Pescadero Memories

From the Redwood City Democrat, April 9, 1914

Lafayette Chandler Pescadero’s stalwart old citizen for over half a century, passed away Sunday after a long illness. His burial took place at Cypress Lawn…Mr. Chandler was a native of Maine, aged 77 years. He left his native state when 16 years of age and came to California via the Nicaragua route. His arrival at the Golden Gate was the prelude to a startling adventure, the ship on which he sailed, going on the rocks during a dense fog and becoming a total wreck. All of passengers were taken ashore in boats. Mr. Chandler landed in San Francisco in 1859. Shortly afterwards he went to Santa Cruz, then returned to this county, residing awhile at Searsville, after which he located permanently at Pescadero.

He was twice married and is survived by his wife and one daughter, Mrs. Asa Weeks…

From the Coastside Comet, published in Montara, December 1922

The grammar school of the Pigeon Point district was burned to the ground at six o’clock on Tuesday morning, by a fire of unknown origin. Following a report received by his office, Superintendent of Schools Roy W. Cloud went to Pigeon Point yesterday and made an investigation.

It was found that abalone hunters passing the schoolhouse at 2 o’clock in the morning had seen a light, and upon looking in the windows had seen several people, apparently campers, asleep on the floor. The abalone hunters went on their way without disturbing the sleepers. At 6 o’clock residents of the vicinity saw the building suddenly break into flames, and before anything could be done the entire building and contents were destroyed.

The school, which would have closed for the Christmas vacation on December 10, was forced to close immediately on account of no other building being available. Arrangements are now being made for the securing of the Wiedemann dance hall, which was across the road from the school. When these arrangements are completed, the dance hall will be put in shape for use as a school room, and it is thought will be ready for occupancy following the Christmas vacation.

“The burning of this little school was very unfortunate,” said Superintendent Cloud in speaking of the fire yesterday. “The campers who were seen sleeping on the floor are and thought to have left some fire in this building when leaving. However, we have no means of knowing definitely who they were or which way they went when leaving the school…”

(Photo: Friends & Staff fooling around in front of the Coastside Comet’s office in Montara.)

(Photo: Purissima Falls. L-R, Courtesy San Mateo County History Museum. John Vonderlin.)

You can read more about Purissima, the town that could have been Half Moon Bay. Click here

You can email John Vonderlin; he’s been to Purissima Falls: (benloudman@sbcglobal.net)

“Two-fer”

Story & photos by John Vonderlin

Email John (benloudman@sbcglobal.net)

Hi June,

Our April Fool’s expedition to the coast, trying to locate a hole in the ground where the Mystery Tunnel might have been, didn’t satisfy our sense of adventure sufficiently, so we utilized the low tide to continue up the beach from the most northerly parking lot at Pescadero Beach.

About 1500 feet north from where you start skirting the ocean-side cliffs, you can see the W.W.II Observation tunnel above you in the cliff-side.

But, our goal was some 100 feet closer then that. I wanted to photograph one more of San Mateo County’s Sea Arches. This one is relatively small, but nicely formed, with enough cracks in its thin span to give an ephemeral quality to it. I wouldn’t say it has the cachet of the world famous “Delicate Arch,” but it does have some of its qualities and it’s a whole lot easier to reach.

My new modus operandi is to climb on top of the arches and have myself photographed. It seems a time-honored method, as many of the historical photos of Sea Arches have somebody or a crowd of folks or even two horse and buggy teams on top of them. It serves the purpose of providing scale, as well as generating a human interest angle, at least to the photographed.

Should you want to visit this “twofer,” the arch and the W.W. II Observation Tunnel, you can locate them on Picture #6248 at the C.C.R.P. website. Unfortunately, because of the angle the photograph was taken from the helicopter, you can’t see either of them. The tunnel mouth is in the canyon right in the middle of the picture. It is just above and to the left of where the seasonal waterfall drops off the cliff to several large rocks on the beach, but hidden by a small ridge.

The arch is just about a hundred feet south of the waterfall in the promontory projecting out from the lower part of the cliff. Enjoy. John

Mystery Tunnel

Story & Photos by John Vonderlin

Email John (benloudman@sbcglobal.net)

Hi June,

Angelo’s email confirmation that there used to be a tunnel, possibly associated with the Ocean Shore Railroad, just north of the most northerly Pescadero Beach parking lot was reason enough for me to try again to find the tunnel, or at least locate where it had been.

Various people have described the tunnel as an initial “bore tunnel” for the O.S.R.R. as well as an explosives storage site for construction of Highway 1, which, I believe, was built on the O.S.R.R. right-of-way in this area.

During the past few weeks, I’ve stomped all over the area, and found no sign of it, but I was LOOKING FOR A TUNNEL. This time I was basically looking for SIGNS OF WHERE A TUNNEL HAD BEEN. Lowered expectations can often lead to success. And, I believe I’ve found where it was.

I suspect, just as with the Prankster’s tunnel, and the nearby W.W. II observation tunnel, that the authorities have eliminated what they considered to be a public nuisance. Having explored many mine tunnels, shafts, etc. in the Mojave Desert, I can understand why they’ve done so, but it’s sad that history was also obliterated along with the danger.

Here’s a picture of the hillside just north of the parking lot.

I’ve marked where I believe the tunnel was. I believe this is so because it’s the only anomaly on a generally smooth hill and there seems to be the remnant of a road that runs up the hill and passes just below it disappearing slightly further on.

Here’s a close-up shot of where I believe the opening was.

On the California Coastal Records Project (CCRP). website, if you look at 7218061, you’ll see what the area where the tunnel was looked like in 1972. Unfortunately, the angle and clarity of the image doesn’t allow me to see exactly what was there besides a couple of paths.

Lastly, I’ve attached a photo shot from slightly above and slightly to the west of the tunnel.

I assume the footprint of Highway 1 is pretty much the O.S.S.R. right-of-way. In author Jack Wagner’s excellent book, “The Last Whistle,” he inserted a chart showing the size of the completed and proposed trestles for the railroad. The Pescadero trestle, never built, was to be only 36 feet high, but 375 feet long. That would neatly carry it from the bedrock near where the present bridge is anchored on the south end, over the Pescadero Creek riparian corridor, to the slightly higher and more solid ground of the low ridge that separates the Pescadero Marsh from the dunes.

Looking at the 1972 CCRP pictures,(#7218063 to 7218065) you can see this ridge has changed very little over the last 35 years, while a considerable amount of sand on the beach has disappeared. Given these facts, I suspect it’s likely that the tunnel stored explosives for construction of the railroad and/or the highway. Perhaps, somebody out there has a picture or knows for sure. Enjoy. John Vonderlin.
.
M

Wrestling with the Trestle Truth

Story by John Vonderlin

(email John; benloudman@sbcglobal.net)

(Photo: trestle at Tunitas Creek)

Hi June,

Angelo’s email about the fate of the Palmer Gulch Trestle stimulated me to do a little research. I had stated in my story about our pilgrimage to the trestle, that a fire caused its collapse.

Angelo’s sources said that it had collapsed by itself.

My belief was based on being told that it had been set on fire, coupled with the paucity of remaining timbers, and the fact that most of those were fire-scarred. Nonetheless, he was right. I now believe the trestle collapsed over a period of more than a decade, and was severely scavenged after it collapsed. Then its remains were set on fire.

Here’s why:

If you go to the California Coastal Records Project (CCRP) website, and look at the 1979 Picture #7928080, you can clearly see the trestle has collapsed. The right side of the canyon has a long intact stretch of the roadbed (or whatever you call the top where the rails would have been laid) slumped into the canyon, but still mainly intact. The left side of the canyon has an impressive “Pickup Stick” pile of timbers littered across the slope below the right-of-way.

The 1972 Pictures #7218035 (&6) show the left side of the trestle to be collapsed, but with some of the superstructure still standing. The roadbed on the right side is also collapsed, but can’t be seen as clearly as in the 1979 picture because of the quality of the photo.

Meg tells me that after our trip to the trestle, she attended a meeting where she met a gentleman who related how he had scavenged heavy timbers from the trestle to support his waterbed.

(The modern waterbed was first created by Charles Hall, San Francisco State University student in 1968, after trying unsuccessfully first with cornstarch, then Jell-O. ) I suspect, with vehicle access to the beach from several roads, both the north and south, he was just one of many who valued the timbers for their functionality and/or provenance.

Though I’ve heard second-hand that the remains were set on fire, I don’t know when or if it was deliberate. It must have been done in wet weather as there is no sign of a burnt landscape in the 1987, 2002, 2004. or 2005 pictures. Maybe somebody out there knows the details.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, Angelo. Enjoy. John Vonderlin

[Note: It's taking me so long to punch out the chapters of this very long story because my original ms is covered with scribbles, etc. ]

By June Morrall

The stages picked up passengers headed for the Coastside at the San Mateo train station. The typical route closely followed present-day Highway 92. [I say that loosely.] There were stops along the way, marked by drinking establishments, and according to legend, the places where the stage drivers downed whiskey to help them  finish the first leg of the trip, the Occidental Hotel in Half Moon Bay–then called Spanishtown because of the large population of Spanish-speaking residents.

In Half Moon Bay, the horses were fed and watered, and the drivers consumed more drink at one of the many saloons in town, before delivering the remaining passengers to Pescadero, and most likely to the Swanton or Pescadero House, both bed & breakfast establishments.

By then, again according to legend, the drivers were pretty high on drink, and raced from Spanishtown to Pescadero, along the still-bucolic Stage Road (which had a different name at the time–for example, the main thoroughfare in Pescadero was called San Gregorio Street, a name changed in the 1970s, I think, and not by the locals.)

Like today, when the stage entered Pescadero from the north a hundred years ago, the first building to come into view was the tall spire of the white Congregational Church, one of the oldest in San Mateo County. (I was always look for it when I take that beautiful, still timeless ride.)

Some of the passengers didn’t stop in Pescadero; they were headed south to Santa Cruz, and the stage took them there three times a week.

Most of the visitors and business people who took the stage from San Mateo to Pescadero were regular folks, who couldn’t afford their own carriages—the “well-heeled” rode over the mountains in fancy horse-drawn vehicles of all kinds. At one time the Swanton House was reputed to be the gathering place for the railroad barons and the silver kings, the very wealthy who lived in San Francisco mansions–with names like Flood, Crocker and McKay.