As Told To Michael J. Phillips (Revisited) by Santa Barbara Historical Museum

NOTICIAS Quarterly Magazine Of The Santa Barbara Historical Society Vol. LI. No.4

Winter 2005

\ :isS .* 1

'\ - %^ : *●*

(revisited)

win 1921 to Michael J. Phillips pwdiiced a series ojaiticles, "50 Years and Mow in Santa Barbara,”Jbr the Santa Barbara Daily News based upon his in -

tewieivs with long-time residents ofSanta Barbara County. In the Spring 1995 issue o/'Nocicias uus presented two articles zuriaen in igii by Phillips after he intoTiew-ed Caesar P.Lataillade and John Waugh,respectively. Phillips was a native ofMichigan zvho came to California in i 929. lie ivorked as an editor for the Daily News,bejore moving on to become aJrceLince zvriter. A versatile author, Phillips penned novels,sluirt stories,plays, woih ofhisto)-y, and biographies. Locally, he is best /^notni for his tivo-volumc History of Santa Barbara Calilornia. From Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Yimc. published m i927. Phillips died in Pasadena in iggi. In this issue o/'Noticias tt’c* presentJour more ofPhillips’ariicles from the Daily News/ro?72 ig2z: interviews ivith Frank]. Maguire,James l^LSsel Heath, and Frank Smith, as zvell as the transcript ofa piece wntten by Benigno QutieiTez. Allfourwere prominent members of the Santa Barbara community. In addition, Maguire and Heath tell oj theirfathers, both impor tantfigures in local government,zvhile Smith relates his memories ofJohn P. Steams, builder ofSteams Whaij. Coverphotograph is from Phillips' History of Santa Barbara California, Backcoverpho tograph shows Steams Wharf ca. 1882. All photographs arefrom the collections ofthe Santa Barbara Historical Society unless otherzvise noted. Text in [brackets_^ are additions made by the editor o/Noticias, as are the notes at the end of each chapter. INFORMATION FOR CONTRIBUTORS: NOTICIAS IS a

quarterly journal devoted to the

Study of the history of Santa Barbara County. Contributions of articles are welcome. Those authors whose articles arc accepted tor publication will receive ten gratis copies ot the issue in which their article appears. Further copies arc available to the contributor at cost. The authority in matters of style is the University of Chicago Manual of Style, i^th edition. The Publications Committee reserves the right to return submitted manuscripts for required changes. Statements and opinions expressed in articles are the sole responsibilitv of the author.

Michael Redmon. Editor judv Suicliifc. Designer ® 2006 Tire Santa Barbara Historical Society 136 E. De la Guerra Street. Santa Barbara. Calilornia 93101 ● Telephone; 805/966-1601 Single copies JiS.oo

ISSN 0581-5916

FRANK J. MAQUIRE A good manythings in which I was interested in the early days and which were of interest to Santa Barbara generally happened on or aboutthe seventeenth ofMarch. So it Is quite appropriate that you use my story this week. I was born right here in Santa Barbara in i860, and I have always lived here, except when I was away at school or something like that. I am sixty-two years old. I am the son of Francis j. Maguire and Dolores Burke Maguire. My mother was

die daughter of Captain James Burke and josefa Boronda, so she was halt Spanish. I was one ol twelve children, all ol whom are dead except myself. Harry F. Maguire, and Mamie Maguire. My brother and sister also live in Santa Barbara.

Michael J. Phillips 105

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i06 FATHER BORN IN CORK My father came from Cork, Ireland, where he was born just one hundred years ago—in 1822. At first he settled in New York, but about 1850 he came west by way of a sailing vessel to the Isthmus, then across and up the west coast. He stopped first at Monterey and then came down here. He had left home at seventeen to make his own way. He died in 1879, comparatively a young man, as he was only fifty-seven. Soon after his coming to Santa Bar bara he was employed by John C. Kays as clerk in the general merchandise store which stood on the present courthouse square and which afterwards became the old courthouse. Mr. Kays sold the long, low adobe to the county, and it served as a courthouse until the present structure was built, something like fifty years ago. After Mr. Kays had sold out, he moved to the Kays building on East Canon FbxJido Street, opposite the Lobero Theatre. This is the big adobe building which is still standing. J. C. Kays married Josefa Burke, my mother’s sister. Mr. and Mrs. Kays were the parents of John C. Kays,Dolores Kays, and Nellie Kays of Santa Barbara, and M. C. Kays, who is connected with Coulter Dry Goods Company, Los Angeles. My father was with Mr.Kays for three to five years, I suppose,and then went into business for himself. He had his store and our residence in the large adobe building which then stood at the southwest corner of State and De la Guerra streets, where the California Pharmacy now stands.

PlRJiVlOVS PAQE:Frank Maguire’sfather, Francis John Maguire, was first elected county judge in i86^ and was then re-elected to two more terms,serving until his death in i8yg. From History of Santa Barbara County. California, Thompson and West,pub., 2883.

He located there, I suppose, about 1855 and stayed there until 1870. For the last fifteen or more years of his life he was county judge. That is, he attended to civil and probate matters for this county, which then embraced Ventura County as well. The district judge was a separate office and looked after criminal cases. AGENT FOR WELLS FARGO Besides having a mercantile business, he was an agent for the Wells Fargo Express company. The stages stopped at our store, and the drivers would bring in the wooden box, always carried in the boot with the driver, for delivery to my father. Sometimes it was almost bursting with gold and silver, for all the money was transferred by Wells Fargo, and there was very little currency. We were also the steamship agents, and whenever a ship came in, the Wells Fargo messenger from the vessel would have valuables to deliver and get to us. Father and the rest of us had some very anxious times, for there were lots of bad men in California. Stages were robbed, messengers and agents killed, and much money stolen. But we never lost a penny. The Wells Fargo ship messengers were on the run between San Francisco and San Diego. Usually the vessels on the up trip got in late at night. Father or some of the rest would sit up, a rifle near at hand, to wait for the messenger. George S. Hartley kept a livery stable where the Orena block was, next to where the McKay building now stands[740 State Street), and it was his duty to go to the beach and drive the messenger up to our place and take him back again after the transfer had been completed. I remember one fellow, "Messenger Chips,’’ a foreigner who wore gold earrings.

MICHAEL J. PHILLIPS

107

'Ihe Colegin Franciacano -which young Fmnl{7^[aguiri’ attended iviis housed in the second story at ihe western end ojthe monastery at Santa Barbara Mission. Viis photograph,taken alxtut i8jo,shows the mission shortly after compktinn oj the second story with its dormer ivindcnvs.

Perhaps he was Portuguese. He was always chccriul and smiling. Uncle Sam wasn’t thought much of in chose days as a delivery boy for his own mail,and many people sent letters by Wells Fargo. San Francisco was the point of supply lor all this part of the country and after a ship or stage came in. our otftccs would be crowded, as Father called off the names of those who had packages or letters. Very little mail was handled to Santa Barbara by the government because the mails were coo uncertain. The vessels which made this port were the big ships Mohongo,Orizaba, and Senator, sidc-wheelcrs; the small boat

good many came from San Francisco, as the college had a big reputation. This was about 1875. I suppose chat a college was conducted at the Old Mission for about ten years. In chose days the wing extending toward the west was consider ably shorter than it is now. An extension has been built. The college was in the sec ond story of this wing, the classrooms on the front, facing south, the large assembly room facing north, in the rear, and the dormitory to the cast toward the church. I walked back and forth to my studies, and it was a long way to go. I remember other students who went at the same time as I

Kalorama-, and the Ancon and Pacific. which were ot medium size.

were Adolfo and juan Camarillo, of the town of Camarillo. After I had attended the Franciscan

COLLEGE IN OLD MISSION

College for a few years, I went to the Christian Brothers’ college at Santa Incs and remained there five years. Paschal Doran was head of the college and had one or two assistants.' Among the pupils who went out there were Lcopoldo Oreha, Orestes Oreha. Thomas Foxen. myself, and my three brothers.James A., Harry F.,

When I was old enough I helped around the score. I would sweep and dust and then would go to the Franciscan College at the Old Mission. 1 was one of about one hundred pupils, some ot whom were day scholars while others were boarders. A

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108 and Augustine Maguire. There were about fifty pupils I would say. HOW RANCH WAS NAMED

ricd Magdalena Burke, was an early ranch owner out there. Cape, and Mrs. More were the parents of Mrs. Annie J, Pierce of Hollister Avenue. He owned Rancho Lomas dc Purificacion and managed the

There was no particular settlement about the Santa Incs Mission, as the coun try was given over to big ranches. There was the College Ranch, which belonged with the college, and was the property ol the Archbishop of San Francisco and the Bishop of Monterey and Los Angeles. Captain Thomas W More, who mar-

College Ranch for the Christian Brothers. These two great properties were divided by the Santa Ynez River. Capt. More re ceived one-third of the yearly increase in cattle and sheep on the College Ranch lor

handling it. Wlicn I had completed my education at Santa Incs, I came back here and embarked in the mercantile business with H. F. Maguire. I followed this occupa tion for eighteen years. We handled dry goods and started in the Dixey Tliompson block between Ortega and Cota, later moving across the street to where the Eastern Market now stands(605 State Street], then to the Orcha block on State Street which I have previously mentioned.

'Ihe Santa Barbara Pioneer I'ire Coml^any ivdaJounded in iSy^. Itsfirst pumping apparatus arrived by steamer in October ojthat year, and early in i8~^ the company headquartered in the bottomfloor oj the neiv city hall, located in the center ojPlay^i de la Qtieira.

[Pii agyii’lffrti

MICHAEL J. PHILLIPS

109

— '

SERVED AS POSTMASTER In 1902 I was appointed postmaster, served four years and three months and then retired to handle real estate and insur ance, my present occupation. Would you like to know something about the fire departments of the early times? I will tell you about them. The original fire department consisted of a night watchman who went to different houses on State Street when he saw a fire and kicked at the doors until he awakened the people to help fight it. Of course he hol lered,"Fire!” That was in the early sixties, and Thomas S. Martin was one of the first night watchmen. Later on the city bought a hand engine which pumped up and down like a handcar, five men working on each of the handles. Cisterns were located on State Street to furnish the supply for the engine. These cisterns were near the Clock

the company painted on it. The firemen gave a grand ball once a year. I remember one big fire, when the American Hotel, above the alley leading to the Daily News editorial rooms burned. An adobe belonging to an Orena was also de stroyed. It was occupied by George P. Tebbetts and W N. Lake as a boarding house. We were just across the street and had had an awful time saving our home that night. This was all about 1870.[l87l] ENGINE RUSTS AWAY Later on a La France engine was pur chased at a cost of $4,000, and that was used in connection with the cisterns until plenty of water could be gotten into the mains, when the department would attach the engine to the fire plugs. The engine was discarded when there was sufficient force in the water in the mains. Room was needed in the city hall,

Building, on the McKay Building site at the southwest corner of De la Guerra and

and the engine was taken over to the city stables at the corner of Santa Barbara and

State, and opposite the present Barbara Hotel. They were filled from the mains of the Mission Water Company which about this time put in a pipeline from the Old Mission reservoir to downtown. The

Ortega streets and left out in the open. It soon became worthless.

cisterns were of good size, about twentyfive feet deep and ten to fifteen feet across. They were well built of brick. The first fire department was made up of volunteers and was named the Pioneer Fire Department. The engine was kept at the city hall and Adam Ott, father of Charles Ott of the Ott Hardware Com pany, was one of the first chiefs. One of the prominent firemen was W H.Stafford, who kept a soda water place on West De la Guerra. The others were merchants, but I have forgotten their names. The uniform consisted of a black helmet, red shirt, navy blue trousers, and a belt with the name of

Later horses were purchased for the department, but before that time local expressmen and their teams were used. Some funny things happened then. There were quite a number of expressmen on the streets, and the rule was that the man and team that arrived first and hooked onto the engine got the job of hauling it to the fire, for which he was paid five dollars. RACING FOR CITY HALL When the fire bell rang, there was always an exciting race for the city hall, up State Street, down State Street, and from out of the cross streets. The drivers would attempt to cut in ahead of each other and crowd the other fellow out of

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110 che way. There was as smashup every now and then.

rochial church, and Sc, Vinccnc’s School. Besides, che Fathers were to receive a share

Sometimes a man with a liccle team would win the race and then, because ol

of che prohes.

the mud. his horses couldn’t stir the engine. This all caused delay and gave the tire a good scare, somecimes. The water, mosc of it, after the Mission Water Company had hooked on. was in the reservoir and some of che Fathers would hurry out when the fire bell rang to turn on che water by opening che large gate. But it they didn’t happen to hear it. there would be a delay until a messenger came, and the engine would have to stand idly, hooked to the tire plug, until the pressure was released. This reservoir, the one chat is fenced in and is a city reservoir now, was not tenced before the Mission Water Company came into odsccnce. and we boys, students at the Old Mission College, went swimming in it. The Mission Fathers gave their water rights in Mission Canyon to the Mission Water Company, and in return they were to be supplied at the Mission and che pa-

WHEN WAVES ROLLED HIGH But they never saw any prolics. The Mission Water Company finally went into the Santa Barbara Water Company which developed the Dc la Guerra Garden wells and atcerwards sold everything to the city. The first whart was at the toot of Chapala Street. Cape. Trusscll, members of whose family live at 327 Castillo Street, was che owner ot ic.^ There was a warehouse on shore. A crack ran out to the end of the whart on which there was a flaccar. "Wlien treight was lightered in it was loaded on this flatcar and hauled to che warehouse by one horse. The steamers anchored quite a distance out, and the pas sengers were taken ott in small boats and landed on che wharf. There’s nothing to scop the force ot a sou’easter, and I have seen great waves roll up into Mission Creek as far as Mason

Shortly after ita compUtion,St. Vincent's Institution at Carrillo and Dela Vina streets succumbed tojircinV-Unvh

Vie Sisters oj Charity rebuilt on the same site.

111

MICHAEL J. PHILLIPS Street and almost as far as the rear of the Ambassador grounds of today. ST PATRICKS DAY FIRE The Sisters of Charity opened their first school on the Cieneguitas Ranch, on the opposite side of the highway from Hope Ranch, out the Coast Highway above town. It was a boarding school for girls, and many of the girls ol Santa Barbara attended it. Then they had a little chapel near the main entrance to Hope Ranch. It was built of adobe, had a tiled root. and a belfry on the east side. After being out there for about ten years, they built on the present site, a threC'Story brick building with a base ment. This was destroyed by lire on St. Patrick's Day. March 17. in the early 1870s [1874]. They built the present structure as an orphanag after the hre using the old brick, I was one of the many boys who went over to clean the mortar off the bricks so they could be put in the walls again. The original school on the Sisters’ ranch is still standing and is owned by the Sisters and occupied by their tenants. "THE DAY WE CELEBRATE Mr. and Mrs. James McCaffrey, who had a vineyard in the San Jose district, north of Goleta, were the grandparents of the McCaffrey boys who are here today.

Despite advicefwm Judge Maguire and others, Willkm \\'dies I lollister ivcnt ahead with the jnu-chase ojthe Qle^i Annie Ki.inch. In i8go,/our years after I lollkter's death, his jamity Inst the property after a protracted L'galfight with the heirs ojNicholas Den.

They made good pure wine, and on each St. Patrick's Day, they invited the Fathers ot the Old Mission, the students, and all the Irish of Santa Barbara and vicinity out for a celebration. This was in the 1870s. They spread a long tabic under a grape arbor, and I remember they always i gave us all we could dcsire in the way of food and good w'ine to go with the meal. They i always had literary exercises and danc, ing. I remember Mrs. James J. McCaffrey, then a bride, and the ■ daughter-in-law of f our host and hostess, dancing the Highland fling and Irish jigs for our entertainment. She is he mother of the McCaf■ boys and lives on Orange Avenue [between Canon Perdido and Ortega streets, just west of Highway lOl], TILT WITH COL. HOLLISTER My lather warned Col Hollister, when Father was probate judge, not to purchase the Nicholas A. Den ranch. Dos Pueb los, from the administrators of the Den estate. "Col. Hollister," my father said, "you and I have been friends for a long time, and

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il2 I warn you not to buy chis ranch, because I will noc confirm chc sale. ■' 1 feel I cannot do it in justice to the minor heirs. The sale of the Hazard ranch has paid all the debts of the estate, and the heirs arc in good shape and should keep this fine property," Col. Hollister replied, "Mr. Maguire, we have been friends, as you say. for a long time. But I would rather take the advice of Judge Husc than yours. I shall buy Dos Pueblos in spite of you." He and Ellwood Cooper and W W Stow did buy it. When chc heirs became of age they secured chc services oi Tliomas Bishop & Evans ol San Francisco, who fought chc ease for years throughout all the courts. Col. Hollister would noc surrender. But after he died there was sccclcmcnc all around. Corona del Mar and Tecoloce ranches fell to Mr. Bishop as his reward for winning chc litigation.

APT WITH NICKNAMES I remember S, R. I. Sturgeon, an attor ney who married a Californian, and who lived near Arroyo Burro. He wasn't much of a lawyer, I suppose. Anyway, the Span ish people called him. "El Abogado Burro,” the jackass Lawyer, and the name stuck. The first streetcar was of the "bobtail" variety, and was drawn by a span of horses and later by small mules. The passengers entered from the rear of the car. THE RUNAWAY MULE CAR The line ran from chc foot of State Street to the Arlington. Later a branch was built on West Moncedeo Street to chc bach house and another branch on West Anapamu Street to Ranchcria, where chc Victoria Street depot stood. Several times chc brakes got out of

I larry and l-rayik^ddgidrejla7ik. ajricnd infront oj Harry s dry gooc/s store at 732 State Street.

MICHAEL J. PHILLIPS

order going down State, and the car would push on the mules and start them running to avoid being run over. I tell you it caused some excitement. One time the brake broke coming down State, the car got beyond control, and the passengers began to drop off, one by one, from the rear. The car landed in the sand near Stearns Wharf. The noon car generally had a load of bathers coming back from the beach and their morning dip. On this trip the car would stop at the car stables, which were located on State Street near Haley, and the driver would feed the mules and eat his own dinner. The passengers would have to get out and walk up. So you see the present service to Valerio Street isn’t so bad after all. The bobtail cars were kept standing on State Street when not in action. There was an uptown-downtown hght in the early days which resulted—as so many fights often do—in both sides getting the worst of it. This was around 1872 or 1873,1 suppose. UP & DOWNTOWN RIVALRY Col. W. W. Hollister owned the I.O.O.F hall, which is now the bus station at the corner of Haley and State,(436 State Street] and he and John P. Stearns, who owned the adjoining structure, and George P. Tebbetts, who owned the building in which the Fugazi bank is now located,[500 State Street] were leaders of the lower town faction. Mortimer Cook, who had built the Clock Building at State and Carrillo streets, was the head of the uptown people. Mr. Tebbetts had been postmaster, but he lost out, and Henry P. Stoddard was appointed. He was the father of Mrs. Wil liam Norman Campbell. The hght over the location of the post ofhee was the cause of the uptown-downtown ill feeling.

113 While the two extremities were quar reling, the businessmen in the central part of town quietly got together. As a result, the post office was moved to the central part of town, to the store now occupied by the Rochester Clothing Company next to Boeseke-Dawe Company’s store in the 700 block of State Street. The businessmen took up a collection right around there and paid the rent each month. Well, that killed both upper State and lower State dead. There was no business except right in the neighborhood of the post office, since that was the natural cen ter of town. There were some good stores in the I.O.O.F. building that had fine plate glass fronts and rented for $750 a month, and the owner was glad to get tenants at that price. NOTES 1. The Christian Brothers took over the College in 1877 Paschal Doran was one of the Franciscans overseeing the College before the Christian Brothers arrived. 2. Horatio Gates Trussell was an inves tor in the Santa Barbara Wharf Company. In 1854 he built what is today known as the Trussell-Winchester adobe at 412 West Montecito Street,owned and operated as an historic house museum by the Santa Barbara Historical Society. The home that Maguire speaks of was a two-story frame house built by Trussell just to the north of the adobe in 1869. 3. The grand Potter Hotel, located just off West Beach, opened in 1903. Milo Potter sold the hotel in 1919, and it was renamed the Belvedere. In 1920 it became part of the Am bassador hotel chain and was rechristened the Ambassador. On April 13, 1921, the Ambas sador burned to the ground.

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114

JAMES RUSSEL HEATH I think I can qualify for “Fifty Years or More in Santa Barbara.” I am sixty-three years old, and I was horn in Santa Barbara. Of course, for a good many years I did not live here in the city, but I was on a ranch near Carpinteria, and that is in Santa Barbara County My father was James Russel Heath of New York State. During the gold craze of 1849. he came to the Isthmus ot Panama in a sailing vessel and landed, with perhaps two hundred others who were seeking treasure and adventure. Well, they wandered around in Mexico for awhile, but got out as speedily as they could for cholera was rite.

They must have been off the coast ot Mexico or Southern California when they were becalmed. There they laid on the swells, the sails flapping tor two or three weeks. Then, when it was seen that provi sions were getting low they held a meeting; by that I mean those who had chartered the vessel, and demanded that they he put inshore for lood.

A SUCCESSFUL MUTINY

The captain was stubborn and said he did not want to do this. He prclerrcd to

Those that were left. 1 suppose about a hundred of them, reached the west side ot

keep on sailing north until opposite San Francisco. But they took command ot the vessel, superseding him. and headed dircctiv tor shore.

the Isthmus, chartered a French brig, which had a peculiar old chap as owner and skip per, and started for San Francisco. They had no charts and had very little idea, from the captain down, where they were when they struck the doldrums. ABO\'B: The narrator'sJather, James Russe/ Heath, was Santa Barham County ShcriJ], id5-/'57-

LANDED AT CONCEPTION The vessel came in sight ot land above Point Conception. One boatload of the passengers, now pretty hungry, tor the provisions had about run out, went over the side and rowed ashore. Close bv was a steer

115

MICHAEL J. PHILLIPS which they promptly shot. They skinned and roasted it over a big fire, quite forget ting that there were others on the bark as hungry as they The French captain had another boat, but for safety's sake he kept it on the ship, so the hungry passengers and crew had to wait until those on shore had satisfied their hunger. After all had had a good feed of fresh beef, the vessel turned south and came to Santa Barbara. The first thing they did here was to start hunting for food. Tliis was a quaint old Spanish village, very few speak ing English, and it was hard to make their wants understood. Father liked the looks of Santa Barbara very much. TO SAN FRANCISCO Well, after a stay of some days. Father, who had lost confidence in the captain and his brig, started overland for San Francisco. Three others trudged up the coast with him, and they beat the ship to port by three weeks! He went to the mines north of Sac ramento and stayed there for two years. Then he returned to San Francisco and took a steamer to Santa Barbara. The city was to have been merely a stopping place on his return journey,for he had fallen in love with Mazatlan, Mexico, and was on his way there to locate. But he found some friends and acquaintances in Santa Barbara who warned him that there was no use. Either he would get nothing in Mazatlan, or else he would accumulate wealth, and the Mexicans would take it away from him. So he stayed here. He married my mother, Harriet Sher man, of Herkimer County, New York, in 1856. He died about twelve years ago, out at the ranch in Carpinteria, at the age of eighty-three. So he was twenty-two when he started west to make his fortune.

COUNTY SHERIFF In the early fifties, when he was about twenty-seven, he was either elected or ap pointed sheriff of Santa Barbara under the American control, and held the position for two terms.* The old jail and courthouse were in a long, low adobe building on the northeast side of the courthouse square, near Santa Barbara and Figueroa. He was district attorney later and also represented Santa Barbara in the legislature as assem blyman. It took real nerve to be sheriff in those days, for there were plenty of bad men about. My father went to the home of Dr. [Nicholas) Den at Dos Pueblos, about the time that the notorious Ned McGowan fled from San Francisco to escape hanging at the hands of the Vigilantes for his many misdeeds. He got up the next morning and went out to a pond to hunt ducks and was ad vised by Dr. Den to take a revolver along. He said no; his shotgun was enough. NOTORIOUS NED MCGOWAN As he got down toward the lake or pond, he saw a man on the other side and went around to speak to him, but when he arrived the man wasn’t there. He thought this was queer and commented on it to Dr. Den when he got back after his hunt. "Oh," said Dr. Den, "that’s a fellow from San Francisco who slept in the next room to you last night. He’s here visiting the gardener.” Later he asked my father what he would do if he encountered Ned McGowan. "Nothing,” said the sheriff. "I haven’t any warrant for Ned McGowan. If I did I’d bring him in.” Later my father found out that the man

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116

FOILING A BAD HOMBRE NARRATIVE Another bad man of those days was

EDWARD Me GO WAN IKCtVDlNC; A FTLL Af.'COl'St VK TUK

i a:

\ Id

Anthoi'a Ad7eator«« aod Peril*, while penecuted by the San Francieco Vigilance Committee of I8S6.

7t7Sr.xezxz:o b'S’ xeie author, i

o* P*r*i

Tmi

Edward "Ned"JVlcQoivan arrived in Santa Barbara in July 18^6 afterJleeing the clutches of the Secemd Vigilance Committee in San Francisco. His time in Santa Barbara County ivas spait in large pan hidingout in variouslocatums includmg SantaBarbarapwper,Rtmc/ioLt)s Dos Pueblos,

Solomon Pico, who lived over the range in the Santa Ynez country. Although it was not proved, it was suspected that Pico would lay in wait for cattle and sheep drov ers and kill them for their money. Ac. least a good many buyers disappeared. One day the sheriff was crossing on the grade close by the track,[Pico’s] horse tied in the bushes, rather out ol sight of the road. My father got past, then wheeled his horse suddenly, pulled his gun. leveled it at the man. and said, "I know you! You arc Solomon Pico. But you won't shoot me in the back the way you have shot others. Get your horse.” With my father still keeping him covered and right on the bandit's heels, Pico mounted and went down the steep grade ahead of Father. Ac the bottom my father said to him, "Go your way. and I'll go mine.” He waited until Pico had disappeared some distance away and then proceeded on his journey. MOVE TO CARPINTERIA

and Rcinc/io H^efugio.

My father was the sheriff who was who had slept in the next room and had avoided meeting him by the pond was Ned McGowan, The Vigilances were organized in Santa Barbara as well as in San Francisco and were active for two or three years. They worked independently of the officers of the law. My father did not belong to them and did not know who they were. They com municated with the San Francisco Vigi lances and later hunted for Ned McGowan here, but as I understand it, friends hid him and they did not capture him.

about to hang the Indian spoken of by Santiago de la Guerra for the killing of another Indian in the De la Guerra house. Just at the moment the Indian was to be swung off, a messenger dashed through the crowd on horseback waving a pardon. He had ridden all the way from Sacramento with the document. When I was only about a year and a halt old. it was seen that the climate of Santa Barbara did not agree with me. and my father and the family moved to the ranch in the Carpintcria Valley. This ranch is just south of the Episcopal Church,

117

MICHAEL J. PHILLIPS "Oldtown.” and the present Carpinteria. There I remained until about eight years ago, when we moved back here. Of course 1 was frequently in Santa Barbara in those days. The main part of town was about where the first National

out the roots, and pile the logs up and burn them when they got dry. They were good for nothing else. It cost as much as S200 an acre to clear most ot this land. FIRST AMERICAN WOMEN

Bank is now[901 State Street], Everything north of that and all around was pueblo lands, mostly controlled by the Fathers of the Old Mission and used for the grazing of cattle and sheep. Animals were everywhere, and to keep the cattle from coming right into the adobe residences, posts were set all around. It was an adventure sometimes to go from one Santa Barbara house to another. You never

My mother and my grandmother (mother's mother) were the first American women in the valley and they were more or less a curiosity. There were a few Span ish families, lots of Mexicans, and a great many Indians. It was pretty rough and wild, and there was little law. It was the fashion, whenever

knew when a steer or a bull was going to

the residents needed some fresh beet, to go out and shoot the first steer they came to.

charge you. When we went down to Carpinteria

Afterwards they examined the earmarks and from those discovered who was the

about sixty-one years ago. the whole valley was covered with a dense growth of live oaks. There was no larming, just cattle ranching, mostly. In order to farm it was necessary to cut down those live oaks, grub

erous piece of his own beef, with their compliments. Funny thing, but somehow or other those Calilornians seemed to shoot the

owner and would send the owner a gen

Vie Heathfamily home in the Carpinteria \'alley.

NOTICIAS

One ofthe more dijficidt portions ofthe stagecoach 7X)ad over San Marcos Pass ivas the area known as Slippet-y l^)ck

whicc man’s beeves. Tliough I suppose chac was all right. Ac least the whicc man didn't kick out loud.

There was more vegetation in the Val ley in those days, and I chink the floods

THREE MEN LYNCHED

the whole countryside were flooded by a sudden rain and how grandmother fled, with me in her arms, to a knoll on the ranch with mother beside her. It was one

But everybody objected when cattle stealing got to be a regular occupation. Three of the chief offenders were the Badillos, father and

were greater and more dangerous, I have heard my mother tell how the ranch and

two sons, and one morning Carpinccria had

of the times when father was away, and they were pretty anxious for a few min

the three of them for breakfast. A party of chose who had suffered from the Badillos

utes. because it looked as chough we might all be swept, but the waters subsided,

stealing cattle and running them off to sell hung the three of them from one tree.

because the rain had stopped falling, and we escaped.

This must have been about Efty-five years ago. in 1866 or '67^ The tree was a

HARDSHIPS OF STAGES

big live oak right across the Coast high way from the Alisos. or old Carpinccria school in town. It was on the property of Fred Hogue and was chopped down a few years ago. Tlic Badillos had been living in the Olmsccad homestead, a log house on Carpinccria beach. After they had danced on air there was less cattle stealing.

There were no bridges between Santa Barbara and Carpinccria in those days, and the stages had to follow a very rough road through creek beds and over the hills. During the winter the stages, which were drawn by six horses, had a couple of outrid ers with them.

MICHAEL], PHILLIPS Alter a rain when the stage reached the bank of a swollen stream, the two men on horseback would ride into the flood. If their horse had to swim to cross it, the stage did not attempt it, but camped on the bank until the water went down. Then they wor ried through. There was one stage a day each way The stage station at "Oldtown” was run by a man named Buckley who was in general charge. The stage drivers never thought of turning back, no matter how bad the go ing, They were carrying the United States mails, and under law and their contracts they had to keep going. In the winter the stages sometimes were two weeks late in getting through. FIRST GRADUATING CLASS My wife’s maiden name was Clara Newcomb and she lived in Santa Barbara for nine years prior to our marriage, March

5. 1883. She was a member of the first graduating class for which public gradu ating exercises were held in the history of the Santa Barbara schools. She and George Rust composed the class, and the exercises were held in the old Lobero Theatre in May 1880. It was packed to the doors. There had been a class previously, I think in 1879, which completed the pre scribed course of study, but they were simply sent out without any ceremony The members ol this class of 79 were Miss Hails, sister of Miss Abbie Hails, still living here; and Cora Lacey. Miss Hails married John Torrance, now supervisor, and moved to Santa Ynez a good many years ago, where she died. I don’t know what became of Miss Lacey. Well, on the night of the graduation exercises, my wife recited a piece and gave the valedictory, and George Rust gave the opening address and recited a piece. The next class, that of ’81, contained five mem-

Lincoln School,in the too blochojBast Cota Street,opened in iHyi. It Literhoioied the city’s high school on the second floor.

NOTICIAS

120 bcrs. Ic contributed several songs. In that class was Mrs. Henry Muzzall of Stanley Park, who was then Lora Bates. She was the only girl graduate. HEADED HIGH SCHOOL The high school was in the charge, in 1880. of Prof. N. T. Snow. I suppose you would call him the principal, as well as the superintendent. Miss Phoebe Owen was his assistant. In the next room. Sarah Winchester, Dr. Winchester’s sister, was the teacher. Eliza Sherman was another teacher in the lower grades. All of the children were at school, forty-odd years ago, in what was the old Lincoln, recently torn down. There were several grades in with the high school and three or four other rooms in the building as well. It was all somewhat on the order

Henry K. Winchester ivds one of the original partners in Santa Barbara’s first streetcar line

of a country school. In the early seventies, the horse car line

were responsible for decking me out like that. They rather spoiled me. One of the few American settlers below

from the Arlington to the beach was estab lished. It was built on the whim of a rich man, H. K. Winchester, who came from the east and lived at the Arlington with his wife. He wanted to go to the beach when he wanted to and the carriages, somehow, didn’t suit him,^ So he sot a franchise, bought the horse car, and laid the rails to have a car which would take him down there when he wanted to go, Tl'ic first motive power was a span of mules, and Frank Vail, retired only recently, was the first driver, conductor, superintendent, and general manager of the line. Mr. Winchester was no relative of Dr. Winchester. HIS OWN PONY AT SIX When I was six years old I had a pony of my own, a belt, a real revolver, and ball and powder. The Indians and Mexicans

in i8y^.

Santa Barbara was Dr,Thomas Biggs,(sic) who lived near Rincon creek, this side of the Dr. Hill place today.He lived up the canyon toward the mountains. Later he moved to Santa Barbara and opened the first drug store on lower State Street, below the Fithian building, probably pretty close to the intersection of Cota. That was in the fifties. WHEN APPLES COST MONEY Prices were very high. 1 remember once Father went to San Francisco on business, and Mother told him to get some apples. After awhile a stingy little box came down by steamer, with only a dozen apples in it. When he got home,she reproached him for not sending more. "Do you know how much they cost?" he asked with a smile.

121

MICHAEL J. PHILLIPS "No, I don’t. How much were they?" "Five dollars apiece," he replied. "Mercy!" said Mother. "Wliydid you buy so many?" Those were easy and pleasant days, though. As I look back. I enjoyed them \'cry much,and I diink! would have liked the time ol Father’s young manhood much better. HOSPITALITY UNEQUALED He said chat the hospitality of chose days will never be equaled, because nearly all the new country where the Spanish people hold forth has now become on land settled, and it is only the pioneer conditions with chose people that it could exist. Father declared that at noontime ev eryone as a matter of course stopped at the nearest house while traveling, sure ol a welcome,food, and rest. You made yourself at home as you were expected to do. as much as chough you lived there. In chose days hurry was almost un known. and life flowed peacefully and quietly on and on.

I chink you will agree chat things have changed very much since the hfeies in Santa Barbara, and maybe not for the better.

NOTES 1. Heath was appointed sheriff in February, 1854 and was elected for a second term in Sepcember, 1855, serving until September, 1857 2. Heath is referring to the vigilante hanging of Francisco Badillo and his son for suspected horse stealing in 18v59. Ethnic tensions rose to such a pitch, federal troops were dispatched to Santa Barbara from Fort Tejon to insure order.

3. Henry K. Winchester, in partnership with Charles Fcrnald and Eugene Fawcett, was granted a street railway franchise by the common council of the City of Santa Barbara in April 1875. Winchester’s occupation in the 1888 Santa Barbara city directory is given as "capitalist" and his residence as the Arlington Hotel. 4. Heath is relcrring to Dr. Matthew Biggs who operated the drugstore with Benigno Gutierrez. See Gutierrez interview.

4 ^

One ojthe city s mule cars heads dozvn StateStreet.'IhcArlingtnn Hotel is in the backgnnmd. r',

NOTICIAS

122

BENIGNO GUTIERREZ I was born in Santiago, Chile,in 1830. My father was Antonio Gutierrez, and my mother’s maiden name was Carmen Gutierrez.InMarch,1849, I,incompany with several ofmyfellow countrymen, set sail for California in the ship, Carmen de Talcahuana, from the port of Talcahuana. y\ short time prior to his death in 1^02, about Liventy years ago, a pioneer Santa Barbara resident, Benigno Qutierrez, wrote the ston ofhis coming to this community. 'Ihe manuscript ivas carefully preserved by members ojMr. Qutierrez’sfamily. l\eal' izing its value when its existence was lyrought to the attention ofthe Daily News, James Qutierrez,a son of the pumeer,ivas prevailed upon to alloiv its being used in "Fifty Oedrs and More in Santa Barbara.” Besidesjames Qutien'ez, who is anployed at the Soutlnvich Bargain Store, three other childriai(fBenigno Qutierrezareliving.'Ihey are Leandro Cjutiarez of Los Angeles,Mrs. !{. Vl\ riillafVentura,and Mrs.Burt Montgo7ne}-y ojPasadena. Benigno Qutiarez’s oivn story is cisJolloivs: 1 was born in Santiago, Chile, in 1830. My father was Antonio Gutierrez, and my mother’s maiden name was Carmen Gutie rrez. In March, 1849, 1. in company with

several oi my lellow countrymen, set sail for Calilornia in the ship, Carmendc'ldicukuana, Irom the port of Talcahuana. Wc had 150 passengers, and the ship was commanded by Captain Grun, a Ger man. The voyage was uneventful, except that on the fifth day out, an alarm of fire was raised. The fire, however, was quickly extinguished, and no damage resulted to cither passengers or cargo. On the 30th day of April, 1849, alter a passage of hfty-onc days, we landed in San Francisco. Not having enough money to proceed to the mines, I had to dispose of a part of my provisions, which I had brought with me, and I sold a quantity of meat and cheese which realized good prices.

ABOVF.:Benigno QutidTez ujos bom in Chile in 1830 andcame to Santa Barbara in 185^.Slun-tly after lii>; amival, he and partner Mattheiv Biggs opened the Unun'sfirst dmg store.

MICHAEL J. PHILLIPS LARGE SUM FOR PASSAGE

123 then returned to San Francisco and, after a short season of rest, went to San Jose,

A part of us then proceeded to Sac ramento in a small schooner for which

then a small place with mostly Spanish residents.

journey the fare was $40.00 each. From Sacramento we proceeded to Plumas Coun ty, engaging a wagon and team to take us thither. The charge for this journey was $800 for the party, freight being reckoned at a dollar a pound. When we got to our destination, we met with a very cold reception from the people there and were told that, as we were strangers and foreigners, we had no right there, as the country was for Americans only. Things looked so threatening and unpromising that we decided to return to Sacramento.

I there engaged in the business of buying and shipping cattle to the San Francisco market, in which occupation I continued for about a year, and then went to San Luis Obispo and afterwards to Santa Cruz, where I farmed for a year.

FIND REAL EL DORADO

met an old friend. Dr. Matthew H. Biggs, whom I had known in Chile.

Our freighter, taking pity on us for our hard luck, then took us without extra

Biggs had come out to California in 1848, the year before me,and was a native of Peru, having been born there in 1828 of English parents. His father was a civic engineer and had been sent out to Peru by an English company to manage a silver mine there. Biggs and I came out to Santa Barbara to engage in the drug business.

charge to Weaver Creek in El Dorado County, where we worked unmolested for about two months with big success. We many times washed as much as sixteen ounces to the pan and in about six weeks took out over a thousand ounces of gold. Then trouble began. Once more we were told that as we were foreigners we had no right there, and threats were used against us. We appealed to the local justice, but to no purpose, and we decided to go. We therefore returned to Sacramento and San Francisco. Afterwards in com pany with one of my countrymen and two Frenchmen, whose names have been forgotten, I went to Stockton and from there to Mokelumme Hill. We passed the winter of 1849-50 there and were not very successful. I remember it was a very severe and heavy winter. I

LOS ANGELES-A SMALL PLACE After this I went to Los Angeles, then a very small place, the inhabitants of which were almost exclusively engaged in pastoral pursuits and in extensive stock raising. After five or six months there, during which time I did not engage in any business, I went back to San Jose, where I

COMES TO SANTA BARBARA This was in 1854. The town then was a very small settlement having a population of five hundred or six hundred, and there was no drug store there at the time. We bought for $125 a deck cabin of a ship that had been wrecked there some years previously and moved it to the corner of De la Guerra and State streets, where the Central Bank stands,[801 State Street]and there commenced business. Shortly after this, I married my present wife. Miss Solcdad Gonzales, and I then

124

NOTICIAS

moved the cabin no Garden Street in the

he died in 1888, He was a member of the

rear of the Gonzales residence, where I con

California Pioneers,and it was he who intro

tinued the business.[835 Laguna Street] From 1857 to 1865 I was engaged O O

duced me to membership with that body. I am still in business in Santa Barbara

in stock raising in the Santa Clara Val ley, Ventura County. The year of 1864, however, was a very dry year, and many ol the cattle died. So in 1865 I came back

and have with me two of my sons. One other of my sons is in New York, and another is engaged in ranching. 1 also have two daughters, one ol whom married Dr, Hill of the Rincon, and the other is unmarried.

to Santa Barbara and again engaged in the drug business with Dr. Biggs on State Street and later in a brick store on the site

The store in the Fithian Building, al though under ocher management, still has the Gutierrez name and is known as the

oi the present Fithian Building.[629 State Street] and where I have been engaged in the same business ever since.

oldest drug store in Southern California.'

In 1882. in conjunction with Dr. C. B. Bates. I purchased the Rincon Randio from

NOTES

Dr. Biggs and also the drug store and the building which it was in. I may here state that Biggs in 1873 returned to Chile and later to Peru where

1, The Gutierrez Drug Store continued to operate in the Fithian Building until closing for good in 1979.

Vie Fithian Building housed the Qutierrez Ding Store until the latter dosed for good in igyg. Ihe Fithian Building was also known as the Lower Clod{_ Building until it lost this distinguishingfeature in the 1925 earthquake.

125

MICHAEL J. PHILLIPS

FRANK SMITH

In the fifty-two years I have been in Santa Barbara, I have seen an interesting change in the methods of transportation. It has been curious to see how one method has overcome another and has been in turn overcome. First, it was the surf landing Irom ves sels; then wharves were established, and

FIRST JOB IS A MODEST ONE

the surf landings were heard ol no more. Then the railroad came and put most of the wharves out ol business. Now the railroads and the wharves

Opportunities for education were limited in diosc early days. We worked on dx fami in dx summer, u'c boys, aixl in dx winter attended dx "litdc red schoolliouse.” I completed my education, so far as attaidancc at scliool w'as

arc both fighting hard to hold their own against the motor truck. What will be next. I wonder, the airplane? My parents were Mr. and Mrs. David Smith, and they were born in Hanover. New Hampshire, on the Connecticut River. They moved to Illinois in 1844 with their family of four boys and Eve girls and settled on land which they took up. a claim

concerned, in Joliet Higli School, At nineteen. I took my first job other than w'ork on the farm, I wxnt into a gro cery store at $20 a month and thought I W'as doing very well. Among members of our family and friends there were some who had been to California in the gold rush of the late forties and fifties, and ever since boyhood I had

of eighty acres, forty miles southwest of Chicago. Our place was twelve miles from Joliet. Tlicrc I was born December 30,1845.

the fever to go west. My brother, Milton Smith, had been out here, and this settled

so I am past seventy-six years of age. I am the only "sucker” of the Smith family, since the rest are down-casters.

Vic Orizaba brought Frank. Smith and family members to Santa Barbara in September 1870.

126

NOTICIAS

'The Chapala Street Piermay be seen injront of the deep water 5iL’tini.s Whaij.

nuinbcr not more chan 500 were Ameri cans. The rest were Californians ot Spanish descent or natives of Spain or Mexico. Nowhere between San Francisco and San Diego was there a wharf at which steamers and sailing vessels of any sire could discharge passengers and freight. At San Pedro and Santa Barbara, lighters were used. San Pedro Harbor was called

Wilmington Slough, and a bar prevented vessels from going in.

HARD TO UNLOAD SHIPS my determination some day to come, and I have never regretted it. On the contrarv, 1 have always been glad chat I did so. I was married in 1868, and in 1870

It was exceedingly laborious to unload freight, especially grain. The ship would anchor at a safe distance outside, and a

my wife and myself, two brothers, and a nephew left for California. We came on the

line would be passed from the vessel to the shore. This line would be made fast on shore, and three or four men w'ould unload

Union Pacific and Central Pacific one year after completion ot the transcontinental

the bags ot grain from wagons into the boat. Then they would work out to the

line. It took us eight days to make the crip from Chicago to San Francisco, but chat

ship by clinging to the line and pulling on it.

was much better and faster than coming in a prairie schooner or around the Horn.

The boats used were large whale boats with a capacity of ten cons or more, and they were awkward and hard to handle.

CAME HERE ON ORIZABA At San Francisco we cook passage on the Orizaba and reached Santa Barbara on

But because of their weight, they could not be filled to capacity, and only about five cons would be carried on each crip to the vessel.

September 10,1870, after three days at sea.

Lumber had to be floated ashore in rafts,

The water was rough, and we didn’t enjoy the journey much. We were glad when it was over.

and it was injured thereby, as it would be covered with sand, and some of it would

Because of the fact chat there was no w'hart here, the Orizaba anchored about four thousand feet offshore, and passengers were transferred by boats to the small wharf at the foot of Chapala Street. Santa Barbara in chose days has been very well described in your "Fifty Years Ago” stories by Charley Hall and others. As I remember it. there were not more chan 1.500 population here then, and of this

be broken. The whole loading and unload ing process was extremely laborious and inconvenient, but it was the only method possible, for there were no railroads and no wharves. We had come out here with the idea of establishing a surf landing for Carpinceria, Mv brothers and mvself were given ten acres of beachfront land on the upper [western] end of the Carpinteria Valley, at Serena, for $100 with the understanding

MICHAEL J. PHILLIPS

127

chat wc would put in the surf landing. This we did. building a warehouse and providing ourselves with boars. Wc received grain and beans and ocher produce ac our warehouse and transferred them by surf boars co the steamers and sailing vessels. There were surf landings ac Ventura. Santa Barbara, and near Port Har ford—Avila—the port of San Luis Obispo. A PUBLIC-SPIRITED CITIZEN John P. Stearns came co Santa Barbara from Santa Cruz in 1868 or ’69.‘ He had been a practicing attorney in the north and also district attorney for two years. He established a lumber yard ac the southwest corner of State and Haley streets on the site of the Junior Market and adjoining build ings. The location was then known as the Forbush corner. Mr. Stearns was a public-spirited and progressive citizen, and he did much more for Santa Barbara in those early days than his contemporaries gave him credit for. Immediately he saw the need for an adequate wharf. He knew that Santa Bar bara could not grow until such a wharf was provided. He talked about a wharf until people generally made it a fashion to regard him as a dreamer and a look It was the theory, widely held, chat a wharf would not stand up under the assaults of sea and wind in this un protected roadstead, and chat the man who would put his money into it was simply sinking it in the sea. But this sore of talk did not discourage Mr. Stearns. He cried to persuade the own ers of the little wharf ac the foot of Chapala Street co extend it, but they declined, cling ing co the belief chat no vessel could lay co the wharf in the open roadstead Then he proposed co them chat he put

T/jis photograph ofJohn P. Steams was taken shortly after his election as mayor in i8SS.

up the money for the extension of their wharf co a reasonable distance, he to take his pay back in wharfage, but they refused to listen co this. Had they done so, Santa Barbara's wharf today, undoubtedly, would have been at the foot of Chapala Street and the business section would have been spread out somewhat instead of following State Street. Because in chose days the wharf was a very important place and many residents of the city and vicinity visited it almost daily, inevitably business places would have sprung up on Chapala Street and the lower cross streets leading co State Street. When the last refusal came, Mr. Stearns announced, "1 will build a wharf myself." That was in 1872. and he did so, putting in his own money and bor rowing some from Col. Hollister, who had great faith in Mr. Stearns' vision and judgment. The contract for the construction was given co a firm from Huencme. One of the men was named Fraser [sic]. I have forgot ten the name of the other,^ They had a crew

NOTICIAS

128 of about fifteen men and they worked eight or nine months before it was completed. STEARNS WHARFINGER Meanwhile, we had been making a pretty fair success with our business at Ser ena. In September, 1872, before his wharf was finished, Mr.Stearns employed me as wharfinger,and I have been connected with Stearns Wharf ever since. As soon as the wharf was finished, he showed his progressiveness and liberality by cutting the freight rates exactly in half. There was no actual weighing of freight. The charge was two dollars for each cubic ton of freight, and there were forty cubic feet to a ton. He cut the rate to one dollar a ton.

wharf. Stearns, in a rage, declared, "I’ll never pay it!’’ To get ahead of my story a little bit, I might say he never did. The practice of "weighing” freight by the cubic foot measurement had some queer effects. I remember old Mr. Lane had a thrashing machine shipped in by steamer from San Francisco. Of course, it wasn’t very heavy, but it was large and bulky, and by the cubic-foot method it was found to "weigh” twenty tons. Of course, its real weight was only a fraction of that. In ad dition, we charged wharfage of one dollar a ton, so that I suppose the freight bill on the machine was $125 or $150—1 forgot the exact figure. A GOOD PAIR OF MULES

Under the old method, the freighters got in about three o’clock in the afternoon, and

Mr. Lane paid with a quizzical smile on his face and went outside, hitched his

it was more than twenty-four hours later, or late the following afternoon, before the merchants could get their goods. With the freight landed on the wharf direct from the steamer or sailing vessel, the delivery was made almost immediately.

span of mules to the thrashing machine and started off. Pretty soon he met Mr. Stearns.

BAITING JOHN P. STEARNS Of course the wharf was a success and made money from the start. It put the Chapala Street Wharf and surf landing out of business. And then a queer trait of human nature manifested itself. The people who had been calling Stearns a visionary and a fool began showing their envy and jealousy because of his success. It became the fashion to knock him as hard as it had been to poke fun at his plans. This feeling kept on growing,so that in a year or two it culminated in the council passing an ordinance requiring him to pay a license of $500 a year for conducting the

"Whoa,” said Lane. "Mr. Stearns, I want to show you the finest and strongest pair of mules between San Francisco and San Diego. Wonderful mules, sir!” Stearns peered at them askance. "Well, they are a nice pair,” he admitted. "Pretty strong, eh?” "Well, they’re hauling twenty tons off your wharf right now,” grinned Mr. Lane. For once Mr. Stearns was stumped and walked away, thinking it a good joke on him. Before very long the owners of the pas senger steamers which called here ordered their captains to investigate the possibility of using the Santa Barbara wharf. These were the Orizaba and Senator o(the Pacific Mail line. They had not come in for a little time, but had clung to the plan of unloading with surf boats to the shore.

129

MICHAEL J. PHILLIPS I was alone when Captain Johnson ol the Orizaba, known as "Ninety-Fathom" Johnson because of his fondness for deep water and his caution concerning shoals, came to the wharf to investigate as he had been ordered to do. I was much impressed by his gold lace and his dignified manner. He snorted contemptuously and forbid dingly as he looked things over, finally de claring,"It is ridiculous to think of landing a steamer like the Orixfiba at a wharf in an open roadstead like this!" 1 don't know what his report was, but within a short time the Orizaba began making the wharf regularly, and so did all the other steamers, large and small. It is a fact that, despite his misgivings, we have the best and safest outside harbor, unpro tected by a seawall, on this coast. During the fifty years of my knowledge of it, there have been but a few times when a vessel

So in 1874 we built a wharf at Serena, In that year and the year previous, wharves were built at Hucncmc, Ventura, More’s Landing near Goleta, Gaviota, Lompoc. Point Sal near Guadalupe, and Port Har ford. On January 14, 1878, our Serena wharf was totally destroyed by a very severe storm, and the inner 1400 feet of the Santa Barbara wharf from the shore to the present gate was also swept away and distributed along the shore as far down as Booth’s Point. Sometime previously a lighter which had been abandoned by the company which operated the Chapala Street wharf and surf landing had been floated by storms and high tide and, drifting down the coast, had crashed against the Santa Barbara wharf, tearins awav about 150 feet of it between the gate and the shore.

could not safely tie up, and then for only a few hours at a time.

WAVES TOPPLE THE WHARF

My brothers and myself found that the establishment of a wharl here had made

The result was that when the big blow

surt landings unpopular with practically all the vessels along the coast. They would rcluse to deal with us. and the same was true in other ports.

ol January 14 came along, the waves got to swaying the loose ends, and the whole thing toppled clear back to the gate. Ever since the council had plastered that

'Ihe Serma Wharf,early i88oa.Note the raib along which ran small carts to transport cargo hetiveai the ivarehouse and ships.

NOTICIAS

130 $500 license fee on chc wharf a lew years before there had been a good deal of bitter ness and discussion, and Mr. Stearns had remained steadfast, despite great criticism, in his resolve not to pay it. The storm gave him his opportunity. ’Til never rebuild the wharf unless that license ordinance is repealed," he declared, and they knew he would keep his word. The merchants were up in arms because they could not receive their freight, and passengers could not come ashore except by the old, outgrown surf boat method. The result was that so much pressure was brought to bear that the ordinance was repealed, and the wharf was then rebuilt. CONSIDERABLE INVESTMENT The wharf represented a considerable invcscmcnc to Mr. Stearns and his backers, even chough material was much cheaper chan it is now. With chc piling, chc plank ing, chc anchors, and the house, I suppose he spent $80,000 to $90,000. 1 became interested in 1887 when he incorporated chc Stearns Wliarf Company, and in 1898 I bought his interest. Mr. Stearns died some years later in chc northern part of chc state.Meanwhile, the wharf, which had been a consistent success

and which had paid fairly well but not remarkably, received a hard blow in 1887 with the coming of the railroad. A great deal of freight was immediately diverted Irom vessels, because the railroad was quicker and more convenient. The wharves at More’s Landing[Golcta], Gaviota. Lompoc,and Point Sal. and ours at Ser ena were abandoned in a few years, because they could no longer be operated at a profit, and in time they entirely disappeared. AN ERRONEOUS BELIEF There was a belief that the railroad would help the wharf, because Santa Bar bara would become a distributing point. For instance, Mr. Hooper and Mr. (C. WjGorham of the Santa Barbara Lumber Company had a theory that lumber could be loaded on cars from boats and shipped by the railroad to Ventura and other cities and towns both up and down the coast, but mostly down. So they acquired a one-third interest in the Stearns Wliarf Company. This was about the time they moved their lumber yard from the 700 block between State and Chapala streets to the foot of State

'Ihc borings oj insects and sea creatxires, as ivelL

Street, where it now is. Following their idea, we built the wharf carrying the spur track, which joins the main track on the cast side.

us wt, presented serious xnuintenance challenges at Steams \\’harj.

Their plan sounded reasonable, but it was never a success. 1 think chat we

a■

J i .r

people of Huenemc and Ventura to pay a premium for the vessels to unload at their

(

wharves, and chat kept us from getting their business.

1«

The V'harf was built originally of the Santa Cruz redwood, which was very heavy and of good quality, It would resist

distributed two or three cargoes of lumber to Ventura and other points by railroad, but that was all. Local pride induced the

" 131

fairly well the teredo[shipworm], which is the boring insect that eats away the interior of the piles, and the lininora[a small crus tacean], which gnaws away on the outside, causing the surface to rot and crumble.

our pile driver, and stand about fifteen feet

MICHAEL J. PHILLIPS

But the demand was so general that pretty soon Santa Cruz redwood was exhausted, and it was found that the Hum boldt redwood was little better than pine — too soft to offer much resistance. Then we began using local eucalyptus trees. They did fairly well when the right sort of eucalyptus was secured. Those which grew on poor and dry soil were the best, because they were hne-grained and matured very slowly. Eucalypti from alongside a water ditch were of little use to us, because they sprang up like mushrooms and were coarse and soft-hbred. INSECTS ATTACK PILING About fifteen years ago we commenced using creosoted pine from Eagle Harbor, near Seattle on the Sound, and they have proven quite satisfactory. They are sup posed to withstand the attacks of insects better than any other wood, but it is hard to place any average life on them because of conditions. Some which were put in place in 1907 are apparently in good shape, and others crumble in from two years to four. The creosoting penetrates only an inch or an inch-and-a-half, and if there is a wind shake or a bruise or a knothole which does not take the creosote effectively, the teredo gets in and pretty soon you have nothing left but a shell. We are still using the eu calyptus for fender piling. Specifications for our creosoted piles say they must be ten inches in diameter at the smaller end and they are sixteen inches or more at the upper end. They are forty to fifty feet in length, are driven into the bed of the ocean twelve to sixteen feet by

above high tide. The water is twenty-four feet deep at low tide at the outer end of the wharf. A STEAMER EVERY DAY The wharf is about 2300 feet long and contains about 1500 piles. We keep at it constantly, making repairs, putting new piles in place with our own pile driver, and renewing the planking. In the palmy days before the railroad came, we had an average of pretty nearly one passenger steamer a day. There were three making the port regularly each week, on both the down trip and the trip up. Then there were lumber vessels and tramps com ing in besides. We are pretty well satisfied with our recent revival of the passenger and freight business. The calling of the steamer Hum' boldt every four days gives our merchants good service from the north. BUSINESS GOES TO SOUTH But with the growth of Los Angeles,its wholesalers are taking much of the business away from San Francisco. There is no use in trying to develop much of a steamer business from Los Angeles north. A local merchant can telephone his jobber at four or hve o’clock in the afternoon for some ar ticle. It goes out at eight o’clock that same night by truck and the merchant has it for his customer when he opens his store next morning. We can’t meet that service. Generally speaking, the merchants say they can do a little better in the San Fran cisco markets than they can in Los Angeles. If there were a rate reduction, the northern wholesalers and jobbers could then compete on an equal basis with the southern ones, and there would be more orders placed in

NOTICIAS

132 San Francisco. This reduction, of course,

The first three months of 1922 brought

is always a possibility. Of all my brothers and sisters only Solon Smith, who came west after we did,

in 4,352,296 feet; April, 1,500,000; and

is left. One of my sons. Harry Smith, is associated with me on the wharf; another, Frank B. Smith, has been in the commis sion business in San Francisco since 1906. Two others. Byron M. and Irwin, and a grandson. Reginald, own the Union Com mission Company. HOW THE LUMBER COMES Perhaps you will be interested in the lumber shipments which have come to Santa Barbara for the past twelve years. 1 have the figures; 1910-7,008,272 1911 -9,351,182 1912- 9,325,674 1913 - 9,606.483 1914-13,914,720 1915- 11,101,417 1916- 17,702,248 1917-9,860,090 1918 - 4,638,194 1919 -7,082.474 1920 - 8,371,211 1921 -9,278,908

May, 754,395; making a total for the first part of the year of about 6,606,691 feet. At this rate the year's total will be well over seventeen and a half million feet, approxi mately the same as our greatest year, just before the war. when Santa Barbara was building two houses a day right along. Total lumber receipts at Stearns Wharf for the first six months of this year, to July 1, will be 8,111,741 feet. Total lumber receipts at Stearns Wharf for the twelve months of 1921 were 9,278,908 feet. There is a fascination about ships which never palls. 1 like to be around the wharf and see the lumber schooners come in and unload and go their way again. The wharf has been a very large part of my life, and it is a good deal like home to me. NOTES t. Stearns arrived in Santa Barbara in the autumn ol 1867 2. Salisbury and Frazier had recently com pleted wharves at Hucncmc and Ventura. 3. Stearns died on March 4.1902, in Sonora Countv.

For decudes after its completion in i8~z, Steams Whatfwas to the econcnnic health ofSanta Barbara.

SANTA BARBARA HISTORICAL SOCIETY 2005 major contributors The Santa Barbara Historical Society wishes to thank and to acknowledge with pride the following individuals and institutions for their generous contributions in 2005. GRAND PATRONS (S25.000 and above)

Richard & Kay Glenn Dorothy Grant

Lawrence & Astrid Hammett

Groupe SEB USA Victoria C. Hazard

Perri Harcourt Tliomas & Eleanor Harriman Eric P. Hvolboll

Preston & Maurine Hotchkis

International Quilt Association. Inc.

The Nichols Foundation

Harry & Leslie Hovey Dcrk & Fredericka Hunter

Philip & Colleen Kirst

Smith-Walker Foundation Michael Towbes

John & Josephine Hunter Josiah & Karen Jenkins

Alice Tweed Tuohy Foundation Jo Beth Van Gcldcren

George & Alice Krebs

The Ann Jackson Family Foundation

Chec Johnson Richard & Marilyn McCook Carrie Belle McFie Mid-State Bank & Trust

Edwards-Pitman Architects El Encanto Hotel & Garden Villas Eugene & Ruth Ellis Charles & Sally Fairbanks Frank Ferry & Elizabeth Lee Ferry Brett & Marisa Grimes Ron & Ann Harkcy Phyllis A. Haskell

Michael & Betsy Lewis Keith J. Mautino

Donn L. Miller Warren & Marlene Miller

Richard E. Hughes John & Mary Hunt

Asian Arts & Antiques Michael Miller Fabrics

John & Kathleen Moseley P 6d B Fabrics. Inc.

Josiah & Sara Jenkins Ellen G. Keetcr

Miclko Gallery Tom & Eileen Mielko

Jack & Katherine Rrrrin Santa Barbara Bank & Trust

Ann S. Koepfli Frances D. Larkin

PRESIDENTS CIRCLE

Jane Rich Mueller

Bruce Scollin &

($10,000 to $24,999)

Myers Family Foundation

Barbara Rogers Scollin Jock & Sara Sewall

Dorothy Lcmclson Jean T. Leonard

Vblentine Family’ Foundation Wallis Foundation Wood-Claeyssens Foundation

Valeric L. Fish Estate

Nett & Champion Insurance Services

Barabara Spaulding Mack & Judith Stanton

Jerry & Cynthia Lomonaco Tliad & Laurie MacMillan

Hutton Foundation

Gary & Anna Nett

Santa Barbara Bank & Trust Santa Barbara Foundation

Beverly Ogden The Raintree Foundation

Ruth Brooks Scollin

F Michael Rogers

Edward & Elaine Stepanek Hugh & Mary Thorson L. David & Patricia Tisdale

Teresa W Siebert Judge & Mrs. C. Douglas Smith Estate

Frank Schipper Construction Company Richard & Robin Schutte

Marie M. Wangeman Mark & Liza Weiss William & Barbara Woods

Frank R. Miller. Jr. Austin Peck &

Work Training Programs Elizabeth S. Youker

Carolyn Amory Peck Bruno & Martha Rlorz

MAJOR BENEFACTORS

Springs Industries, Inc. Starbuck, Tisdale & Associates Robin & Stefani Taliaferro

Joseph & Patricia Yzurdiaga

John & Harriet Pitman

($5,000 to $9,999)

Eleanor Van Cott

VK. Atkins. Jr.