History of Stanislaus 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

1921·71.4 MB·English

by  Tinkham, George Henry, 1849- dn

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1746224
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL
9ENEALOGY COLLECTION
183301102 8021

HISTORY OF
'-.
NISLAUSCO
CALIFORNIA
WITH
Biographical Sketches
OF
The Leading Men and Women of the County Who Have
BeenIdentifiedwithIts GrowthandDevelop-
ment From the Early Days
to the Present
HISTORYBY
GEORGE H. TINKHAM
ILLUSTRATED
COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME
HISTORIC RECORD COMPANY
LOSANGELES, CALIFORNIA
1921

1746224
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I
Stanislaus County's First Inhabitants
Indians Everywhere Discovered. Indians Build Missions. The Chief
Estanislao. Defeat of General Vallejo. Our Knowledge of the Indians.
Classification of Indians. Physical Appearance of Tribes. Tribal Govern-
ment. Marriage. IndianDress. CostofLiving. Religion. IndianPestilence.
ANightofHorror. DisposalofTheir Dead. TheWidow Mourns. Indian
Wikiups. A Nearly Extinct Race. An Indian Beef and Flour Debt. The
Indian Chief Jose Jesus. Old Manuel. The Indian Burial Ground.
CHAPTER
II
The Advance of Civilization ;
Discovery of Stanislaus County. The Trapper Expeditions. The John C.
Fremont Party. Wild Animal Life. The Mormon Colony. Stanislaus City
Founded. Mexico Declares Her Independence. Leading National Events.
JamesW. Marshall Discovers Gold. Gold Found on the Stanislaus. Cali-
fornia SuddenlyPopulated. GeneralRileyCalls aConstitutional Convention.
Organization of a State. Creation of Tuolumne County. Origin of Name
Tuolumne. SchemingforaNewCounty. TheNewCountyofMerced. County
SchemingPoliticians. Opposition to a New County. Creation of Stanislaus
County. FirstCountyElection. UnwiseLegislation. ASliceofSanJoaquin
County. Stanislaus Annexes More Territory. Land Grants. Land of No
Value. Stanislaus County Land Grants. Government Surveys. Stanislaus'
First Settlers. StanislausCounty,Its Creation. Characteristics and Fertility.
Area, NatureofSoil,Climate. StanislausClimate. ThePastoral StockRais-
ing Days. Sheep Raising in Stanislaus. Hogs, Horses and Cattle. Cattle
Stealing. No-FenceLawDestroysCattleBusiness. CattleMenofStanislaus.
WheatfortheWorld. AnIsolatedCounty. AnImmenseSownAcreage. The
BannerWheatCountry. RaisingGrainin Dry Climate. Primitive Harvest-
ingDays. SeedTimeandHarvest. TheThreshingMachine. TheHarvest-
ingCrew. TheHistoricGrainFire. TheCaliforniaFearofDrought. The
Drought of 1877. Hatfield, the Rain Maker.
CHAPTER III
The River, Pioneer and Mining Towns
Grayson,thePioneerTown. Grayson'sFirstStore. AMexicanCamp Scene.
Graysonin 1878. Grayson'sDistinguishedCitizens. TuolumneCity. Booming
the City. First CourtTrial. Township Officers. The First Marriage. An
EnterprisingMerchant. TheTown Deserted. TuolumneCityin 1868. The
Town Increasing. Tuolumne City Has the Smallpox. First County Fair.
Paradise City. A Fine School Building. Free Ferry. Paradise Celebrates
Washington's Birthday. July Fourth Celebration. TheParadise Flour Mill.
Reuel Colt Gridley, Citizen-Patriot. Adamsville. The First Fourth of July.
EmpireCity. TheEnterprisingCitizen,EliS.Marvin. NoMail NorPostal
Route. The County Seat. County SeatRemoved to Empire. Empire City
in 1868. Dr.ThomasTynan,thePioneer. CrescentCity. Hill'sFerryofthe
SanJoaquin. FrenchBar, the GoldenPlacers. TheForeign Miners'License
Tax. La Grange, the Mining Town. Largest Town in Countv. Talbot's
FlourMill. TheLaGrangeWaterSupply. RemovalofCountySeat. Knights
Ferry. TheDentFamily. KnightsFerryFlourMills. Tulloch's SlineFlour
Mill. TheChinese,MinersandGardeners. StageTransportation. TheStory
of a CourtHouse. Business Firms of Early Days. Abraham Schell, Enter-
prising Citizen. TheBig Grain Fire, July, 1884.
CONTENTS
CHAPTERIV
Ferry and Steamer Transportation
StanislausRiverFerries. FirstEstablishedFerry. The FirstThree Houses.
Ferry Competition. The Dickerson Ferry. The John D. Morley Ferry.
CountyBridges. TheModestoTollBridge. The$120,000CountyBridge. A
Bridge Celebration. The State Highway Bridge. Transportation Now and
Then. KnightsFerrytheGatewayStation. The FirstUp-RiverBoat. The
PioneerSteamer. EffortsMadetoEstablishTrade. ThePioneer Freighters.
KindsofMerchandiseShipped. FirstPassengerBoat. TheStanislaus Navi-
gation Company. Clearing the River Stanislaus. Terminal River Points.
The ShoalingWaters. TheHeightofthe GrainEra.
CHAPTERV
The Railroad Era
Stanislaus Bonds for Railroads. Proposed Railroad for Stanislaus. Stockton
RailroadTalk. TheOakdaleRailroad. TheSanJoaquinValleyorSouthern
PacificRailroad. The Modesto Branch, Southern Pacific.
CHAPTERVI
Early Organization of County
First County CourtTransactions. County Brand and Seals. County Great
Register. First County Fair. Stock Growers Association. The Stanislaus
Agricultural Association. Patrons of Husbandry. The Stanislaus Granges.
CooperativeBusinessAssociations. Stanislaus County Militia. In the Camp
and SpanishWar.
CHAPTERVII
Modesto 91
RemovalofCountySeat. TheCountyCourtHouse. CountyOfficialsof1871.
* LayingoftheTownSite. The NameoftheTown. TheExodustoModesto.
Modesto'sPioneerBusiness Firms. Pioneer Hotels and Prominent Buildings.
Masonic and Odd Fellows Hall. Modesto's Water Works. Modesto's Gas
Works. Modesto's Early Fire Department. The Destructive Fires of 1890.
Terrible Death ofJoel Clayton. Modesto's Golden Age. The Front Street
DensofVice. An Ungoverned Town. Deplorable Condition ofthe Streets.
EffortstoOrganize aTown Government. AMass MeetingRiot. The First
CityElection. Street Improvements. The Street Problem. The Post Office.
ModestoBusinessFirmsin 1880. TheNonpartisanMassMeeting. TheCity
Election of 1886. Waterworks and Sewers. The Court House Cornerstone.
TheCourtHouseAnnex. TheDestructiveFireof 1901. ThePoliticalBoss,
Barney Garner. He Slaps an Attorney's Face. A Fearless Marshal. A
Commission Form ofGovernment. Framinga Charter. The First Commis-
sion Convention. The SocialistTicket. Election Day, 1911. Modesto's First
Commissioners. Commissioners Elected to Date.
CHAPTERVIII
Churches of Modesto 112
TheWestportMethodistChurch. TheCongregationalistChurch. TheChris-
tian Church. The MethodistEpiscopal Church South. The Baptist Church.
TheCatholicParishand Church. TheFirstPresbyterianChurch. TheDan-
ish Baptists. The Episcopalian Parish. The Methodist Episcopal Church.
Seventh Day Adventists. First Church of Christ, Scientist.