump, which stood near the old Masonic hall, to Fourth
street,—leaving the plaza trees on land of Hoen & Co. The price of lots was
fixed at twenty-five dollars a-piece, without any regard to location. Julio
Carrillo's house on Second street,—now owned by J. P. Clark,—was built by John
Bailiff in the summer of 1852. This was the only house in the town when it was
first surveyed. Achilles Richardson had a small store neat the creek, which was
outside of First street,—the southern limit of the embryo city.

   The first real-estate transaction was a sale to Henry Valley, who purchased
six lots, and built a house which still stands on the southwest corner of E and
Second streets; for the six lots Valley paid one hundred and fifty dollars.

   In the winter of 1853 there was no event of consequence occurred, except the
race between Hooker and Bennett for the legislature. The election of Bennett,
and the bill he introduced to take a vote upon the question of the removal of
the county-seat, was a matter of much importance to Santa Rosa. The question was
not agitated publicly,—the Sonoma valley people were afraid to raise the issue,
and the Santa Ro.«a people kept their council to themselves.

   The Bennett bill provided that the question of removal should be submitted to
a vote of the people at the following election in September. The bill became a
law in March, 1854, and from that time until the election, the people of Santa
Rosa were not idle.

   In the spring of 1854 the old Masonic hall was built,—the third house in the
town. John Ingram had the contract for its construction; singularly enough the
specifications provided that it should be weather-boarded with Eastern pine,
which was carried out to the letter at great cost, while redwood boards (far
more durable) could have been gotten for one-third less. But in those days the
redwood, like the prophet in his own country, had no honor. Santa Rosa Lodge,
No. 57, first worked under a dispensation, and was chartered May 2, 1854.
Achilles Richardson was the worshipful master, John Ingram was the first senior
warden, and William Noel was the first secretary; among the charter members were
Lindsay Carson, James A. Campbell, David Thompson and Westly Mathews. J. H.
Griggs came over from Solano soon after, and was the second worshipful master of
the lodge. We have mentioned these facts because it was a little remarkable that
Masonry should have taken such an early start in Santa Rosa,—the third and best
house in the town being a Masonic hall. As soon as the hall was finished, the
lower part was rented to E. P. Colgan for a hotel. He had been keeping a
public-house at the " old adobe," and afterwards built a hotel for himself on
the site of the present Santa Rosa house. This was the fourth house, and was
built by John Ingram.

   In the spring of 1854 Hoen sold his interest in the store at the adobe to his
partners, Hahman & Hartman, and put up the building where John Richards*
barber-shop stands, for a store. He opened it in June, and was the first
merchant in Santa Rosa, except Richardson, who was just outside the survey.
Hahman & Hartman, who still kept store at the "old adobe," saw that Santa Rosa
was destined to become the principal place in this section, and made
preparations to move. Hoen had built on the corner they wished to occupy, and F.
G. Hahman purchased of Julio Carrillo the lot on the northwest corner of Second
and C streets, opposite Clark's livery stable. He immediately commenced the
erection of a building; completed and opened it on the 4th of July, 1854, with a
grand ball, of which more will be said further on.

   Soon after the passage of the bill authorizing a vote on the question of
removing the county seat, the people of Santa Rosa valley commenced a
good-natured seige to secure a majority vote for the change. As the summer
advanced the contest waxed warmer; the Santa Rosans projected a grand barbecue
at the proposed county seat on the Fourth of July. It was a master-stroke of
policy,—the people came and saw, and were conquered by the beauty of the place
and the hospitality of the people, who, on that occasion, killed the fatted
calf, and invited to the feast the rich and poor, the lame, the halt and the
blind,—in fact everybody who had, or who could influence or control, a vote. The
smoke of the sacrifice of whole sheep and huge quarters of beef ascended to
heaven freighted with the prayers of the Santa Rosans to dispose the hearts and
ballots of the people in their favor, and, like the pious Greeks of old on
similar occasions, when the smoke had ceased to ascend, and the offering was
cooked to a turn, they partook of the sacrificial meat,—the incense of which had
tickled their nostrils, whetting at the same time their appetites and their
devotions. At least five hundred persons, from all parts of the country, were
present. A. Guerny, a Baptist preacher, delivered the oration; James Prewitt
read the Declaration of Independence; John Robinson, Sylvester Ballou and Joe
Neville also made speeches.

   The barbecue was so grand a success that it made a lasting impression on the
people, and from that day to this barbecues have been the most popular of all
entertainments in Sonoma county. This barbecue was held beneath a splendid grove
of oaks which stood on or near the Hewitt place, then owned by Commodore
Elliott. The day closed with a grand ball, given in the storeroom of Hah man &
Hartman, which had just been finished, on the corner of Second and C streets.
The Powers boys, with their violin, furnished the music, and about forty couple
chased the hours with flying feet, until surprised by the early summer sun,
which crept up behind Mayacmas, flooding the valley with rosy light.

   Early in 1853 J. W. Ball came into the valley; he first located on the Farmer
place, on the south side of Santa Rosa creek. There a number of his family died
of small-pox; he then moved over to the Boleau place, where Dr. Simms now lives,
and kept, there a sort of tavern and store. He bought ten acres of land at the
junction of the Russian river, Bodega and Sonoma roads, where the cemetery lane
now intersects the Sonoma road, and laid off a town there, which was called
Franklin-town. S. G. Clark and Dr. Boyce, who had bought out Ball, built and
opened a store in Franklin. Ball had a tavern there; H. Beaver a blacksmith
shop, and W. B. Birch a saddle-tree factory. In September, 1853, S. T. Coulter
and W. H. McClure bought out Boyce & Clark.

   The same fall the Baptist church, free to all denominations, was built. For a
short time Franklin divided the attention of new comers with Santa Rosa and the
"old adobe." The selection of Santa Rosa as the county seat, in the fall of
1854, put an end to rivalry. Within the year following all the houses in
Franklin were moved to the new county seat, including the church, which still
stands on Third street, between E and D streets. In 1875 it was sold and
converted into two tenement houses.

   Barney Hoen, in a canvass of the county, promised that he and a few others
would donate lots and build a court house, if the people would vote for the
change. When it was known that Santa Rosa had won, an impromptu celebration was
gotten up, anvils were fired, Hoen killed one beef, and Julio Carrillo another,
for a free feast. The rejoicing was kept up for two days.

   On the 18th of September the board of supervisors met in Sonoma, canvassed
the returns, and passed an order declaring that Santa Rosa was the county seat
of Sonoma county,—a majority of votes having been cast in favor of the change.
Supervisor S. L. Fowler moved that the archives be removed to the new county
seat on Friday, September 22, 1854, which passed unanimously. On the day
appointed, Jim Williamson, with a four-horse team and wagon, accompanied by
Horace Martin and some others, went down to Sonoma, captured and brought up the
archives, amid dire threats of injunction and violence from the Sonoma people,
who saw, with no little chagrin, the county seat slip through their fingers. The
Santa Rosans had the law, wanted only possession, and would not have hesitated
to use all the force necessary to get that; as it was, they captured the
archives by strategy, and the dry and dusty documents of former drowsy old
alcaldes were whirled over the road as fast as Jim Williamson's four-in-hand
could take them to the new capital, where they safely arrived, and were
deposited pro tem, in Julio Carrillo's house, which was rented for that purpose.
The supervisors followed the records at a slower pace, and on the 20th of
September, 1854, at five o'clock p. M., the board convened in Carrillo'a house,
and at that meeting Barney Hoen gave bonds to have a court house put up in six
weeks, on the lots which had been donated by Hoen, Hahman & Hartman. With the
aid of a man named Pinnard, a Frenchman, he had the work done within the time,
and the county government occupied it This building stood where Ringo's store
now is, and was afterwards removed. The county, in 1856, built the lower story
of the present court house, and sold the old one and the lots upon which it
stood. The first story of the court house was built for nine thousand dollars,
by J. M. Phillips, a contractor from San Francisco. In 1859 the upper story was
put on, at a cost of about twenty thousand dollars. In 1871-2 the recorder's
office was built at a cost of twenty thousand dollars.

   Hoen sold out his store to G. N. Miller in the spring of 1855. F. G. Hahman
was the first postmaster; Hoen was the agent of Adams & Co.'s express, and Chil.
Richardson started the first stage line between Santa Rosa and Petaluma. John
Ingram built one of the first residences on Second street, now occupied by Mr.
Lancaster; and Charley White built the first bridge across Santa Rosa creek. The
lower story of the court house was the first brick edifice, and John Ingram
built the second for Buck Williamson, next to the office of the Sonoma Democrat,
and now owned by Gus Kohle.

The first physician in the town was Dr. J. F. Boyce, and the first lawyers were
Judge Jackson Temple and the late Colonel M. Ross.

   The first religious service was held by a Methodist minister in the open air,
under a grove of trees which were near the present site of the court house. The
Christian Church congregation was organized in 1S54, with about twenty members,
by the much-beloved Elder Thomas Thompson and J. P. McCorkle.

   On the site of the brick boarding-house, near the Pacific Methodist College,
James Cockrill had a residence as early as 1852; it was a long way out of town
when the first survey was made. Mr. Gockrill died of small-pox, which was
epidemic in 1853.

   The merchants, in the order of their coming, were: C. Richardson, B. Hoen,
Hahman & Hartman, Marks & Rosenburg, who opened on C street, on the lot opposite
the Grand hotel, and formerly occupied by Carruthers. Miller, the county
treasurer, bought out Hoen; he died, and Dr. Hendley bought the business.

   The first saddler was a man named Barnard, and T. B. Hood succeeded him in
1856. E. T. Farmer bought an interest in Hendley's business, and the firm
carried on business under the name of Hendley & Farmer, on the east side of the
plaza. B. Goldfish bought out Hahman & Hartman in 1856, and was joined by Henry
Wise, and the firm of Wise & Goldfish are the oldest merchants in the town. E.
T. Farmer succeeded Farmer & Hendley.

   The first school in Santa Rosa was kept in the old Masonic hall, and was
taught by W. M. Williamson, now of Samoa, Navigator Islands.

   The first term of the court of sessions in Santa Rosa was held in Julio
Carrillo'a house, by Judge Frank Shattuck; Judge P. R. Thompson and James
Prewitt were associate justices.

   Santa Rosa grew quite rapidly from 1854 up to 1859,—having that year, by
actual count, two churches, and two resident preachers, nine lawyers, five
doctors, one academy for two hundred and fifty pupils, two notaries, one
newspaper, nine dry goods and grocery stores, one drug store, two hotels, two
restaurants, two saloons, one saddler shop, one butcher shop, one shoemaker, one
jeweler, one paint shop, one carriage shop, and three carpenter shops, one pump
factory, two livery stables, one bakery, seventy-four residences, and a
population of four hundred.

In 1859 the firm of Wise & Goldfish commenced business, and have continued
together without a change of name, or any change in their firm, for nineteen
years, a very unusual circumstance in business connections in this State. They
moved out of the building, on the east side of the plaza, to Main street early
in 1860, and on the 17th of March, Hendley & Farmer moved into the vacated
store, and opened business. The business then commenced has continued, and is
now represented by Riley, Hardin & Farmer,—C. C. Farmer being the junior member
of the firm. Mr. George Hood has been continuously in the jewelry business for a
very long time, and still has his store on Main street.

   From 1859 to 1870 the town grew slowly. In the latter year it was credited
with but nine hundred inhabitants, it had doubled its population in a decade. In
1872 the railroad was completed, the scene changed as if by magic, and in the
short space of five years the town has increased from a population of one
thousand to six thousand. There are now twelve hundred houses—many of them
substantial brick structures—the city limits include an area of a mile and a
half square, and there is a rapid growth in wealth as well as in population.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

HISTORICAL
AND
DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH
OF
SONOMA COUNTY,
CALIFORNIA,
BY
ROBERT A. THOMPSON,
EDITOR OF "THE SONOMA DEMOCRAT."
PHILADELPHIA:
L. H. EVERTS & CO. 
1877.


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