I haven’t heard back from the brick collector’s website, but I’ve discovered a strange coincidence while researching the possible origin of the brick I photographed in the gravel of Gazos Creek. The first part of the coincidence occurred when I was reading the link I included in the story about Hulda Hoover McLlean and the Rancho Del Oso.
The link’s story recounted how two orphans from Oregon, when they first viewed the Waddell Valley, dreamed of owning a piece of this special place. The older young man, Theodore Hoover, Hulda’s father, eventually became the first Dean of Engineering at Stanford and bought 3,000 acres of the Waddell Valley. His younger brother, Herbert, became the 31st President of the United States.
The second part of the coincidence came to light when while reading Harvey Mowry’s book, “Echoes of the Gazos Creek Country,” hoping to find a possible source for the brick I had photographed, I came across this quote from a letter by Carol Edwards, the oldest daughter of Charles Littlefield. “My brother Reid, I, and our cousin, Bill Grover, dismantled all the firebricks in and around the boiler at the McKinley Mill and hauled them down to Dad’s for the boiler at his mill.”
Then on Page 67, in an aside to a quote by Charles E. Steele, (born in 1891 on the Gazos Ranch) Harvey says, ” The McKinley Mill, whom Charles Jr. refers to, was actually the Templeton-Moore Mill or Pacific Lumber and Mill Company sawmill, built around 1871. Local residents usually called it the McKinley Mill after James McKinley, an older brother of William McKinley. James reopened the old mill in 1882, calling it simply the Gazos Mill.”
William McKinley was our 31st President, first elected in 1896, then re-elected in 1900, only to be assassinated by an anarchist, Leon Czolgosz, and succeeded coincidentally by another Theodore, the first Roosevelt President.
If I’ve got this right, two small, isolated, very sparsely populated coastal valleys, the Waddell Creek and the Gazos Creek watersheds, which touch each other in their higher reaches, have intimate connections to two older brothers of historic families that produced two of America’s Presidential families. Figure the odds on that. Or let me know if I’m wrong.
To add a bit more brick weirdness to go along with Hubert “Limey” Kay and this strange coincidence, I’ve attached a photo of another of my Synthetikites (the eroded, rounded chunk of bricks and mortar) and several very strange bricks I found on an abandoned homestead on a piece of land my friend was renting in the hills above Anderson, southeast of Redding. I have no explanation for their condition, but thought these wonderful “Ugly Ducklings” should be preserved. Enjoy. John
Posted inUncategorized|Comments Off on Strange Co-incidence…Story by John Vonderlin
On Saturday, September 12, 1891, a Grand Picnic was announced at Pebble Beach , and as many as 50 disgruntled Pescaderans rode in a caravan of private coaches and wagons, their sole intention TO STORM THE GATE.
An effigy of Loren Coburn had been placed on the roof of a Concord Coach pulled by four horses. It was kept in steadily in place by the man sitting in the rear seat.
Following the Concord there were five two-horse buggies, five singles and several one horse wagons, all navigating around the deep ruts in the crooked cow trail—the Pebble Beach Road,
And who was leading the charge? And who was following?
Joe Levy was there. So was Supervisor Henry B. Adair, Roadmaster Charles R. Pinkham* Constable Good and J.C. Williamson.
[Note about Roadmaster Charles Pinkham: In 1885 he worked for a “fast freight” company, the Pescadero & San Mateo Express, making regular trips between San Francisco and Pescadero.]
While Joe Levy and the others moved ever closer to the gate, 61-year-old Sarah Upton, with unkempt brother Marraton beside her, ran into the caravan of coaches. [Note: Sarah later married Loren Coburn.]
In a courtroom she later described what she saw, “…There was a mob….,” she said. She saw the effigy of her then-brother-in-law on top of the big Concord coach but pretended not to see the resemblance between it and Loren Coburn.
Sarah turned to her brother and said, “They are going to break down that gate. I had hardly got the words out of my mouth when they did.”
Posted inUncategorized|Comments Off on The Coburn Mystery: Chapter 48
Last weekend Meg, I, and a handful of other people met Mike Merritt
the Interpretive Ranger for Butano State Park, at the corner of Cloverdale Road and Gazos Creek Road for a tour he was offering of the historic sites of Gazos Canyon. After chatting for a while to gather any latecomers, we proceeded up Gazos Road into the canyon.
Our first stop was the former site of the historic Gazos Lumber Mill. Here Mike introduced us to a subject he obviously knows really well, the history of the Gazos Canyon. He had a portfolio of large historic photos that showed the site a hundred years ago. While this was the area in which I’d found the pre-Prohibition beer bottle I’d mentioned in a previous posting, I was amazed at what I’d not seen. He’d hold up a photograph shot from where we stood, demonstrating what it looked like a hundred years ago, and at first blush it was unrecognizable. Only as he would point out various long-lasting landmarks could I make the connection.
I must say the last hundred years have been kind to the canyon, allowing it to recover from the clearcutting get-it-while-you-can lumber practices practiced way back when.
My fellow tourists were an interesting, intelligent and curious group. Several of them had just come from a tour of the Pie Ranch property, sponsored by the Pescadero History Association (just across the road from where Russell Towle, Stuart Harwood and the rest of that colorful group of folks used to exit their Ano Nuevo artist commune onto Highway 1.)
When Mike asked us if we knew what Gazos meant, I think I was the only one who didn’t know it was Spanish for Heron. They were also fans of Harvey Mowry. I know that because when Mike mentioned him and his book, “Echoes of the Gazos Creek Country,” not only was there a chorus of recognition, but one person pulled out a photocopy of the funky, but serviceable, hand-drawn maps of mill sites Harvey sprinkles throughout his book. Various members, obviously amateur naturalists, chimed in with plant and butterfly identifications as we hiked along.
As Mike filled in the details about this site, I splashed through the creek to take some photos of the mill pond dam.
This wooden dam, composed of large trees laid atop each other across the creek, is still essentially intact a hundred years later. Rangers have cut through part of it to improve stream flow for fish and to minimize the chance of a logjam forming, but it still looks almost serviceable.
From there we moved up the creek, with Mike pointing out the subtle remnants of what used to be here and there. Things I’d have never noticed without a lot of searching. There was the short stretch of shallow ditch alongside the creek that was probably the remnant of the wooden flume built in 1870-1871 to float the cut lumber down the canyon. The cut tree roots along its side were strong evidence it was not a natural feature. Harvey’s book describes the flume as half a square, turned on edge with the top 40 inches wide. It had a slant of an inch and a half every sixteen feet and was five -and -a- half miles long. From there it was shipped by rail or wagon to Pigeon Point where it was loaded by aerial cable onto awaiting ships.
At one point he pointed out five feet of tiny rail that stuck out of the gravel in the creek.
This is apparently the only remnant of the tramway that was built atop the mill’s deck. Two hundred and fifty feet long it allowed the cut lumber to be easily moved about to the various stacks it was put in before shipping or floating downstream. I’m eager to see that piece of history, about 130 years old, be rescued and preserved for future visitors.
Nearby, in a spot the creek had scoured the sand and gravel away from the bedrock, were four large, deep, strangely round holes.
Their shape and positioning shouted a manmade origin. Mike’s theory, is they were acorn soaking holes. During the summer or fall when the creek’s flow was gentle, net bags full of acorns could be suspended in them. This would have allowed some of the tannic acid they contain to be removed before they were ground into the flour that was an important part of the local tribe’s diet.
So it went. Just as Harvey mentions in his book when he describes his 1972 return visit to his childhood haunts, most everything is gone or covered by a thick layer of forest duff. But Mike, a student of the history of the area was able to point out things like springboard cuts in various giant stumps. (018)
By jamming springboards into the cuts, loggers were able to stand atop them and make cuts higher up the trees where the wood was softer and had a straighter grain. Or the grooves in other stumps that were used to guide the cables as the donkey engine snaked giant logs downhill towards the mill. Or tiny flat spots on the steep slopes above the creek where housing for the workers or their families had been perched.
While the forest has regrown and once again shade and quiet reign supreme in this deep dark canyon, for a few hours the noise, danger, and industry of these pioneers as they wrested a living from the giant trees that grew here a hundred years ago came alive in our imaginations. I give the tour two thumbs up and recommend you keep an eye open for the next time Mike gives it.
When towards the end of our hike we re-entered the creekbed, I photographed this brick remnant sticking out of the gravel.
Since then I’ve located the website for the “International Brick Collectors Association.” Five hundred of these enthusiasts recently met in San Francisco to trade, sell, or just share their passion about all things brick. The website encourages questions, so I’m hoping with a reply to my email to soon know the answer to where the “? BALL” brick company was. The website lists dozens of antique brick producers from throughout California, but none seem to apply.
Just before we left the creek and headed back to our cars, I wandered around a corner from the group. and scared up a Great Gray Heron from its pursuit of small fish in the deep pools. A fitting bit of symbolism of nature’s resiliency and a reassuring token of this area’s totem returning to its rightful domain. Enjoy. John
P.S. The discussion about the brick elicited Meg’s memory from a decade ago of entering Apple Jack’s one day with her husband and being approached by a man who asked them if they had any bricks. It turns out this was the famous Hubert “Limey” Kay, another of La Honda’s seemingly endless group of colorful characters. I did a websearch of “La Honda and bricks” and up popped his obituary. You can read about this unusual man and his colorful life in a Half Moon Bay Review article here:
www.hmbreview.com/articles/2008/07/30/news/doc4890cf2ab86eb690731841.txt
or go on an online photo tour of his house, which is now available for rent. For more info, please click here:
Enjoy. John
Posted inGazos Creek, John Vonderlin, Mike Merritt|Comments Off on Two Thumbs Up for Mountain Mike Merritt’s Gazos Mill Tour: Story by John Vonderlin
We made a trip to Invisible Beach a couple of days, ago and found the colorful pebbles covered by a thick layer of sand and virtually no marine debris. However, there were a number of strands of Feather Boa Kelp strung along the beach. Why so many chunks of this particular variety of kelp should show up at this time is just another mystery of this strange beach. For those not familiar with this appropriately named kelp you can familiarize yourself by visiting this website. www.marine.gov/egregia.htm or check this picture out. (sod #019)
While I didn’t find any non-buoyant marine debris to collect, I did see a large piece of driftwood, with a beautiful sinuous form, washed up on the beach. When I commented to Meg how good it would look in her garden, she concurred, but ventured that it was too heavy to carry the half mile back to the car. Did I sense a challenge? After my shaky, doubt-filled expeditionary visit to “The Notch,” I’ve been wanting to recover my mental toughness and confidence. This seemed like a good opportunity. Kneeling down under one of its curves and struggling to my feet, I was amazed how comfortable its smoothness felt on my back and shoulders and how well it balanced itself. It wanted to go home with us.
It took me five portages, but when I finally slid it into my car, where it fit like it belonged, I knew it was meant to be. Here’s a few pictures of my struggles.
More exciting to me is when Meg told me there was a dirt road being constructed across the road from Bob’s produce stand, about five miles south of Half Moon Bay. Knowing that a few days ago the local newspaper had an article saying that work had begun on the Pillar Point and the Cowell/Purisima sections of the Coastal Trail, her interest was piqued. She stopped for some veggies at the stand and inquired. Yes!! The dirt road is part of the construction. Apparently it will lead to the planned parking lot near the impressive coastside Purisima Falls, I wrote about from our trip to “The Secret Beach.”
I am excited that soon anyone will be able to view this previously almost unreachable stretch of our beautiful coast. I’d urge everyone to watch for its opening. A visit to the California Coastal Records Project website to view Pictures 6147–6167 will whet your interest in this soon to be easily viewable stretch. While a part of me regrets its loss of solitude, there are plenty of other stretches I don’t think the Coastal Trail will open up to the general public in my lifetime. Especially, if I keep carrying around big chunks of driftwood. Enjoy. John
Posted inUncategorized|Comments Off on John Vonderlin Says: I Hope You See The Falls of Purisima
Dear June, I fell upon your website today. Under “soccer” I found a photo which I believe may include my late father, Ed Blomquist.soccer’
This was the Pescadero soccer team in the 1920’s and one of the donors was M. Baptist. This is a relative of my grandmother who was on the Portuguese side of my dad’s family. I have no history on my grandmother other than my dad’s birth certificate from 1907 .
I am wondering if you have any information on the Baptist family of Pescadero.
Hi June, thank you so much for your response. M. Baptist was, I believe, Manuel Baptist, who was my grandmother’s brother. I know a lot about the Blomquists, thank goodness, but nothing about my Portuguese side.
Yes, my Dad Edward was Henry’s cousin. There were actually sets of ‘double cousins’. My grandmother, Christanza Baptist Blomquist, had a sister named Mariana. Each one of those sisters married a Blomquist. Can you believe it?
My father Edward was born in Loma Mar in 1907, the first of four children. My grandmother died after childbirth on the last one in 1912. I would very much like to know about her. I will contact Ron Duarte. I think he would know of my dad and my mom also who’s family had strong ties in Half Moon Bay. On my mom’s side her sister, Pet, was married to Ern Digges. My mom’s brother was Bud Sowle of Montara.
I wanted to highlight the history of the valleys (Cloverdale Valley and Butano Valley) surrounding Butano State Park along Cloverdale Road. Leading south from Pescadero, the road winds through the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, past our local farms and into the protected POST and California State Park lands. This posting will focus on Cloverdale Valley.
Our European history began in 1768 when Don Gaspar de Portola, the man himself, strolled right through the Cloverdale and Butano valley on his way to discovering the San Francisco Bay. Because of their remote locations, the Spanish missions influence was slow in reaching the area.
During Mexico’s control of California, the valleys were part of several ranchos, including Ricon de la Ballena (between Bean hallow and Gazos Creek), Rancho Butano to the north, and Rancho Punta de Ano Nuevo, a combination of lands from ranchos that left a legal mess. Simeon Castro’s Rancho Punta de Ano Nuevo consisted of over 17,000 acres, including much of what is now Ano Nuevo SP and SR, as well as Butano SP.It was later to become the exclusive property of Loren Coburn
Enjoy and please feel free to respond to any information I have offered.
“Mountain” Mike Merritt
Butano SP Interpreter
Cloverdale Valley
Known to be the area along Cloverdale road between Gazos Road and the saddle near the Blue House Farm.
*Some may extent the name of the valley all the way along Butano Creek to Pescadero. This larger area I refer to as the Butano Valley, not to be confused with the Butano Canyon area. The Butano Valley runs from Pescadero south to the Blue House Farm.
Edgar Steele & The Cloverdale Dairy
Edgar Steele was born in 1830 in New York. In 1863 Edgar Steele built the Cloverdale Dairy in the area between the Butano and Gazos Creeks known as the Cloverdale Valley. Edgar worked 16-hour days for eight years, milking 20 cows himself, handling general business matters at the dairy, and keeping the books for The Steele Brothers firm. Thoroughly drained, in 1864 he leased his dairies for a comfortable yearly income of over $5,000 and went back East for a long rest. He toured the Southern States for couple of years after the Civil War, and married a Tennessee general’s daughter, Julia P. Stanley.
When the Point Reyes lease expired his vacation ended and Edgar returned to California to look for new land for the Steele milk cows. He would find cheap land near San Luis Obispo and moved with his wife to begin a dairy there. (Tess Black)
Horace Gushee took over the Cloverdale operation sometime prior to 1867 with 125 cows. Gushee made cheese.
The next to lease the land from Coburn and Clark was C. S. Walker in 1882. “Next is the Cloverdale Dairy, C. S. Walker proprietor, on shares for the Steele Bros. Clark & Coburn ranch, lease to run for two years, 100 cows milked, made cheese and butter, the butter being packed, and at present worth 30 cents per pound. Four men are employed at a monthly price of $35 each.”
A goat ranch was located in the Cloverdale Gulch, (a small ravine in the middle of the valley) in the 1930’s. It was operated by Joe Abbotti, who previously lived on Goat Hill, an area in the Little Butano Canyon.
The Cloverdale Valley fell into other ownership including the Peninsula Farm Company in the 1920’s, Shoreland Property and the Snows in the 1950’s.
Lawrence Silva was the last to work the land by running cattle. During the Silva lease the property was owned by Joseph Crummer.
On May 27, 1969 the Hoover House on Cloverdale Road midway between the park and Gazos Creek Rd burned to ground. The exact location is currently not known as well as the history of the house. *Looking for photos.
Cloverdale Road was paved in 1972 from Pescadero to the park entrance. San Mateo County undertook the project primarily to improve access to Butano SP.
On August 2, 1973 a Cow Barn in Cloverdale Gulch was bulldozed by Lawrence Silva. The history of the barn is unknown but it may have dated as far back as to the 1860’s when Edgar Steele built his dairy in the valley. *More info and photo’s are needed.
This is the last surviving evidence of the dairy and ranching days in Cloverdale Valley. Its origins and use are unknown. Currently it is located on state park property. Please refrain from visiting as it is fragile and has yet to be studied. I will post more pictures upon request on it to satisfy you explorers.
Book by Thomas J. Barrett “A practical inquiry into soil-building, soil conditioning, and plant nutrition through the action of earthworms, with instructions for intensive propagation and use of Domesticated Earthworms in biological soil-building.”
Ever wonder what an earthworm is made of? For a larger image, click on the photo!
Posted inUncategorized|Comments Off on The Finest Earthworms for Composting Were Raised in San Gregorio
I’ve attached a scan of the newsletter from a 2003 Rancho Del Oso Interpretive Center. Hulda was an amazing woman. I know she has passed on, but am not sure if she made 100. Her correspondence (5 linear feet) is at Stanford and is on my list to check out after I can read again easily. I’m sure she has the full story on the Waddell Beach Bypass. Just the 1905 picture alone tells me there is no way the poison-oak-protected road I explored was the old road, as it is about straight up the cliff from the horse and carriage. Her story is fascinating: www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/1997/janfeb/articles/hulda.html
Enjoy. John
Posted inUncategorized|Comments Off on John Vonderlin Says: Hulda Hoover McLean was an amazing woman.
All work for this story was done at the San Mateo County History Museum in Redwood City.
Levy Brothers Built a Small Empire of General Stores: Part 8, Finis
Adrien’s leanings toward real estate probably prompted the brothers to accumulate 3,000 acres near Pomponio Creek in the early 1900s. In the meantime, they also attempted to revive whaling south of Pescadero at Pigeon Point–plus a crew of two dozen men worked at their sawmill on Butano Creek.
As a mechanical cream separator revolutionized the dairy industry, the Levys invested in creameries and cheese factories. One factory, with 600 cows, stood at Pigeon Point [this sounds like it was part of the ranch that belonged to Loren Coburn]; another was located north of the old Peterson and Alsford Store in San Gregorio [which now belongs to the Cattermoles.] The third stood on the site once used by a water-powered grist mill on Pilarcitos Creek in Half Moon Bay.
About the same time, the Levys signed the lease for a much larger store–as big as three buildings– on Purissima Street in Half Moon Bay.
Although the Levys loved the small town atmosphere of the Coastside, they actively explored outside investments. By the early 1900s, most businessmen looked to the peninsula. Plans for the extension of an electric trolley car service from San Francisco to San Mateo tantalized potential investors.
As homes filled newly subdivided land, the population rapidly increased. The Levy brothers concluded that a move to the bay side held greater promise for their future.
By 1902, when the brothers had already opened their mercantile in San Mateo, newspapers continued to run ads for their chains of stores at Half Moon Bay, San Gregorio and Pescadero.
———–
AfterNote: The Levy brothers opened stores on the peninsula and moved there as well. All the stores on the Coastside were closed; the land at Pomponio Creek sold. After decades of success on the peninsula, the store’s owners looked to fresh opportunites in Half Moon Bay, returning there in 1972. But things didn’t work out as expected; the store was closed in the 1980s or 90s.
Posted inUncategorized|Comments Off on Levy Brothers Built a Small Empire of General Stores (8)
