Sonoma County CA Archives History - Books .....Russian River Township 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, 4:47 am Book Title: History Of Sonoma County RUSSIAN RIVER. The earliest white settler in this township was Cyrus Alexander, a native of the State of Pennsylvania, and descended from good old Scotch stock. After roughing it in Illinois as a pioneer, and as a trapper in the Rocky Mountains, he came to California in 1837. At San Diego he formed the acquaintance of Captain Henry D. Fitch, a prominent merchant of that post, then known as Alta California, who, having taken a fancy to Alexander, dispatched him to the country north of the bay of San Francisco in quest of land, of which there was an immense quantity yet unclaimed. He started on horseback, and arrived at the bay, crossed it above the Straits of Carquinez. Pressing forward to Napa valley, which he found already granted to George Yount, Bale and others, he headed for the valley of the Russian river, on his way finding a number of settlements, among others being the Mark West Rancho. North of the latter he discovered a large and fertile tract, still unclaimed, possessing all the qualifications which were desired; the circumstance was duly reported to Captain Fitch, who at once repaired to the spot to make personal observation. He made application to the Mexican authorities, was granted possession of the Sotoyome grant of eleven Spanish leagues of land, and made the following arrangements with Alexander: Fitch was to stock the land with horses and cattle, while Alexander was to guard them and take care of them for the period of four years. At the end of each year the stock was to be driven up to be divided, Alexander to have one-half of the increase; at the end of the fourth year he was to receive two leagues of the rancho. We are told that no human being save the native Indians had ever trod the land; it was the home of the savage and the lair of the wild animal. The mountains were next to impassible, except to the wary aboriginal, and his more artful enemy, the bear. The country was innocent of roads or fences; ill-defined trails led into the thicket, down to almost fathomless ravines, or up to inaccessible crags, until their direction was lost to the uninitiated. All was oppressive solitude. The stately redwood, rearing his tall head heaven-ward, waved and bent to the freshening breeze; the smaller timber gave way to the crashing rush of elk and grizzly; but no other sound was heard. Low in the valleys, flowers of every rainbow tint impregnated the air with their delicious fragrance, and more graceful grasses swayed to the sudden squall as it broke loose from the mountain gale, to shoot into the nooks and crevices of the canons, once more to dart into the unobstructed expanse to waste its strength on nature's variegated fields. It was never intended, however, by the Almighty Architect that these wildernesses should remain as they originally were, else, why was man given the power of thought, save to ripen into civilization, and the power of will but to penetrate into the gloom of time, and make bright the wonders of His goodness. In the year 1840 Cyrus Alexander completed his arrangements with Fitch, took charge of the ranch, and selected a spot whereon to build a house. This he found on the east side of Russian river, opposite to the site now occupied by the nourishing town of Healdsburg. In the construction of the domicile, access was had, as may be imagined, to but few mechanics' tools, and no nails, the sidings were split and hewed from the well known redwood, a timber somewhat similar to white pine, but not so heavy nor close-grained, still it is easily worked and of wonderful durability; grooves were cut in the sills and plates, and after framing these, the sidings were set up in the grooves and aforesaid sills, and the plates being placed on top of the sidings, all were firmly bound together with raw-hide. The only sawed lumber used throughout the construction of this dwelling were two planks, subsequently procured from the town of Sonoma, which were made into doors. Thus we find the first settler in Russian River township was Cyrus Alexander, and the first house erected in it was by the same pioneer. What a change has come over the spirit of the dream. When .we look around and see the elegant structures which have since sprung up, we can hardly realize that so few years can have worked such magic. Alexander's life was now one of care; he had his flocks to tend, and himself to keep from despondency. He taught the Indians to place confidence in the word of a white man; he fed them to the best of his ability, spoke kindly to them, for he had acquired the Spanish tongue. while a resident of Southern California, and Digger Indians conversed in a patois of that language, and in time, so truly had he worked, they aided him in his labors, and became company for him in his solitude. The only suit of clothes which he had brought with him soon showed signs of wear and tear, therefore, in order to manufacture new ones he must start a tannery; this he did on a suitable location on Fitch mountain. He sank his vats and went to work, with nothing but his indomitable will as his aid. The bark he obtained in the immediate vicinity; the hides were not far to seek, but he found the obtaining of lime an almost insurmountable difficulty. A few moments' reflection solved the impediment; he despatched some Indians to the sea coast, a distance of about thirty-five miles, to procure shells from the shore; these they brought back in their baskets. They were burned and produced good lime; in short, a superior kind of leather was made, thus ensuring for himself clothes for his back and shoes for his feet. At this period, let us note, who were Alexander's nearest English-speaking neighbors. These were Mr. Cooper, at Bodega, Mark West, between him and Sonoma; to the north was John Gordon, on Cache Creek, now in Yolo county, one hundred miles away; and east of all, Captain Sutter, at what is now Sacramento. This lonesomeness was continued except for an occasional visit to the above named neighbors, until the year 1843, when Frank Bedwell, the second settler in Russian river township, appeared on the scene. His, too, had been a life of adventure, being passed as a trapper and fur hunter among the Indians. On meeting with Alexander he was induced to stay, and with him made the following terms: Bidwell to remain with him, assisting him in every way, for five or six years, at the end of which time he was to receive five hundred acres of land. This he obtained in the year 1850, and still resides upon his property, to which he has added, by purchase, some eight hundred acres, and built one of the finest homes in this part of the county, it being situated in Russian River township. His property is, for the most part, hill land, he therefore confines himself to sheep-raising and fruit-growing, which he has carried on with such success that he is counted among Sonoma's most wealthy farmers. Frank Bedwell, a sketch of whose life appears in another part of this work, is a man of majestic presence, now well on in years, still having the appearance of lasting out another generation. But to return to our subject. In 1842 Cyrus Alexander, with the aid of some Digger Indians, commenced the construction of the house now known as the Fitch adobe, still standing on the family ranch, near Fitch mountain. Here he planted the first orchard in this section (in 1843), with sprouts from the Russian settlement at Fort Ross, whither he had dispatched Bedwell and an Indian to procure them. In the Spring of 1844 a Mexican family named Pefia took up their residence, while in December of that year he married the sister-in-law of his neighbor Gordon, who, as has been said, lived a hundred miles away on Cache creek. This brings us to 1845, the year when the business eompact between Alexander and Fitch was severed. We reproduce the accompanying letter, more as an example of the subject matter on which correspondence was based in these early days:— SAN DIEGO, July 14, 1845. Mr. Cyrus Alexander—Dear Sir:—Yours of March 25th I did not receive until the 27th of last month. I am sorry to learn that you intend to leave the Rancho in October next, consequently I have made arrangements with Moses Carson to take charge of the rancho, with all my interest in the same; and have given him orders to that effect. Whatever articles I sent you, such as farming utensils, carpenters' tools, etc., that you do not wish to keep, I will take back at the same price, provided they are not too much damaged by wear. The two large whalers, tripods, the winnowing machine, and the American cart-wheels I never considered as sold to you, but delivered them to be used on the rancho. I expect you to leave them, also the auger, grist-mill spindle and tire, log-chain, screw-plates, and other iron and steel ware, sent in 1843, too numerous to mention, such as locks, hinges, etc. I told Mr. Carson that in case you wished to deliver anything he considered not receivable, to give you a receipt and to retain them as on deposit. I hope you have received the three hundred head of cattle from Pico, and those from Marco Baco, and Pacheco, and have taken them to your part of the rancho; in that case you will deliver all of my cattle to Mr. Carson; you will also deliver to him one-half of the wool and one-half of all the grain raised. I have been disappointed in not having received a letter from you sooner. You said nothing about the crops. You stated that you had sent me fifteen fanadas, one of beans, eight of wheat. I expected more beans and corn, and I have not received even that small lot. There must be some neglect somewhere. I have not had a bean in my house for two months. I requested Mr. Carson to ship me some from the rancho in case there were any there. You will please advise and assist Mr. Carson, in so doing you will much oblige me. As to the new house I hope you have the walls- up; and as to the boards and shingles, I do not care to engage any more, but will attend to that myself. Wishing you every success, I remain, Yours truly, H. D. FITCH. P. S.—According to my account, I have forwarded to you from November 1841 to November 1843 the following number of cattle, viz: Thirty-nine oxen, four tame cows, one hundred and forty-nine cows de rodeo, four hundred and sixty-eight baquias, large and small, forty-five novillos, sixty-four bulls, sixty-five bakas, eighty-eight head of cattle from Raphael G ircio. Mr. Leice (sic) delivered nine hundred and twenty-two head, Mr. Larkins delivered some since. In 1842 I put twenty-two tame horses, three tame mares, four wild mares, four machos and one colt. I have the papers of the rancho approved by the Assembly, and think all will be correct. Respectfully, H. D. FITCH." The American cart-wheels mentioned in the above letter were evidently the first used in the county. The trail beaten out by the first trappers, explorers and settlers, followed the base of the foot-hills, crossing the boundary of the township at the San Miguel adobe, from thence it passed through the present site of the town of Windsor, and left the boundary of the township a few hundred yards below the Fitch house. This road was made by the Spaniards and Indians; but the first immigrants after Alexander and Bedwell, had formed a settlement in the lower part of the valley; those succeeding turned westward toward this settlement at the crossing of Mark West, and soon had a well-define 1 road through the open country, which passed near the house of Henry White, crossed the Windsor creek on the farm now owned by Q. E. Tebbs, and came down into the valley through the hollow on the ranch of Thomas Mitchell; from thence turning northward and joining the first mentioned route at the crossing of Russian river at the locality already named. These two roads were, for some time, the only thoroughfares in the township; it was not long, however, before settlers, desiring a more direct route to "Felty" Miller's and March's saw-mill, made a new ford at Summers Brumfield's, which remained as a direct road to Mill creek for a number of years. As has been already shown, the first house in the township was erected by Cyrus Alexander; the second was put up by Lindsay Carson in 1849, and still stands on the estate of Samuel E. Miller. Both of these structures were built of adobe. The third house was built of logs, on the land now owned by Benoni Hotchkiss, by one Louis Legendre, a Frenchman, who arrived at about the same time as Lindsay Carson, in 1847. This Frenchman, familiarly known as Louis, also constructed the first house of sawed lumber, the planks for which were procured from March's mill on Mill creek, he being probably the first purchaser who patronized that enterprise. This house now forms the ground-work of the dining-room and kitchen used by J. W. Calhoun, the timbers being to this day as sound and solid as though but a few years old. E. Harrison Barnes and William Potter in 1850, started a store in the adobe built by Carson the previous year, but soon after removed to another building of their own at the junction of the before mentioned Mark West road, and river route. This was the first store in the township, as it was also the first in the whole county north of Sonoma. In 1852 Lindsay Carson bought the interest of. Potter and continued the business at the same place with Barnes until the following year, 1853, when the store and all its contents were carried away by the high water of the Russian river, and lodged in a field a quarter of a mile below. Fortunately the building floated upright, and the goods recovered and carried out in a flat-boat, with but few articles damaged. The firm then continued business in a house on the farm of A. B. Nally, which land was then owned by Carson. Barnes and Carson continued this store until 1856, when in March of that year Barnes had disposed of his interest to Carson, who had in turn sold out to W. G. McManus; it was moved to the just started town of Healdsburg in the adjoining township, and was the second store in that city. In 1851 a number of new settlers arrived in the township, while in the latter end of that year there were then residing in its limits, Frank Bedwell, Lindsay Carson, E. Harrison Barnes, William Potter, Tom and Ike Smith, J. W. Calhoun, James Campbell, John Pruett, H. J. Pool, James Brooks, L. Slusser, Chitwood Brothers, and Louis Legendre. In this year the first local election took place, and resulted in the election of Harrison Barnes as Justice of the Peace for Russian River township. This election was held at the store of Barnes and Carson, the following one in 1853, being at Pruett's school house, now Shiloah Church. In 1852-3 settlers began to fill up the township, among those arriving being J. W. Yates, Henry White, Thomas Mitchell, Alexander Wilson, Lee Laughlin, George Brumfield, and many more who then located on the places which, they now possess, and have made-so valuable and beautiful. There were but few families previous to the year 1853, most of the immigrants being single men who sought the accumulation, of a rapid fortune and a speedy return to their ancestral homes, consequently the first marriage was an event of no small importance, and to which all were bidden from far and near. The contracting parties on the occasion now noted were John Pruett and Bettie Brooks, the nuptial knot being tied by Harrison Barnes as Justice of the Peace. The ceremony took place at the residence of Mr. Chitwood, about one mile east of Windsor in the Fall of 1851. In 1850 J. J. May,, a Cumberland Presbyterian preacher held service at the adobe of Lindsay Carson, and was therefore the first to preach the gospel in the township; after him came P. Riley, Baptist, and S. M. Smith, Methodist, and in 1856 " Parson " Cox organized Shiloah Church, which was the first religious institution. In 1853 there was a school organized on the present site of the Shiloah Church, and a small shanty built, which bore the name of Pruett's school house, the district formed being called Russian River district, which included the whole township. This district was divided in 1856 upon the petition of Robert Cunningham, Hiram Lewis, H. J. Pool and others, and the portion thus cut off was called Windsor District, which was partioned in 1864 into Hill and Windsor, by petition of W. S. Clark, Richard Holloway, H. J. Pool, and others; that of Tamater being organized according to the petition of Tamater, Hudson, etc., in 1867. The Frenchman, Louis Legendre, and Lindsay Carson were the first considerable growers of wheat, Legendre owning and farming the land now occupied by J. W. Calhoun. His method of tilling the soil was rude, but the best then in practice. The plow was an odd implement, consisting of the fork of some oak of the right angle, one prong of which served for the beam, and the other, after being shod with a small piece of iron, served to turn up the virgin soil. Two oxen with a stout piece of timber, bound across their foreheads for a yoke, served as a motive power; one Indian walked before to point out the line of march, while another walked behind and held the single upright stick which served for a handle to guide the plow aright. After the wheat was sown, a limb of a tree or brush was was [sic] called in to act the part of a harrow, and from this crude tillage Legendre reaped from forty to fifty bushels per acre. The area of the township is now comprised in one hundred and twenty-five separate farms. The schools most largely attended are the Sotoyome, eighty-five scholars; Windsor, ninety; Hill, fifty-four; and Starr, thirty-four. Events of a tragic nature have not often disturbed the good people of this section. McKnight was the first man who met death. In 1852 he had a number of Indians at work getting out rails in the field of J. R. Dutton, then abounding in stately redwoods. Despite the remonstrance of certain persons, he had built his cabin in the line of a huge tree, which was at that time being felled. The chopping of the tree was finished one quiet Sunday morning by the Indians, when it fell upon the cabin in which McKnight lay asleep and killed him. Louis Legendre, the Frenchman mentioned above, was the second man killed. He had a considerable sum of money in his house, which aroused the cupidity of a Mexican, who murdered him for the booty, and compelled some Indians to bury him in one of his own fields. This Mexican was afterwards arrested, but, effecting his escape, was never caught. Kidd was shot at Mark West in 1864; Henley killed Roland in 1875; while McReynolds was thrown from his wagon and killed in 1867; and Truett met his death from a falling horse in the streets of Windsor in the Fall of 1863. WINDSOR.—The village of Windsor, situated on the county road leading from Santa Rosa to Healdsburg, being six miles south-east of the latter and nine north-west of the former, is built on a plateau, elevated some fifty feet or more above the river bottom, and is known locally to all, except the inhabitants, as " Poor Man's Flat," a name applied to that section of country in 1854 by Tom Sewell, a well known person in those days. In 1855 Hiram Lewis, mail carrier for the county, established himself at this point, which he named Windsor—probably on account of some early Windsor in his recollection, which the general appearance of the place had brought back to mind—and shortly afterwards was appointed postmaster at the newly established office there. He was succeeded in the office by Severe Lewis, who in 1856 opened the "Windsor Retreat," the first public house in the township. In 1857, T. K. Wilson started a store; not long after a second was built, at the bridge, two or three hundred yards to the west of the present town site, which was know as Rosenberg's store. Rosenberg and Linhemer subsequently moved their store to the present building occupied by Jerome as a grocery store and butcher shop. The firm became successively Rosenberg & Rosenberg, Rosenberg & Sweetzer, and finally sold out, in 1871, to McKelvy and Livingstone. In 1876, T. J. Hopkins purchased the stock of this copartnership. Buckland built the store now known as Forsythe's Hall, in 1857, which has since been occupied by McFadden, Kruse, Barnes & Petray, and Crane, Hendley & Co. The town was regularly laid out in 1858, the chief mover in the scheme being Sam Emmerson, the proprietor of the hotel. It might be here mentioned that such was the effulgence of Windsor at one time, that she gloried in two hotels, three stores and three saloons. In 1856 James Graham occupied the same place in which he now works at his trade of blacksmith; H. H. Lafferty is in the identical shoe shop which he first occupied as the pioneer bootmaker in 1864. The present business interests of the town are: One dry goods store, kept by Lindsay. & Clark; one grocery store and meat market, owned by------Jerome; two confectionery stands, which acknowledge Hiram Martin and Frank Roe as their proprietors; two blacksmith shops, superintended by James Graham and William Macinder; one saloon, by William Wilkerson; one hotel and bar-room, by Thomas McQuilkin, and one doctor's office, Dr. L. T. Davis. The school house was built about 1863, and cost nearly two thousand dollars. The upper story belongs to the Masonic fraternity, and is used by them and also the Odd Fellows; the Good Templars have a hall near the blacksmith shop of James Graham. Forsythe's Hall is used as a place for meetings or public reunions. The Methodist Church was built in 1863, by Billings & Co., carpenters, and was the result of the efforts of the Rev. Mr. Peck, the first officiating minister. The church has a membership of fourteen or fifteen, and has in time been under the charge of the Rev. Messrs. Southerland, Miller, Northup, McRay, Crawford and Angwin. The postmaster is J. J. Lindsay. A few years ago Mr. Schuler started a blacksmith shop at Windsor depot, which is still kept in operation, there being also a store at this point, kept by Walter Bigsby. 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/russianr400nms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/cafiles/ File size: 23.8 Kb