Yolo County CA Archives History - Books .....A Period Of Depression 1913 ************************************************ 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@gmail.com December 4, 2005, 12:10 am Book Title: History Of Yolo County CHAPTER XXIV A PERIOD OF DEPRESSION Like many other cities, Woodland has passed safely through the ordeal of business stagnation and the consequent depression of its inhabitants. Following the close of the preceding chapter there occurred an epoch in the history of this fair city which greatly discouraged those whose optimistic predictions had painted the glory of the county seat in glowing colors. The hard times were due as much to local conditions as they were to circumstances which prevailed throughout the commonwealth and which were felt here. With the exception of a few venturesome enterprises by local men the history of Woodland from 1880 to 1890 could well be put into a small chapter of lamentations. These few enterprises were inaugurated mostly by Woodland men who had much money invested here and who apparently sought to stimulate the confidence of the people by putting more of their wealth into local enterprises. They perhaps also knew that the inactivity was only temporary and that in the end things would assume their normal condition. That after all they acted wisely is clearly demonstrated by subsequent events. The author is not going to attempt to describe the conditions which prevailed during this period of depression more than to give a few circumstances illustrative of the times. For instance, an owner of local property offered to give away some city lots he possessed to rid himself of the burden of taxes he was compelled to pay upon them. Fortunately for him he could find no takers. Clerks in some of the local stores were put upon a percentage basis of sales for compensation. The author, then a scribe on a local paper, well remembers the temerity of a local woman who, with a few thousand dollars, decided to build a new home in Woodland. The news was then considered of so much importance that the reporter devoted nearly a column in the paper to a description of the new house. If reporters at the present time attempted to do the same thing their employers would necessarily have to issue supplements of many pages every day. WOODLAND'S FIRST AND ONLY STEEET CAR Among the few enterprises which served to relieve the monotony of this period of depression was the financing of the building of Woodland's first and only street railway by some local men of means. The car line extended from the western limits of the city to the Southern Pacific depot near the eastern corporation line, a distance of about a mile. The motive power was horse flesh and two cars were purchased and operated. It is hardly necessary to add that the enterprise met an untimely demise. COMING OF THE TELEPHONE AND ELECTRICITY Enterprises which met a better fate were the installation of a local telephone system and the construction of an electric lighting plant by the same company which had previously built and operated the gas plant. The local telephone company maintained an office on Main street and had an exchange of a few telephones in the city. This business, of course, gradually developed, as the need of quicker communication made itself felt, and after a few years of successful operation the local company disposed of their interests to a state corporation, which was in turn absorbed by the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company, which now has a very large system in Woodland and even in some parts of the surrounding country. There is also a local company operating a rural system under the name of the Farmers' Telephone Company and the whole county is now connected by the telephone wires. The present very comprehensive and effective electric light and power system, now operated by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, was originally inaugurated by local capitalists during this period of hard times. A plant was installed on Fifth street in Woodland and the town was wired for electricity as the consumers entered into contracts with the company. The power was generated in the plant with machinery operated by steam. In due course of events the Bay Counties Light and Power Company, which had entered the field of northern California, negotiated the purchase of the local plant and with the water power furnished by their big plant at Colgate, proceeded immediately to furnish the local consumers with light and power at a much cheaper rate than they had been paying. Local enterprises which used power of any description began equipping their plants with electric motors and today the lines of the big corporation are extended even into the country where farmers are pumping water and operating farm machinery with electric power. The Bay Counties Power Company was within the past few years absorbed by the more powerful and extensive Pacific Gas and Electric Power Company. THE WOODLAND CREAMERY An enterprise which did more, perhaps, than any other to stem Woodland through, the hard times was the Woodland Creamery, also built by local men who felt the necessity of a local market for their dairy products, the people in the vicinity having in the meantime engaged extensively in the business of dairying. The local creamery at once became a paying investment, because of the superiority of the butter manufactured, which to this day has maintained its reputation throughout the state. Woodland creamery butter is quoted nearly everywhere about five cents above the prevailing market prices for other butter and the demand through all these years has steadily increased. This enterprise, successful from the start, has been a steady and consistent means of bringing revenue into the city and it proved a boon to investors and patrons alike when all business enterprises were hardly paying interest on the investment. The local plant has been enlarged and improved from time to time and is now one of the best equipped institutions of its kind in this part of the state. During these years the city trustees were experiencing great difficulty in straightening the streets of the city. A perusal of their minutes shows contract after contract for grading streets and many transactions in which the city acquired title to property for the purpose of widening and straightening its thoroughfares. The first lighting of the city followed a minute of the board of Trustees of April, 1877, in which it was provided that five gas jets be installed for street lighting, one each at the corner of Main and First, Main and Second, Main and Third, Main and Fifth, and Main and Railroad. At the same meeting the trustees ordered the installation of three fire plugs. The first official grade for streets and sidewalks was fixed by the city trustees in April, 1878, and provided that "the official base for elevations for all streets shall be plane 100 feet below the top of the iron bench mark near the northeast corner of Byrns and Dietz block at the southwest corner of Main and Second streets." In 1881 the trustees passed the first ordinance fixing the fire limits of Woodland and providing for the class of building that might be constructed within those limits. The board entered into a contract with E. H. Beamer in 1883 in which the latter agreed to build a building for municipal purposes over the blacksmith shop formerly occupied by B. Ready, the second floor of which should be devoted exclusively to the use of the city, the ground floor for the fire department and a jail should be provided in the rear. This building was the official home of the city for a great many years. It is now occupied by professional men as offices. Additional Comments: Extracted from HISTORY OF YOLO COUNTY CALIFORNIA WITH Biographical Sketches OF The Leading Men and Women of the County Who Have Been Identified With Its Growth and Development From the Early Days to the Present HISTORY BY TOM GREGORY AND OTHER WELL KNOWN WRITERS ILLUSTRATED COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME HISTORIC RECORD COMPANY LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA [1913] File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/yolo/history/1913/historyo/aperiodo146ms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/cafiles/ File size: 8.5 Kb