[Image from Susan Friendman and her exceptional book Equus]
Story by Susan Friedman
Hi June,
I just saw your article and I thank you. I’ve been busy with my student’s finals, grades and that awful flu. I did go up to my show yesterday with several photo friends and they took some pictures of me and I think you wanted to know what I looked like. Hope you are wel
P.S. From June: When I was taking a break from the heavy death of my life partne, I visited Napa for a much-needed break, and coincidentally Susan Friedman was opening a show nearby at the IWolk Gallery. I was lucky to pick up two of her works that I am so proud to have. I met Susan years ago when she was working in a funky barn south of Pescadero. For me, it was a special moment, the beginning of her successful career, and I will never forget it.
I found the source for the alternate version of the origin of the name of Gazos Canyon. My previous understanding was based on the Gazos Canyon guided tour we went on. During which, a rhetorical question about the canyon’s name’s origin got a chorus of “herons” from some of the hike’s participants. It was said that gazos was the Spanish word for “herons.” While my Spanish vocabulary is pretty good, the section for types of birds doesn’t go too far beyond pollo and pavo, and of course paloma, the bird which was, I read somewhere, possibly the source of Pigeon Point’s name, not the shipwreck of the Carrier Pigeon. So, I accepted it as fact, and posted it in my story.
Well, I found the source of the alternate theory again, and it’s Tess Black’s book, “Portraits of Pescadero.” In the “Steele Family Section,” on Page 145, she’s discussing Rensselaer Steele Sr. in 1879, and has this sentence: “”The property included “a narrow, spring-fed ravine” that ran along the coast about a half-mile south of where the Gazos Creek (named for the Clove Pink or Sea Gilly flower, that grew in the area) flows into the ocean.””
This became the Gazos Ranch, that Harvey Mowry, documents so well in his book,”Echoes From Gazos Creek Country,” I’d tell you what he might have to say about this, but his book starts in 1862, and doesn’t seem to mention it.
Well, I looked up Clove Pink and Sea Gilly and here’s a little Wikipedia info that turned up a strange connection, that might or might not be related.
Sea Gilly A name given by writers to the clove pink (Dianthus Caryophyllus)
(Clove Pink) is a species of Dianthus. It is probably native to the Mediterranean region but its exact range is unknown due to extensive cultivation for the last 2,000 years. It is the wild ancestor of the garden Carnation
It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 80 cm tall. The leaves are glaucous greyish green to blue-green, slender, up to 15 cm long. The flowers are produced singly or up to five together in a cyme; they are 3–5 cm diameter, and sweetly scented; the original natural flower colour is bright pinkish-purple.
The name Dianthus is from the Greek words dios (“god”) and anthos (“flower”), and was cited by the Greek botanist Theophrastus.
The colour pink may be named after the flower. The origin of the flower name ‘pink’ may come from the frilled edge of the flowers: the verb “pink” dates from the 14th century and means “to decorate with a perforated or punched pattern” (maybe from German “pinken” = to peck). Source: Collins Dictionary. The verb sense is also used in the name of pinking shears
The Sea Gilly connection was problematic for me. Though there was only one far-northern, species of Dianthus native to this continent, it;s possible there are look-a-likes, or that its worldwide cultivation suggests an early introduction by settlers to the coastside and its possible thriving, upon escape. But, I’m not sure of the connection between “Gilly” and “Gazos,” as there is none mentioned.
The trouble with the Spanish-heron version is that “garza” not “gazo,” is the Spanish word, at least these days, for “Heron.” Admittedly “Las Garzas,” is difficult enough to pronouce that a change might be likely through the years. But, what happened to the “Los,” as in Los Gazos Creek, and how did it become a masculino noun, changing its gender from “una garza”?
Here’s a third theory. White House Canyon, the one just south of Gazos Creek Canyon, got it’s name from the two story, white-painted house Isaac Graham built on a flat above the little creek, in the 1850’s. In Harvey’s book, he says, Isaac (Steele) recalled hearing how Graham’s house, sitting isolated and painted white, had been a landmark for early (1850’s) northbound ships. And that might be relevant because the only language I could find that gazos means anything is Portuguese, where it means albinos.
A fourth theory, which is similar, would be that the nearby white cliffs, or chalk ridges as they were known then, which had been mentioned as early as Portola’s expedition, and were clearly visible from passing ships, might be the “albinos” instead.
The odd coincidence I was reminded of, was that President William’s McKinley’s family, and President Herbert Hoover’s family, had strong connections to this essentially empty, isolated-to-this-day remote area.
Here’s another odd fact I found in the Wikipedia Dianthus article:that might be connected. Could young William’s’s love of carnations been initiated by time spent on the Gazos Creek where his brother James had a sawmill?
The state flower of Ohio is a scarlet carnation. The choice was made to honour William McKinley, Ohio Governor and U.S. President, who was assassinated in 1901, and regularly wore a scarlet carnation on his lapel.[6]
Enjoy. John
P.S. By the way there’s a picture of an apple box label from Chalk Ridge Orchards, Torquay, California, Grown and Packed by I.C. Steele, in Tess’s book. It’s on Page 158.
My weekly visit to Invisible Beach, was somewhat disheartening. Though any R & R from the pressure cooker demands of caregiving to the extremely vulnerable is welcomed, the continued inactivity at Neptune’s Vomitorium isn’t. The sand is actually higher then ever, completely blocking its throat, apparently preventing Neptune from presenting us with a technicolor yawn of non-buoyant debris.
Returning to the car we drove south and stopped a few hundred yards north of Pebble Beach, just south of Pescadero Point. I often see school buses stopped there, with hordes of kids experiencing the beach and the reef below the cliffs. It’s a fair sea glass hunting spot, and after seeing no interesting flotsam on the beach, we started doing just that. That pursuit tired quickly, even though I found two blue pieces of glass, relative rarities. We decided to hike over the rocks, around a point, to Pebble Beach. As we approached them, I saw the Sea Serpent hidden behind a large boulder. It was huge. And dead. At least thirty feet long, with a head that seemed to be all mouth
A huge mouth, though it was more like a Pterodactyl’s beak, that could easily have swallowed a man. This creature, this thing, looked like nothing I’d ever seen washed up on any beach in the world. It creeped me out. Were those nuts running the Cryptozoology websites for Big Foot, Nessie, and the Bog Monster actually visionaries, revealing the truth to those willing to listen? Probably not, but there are mysteries unsolved about the abyssal depths of the ocean.
Having called the Marine Mammal Society and Ray Bandar, we should know whithin a few days whether or not this is a Sea Serpent or just a Sea Monster. I have a theory involving dragons, still surviving on an unknown island, but for now, I’m sticking with the conventional story: SEA SERPENT ASHORE AT PESCADERO POINT!
And unlike all the gentlemen in the following story, or the CryptoZoology website creators, I’ve got clear pictures that prove it. Enjoy. John
August 5, 1906 San Francisco Call
AND NOW THE SCIENTISTS SEE THEM
THE SAN FRANCISCO SUNDAY CALL
VERILY, the perversity of mankind passeth all under-
tandlng! And if there be any of you who would challenge
the justice of this aphorism, first let him reflect for a
moment on the fact, that we talk of the phoenix as if it
were real and of the sea serpent as though it were a
purely mythical beast! But the sea serpent is probably
himself to blame for this, inasmuch as he is indiscrete
enough to show himself from time to time to those who
go down to the sea in ships. Hence, as with other
distinguished mortals, everybody who has occasion to
cross the ocean burns for an opportunity to boast to an
acquaintance with this distinguished dweller in the deeps.
A vast amount, has been written about the sea serpent,
but at all the stories that have been told it is sad to reflect
that those of the clergymen surpass in wildness of elab-
oration even the yarns invented with intent to deceive. At
least, so says Frank Bullen—and he ought to know, .
One or two, of the more serious accounts are worth
repeating. No longer ago than 1891 one Peter Nelson, a
quartermaster, and therefore “an honorable man,” saw
from the deck of the Rotomahana, a beast with the head of
an eel and fins ten feet long rise thirty feet out of the water.
It was dark above and white below. He gave a long account
of this strange beast, yet, so far, those. whom he intended
to convert only reply that: It was “Very, likey a whale”— in
short, that he saw nothing more than a whale ”breaching.”
Captain McQuhae of H. M. S. Daedalus and his officers in
1848 created a great sensation in England by a sea serpent
story which at the time was discredited by the late Professor
Sir Richard Owen. But, time brings its revenges, for it may
turn out that the professor was wrong. Briefly, they reported
having seen an enormous serpent with its head and shoulders
some four feet out of the water and some sixty feet of its body
on the surface:
It passed rapidly so close to the ship that a man’s features
at the same distance, could easily have been distinguished. It
had no fins, but something like seaweed washed about its
back.
Now, within the last few days, the honor of he and his
officers, or rather, their credit as observers, has been vindicat-
ed, for at the last meeting of the Zoological Society of London,
E. B. Meade Waldo and M. J. Nicoll described a creature
seen by them from the deck of the Earl of Crawford’s yacht
^The Valhalla,’ which bears a remarkable resemblance to that
seen from the Daedalus. These two men accompanled
Lord Crawford as naturalists, during his usual winter cruise.
Both are well known naturalists, and one is a member of the
Council at the Zoological Society. The story they unfolded to
a breathlessly excited assembly of the fellows is briefly this:
When off Para on December 7, 1905, at 10 a. m. they were
standing on the deck of the yacht when their attention was
caught by a curious sail-like object of about four feet long and
two feet high waving from side to side in the water. No sooner
had they turned their glasses on this strange object than
there appeared a huge eel-like neck, some six feat long and
as thick as a man’s thigh, and this neck was surmounted, by
a great turtle-Iike head with large eyes, now borne high, above
the sea, which was quite calm. It was dark colored above
and silvery white below. After a few moments, the head and
neck were slowly lowered, and when level with the water were
violently lashed from side to side, churning up the sea into a
great sheet of foam, and then it vanished.
This is noteworthy, because when Mr. Nicoll came on deck
after breakfast,one of the officers came up and reported that
during the night he saw a strange commotion in the water. At
first he thought it was a rock “awash,” but a more careful
examination showed that it was a beast of some kind,
traveling faster than the ship, which was then making only
about eight and a half knots. The officer “hailed the deck” and
the lookout man, and thus got witnesses to this weird
phenomenon.
Seriously, we can no longer regard the “sea serpent” as a
myth. There can be no question that the ocean harbors some
secret, which we have not yet penetrated. It seems unlikely
that this evasive creature should be a descendant of the old
Plesiosaurs which became extinct millions of years ago,
though the resemblance to those monsters is striking. More
probably it will prove to be some bizarre form of reptile. But
the resemblance between the descriptions given by these
gentlemen and. that given by the officers of the Daedalus
agrees too closely to the passed by, and, furthermore, both
agree with the description of a similar creature seen off
Tonquin some four years since. It is possible that it may
even prove to be a “serpent.” For it is well known that the
land snakes once possessed limbs, and some gigantic
forms of sea snakes may well have preserved their limbs,
though now transformed into paddles, like those of the
turtle and whale.
The Kalenborn Cabin has been found in Dearborn Park. The following story was written BEFORE the summer home was found. Congraulations to Lynne
Story by Lynne S.
We are looking without success ….
In the 1920s my grandparents Mr. and Mrs. A. S. Kalenborn had a small summer cabin near Pescadero. Their children were Margaret (Peggy), Katherine (Kay), Fred, and Rudy.
We visited about 15 years ago. I can remember turning close to some large green houses and driving on a flatish gravel road past some older rural houses …. finally getting to more forested area.
Does any of this make any sense to you ??? Any ideas ??? We were in the area on Sunday and found nothing that looked familiar. It seems as if this area backed into the Butano. We did go into the park.
It was interesting that a sign at the front of the visitor center at Butano Park showed my grandparents names A. S. Kalenborn as having contributed $100 – $500 … probably a lot of money at the time.
We tried to check ownership of the land in Redwood City (San Mateo County records) but then we thought that maybe Pescadero records for the 1920s might be found somewhere else.
My brother and family are flying out on this Wednesday and want to view the old vacation area if we can find it.
=========
Lynnes grandmother’s Emma Kalenborn (was very active in the Historical Society) …. her father was Clarence Hayward who lived in/near Pescadero.
Posted inUncategorized|Comments Off on Lynne S.: The Search for the Kalenborn Summer Cabin Has Been Found
“Dissolution of the partnership between J. Garretson, P.G. Stryker and James McCormick, hithertofore run under the name of J. Garretson & Co. with J. Garretson as the survivor.
Posted inUncategorized|Comments Off on 1877: Biz Partners Call It Quits
Hi June,
This was yesterday’s big project. With sand still clogging Neptune’s Vomitorium, I’ve given up on any big event happening there this year. So, I took all of this year’s Neptune’s Vomitorium’s cleanings, such as they are, piled them up on a tarp outside, and sorted them into about twenty-five categories. It may look like a lot, and it did take all day, but it’s about a third of last year’s and lacks some of the types of non-buoyant debris I value the most. What I have will be added to my “Walloboxes” collection, lining my studio. Otherwise, I’ll just have to continue to be patient and hope for the best. I heard a short radio blurb that the early signs of an El Nino are manifesting themselves in the Eastern Pacific, its birthplace. I won’t wish for strong winter storms, but the drought gives me cover to say, I’ll be happy if they do occur. Enjoy. John
Posted inUncategorized|Comments Off on With Neptune’s Vomitorium clogged with sand, John’s organizing last year’s goodies
Pescadero innkeeper Sarah Swanton was 100 ahead of her time. Often praised as a woman of remarkable business ability, she was also blessed with an affable personality.
“…an an entertainer, she has few equals and no superiors in hotel management,”raved the San Mateo Times & Gazette in 1896.
But most of her success between the 1860e and 1890s was credited to the “courteous and accommodating way in which she treated her guests” at the famous Swanton House Hotel.
As a major contributor to Pescadero’s economy, Swanton was well respected. She also spoke out what that prosperity was threatened. Besides tending to the day-to-day operations at the Swanton House, she hired R.K. Farley to manage her thriving stable business next door.
This put her into direct competition with the village’s millionaire=miser, Loren Coburn, who also had a nearby stable. Both livery stables depended on the lucrative tourist trade. Most tourists came to Pescadero to visit irresistible Pebble Beach, the well known hunting ground for beautiful “gems” to fashion local jewelry from. The coveted beach lay a couple miles west of Pescadero, and to get their there, the tourists had to rent wagons and horses from the competing stables.
Loren Coburn looked upon Pebble Beach as his; he had reasons, owning much of the surrounding, including what he thought was the special pebble covered beach. His wild strawberry fields bordered the beach , and when he fenced them in, and installed a sturdy lock, he “in effect,” declared a personal war on all livery stable owners, including the feisty Sarah Swanton… Soon her loud and bitter complaints reached Coburn’s ears.
Believing he had a monopoly on the stable business, he dismissed Sarah’s comments. To anyone would listen, Coburn said Sarah Swanton was angry because she couldn’t whereever she wanted to go.
It’s true that Sarah Swanton may have had little control over the livery business, but she was queen of the Swanton House, her bed and breakfast near San Gregorio Street. With charm and grace, she ruled over the billiard room and the parlor, was her expertise was in the kitchen. She was the culinary whiz f a “plain country hotel with a good table.”
The breakfast menu included items we may not have heard of in this century: mutton chops, mountain checkens and the more familiar beef steak cooked to perfection.To this menu was added strong coffee and fresh sweet milk.
In front of the famous Swanton House stood the town’s revered handmade flag, the flagpole crafted by the locals. The flagpole also served as a distance marker—how many feet or miles from the pole to somewhere else.
Known throughout California in some of the travel guides of the 19th century, the Swanton House was a recommended place for guests to book a room, with choices including the Fern, Myrtle, Rose, Elm, Ivy, or Woodbine room (all named after herbs.)
Born in Abbot, Maine in 1825, Sarah wed Charles Swanton in the 1840s. The newlyweds made their first home in Augusta, Maine, where Sarah operated a hat business until 1854. That was how she learned to please the fickle public.
Meanwhile she gave birth to children, Eva and Frank. Husband Charles, an employee of the Light House Board, predecessor to the modern Coast Guard, was sent to the West coast, ending up in Pescadero, while Sarah and the kids remained back in Maine. (Interestingly, a decade later a lighthouse was built at Pigeon Point.)
In 1863 Sarah and the kids joined Charles in Pescadero and the Swanton House was born. The Swanton House was an overnight success, good timing, that coincided with great interest in the pebbles at Pebble Beach. By this time San Franciscans were craving for places to visit away from the city. Even though it could take seven hours by stagecoach to reach Pescadero, the amount of time didn’t phase the tourists.
“…After a sound night’s sleep,” write Howard Glyndon, a male pseudonym for Santa Cruz writer, Mrs. Searling, “the calm stillness of the morning is only broken by the singing of the birds, the echoes of the gurgling waters in the creek, or the roar of the surf on the beach.”
To accommodate her many guests, Sarah’s lovely daughter Eva was a great help. At its peak the Swanton House hosted more than 150 guests at one time. It became a popular spot for weddings, as well.
Charles Swanton, Sarah’s husband, was a jaunty fellow, a kind of one-man chamber of commerce. He loved showing off the “natural curiosities” of Pescadero to the guests. He particularly enjoyed escorting visitors on a very special trip of the Pigeon Point lighthouse. He knew all the facts about the construction of the lighthouse: the 500,00 bricks used in the cone-shaped white tower–and that on a clear day white flashes were visible from the deck of a vessel 15 feet above the sea at a distance of 181/2 nautical miles.
The Swantons were proud of their children who made good marriages. Eva wed Peter Stryker, a Pescadero businessman, and the couple eventually moved to San Francisco. Son Frank got married at the hotel in 1877.
But after so many fruitful years, tragedy struck.
At age 30 Frank Swanton, Sarah’s son, died of a sudden heart attack. In the 1880s Sarah’s husband, Charles, began to diminish, was judged insane, and committed to a sanitarium in Napa, where he passed away. Sarah handled all the sadness by focussing on the hotel. But in 1896, Sarah, fell ill and died in her beloved hotel.
Said one San Francisco newspaper: “The death of Mrs. Swanton removes one of the oldest and most highly respected and estimable members of the community…Although for the comfort and encouragement of the traveling public we must say her mantle has fallen on worthy shoulders as her only daughter, Mrs. Stryker , takes charge.”
With Sarah’s passing, the Swanton House lost the magic spark that once glowed within its walls. The hotels ws sold and new innkeepers came and went. As the years wore on, the Swanton House was neglected and failed to age with dignity.
In the 1920s “the plain country hotel with a good table” burned in what was an alleged case of arson—unsolved–so no one was ever prosecuted.
Although the Swanton House turned into ashes, Sarah Swanton’s legacy remains that of a willful, proud and productive woman.
I’ve attached a few Swanton House ads in case you want to add them to that great Swanton House story you posted. It seems like after Sarah, it fell on hard times, with numerous managers, including one advertised for just a few weeks and then she was back. I had looked her up because Meg informed me Ed Weeks was related to her and was interested in anything about her. I’ll make sure he knows about the article.
Below is a newspaper article with a ton of guests names from the Swanton House. Just threw it in with out correcting. Enjoy. John
THE SWANTON HOUSE. Pescadero: From San Francisco— Mr. Shuenffclt, J. D. Wadsworth, Leslie H. Fentreta, N. ,E. Lloyd. Bert Gunzburjer, J. G. Walter, Mr. Haines, A. E. Tuppan, H. A. Gray, Gus Wolf, A. F. Blomqulst. J. J. Pettee. H. R. Stettin Jr.. E. J. Doran and wife, E. L. de Arman. M. W. Clark and son. F, Danger. A. \V. Ottenheimer, Wllr liam Laun. R. L. Cro Hothschild, .«-telle Carpenter. F. P. Parsons, Samuel Rosenhelm. S. D. Ivee, S. W. Heller and wife, W. S. Hobart, J. H. Small and wife A. I. Baer. Miss Alice Baer, Mibrf J! Baer. Miss S. Hochstein. Miss L. Brldgeman H. Robert Braden, L. E. Hillen. J. A. McCrystal, A. F. Brinham, Laura McCord, A.- F. Leavltt, U C. Swarta, Miss M. Tainier.. E. Talnler. E. J. Baldwin, J. IL Scott and wife. E. O. Scott and wife, L.. J. Phelps, E. Blumkin. E. J. Nixon. A. Rothschild and wife. J. M. Rothschild. Mrs. J. Brownstone. MUs Helen Anderson. H. E. Chandler, Carson; Mrs* Charles W. Farnham, Fruitvale; Helen Gardner, J. O. Miner. .Mrs. Charles E. Cotton, Miss Daisy ‘ Coolt. E. H. Gratvljean, Oakland.: C. M. Zttlei\ Reno; Dr. A. Kraenrer. San Diego: C. W. Perry Reno; P. C. Edwards, Stafford; Ed Squires, Hobart Mills; Miss Alice AVUliams, . New York; W. \V. Price. Alta; Mrs. H. A. Crawford. Napa; Mrs. A. L. Bryan and family, “Najja; A. C. Brown. Los Angelee; C; P. Campbell, A. Jackson, Reno; Mis* M. Stenson Reno; Miss Sten¦on. Knoxvllle HI.; R. C. Reynolds. Saylorburg. Pa. ; 6. \V. Gregor>% La Belle. Mo.; \V. E. Heglnman. Hazen, Nov.: Mra. W. D. Webb. Charlotte, N. C. ; G. H. Newell, wlfa end child. Sacramento; Mra. C. \V. Kayser, New York; Mrs. C. C. Hughes. Oakland; Miss A. Caldwi’U, ‘Alameda; JE. t>. Bated, Verdi. and wife. From Sant* Cruz— Mrs. K. C. Cope, Mlfi; May Baldwin. From San Jose — Miss D. Ogly. Mrs. G. Ogly, F. A. Grifflng. J. A. Miner. Miss J’c rrin. Mi«a Maud Perrin, Arch Ptrrin. Kroin J^owerys — J. C. Hodxe. . From Watsonvillp — Mrs. J! G. Prastky; From Salinaa — Mrs. S. Iioroda, L«on V. Hughes. From Sac ramento— R. A. .V, Van Norden, H. Stlllman. Miss Marie Col* man. Miss Bell Morris, Mra. EUiel Sexton. From Alameda— C. E. PlttiB. From_>’ew York— Mrs. E Jones. Mr. and Mr«. Morgan. From Hollisler— Mrs. W. Higley. FYom Jeffersun City — E. B. – Ewing. From Stockton — William Anglis and wife. From New York — Frank Hearon. From Reno, N«v. — Mm. N. H. Hood. From Milwaukee — E. J. Jones and wife. From Benicia — L.. J. Powers. From Berkeley — Professor \V. J. Osterhaut and family. From Oakland — John A. Beckwlth, Dr. A. Fain. Mr. and Mrs. II. D. NMchols. Miss Mads^n. From Arizona — Miss F. Jones. SUMMER DAYS ARE LURING
Posted inUncategorized|Comments Off on 1880s: Sarah Swanton was Pescadero’s Primo Innkeeper
“The Five of Hearts” by Patricia O’Toole tells the story of Henry Adams and his dearest friends, 1880-1918. The book was published in 1990, and the Henry Adams friend I most enjoyed reading about was United States Geological Survey (USGS) pioneer Clarence King who had many adventures as he bcame an expert on the Far West.
Posted inUncategorized|Comments Off on Book:The Five of Hearts
There’s GOLD in them there hills!!! That’s something I wasn’t aware of. I got onto this search thread using “Pillarcitos and Pilarcitos” as search terms. I was surprised when the Pillarcitos Gold and Silver Mining Company came up. Up until then the only story I’d seen dealing with gold and the Coastside was the newspaper article I sent you about that whacky guy’s Rube Goldberg invention, that he claimed, and was trying to demonstrate, that it could separate lots of gold from sand at Bean Hollow Beach.
Following is a story that mentioned the Pillarcitos claim and quite possibly represents the high point of homegrown Gold Fever in San Mateo. It was in the August 30th, 1863 issue of “The Daily Alta,” on the California Newspaper Archive website. Enjoy. John
DISCOVERY OF GOLD NEAR HOME
EXCITEMENT AMONG THE LOCATORS OF CLAIMS.
— Within a week past some interesting discoveries of gold-bearing quartz have been made in the valley of the San Andres Creek, San Mateo county, in the coast range, about five miles back of “Thorp’s.” The first indications were found by a Frenchman, who found float rock in the bed of the stream showing free gold. Upon pushing his explorations further up the hill he traced out a ledge of rotten quartz, upon which he and his companions took up several hundred feet, locating in the names of some of the principal French merchants and brokers of this city, and recording their claims at the office of the County Recorder. The next day the news spread abroad, and the employed and workmen on the Spring Valley Water Works, in the Pillarcitos Valley, hearing of the strike, went over and located the five thousand feet along the ledge, which runs southeast and northwest. Soon, others hastened to avail themselves of the discovery, and yesterday, parties were seen hurrying out of town in the direction of the new Eldorado, in quest of fortunes. On Friday night the people in the vicinity held a meeting, and organized a mining district, at which the customary regulations were framed :
At a meeting of persons interested in the gold and silver quartz lodes discovered in the San Andres Valley, San Mateo county, held at the Spring Valley Farm, Pillarcitos Creek, August 28th, 1863, the following rules and regulations wero unanimously adopted: Resolved, That this mining locality shall be named and known as the ” San Mateo Mining District,” the boundaries of which shall be: On the south, commencing at Spanish town on the Pacific; thence running along the County road, easterly, to the Crystal Springs and San Mateo Hotel, to the bay; on the east, along said bay in a northerly direction to the northern boundary of San Mateo county; on the north, along said northern boundary to the Pacific Ocean, and on the west, along the Pacific coast, to Spanish town, the place of beginning. Resolved, That each individual locator of ground shall be entitled to two hundred feet in length, by four hundred feet on each side of the ledge or vein, together with all the dips, spurs and angles of the same. Rexolved, That the discoverer of a vein or ledge, shall be entitled to two hundred feet additional to the above. Resolved, That to hold a claim of two hundred feet, it shall be necessary to do one day’s work in every thirty days, by one man, upon every such claim; in default of which the claim shall be subject to re-location. Resolved. That the filing of a notice with the Recorder shall be considered as a bona fide record ; and the Recorder shall give a certificate of such filing, upon application, of the location. All locations of claims must be designated by written notices and stakes defining the boundaries and limits thereof; and notice must be filed within three days after the location. Resolved, That the sum of one dollar for each and every name shall be paid to the Recorder for his services. The office of the Recorder shall be at the Spring Valley Farm, Pillarcitos Creek. San Mateo county.
A. W. Von Schmidt, Chairman.
Wm. V. Wells, Secretary
The original location was made by a Frenchman named Osslyn, after whom the ledge has been called. The vein, which outcrops freely, is about four feet in width, and is composed of crumbling quartz, easily worked. The next claim, northward, is that of the Pillarcitos Company, consisting of five thousand feet. Among the original locators are Messrs. Yon Schmidt, Eugene Sullivan, Mickle, Wells, .Farwefl, Carlton, Lies, Ecker, Woodworth and other well known San Franciscans. Assays of the rock have gone far into the hundreds per ton. The water power is close at hand for mills, and the locators are feeling quite self-satisfied over their new acquisitions, which are fortunately on public lands, being: just without the boundary of the Fales Kancho. Two tunnels are already commenced to strike the lead about one hundred feet below the outcreppings. Taken in connection with the late discoveries of gold near the Mission Dolores, there is reason to believe that this peninsula is destined yet to make its mark as a mining region.
——————————————————————
Hi June,
This little article was the one that gave me Gold Fever, or at least the desire to know if the craziness of the Gold Rush had any homegrown history of interest, other then the commonly encountered story of some person or another, dropping whatever they were doing and heading to the gold fields.
Oddly, this article, was written several days after the “San Mateo Mining District,” formation meeting article, and captures nothing of the excitement described in that article. It appeared in the September 2nd, 1863 issue of “The Daily Alta.”
What the connection to Pillarcitos is I’m not sure, but will keep looking. Enjoy. John
ASSAY OF HOME ORE
The Ossilan Ledge of the Pillarcitos Gold and Silver Mining Company, San Andres Valley, San Mateo County, has yielded some surface “returns” which are worth chronicling. An assay of top rock exhibits $24 a ton, with trace of silver, but of no material purpose. Extensive arrangements are in progress for working these claims on a large scale.
Posted inUncategorized|Comments Off on John Vonderlin says in 1863 there was gold in them there hills!!!
Story from John Vonderlin
