Sonoma County CA Archives History - Books .....Petaluma Township, Part 2 1880
************************************************
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 sdgenweb@yahoo.com February 27, 2006, 3:35 am

Book Title: History Of Sonoma County

   The proceedings of the municipality were inaugurated in the year 1865, by the
election of a new house for engine company Sonoma No. 2, while, in conformity
with a petition presented by E. Barnes, it was ordered, on the 27th March, that
at the time of the election of city officers, a box should be provided so that
the citizens might have the opportunity of expressing their wishes in the matter
of taxing the city to improve the Petaluma creek. April 15th, it was announced
to the Board by Trustee Ellsworth that information had been just received of the
assassination of Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, on the
previous evening, and thereupon moved that, in respect to his memory, "the Board
do now adjourn." Allusion to this dire calamity will be found further on. A
petition of the heirs of the late Samuel Tustin was on the same date presented,
praying that the City prison be removed from its present location, and a
committee appointed to attend to the matter. On April 17th the under-mentioned
gentlemen were chosen City officers: Board of Trustees, O. Sweetland, President;
John Sroufe, A. P. Whitney, Lee Ellsworth, and John Stewart; Recorder, Josiah
Chandler-Marshal, James K. Knowles; Treasurer, F. T. Maynard; Assessor, A. P.
Mallory; Street Commissioner, A. Johnson; Clerk, F. D. Colton. On the same date
the following resolution was introduced in respect to the murder of President
Lincoln: "WHEREAS, This Board, in common with the whole family of our beloved
country, are called upon to mourn the decease of our honored Chief Magistrate,
stricken down by the hand of an assassin, in the height of his power and
usefulness, and at a time when all manly hearts yearned for a speedy restoration
of peace in our land, therefore be it Resolved, That we regard the death of
Abraham Lincoln a great National calamity, and view with horror the atrocity of
the crime that has deprived our country of him whom we regarded as the safeguard
of liberty. Resolved further, That these proceedings be entered upon our book of
records, and also that we wear crape for thirty days. Resolved further, That
this Board do now adjourn."

   The ordinance requiring the collection of the street tax was read the third
time on May 22d, and passed. On June 26th, President Sweetland resigned his
place on the Board, he being succeeded by M. Hinman. Consequent on the petition
of E. Barnes and others, an ordinance was passed on the 23d of October,
regulating the blowing of steam whistles within the city limits; while on the
same date Recorder Chandler tendered his resignation, which was accepted, George
W. Reed being appointed in his stead, on the day following. On December 9th, the
committee which had been appointed to make a contract and superintend the
building of a turn-table bridge across the creek at the foot of Washington
street, reported that they had contracted with John Caddy to put in a
turn-table, etc., for the sum of eight hundred and twenty-three dollars; that
the said contract had been carried out and the bridge completed, whereupon
payment was ordered.

   The event of greatest consequence, which occurred in the year 1865, was
unquestionably the dastardly assassination of Abraham Lincoln, in Ford's
Theatre, Washington, D. C, by John Wilkes Booth, on the evening of the 14th
April. Perhaps no calamity of a like nature had ever occurred to any nation; is
it any wonder, then, that the whole land was flooded with tears, and each
mourned as if a father had been taken, and was he not a father to the people? In
him was vested the rule and safeguard of the people, at a juncture when a wise
head and a pure heart, above all, was needed; he had labored indefatigably in
their behalf, was even then toiling to bring about an honorable peace, honorable
to friend and foe alike, and then to be cut off in the very zenith of his power;
is it any wonder, we say, that the Nation, from the Atlantic to the Pacific,
wept as one gigantic household for him who had led them through the uncertain
quicksands of statecraft. In Petaluma the intelligence was received with every
sign of respectful grief; stores were closed, business suspended, while a
special funeral service was held, when the citizens turned out en masse, and.
after forming in procession, listened to an impressive sermon by Professor E. S.
Lippett, on the life and death of the noble martyr. It may not be inappropriate
here to quote the following tribute from the Petaluma Journal and Argus of April
20, 1865:—

   "Fulness of speech may not be indulged, while a sable-clad Nation weeps at
the tomb of its mighty fallen. Pearly drops from humid eyes, speak a language
that tongue cannot utter, nor pen indite; the language of the heart as it has
been since the stars sang together on the morn of creation. As Mary knelt
weeping by the sepulchre of the World's Redeemer, eighteen hundred years ago,
even so now a Nation mourns at the tomb of its Saviour. The harsh notes of
trumpet-tongued courier did not blazon his fall, but from where the boisterous
Atlantic hurls its crested waves against Plymouth Rock to where the placid
Pacific laves our golden shores, the swift-winged messenger, with the rapidity
of thought, and the low cadence of Summer winds, told the story of the
assassin's deed; and scarce had the vaulted arch of Heaven been cleft to receive
his noble spirit up on high, before around a million hearths sat unmanned
manhood weeping, as it is seemly that women alone might weep. Never since the
earth reeled as if rocked by a mighty tempest, and the vail of the temple was
rent in twain, has mankind, universal, bled in the representative of principle
so pure, so lofty, and so Godlike in their adaptability to all the wants and
requirements of humanity, the world over, as in the person of ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
Not like the meteor's fitful gleam athwart the sky, fading into the dark chaos
of night, has been his going out; but as the bright orb of day sinking to rest
behind the western hills leaves its last golden rays illumining the mountain
gorge, and beetling cliff, so too will the light of his pure self-sacrificing
devotion to Justice and Freedom, irradiate the dark corners of the earth, and
the history of his life and the story of his death, will be asigned a place in
the world's archives; will be read by the glare of lamps, trimmed by servile
hands, and do the bidding of those who claim to rule by right Divine; will be
studied by peasants on sunny plains and Alpine hills; and yet farther on, where
day and night comes and goes but once a year, the fur-clad Laplander, by the
amber light of the Aurora Borealis will read the story, and pray that the
assassin who struck him down, may be exiled to some frigid clime, where even the
rays of a polar sun may be denied him. A Chieftain has fallen; his grave is in
the hearts of his countrymen; let those pay heed whose foul tongues, in
umbridled hcense, have aspersed his name! The assassin has done your work! Leave
ns [sic] alone with our dead!" Thus had the mighty fallen!

   "Hush, the Dead March wails in the people's ears:
    The dark crowd moves, and there are sobs and tears:
    The black earth yawns; the mortal disappears,
    Ashes to ashes, dust to dust;
    He is gone who seemed so great—
    Gone; but nothing can bereave him
    Of the force he made his own
    Being here, and we believe him
    Something far advanced in State,
    And that he wears a truer crown
    Than any wreath that man can weave him.
    Speak no more of his renown,
    Lay your earthly fancies down,
    And in the vast cathedral leave him.
    God accept him, Christ receive him."

   One of the absorbing topics which held the minds of the citizens of Petaluma
in this year was that of a railroad between this city and Healdsburg. To
consider the best means of procuring it a meeting was held on March 13th, at
McCune's Hall, when the question was fully discussed by gentlemen from all parts
of the county. In the course of its proceedings J. R. Myers, of Windsor,
estimated that a subscription of five hundred thousand dollars by Sonoma county
would insure the completion of the work, but he could not correctly approximate
what the income would be — he thought the cost would be about twenty-five
thousand dollars per mile, with three thousand dollars as a survey fee. Though
this meeting was informal, and indefinite as the proceedings were, it showed an
earnest desire on the part of the people to seek the most feasible plan to lead
to the desired result. It was thought that with a railroad to Healdsburg and the
creek rendered navigable to the wharves, Petaluma would soon take the position
which nature had designed her to occupy, that of only the second city in
importance in the State. At a subsequent meeting, held October 30th, Articles of
Association for the proposed Petaluma and Healdsburg Railroad were adopted, and,
on "motion of Judge Langdon, A. W. Thompson and L. A. Norton were appointed a
Committee to ascertain the amount of stock subscribed, and they reported that
thirty-two thousand three hundred dollars were subscribed, ten per cent, of
which had been paid to the Treasurer. On motion, Messrs. A. W. Thompson, J. R.
Myers, and T. W. Hudson, were appointed a committee on credentials. On motion
adjourned to meet at seven o'clock P. M. The meeting having reassembled at the
appointed hour, on motion, C. W. Langdon, proceeded to the election of seven
Directors. The Chair appointed as Tellers, J. Sroufe, J. M. Williams, and R.
Ives. L. A. Norton and R. Powell, of Healdsburg; L. S. B. Slusser, of Windsor;
C. W. Langdon, of Santa Rosa; S. D. Towne, I. G. Wickersham, and A. P. Overton,
of Petaluma, having received two hundred and eighty-three votes, were declared*
duly elected Directors of the Company." Another public meeting of considerable
importance to the city of Petaluma was convened at McCune's Hall on the 9th day
of December, 1865, for the purpose of considering the question of changing the
boundary line between the counties of Marin and Sonoma. O. Sweetland in the
chair. The subject had already occupied much public attention; this, however,
was the first occasion of its assuming a definite shape in this section of the
county. At the meeting J. H. McNabb introduced the following resolution, which
was adopted. "Resolved, That the citizens of Petaluma and vicinity are in favor
of changing the boundary line of Marin county, so as to include all that part of
Sonoma county, lying south and east of Santa Rosa creek, so that the northern
boundary line of Marin county shall be as follows: Commencing at a point in the
Pacific ocean, three miles, in a west line, from the mouth of Russian river;
thence running up said Russian river to the mouth of a creek called both Mill
creek and Mark West creek; thence up said Mill creek or Mark West creek to the
mouth of the Laguna; thence up the center of said Laguna to the mouth of north
Santa- Rosa creek; thence up. said Santa Rosa creek, following the main branch
thereof, by the town of Santa Rosa, to the line of Napa county." The proceedings
were of the most harmonious and unanimous character, resulting in the
appointment of a committee of nine, consisting of J. M. Bowles, F. D. Colton,
William Hill, E. Denman, G. Warner, William Zartman, Charles Hunt, L. W. Walker,
and J. M. Charles, to prepare and circulate a petition for the signatures of all
favorable to the change. Of the buildings erected in this year the principal one
was the new Methodist Episcopal church, the estimated cost of which, when
completed, would be nearly twenty-five thousand dollars. At the time of which we
write, May, 1865, the society proposed to simply enclose it and finish the
basement, at an expense of about fifteen thousand dollars. On the 20th of that
month the ceremony of breaking ground for the edifice took place, when the Rev.
E. S. Lippett, after a few remarks appropriate to the occasion, struck the first
pick, in commencement of excavating the foundation, and on the" 22d June the
corner-stone was laid, with becoming ceremony. Other structures also sprang up
in this year on every side, and progress was the watchword. At this period
Petaluma was unquestionably one of the most flourishing interior towns in
California. The streets were crowded with wagons, and their merry tinkling
bells; improvements were being pushed on every hand; there was little if any
lounging on the sidewalks; everything presenting the appearance of business
activity and energy.

   Let us now resume the transactions of the municipality. On April 23, 1866, a
communication was received from John Cavanagh and others asking for a recount of
the votes given and cast at the city election held on the 16th, the officers
elected being: Board of Trustees, Joseph S. Cutter, Lee Ellsworth, President, J.
B. Hinkle, B. F. Tuttle, and G. Warner; Clerk, F. W. Shattuck; Recorder, Edward
Cole; Treasurer, F. T. Maynard; Assessor, D. A. Sackett; Marshal, James K.
Knowles; Street Commissioner, Almon Johnson. On motion it was ordered that the
ballots cast at the election be carefully preserved for the purpose of enabling
any one to contest any election of any officer at said election. A committee was
appointed April 24th to draw up a bill to be sent to Congress to enable the
Trustees to carry out the provisions of an act of the Legislature in relation to
the improvement of Petaluma creek. To this end a preliminary survey was made by
Mr. Brooks, C. E., and on May 29th it was directed that a notice be published in
the local papers calling for tenders for the erection of a Lock, and the
construction of a Dam on some point on the Petaluma creek, to be hereafter
designated. June 11th, permission was granted the County Road Commissioners to
open a road within the city limits from Lakeville to Petaluma; action was also
taken at this time to prevent the throwing of loose paper on the streets, which
tended to the frightening of horses, and thereby the occasioning of accidents.
The city prison having, about this date been removed from its original location,
we find the necessity for the erection of a new one was being discussed. On the
25th of June, D. D. Carder was elected to the office of City Attorney, while, on
the same date, a remonstronce signed by citizens against the proposed manner of
improving Petaluma creek was presented, in which the levying of a tax each year
for the purpose was recommended, and that the bends be cut as money is collected
from the same source. On motion the further consideration of the petition was
indefinitely postponed. July 2nd, bids were received and opened for cutting off
the bends in Petaluma creek and building the lock and dam, and that of E. Gay,
for cutting the bends was accepted, action in the matter of the latter being
indefinitely postponed. Judge J. B. Southard appeared before the Board on August
26th, and objected to his assesment on the ground that he had no title to the
land-He intimated that a magnanimous city should withdraw its opposition, and
that between the City Fathers and one of their children there should be no
gouging. In respect to the above, on August 28th, the following resolution was
introduced by Trustee Hinkle and adopted: " Resolved, That the city of Petaluma
does hereby surrender up and forever abandon all claim that it may have asserted
to a parcel or lot of land filed on by J. B. Southard, adjoining lot number five
hundred and forty-five (545) as laid down and described upon the official map of
the said city as surveyed by the United States Surveyor General for California,
and particularly all claim to a strip of land twelve feet (12) in width running
along said lot on Howard street, the same having been claimed and filed upon by
the said J. B. Southard. And, we, the Trustees of the said city, at a regular
meeting assembled, do hereby authorize and request the Register and Receiver of
the United States Land Office at the city of San Francisco and State of
California to withdraw from their files and cancel any claim the said city may
have filed to said land, and any proceedings had thereon, hereby agreeing and
consenting that said J. B. Southard receive a patent from the United States for
the land upon which he has filed his claim and made proof as required bylaw."
September 17th, a petition numerously signed by cititizens [sic] and tax-payers
was presented, praying the Board to order the suspension of further work on the
creek, and to reduce the tax for the current year from one-and-a-half to one per
cent. The following minute appears on November 26th: "The members of the Board
being desirous of attending the lecture of 'Mark Twain,'" by order of the
President, the members concurring, the meeting was adjourned accordingly, until
the 27th at half past seven o'clock in the evening. On the convening of the
meeting, on the last mentioned date, it is placed on record that "Messrs. Pearce
and Wood, attorneys at law, appeared before the Board and presented the claim
Isaac Caplinger against the city for five thousand five hundred dollars damages
sustained by him by falling and breaking his leg on the east side of Main
street, north of Washington, on the 27th day of September, said damages being
sustained by reason, as is alleged, of the neglect and omission of the City
Trustees to lay out, keep open and in repair the side walk in the locality above
named, through and by means of which negligence and omission he, the said
Caplinger, fell and broke his leg, and to loss of time, expense in curing his
wounds and ailment, and incidental costs, doctor's bills, medicines, etc.,
amounting altogether to the sum named." December 3d, in order to reduce the
expenditure to the city, it was directed that S. M. Hutchinson, from and after
this date, cease to ring the bell morning, noon and evening, and cease to open
and shut or attend to the draw-bridge on account of the city; it was also, on
motion, ordered that the City Marshal cease to keep a night-watch or rent the
city pound from and after this date on same account.

   Perhaps the most interesting event which occurred in Petaluma during the year
1866, was the holding of a mass meeting of its citizens to take action in regard
to the introduction of the bill in the Legislature entitled, "An Act to quiet
titles in the city of Petaluma," held on Saturday evening the 24th March, Hon.
J. H. McNabb in the chair. The object of the bill will be gathered from the
following resolutions drafted by a committee consisting of L. C. Reyburn, Hon.
J. W. Owen, and A. P. Whitney: "WHEREAS, The Senator from Sonoma, the Hon.
George Pearce, has introduced into the Legislature of California, an act
entitled, 'An Act to quiet titles in the city of Petaluma;' and WHEREAS, We are
satisfied that neither said act, nor a request therefor, came from the municipal
officers of said city, or from any citizens thereof uninterested in the grant
itself; and WHEREAS, We believe said Act, if passed, would be ruinous to the
citizens and property-owners of said city, and would benefit only our old-time
enemy, Valentine, and his associates. That our titles, now in a fair way to be
perfected, would thereby be unsettled, property depreciated, improvements
checked, and business become stagnant; and the attempt, so long and persistently
made, to obtain a special act reinstating the Miranda claim in court, made
almost certain. Therefore, Resolved, That we disapprove of the action of our
Senator, in thus introducing a bill of such vital importance without consulting
the wishes of the parties to be affected thereby. Resolved, That we do not
desire to purchase, on any terms, the so-called Miranda claim; that we are
satisfied with our titles, and most respectfully request the honorable Senator
to cease his solicitude in our behalf in this respect. Resolved, That we most
earnestly urge our Senator to withdraw said act, if within his power, or to
inform the Senate that his constituents are opposed to its passage, and permit
the same to be indefinitely postponed. On motion of Mr. Campbell, a committee of
three, consisting of George Campbell, Hon. George W. Reed, Captain T. F. Baylis,
were appointed to draw up a petition to the Legislature, remonstrating against
the passage of the act, which was duly reported and numerously signed by those
present." One more matter of importance which presented itself in this year, was
the proposed establishment of a Baptist College in Petaluma. To secure the
location of it in this city, a sum of twenty thousand dollars was wanted from
Sonoma county by way of subscription; any amount pledged in the county being
payable whenever a like amount was secured elsewhere in the State, while it was
decided that a preparotory department should be opened about the middle of the
following August. The subject, however, dropped through want of appreciation of
the benefits accruing to a place by reason of the possession of such a seat of
learning. We now pass on to record another of those painful catastrophes which
cause the blood to run cold through one's veins. On the morning of the 27th of
August, the boiler of the locomotive that ran between this city and the steamer
blew up, causing sad havoc. Of the occurrence an eye-witness writes: "Arriving
at the depot we found the greatest consternation and confusion prevailing;
people running hither and thither, some wringing their hauls wildly,
frantically; others using their utmost endeavors to relieve the killed and
wounded from the wreck of the locomotive and one baggage-car, which were thrown
against the side of the depot building. Stepping upon the platform, the first
object that greeted our sight was a human body, unrecognizable to us, literally
torn from limb to limb, which proved to be Joshua H. Lewis, the owner of the
depot building. Upon the top of a baggage car lay the mangled remains of Arthur
Thompson, son of J. D. Thompson of this city. From these sickening sights we
turned into the depot building, to behold S. B. Dodge, keeper of the warehouse,
stretched upon the floor a corpse, and the engineer lying on the track a few
rods in advance of where the locomotive had stood, mangled and inanimate. These
were all beyond the reach of suffering, and needed not to be ministered to by
mortal hands. There were others, however, the sight of whom would have moved the
most unfeeling heart, most prominent among them was Charles Yeomans, so well
known to all who have traveled on the steamer Petaluma. His face was mangled in
a frightful manner, rendering his recovery extremely doubtful. Kind hands did
everything in human power to alleviate his suffering, and he was soon removed to
his residence, where the skill of surgery was called to his aid- Captain White,
of Newtown, was badly, but it is hoped not fatally injured. Mr. Rekert, a hand
employed on the track, was badly, and it is feared fatally injured; so was a Mr.
Flinn, also a laborer on the track, and Dan Barton, an employe in the warehouse.
Others there were who received slight wounds and bruises, among whom are John A.
McNear, Dan. Brown, J. W. Brier, Jr., and Rev. Jehu Barnes. None of these,
however, suffer serious inconvenience from their wounds. Had the boiler exploded
a few minutes sooner than it did, it is fearful to contemplate what would have
been the terrible destruction of life. As it was, the word had been given, 'All
aboard,' and the consequence was that sixty or seventy passengers, who a few
minutes before were massed where the missiles of death swept, had taken their
seats in the passenger cars, which hardly suffered a scratch. The boiler was
literally blown to fragments, one piece weighing several hundred pounds falling
at the foot of Main street, and another in the canal near the warehouse of
McNear & Bro. The locomotive was completely demolished, not a wheel being left
whole." The verdict of the coroner's jury was, "We find that the explosion
occurred from the incompetency of the man in charge of the locomotive at the
time." On the 26th of June, the city was again visited by a considerable
conflagration, the fire on this occasion being confined to the Sullivan and
Franklin hotels, the loss being in the neighborhood of six thousand dollars. The
Public Library, inaugurated by the order of Odd Fellows, was started on this
year, while we have to record the death at Santa Rosa of William Ordway, on the
5th of January, an old and highly esteemed resident of Petaluma.

   Once more we turn to the records of the city. On January 4, 1867, we find
that a petition from the citizens praying for the appointmeut [sic] of S. Odell
as special policeman, night watchman and bell-ringer was presented to the Board,
they, at the same time, agreeing to pay for his services as such, a matter which
received the consent of the Trustees. Complaint was made, on February 11th, of
the obstruction in the creek caused by the sinking of the old steamer
"Oroville," whereby a bar was being formed to the detriment of navigation;
while, on the 15th day of April, the Municipal election was held, and the
following officers selected: Board of Trustees, J. G. Cutter, President, H. B.
Hasbrouck, N. B. Lane, B. F. Tuttle, and George P. Land; Recorder, E. Cole;
Marshal, James H. Knowles; Assessor, Charles Humphries; Street Commissioner, Al.
Johnson; Treasurer, F. T. Maynard; Attorney, D. D. Carder; Clerk, Frank W.
Shattuck. There would appear to have been some question as to the correctness of
this return, for we find a special meeting called on May 27th, when the
President stated that the object of convening it was to cause to be drawn and
delivered to I. G. Wickersham a warrant or city order for one hundred and
sixty-five dollars, being money advanced for the city of Petaluma in the matter
of the suit to test the legality of the election of city officers for the year
1867. It was afterwards discovered that N. B. Lane had not been duly elected.
July 11th, the office of Assessor was declared vacant through the absence,
without leave, of D. A. Sackett, Charles Humphries being appointed in his stead.
It was also ordered at this meeting that the Gity [sic] Clerk, with the
assistance of the City Attorney, give notice that the Board of Trustees will, on
and after the 2d day of September, A. D. 1867, commence executing deeds to the
lands donated to the city by Act of Congress, and to notify all persons owning
lands in said city to file their claim to same with the Clerk of the Board of
Trustees prior to that date; therefore, on September 16th, the following
applications, they being the first, were heard by the Board: Hugh Stockdale,
Frank Nason, James Galandett, Joseph G. Smith, Addison Crandall, John McGrath,
I. G. Wickersham, William Sweeney, Delia Lane. On this date was also adopted the
Seal of the City of Petaluma—a portentious impression, emblematic of the
productions, trade and commerce of the district of which it is the center. About
this period numerous applications for deeds were contested and argued before the
Board, and, on October 28th, an Ordinance prohibiting bathing in the creek was
amended, so that the reading should be during daylight.

   Throughout the year 1867, the all absorbing topic was the railroad. Meetings
were held at different times having this object in view, tending to show that
unless speedy and prompt action were taken a road from Napa into the Russian
river valley would be built, which would deprive Petaluma of all the up-country
trade and travel; thus, they became fully aroused to the necessity of connecting
this city with Healdsburg by rail, and the ball being once put in motion, the
following result was speedily gained: " The undersigned, proposing to build a
railroad in the county of Sonoma, in the State of California, from the city of
Petaluma to Healdsburg, with a branch from some point on the line to Bloomfield,
and of the length of about forty miles; in order to form an incorporation under
the provisions of an Act of the Legislature of the State of California, approved
May 20, 1861, entitled 'An Act to provide for the incorporation of railroad
companies, and the management of the affairs thereof, and other matters relating
thereto,' and the several acts amendatory thereof, do hereby severally subscribe
the amount of capital stock of such contemplated railroad company set opposite
our respective names. And the subscribers do hereby name and appoint William P.
Hill of Petaluma to be Treasurer of said company." Here follow these names with
the sum of two thousand dollars opposite each: William Hill, Smith D. Towne,
William D. Bliss, McNear & Brother, H. Mecham, P. E. Weeks, Isaac Fuller, N. E.
Manning, John Sroufe, William Zartman, C. Temple, J. S. Van Doren, J. M. Bowles,
E. Barnes, A. B. Derby, A. P. Whitney, J. S. Cutter, Alex. McCune, Henry Hall,
Thomas Hopper. We would also mention that in this year the residence and grounds
of Judge J. B. Southard were purchased by the Sisters of Charity for the
establishment of a Convent school, and that the College would appear to have
made slight progress while in the month of July the school census for the
Petaluma District showed the following satisfactory results: Number of boys
between five and fifteen years of age, three hundred and twenty-three; number of
girls of same age, three hundred and thirty-five; total, six hundred and
fifty-eight. Number of colored children between five and fifteen years of age,
eight; number of white children under five years, four hundred and fifteen;
number of colored children of same age, four. Number of children attending
public schools, two hundred and sixty-three; number attending private schools,
five hundred and fifty-six; number attending no school, one hundred and
thirty-nine. The chapter of accidents for the twelve-month, was unfortunately
large. On may 11th the premises of S. Payran, in East Petaluma, were attempted
to be set on fire. On the 20th, a conflagration occurred destroying the
warehouses of Greening, Daly & Sroufe, and Hinshaw, while on September 25th the
seats prepared for the visitors at the Fair ground gave way, precipitating
several hundred ladies to the ground, of whom a number were seriously hurt,
among them being Miss McCune, Mrs. T. H.White and Mrs. J. S. Van Doren. Of
deaths there were those of Captain T. F. Baylis on the 10th September—a
gentleman much esteemed for his sterling worth and public spirit. He was a
native of Ireland but emigrated to America when quite young, and had been a
resident—one of the very first—of Petaluma since 1850. The sad accident at
Oakville Station, on the Valley Railroad on October 10th, which deprived Solomon
Pierce of his life, wherein the city lost one of her most valued and respected
citizens* should not now be omitted.

   In 1868, February 17th, instructions were given by the City Fathers for the
felling of an ancient landmark in the tree which stood in Oak street near
Liberty, while at the same time the propriety of the city taking charge of the
cemetery was also under discussion. On March 9th, the exclusive right to supply
the town with water was granted to S. D. Towne for twenty-five years, a scheme
which received the prompt and unequivocal condemnation of a large majority of
the people. The election for city officers was called for April 20th, when
citizens were also to vote to levy a tax of the one-half of one per cent, for
clearing out the creek; also to vote on whether they desire the Trustees to sell
the Plaza bounded by Main, Kentucky, Mary and Martha streets. On April 6th, the
Young America Engine Company, No. 3, composed of thirty-one members of Company
No. 1, were admitted into the Fire Department. In accordance with the amended
charter of 1868, the members voted for the two of the Board, who were to hold
over for the ensuing year, the lots being cast on Lee Ellsworth and G. Warner.
An ordinance regulating Oakhill Cemetery was passed on the 22d, and Charles
Blackburn appointed City Sexton: as was also another law enacted in relation to
houses of ill-fame and other nuisances. The corporation officers for this year
were: Board of Trustees, Lee Ellsworth, President; G. Warner, W. D. Bliss,
Andrew Mills and A. P. Whitney; Marshal, O. V. Walker; Assessor, Charles
Humphries; Treasurer, F. T. Maynard; Recorder, Edward Cole; City Attorney, F. D.
Colton; Clerk, D. D. Carder. May 18th, salary of City Clerk fixed at eighty
dollars and fifty cents per quarter, while J. C. White, Deputy Marshal, was
appointed Poundmaster and William O'Keefe, Night Watchman. On June 22d, the
ordinance granting S. D. Towne the sole right to supply the city with water was
repealed. July 27, Doctor Burnett, employed to attend upon small-pox patients at
the pest house, was gazetted Health Officer, and, on the 12th October, a
petition was presented to the Board, asking them "to prohibit the burial in the
Oakhill Cemetery of all persons who die, outside the city limits, with the
small-pox. On motion the Clerk was directed to notify the City Sexton to permit
no person who may have died outside of the city limits to be buried in the
cemetery, and that hereafter he allow no person to be interred in said cemetery
without a permit in writing, as required by ordinance, and that said Sexton give
notice by publication of said regulation."

   The railroad question still engrossed the public mind, till on the 9th of
May, 1868, the battle was fought at the polls, and victory went with the
Petaluma route, as opposed to that by Vallejo and Napa, at which there was great
rejoicing on the part of the residents of this city. On January 9th, in
accordance with instructions from headquarters, the Petaluma Guard and City
Guard were mustered out of the National Guard of California, by Major TJstick,
Assistant Adjutant General of the State, a summary dismissal which caused no
little surprise to all, for both companies had complied with the law in every
particular, had their full complement of men, and held all prescribed drills.
The companies, however, having an armory of their own, elected to keep up the
organization, so as to be ready should necessity call upon them. In the month of
July, small-pox made its appearance, the first fatal case being that of Mrs.
Thomas Tann, and the second Oliver Rand. The necessary precautions were at once
taken by the authorities and citizens, as has been remarked in another place,
and no serious outbreak of the epidemic occurred. The earthquake, which
committed such damage to San Francisco, was felt here, and though to some
considerable extent, no great loss was sustained thereby. Grim Death, in this
year, had laid his cold hand on the Hon. G. W. Reed, a much respected resident
of this city. He was a native of Ohio, and in early life emigrated to Iowa,
where he lived until manhood, receiving the advantages of a liberal education.
In 1852 he crossed the plains to Oregon, where he taught school for a time, then
started for Nevada county, in this State, where he arrived in the Pall of 1853.
The Summer of 1856 he came to this county, and, soon after his arrival, was
employed as teacher of the public school in this city. For several years he
followed this occupation, and in 1862 was chosen as one of the Representatives
from this county to the State Legislature. Having turned his attention to the
study of law, he was admitted to the bar in 1863, and up to within a few weeks
of the time of his death, continued in the practice of his profession. As an
effective orator Mr. Reed had few, if any, equals in this county, and humanity
and freedom ever found in him an eloquent advocate. But at the early age of
thirty-eight, when matured manhood is supposed to be best fitted to grapple with
the practical realities of life, he was stricken down by death. Evidences of
prosperity were not wanting now; a new bank building had been built by I. G.
Wickersham, while A. P. Whitney contemplated the erection of a fireproof edifice
on Main street. The Library Association was in a flourishing condition, it
containing, according to the President, L. Ellsworth, a total of six hundred and
thirty-three volumes on its shelves, and a total subscription list of four
hundred and sixty-six dollars, besides which, business was good throughout the
city, and prospects for the future promising.

   On the 26th April, 1869, the following corporate body was elected: Board of
Trustees, A. P. Whitney, President, W. D. Bliss, Andrew Mills, S. Conrad, and
William Zartman: Marshal, James H. Knowles; Assessor, Charles Humphries;
Treasurer, F. T. Maynard; Recorder, E. Cole; Street Commissioner, J. M.
Lightner; Clerk, Frank W. Shattuck. On this date an acceptance to the fete held
at Sacramento on the completion of the Central Pacific Railroad was ordered to
be sent, and, on August 23d, Frank W. Shattuck tendered his resignation as Clerk
of the Board of Trustees, and was succeeded by D. D. Carder.

   In the year 1869, Articles of Incorporation of the Petaruma and Clover-dale
Railroad were filed for the construction of a. road from some point on the line
of Marin county, by way of Petaluma and Santa Rosa to Clover- 4 dale, with a
branch from some point thereof to Bloomfield, the road to be seventy miles in
length; capital, one million, four hundred thousand dollars, in shares of one
hundred dollars each; Directors, William Zartman, W. D. Bliss, H. T. Fairbanks,
F. W. Lougee, and Alexander McCune; the principal place of business to be
Petaluma. The reason for this new corporation was the non-fulfilment by another
company of the terms of the charter, whereby a certain portion of the road was
to be completed before a given date. In Tegard to the line proposed by way of
Napa, into the Russian River valley, a series of very excellent communications
from the facile pen of E. S. Lippett appeared about this time in the Petaluma
Journal and Argus, under the heading of "Petaluma Compared with Vallejo" as a
railroad center, much to the disadvantage of the latter, as viewed through the
eyes of the learned Professor. As an instance of what the resources of the
district were ten years ago; and the eminence attained by this city as a point
of shipment, we here present a brief statement of the number of boxes of butter
and eggs, and the number of cheeses shipped from Petaluma to San Francisco on
the steamers from April 1st to May 1, 1869. Number of boxes of butter and eggs,
two thousand, seven hundred and ninety-four; number of cheeses, one thousand,
five hundred and eighty-three; boxes Limberger cheese, thirty-eight. Estimating
the boxes of butter to contain one hundred pounds each at thirty-two and
one-half cents per pound; of eggs, at one hundred dozen, at thirty-eight cents
per dozen; and the cheeses at an average of thirty-two pounds each (which is
low, the range being all the way from twenty to eighty pounds), at fifteen
cents; and the Limbergers at about four thousand pounds, at twenty-seven cents
per pound, we get in round numbers, one hundred and five thousand, five hundred
dollars as an estimate of the total value of shipments of butter, cheese, and
eggs during the month of April. This estimate was, at the time, considered low,
one house asserting that their business alone, in this line, exceeded ten
thousand dollars a month. It must be further remembered, that the above
statement embraces shipments to San Francisco only, no account having been taken
into consideration of home consumption; and further, that no mention whatever is
made of the shipment of calves, chickens, geese, etc.—all immediately connected
with and belonging to these, branches of industry—immense quantities of which
are daily-exported; it may be safely said, therefore, that the shipments of
these during that month exceeded fifteen thousand dollars, which would swell the
total dairy and poultry shipments from this city for April to one hundred and
twenty thousand, five hundred dollars.

   We now turn to the records for the year 1870. On March 2d a committee was
directed to take such steps as should be thought necessary to satisfy the
mortgage on the City Hail property, by loan or otherwise; on the 14th they
reported that a loan could be had of Mrs. E. A. Hunter by paying
one-and-a-quarter per cent, per month interest for eight months, in advance,
amounting to one hundred and forty-eight dollars, leaving the sum of one
thousand dollars due on the 11th day of November, 1870, as principal only, and
that to secure Mrs. Hunter the mortgage held by the Trustees of the Petaluma
Lodge No. 30, I. O. O. F., must, with the policy of insurance, be assigned to
her. On motion the same was accepted. On April 18th the election for the
municipal officers took place with the following result: Board of Trustees,
Simon Conrad, President, William Zartman, Lee Ellsworth? Thomas Rochford and
John Fritsch; Treasurer, Andrew Henry; Marshal, James K. Knowles; Recorder, E.
Cole; Street Commissioner, A. Johnson Assessor, Charles Humphries; Clerk, D. D.
Carder; Attorney, F. D. Colton; Health Officer, J. H. Crane, M. D. Monthly
reports from the Recorder were called for on August 21st, to contain returns of
the arrests made, while on the same date the petition of Peter Donahue asking
the Board to grant to the San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad Company the
right to run steam cars over the lands now occupied by the railroad grade,
within and passing through the city of Petaluma, which was granted. September
12th, an ordinance regulating the police department was finally adopted and
stars with the word "Police" directed to be procured for the force. On the 26th
Recorder Cole resigned his office and D. D. Carder was appointed in his stead. A
proposition of Peter Donahue to supply the city with fifteen street lamps, gas
therefor, and light them at an expense of six dollars a month each, as also to
furnish gas for the engine houses and City Hall free to the corporation, was on
motion accepted on the 10th October. On the 14th, George Pearce was appointed
City Attorney, vice F. D. Colton, who had removed from the city. The President
was also authorized to proceed to Santa Rosa to look after the franchise asked
of the Board of Supervisors of the county of Sonoma by Peter Donahue to build a
wharf for the railroad company of which he is President, at a point below
Lakeville.

   The oft-recurring matters of the railroad was at last set to rest in the year
1870 by the success of Peter Donahue of San Francisco in obtaining the
controlling interest in the North Pacific Railroad Company, from John F.
Macualey & Co., the formal transfer taking place on August 2d. Two steamers, the
"Sacramento" and "Wilson G. Hunt," were at once purchased to be placed on the
route between the terminus and San Francisco, while ties were purchased and sent
forward to the scene of action; by the 27th of the month over a hundred men were
at work on the line, and additional hands were being daily employed. Twenty
thousand ties had already been delivered at the terminus, as well as
installments of fish-plates, bolts, and spikes, together with a vast amount of
paraphernalia in the shape of push-cars, switches, tools, etc. On the 29th the
formal driving of the first spike occurred, the hammer being wielded by Simon
Conrad, President of the Board of Trustees, in the presence of a large and
enthusiastic assemblage; in a very few days after the first construction train
made its first trip along the track, for a distance of two miles above the city,
while the road to Santa Rosa was completed in October, and a passenger car at
once put on the route. On the completion of this line, which was but a few
hundred feet short of fifteen miles, the Board of Supervisors examined
officially the part constructed, accepted ten miles of it, and ordered the
issuance to Mr. Donahue of county bonds to the amount of fifty thousand dollars.
On this subject we quote from the Journal: "But as the act under which the
subsidy was voted provides that bonds shall be issued on the first ten miles
northward from Petaluma, and on every subsequent five miles, of course Mr.
Donahue can receive at this time but fifty thousand dollars, instead of
seventy-five thousand. As the work of extending the road from this city to
Lakeville is being pushed with all diligence, Mr. Donahue will, in a few weeks
at most, receive a second installment of these documents, and which, by the way,
we are told are eagerly sought after by capitalists at ninety cents. The work on
the road from Santa Rosa to Healdsburg, it is understood, will be completed at
an early day during the ensuing summer. The iron for the same has been already
secured. The bonds for the ten miles of the road already accepted, as above
stated, were issued on Wednesday last (October 19, 1870). They are printed upon
parchment, are fifty in number, and in substance agree, that the county of
Sonoma will pay to the order of Peter Donahue, President of the San Francisco
and North Pacific Railroad Company, twenty years from date, the sum of one
thousand dollars, gold coin of the United States, with interest at the rate of
eight per cent. Each bond has attached to it twenty-coupons, for interest
payable January first of each year, and calling for eighty dollars each. The
bonds and coupons cover a sheet of some sixteen by eighteen inches." In the
meantime the extension of the road was progressing towards Lakeville and the new
town of Donahue, where the company's wharves had been constructed and terminus
established, and tickets were issued for an inaugural excursion from San
Francisco to Santa Rosa on the last day of the year 1870. when the following
resolutions were presented to Colonel Peter Donahue: "Resolved, That the people
of the State of California are greatly indebted to our worthy fellow-citizen,
Col. Peter Donahue, for the energy displayed by him in the completion of a
first-class railroad from the town of Donahue to Santa Rosa, the said road now
being in perfect order, and having been completed in four months, traversing a
portion of the most fertile and beautiful section of our State; and we are
specially gratified in stating that this important work has been completed with
white labor, and upon cash principles. Resolved, That we are greatly indebted
for much of the pleasure of our trip to J. D. Hendricks, Capt. Galloway of the
steamer "Sacramento," Mr. Gerdes, and Capt.Robert Hayley, who, by their
assiduous attentions, have made the excursion extremely agreeable to all.
Resolved, That it is proper, in this connection, to refer to the services of Mr.
Harris, the Chief Engineer, Capt. Wright, the Superintendent, Mr. Wilson, who
built the road, and W. M. Kilduff, Chief Engineer of Navigation, whose
invaluable services have enabled Mr. Donahue to successfully complete this
important work." Thus was inaugurated an enterprise the importance of which can
hardly be estimated, both as to its benefits to State and county. But the
munificence of Peter Donahue did not rest here; he purchased the gas works, and
almost his first step was to offer certain lighting facilities to the city,
while he had become interested in other important affairs in the neighboring
districts.

   Let us now take a retrospective glance at Petaluma. At no period in its
history has its growth been more rapid, or of a character so indicative of
permanence and future prosperity, as during the past three years; and at no time
has real estate in and near the city commanded so large a price as in this year
of 1870. There has been nothing ephemeral or unnatural in its growth. It has
simply kept pace with the development of the surrounding country, and owes
nothing to speculative excitement, or expectations that have not been realized.
The city has been peculiarly free from the speculating mania, which has at some
time prevailed, to a greater or less extent, in nearly every Californian town of
any importance, and which almost invariably reacts disastrously, or at least
unfavorably.

   Petaluma, as has been elsewhere remarked, is surrounded by an extensive and
exceedingly fertile agricultural region, which yields nearly every variety of
production that grows in the temperate zone, and of which it is the natural
outlet. Its location is such that it commands a large and constantly increasing
trade. Nearly the whole of Sonoma, a large portion of Marin and Mendocino, and a
considerable part of Lake counties, are, and must ever be in a large degree
tributary to it. This region is peculiarly blessed as a farming country, being
not only susceptible of producing an almost endless variety of fruit and grain,
and dairy products of the first quality, but invariably yielding good crops when
a drought prevails throughout the State, cutting off the yield nearly everywhere
else. Owing to the dews and fogs that are prevalent here during the Spring and
Summer months, the blighting influence of a dry Winter is not severely felt in
this region, and during such seasons farmers naturally reap much larger profits
than at other times. A considerable 'portion of the district above indicated is
heavily timbered, and some of the finest and most valuable kinds of woods to be
found west of the Rocky Mountains abounds in the forests of Sonoma county. The
wooded district is of sufficient extent to supply with lumber and fuel the wants
of five hundred thousand people for many years to come. These extensive forests
must eventually prove of vast benefit to this city.

   The trade of Petaluma, already very extensive, is steadily increasing, and
bids fair to equal, at no distant date, that of any inland town in California.
Wholesale and retail mercantile establishments do a large and prosperous
business, and the figures representing the aggregated yearly sales of its
merchants would make a showing that would be quite astonishing. The following
are among the principal products brought here for shipment to San Francisco and
other points: Hay, grain, fruit, potatoes, hops, butter, cheese, eggs, wine,
hogs, sheep, cattle/poultry, wool, firewood, ships' timber, lumber, staves,
hoop-poles and charcoal.

   Extensive manufacturing establishments have not yet been inaugurated; but
Petaluma has many natural advantages as a manufacturing town, and when
additional transportation facilities are supplied, by means of which raw
material, fuel, etc., can be obtained at reduced rates, these advantages will
undoubtedly be turned to account, and a new source of wealth and prosperity
added. Following is a list of the mechanical and manufacturing establishments
which obtained in 1870: "Tanneries, three; potteries, one; marble works, one;
undertaker, one; sash and blind factory, one; foundry and machine shop, one;
flouring mills, two; blacksmith and wagon-making shops, eleven; carpenter shops,
six; tin shops, three; gunsmith, one; boot and shoe shops, ten; glove factory,
one; tailor shops, four; cabinet-maker, one; candy factory, one; manufactories
of ploughs, cultivators, and other agricultural implements, two; cooper shops,
one. At this epoch there were seven large and commodious hotels, and three
restaurants and bakeries besides several boarding houses; dry goods stores,
nine; grocery stores, ten-furniture stores, four; hardware stores, four; paint
and oil stores, two; drug stores, two; banks, two; book, stationery and variety
stores, five; saddle and harness shops, three; clock and jewelry stores, three;
millinery and dress-making shops, seven; tobacco stores, four; warehouses,
twelve; wholesale liquor store, one; photograph galleries, two; breweries, two;
lumber yards, three; livery stables, seven; paint shops, four; drinking and
billiard saloons, twenty-seven; meat markets, four; insurance agencies, ten; one
printing office, postoffice, telegraph office, and express office. The following
represents the number of persons engaged in various professional pursuits:
Physicians, ten; school teachers, eighteen; music teachers, six; clergymen,
seven; lawyers, eight; dentists, three; surveyors, two. Of capitalists,
speculators, real estate agents, etc., Petaluma has its full complement.

   Not enumerated in the above are numerous places of business, of more or less
importance, such as form a part of every prosperous town, and which in the
aggregate transact a large amount of business annually. Among these are hay and
feed yards, of which there are several; game, poultry, fruit and vegetable
stores, etc.

   The city then had four public school buildings, in which school was
maintained ten months in the year, and nine teachers employed; and five private
schools and seminaries, giving occupation to nine teachers; there were also
several teachers engaged exclusively in giving instruction in music, drawing,
painting, and kindred branches. Not less than six hundred pupils attended the
public schools at that time. Even at this day the educational facilities of
Petaluma are not surpassed by those of any town in the State; these advantages
add largely to the desireableness of the city as a place of residence for
families having children to educate; they have attracted here a desirable
element in the population of the community, and have heretofore been, as it is
to be hoped they will be in the future, liberally sustained. The public schools
are controlled by a City Board of Education.

   In 1870, each of the following religious denominations had an organization
and church building in which service was regularly held: Methodist,
Congregational, Episcopal, Methodist South, Baptist, Roman Catholic, and the
African Methodist Episcopal Church. The churches at the present writing, as they
were then, are in a flourishing condition financially, and the membership
steadily increasing. Other religious societies hold occasional services, but
have no church buildings. There were also several other societies and
organizations of less importance than those named above. The Mutual Beneficial
Association is an institution well worthy of especial mention here.    It is an
association organized by citizens of Petaluma in the year 1868, for the purpose
of mutual life insurance among its members. The practical working of the
institution fully meets the expectation of its proprietors, and it is found to
be a most excellent and useful organization, securing to its members, at small
expense, the benefits of a policy of life insurance. The affairs of the
association are under the control of a Board of twelve Directors, who are
elected by the members annually; and are assisted by a Secretary and Treasurer,
chosen by the Board. The association in 1870 numbered upwards of eleven hundred
and fifty members, and is rapidly increasing.

   The city records for 1871 inform us that on March 13th directions were issued
to draw up an ordinance prohibiting the hanging or extending of signs across the
sidewalk, or from the buildings towards the center of the street, a project
which became law on the 27th. The election for Municipal officers was held on
April 17th, with the following result: Board of Trustees: Lee Ellsworth,
President, Thomas Rochford, John Fritsch, Alexander McCune, and H. B. Hasbrouck;
Treasurer, Andrew Henry; Marshal, J. K. Knowles; Recorder, D. D. Carder; Street
Commissioner, W. H. Hedgey; Assessor, Charles Humphries; Clerk, D.D. Carder. On
the 24th, T. J. Graham was allowed until June 1st to move the Petaluma House
building back to the street line; on the 12th, the petition of the Sonoma County
Water Company, for the privilege of laying pipes in the street, was received;
and, on motion, the right to lay such within the city of Petaluma was granted
said company, and finally passed on the following day. In July, a petition,
headed by A. P. Whitney, for an allowance toward the construction of a bridge
across the creek at C street, was lost on the motion to grant the prayer of the
petitioners. A petition was received, October 23d, from S. D. Towne, McNear &
Bro., and others, asking the Board to allow the San Francisco and North Pacific
Railroad Company to extend a new depot building fourteen feet into Hopper
street, from the north line of block eight, and contiguous to block lying east
of block eight. They were granted the privilege of occupying with a depot
building, one hundred and twelve feet in length, of Hopper street, and fourteen
feet in width of block eight and contiguous block on the east, being the center
of what is known as depot block. At this time hitching posts and bulletin boards
were permitted to be erected.

   But few occurrences of any note took place in the city during the year 1871.
A new military company had been organized under the name of the Emmet Guard of
Petaluma, while the corner-stone of the Odd Fellows' Hall was laid with imposing
ceremonies on the 18th of July of that year. On the evening of November 5th, a
most terrible and unjustifiable murder was committed in the saloon of Brown &
Sroufe. The particulars are briefly these: Lewis Levi, a hackman, was standing
in the saloon, leaning on the counter, when his assailant, Benjamin Edwards, a
barber on Washington street, entered and, without any words being exchanged,
drew a large ten-inch revolver and commenced beating him on the head. At the
first blow Levi's hat was knocked off, and on the second or third his skull was
fractured and he reeled to the floor. The work was done so quickly that those
standing in the saloon were not aware that a fight was in progress—several
thinking it merely a friendly scuffle. Levi had been a resident of Petaluma for
many years and bore the reputation of being a quiet, inoffensive man* his
assailant, too, had lived in the city, ever since his boyhood, and it is
believed was incited to commit the bloody deed to appease the whim of a
courtezan with whom he was living, she having become offended at Levi for his
refusing her permission to ride in his carriage.

   We have now completed the first twenty years of Petaluma's history, since
which time nothing of very great interest has occurred to cause her to deviate
from the even tenor of her prosperous way. These remarks will therefore be
brought to a conclusion by following up to the present year the records of the
Board of Trustees, in order that a full list of the municipal officers and some
of their doings may be preserved in a handy form. In 1872, the election of
officers took place on April loth, when were chosen: H. B. Hasbrouck, President,
William Zartman, Thomas Rochford, C. Poehlman, and A. McGuire, Board of
Trustees; Treasurer, Andrew Henry; Marshal, J. K. Knowles; Recorder, D. D.
Carder; Street Commissioner, William Richardson; Assessor, Charles Humphries;
Clerk, D. D. Carder. June 24th, it was reported to the Board that a site had
been purchased for a hospital from W. J. Smith, and on July 29th Messrs.
Rochford and Poehlman were appointed Water Commissioners. William Richardson,
Street Commissioner, resigned on November 25th and was succeeded by Michael
Stoddart. December 9th, the President was authorized to appoint a special
policeman at the request of each church congregation in the city, who shall
regularly qualify as such, and be oh duty only during the hours of divine
service of their respective congregations, and who shall receive no emolument
from the funds of the corporation. At this date the question of a steam
fire-engine was first mooted, when one was ordered to be contracted for.

   On January 27, 1873, an ordinance granting to the Citizen Gas Company the
right to lay pipes in the city, was passed. March 24th, it was determined to
bring suit against the county if the Board of Supervisors refuse to set aside
sixty per cent of the amount of property road fund collected within Road
District included in the corporate limits of Petaluma city. At the election held
on April 21st, for the choice of a corporation, the following gentlemen were
delegated to fill the municipal offices: Board of Trustees, Thomas Rochford,
President, C. Poehlman, A. McGuire, L. Ellsworth, and William Zartman; Marshal,
J. K. Knowles; Treasurer, Andrew Henry; Recorder, J. Cavanagh; Assessor, C.
Humphries; Street Commissioner, Michael Stoddart; Clerk. D. D. Carder. On May
12th, the special committee appointed to confer with the Board of Supervisors
respecting the road fund claimed by the city, reported that they had withdrawn
the claim of the ?city to said fund, with the understanding that it was to be
expended by the Board of Supervisors, within the township of Petaluma, upon the
petition of the Board of Trustees and others in any manner devised by them. On
the same date, the consent of a majority of the Trustees was requested by and
given to the Board of Education to purchase the Moffet property on D street for
high school purposes. On May 12th, we note the appointment of E. S. Lippitt to
the post of City Attorney, and, on October 27th, the San Francisco and North
Pacific Telegraph Company were authorized to erect poles within the city limits,
while on petition of certain residents, presented November 12th, the sum of one
thousand two hundred and fifty dollars was appropriated towards the purchase of
the block of ground between D and E and Third and Fourth streets, for a public
plaza.

   In 1874, February 24th, it was resolved to have the City Charter amended so
as to be able to establish fire limits, and on March 23d it was decided that the
Senator and Assemblyman in the Legislature be asked to use their united efforts
towards the passage of a bill exempting all firemen within the county of Sonoma,
either active or exempt, from the payment of the State poll-tax. On April 20th,
the following municipal authorities were elected: Board of Trustees, Lee
Ellsworth, President; William Zartman, H. T. Fairbanks, A. McGuire, and Kelly
Tighe; Clerk, D. D. Carder; Marshal, James K. Knowles; Treasurer, Andrew Henry;
Recorder, John Cavanagh; Assessor, Charles Humphries; Street Commissioner,
Michael Stoddart; Attorney, E. S. Lippitt. The ordinance establishing fire
limits was passed on May 25th; while, on July 3d, the bonds and title deeds,
presented by the officers of the Sonoma and Marin Agricultural Society, were
accepted and directed to be filed in the office of the Recorder of Sonoma
County; on the 13th, Trustee A.. McGuire presented a protest against the action
of the Board respecting the matter of the transfer of the Sonoma and Marin
Agricultural Society's property to the city and the issuance of five thousand
dollar bonds of the city of Petaluma to said society; and requested that the
same be recorded upon the minutes of the Board of Trustees. On August 10th, the
ordinance fixing the Recorder's salary was repealed.

   In 1875, February 8th, President Ellsworth, to whom had been referred the
matter of the settlement of the State, county, and special road tax upon the
Agricultural park ground, reported that the Board of Supervisors had remitted
the county portion of said tax; that he had paid the State portion, as also the
special road tax. On 19th of April, the following city officers were elected:
Board of Trustees, H. T. Fairbanks, President; Kelly Tighe, J. C. Wickersham,
Charles Lynch, and A. McGuire; Marshal, J. K. Knowles; Treasurer, Andrew Henry;
Assessor, John P. Rodgers; Recorder, John Cavanagh; Street Commissioner, Michael
Stoddart; Clerk, D. D. Carder; Attorney, E. S. Lippitt. On April 26th, the
following minute occurs: "The petition of H. Mecham and others, asking the Board
of City Trustees to deed the Agricultural Park property back to the Sonoma and
Marin Agricultural Society, read. On motion of Trustee Zartman the rule was
suspended and the petition taken up for consideration. Trustee Zartman moved
that the prayer of petitioners be complied with, and that the city of Petaluma,
by its President, execute a deed of the Agricultural Park property to the
Directors of the Sonoma and Marin District Agricultural Society, which motion
was seconded by Trustee Tighe. After discussion the motion was put by the
President, and resulted in the following vote: Messrs. Ellsworth, Zartman and
Tighe voted in favor of the motion; Trustee Fairbanks voted against the motion,
and desired that his protest against the act of a majority of the Trustees be
entered upon the minutes. Trustee Zartman moved that the bond given in behalf of
the Sonoma and Marin Agricultural Society to the city of Petaluma, for ten
thousand dollars, dated June 8, 1874, be cancelled, which motion was seconded by
Trustee Tighe. The motion was put by the President, and resulted in the
following vote; Messrs. Ellsworth, Zartman and Tighe voted in favor of the
motion; Mr. Fairbanks voted against the action of a majority of the Trustees
herein." On July 26th a petition to relight the city at night with gas was
indefinitely postponed.

   On April 17, 1876, the annual election of city officers was held, with the
accompanying result: Board of Trustees, J. C. Wickersham, President; Charles
Lynch, C. A. Walker, L. G. Nay, and H. T. Fairbanks; Clerk, D. D. Carder;
Marshal, Julius Blume; Treasurer, Andrew Henry; Recorder, P. D. Carder;
Assessor, Charles Humphries; Attorney, E. S. Lippitt. It would appear that W. B.
Haskell had been elected to the office of City Clerk, but he resigned at once,
as did also Trustee Fairbanks on May 8th; and the salary of the Clerk was
declared to be five hundred dollars a year, with perquisites. On May 22d, the
ordinance relative to the tagging of dogs was adopted; while, on Sentember [sic]
11th, we have the accompanying minute: "The following resolution was offered by
L. G. Nay: WHEREAS, The Trustees requested D. D. Carder, Clerk, to resign, and
he declined to do so, I therefore move that the office of City Clerk be declared
vacant; the resolution was seconded by James Armstrong, and carried
unanimously." On this occurring, E. H. Long was put in nomination for the
office, and, having received a majority of the votes, was declared duly elected.
November 27th, the petition of I. G. Wickersham, President of the Sonoma and
Marin Railroad Company, was read, asking for right of way to extend their road
from the south side of B. street, northerly, across and along any street, alley,
or property of the city of Petaluma, easterly of Main and westerly of Hopper
streets, to the northern limits of the county, was granted. The Board of
Trustees, on 26th December, declared their intention to widen English street,
from Main to Howard, to a width of seventy feet, and that to effect this it was
necessary to take certain private property, which is enumerated, as also certain
lots, which will be benefitted by the change, and should bear the expense of the
work.

   February 12, 1877, the resignation of E. H. Long was presented and accepted,
and W. E. Cox appointed in his stead, when the election of city officers was
appointed to take place on the 16th. On the retirement of the Board then in
office, the following tribute was paid and filed: "Resolved, That this Board
tender to Jesse C. Wickersham a vote of thanks for his courteous and gentlemanly
bearing toward his fellow members, and his faithfulness in the discharge of the
duties of that position. Resolved, That we recognize and acknowledge him
unbiased in all his decisions as a presiding officer, ever watchful of the true
interests of the city, always bearing in mind that it had no enemies to punish,
nor any friends to reward. Resolved, That these miutes [sic] be placed upon the
Board as a testimony of respect to our retiring President." The officers for the
year 1877 were: Board of Trustees, M. Doyle, M. Walsh, James K. Knowles, L. G.
Nay, President, and O. A. Walker; Marshal, Julius Blume; Treasurer, Andrew
Henry; Recorder, F. W. Shattuck; Assessor, Charles Humphries; Clerk, W. E. Cox.
On June 11th, a committee was appointed to consult with J. H. McNear on the
matter of furnishing lots in Cypress Hill Cemetery for the burial of paupers,
and what inducements he would offer to those having lots in the old cemetary
[sic] to remove the bones of their friends to Cypress Hill.

   The corporation for the year 1878, consisted of: Board of Trustees, J. M.
Charles, J. M. Lightner, L. E. Brooke, M. Doyle, President, and M. Walsh
-Marshal, Julius Blume; Treasurer, Andrew Henry; Recorder, R. J. Preston;
Assessor, Charles Humphries; Clerk, W. E. Cox.  A committee was appointed on May
27th, to confer with an engineer in the matter of laying out the city in a
system of sewerage, while, at that time it was likewise ordered that the gas
company furnish gas for the street lamps situated at the Washington street
bridge, the lighting to commence on June 1st. On the 10th it was notified that
the water company had refused to provide water in a trough at the junction of
Main and Third streets, for the benefit of the public. On June 15th, a Board of
Health was established, an4.on the 24th, Dr. J. H. Crane was elected President,
with Dr. J. B. Christie as Secretary and Health Officer. On August 12th, a
committee from the Odd Fellows' Library Association tendered their library to
the city, the same to be kept up by them and run as a free library. On motion of
M. Walsh seconded by J. M. Lightner, it was ordered that the city of Petaluma
accept the offer of the Odd Fellows' Library Association, and establish a free
library under the provisions of the statutes, and that the Board appoint HVQ
Trustees on behalf of this city to act for said library. December 23d, two
Trustees having been absent for a longer period than ninety days, L. G. Nay and
H. T. Fairbanks were elected to fill the vacancies caused by J. M. Charles and
L. E. Brooke.

   In 1879, January 27th, it was directed that all officers who make arrests be
notified that entries be made in the Police Court Blotter, in ink; while on 10th
February, regulations in regard to pay and fees of Police Department of the city
were issued. On April 21st, the following officers who, at the present writing,
still retain their posts were elected: Board of Trustees, M. Walsh, John Bauer,
H. T. Fairbanks, President, L. G. Nay, and J. M. Lightner; Marshal, Julius
Blume; Treasurer, Andrew Henry; Recorder, R. J. Preston; Assessor, Charles
Humphries; Clerk, W. E. Cox.

   Let us now draw this already too lengthy history to a close.

   To one who has never visited the town before Petaluma presents many points of
interest. Although remote from the mining regions and from the line of travel
between the mountains and the bay, the name of Petaluma became familiar to the
ears of California adventurers and settlers, as has been shown, nearly thirty
years ago. The agricultural advantages of the location were discernable to the
sharp-sighted even at that early day of turmoil and excitement. Its growth was,
however, slow until the gold fever had partially died out. Of late years the
growth and advancement of the place has been steady and rapid. Petaluma now
contains nearly six thousand inhabitants. The creek is navigable for small craft
up to the business portion of the town, and for larger steamers and sailing
vessels to points within two or three miles of it. Railroads connecting with the
San Francisco steamers run into the city, and one extends up the valley to Santa
Rosa, Healdsburg and Cloverdale. These business facilities show their results in
the city. There are many large and substantial stone and brick warehouses to be
seen, which serve as the depositories of grain, hay, and general merchandise.
Many of the stores and other buildings are built of brick, while neat and
attractive frame cottages and dwelling-houses adorn the sloping hillsides on the
margin of the town. Activity in mechanical branches of business and merchandise
tells plainly that an extensive area of country to the north and west is
furnished with supplies from this point. Aside from the results of enterprise
and energy, the natural scenery of the location is such that the eye, or the
cultivated taste of the artist is hnot required for an appreciation of its
beauty. Located on the western border of a level valley, from two to three miles
wide, a portion of the town rests upon adjoining hills, which ascend so
gradually as to be easy of access, but so high as to command an admirable view
of the surrounding country. On the east of the valley the Sonoma range of
mountains looms up in grandeur, its summit at a distance of nine or ten miles,
and the nearest foot-hills at from two to three miles. On the south is another
range of hills running nearly east and west, less grand and imposing than the
Sonoma range, but more subdued and beautiful. These hills ascend so gradually
that nearly their entire surface is susceptible of cultivation, and numerous
fine farm-houses, surrounded by orchards and vineyards, are discernable within a
mile or two of town. In the ^Sacramento or San Joaquin valleys the inhabitant,
year after year, contemplates from day to day the Sierras on the east, or the
coast range on the west, but regards them as objects remote and disconnected
from himself and his home. The hills which surround Petaluma are ever present
and always attractive to the eye, and the spectator must soon acquire a personal
interest in every tree, ravine, or sloping bank which adds to their beauty.

    "Day after day the mellow sun slides o'er,
     Night after night the mellow moon. The clouds
     Are laid, enchanted; soft and bare, the heavens
     Fold to their breast the dozing Earth, that lies
     In languor of deep bliss. At times, a breath,
     Remnant of gales far off, forgotten now,
     Rustles the never-fading leaves, then drops
     Affrighted into silence. Near a slough
     Of dark, still water, in the early morn
     The shy coyotas prowl, or trooping elk
     From the close covert of the bulrush fields
     Their dewy antlers toss; nor other sight,
     Save when the falcon, poised on wheeling wings,
     His bright eye on the burrowing covey, cuts
     His arrowy plunge."

   Thus we had it in 1851—in 1879 the change has to be seen to be properly
realized.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

HISTORY
—OF-
SONOMA COUNTY,
-INCLUDING ITS—
Geology, Topooraphy, Mountains, Valleys and Streams;
—TOGETHER WITH—
A Full and Particular Record of the Spanish Grants; Its Early History and
Settlement, Compiled from the Most Authentic Sources; the Names of Original
Spanish and American Pioneers; a full Political History, Comprising the Tabular
Statements of Elections and Office-holders since the Formation of the County;
Separate Histories of each Township, Showing the Advancement of Grape and Grain
 Growing Interests, and Pisciculture;
ALSO, INCIDENTS OF PIONEER LIFE; THE RAISING OF THE BEAR FLAG; AND BIOGRAPHICAL
SKETCHES OF EARLY AND PROMINENT SETTLERS AND REPRESENTATIVE MEN;
—AND OF ITS—
Cities, Towns, Churches, Schools, Secret Societies, Etc., Etc.
ILLUSTRATED.

SAN FRANCISCO:
ALLEY, BOWEN & CO., PUBLISHERS.
1880.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1879, by ALLEY, BOWEN & Co.,
in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C.

PACIFIC PRESS,
Oakland, Cal. Printers., Stereotypers and Binders.

File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/sonoma/history/1880/historyo/petaluma397nms.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/cafiles/

File size: 75.0 Kb