Califo~~L\ State University, Northridge

$Califo~~L\ State University, Northridge$

CALIFO~~L\ STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE

SETTLID{ENT FRONTIER ~

OF HISPANIC CALIFORNIA TO 1890

A thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Mas~er of Arts in

Geography

Michael Frederick ~~ugher

August 1979 The thesis of Michael Frederick Taugher is approved:

Gong-Yuh Lin, Advisor

Eu2e~e Turner, Advisor

' ...... -~- {; ;'' ·•n• !< --· - . liavid Hornbeck, Jr., Co~ittee Chai~n

California State University, Northridge

June 1979

ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am grateful to many individuals who contributed in various

ways to a fruitful, and occasional joyous graduate student experience.

First, to my fellow iconoclastic students (particularly c. Rodrigue, R.

Fried, T. Nichols, and D. Carlson) in that never to be forgotten intro

ductory seminar (Geog. 501) moderated and sometimes refereed by Dr.

Ralph Vicero. Second, to the members (particularly c. Rodrigue, s.

Weber, H. Botts, and D. Dalton) of Dave Hornbeck's electric, eclectic

and energized seminars that extended well through the night and into the

next day (I think). Third, faculty friends and those who extended

teaching and research assistantships (G. Lin, E. Mcintire, D. Hornbeck

and R. Vicero) enabling me to maintain a semi-constant, semi-conscious

presence for two years in the hallowed halls of Sierra South. Fourth,

to my advisor and mentor, Dr. David Hornbeck who remained my good friend and soul brother throughout production of this thesis. Fifth, to my

parents for "understanding" my quest. Sixth, to the IBM computer for making this thesis possible. And finally and most importantly, to my wife Chyrl who physically aided and abetted me in data collection, writ

ing and mapping, and who emotionally, 'spiritually', and financially put-up with a great deal through the gestation of this thesis. I am not unconscionable of her quiet suffering through many solitary evenings and week-ends.

iii TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS • • • • iii LIST OF TABLES • vi

LIST OF FIGURES • • vii ABSTRACT • ix

Chapter

I. INTRODUCTION 1

Purpose, Scope, and Objectives 3

Justification 4

Data 7

Methodology • • 9

Literature Review ~ 13

Organization of Thesis 17

II. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND • 18

Hispanic Settlement • • 18

Mexican Settlement • 22 The Decade Prior to Statehood • 23

Summary 34

III· SETTLEMENT OF HISPANIC CALIFORNIA TO 1890 • 36

Census of the Population, 1850 37

Census of the Population, 1852 and 1860 • 44

Census of the Population, 1870 • 48

iv Chapter Page

Census of the Population, 1880 • • • • • • • • • • 52 Census of the Population, 1890 . . . . . 58 Conclusion ...... 61 tv. COMMUNICATION IN HISPANIC CALIFORNIA TO 1890 64

American Political and Economic Postal Policies 65

California's Postal Communication to the Outside 68 via Steamship ...... 68 via Land •• ...... 71

Postal Rates and Volumes . 77 Establishment of the First Post Offices . . 80 V. IDENTIFYING THE SETTLEHENT FRONTIER OF HISPANIC CALIFORNIA • . . . . . 86 Years 1848-1860 • ...... 87 Years 1861-1870 ...... 96 Years 1871-1880 ...... 104 Years 1881-1890 ...... 109 Conclusions • • • ...... 118 VI. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS • • • • • • 119

Summary and Conclusions ...... 119 Recommendations ...... 122 BIBLIOGRAPHY • ...... 124 MAPS •• ...... 131 APPENDIX A: California Census of 1890 by Minor Civil Division. 134 APPENDIX B: Hispanic Postal Communications •• . . . . . 140

v LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

1 California Non-Native Population • ...... 26

2 California Immigrants ...... • . . . . . 28

3 Ethnicity of San Francisco's Population . • 29

4 1849 California Population ...... • . • 34 5 1850 Census of the California Population • 42

6 California Migration 1850-1872 . . • . . . • . . 45 7 1860 Census Summary . . . . . • . 47

8 1870 Census Summary • . . • . . . . . • . . . . . 51

9 1880 Census Summary ...... • . • 55

10 1890 Census Summary ...... • . 59 11 Schedule of Early Panama Steamers ...... 72 12 California Postal Rates, Volumes and Receipts 78

13 California Post Offices by Years . . . . • . . . • 84 14 Numbers of Post Offices by County in Five Year Interval 89

vi LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

1 The Study Area • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 5

2 Spanish Settlement to 1821 ...... • 20

3 Mexican Land Grants to 1840 ...... • 24

4 Census of the Population, 1850 ...... • 43

5 Census of the Population, 1860 ...... • 49 6 Census of the Population, 1870 ...... 53

7 Census of the Population, 1880 . . . . . • . . 57

8 Census of the Population, 1890 ...... • • 60 9 Land Routes to the Pacific • • • ...... 75 10 Histogram of Accumulated Post Offices ...... 83 11 Post Office Distribution in 1850 . . . 88 12 Settlement Frontier in 1850 ...... 90 13 Post Office Distribution in 1855 • ...... 92 14 Settlement Frontier in 1855 ...... 93 15 Post Office Distribution in 1860 •• ...... 94 16 Settlement Frontier in 1860 ...... 95 17 Post Office Distribution in 1865 ...... 97 18 Settlement Frontier in 1865 ...... 98 19 Post Office Distribution in 1870 • ...... 102 20 Settlement Frontier in 1870 ...... 103 21 Post Office Distribution in 1875 ...... 105

vii Figure Page 22 Settlement Frontier in 1875 ...... 106 23 Post Office Distribution in 1880 • ...... 110 24 Settlement Frontier in 1880 ...... 111 25 Post Office Distribution in 1885 ...... 112 26 Settlement Frontier in 1885 ...... ·- . 113 27 Post Office Distribution in 1890 • ...... 115 28 Settlement Frontier in 1890 ...... 116

viii ABSTRACT

Settlement Frontier in Hispanic California

to 1890

This study describes growth and spread of settlement in the pre viously settled Hispanic area of California between 1848 and 1890. The objectives of this study are to assess the available data, to determine the aggregate population of the study area throughout the later half of the nineteenth century, to map the populations, and to describe and trace the spread of settlement. To satisfy the last objective, maps need be generated to enable analysis at sub-county areal units.

Data required for this study are of two types: published census data, and post office locations. Post office locations were generated from 1955 philatelic publications, and a large quantity of archival and topographic maps. Local histories were also used to supplement this endeavor.

A series of maps (nine, spaced at five year intervals) are gen erated which depict the general spread of settlement from 1848 to 1890.

Prior to 1870 major settlement sites were concentrated in the San Fran-

ix cisco Bay area, and from that date to 1890 little change was noted in the settlement frontier north of Monterey. Southern California remained sparsely populated until the late 1870s, when a sudden and noticeable change began to take place. The frontier was expanding. Though slow to spread at first, by 1880 the settlement frontier encompassed the future metropolitan areas of Los Angeles and San Diego. Rapid expansion fol lowed, such that by 1890 little land remained to be settled. The Census

Bureau and Frederick J. Turner were essentially correct in relation to

Hispanic California. By 1890 the frontier had nearly consumed the study area.

X CHAPTER I

Introduction

••• no science is able by itself to establish the history of set tlement, but all of them can give useful data. It is the task of the geographer to utilize those data, to combine them, ty confirm them by taking into account geograp.hical factors. •.• (Maurice E. Perrett)

As Carey McWilliams has pointed out, the Californian is differ-

ent (and presumeably so is California itself) because of the peculiar

nature of California's settlement. Wave after wave of restless immi-

grant, from the vital twenty year old who endured hardships of the gold

rush, to the sharecropper who tilled another man's soil, arrived in

California eager to cast aside his old ways and to adopt a new life

style. 2

1Maurice E. Perrett, "The Study of the History of Settlement", . California Geographer, v.4. (1963). p. 72.

2 Carey McWilliams, California: The Great Exception, Peregrine Smith Inc., Santa Barbara, California, 1973. P• 219; and Nelson Klose, A Course Study Guide !Q the American Frontier, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Nebraska, 1964. p. 135.

1 2

But whatever glamor California held for the immigrant, it had

diminished by the 1860s. For example, it was then advertized that:

••• there is room in California for thousands of immigrants, but these immigrants must be prepared to engage in manual labor, and especi1lly in agricultural pursuits if they would escape starva tion."

Large numbers of immigrants flowed into California and settled primarily in the valleys near San Francisco Bay during the 1860s, into the coastal valleys in the 1870s, and into Southern California in the

1870s and 1880s. The later influx was mainly due to a railroad rate war, and an extensive propaganda campaign directed toward prospective settlers in the Midwestern and Eastern United States--a propaganda campaign which was based upon the healthful qualities of California's eli- - 4 matic amenities.

In addition to these economic and salubrious benefits, once here, other factors were at work to redistribute the population within

California. Primary among these factors were discoveries of various minerals from gold and silver, to mercury, and eventually to petroleum.

The discovery of mineral deposits in California created local concentra- tions of population, while depleting other areas of their population.

All the while, California was in a constant state of flux, and according

3william Fraser Rae, Westward .Qy Rail, Reprint ed., Promontory Press, New York, 1974. p. 72.

4warren A. Beck, and Ynez D. Haase, Historical Atlas of Califor nia, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma. 1974. p. 74. 3 to the editor of the San Francisco Alta:

The change in the distribution of population in California are so frequent and rapid, that a decennial census does not keep 5 pace with them.

Thus, settlement of the frontier in California was not akin to settlement experiences in the tall and short grass prairies of the Mid- western United States, and is not amenable to the same mapping proce- dures used for those more extensive and homogeneous areas.

Purpose, Scope and Objectives

This study describes growth and spread of settlement in the previously settled Hispanic area of California between 1848 and 1890. This time period was chosen because the year 1848 marks the official conclusion of the Mexican War, initiation of efforts to grant California statehood, discovery of gold, establishment of the first United States post office in California, and the start of dramatic population increase in 6 California. The terminal date of 1890 was chosen because many historians consider the frontier to have been closed by that year, a contention based on the United States Census Bureau announcement that all available land suitable for homesteading had been settled. 7

5san Francisco San Francisco Alta, 16 September 1871 as cited by Georges Sabagh, A Critical Analysis Qf California Population Statistics with Special Emphasis on Census Data: 1850-1870, (Master's Thesis, Department of Economics, University of California--Northern Division), 1943. P• 37.

6Post office establishment is mentioned, because the spread of the settlement frontier will be described with the aid of post office data. 4

The Hispanic settled area of California was chosen for study

because it had experienced a stable settlement pattern prior to 1848.

In contrast, the balance of the state, which had previously been unset-

tled, was now subjected to a mass in migration of highly transient min-

ers searching for gold. Consequently, settlement in those areas was

highly unstable or even volatile. Since a study of this nature requires

a somewhat stable population, an area of little change had to be chosen.

In addition, by so restricting the area, a more homogeneous study area

is provided than if the entire state had been chosen. Broadly speaking,

the study area defined as Hispanic California includes the coastal coun-

ties southward from Marin, plus the inland counties of San Benito, Santa

Clara, Contra Costa, Alameda, and portions of San Bernardino and River-

side Counties (Figure 1). The objectives of th~s study are to assess

the available data, to determine the aggregate population of the study

area throughout the latter half of the nineteenth century, to map the

population, and to describe and trace the spread of settlement.

Justification

California, despite great distances to its major migration

7 . . Some of the more prominent frontier historians who consider the closed by this time are Frederick J. Turner, Thomas D. Clarke, and Ray Allen Billington. See for example the landmark article written by Tur ner, "The Significance of the Frontier in American History," American .Historical Association Annual Report for .!.§93, Washington, D.C., 1894, p-199-213; Thomas D. Clarke, Frontier America: The Story of the Westward Movement, McGraw-Hill Inc., New York, 1959; Ray Allen Billington, The Far Western Frontier: 1830-1860, Harper and Row, New York, 1956; and also another of Billington's works Western Expansion: ! History~ the American Frontier. Macmillan Publishing Co., New York, 1974. 5

STUDY AREA HISPANIC CALIFORNIA

/ / / / / / 0 50 100 / miles / /

Figure 1 6

fields (Eastern and Midwestern United States, Sonora, and later China

and Australia) received a huge number of immigrants throughout the later

half of the nineteenth century. There were times that it seemed the

entire American population was in the process of moving to California,

and there were times when this thrust lost momentum, and the pressure on

the land ebbed.

Tracing the physical advance of the frontier has long held a

facination for the student of Western America, but the sum of published

material concerning settlement of nineteenth century California is res-

tricted to a few small scale maps depicting settlement in the context of 8 the United States on a national scale. Without exception these maps

lack detail and provide little understanding of settlement spread and

population growth. 9 In order to understand the spread and growth of the

8 The first work of this nature was produced by the Census Bureau itself in the u.s. Bureau of the Census, Statistical Atlas, plates 10 through 13. Second generation works based upon the census work are: Charles o. Paullin, edited by John K. Wright, Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States, Published jointly by the Carnagie Insti tute of Washington and the American Geographical Society of New York, 1932; and Clifford L. and Elizabeth A. Lord, Historical Atlas ~ the United States, Henry Holt and Co., New York, 1944. Another work, Warren s. Thompson, Varden Fuller, and Richard Singleton Growth and Change in California's Population, The Hayes Foundation, Los Angeles, California, 1955--contains dot maps of California's population for the years 1860, and 1880, but no discussion of the factors leading to the placement of the dots is provided.

9Map libraries of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), California State University Northridge (CSUN), The Pennsylvania State University, the Cartographic Division of the National Archives in Washington, D. c., and the Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress in Alexandria, Virginia were intensively searched in an attempt to locate helpful maps. None were found which would aid in delimiting Hispanic California population of the nineteenth century. 7

settlement frontier in California a more detailed investigation is needed.

Data

Data required for this study were of two types: published census data, and post office locations. Tabulated census data provide aggregate numbers of the population at both county level and minor civil divisions (MCD) of counties. Mapping these data created some difficul- 10 ties, however, as no maps exist which delimit county MCDs. M0re particular to the thesis is the fact that no maps were produced by the census bureau prior to 1900 to delimit the civil division boundaries except for 11 a portion of San Francisco in 1890. Thus, in order to map a line of settlement in accordance with the purpose and objectives of the thesis, it was necessary to utilize a surrogate variable. Post office location 12 was selected for the following reasons:

10rn fact, the Chief Archivist of the nation has stated that:

••• few attempts were made by the federal agencies to map popula tion data until the preparation of enumeration district maps by the census bureau in the last. decades of the nineteenth century.

See James B. Rhoads, Cartographic Archives Division, (pamphlet) General Iruormation Leaflet No. 26, 1976. P• 4.

11Donald Hirshfeld, Head of the Geography Division, United States Bureau of the Census, Suitland, Maryland. Telephone conversation dated November 15, 1977. Hirshfeld's statements were confirmed in James B. Rhoads, and Charlotte M. Ashby, Cartographic Records of the Bureau of the Census, PI No. 103, Washington, D. c. 1958.

The Census enumerator identified the MCD, but no records exist by which the census bureau can accurately assign the collected data to a specific area. Since the enumerator used his own judgment it is assumed the area was popularly described in the same fashion, and any official map of an equivalent date would suffice as a boundary record. 8

1. postal operations were often the first service pro vided in a recently settled area

2. postal history is an integral part of pioneer history

3. post office establishment meant that local population concentration was sufficient to indicate that the frontier had passed.

The founding date of each of the post offices was obtained from

A Century of California Post Offices, a book, which categorizes each post office by county and identifies the date of establishment and discontin- 13 uance for each, also noting many name changes. Thus, should any settlement's post office change names as many have, the listing would include both names. By scrutinizing the list for corresponding establishment and discontinuance dates, and with the aid of annotations found with the entries, duplicate post offices were identified and purged.

In-service dates of purged post offices were consolidated with their corresponding post office to encompass the entire time span a specific post office existed. One name was arbitrarily chosen to represent each group of postal names, so that from an original list of 844 post off-

12Ronald F. Abler, The Geography of Intercommunications: The Post Office and Telephone Systems of the United States, (Doctoral Dis sertation, Department of Geography, University of Minnesota), 1968, P• 31, supports the first reason; Jane Smith, "Settlement on the Public Domain as Reflected in Public Records: Suggested Research Approaches," Pattern and Process: Research in Historical Geography, Ralph E. Ehren berg, ed., National Archives Conferences, V• 9, Howard University Press, Washington, D. c. 1975, P• 298, successfully argues for the second rea son listed; and James R. Shortridge, "The Post Office Frontier in Kan sas," The Journal of the West, V• 13, July, 1974, p. 83-97; claims veracity of the third reason.

13Walter N. Frickstad, A Century of California Post Offices, A Philatelic Research Library Publication, Oakland, California, 1955. P• 1-220. 9 ices, 747 post offices were found to have existed in the study area.

Locating post offices was.more difficult than determining their period of service, because no one source was available. Local histories were 14 consulted as were numerous maps.

In order to accurately locate post offices on small maps, their locations were first annotated on a series of u.s.G.s. topographic maps at a scale of 1:250000. The outline of California, and the relative location of all 747 post offices were then digitized at one operating 15 session. This procedure maintained. accurate loca.tion of post offices in relation to California's outline independent of the map scale ultimately employed.

Methodology

A change through time methodology is employed in this study.

Using this approach population aggregates for each census year are ana-

14A total of 46 maps were used. See the bibliography for a detailed listing. Many additional maps were consulted but with either negative results or duplication of previously discovered information. More than twenty of the maps published in the nineteenth century were particularly beneficial as were the current u.s.G.s. topographic series. Of the local histories Thompson and West's History of Santa Barbara County, and Sheriden's, History of Ventura County were the most benefi cial.

15Digitizing was performed on a large flat-bed digitizer (approximately 30x60 inches and accurate to one-hundredth inch incre ments) provided through the courtesy of Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. I should like to thank Dr. Nevin Bryant and Mr. David Wherry both of that institution and California State University, Northridge for their efforts in making the digitizer available and sup porting my task in other ways. 10

lyzed, and trends of population distribution throughout the study area

are described for the later part of the nineteenth century. To aid this

description, changes in settlement pattern as evidenced by census popu-

lation data and post office location are mapped for each of the census

years$

The term "settlement frontier" was adopted from Zelinsky and

others as exemplifying a true occupance of the land. In this sense

frontiers were generally established by agricultural settlers and those

hoping to establish some sort of urban function at the outset of initial 16 settlement. In an attempt to separate the transient and highly specu-

lative adventurers from the bulk of the population (settlers), it was

arbitrarily decided not to include in the study settlements which

existed for less than two years. To operationalize this constraint,

post offices were again employed. Since requests for a post office

required a minimum of four months to process, a "normal" six month

approval cycle was assumed. When this six-month process time was sub-

tracted from the arbitrarily established two year threshold, only post

offices with eighteen month in-service times were included in this

study. Thus to consider a post office in existence for eighteen months

16 John Florin, The Advance of Frontier Settlement in Pennsylva nia,l638-1850: ! Geographic Interpretation, (Master's Thesis, Department -of Geography, The Pennsylvania State University), 1965. p. 11; also see Wilbur Zelinsky, The Cultural Geography of the United States, Prentice Hall Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1973. One of the constant themes of this book is that frontier settlers were motivated to develop commercial enterprizes, and that this motivation is the major factor which drove them westward. 11

indicates that not only was settlement a fact for a short period prior

to the application for a post office, for an additional four months

minimum while the appplication was being processed in Washington, but

the eighteen month 'in service' period as well.

Because the decennial census did not keep pace with .the fluctua-

tions of the population, it is difficult to locate the population of

nineteenth century California. In order to investigate the interdecen-

nial changes in population distribution various surrogate variables were

considered. Vital and immigration statistics are so inaccurate and

fragmentary in the period prior to 1870, that there is "no hope of using

them to throw light on the inter-cens_al population changes of Califor- 17 n i a, " an d town f oun d ing d ates, as used b y Ze lins k y an d Do d ge·, h ave

been determined to be too conservative, and founding of civil divisions 18 too difficult.

One convenient variable which overcomes these difficulties is post office existence. The government publishes the establishment date

of all post offices with the name of the first appointed post master,

17 Georges Sabagh, ~Critical Analysis of California Population Statistics with Special Emphasis on Census Data: 1850-1870, (Master's Thesis, Department of Economics, University of California--Northern Division), 1940. p. 84. 18 stanley D. Dodge, "The Frontiers of New England in the Seven teenth and Eighteenth Centuries and its Significance in American His tory," Papers .£f. the Michigan Academy of Science, Arts and Letters, v. 28, 1943. p. 435-439; and vlilbur Zelinsky, "An Isochronic Map of Geor gia Settlement, 1750-1850," Georgia Historical _!htarterly, v. 35, 1951. P• 191-195. The method was termed too conservative by Florin, p. 8. 12

19 and further locates the post office by county. It is relatively easy

to locate most post offices within a county at a definite point, thus

gaining for the researcher an additional alternative, in that point data

eliminates the need for an interpretation of boundaries. Furthermore,

the post office founding date is on a continuous time scale independent

of the decennial census. The post office represents to the settler one of the first, if not the first, civic enterprise, and provides a settled

place with a name. A great de~l of pride is evidenced by the settlers 20 in having a post office in their area.

The use of census reports for determining the frontier line has some disadvantages, particularly in California. First, census returns are so infrequent that a comprehensive discription of the frontier can not possibly be represented by mapping these data. It is true that the correct position of the frontier line could be determined every ten years, but with the volatile population in California during the nineteenth century, these data are insufficient to demarcate the spread of

19 Records of Postmasters, State~ California, 1848-1930, main tained in the National Archives, Record Group 28, Washington, D. c. 20 Notice should be made of contempory newspapers and magazine news articles. The u.s.P.O.D. and postmaster William F. Bolger are experiencing extreme difficulty in "trimming the fat" from the postal deficits for sundry reasons. One of the more obvious means of cutting postal expenses is to discontinue many of the smaller rural offices. These are generally fourth class post offices. Local populace, and hence their elected representatives in Congress, are adamently opposed to such a move. The people for the most part, feel so strongly about their post office that they often petition that the name not be replaced by a ZIP number. This last is in response to an attempt by the postal officials to improve efficiency of the postal system. 13 settlement. In order to present a satisfactory discription of the change in settlement, maps should be available in increments of five, three, or even two years.

The second disadvantage is that, census reports are not defini tive enough to show local settlement phenomena. Site characteristics such as plentiful water, arable land, or easy accessability favor the early settlement of a particular area, yet if it is sufficiently removed from the path of settlement, or the density of the local populace is less than two persons per square mile, it will be portrayed in the Sta tistical Atlas of the Census Bureau as an unsettled area. The shortcom ings of basing frontier maps solely on census materials leads one to search for a more satisfactory method.

Communication is such a vital factor to the frontier settler and business man that one of the first organized acts of any newly settled area was to petition the government for a post office. As the post off ice department was very liberal in granting these requests one is able to locate small settlements shortly after their establishment. By plot ting the post offices as they were established, one can show with rea sonable accuracy the course of the settlement frontier.

Literature Review

The first published suggestion for the use of postal records for settlement research in determining when the first significant group of settlers entered an area was offered by Zelinsky in 1951: 14

One promising approach that has not been explored because of the lack of opportunity to examine the documents involved would be the study of early Post Office records and especially those 21 indicating the establishment of stations in frontier areas.

But credit for the first accomplishment must go to John Lowe whose Mas-

ter's Thesis at the University of Minnesota fulfilled such an 22 approach. _Lowe was able to produce a series of maps locating the

majority of the Minnesota frontier post offices on two year intervals.

He thus complemented the available· census data by graphically portraying

the spread of the frontier line of settlement for interdecennial census

years. But since he was able to locate less than 90% of the post off-

ices in his area (801 out of a total of 896) and most of those missing

were in the frontier area, the results of his endeavor are somewhat

tainted, though interesting nonetheless. Since Lowe's thesis has not

been previously cited, it is assumed that his work had no influence on

others, and that Zelinsky's published suggestion was the root of subse-

quent works.

The first to attempt Zelinsky-Lowe's idea was Georgia Adams, who

in 1956 published an article in which she presented an isochronic map- 23 ping of the first significant agricultural settlements in Oregon.

21 Zelinsky, Georgia Historical Quarterly, P• 192n.

22 John H. Lowe, The Post Office on the Minnesota Frontier, (Mas- ter's Thesis, University of Minnesota), 1950. P• 98.

23Georgia Ellen Adams, "Two Isochronic Maps of Settlement in Oregon, Yearbook of the Pacific Coast Geographers, V• 18, 1956. P• 36-41. 15

These data were gleaned from various state, county and local histories.

Much difficulty was involved for few dates were available for rural settlements. In addition, a second map was generated from a listing of the establishment dates of approximately one-half the total number of post offices in the study area. Although she displayed the data cartographically, and compared the two maps qualitatively, no comparative analysis was offered. A visual inspection suggests a close correspondence between the two maps, thereby establishing, substantiation of the postulate advanced by Zelinsky and Lowe.

Recently, Alwin used post offices as a surrogate variable in 24 delimiting the frontier settlement of Montana~ He presents his data cartographically, and simultaneously extracts rather intuitive argu- ments. He quite correctly states that:

••• there is no precise correlation between population and post office density, because offices serve various numbers of patrons. Still it is possible to differentiate relatively set tled and unsettled areas, and to map the general advance of the frontier.

He further argues that the utilization of post office location as a population surrogate is most applicable to " ••• broad regional studies 25 during marked settlement expansion."

Shortridge utilized post office data to cartographically des-

24John A. Alwin, "Post Office Locations and the Historical Geog rapher: A Montana Example," Professional Geographer, v. 26, 1974. P• 183-186. 25 Alwin, P• 183-184. 16

26 cribe the advance of the frontier in Kansas. His methodology was to locate post offices on congressional township maps. Each congressional township was six miles square. Once a township received a post office, it was considered to be settled, and the frontier had passed that point.

He argued that the service area of a post office had a three mile radius in that it was congruent to a hinterland of a hamlet, and this closely approximated the six mile square area of the congressional township. He states that:

••• accurate maps of the spread of settlement are essential tools for coming to grips with 1uestions on the nature and the signi 2 ficance of the frontier.

The only other study which utilizes post office statistics in an attempt to solve geographic problems ·is the study produced in 1965 by 28 Haze1. In this study Hazel locates slaves in various Alabama counties immediately prior to the outbreak of the Civil War. The use of post office location as specified in the manuscript census for Alabama, in conjunction with census data, provided Hazel with a better geographic scale than was otherwise available.

In all of the studies cited above, postal data were a valuable tool in providing insight to the frontier settlement process. This is

26 Shortridge, p. 83-97. 27 shortridge, p. 83. 28 Joseph A. Hazel, "Semimicrostudies of Counties from the Manus cripts of the Census of 1860," Professional Geographer, v. 17, 1965. p. 15-19. 17

particularly true in the studies of Alwin, Shortridge and Hazel. The

method employed by Lowe and Adams are also valid, but their data were

incomplete, thus producing ambiguous results.

Organization of Thesis

This thesis is divided into six chapters. Following this intro

duction, Chapter II presents a discussion of settlement spread and

growth prior to the attainment of California statehood. It includes not

only an analysis of Hispanic and Mexican settlement, but also presents

the changes in population aggregates in the decade preceeding statehood

in order to establish the fact that a definite change in cultures and

institutions had taken place. The third chapter discusses the difficul

ties and inadequacies of each of the nineteenth century censuses. Cen

sus data are presented not only in tabular form, but are also mapped to

graphically display the gross distributional characteristics of the

population, and to establish the basis for the general pattern of set

tlement. The emphasis of Chapter IV is to illustrate the need for a

communication network which binds the fledgling state to the federal

government and provides for a continuity of national consciousness. The

operation of such a communication network is also described. Utilizing

postal data, maps delimiting the settlement frontier are presented and

discussed in Chapter v. These maps are both of the dot and the isarithm variety, and more accurately specify the settled area of California than heretofore. Chapter VI summarizes the findings of the thesis, and

recommends avenues of future research in the spread and growth of Cali

fornia's nineteenth century population. CHAPTER II

Historical Background

In order to appreciate and fully understand California's settle-

ment pattern which developed in the later part of the nineteenth cen-

tury, it is necessary to be familiar (at least in a cursory manner) with

the history and previous settlement of the state. In this chapter, a

discussion of population growth and settlement pattern of California

prior to the attainment of statehood will be presented.

Hispanic Settlement

Although periodic landings were made on California's coast at various times dating from the mid-sixteenth century, it was not until

1769 that Spain established a colony in California. Spain populated

California slowly because:

••• the royal government never contemplated a mass transfer of population to California. What it aimed at was sending a rela tively small number of soldiers and missionaries and a few sett lers to man a limited number of fortified or semi-fortified points •••• The soldiers and stttlers sent from Mexico fundamen tally constituted garrisons.

18 19

The Spanish move to settle California was undoubtedly precipi-

tated by fear that the covetous eyes of England, France and Russia would

soon lead thetn to settle and exploit resources on the Pacific Coast of

North America.

Spanish settlements consisted of presidios, mi.ssions, and pueb-

los (Figure 2), each of which were important parts of royal policy in

bringing and keeping the northern outpost under Spanish control. The

presidios were built to protect government interests. There were four

such presidios located at strategic positions along the California coast

at San Diego, Santa Barbara, Monterey, and San Francisco. 2

The missions were built by Franciscan friars wherever sufficient

water and numbers of probable Indian converts to Catholicism were avail-

able. Therefore, most missions wer~ built near Indian villages with

large populations, sweet water, and arable soil. Missions were not

established at intervals of daily travel as is commonly thought, but in

irregular intervals stretching from San Diego to Sonoma in the North.

On mission lands agricultural success was generally had with grain crops

and many of the foodstuffs imported from Spain. In addition, cattle and

sheep were raised for meat, hides, tallow, and wool.

1Woodrow w. Borah, "The California Mission," in Ethnic Conflict in California History, edited by Charles Wollenberg, Tinnon-Brown Inc., Los Angeles, California, 1970. P• 6. 2 Raymond F. Dasmann, The Destruction of California, Collier-Mac- millan, London, 1966. P• 40. 20

SPANISH SETTLEMENT

TO 1821

San Francisco

0 rancho 6. mission • pueblo • presidio

District of Barbara N

0 50 100

miles

Source: R. Durrenberger

figure 2 21

Pueblos were established at San Jose, Los Angeles, and the pre

sent site of Santa Cruz (then called Branciforte)• Pueblos were agri

cultural towns consisting of civic centers, farms and pasturage. They

are distinguished from missions in that the latter's primary reason for

existence was to promote the conversion of the neophyte Indians to

Catholicism; whereas pueblos were centers for Mexican, creole, mestizo,

and later a few 'norteamericano' and European settlers.

The least important of all settlement types during the Spanish

occupance of California was the private ranch. With the first coloniza

tion effort. in 1769, ownership of all land was assumed by the king. The

Laws of the Indies recognized Indian rights to use land for home, til

lage, and pasturage, but land ownership was reserved. Since missions were temporary institutions to serve only until Christianization of the

Indians was complete, they also did not acquire land.

The first provisions for granting land in California were made in 1773 when the Viceroy of Mexico issued an order conferring upon the

California governor the power to bestow land. As this order did not eminate from the Spanish king in whom absolute title was vested, the subsequent issuance of 'grants' amounted to little more than cattle grazing permits. They most certainly did not confer private ownership, although American courts adjudicated in favor of some of the grantees in the latter half of the nineteenth century.

The first 'grant' was issued to Manuel Butron in 1775 for 140 22

varas (approximately 372 feet) near Carmel. The second grant was given

in 1784 to Manuel Nieto for 300000 acres in what is present day Orange

County. Also, that same year large tracts of land located in present

. day Los Angeles County were 'granted' to Dominguez and Verdugo. By 1790

the number of grants issued totaled nineteen, but no more than thirty were issued throughout the Spanish period. 3

Mexican Settlement

In the summer of 1821 Mexico gained independence from Spain with

the signing of the Plan of Iguala. California was so isolated that it was January of the following year before word reached the northern outpost of Monterey, and in April Alta California proclaimed itself a dependency of the Mexican Empire.

In a sense there was no Mexican period in California history, although sovereignty of the Mexican government was acknowledged for two and one half decades. Mexico was so involved with its own social and governmental turmoils, that it could spend little time for the territory, and only ocasionally did Mexico send troops and governors to support its waning influence. Subsequently,,governmental policies began to favor the civilian population, and ultimately the missions were secular 4 ized, and in 1833 the mission lands were confiscated.

3Ralph J. Roske, Everyman's Eden: ! History of California, The Macmillan Company, New York, 1968. P• 121. 4 Borah, P• 7• 23

Prior to 1833 there were fewer than twenty-five land-grant ranchos in existence, but following the confiscation of mission lands a flood of requests were made for land grants (true land grants as opposed to the Spanish practice noted above) and perhaps as many as 800 were 5 granted. (See Figure 3 for distribution of these grants as of 1840).

Individuals now owned extensive parcels of iand, and agriculture and ranching gained prominence as settlement occupations. Due to the political change, Mexico no longer prohibited trade as had Spain, and cattle

(California's most important resource at that· time) was used to good advantage in the hide and tallow trade with New England. The commodity 6 mo.st desired in return was cloth, shoes, saddles, and hardware items.

Californians also supported the whaleing stations of the 'Norteameri- cano' and the otter skin trade of the Russians. Living in Hexican

California was described as "pastoral, easy going, and primative." 7

---The Decade Prior --to Statehood In contrast to the pastoral life which existed in California, the farmer in America's middle-west was beset by hardtimes in the late

1830s. And since conditions did not improve for some time, the farmer

5 Robert w. Durrenberger, Elements of California Geography, National Press Books, Palo Alto, California, 1968. P• 49. Subse quently, the American Land Commission recognized as legal 545 grants as noted on the ~fup of Public Surveys in California, which accompanied the Report of the Surveyor-General, 1878.

6warren A. Beck, and Ynez Haase, Historical Atlas _of California, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma, 1974. P• 41.

.7 Nelson Klose, ! Course Study Guide .!..9. the American Frontier, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln.:. Nebraska, 1964. p. 59. 24

SPANISH LAND CONCESSIONS

AND MEXICAN.LAND GRANTS TO 1840

0 50 100

miles

Source: D. Hornbeck

Figure 3 25

was discontent. It was in 1840 that rumors about the 'good life' in

California were first being spread by mountain men and trappers around

the Mississippi River supply towns, and interest in the far west began

to grow.

In response to some of the glowing accounts attribut.ed to

Antoine Roubidoux and John }~rsh, the Bidwell-Bartleson Party was formed

to cross the western portion of the continent via the Oregon Trail bound

for California. 8 This party eventually settled in Contra Costa County in

the vicinity of John Marsh's ranch. Later that same season the Workman-

Rowland Party settled in Southern California. 9 Soon other groups of settlers moved westward to settle in California.

Mexican authorities attempted to stem the tide of American immigration by promulgating a law in September, 1845 which claimed that the coming of American families:

••• was apt to cause subversion of order and complicate foreign relations with California as well as create much more embarassment, and as a consequence orders were issued that no more familiet would be permitted to come unless they became 0 naturalized.

8 Roske, p. 197.

9 Beck, and Hasse, Map 14.

10Benjamin Franklin Bonney, "Recollections of B. F. Bonney," Quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society, 1933, as cited by Helen D. Donohue, The Movement of Population in and into California between June, 1848 and February 1849 as Ocassioned EY the Discovery £i Gold, (Master's Thesis, Department of History, Stanford University), 1946. P• 3. 26

Table 1.

California Non-Native Population

Year Hispanic Non-Hispanic

1780 600 1790 970 1800 1200 1820 3270 20 1830 150 1835 300 1840 380 1845 680

Source: Hispanic data from Ralph J. Roske·, Everyman's Eden: ! History of California, The Macmillan Conpany, New York, 1968. p. 116 and 162; Non-Hispanic data from Hubert Howe Bancroft, History of California, v.5, The History Company Publishers, San Francisco, California, 1888. P• 524.

Since the American population was not all that large (see Table

1), the action was undoubtedly prompted by the provocative acts of the

United States military. From 1843 onward, military expeditions explored and mapped the ~fexican lands of the l-Ies t. One of the leaders of these expeditions was John·c. Fremont, who in particular, created friction and 11 eventually fomented the Bear Flag revolt in June, 1846.

11For a discussion of Fremont's role, and a full treatment of the period between 1846 and 1856, see Josiah Royce, California: From the Conquest in 1846 to the Second Vig!lance Conmittee in San Francisco, Reprinted., Peregrine Publishers, Santa Barbara, California, 1970.

Although Royce was personally friendly with Fremont, his evaluation and judgment of Fremont's actions and behavior are unflattering. Original publication of the book in 1886 created a deep rift in their relationship. 27

In July, Commodore Sloat took possession of Monterey for the

United States government with orders:

••• to take measures as will best promote attachment of the people of California to the United States and will advance their prosperity, and will make that vast regf~n a desireable place of residence for iF~igrants from our soil.

Within the week the 'stars and stripes' replaced the Bear Flag in San

Francisco, Sonoma, Bodega, and Sutter's Fort, thus bringing a short

lived end to the California Republic. American military forces

immediately assumed control of the northern portion of the territory,

but hostilities continued in Southern California another six months until signing of the Treaty of Cahuenga ceased military action in

California in January, 1847. What with the military action, the promise of inevitable victory and fulfillment of manifest destiny, the Anglo population of California nearly trebled in 1846 with a total of 1250 13 immigrants to be added to the previous population. As military action continued throughout 1847 on federal Mexican land (as distinct from the

12 Letter from Bancroft to Sloat, Washington, D. c., June 8, 1846 as cited in California Historical Society Quarterly, V• 2, 1924. p. 251.

13Hubert Howe Bancroft, History of California, v. 5, The History Company Publishers, San Francisco, California, 1888. P• 525-526, and 551-555.

Contradictory values are cited by Bancroft regarding the number of immigrants entering California. On page 525, he states there were 1000 immigrants in 1846, another 1900 in 1847, and an additional 1000 in 1848 for a three year total of 3900. Bancroft further states that 4200 immigrants are known to him by name. In yet further readings of Bancroft, it becomes evident that he refers only to male immigrants. Since he specifies elsewhere that 250 women and children immigrated in 1846s their numbers are included in the appropriate total entry of Table 2. Since 212 traders are also known to have settled in Los Angeles from New :f.Iexico in 1847, they are appended to the totals for that year. 28

northern territories of California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada), the number of immigrants to California fully doubled (see Table 2), primarily due to an influx of military personnel.

Table 2.

California Immigrants

1846 1847 1848

Military* 320 1440 480

Civilians:** Overland 500 262 5625 Sea 230 50 140 Route Unknown 200 360 320

Total 1250 2112 6565

Source: Hubert Howe Bancroft, History ££ California, v. 5, The History Company Publishers, San Francisco, California, 1888. P• *525-526, and 551-557; and History of California, v. 6, P· 71. The military immigrants included for 1846: Kearney's Brigade 120, the California Battalion 160, and Fauntleroy's Dragoons 40; for 1847 the Mormon Battalion 350, New York Volunteer Regiment 950, Army Regulars 120, and Navy Regulars 20; and for 1848 the military total is comprised solely of the contingent brought to **Southern California from Hexico by Graham. The overland civilian immigrant population includes 2000 Oregonians, 100 wagonloads (estimated at 4 persons per wagonload) from the Continental United States, and 3000 Sonorans all of which arrived late in 1848 in response to the discovery of gold.

In regards the distribution of the population from 1846 to 1848, little or no change was demonstrated in the entire area from San Diego to Monterey. Any change which may have taken place did so in the northern area around San Francisco and in the vicinity of Sutter's Fort 14 (Sacramento). 29

San Francisco (Yerba Buena) had a population of 150 in July»

1846; but by August the following year the population increased to 1409

including the New York Volunteer Regiment (see Table 3).

Table 3~

Ethnicity of San Francisco's Population (with Nativity of Residents) August, 1847

Caucasian 375 (247 males) American 228 California 38 Germany 27 England 22 Ireland 14 Scotland 14 Switzerland 6 Canada 5 Other Countries 21 Indian 34 Hawaiian 40 Negro 10

Sub-total 459 N.Y. Volunteers 950

Total 1409

Source: Bancroft, History of California, v. 5, The History Company Publishers, San Francisco, California, 1888. p. 647.

Of the 459 civilians in the populace, 80% were less than 40 15 years of age, and 60% were literate. By December (four months later)

14 Bancroft, History of California, v. 5, P• 616. 15 Bancroft, History 2f California, V• 5, p. 646.

Also note in Table 3 that 50% of San Francisco's population is American, but many nationalities are substantially represented; thus making her a cosmopolitan city even at this early date. 30

the school board conducted a census of their own in which 812 persons were enumerated. Five months later, in May, immediately before the evacuation of the city due to the gold discovery, San Francsico's population had risen to 900.

Beyond the geographic boundaries of this study, but.~ithin

California, a sparse population was known. In 1847 Stockton and New

Hope had 12 settlers each, and Sutter's Fort 784. In 1848 Sonoma was populated by 260 persons, Bodega and Napa had about 10 each, Vallejo 80, 16 and San Jose was populated by 700 persons. In addition, 130 ranchos and/or farms are mapped by Bancroft in the northern part of 17 Californ1a, and 21873 gentile Indians were estimated to reside in the vicinity of Sutter's Fort.

The signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hildago in February 1848 concluded the Mexican War and opened up California and the Southwest for settlement by Americans once more. The flow of immigration could now freely pass over northern, central, and southern trail, or by ship to the new California frontier. For Californians this change in government brought about by the treaty was a real revolution. Mexican laws, customs, and officials were replaced·by American laws, customs and offi-

16sonoma, Napa, Bodega, Stockton, and Sutter's Fort are discussed in Bancroft, History of California, v. 5, p. 667-674. San Jose, Vallejo, and the transitory Mormon settlment of New Hope are discussed in Bancroft, History pf California, v. 6, p.4-12.

17 Bancroft, History of California, v. 6, P· 5. 31

cials.

Eight days before the signing of the treaty with Mexico, an

event took place that was to accelerate the settlement of California.

Gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill. As the word spread thoughout

California many received the news skeptically. Military and political representatives were sent to confirm the news. Their reports, and the display of a large quantity of gold in San Francisco {this occurred on

May 12) were sufficient to ignite the local populace.

After the quiet inflowing from the valley adjacent to the gold fields came the exodus from San Francisco which began in May; in June San Jose, Monterey and the middle region contri buted their quota followed in July and August by the southern settlements •••• The first flow {of immigrants began in September, but did not reach large proportions until November) came from the Hawaiian Islands, followed by a larger stream from Oregon and a bfgad current from Mexico and beyond, notably of Sono rans •••

18 Bancroft, History of California, V• 6, P• 83.

Through May at least 150 persons left San Francisco for the gold fields, by mid-June 75% of the male population had left for the mines, {Bancroft, P• 57). Bancroft estimates the population of the gold fields at the end of 1848 as: 1300 Hispano-Californians 4000 Americans 1500 Oregonians, {arrived in late 1848) 2500 Mexicans and Hawaiians (also late 1848) 9300 Total

Jacques Antoine Moenhout, The Inside Story of the Gold Rush, as cited by Helen D. Donohue, The Movement 2~ Population in and into Cali fornia between June, 1848 and February, 1849 as Occasioned .Qy the Dis covery of 9old, P• 64; identifies 800 miners in the summer of 1848 from Southern California, and further states that: ••• all business is being conducted in the north so that San Francisco, San Jose and Sutter's Fort are the centers of activ ity, while the south is half deserted, inactive, and almost without resources. 32

This effect of gold mania was to leave the coastal area from Monterey to 19 San Diego, both in town and country "well nigh depopulated."

In subsequent months, passengers and crews aboard ships vacated, sailors and soldiers deserted, and individuals regardless of their trade 20 abandoned work for the gold fields. Many of the natives of. the north returned to their homes after a short difficult stint in the mines.

With the large influx of other prospective miners, the bulk of the natives realized an easier means of making their fortune was in provi- 21 sioning the miners with food, supplies and other consumer goods. Also, the huge influx of people into San Francisco created a demand for land 22 only to be satisfied by the land spe~ulator.

19 Bancroft, History of California, v.6, P• 63. 20 Klose, P• 178. 21 Bancroft, History of California, v. 6, P• 122.

A total of 549 ship arrivals are noted for San Francisco between April and December, 1849· Of this total 233 sailed from American ports and 316 from foreign ports. Mail steamers are not included in the item ized list of steamers sailing from American ports , so their last port of-call (Panama) must be the city used in the determination. Ralph H. Brown, Historical Geography of the United States, Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc., New York, 1948. p.50S.

In his book, Brown lists 91415 arrivals by ship at San Francisco alone in 1849, a figure which appears outlandish when compared to other estimates. Five thousand of these immigrants are identified as having arrived from Chile by Doris M. Wright, "The Making of Cosmopolitan Cali fornia," California Historical Society Quarterly, v. 19, 1940. P• 326.

22The population of San Francisco grew 1500% in less than a year. A discussion of accelerating property values and citation of the following population figures (1849) are included in Bancroft, History of falifornia, v. 6, P• 168: February 2000, March 3000, July 5000, August 6000, October 12000, December 20000-30000. 33

Hordes of gold seekers overwhelmed the Hispanic institutions of northern California, but south of Monterey Spanish speaking people retained considerable influence until the coming of the railroads, and 23 the disintegration of the ranchos.

A plethora of estimates regarding California's popul?tion at the end of 1849 exist, but the figures of Bancroft appear the most realistic when compared to the census estimates of the following year. To Ban- croft's estimate for mid-1848 population of 14000 must be added 2000 immigrants from Oregon, 400 immigrants who came by way of the South Pass route, and 3000 Sonorans from Mexico (see Table 2). This brings the end of 1848 year population to 19400. To. this figure may be added the 1849 net migration figures (the California population of women of child bear- ing age was comparatively nil, so that the natural population increase will not significantly impact the figures with which we must deal) to determine the 1849 California population (see Table 4).

Both Bancroft and the California Constitutional Convention agree that that 42000 overland immigrants and 39000 by sea are valid approxi- 24 mations. With a return of about 3000 Mexicans during the year, and an

23 Charles Wollenberg, Ethnic Conflict in California History, Tinnon-Brown Inc., Los Angeles, California, 1970. p. 43. 24 Bancroft, History of California, v. 6, P• 159.

If we use the figure of 39000 total arrivals by sea, we can cal culate the number of deserters. Bancroft states that 30475 passengers arrived between Harch 31, 1849 and December 31, 1849. Only the Panama Mail Steamship California arrived prior to March 31st. It arrived on February 28th with 450 passengers, (Donohue, p. 106). By simple arith- 34

Table 4.

1849 California Population

1848 Base Population 19400* 1849 Arrivals by sea 39000 American 23000 Foreign 16000 1849 Arrivals Overland 42000 via Hexico 9000 via New Hexico 8000 via South Pass 25000 1849 Out Higrants and Deaths 5400*

Total 95000

*Calculated by the author. Source: Hubert Howe Bancroft, History £I California, V• 6, The History Company Publishers, San Francisco, 1888. p-158-159. untold number of deaths, the 1849 population is. approximately 95000 as calculated by Bancroft.

Summary

In this chapter the basic groundwork has been established for an understanding of subsequent settlement patterns. Hispanic and Mexican settlement was restricted to coastal valleys and the San Francisco area, and greatly influenced population distribution of Anglos who immigrated to California in the next generation.

metic it may be determined that 8075 deserted ship in 1848. Only esti mates of overland immigrants are available. Doris M. Wright states that " ••• the two registers that would be of value-those kept at Fort Laramie and at the Yuma Ferry, are no longer available." 35

Anglo settlement in the 1840's was agricultural in nature until

the discovery of gold in 1848. Subsequently, many persons migrated out

side the study area to the gold fields causing major distributional shifts of population within the study area. Many found mining too strenuous and unrewarding of their labors. Many returned to the His panic area and their farms and/or ranchos, while still others returned to cities and towns near San Francisco to engage in a trade in support of the miners. A large influx of persons to California in 1849 and early 1850 set the stage for the first federal census in late 1850, the subject of the following chapter. CHAPTER III

Settlement of Hispanic California to 1890

By definition, agricultural colonization involves the impo sition of a new plan of organization upon the land, the creation of new resources out of nature's materials, the spread of a new population unevenly over the surface, the development of a new network of routeways, and the initia tion of a new pulse and pattern of circulation throughout the region. Iy short, it necessarily results in a radically new geography. (D. w. Meinig)

Due primarily to the discovery of gold in 1848, and the change in political structure (between 1846 and 1850 California's government was Mexican, independent, military, and American) California's population underwent a great deal of flux before and during the census of

1850. A total of 24228 persons arrived by sea in the first five months of 1850 (36462 by years end) and Bancroft estimated another 55000 immigrants arrived by overland routes via Oregon, Arizona, Mexico, and the mountain passes in the Sierra Nevadas. 2 If these arrivals are to be

1D. w. Meinig, On the Margins of the Good Earth, Seal Books, Rugby, Ltd., Adelaide, Australia, 1970. P• .1-2.

36 37

pro-rated on a monthly basis, California's population should have totaled 137000 persons on the effective date of the census June 1, 1850.

The resultant figure of just such a census was 92597, and therein lies a tale. In this chapter the difficulties, inadequacies, and successes of each of the nineteenth century censuses are discussed, and maps which graphically illustrate population distribution are presented.

Census of .the Population, 1850

Many gross problems were involved with the 1850 census of Cali- fornia, so as to produce results so notorious that even the United

States Senate realized its deficiencies and increased California's allotment of representatives (from one to two) to sit in Congress. 3

Major errors in the census revolve about the loss of data from San Fran- cisco, Contra Costa, and Santa Clara Counties as well as the fashion in which the census was taken. The census returns for San Francisco were burned in the great fire which swept that city on March 3 and 4, 1851; and the returns for Contra Costa and Santa Clara Counties were lost enroute to Washington. For the former many estimates have been given,

2Ralph H. Brown, Historical Geography of the United States, Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc.,New York, 1948. P• 505; H. H. Bancroft, History Qf California, v. 6, The History Book Company, San Francisco, California, 1888. P• 159n; and History £i California, v. 7, p. 696n.

3Georges Sabagh, A Critical Analysis of California Population Statistics, with Special Emphasis on Census Data: 1850-1870, (Master's Thesis, Department of Economics, University of California--Northern Division), 1943. P• 14.

Representation was allocated at the proportion of one represen tative for each 120000 persons. The Senate allowed two representatives for the estimated population of California-~165000 persons. 38

(Bancroft insists no more than 16500 can be awarded, while census agents

claim 20000 a realistic figure), but for the later two counties census

agents have ascribed 722 and 3502 respectively. 4 The character of these numbers imply that at least aggregate totals for Contra Costa and Santa

Clara Counties were recorded before the census manuscripts were sent to

Washington.

Insofar as census bureau administration is concerned, there were still many handicaps which adversely affected the collection of the

California census. Insufficient means were provided by the federal government to take the census which is of a migratory character, and the impractibility of reaching the greatest number of people made the census 5 incorrect and unsatisfactory. Francis A. Walker, Superintendent of the

1870 and 1880 Census, had this to say regarding the Act of May 23, 1850 which governed the censuses of 1850, 1860 and 1870:

The charge of the enumeration of the several judicial districts was committed to the United States marshals, officers appointed with reference to altogether different services, and already burdened with a great variety and extent of duties in connection with the courts. These officers were, moreover, not appointed, and were not removeable, at the instance of the cen sus office or of the Department of the Interior, but belonged to another Department of the government, to which they were respon sible. In the formation of their subdivisions of their dis tricts for census purposes, the Marshals were subject to no con trol whatever on the part of the Census Office, while they were by law, permitted to constitute districts in their own discre tion, not exceeding 20000 inhabitants. But even worse in its effect upon the integrity and completion of the enumeration was the provision of the Act of 1850, by which the United States

4 Sabagh, P• 114 and p. 120; also Bancroft, v.6, p. 159n. 5 Sabagh, P• 40. 39

Marshals were left to appoint their own assistants--the actual enumerators--without any check or control on the part of the census office •••• The Census Office had not even the authority or appropriation to send ari agent to inspect the office of the 6 United States Marshals during the progress of an enumeration. (Emphasis added).

As can be seen from the above, the agency having the responsi- bility for compiling and publishing the census had no authority over either census takers nor the area of the census. For our purposes, the key phrase "••• to constitute districts in their own discretions ••• " explains, in part, why there are no official maps of the California population for 1850.

Census problems more specific to California primarily concern the 'footlooseness' of the population and other ramifications of the general state of affairs in the gold country. The census schedules requested the population of a given household effective June 1, 1850; but Honterey and San Luis Obispo Counties were enumerated in September and October; Santa.Cruz and Santa Barbara Counties in October and Novem- her; Los Angeles and San Diego Counties in January, February and March,

1851. Thus, there is a lack of comparibility between counties, con- ceiveably not too dramatic in an area of fixed populace, but a signifi cant problem in California where the inhabitants were highly mobile. 7

The population was in such continual flux between the mines and the

6 united States Census, Statistics of the Population~ the United States at the Tenth United States Census: 1880, Washington, D.C., 1883. poiX•

7 Sabagh, P• 30-31. 40

cities, that it has been estimated 50% of San Francisco's population and

66% of Marysville's population could be classified as transient in 8 1850.

The aggregates as given by the census were it is true, espe cially in 1850, not representative of the total population of California; since it is likely the census takers missed th9 floating and marginal mass composed of unattached males •••

That the census was taken at all in California must be somewhat

surprising when it is recognized that the bonus paid the cens~~ takers for the enumeration of each person (2 cents) provided.him a salary of approximately 16 cents per hour for filling out the forms, exclusive of 10 the travel time which was a necessary adjunct to the jobs. This is a pitiful salary, particularly in California during the gold rush when 11 other employment paid so well, and consumer goods were priced so high.

It can be readily understood that census takers missed many persons tucked away in the mountain gorges and canyons of the gold fields, but it is equally true that these salaries did not encourage the census

8 Sabagh, p. 38-39. Transients include: soldiers, sailors, boarders, and homeless persons.

9 Sabagh, p. 187.

10 Sabagh, p. 41. 11 Calculations are partially based on the data provided by Sabagh, P• 44, wherein he states that the census takers required about 30 minutes per household to complete the census forms. Assuming that there were 4 persons per household (not an unlikely figure in an area with so many males and so few females and children), wages are $0.16 per hour not including the time required to travel between houses. Lodging ranged from $6 to $20 per week in San Francisco's boarding houses in which there may be 50 bunks, and from $25 to $250 a week for a hotel. Bancroft, History of California, v. 6, P• 191· 41

taker to go far out of his way or to return to a temporarily empty

house. Because of these deficiencies in the administration of the cen-

sus, the census agent himself stated:

The results of this enumeration when completed, will with all probability fall ~hort of the entire population of the state from 30% to SO%. 1

Official totals (see Table 5 and Figure 4) were reported as 92597 per-

sons exclusive of San Francisco, Contra Costa, and Santa Clara Counties.

If one applies a 40% estimate of error to the Senate estimate of Cali- fornia's population (165000) a state total of 117857 ~ersons is the 13 result. This is in close agreement with the census agent's estimate of 14 117318. Note with the exception of San Francisco and the Bay area, population is quite evenly and thinly distributed over the study area.

12 Sabagh, p. 120-122. 13 An interesting speculation. If we assume that the u. s. Sen- ate compromised on the range of the census agent estimates, and we use the 40% under enumeration factor to calculate a California population of 165000 persons, we can deduct from this figure all known county popula tions to arrive at a population figure for San Francisco. The pre-fac tored California population would be 117857. From this we subtract the published census value of 92597. This results in a balance of 25260 persons which represents the population of Contra Costa, Santa Clara, and San Francisco Counties. But we may also assume that the population figures noted elsewhere for Contra Costa (722) and Santa Clara (3502) are accurate. With this data it is child's play to calculate a San Francisco population in 1850 of 21036. This is not an unreasonable fig ure. It seems rational that the aggregate figure for San Francisco's population must have been known by those persons working with the census manuscripts prior to their destruction by fire, as two copies were to have been made and forwarded to Washington. Could not the Senate have been informed of the San Francisco enumeration, and then having in their possession a complete enumeration determine the population to be 165000 based on an under enumeration of 40%? 14 Bancroft, History of California, v. 7, P• 698n. 42

Table 5.

1850 Census of the California Population

County Population Corrected Estimate (140%) ------~------Contra Costa 722 1011 Los Angeles 3530 4942 City 1610 2224 Marin 323 452 Monterey 1872 2621 City 1092 1529 Santa Barbara 1185 1659 Santa Clara 3502 4903 Santa Cruz 643 900 San Diego 798 1117 San Francisco * 21036 29450 City r 21036 29450 San Luis Obispo 336 470 ------*------Total Study Area 33947 47525 ------*------State Total 117857 165000 ------*------Calculated by the author (see note 13) Source: United States Bureau of the Census, Th~ Seventh Census of the United States, Part 1, Washington . D.c., 1853; and Sabagh, P· 114.

Information regarding distribution of California's population is pathetically sparse. In the entire study area (approximate dimensions

700 miles by 50 miles and containing about 30% of the state's popula-

tion) only three counties have any subdivisions, and only one each at that--the cities of San Francisco, Monterey, and Los Angeles. This is regretted by the census bureau as they note " ••• many towns of importance 15 are mixed-up with the counties and could not be separated." This is in

15 United States Bureau of the Census, The Seventh Census of the United States: 1850, Washington, D.c. 1853. p. iv. 43

o/o DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION BY COUNTY-1850

(Relative to 1890)

. ' ·..

10 20 40 100

percentage of 1890 study area population

0 50 100

miles

Figure 4 44

part due to the fact noted above, that census enumerators worked inde pendent of the census bureau, as there existed no official tie between them, and enumerators utilized their own discretion in determining boun daries of the area they were to enumerate. As was previously discussed, no maps were produced by the census bureau to demarcate minor civil divisions of California Counties prior to 1900 with the solitary excep tion of San Francisco wards for 1890. The balance of the population in the study area must be assumed to be dispersed, although in Chapter V we shall introduce a means to specify their location.

Census of the Population, 1852 and 1860

Dissatisfaction with the census of 1850 was so great that a spe cial state census was authorized and completed in 1852. It was intended to supplant the federal census of 1850, and to seat in the Congress a proper number of representatives apportioned at the rate of one repre sentative for each 120000 population. The same difficulties experienced in using the federal census apply in even greater force with the state census. As the returns of the three bay area counties were missing in

1850, in 1852 the enumeration of El Dorado County, the most populated in the state, were never submitted (official estimates of the population ranged from 13000 all the way to 45000). The state report for county by county aggregates did not match figures of the federal report, because of serious inconsistencies and limitations in the data. When state and federal authorities disagree in the tabulation of returns, serious doubt is reflected on its validity, and so the state house refused to adopt 16 the report submitted by the Secretery of State. 45

Table 6.

California Migration 1850-1875

Overland a Shipboard Year Immigrants Immigrants Departures b

1850 55000 36462 1851 22000 27182 1852 46500 66988 22946 1853 14000 33232 30001 1854 18000 47531 23508 1855 29198 22898 1856 22000 28119 22747 1857 22000 22990 16902 1870 32000 23000 1871 30000 22000 1872 34000 22000 1873 44000 70000 33000 1874 56000 85000 25000 1875 75000 107000 73000 1876 61000 38000

Source: Ralph Brown, Historical Geography of the United States, Harcourt Brace and World, Inc •. , New York, 1948. p. 505. For all practical purposes San Francisco was the only port of entry so custom house records (Brown's source) are good estimates of immigrant arrivals by sea. a Calculated by the author using factors determined by Sabagh, P• 97n and from data of n. M. Wright, "The Making of Cosmopolitan California," California Historical Soc~£!.Y_ Quarterly, v. 19 (December, 1940). p. 323-343. From 1858 through 1863 overland immigrants averaged 22000 annually. From 1858 through 1867 the number of sea immigrants ranged from 23000 to 41000 annually. In 1868 sea immigrants totalled 60000, and in the period 1869 through 1872 they ranged in number from 38000 to 52000 annu ally. During this time sea arrivals exceeded total departures bby 157000. Departures are by sea through 1869, and via railroad ther eafter.

By 1860, conditions in California were somewhat more stabilized than they had been in 1850. The temperature of gold fever had reached

16 Sabagh, P• 14-15. 46

its apex with the largest influx of im1nigrant.s in 1852 (see Table 6), and abated in 1857 and 1858 due to strikes of gold and silver in Nevada,

Colorado, and Australia. With the intensity of interaction diminished between the gold regions and the trade centers on the coast, the population of the study area became more stabilized by 1860. As a matter of fact, 10-15% of San Francisco's population was considered transient by 17 the 1860 census, down from 50% in 1850. This allowed for a speedier enumeration such that in most c.ounties the census of 1860 was completed 18 by mid-August. This made the census more accurate and more comparable county for county, even though the Act of" May 23, 1850 still governed, and untrained marshals still served as ~numerators.

Problems related to the spatial components of the census remained in 1860, and as a matter of fact remained throughout the time period of this study. No maps existed then, nor exist today. Census tabulations, however, indicate minor civil divisions (cities, towns and other subdivisions of counties--all of which are undefined entities) contain 91% of the reported population of the study area; 84% aside from

San Francisco (see Table 7).

Table 7 shows that there is an inconsistency in deliberateness of the census takers, for in neither Contra Costa nor San Luis Obispo

Counties did the marshal provide data for any county subdivisions. In

17 Sabagh, P• 38. 18 Sabagh, P• 33. 47

Table 7.

1860 Census Summary

County Population HCD Pop. %pop in MCD ------Alameda 8927 7469 89 Contra Costa 5328 0 0 Los Angeles 11333 10102 89 Marin 3334 3334 100 Monterey 4739 4739 100 Santa Barbara 3543· 3543 100 San Bernardino 5551 4809 87 Santa Clara 11912 11912 100 Santa Cruz 4944 3994 81 San Diego 4324 4324 100 San Francisco 56802 56802 100 San Luis Obispo 1782 0 0 San Hateo 3214 3214 100

Study Area 125733 114742 91

Total State 379994

% of State Population in Study Area 33.1

Source:United States Bureau of the Census, Population of the United States in 1860 Compiled from the Ori&inal Returns of the Eighth Census, Washington, D.C. 1864.

seven of the counties (Marin, Monterey, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, San

Diego, San Nateo and San Francisco) the entire population was assigned to a minor civil division; which implies that the marshal used mutually exclusive areal subdivisions such as townships or districts (in San

Mateo and San Francisco they were so named) to comprise the county whole. In the remaining four counties (Alameda, Los Angeles, San Ber- nardino, and Santa Cruz) 80-90% of the population is assigned to minor civil divisions of counties. This implies that, for these counties, a 48

minor civil division should be considered as an urban place, and that the balance of the population is strictly rural.

Inspection of Figure 5 shows that nearly half (45%) of the population of the study area is located in San Francisco, and nearly three- quarters (71%) of the population adjoins the San Francisco Bay. The balance of the population is sparsely distributed throughout the study area with only Los Angeles having any appreciable number of settlers.

All in all, 33% of the state's population for 1860 is located in the study area, and 91% of these can be located in a minor civil division--a subdivision of the county. Comparison through time is difficult, however, because county boundaries have been drastically realigned since the previous census. San Bernardino, San Mateo, and Alameda Coun- ties have been established in the intercensal period, and Los Angeles

County more than doubled in areal extant.

Census of the Population, 1870

Francis A. Walker was appointed superintendent of the Ninth Cen- sus (1870), and in this position he had hoped that certain advocates of reform would be able to attain a new law governing the administration of the census. Specifically, one "more in harmony with the demands of efficiency and common sense than that under which the census returns of 19 1850 and 1860 were taken." A close friend of Walker's, General James

19 Sabagh, P• 26. 49

I' '

o/o.DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION BY COUNTY-1860

(Relative to 1890)

0 2 10 20 40 1 oc

per~entage of 1890 study area population

0 50 100 miles

Figure 5 50

A· Garfield, provided the impetus to such a law:

The work of taking the census should no longer be committed to the charge of the United States Marshals. These officers belong to the Judicial Department of the government; and are not chosen with a view to their fitness for census taking or any other sta tistical inquiry; and whether so qualified or not, the greatly increased duty devolved upon them by the revenue laws and other legislation, since the last census was taken make it more diffi cult no!l than ever before for them to do this work and do it well ••• · 0

Many suggestions for improvement attended the address, all of which were incorporated into a proposal and submitted to Congress. A

House Bill resulted, but a clash between Senate and House led to the demise of the Bill on the Senate Floor. Apparently, the prime reason being that the existing law (Act of May 23, 1850) placed the nomination of marshals in the hands of the Senators, while the new bill would have the effect of switching patronage to Congressmen. This last might have been desireable as in reference to the results of the 1850 census:

••• the persons selected as enumerators are often proved incompe tent, for whi.ch, perhaps the low rate of compen~ition or the mode of appointment may be assigned as reasons.

In reference to the actual enumerators of 1870, Walker stated that the marshals:

••• did far better than was to be expected of them in respect to this onerous duty imposed upon them, in addition to the regular work of their office. Moreover, the assistant marshals of 1870 were generally of good clerical ability and good character ••• but in regards the administrative framework under which the census was

20 James A. Garfield, "The American Census," Journal of the Social Science containing the Transaction~ of the American Association, no. 2, New York, 1870, P• 40; as cited by Sabagh, p. 23-24.

21 u.s. Bureau of the Census, The Seventh Census of the United States: 1850, p. iv. 51

Table a.

1870 Census Summary ------County Population Townships II MCD HCD Pop. %Pop.HCD ------Alameda 24237 6 5 13348 55 Contra Costa 8461 3 2 16352 19 Los Angeles 15809 11 4 7089 45 Marin 6903 9 1 841·. 12 Monterey 9875 6 4 2908 29 San Bernardino 3988 4 0 San Diego 4951 10 4 2692 54 San Francisco 149473 12 149473 100 San Luis Obispo 4772 5 San t1ateo 6935 6 1 727 10 Santa Barbara 7784 3 Santa Clara 26246 9 2 10714 41 Santa Cruz 8743 3 2 3712 42

Study Area 278177 207856 75

State Population 560247 49.7% in Study Area

Source: United States Bureau of the Census, The Statistics of the E£Eulation of the United States: The Ninth Census-1870, Washington, D.C. 1872.

conducted:

••• the enumeration of 1870 was conducted under a law wholly inadequate in the authorit~ it confers, the agencies it creates, the inquiries it proposes. 2

Thus, the 1870 census should be somewhat comparable to the census of 1860, and in spite of Walker's criticism, both are termed relia- 23 ble by the demographer Warren Thompson. In the decade preceeding the

22 F. A. Walker, "Some Results of the Census," Journal of the Social Science containing Transactions of the American Association,--- no. 5, New York, 1873; as cited by Sabagh, p. 23-25.

23Warren s. Thompson, Growth and Changes in California's Popula- 52

census the population of the study area grew at the rate of 120% from

125733 to a population of 278171, while the balance of the state main tained a near constant population, increasing but 11% from 254261 to

282070. · This shows a decline in the gold region and a strong bias toward the coast, and since a shortage of arable land existed there, a trend toward urbanization. The 1870 census includes (see Table 8) twen ty-six specific cities and towns whose population totals 193139 (69% of the population in the study area) in addition to numerous townships.

Again as in 1860, the townships subdivide the county, and in sum, total the county. Because there were no commom definitions regarding the det ermination of geographic entities such as city, town, township, etc., it is impossible to compare the 'urban' population of 1870 with that of

1860. Figure 6 graphically portrays the distribution of the population in 1870. Only modest changes had taken place since the previous census, with 53% of the population located in San Francisco, 80% in the Bay area. Elsewhere, only Los Angeles contained as much as 5% of the popu lation. In all, 50% of the state's population is contained within the study area, demonstrating dramatic growth. This same area contained but one-third the population in 1860.

Census of the Population, 1880

The census of 1880 was conducted under the directorship of Fran cis A. Walker as was the previous census, but this time Walker had the administrative control that he had previously desired. In 1879 Congress

tion, Los Angeles, California, 1955. P• 33-35. 53

o/o DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION BY COUNTY-1870

(Relative to 1890)

I I t 0 2 10 20 40 100

percentage of 1890

study area population

0 50 100 miles

Figure 6 54

passed a Bill based upon the Garfield Bill of 1869-70, which introduced two major improvements in the administration of the census: choice of enumerators based upon their individual abilities, and a dimunition of district area to congressional district size. This meant that for the first time in California, the Census Office had direct control over the enumeration, and homogeneity of census districts existed (population wise, not areally) throughout the state.

In 1880 the federal census explicitly identified the unit enu merated as to whether it was town, village, city or township. Twenty six urban places are so identified (see Table 9), but they differ from the 26 identified in the previous census. For example, in 1880 the cen sus taker did not subdivide Monterey County; so neither Monterey, Sali nas, San Antonio, or Castroville appear as a minor civil division as they had in 1870. There is appended to the census, however, a table of unincorporated places returned separately by the enumerators. A dis claimer is attached in the census report noting that the list is far from complete as many enumerators failed to isolate such pockets of the population; and since the areal limits of such places is poorly defined, the figures are only approximate. This list identifies 54 unincorpo rated places within the confines of the study area, including Monterey,

Salinas, and Castroville (but not San Antonio) which were missing from the major portion of the table. Such inconsistencies (for example Mon terey and Salinas were classified as cities in 1870, and ten years later with greater population were considered as unincorporated places) point up the fact that comparisons over time are difficult at best, and 55

Table g.

1880 Census Summary

------~-~------County Population Townships # MCD MCD Pop. %Pop. MCD ------~~------~----- Alameda 62976 6 17 45004 71 Contra Costa 12525 5 6 1895 15 Los Angeles 33381 16 16 16192 49 Marin 11324 8 4 3309 29 Monterey 11302 0 6 4198 37 San Benito 5584 4 2 1518 27 San Bernardino 7786 10 1 1673 21 San Diego 8618 15 3 2999 35 San Francisco 233959 1 12 233959 100 San Luis Obispo 9142 7 2 2426 27 San Mateo 8669 5 9 3705 43 Santa Barbara 9513 7 4 3907 41 Santa Clara 35039 9 15 20096 57 Santa Cruz 12802 5 4 10194 80 Ventura 5073 3 3 1724 34

Study Area 467693 352799 75.4

State Population 864694 54% in Study Area

Source: United States Bureau of the Census, Statistics of the Population of the United States ~ the Tenth Cen sus-1880, Washington, D.C. 1883.

extremely hazardous.

Also in this decade, prior to the 1880 census, county boundaries

underwent minor realignment. Additional major changes included the for-

mation of San Benito County from the eastern portion of Monterey County,

·and Ventura County from the eastern portion of Santa Barbara County.

Not withstanding some deficiencies in the data, particularly regarding

consistency and accuracy, a few generalizations may be made. 56

The proportion of urban population in California up to and including 1880 was high due to the dominance of the Bay area. Using the definition for an urban place as that of a city or town of 2500 minimum population, 311865 of the 467693 persons residing within the study area are classified as urban. This repr3sents 84% of the population. The state wide value for 1880 was only 43%; while only 25076 urbanites are 24 in the study area and simultaneously outside the Bay area.

Because of the decline in the relative importance of mining, and the easier access to land in California following completion of the transcontinental railroad in the decade prior to the 1880 census; it mi.ght be expected that the rural population would have grown, but such is not the case. The rural population did, howeverL.

Costa and Santa Clara) contained 40% of the state's and 74% of the study area's population (Figure 7).

The rates of growth in southern counties began to_increase

24 Thompson, P• 13. 57

o/o DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION BY COUNTY-1880

(Relative to 1890)

.. . . .

2 10 20 40 100

percentage of 1890

study area population

0 50 100 miles

Figure 7 58

rapidly in the 1870s, but since the base 1870 population was so much smaller than in the north, the impact in absolute numbers was small.

Census .£!. the Population, J.890

The census of 1890 was directed by Robert Porter under the same laws that had governed Walker in 1880. During the decade pr,ior to 1890 the rate of growth in the southern part of the study area reached a very high level. The more populace counties of San Diego, Orange, San Ber nardino, and Los Angeles experienced a shared increase in population of more than 250%, while the area as a whole (also includes San Luis

Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Counties) trebled in population to

217424 persons (see Table 10). That the southern part of the study area experienced more rapid growth, continued a trend first seen in the pre vious decade. Northern and Central counties in the study area experi enced only moderate growth in this decade. The nine county area grew at the rate of 32%, paced by Alameda and Monterey Counties with 50% and 65% respectively. San Francisco grew at a rate of 28%, but with such a large base population the increase in absolute numbers still rivaled the increase of Los Angeles County in the south. At this time Los Angeles had scarcely one-third the population of San Francisco (Figure 8).

In 1890~ for the first time in California, a county by county uniformity existed in the tabulation of census data. Each county was subdivided into townships, and within each county cities and towns were also explicitly identified. Of the sixteen counties within the study area only San Benito (two), Marin (three), San Mateo (three), and Ven- 59

Table 10.

1890 Census Summary ------~------County Population Townships fl of HCD MCD Pop_. %Pop in MCD ------~------Alameda 93864 6 18 73229 78 Contra Costa 13515 5 10 5250 . 39 Los Angeles 101454 22 25 69374 68 Marin 13072 8 3 4849 37 Monterey 18637 10 7 6807 37 Orange 13589 7 7 5767 42 San Benito 6412 4 2 1697 26 San Bernardino 25497 44 6 12877 51 San Diego 34987 67 12 18714 53 San Francisco 298997 20 298997 100 San Luis Obispo 16072 9 7 5557 35 San Hateo 10087 5 3 2036 20

Santa Barbara 15754 8 0 7 7090 45 Santa Clara 48005 11 7 24297 51 Santa Cruz 19270 6 7 8493 44 Vent~ra 10071 4 4 3829 38

Population of Study Area 739283 548863 74

State Population 1208135 61% in Study Area

Source: United States Bureau of the Census, Report on Population of the ~·~· at the Eleventh Census-1890, Part ~' Washington, D.c. 1895.

tura (four) had fewer than one-half dozen towns (see Table 10). On the whole 74% of the population in the study area can be located in these

cities and towns; though should San Francisco be excluded the rate

declines to 60%.

Many states of the Union were now being mapped by the Census 60

o/o DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION BY COUNTY-1890

!}. .. Y.,: .

I 0 2 10 20 40 100

percentage of 1890

~tudy area population

0 50 100 miles

Figure 8 61

Bureau, thus delimiting as well as identifying the various county subdi-

~~sions being enumerated. But, only San Francisco, in all of California was so mapped, and it remained until 1900 before additional California 25 areas were mapped by the Bureau. On the positive side, tabulation of the aggregate populations were more detailed than heretofore, and 26 required a six page table in the census report. Pertinent data for the study area were extracted and are presented in Appendix A.

Conclusion

There has been considerable uncertainty regarding the size of

California's population in 1850 because of the loss of data for three counties--San Francisco, Santa Clara, and Contra Costa--and alsc because of the unknown degree of incompleteness of enumeration in a sparse and widely scattered population such as was California's at that time. It has been shown that actual results of the census are known for both

Santa Clara and Contra Costa Counties, and an argument has been presented which, based on the assumption that the United States Senate acted rationally, develops an aggregate population figure for San Fran- cisco. The total number of people in California in 1850 probably did

25 James B. Rhoads, and Charlotte M. Ashby, Cartographic Records of the Bureau of the Census, Preliminary Inventory No. 103, The National Archives, Washington, D.C., 1958. p. 12. Portions of the following counties were so mapped in 1900: Alameda, Los Angeles, and San Diego within the study area; and Glenn, Kern, Lassen, Sacramento, Tehama, Tulare Counties and parts of the city of Stockton outside the study area. 26 united States Bureau of the Census, Reports on the Population of the United States at the Eleventh Census-1890, Part ~. Washington, D.C. 1895. Table 5, Minor Civil Divisions of California. 62

not exceed 165000, which is the value adopted by the Senate to establish

California's representation in Congress.

Almost from the beginning of rapid settlement (California grew at near twice the National rate from 1860-1890) California has had a relatively large urban population. This is probably due to .the motives which first drew settlers to California in large numbers. The search for gold more than a desire for farm land first led to a rapid infusion of men, and hence to settlement in non-agricultural communities rather than on farms.

In the earliest days of settlement most of the rapid growth took place in the mining regions, but soon the movement to urban comnmunities

(required to provide goods and services for the mining areas) began, and

San Francisco grew at a very rapid pace from 1850 onwards. The relat- vely higher growth in 'the southern part of the state did not begin until

1870, and then did not have an appreciable effect on the state until after the turn of the twentieth century, because of the relatively small number of persons involved.

In the censuses of 1850 and 1860, the San Francisco Bay area contained over 70% of the population in the study area, and in 1870 and

\ 1880 the same counties (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San

Mateo, and Santa Clara) grew disproportionately to contain 80% of the population of the study area. But because southern counties experienced accelerated growth in the decade of the 1880s, by 1890 this percentage 63

dropped to 64%~ The decade of 1880 gave the first indication of a pro portional increase in the southern part of the state, however, the most significant change in the distribution of California's population bet ween 1860 and 1880 was in the concentration of the population in the San

Francisco area. Nearly all this growth took place at the exper:t$e of -the mining areas in 1860 and 1870.

It must have appeared that a certain measure of stability in distribution of California's population had been achieved by 1870, since the change in distribution was small in that decade. Between 1880 and

1890 a new trend in the distribution was evident in that the northern counties share of population began to decrease as the southern counties grew at a faster rate. CHAPTER IV

Communication~ in Hispanic California to 1890

What do we want with this worthless area? This region of savages and wild beasts, of deserts, shifting sands and whirlwinds of dust; of cactus and prairie dogs? To what use can we hope to put these great deserts or those endless mountain ranges? ••• Mr. President, I will never vote one cent from the Public Treasury to placi the Pacific Coast one inch nearer to Boston than it now is. (Daniel Webster)

In order to answer certain questions regarding the development of a frontier area (What land was settled first?, What local effects do

transportation routes have on settlement pattern?, etc.) settlement must be investigated in shorter time intervals than decennial censuses allow, and in finer spatial resolution than collected by the Census Bureau.

California serves as an ideal area in which to investigate interdecennial settlement pattern, because a fixed place surrogate variable existed for the entire period of this investigation. That surrogate

1 In a speech before the Senate, as cited by Gerald Cullinan, The Post Office Department, no. 10 in a series , Praeger Library in u.s. Government Departments and Agencies, New York, 1968. p. 48.

64 65

variable is post office location. Since post offices were established on a continuous time scale, discrete time intervals to be chosen for study are extremely flexible. Although postal data could be analyzed in very small increments (months, weeks or even days), five-year increments were chosen for this study so as to keep the thesis of reasonable length. Investigation of Table 14 (in Chapter V) may suggest other interesting increments to the reader.

Because of California's remote location relative to the balance of the nation, and since communication in the early nineteenth century was restricted to postal matter, a description of California's postal history is summarized in this chapter. Only when this is realized can the importance of a post office to a settlement (and hence this thesis) be fully appreciated. This relationship between post office and settlement will be analyzed in Chapter v.

American Political and Economic Postal Policies

Long before there was an American California, communications to and from the West were dominated by political and economic expediencies.

In the latter 1830s, the Eastern Whigs were bitterly opposed to the pro- gram of expanding postal service into the pioneer west and making that region more accessable to those who were their political opponents. It was over such a proposal of extending a post route to the mouth of the

Colorado River, that Daniel Webster voiced his opposition in the Senate

(see quotation above). The Whigs won their point temporarily, but two decades later political success shifted to their opponents. Postmaster- 66

General Aaron v. Brown was a competent enough politician to know what was good for the country~ and he insisted upon opening post routes to

the Pacific Coast even though he was aware that such routes could not be 2 profitable. He knew much better than his presidents (Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan) that a National conflict was imminent~ and he was

,determined to keep California faithful to the Union by improving communications between the two coasts with an overland mail route. Formerly, the Pacific Coast had mail service only by ship, which was slow and exhorbitantly priced.

Economically~ operation of the Post Office Department waivered periodically between self-sufficiency with a balanced budget, and the political reality that the post office was just like any other branch of government whose function it was to serve the people. The theory that the primary objective of the Post Office was to balance receipts exactly with expenditures could not meet the test of an expanding nation in which each new community demanded postal communications so vital to its welfare. 3

2 cullinan~ p. 67-68. The policies of Brown had significant pol itical effects in California. The Democratic Party in the State was badly split between Irish and Southerners. In 1854 the Know-Nothing Party had swept California at Congressional and State Legislative lev els. The improvements in communications between the two coasts undoub tedly did a great deal to destroy the Know-Nothing power and keep Cali fornia in the Union. 3 A small sampling of demands from California are provided by Oscar 0. Winther, Express and Stagecoach Days in California, Stanford University Press, Stanford, California, 1936. P· 3ln:

There is no telling what number of letters miscarry, or are sto len through the neglect or crime in the postmasters in this 67

Postal receipts had begun to decline in 1838, so cost saving measures were introduced at the national level. Improvements in operations were inadequate to correct the situation, which became so serious that Congress appointed a postal commission to investigate the system.

The commission recommended-lower postal rates, and a new operating theory. The Post Office should henceforth dedicate itself to service with revenue being relegated to secondary consideration. A conclusion that would henceforth have a profound impact upon California settlement.

Congress subsequently decreased postal rates in 1845, and finally by 1851 Congress had definitely rejected the self-sustaining policy and embarked upon the service_policy which would not be repealed until 1970. Therefore, California operated wit.hin a consistant postal . 4 system throughout the later half of the nineteenth century.

state •••• The Post Offices are generally kept in doggeries •••• and when the mail arrives, it is opened publically, and •••• everybody has access. (February 1857).

Resolved by the people of California •••• That our Senators in Congress be, and are hereby instructed •••• to advocate the pas sage of a law at the present session of Congress, authorizing an increase of the mail service between the Atlantic and Pacific, so as to provide mail four times a month. (Submitted to Congress 1854).

The interests of the people of California imperatively require that mail communication, whether overland or by ocean •••• be car ried on with safety, speed and unfailing regularity; and whereas since the first of October, 1859, the mail service by the ocean has been attended with ruinous delays and with repeated and vex atious irregularities •••• (Submitted to Congress, 1860). 4 For a brief discussion of the predecessor postal systems in California, see Appendix B. 68

Co11l!llunication was a vital necessity t.o the isolated settlers, and if their demands had been refused there is some doubt that the West could ever have been held within a nation administered from far-away

Washington. 5

California's Postal Connections to the Outside

via Steamship

J. H. Shively, postmast.er at Astoria, Oregon, while on a visit to Washington in 1845, is said to have been the first to call the atten- tion of the government to the advisability of establishing a line of mail steamers between Panama and Astoria. His suggestion does not seem to have had much effect, but later in the same year the threatening attitude of Great Britain in the Northwest caused President Polk to lay before Congress a plan of rapidly increasing the population of Oregon by emigration via the isthmus of Panama utilizing sailing vessels. J. M.

Woodward, a shipping merchant of New York, assisted in preparation of details of the plan. His investigations led him to believe that a line of mail steamers might profitably be established between Panama and Ore- gon, and a number of merchants were readily induced into forming a private company. Congress fully appreciated the importance of rapid communication with the West, and by virtue of an Act passed on March 3, 1847, the Secretary of the Navy advertized for bids to carry the United States

Mails by one line of steamers between New York and Chagres, Panama; and

5John H. Lowe, The Post Office on the Minnesota Frontier, (Unpublished Master's Thesis, Univerity of Minnesota), Minneapolis, Min nesota, May, 1950. P• 5-6. 69

by another line between Panama and Astoria. For the Pacific line only three vessels were required, two of not less than 1000 tons capacity and the third of at least 600 tons capacity. These were to carry the mail to Astoria and other such ports in the Oregon Territory, as the Secre- tary of the Navy should direct, once a month each way so as to connect 6 with the mail at Chagres across the isthmus.

Later in the year (1847) Congress voted an annual subsidy of

$199000 on a ten year contract for a monthly mail service between Asto- ria and Panama on the condition that the vessels used in the service were to be under Federal supervision and available to the government in case of war. The contract was eventually awarded to William Aspinwall who, with friends, formed the Pacific 1-fail Steamship Co. 7 The three side-wheeled steamers called for in the contract were built with dispatch, but at the same time with care and the best materials. The Cali- fornia (1050 tons), the Oregon (1099 tons), and the Panama (1097 tons) 8 were each made of live oak and fitted with American beam engines.

The California sailed from New York October 6, 1848, and after a

6Hubert Howe Bancroft, History of California, v. 6, The History Company Publishers, San Francisco, California, 1888. p. 127-128. 7 Elmer A. Kell, Jr., Early Travel and Communication in Southern California, (Unpublished Master's Thesis, Department of History), Univ ersity of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, May, 1940. p.S 8 Bancroft, History of California, v. 6, P• 129. 70

stormy passage "around the Horn," she arrived at Panama to learn that gold had been discovered in California. There were three times as many persons waiting for her than she could carry. Crowding as many persons as possible aboard (450 total), she sailed northward and entered San

Francsico February 28, 1849 just 28 days out of Panama with the first commercial mail delivery to the Pacific States. 9

Before the passengers had left the steamer, she had been deserted by all her crew save her captain and one engineer. Thus, she was unable to depart on her return trip. Captain Pearson of the Oregon arrived on April 1, 1849 and observed a collusion between passenger and crew. He took the precaution of anchoring his ship under the guns of a man-o-war, and placed the most rebelious men under arrest. After a few of the crew still managed to escape, the Oregon hastily left San Fran- cisco on April 12th, carrying with her the first mail, treasure, and 10 passengers to depart California under commercial auspices.

6 Kell, P• 7. Kell notes that the California stopped at San Diego and Santa Barbara enroute to San Francisco. This is not the case, although the stops were obviously anticipated in the sailing instruc tions. w. Van Voorhees, Special Agent of the Pacific States for the Post Office Department, was aboard that vessel and wrote the postmaster general in Washington that:

Owing to the diminished supply of coal on board--insufficient it was apprehended, to take the ship to San Francisco, if she were delayed to touch at San Diego and Santa Barbara-- those places were omitted •••

Letter of w. Van Voorhees to Postmaster-General Cave Johnson, dated San Francisco, California, March 13, 1849 as cited by lJalter Frickstad, A Century of California Post Offices, The Philatelic Research Society, Oakland, California, 1955. P• 375. 10 Bancroft, History of California, v. 7, P• 137-138. 71

When the Panama entered San Francisco. Bay on June 4, the Cali-

forni~ had already departed. From this time these three and an occa-

sional other vessel made their trips with tolerable regularity (see

Table 11). Three regular steamers were added to the line by 1851, and

on March 3, 1851 the postmaster-general authorized a semi-monthly ser-

vice at a total cost of $700000 or $800000 a year for an Atlantic and a 11 Pacific ocean route with a Panama transit.

Receipts from postage were $529000 for the fiscal year

1850-1851, though they fell to $263000 for 1852-1853 due to a substan-

tial reduction in postage rates. Thereafter, the gain was slow, until

1858 when overland mail was contracted for on a regular basis, thus cur-

tailing the slower ocean mail business to the point that in the 1860s it was providing tri-monthly service carrying primarily printed matter. 12 Steamer mail service was discontinued in June, 1870.

via Land

One of the greatest problems facing Californians in the 1850s was that of transportation and communication within the State and with

the outside world. "The problem of communication with the rest of the nation was from the beginning, a common concern for all Californi-

11Bancroft, History of California, v. 7, p. 144. The amount for just the Pacific voyage was increased from $199000 to $348250.

12Bancroft, History of California, v. 7, p. 146n. 72

Table 11

Schedule of the Early Panama Steamers ------Vessel Lv. Panama Ar. s. Fran. Lv. s. Fran. Ar. Panama ------California Jan 31, 49 Feb 28, 49 }1ay 1' 49 May 23, 49 Oregon Mar 13, 49 Apr 1' 49 Apr 12, 49 May 4, 49 Panama · May 18, 49 Jun 8, 49 Jun 19, 49 Jul 12, 49 Oregon May 23, 49 Jun 17, 49 Jul 2, 49 Jul 21, 49 California Jun 25, 49 Jul 16' 49 Aug 2, 49 Aug 24, 49 Panama Jul 29' 49 Aug 19, 49 Sep 1, 49 Sep 22, 49 Oregon Aug 28, 49 Sep 18, 49 Oct 1, 49 Oct 24, 49 California Sep 17, 49 Oct 9, 49 Nov 2, 49 Nov 22, 49 Unicorn Oct 1, 49 Oct 31, 49 Dec 1, 49 Dec 28, 49 Panama Oct 10, 49 Oct 31' 49 Nov 15, 49 Dec 4, 49 Oregon Nov 10, 49 Dec 2, 49 Jan 1' 50 Jan 23, 50 California Dec 6, 49 Dec 28' 49 Jan 15' 50 Feb 4, 50 Panama Jan 1' 50 Jan 18, 50 Feb 1' 50 Feb 23, 50 Unicorn Jan 12, 50 Feb 8, 50 Oregon Feb 5, 50 Feb 22, 50 Mar 1, 50 Mar 20, so California Mar 2, 50 Mar 26, so Apr 1' 50 Apr 23, 50 Tennessee Mar 24, 50 Mar 26, 50 Apr 1, 50 Apr 23, so Panama Apr 1, so Apr 22, 50 May 1, 50 May 21' so Caroline Apr 16, 50 }lay 7, 50 Oregon May 1, so Jun 1, 50 Jun 22, so ------Source: Hubert Howe Bancroft, History.£!. California, v. 6, The His- tory Company Publishers, San Francisco, California, 1888. p.l38.

ans ••• 1113 Roads were crude and connected only major settlements, and travel had to be by foot or horseback in many areas.

The Pacific Mail steamers which were required by new contracts to stop at San Diego, Wilmington (Los Angeles port), Santa Barbara, and

13James J. Parsons, "The Uniqueness of California," American Quarterly, v. 7, no. 1, 1955. P• 48. 73

Monterey as well as San Francisco, often failed to do so. The citizenry and the politicians in California were upset as "the arrival of a steamer (in California) is an event of more importance than at any other 14 spot on the globe."

The California legislature spent considerable time and effort to improve mail deliveries. The following succinctly clarifies the situation:

The Committee on Federal Relations to whom was referred Senate Joint Resolution No. 13, in reference to Mail Rout"es in Califor nia, respectfully report a substitute for the same, and ask its adoption. The Pacific Hail Steamers, which by the terms of their contract with the government are required to exchange the mails at the ports of San Diego and Monterey, have become so irregular in their stoppings, that but little reliance can now be placed upon their compliance with their obligations, and the Government dispatches from the Southern frontier of the State are now required to be forwarded to San Francisco, there to be started for their eastern destination. A great necessity exists for the immediate establishment of a post road from San Diego to the junction y~ the Gila and Colorado Rivers, and a Post office at Fort Yuma.

Members of Congress who supported the proposition to establish a stagecoach line to the Pacific cited the need for a bond between east and west, and solemnly assured their colleagues that failure to act might mean loss of California. One eastern Senator, Richard Brodhead of

Pennsylvania, warned:

14 st. Joseph Missouri, Adventurer, November 5, 1852; as cited by Walker w. Wyman, ed., California Emigrant Letters, Bookman Associates, New York, 1952. P• 171-172. 15 J. w. Coforth, "Report of the Committee on Federal Relations," Appendix to the Senate Journals, Document No. 11, Session of 1853, Sacramento, California. 74

Historians have informed us that mountains make enemies of peo ple who would otherwise be friends. We have a vast range of mountains and a great desert between our Pacific possessions and the Atlantic states •••• Hence, the great question will be pre sented before long, whether it would not be as well if it could be done, to have separate governments. I do not suggest it; but if we ayg to live in peace together, we must have rapid communi cation.

Both the northern and the southern contingents in the Congress understood that California and the Far West would be tied economically and politically to that section th.rough which a railroad to the Pacific

Coast ran, and because neither section would yield to the other, no railroad could be built. For the same reason it seemed unlikely that even a stage line which men saw as a forerunner to a railroad, could be established; but settlers were not so indisposed as were Congressmen.

Originally in April 1848, a private enterprize was inaugurated which sent mail over the emigrant route to ~Iissouri. Letters were carried for fifty cents, and newspapers for twelve and one-half cents, but after the initial trip, the excitement brought about by the discovery of gold interrupted service. Later, from 1853 to 1859, the government operated a limited service between Los Angeles and St. Louis connecting all the military posts, but this was a slow and irregular service. Then in 1857, G. H. Giddings established a mail line from El Paso, Texas to connect with the line of J. c. Woods which terminated in San Diego. The

16 Richard Brodhead, Pennsylvania Senator upon the Senate Floor, as cited by t.Jayne E. Fuller, The American Hail: Enlarger.£!.. the Common Life, The Chicago History of American Civilization, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois, 1972. p. 97. ., OQ .....c (1) 1.0

EARLY OVERLAND MAlL ROUTES TO CALiFORNIA

Source: 0. Winther, and W. s·eck and Y. Haase 76

p '

first trip arrived in San Diego on August 31, 1857.

Meanwhile, on March 3, 1857, at the urging of Postmaster-General

Brown, Congress authorized an overland route between the Mississippi

River and San Francisco (Figure 9). On September 16, 1857 a contract

was made with John Butterfield and Associates to transport the mails on

a semi-monthly basis at an annual compensation of $600000. Service was

initiated the following September with 100 coaches, 700 drivers and 1500 17 horses and mules incorporated in the system.

The first trip left St. Louis and arrived in San Francisco in

twenty-four days, eighteen hours, thi!ty-five minutes, and its success

ful completion was cause for celebration. IS

Within the state of California the accomplishment of Butterfield was naturally regarded as a sectional development. It provided a fast

and regular service between San Francisco and Los Angeles, and it placed

the southern part of the state in relatively closer contact with the

East. With the outbreak of the Civil War, however, the route was relo-

cated through Salt Lake City. This more northerly route was chosen to preclude deprecation of the u.s. Mail by Confederate Forces throughout the southern tier states. In a very short time the Butterfield stage carried the greater portion of the mail to the West coast, a situation

17 Cullinan, P• 67. 18 Winther, P• 166. 77

which prevailed until 1869, when the transcontinental railroad took over 19 the mail carrying contracts for the government. ·

Postal Rates and Volumes

Prior to the establishment of United States post offices, rates were individually established by sender and carrier in California, but mail was free for a short while when carried by the military in 1847 20 through 1849.

With the arrival of official postal functions in California in

1848, federal rates were established (see Table 12 for rate changes, volumes, and receipts). Through 1851 letters sent by steamer were charged forty cents, newspapers three cents, and mail internal to Cali- fornia was twelve and one-half cents. The postal law of 1851 reduced rates drastically (to six cents for letters traveling over 3000 miles and three cents if less than that distance). In effect then, all mail posted in California for the Pacific Coast region was three cents, all other mail was six cents. In addition, the law stated in part:

That no post office now in existence shall be discontinued, nor shall the mail service on any route, in consequence of the dimunition of revenues that may result from this Act; and it shall be the duty of the Postmaster-General to establish new post offices, and place the mail service on any new mail routes established, or that may be hereafter established, in the same manner as if this Act had not passed.

19 Winther, P• 166; and Bancroft, History of California, v. 7, p. 146n. 20 Bancroft, History of California, v. 7, p. 453n. 78

Table 12

California Postal Rates, Volumes and Receipts

Rates: 1848 letters 40 cents and newspapers 3 cents letters internal to California, 12-1/2 cents 1851 letters over 3000 miles, 6 cents letters less than 3000 miles, 3 cents 1855 letters over 3000 miles, 10 cents letters less than 3000 miles, 3 cents 1856 newspapers, 1 cent 1861 letters to east of Rocky Nountains, 10 cents per half ounce 1863 all letters 3 cents per half ounce and 2 cents each additional half ounce 1883 all letters 2 cents per half ourice 1885 all letters 2 cent~ per ounce Volume: 1854-1855: 2828946 letters 3814077 newspapers 1856-1857: 2227780 letters 4215222 newspapers Postage Receipts: 1850-1851: $529341 1852-1853: $263137 1854-1855: $316477

Source: Gerald Cullinan, The Post Office Department, Praeger Library in u.s. Government Departments and Agencies, New York, 1968. P• 250-251; and H. H. Bancroft, History£! California, v. 7, P• 146n.

The non-uniform rate structure still goaded California politicians. Governor McDougal argued in his Annual Message of 1852, that the doubled rate imposed upon California was unjust and that the exhorbitant rates charged for the transmission of newspapers "almost amount to a

21 Cullinan, P• 64. 79

prohibition against their introduction from other states, and to an 22 embargo upon those published in (California)."

The effect was in 1855, a rate change which only further aggre-

vated the situation. In 1856 Governor Bigler expressed the California

sentiment, "that so far as the people of California are concerned,

important reformation is demanded in the postal system, and a reduction 23 of the excessive rates at present imposed." As can be seen from Table

12, rate reductions were still seven years in the offing.

Finally, with passage of the Postal Law of 1863, California and

the balance of the West enjoyed the same low uniform postal rates that

the remainder of the Union had enjoyed for so long. No longer would 24 distance prejudice postal rates within the United States.

22 Jno. McDougal, Governor's Annual Message, 1856, Vallejo, Cali- fornia, January 7, 1852. p. 18. 23 John Bigler, Governor's Annual Message, 1856, Sacramento, California, January 9, 1856. P• 42. 24 It is true that current {1979) Parcel Post rates are discrimi natory because zones are used to establish charges. Parcel Post rates are a function of both the weight of the mailed parcel and the number of zones traversed. Also, u.s. Mail rates to foreign countries are discri minatory. Mail to Canada, Mexico, the balance of the Americas, and the rest of the world are each charged different rates. See for example, u.s. Postal Service, International Postage Rates and Fees, Publication 51, June, 1978. 80

.Establishment of the First Post Offices

William Van Voorhees was appointed Special Agent of the Post

Office Department for California on November 1, 1848. He promptly set

sail from New York on the maiden voyage of the Pacific Mail Steamship

California, rounded Cape Horn, and arrived at Panama to hear of the gold

discovery in California. He had been instructed to appointpostmasters

at San Diego, San Pedro, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, and

other such points that the steamer would touch, and that in his consid-

ered opinion warrented a postmaster because of the volume of mail deliv- 25 ered or received at such spot. But since the ship touched only at Mon-

terey (the ship's captain feared insufficient coal existed on board to

allow stopping at the other schedule4 points) postmasters were not

appointed anywhere but there. Only Captain \oliHiam Marcy of the Army,

in all of Monterey could be induced to even temporarily serve as post-

master owing most likely to the gold fever rampant in California at that

25 Letter from Postmaster-General Cave Johnson to William Van Voorhees, dated November 1, 1848 and contained in Senate Executive Docu ments, 1st Session, 31st Congress 1849-1850, v. 9, no. 18, PP• 932-952; as cited by Frickstad, p. 372-373. This letter and many others of the correspondence between the Postmasters- General (Cave Johnson and his successor Jacob Collamer) and their Special Agents on the Pacific Coast (William Van Voorhees and R. T. P. Allen respectively) are contained in Senate Executive Documents. I had at my disposal only the citations of Frickstad, so the page numbers reflect his work--not the original.

Van Voorhees was specifically directed not to appoint a postmas ter for San Francisco, as Washington' had already appointed Samuel Yorke ·at Lee on November 9, 1848. This gentleman would supposedly follow Van Voorhees to San Francisco. The appointment of Yorke at Lee was res cinded, however, and Stephan Dallas appointed in his stead, again by Washington effective November 21, 1848. Records of Appointments of Postmasters, State of California, 1848-1930, Washington, D.C. as cited by Frickstad, P• 282. 81

26 time.

Van Voorhees, upon his arrival in San Francisco, impressed c. L.

Ross (a merchant) as temporary and part-time postmaster of that city until the following month when John L. Geary assumed the still part-time 27 position. Van Voorhees had also been directed to establish postal routes and additional "inland" post offices as he saw fit, providing the expenses so incurred for transport of the mails (on contract) would be 28 offset by postal receipts of the recipient post offices. Owing to the fact that consumer goods and life's necessities were so expensive (Van

Voorhees cited: $17.50 weekly board, $6-8 laundry for a dozen pieces,

$30-40 per cord of firewood, and other expenses far beyond the costs experienced in the Eastern states) no one could be induced to take the job of postmaster or contract carrier at or near the conventional rates 29 prescribed by Washington. Subsequently, Van Voorhees was dismissed because of "dereliction of duty" and replaced by R. T. P. Allen on June 30 15, 1848. Geary tended his resignation as San Francisco postmaster,

26 Frickstad, p. 375. 27 Bancroft, History of California, v. 7, P• 147n. 28 Frickstad, P• 373.

29 Frickstad, p. 376. 30 sancroft, History of California, v. 7, P• 147n. It should also be noted that with the inauguration of a new u.s. president, it was customary that the Postmaster-General would be replaced with one of the President's own choosing. The office was usually assigned as a pol itical plum, and even until recent years was often given to the Presi dent's campaign manager. Similarly, Jacob Collamer, the new Postmaster General, desired a Special Agent of his own choice on the Pacific Coast, hence, the more probable reason for Van Voorhees's dismissal. This spe- 82

and Jacob Moore, apparently a carrier postal department employee, was 31 appointed by Washington to fill the vacancy. His arrival occured late in 1849, and he remained in this position for some time as in Autumn of 32 1852 Bancroft identified him as the local postmaster still.

Allen was charged with the identical responsibilities as Van

Voorhees (in fact the two letters of appointment spelling out their respective responsibilities read as carbon copies) with the addition of being named Special Agent of Oregon, and met with the same difficulties 33 as had Van Voorhees. Most of 1849 was spent by Allen trying to establish post offices. Success was generally met in the towns which supplied the mines and miners, as in the sedentary population someone, generally a shopkeeper, could be found to attach the additional responsibilities of postmaster to his primary occupation. In November 1849 a post office was opened in San Jose. In April 1850 post offices were established at

culation becomes more reasonable when it is discovered that Allen retained the position as Agent for a period of time, while attaining as little success as his predecessor, much to the chagrin of the Postmas ter-General. Their correspondence, as cited by Frickstad, is illuminat ing reading. 31 Hubert Howe Bancroft, California Inter-Pocula, The History Company Publishers, San Francisco, California, 1888. p. 279. The post office in San Francisco had by that time grown such that it covered the length of an entire city block stretching from Clay to Commercial Streets facing the plaza; and employing not only a Chinese clerk, but also clerks capable of reading and understanding Russian, French, Ger man, Italian, and Spanish. letters also arrived from and were dis patched to Sweden, Norway, Poland, Asia, Africa, and the Pacific Islands. 32 Ibid.

33Frickstad, p. 372-381. 83

500

~ 400 0 ~"" ~ 0 300 ~ Ill 0 p.. ~ 200 0

~ Q) .0 3 100 s::

0 1850 1860 1870 1880 1890

years

Figure 10. Histogram of Accumulated Post Offices.

Mission San Jose, Junction (New York of the Pacific), Santa Barbara, Los

Angeles, San Diego and Santa Cruz; thereby bringing the total number of 34 post offices in the study area to nine.

In the succeeding years, generally only a handful of post offices were established annually, until 1869 when a dozen were added to the system. From that time until 1887 the number of post offices added

34 Frickstad, P• 282. 84

Table 13.

California Post Offices by Year ------Number of Post Offices Number of Post Offices Year Est Disc Net Accum Year Est Disc Net Accum ------~------1849 3 3 3 1870 23 23 127 1850 6 6 9 1871 9 2 7 134 1851 9 9 18 1872 11 . 1 10 144 1852 6 6 .24 1873 28 28 172 1853 5 3 2 26 1874 17 2 15 187 1854 11 2 9 35 1875 18 4 14 201 1855 5 5 40 1876 10 4 6 207 1856 2 2 42 1877 10 3 7 214 1857 3 3 45 1878 20 4 16 230 1858 2 2 47 1879 6 2 4 234 1859 5 1 4 51 1880 8 5 3 237 1860 3 1 2 53 1881 15 2 13 250 1861 6 1 5 58 1882 23 3 20 270 1862 5 1 4 62 1883 15 6 9 279 1863 4 4 66 1884 17 3 14 293 1864 5 5 71 1885 18 2 16 309 1865 3 3 74 1886 20 7 13 322 1866 3 1 2 76 1887 52 6 46 368 1867 9 9 85 1888 60 9 51 419 1868 7 2 5 90 1889 33 4 29 448 1869 14 14 104 1890 19 2 17 465 ------Source: Data compiled from information contained in Walter N. Frickstad, ~Century £f California Post Offices, Philatelic Research Press, Oakland, California, 1955. PP• 1-220.

averaged twelve per year (Figure 10). In 1887 and 1888, the number of added post offices increased dramatically to forty-six and fifty-one respectively, returning somewhat to 'normal' thereafter (see Table 13).

From this point, the thesis that post offices are a good surrogate for settlement pattern is developed. The next chapter presents an 85

analysis of the change in California's settlement through time by uti lizing this surrogate in conjunction with census data. CHAPTER V

Identifying !he Settlement Frontier of Hispanic California

The major focus of the information stream in the to~ms of the American west was the post office. Accordi-ngly, the establish ment of the frontier post office, though not always in cities, meant that the concentration of population in the area wai sub stantial enough to indicate that the frontier had passed. (James R. Shortridge)

In this chapter two series of maps will be concurrently pre-

sented. One series identifies post office locations in five year inter-

vals from 1850-1890. These maps represent 'hard' data--data which was

previously discussed in Chapter I. The second series consists of gener-

alized maps generated from their counterparts of the first series. In

this series the settlement frontier is delimited. This settlement fron-

tier conservatively approximates the two person per square mile density

·established by the Census Bureau in their Statistical Atlas of 1903. 2

1 James R. Shortridge, "The Post Office Frontier in Kansas," Journal of the West, v. 13, no. 3, July, 1974. P• 83.

86 87

--Years 1848-1860 The distribution of post offices through time (see Table 14)

displays significant spatial patterns. By the end of 1850, there were

nine post offices strung-out the length of the study area (Figure 11) 3 with no county having more than one. Six were located around San Fran-

cisco Bay (two each on the west, south and east sides), whi~e the

remaining three post offices were widely scattered in Southern Califor-

nia (one each in Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, and San Diego Counties).

These first post offices were restricted to those areas of relatively

large pre-existent urban population. Thus, the circumstances in 1850

were different from those which prevailed throughout the balance of the

study period. Subsequently, the re~ining post offices were generally

established prior to urban settlement. Until passage of the Postal Act

of 1856 (discussed in Chapter IV), the guiding principal of the Post

Office Department was that each post office was to be self-supporting.

Therefore, they were located only in areas of substantial population.

2 Determination was made from a cursory review of many requests for post offices made by individuals in which they had to supply the u.s.P.O.D. with the number of patrons to be served. As this number was generally in the neighborhood of 50-100 persons, a post office service area of three mile radius results in a conservative estimate of the desired population density of two persons per square mile. The maps of this second series are based are such a generalization.

3rn order to make geographic comparisons through time, it is necessary to have constant spatial entities. Therefore, 1978 county boundaries have been superimposed upon the study area, and all discus- . sion relative to post office location has been juxtaposed in time--not space. For example, Oakland's post office was established in Contra Costa County before the formation of Alameda County in which it is pre sently located. In this thesis, Oakland's post office is identified as always being in Alameda County. I have thus juxtaposed Alameda County's existence in time to the beginning of the study period, 1848. 88

POST OFFICE DISTRIBUTION

1850

• = 1 post office

0 50 100 miles

Figure 11 89

Table 14

Numbers of Post Offices by County in Five Year Intervals ------~------County 1850 1855 1860 1865 1870 1875 1880 1885 1890 Net ------Marin 3(1) 1 (1) 5 1 (1) 3 2(1) 3 2(1) 15 San Francisco 1 1 1 1 4 Contra Costa 1 7(3) 3(1) 3 2 3 5(1) 4(2) 5 26 Alameda 1 8(1) 2 3 4(1) 8(1) 4(2) 3 2 30 Santa Clara 1 6 1 3 3 8 1 (1) 6(1) 6(3)_ 30 San :t-fateo 3 2 2 6 3(2) 1 15 Santa Cruz 1 1 1 2 4 3(1) 2(2) 4(1) 14 Monterey 1 2 1 5 7 1 4 (1) 17(2) 35 San Benito 1 5 5 1 (1) 2(1) 1(3) 10 San Luis Obispo 1 1 7 4(2) 5 (1) 6(1) 9 30 Santa Barbara 1 1 3(1) 5 2(1) 5 7 22 Ventura 1 1 6 2 9(1) 18 Los Angeles 1 3 2 1(2) 5 7(1) 12(3}19(3)44(4) 80 Orange 1 2 4 2 10 19 San Bernardino 1 1 2 1 4(1) 13(3) 20 Riverside 1 2 2(1) 2 4 13 28 San Diego 1 1 1 8 11(2)12(6)24(4}40(10)76 ------Net Totals 9 31 13 21 53 74 ·36 72 156 465

Cum. Totals 9 40 53 74 127 201 237 309 465

Source: Calculated by author from data of Frickstad. Notes: ()indicates discontinued post offices. Only includes post offices in existence for at least two years.

The settlement frontier (Figure 12) thus contains nearly 75% of the

population.

By the end of 1855, thirty-six additional post offices were

established, but five discontinued, such that there was a net of forty

·post offices in the study area, twenty-five of which were located in the

San Francisco Bay area and seven loosely packed around Monterey Bay. Of

the remaining eight post offices four were equidistantly spaced at the

ports of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, San Pedro, and San Diego, and 90

. SETTLEMENT FRONTIER

1850

0 50 100

miles

Figure 12 91

four were placed on a line extending eastward from Los Angeles (Figure

13).

By 1855 (Figure 14) settlement had spread along the eastern and southwestern shores of San Francisco Bay, and began to reach into the

Santa Clara· Valley south of San Jose. Isolat~d settlements appear near various embayments of San Pablo Bay and the lower Sacramento River.

These undoubtedly appeared in response to the needs of the gold ,miners, and represent for them an intervening opportunity between the gold fields and San Francisco. These locations provided easy access to mines and wharves while simultaneously avoiding the sometimes treacherous Bay waters, and the long peripheral trek around the southern end of the· Bay.

East of Monterey Bay, settlement took place around the Mission

San Juan Bautista, the embryonic city of Watsonville, and the crossroads of Natividad and Salinas. In the south the Mormon settlement of San

Bernardino is to be noted, and the beginning of settlement at transpor tation junctions outside Los Angeles (El Monte and San Pedro), and the former mission lands around San Gabriel.

In the following five years, fifteen more post offices were established with only two post offices discontinued, so that by the end of 1860, there was a net of fifty-three post offices distributed as shown in Figure 15. Both Warner's Ranch in San Diego County, and Teme cula in Riverside County were established in conjunction with the But terfield Stage lines which utilized these locations as stations on their 92

POST OFFICE DISTRIBUTION

1855

• = 1 post office

0 50 100

miles

Figure 13 93

SETTLEMENT FRONTIER

1855

0 50 100

miles

Figure 14 94

POST OFFICE DISTRIBUTION

1860

• = 1 post office

0 50 100 miles

Figure 15 95

SETILEMENT FRONTIER

1860

0 50 100

miles

Figure 16 96 route which originated in Missouri and traversed the Southwestern u.s. to arrive in San Francisco. Sink and Fort Tejon in extreme northwestern

Los Angeles County were established primarily to serve the u.s. Army

Camel Corps and the California Stage Line which used the Central Valley route from Gilroy (southern rail terminus) in the north to Los Angeles in the 1850s. San Antonio in Honterey County was apparentlY. established to serve farmers, recently arrived, in that area. The remaining post offices were all interstitially located to the east and south of San

Francisco Bay.

Comparison of Table 5 and Table 7 (Chapter III) reveals that a large growth in the study area's pop~lation took place between 1850 and

1860. Comparison of the appropriate maps (Figures 12, 14, and 16) reveals that in the south most all settlement spread appeared prior to

1855, whereas in the north a rapid diffusion of settlement occured east of San Francisco Bay (primarily in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) subsequent to 1855. This was due to a general exodus from the gold fields. Settlement in the south appears to revolve mostly about nodes on transport networks, whereas in the north it appears agricultural pursuits are taking hold.

Years· 1861-1870

During the Civil War (1861-1865) there was an increase of twenty-three post offices in California, two-thirds of which were in the San 4 Francsico Bay area (Figure 17). The status at the end of 1865 shows a

4 The diffusion of post offices emanating from the Bay area was essentially equal in all compass directions, with five in Marin County, 97

POST OFFICE DISTRIBUTION

1865

• = 1 post office

0 50 100

miles

Figure 17 98

SETILEMENT FRONTIER

1865

0 50 100

miles

Figure 18 99

vast majority of post offices (48 of 74, nearly two-thirds) are con-

tained in the northern counties {Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Fran-

cisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz) which comprise less than 5 13% of the study area. The dynamics of post office establishment indi-

cate that in the north a relatively homogenous settlement is taking 6 place. Post offices in the central and southern counties more dramati-

cally coincide in location with the overland transportation routes, up

the Salinas Valley in Monterey County, over La Cuesta Pass into San luis

Obispo, through Gaviota Pass to the coast north of Santa Barbara. From

three each in Santa Clara, Contra Costa and Alameda Counties, and two in San Mateo County. The remaining seven new offices were founded along the coast or slightly inland. With the establishment of Cambria between San Antonio and San Luis Obispo, Santa Ynez between San luis Obispo and Santa Barbara, Ventura between Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, .and San Luis Rey north of San Diego, the longest distance between any two adja cent post offices was reduced to about seventy-five miles (Ventura to los Angeles). New colonies established at Wilmington, Anaheim, and Cucamonga also received post offices in this period. 5 Robert w. Durrenberger, Patterns on the land, National Press Books, Palo Alto, California, 4 ed., 1972. P• 97.

Acreage of the California counties as listed by Durrenberger: Alameda-469120, Contra Costa-469670, Los Angeles-2605440, Marin-333440, Monterey-2127360, Orange-500480, Riverside-4594560, San Benito-893440, San Bernardino-12883840, San Diego-2725120, San Francisco-28800, San Luis Obispo-2128640, San Hateo-290560, Santa Barbara-176800, Santa Clara-835200, Santa Cruz-280960, and Ventura-1188480. For Riverside and San Bernadino Counties I estimate approximately 40% and 15% of those counties respectively lie within the confines of the study area. There fore, for the purposes of these calculations their acreages were deter mined to be 2300000 and 2000000 respectively. The six bay area counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara total 2426880 acres. The entire study area is comprised of - 20933600 acres. Thus, slightly more than 12% of the study area is located in the Bay area. 6 Note that the number of post offices is not an indication of settlement concentration. San Francisco has a population approaching 100000 in 1865, yet only one post office. 100

there along the coast and through the surf on the Rincon, across the

Oxnard Plain and up Simi Valley over the Santa Susana Pass into San Fer nando Valley, and finally over Cahuenga Pass in to the large Los Angeles

Basin. ·South of Los Angeles post offices are found along the coast, and along the former route of the Butterfield Stage, through vlarner's and

San Carlos Passes. A line still extends eastward from Los Angeles to

San Bernardino.

The settlement frontier in the San Francisco Bay region had been altered only a small amount during the five years of the Civil War, mov ing ever so slightly eastward and southward (Figure 18). ~>lith a signi ficant increase in the number of post offices serving this area, one suspects that interstitial filling is taking place with a concommitant increase in population density. Less arable, sloping land is no·w found to be more desireable than "fringe" land because of its proximity to other settled places, to transport centers, to market, and to source areas for supplies. The balance of the study area, meanwhile, is very sparsely populated with settlement concentrated in the vicinity of stage stops, which are nearly equally spaced throughout the length of coastal

California from San Francisco to San Diego. The settlement frontier has retreated in northwestern Los Angeles County due to: the failure of the u.s. Army camel experiment, the consequent re-assignment of military personnel, the re-location of civilian personnel, and the re-routing of the Butterfield Stage to a more northerly crossing of the continent

{Figure 3). 101

The first five years of the post Civil War period marked a dra matic shift in the locational pattern of post offices (Figure 19). Only one-quarter of the new offices (14 of 56 total) were established in the

San Francsico Bay area, seven of which were to the south and east of the

Bay, the other half along the main transport route west of the Bay and south of San Francisco. An additional eight post offices w~re establ ished in the lower Salinas Valley and around the periphery of Monterey

Bay, and three in the new mining areas of San Benito County. The balance of the new offices (31) were established along transport routes throughout the middle and southern counties.

In comparing the settlement ~rontier between the census of 1860 and 1870, most dramatic change is seen to occur- after the Civil War.

Whereas changes between 1860 and 1865 were minor, dramatic change took place between 1865 and 1870 (Figure 20). Large areas are settled south ward to the latitude of Monterey, leaving substantial vacant land only in Marin County (except along the shoreline), on Mt. Diablo in Contra

Costa County, the Diablo Range of Santa Clara County, and the Santa Cruz

Mountains north of Monterey Bay. The balance of the study area is very thinly settled with large contiguous settlement areas seen only in the

Los Angeles basin, the coastal valleys of San Luis Obispo County, and along the narrow beaches of Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties. Smaller settlement centers are seen 'salt and peppered' throughout much of the study area indicating that these are areas of embryonic agricultural development. Of special note is that the future suburban areas of Los

Angeles' sprawl to the northwest and southeast (Ventura and Orange Coun- 102

POST OFFICE DISTRIBUTION

1870

• = 1 post office

N • • •• • • • •

0 50 100

miles

Figure 19 103

·SETTLEMENT FRONTIER

1870

0 50 100 miles

Figure 20 104

ties respectively) are very late in being settled.

Years 1871-1880

The years between 1871 and 1875 experienced a dramatic increase

in the rate at which post offices were being established (Figure 10, and note in particular the change in slope for the years 1873 and 1875). In

this five year span eighty-three new post offices were established (nine were discontinued) to bring the total nuiTber of post offices in the

study area to 201 (see Table 14). Sixteen of the new post offices are

located in the environs of San Francisco Bay, most near water's edge, and a few to the hills on the eastern shore, but notably eighteen are

located inland from Monterey Bay, and arranged in two parallel linear strips (Figure 21). If we also note the arrival and extension of the railway into Salinas Valley, this linearity should come as no surprize.

Settlement, agricultural development, and an improved transport network go 'hand-in-glove.' But what does come as a surprize, is the linear pat tern in southern San Benito and Honterey Counties. This development is independent of the railroads, and an accident of local topography and soil fertility. Dry farming was initiated here, but rail tr~nsport. never did arrive.

Slow settlement growth appeared to be taking place in Santa Bar bara and San Luis Obispo Counties, but some significant growth appears in eastern Ventura County (Figure 22). More specifically this growth occurs in the Conejo and Santa Clarita Valleys. Both are also on new stage routes, the former displacing Simi Valley and Santa Susana Pass as 105

POST OFFICE DISTRIBUTION

1875

• = 1 post office

..• • • • 0 100 • 50 .. . miles •

Figure 21 106

SETTLEMENT FRONTIER

1875

0 50 100 miles

Figure 22 107

the favored coastal route of the California Stage Lines into Los

Angeles, and the latter to connect at Lyon's Station near present day

Newhall with the Inland Valley route. This route is responsible for the

narrow vertical strip in western Los Angeles County.

The period from 1871-1875 marked a few departures from what had

previously occured. In these five years all counties indicated growth

and spread of settlement. Additional post offices were divided approxi

mately equal about a line drawn between Santa Barbara and San Luis

Obispo Counties. In other words, more post offices were established in

the southern than in the northern counties signifying a change in the

population settlement dynamics.

The settlement frontier had extended itself only slightly in the

northern part of the study area, making minor intrusions into the Diablo

Range, the Santa Cruz Mountains and the interior of Marin County. Set

tlement progressed up the Salinas and San Juan Valleys astride the Gabi

lan Range. In the central portion of the study area, settled areas

amalgamated in the Peachtree Valley area of eastern Monterey County.

Upper Salinas Valley settlement is now contiguous with the settlements

of the coastal valleys of San Luis Obispo County, indicating an early

economic interaction between these two areas. Coelescence of small set

tlements are also noted throughout the south, most notable of which is

the one centered in Ventura County. Here settlement has extended up the

Santa Clarita and Ventura River Valleys. Some back-filling has occured

in the Los Angeles basin, where a denser settlement now exists, and many 108

small disaggregate settlements appear throughout the dry areas further south.

The years between 1876-1880 were not nearly so active in post office establishments as had been the previous five years. A total of fifty-four ·new·post offices were established, but since eighteen were discontinued, the net increase was only thirty-six. A large preponder ance of these new post offices were located in the future metropolitan counties of Los Angeles and San Diego. A few new post offices were located in the high valleys of inland Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo

Counties, while the balance were scattered throughout the northern coun ties showing no decided pattern (Figure 23). Prior to a discussion of the large immigration California experienced in the last decade of this study (1881-1890), it should be noted that post office distribution in the northern counties appears relatively homogeneous, and with the exception of a few small areas, postal facilities appear to be uniformly available. In the vicinity of Monterey Bay, and throughout the central region as far south as Los Angeles, post office distribution is widely spaced and ~ighly linear. Post Office distribution coincides with transport routes (both rail and stage) with few clusters to indicate distributed population. In the southern counties, however, the post offices are unevenly distributed. This indicates that the area was rapidly undergoing settlement, and the pattern suggests either that transportation was not a critical factor, or that transportation net works were highly developed and connected. Should the former be the case, we may then deduce that Southern California was a self sufficient 109

region even at this early date. In sum, between 1876 and 1880, the set tlement frontier (Figure 24) was nearly stationary. Little expansion is noted, with San Diego County providing the only noticab1e growth. The

Los Angeles area appears to have become more densely settled. Growth between 1870 and 1880 appears to have been concentrated in the earlier years of the decade.

Years 1881-1890

In spite of the veritable 'explosion' of post offices in the period 1881 through 1885, only one significant difference from previous years can be noted. All counties, except Los Angeles and San Diego, maintained their same growth rate as _determined by the numbers of new post offices established. Fully one-half of the new post offlces may be found in either of these two counties. The result (Figure 25) is that a near equal number of post offices existed in the Bay area (comprising less than 12% of the land area) as existed south of the Transverse

Ranges (48% of the land area). Post office density was essentially hom ogeneous from Monterey south, with each post office having a service area of 142 miles, but in the San Francisco Bay region that area was only thirty-five miles. Note too, clustering is evidenced in Los

Angeles County and throughout the· Bay area, but with few exceptions in other areas, post offices are located in a linear fashion and maintain a near constant interval.

Between 1880 and 1885 only minor changes in the settlement fron tier are noted north of San Luis Obispo County {Figure 26). Many of the 110

POST OFFICE DISTRIBUT10N

1880

• = 1 post office

• 0 50 100 mies • • ... ••

Figure 23 111

SETILEMENT FRONTIER

1880

0 50 100

miles

Figure 24 112

POST OFFICE DISTRIBUTION

1885

• = 1 post office

0 50 100

miles

Figure 25 113

SETTLEMENT FRONTIER

1885

0 50 100

miles

Figure 26 114 settlements of San Benito County have coalesced, and together with the settlements of southern Honterey County (Stone and Peachtree Valleys) and eastern San Luis Obispo County form a large, thinly settled amorp hous mass. The imposing Transverse Hountains remain devoid of any appreciable population, but the Santa Clarita Valley which extends across Ventura County is 'densely' settled. This area joins with smal ler and less densely settled areas of northern Los Angeles County. Set tlement originating in the Los Angeles basin now extends eastwards to encompass San Bernardino, and southward to embrace the entire northern tier of Orange County settlements. The remainder (and largest portion) of Orange County remains unsettled, but San Diego County is extensively settled. The settlement frontier has spread to include all the former small isolated nuclei of San Diego and Riverside Counties.

In the five years between 1886 and 1890, a total of 184 new post offices were established, while twenty-eight were discontinued to pro duce a net increase of 154 (see Table 14). As in the previous five year period, nearly half (70) were established in Los Angeles and San Diego

Counties. More specifically, fully half of those added in Los Angeles were established in a straight line extending from Hollywood toward San

Bernardino, while most the balance extend in a straight line from Los

Angeles civic center toward San Pedro and Long Beach (Figure 27). Most post offices established in San Diego County are near harbor or ocean.

In certain of the southern counties (Riverside, Orange and San

Bernardino) the number of post offices established between 1886 and 1890 115

POST OFFICE DISTRIBUTION

1890

• = 1 post office

0 50 100

miles

Figure 27 116

SETTLEMENT FRONTIER

1890

0 50 100

miles

Figure 28 117

more than doubled the previous number. More than two-thirds (120) of

the new post offices were founded in five southern counties (the afore

mentioned three, plus Los Angeles and San Diego). In contrast, only

seventeen new post offices were established in the six northern coun

ties, nearly all these on the shores of San Francisco Bay. The remain

ing forty-seven new post offices were selectively established throughout

the central counties. A few were founded on the north and south ends of

Monterey Bay, many were established in the heart of the Salinas Valley,

and others in a chain along the Santa Barbara and Ventura County coast

line. Less than a dozen were located off the major transportation

routes. For the most part these were vacation and health spas, or con

nected to extractive industries (as Jamesburgh, Posts, and Sur in Mon

terey County; Matilija, Ozena, and Lockwood in Ventura County).

By 1890, the settlement frontier in Hispanic California was near

oblivian, as it supposedly was at the national level. Few lowlands

remained unsettled within the study area. In the north vacant land was mostly restricted to the slopes of Ht. Diablo, the Diablo Range, the

Santa Cruz Mountains and portions of the Santa Lucia Mountains. In the

central part of the study area the Transverse Hountains of present day

Los Padres and Angeles National Forests are unsettled. The high Hojave and the low Colorado Deserts intrude into the study area in portions of

San Bernardino, Riverside, and San Diego Counties. These areas were 7 mostly settled as of 1890, because they were considered undesireable.

Finally, one anomalous unsettled area remained in Orange County. The huge Irvine Ranch remained unsettled well into the twentieth century. 118

Conclusions

In this chapter a series of maps depicting the general spread of

settlement through time has been presented (Figures 12, 14, 16, 18, 20,

22, 24, 26, and 28). A constant five year interval between maps was

used, but with the data bank any time interval could just as easily 8 sufficed. Utilizing post offices I have described hm·7 the populati·on

diffused, and how many post offices represent interstitial settlement.

A major contribution of this thesis has been to show the broad variety

of settlement diffusion rates between census years.

Until the 1870s, major sites of settlement were in the San Fran-

cisco Bay region, and from that date forward little change has been

noted in the settlement frontier north of Monterey. Southern Califor-

nia, meanwhile, was sparsely populated until the late 1870s and early

1880s when a discernable change began to take place. The settlement

frontier in the south began to expand. Though slow to spread at first, by 1880 the settlement frontier encompassed the future metropolitan areas of Los Angeles and San Diego. Rapid expansion followed throughout

the decade of the 1880s, such that by 1890 little land remained to be settled. The frontier had nearly expired.

7 Irrigation was not to be extensively developed in California until the twentieth century. 8 Five year intervals are sufficient to demonstrate the method without beconing 'bogged-down' in descriptive and explanitory prose. CHAPTER VI

Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations

In this thesis I have attempted to synopsize all known geo graphic data concerning the settlement of Hispanic California between

1848 and 1890; and because there exists a lack of locational informa tion, I have also suggested a different means by which we may be able to more accurately determine the leading edge of frcntier settlement for this area. I suggest that if we can determine the location of post off ices through time (that is, the periods of operation for specific post offices) we can deduce the pattern of settlement.

Summary and Conclusions

As we have seen in Chapter III, California's population has always been highly urban, and therefore in regards small scale maps- point specific. But, historic population maps of California are notori ous for using choroplethic maps based upon county units. A major defi ciency in trying to use these maps is that the county boundaries under-

119 120

went drastic, convulsive changes by fractionalization and amalgamation between 1850 and 1890, such that precious-little comparison can be made through time. Obviously, dot maps are one way to liberate population representation from county areal units, and to provide a means to make temporal comparisons.

In the past when producing dot maps of California, it has been the practice to distribute population homogeneously throughout the 1 county, because no better information was available. Inspection of post office locations displayed in Chapter V reveal that post offices are not randomly located, nor are they evenly distributed. Post office locations reveal distinct patterns in different areas, and for the most part that pattern is highly linearized. There are economic reasons for them being so, one being the desire of the Post Office Department to minimize the length of post office connecting routes. But since post offices reflect the location of population, logically we can deduce that population was also located in a linear pattern. Thus, new generalized maps of California's population were produced. The suggested procedure for doing so requires that the known population for Minor Civil Divisions

(point specific locations), and the post ?ffices associated with that population be deducted from the county total. The remaining population

(rural) for any given county is then distributed among the unassociated post offices for that county. The result is not ideal, but it is signi-

1 For example, see Warren s. Thompson, Growth and Changes in California's Population, Los Angeles, California, 1955. P• 12. 121

ficantly more useful, more accurate, and more representative of anything known heretofore.

Recall that the National Archives, library of Congress, and the

Federal Bureau of the Census have been combed, and representatives of these organizations have been interviewed. No data concerni.ng popula tion distribution in California during the period in question are avail able. The census was not collected by Bureau of Census employees, but by u.s. Marshals. Spatial or locational data were not standardized.

The popular term known by the enumerator for a specific locale was used by him. Areal delimitations did not exist except subjectively. No maps were produced by the census bureau fqr California (except for portions of San Francisco in 1890) prior to 1900.

Additional information has been brought to light concerning the

California census of 1850. Although the manuscript census for Santa

Clara and Contra Costa Counties were lost in transit to Washington, the aggregate totals for these two counties are now known. Census agents had reported 3502 persons resided in Santa Clara County, and 722 in Con tra Costa County. This provides sufficient information equivalent to that used for other counties in this thesis. By using these data in conjunction with published census data, and estimates of California's population for Congressional representation, one can calculate a reason able figure for San Francisco's 1850 population (21036). The value so determined is bounded by Bancroft's estimate {lower) and contemporary estimates of the census agents {higher). 122

Recommendations

Now that this thesis is nearing completion, a number of recommendations come immediately to mind. These can be classified as to data improvements, extension of the methodology to other frontier areas, and

to quantitative techniques which might be applied to the data in seeking answers to additional questions.

A major deficiency in the methodology employed in this thesis relates to the breadth of values attainable for the service population of a given post office. This range of values could be significantly diminished by utilizing a new data bank which was not available until 2 after completion of the analysis. S~lley's book includes not only post offices, but also postal branches which were not included in this thesis. Salley used archival material (postal records), which often included the location of a new post office relative to existent neigh- boring post offices. Use of Salley's book in conjunction with similar published material for other states may enable one to extend this form of study over a greater spatial extent.

Other frontier areas which appear to be amenable to this type of study include all trans-Mississippi frontiers, or subsets of same (i. e.

Great Plains, Pacific Coast, Great Basin, Southwest, etc.). Other fran- tier areas commonly considered parallel in development with the American

2 H. E. Salley, History of California Post offices: 1849-1976, Postal History Associates, Inc., La Mesa, California, 1977. 123

West might also be appropriate subjects, as for example Australia, South

Africa, Canada, Brazil and Siberia. For the latter, however, postal data are less accessible even if available to researchers in the u.s.

Entirely new sets of questions may be answered should quantitative techniques be applied. Particularly attractive at first, was a multiple regression technique (trend surface analysis) which graphically and analytically portrays underlieing tendencies in the gradient of settlement velocity. Coefficient of explanation provided by the fifth 3 order surface, however, was not particularly significant. With improved data bases (as provided by Salley) this procedure may be once again applied over broader regions with significantly greater success. A second technique which finds itself applicable to settlement studies is nearest neighbor analysis. Enlightening answers may be discovered about social intercourse in nineteenth century frontier areas with this technique. Were frontiersmen really isolated from the mainstream of Ameri- can life as advocated by Turner and Billington, or was adequate contact 4 provided as proposed by Zelinsky, Mitchell and Harris?

3rn particular, problems arose in the trend surface analysis because of shape and boundary problems. -

4All are prolific writers, and their themes are carried through out most their respective work. Indicative works include: Ray Allen Billington, The Far Western Frontier: 1830-1860, Harper-Torch Books, Harper and Row Publishers, New York, 1962; Frederick J. Turner, "The Significance of the Frontier in American History," American Historical Association, Annual Repo~ for 1893, Washington, D.C., 1894; Wilbur Zelinsky, The Cultural Geography of the United States~ Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1973; R. Cole Harris, "The Historical Geography of North American Regions," American Behavioral Scientist, v. 22, no. 1, October, 1978, pp. 115-130; and Robert Hitchell, "The Forma tion of Early American Culture Regions," (unpublished). BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abler, Ronald F. The Geography of Intercommunications: The Post Office and Telephone Systems in the United Sta~es. {Doctoral Disserta tion, Department of Geography, University of Hirinesota). Minneap olis, Minnesota. December, 1968. ·

Adams, Georgia Ellen. "Two Isochronic Haps of Settlement in Oregon." Yearbook of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers. v. 18. ·~ 1956. pp.36-41.

Alwin, John A. "Post Office Locations and the Historical Geographer: A Montana Example." Professional _GeograJ2.b~r. v. 26, no. 2. May, 1 9 7 4 • pp • 18 3-1 8 6 •

Bancroft, Hubert Howe. History of California. v. 5, 6, and 7. The History Company Publishers. San Francisco, California. 1888.

------. California Inter Pocula. The History Company Publishers. San Francisco, California. 1888.

------. California Pastoral: 1768-1848. The History Company Publish ers. San Francisco, California. 1888.

Beck, Warren A., and Ynez D. Haase. Historical -----Atlas of California. University of Oklahoma Press. Norman, Oklahoma. 1974.

Bigler, John. Governor's Annual Message, 1856. Sacramento, California. January 9, 1856.

Billington, Ray Allen. The Far Western Frontier: 1830-1860. Harper Torch Books, Published by Harper and Row Publishers. New York. 1962.

------. Westward Expansion: ! History of the American Frontier. Mac millan Company. New York, New York. 1967.

Borah, Woodrow w. "The California Mission." Ethnic Conflict in Califor nia History. Charles Wollenberg, ed. Tinnon-Brown Inc. Los

124 125

Angeles, California. 1970.

Brown, Ralph H. Historical Geogra£hy of the United States. Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc. New York. 1948.

Clarke, Thomas D. Frontier America: The Story £f. the West\omrd Hovement. Harper and Row. New York, New York. 1959.

Goforth, J. w. "Report of the Committee on Federal Relations." Appen dix to the (California State) Senate Journals, Document No. 11· Session £f. 1853. Sacramento, California. 1853.

Cullinan, Gerald. The Post Office Department. Frederick Praeger Publ ishers. New York, Washington, London. 1968.

Dasmann, Raymond F. The Destruction of California. Coll ier-Mad1illan Ltd. London. 1966.

Dodge, Stanley D. "The Frontiers of New England in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries and its Significance in American History." Papers of the Michigan Academy of Science, Arts and Letters. v.28. 1943. PP· 435-439.

Donohue, Helen D. The Movement of Population in and into California between June, 1848 and February, 1849 ~Occasioned .Qy _the Q.iscov £EY of Gold. (Master's Thesis, Department of History, Stanford University). August, 1946.

Durrenberger, Robert w., ed. California: Its People, lts Problems, Its frospects. National Press Books, Inc. Palo Alto, California. 1971.

------. Elements of California Geography. National Press Books. Palo Alto, California. 1968.

------. The Geography of California in Essays and Readings. Brewster Publications. Los Angeles, California. 1959.

------. Patte~ns ~ the Land. National Press Books. Palo Alto, Cali fornia. 1967.

Ehrenberg, Ralph E., ed. Pattern and Process: Research in Historical Geography. National Archives Conferences, v. 9. Papers and Procedings of the Conference on the National Archives and Research in Historical Geography. Howard University Press. Washington, D.C. 1975.

Eigenheer, Richard A. "The Frontier Hypothesis and Related Spatial Con cepts." California. Geographer. v. 14. 1973-1974. PP• 55-69.

Florin, John. The Advance of Frontier Settlement in Pennsylvania, 1638-1850: A Geographic Interpretation. (Master's Thesis, Depart- 126

ment of Geography, The Pennsylvania State University). University Park, Pennsylvania.· 1965.

Frickstad, Walter N. A Century of California Post Offices. A Phila telic Research Society Publication. Oakland, California. 1955.

------. Post Offices in Alameda, Contra Cost~ and Madera Counties: 1850-1951 (mimeographed). Oakland, California. Harch, 1953.

Fuller, Wayne Edison. The American Nail: Enlarger of the Common life. University of Chicago Press. Chicago, Illinois. 1972.

Gregor, Howard F. "Spatial Disharmonies in California Population Growth." Geographical Review. v. 53. 1963. pp. 100-122.

Guelke, leonard. "Frontier Settlement in Early Dutch South Atrica." Annals of the Association of American Geographers. v. 66, no. 1. March, 1976. pp. 25-42. · Guinn, J. M. "Early Postal Service of California." Transactions ---of the Historical Society of Southern California. v. 4. 1897.

Hafen, leRoy Rueben. The Overland Hail 1849-1869: Promoter ..2f Settle ment, Precursor of Railroads. The A. H. Clark Company. Cleve land, Ohio. 1926.

Harlow, Alvin Fay. Old Post Bags: The Story of Sending ~ ~etter in Ancient an~ Hodern Times. D. Appleton and Company. New York and London. 1928.

Haase, Adelaide R. Index ..2f Economic Haterial in _States of the United States-- California: 1849~19~~· Department of Economics and Sociology of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, D. c. Wash ington, D. C. December, 1908.

Harris, R. c. "The Historical Geography of North American Regions." American Behavioral Scientist. v. 22, no. 1. October, 1978. pp. 115-130.

Hazel, Joseph A. "Semimicrostudies of Counties from the Hanuscripts of the Census of 1860." Professional Geographer. v. 17, no. 4. July, 1965. PP• 15-19.

Hecht, Arthur. compiler. Records of the Bureau _9f the Second Assistant Postmaster General 1814-1946. The National Archives Preliminary Inventory No. 82. The National Archives and Records Services. General Service Administration. Publication 55-14 •. Washington, D. C. 1955.

Hecht, Arthur, and l-lilliam J. Heynee. Records and Policies of the Post Office Department Relating !Q Place Names. National Archives and Records Service. Reference Information Paper No. 72. General 127

Services Administration. Washington, D.C. 1975.

Hecht, Arthur, Frank J. Nivert, Fred w. Warringer Jr., and Charlotte M. Ashby (compilers). Records of the Post Office Department. National Archives Preliminary Inventory No. 168. The National Archives and Records Services. General Service Administration. Washington, D. c. 1967.

Hirshfeld, Donald. Personal telephone conversation. November 17, 1977.

Hornbeck, David. "A Population Map of California, 1798." California Geographer. V• 14. 1973-1974. PP• 52-54.

Hornbeck, David, and Mary Tucey. "Airiculture in Hispanic Californ-ia, 1850." California Geographer. v. 15. 1975. PP• 52-59.

Hunt, Rockwell D. ed. California and Californians. v.2. The Lewis Publishing Company. Los Angeles, California. 1926.

------. California in the Haking: Essays and Papers in California His tory. The Caxton Printers, Ltd. Caldwell, Idaho. 1953.

Kell, Elmer A. Early Travel and Communication in Southern California. (Master's Thesis, Department of History, University of Southern California). Los Angeles, California. May, 1940.

Kimble, John Haskell. The Panama Route 1848-1869. University of Cali fornia Press. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California. 1943.

Klose, Nelson. A Course Study Guide !Q the American Frontier. Univer sity of Nebraska Press. Lincoln, Nebraska. 1964.

Le Gear, Clara Egli. United States Atlas: A Lis~ of National State, County, City and Regional Atlases in the Library £f ~ngress and Cooperating Libraries in the United States. The Library of Con gress. Washington, D. c. 1953.

------. United States Atlases: A List ot National, Stat~, ~ounty, City, and _Regional Atlases in the Library of Congress. The Library of Congress. Washington, D. c. 1950.

Lowe, John H. The Post Office on the Hinnesota Frontier. (Master's Thesis, University of Minnesota). Minneapolis, Minnesota. Febru ary, 1950.

-McDougal, Jno. Governor's Annual Message, 1852. Vallejo, California. January 7, 1852.

McWilliams, Carey. Southern California: An Island on the Land. Pereg rine Smith Inc. Santa Barbara, California. 1973.

------. California the Great Exception. Peregrine Smith Inc. Santa 128

Barbara, California. 1973.

Meinig, David w. On the Margins of the Good Earth: The South Australian Wheat Frontier 1869-1884. Rigby Ltd., Seal Books. Adelaide, Aus tralia. 1970.

Mitchell, Robert C. "The Formation of the Early American Culture Regions." (Unpublished :Hanuscript).

Model ski, Andrew H. Railroad Maps ~ the United States: ~ Selected Annotated Bibliography of Original 19th Cent~ Haps in Geography and }fap Divisi~~ of the Library of Congress. The Library of Con gress. Washington, D. c. 1975.

Mood, Fulmer. "The Concept of the Frontier 1871-1898." Agricultural History. V• 19. 1945. PP• 24-30.

Nelson, Howard J. "Town Founding and the American Frontier." Yearbook of the A~sociation of Pacific Coast Geographers. v. 36. Presi dential Address to the 1973 Convention. Oregon State University Press. Corvallis, Oregon. 1974. PP· 7-23.

Morrison, Peter A. "The Role of Migration in California Growth." Cali fornia's Twen~ Hillion. Kingsley Davis and Frederick G. Styles, eds. Population Monograph Series No. 10. University of Califor nia Press. Berkeley, California. 1971. pp. 30-60.

Parsons, James J. "The Uniqueness of California." American .Qg_arterly. V• 7, no • 1. 1955. PP• 45-55.

Perret, Maurice E. "The Study of the History of Settlem£nt." Califor nia Geographer. v. 4. 1963. PP• 67-74.

Pred, Allan R. Urban Growth and the Circulatiio~ of Infor~~tion: The United States System of Cities 1790-1840. Harvard University Press. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 1973.

Rae, William Fraser. Westward~ Rail. Promontory Press. Reprint ed. New York. 1974.

Reith, Gertrude M. "Evolution of a California City: Ventura." Yearbook of the Assodation of Pacific Coast Geographers. .,. 24. 1962. PP• 15-19.

Rhoads, James B. Cartographic Archives Division. The National Archives. National Archives and Records Service. General Ser vices Administration. General Information Leaflet No. 26. 1976.

Rhoads, James B., and Charlotte M. Ashby. Cartographic Records .£f the Bureau of the Censu~. Preliminary Inventory No. 103. The National Archives. Washington, D. c. 1958. 129

Rischin, Moses. "Continuities and Discontinuities j_n Spanish Speaking California." Ethnic Conflict in California. Charles Wollenberg, ed. Tinnon-Brown Inc. Los Angeles, California. 1969. PP• 45-60.

Roske, Ralph J. Eve~yman's Eden: ~History of California. The Macmil lan Company. New York. 1968.

Royce, Josiah. California from the Conquest in 1846 !_Q_ the Secong_ Vig:i lance Committee lQ San Francisco. Reprint ed. Peregrine Publish ers, Jnc. Santa Barbara, California. 1970

Sabagh, Georges. ~Critical Analysis Q[ California Population Statis !ics ~ith .§.P.eciaJ Emphasis~ Census Data: 1850-1870. CHaster's Thesis, Department of Economics, University of CalifoFnia, North ern Division). Berkeley, California. 1943.

Salley, H. E. History of California Post Offices: 1848-1976. Postal History Associates, Inc. La Mesa, California. 1977.

Scheele, Carl H. ~Short. History of the MaiL Service. Smithsonian Institute Press. Washington, D.c. 1970.

Sheridan, Edwin M. History Q[ Ventura County, State of California, Its People and Its Resources. Harold HcLean Meier Publishers. Los Angeles, California. 1940.

Shortridge, James R. "The Post Office Frontier in Kansas." Journal of the West. v. 13, no. 3. July, 1974.

Smith, Jane F • "Settlement on the Public Domain as Reflected in Federal Records: Suggested Research Approaches." Pattern and Process, Research 1Q Historical Geography. Ralph E. Ehrenberg, ed. National Archives Conferences. v. 9. Howard University Press. Washington, D. c. 1975.

Stephanson, Richard W. Land Ownership Maps: ~ Checklist Q[ Nineteenth Century United States County Maps in the library of Congress. The Library of Congress. Washington, D. c. 1967.

------. Director, Geography and Map Division. The Library of Congress. Private Interview. Alexandria, Virginia. November 20, 1977.

Thompson, WarrenS., Vardan Fuller, and Richard Singleton. Growth and Change in California's Population. The Hayes Foundation. Los Angeles, California. 1955.

Thompson and West. History of Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties. Reprint ed. Howell-North Books Printery. Berkeley, California. 1961.

Turner, Frederick J. "The Significance of the Frontier in American His- 130

tory." American Historical Association. Annual Report for 1893. Washington, D. c. 1894. u. S. Bureau of the Census. The Seventh Census of the United States, Part L• . Washington, D. c. 1853.

------. The Seventh Census of the United States, Statistical View. Washington, D.c. 1853.

------. Population of the United States in 1860 Compiled from the Ori ginal Returns of the Eighth Census. Washington, D.C. 1864.

------. The Statistics of the Population~ the United States ••• ,The Ninth Census, Part l· Washington, D. c. 1872.

------. Statistics ~ the Population of the United States ~ the Tenth United States Census. Washington, D. c. 1883 •.

------. Report on Population of the United States ~ the Eleventh Cen sus 1890, Part l· Washington, D.C. 1895.

------. Census Reports Volume I. Twelfth Census of the United States Taken in the Year _!2_00. Population. Part l· United States Cen sus Office. Washington, D. c. 1901.

United States Post Office Department. United States Official Postal Guides. United States Government Printing Office. Washington, D. c. (Various years).

United States Postal Service. International Postage Rates and Fees. Publication 51. June, 1978.

Winther, Oscar o. Express and Stagecoach Days in California. Stanford University Press. Stanford, California. 1936.

Wollenberg, Charles, ed. Ethnic Conflict in California History. Tin non-Brown, Inc. Los Angeles, California. 1970.

Wright, Doris M. "The Making of Cosmopolitan California." California Historical Society ~uarterly. v. 19. December, 1940. pp. 323-343.

Wyman, Walker D., ed. California Emigrant letters. Bookman Associates, Publishers. New York. 1952.

Zelinsky, Wilbur. "An Isochronic Hap of Georgia Settlement, 1750-1850. 11 Georgia Historical Quarterly. v. 35. 1951. PP• 191-195.

------. The Cultural Geography £f the United States. Prentice-Hall P~blishers. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. 1973. MAPS REFERENCED

Austin H. Map of Marin County. A.L. Bancroft and Company Publishers. San Francisco, California. Scale:! mile= 1 inch. 1873.

Bancroft's Map o~ California and Nevada. ,H. H. Bancroft and Company, Publishers. San Francisco, California. Scale:24 miles = 1 inch. 1868.

Bromfield, Davenport. Official Map .Qi San Hat eo County. Schmidt Label and Lithographic Company. San Francisco, California. Scale:O.SO miles = 1 inch. 1894.

Cram, George F. California. Geo, F. Cram, Publishers. Chicago, Illi nois. Scale:42 miles = 1 inch. No date, circa 1887.

------. Cram's Superior Map of California. George F. Cram, Engraver and Publisher. New York. Scale:l9 miles = 1 inch. 1907.

Dinsmore, A. F. State pf California Compiled Jrom the Official Jecords of the General land Office: 1900. Scale: 12 miles = 1 inch. No publication data. Firemen's Fund. Autornoble -----Tour Book of California. Firemen's Fund Insurance Company. San Francisco, California. 1918.

Goddard, George H. Map of the State o( California. Britton and Hayes, Publishers. San Francisco, California. Scale:27 miles = 1 inch. 1857.

Hare, Lou G. Official'Map of Monterey County. w. B. '...ralkup, Publish ers. San Francisco, California. Scale:4 miles = 1 inch. 1898.

Jacobs and Rock. Map of Orange County. N.A. Ulm and H. J. Forgy, Publ ishers. Santa Ana, California. Scale:0.75 miles = 1 inch. 1908.

Johnson, A. J. Johnson's California, also Utah, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. A. J. Johnson, Publisher. New York. Scale:SO miles = 1 inch. 1864.

131 132

Lord, Clifford L., and Elizabeth A. Lord. Historical Atlas of the United States. Henry Holt and Company. New York. 1944.

Mallen, John. Map of the State of California showing the~· ~· Land Districts, the County Boundaries and what Townships pave been Sur veyed~ the~· ~· Government. Scale:24 miles = 1 inch. 1870.

Nusbaumer, o. L., and w. F. Boardman. Official Map of Alameda County. Tribune Publishing Company. Oakland, California. Scale:0.6 miles = 1 inch. 1889.

Paullin, Charles 0., and edited by John K. Wright. Atlas of the ~istor ical Geography £[ the United States. Published jointly by the Carnegie Institution of Hashington and the American Geographical Society of New York. 1932.

Post Route Hap. of the States of California and Nevada. Scale: 12 miles = 1 inch. December, 1876.

Map of Public Surveys in California and Nevada _!.2. Acconpany Report £f the Surveyor-General 1864-1865. Scale:18 miles= 1 inch. No publication data.

Map of Public Surveys in California to Accompan~ the Report of the United States Surveyor-General 1878. Scale:12 miles = 1 inch. No publication data.

Ranson, Leander. Map of the Country ~0 miles around San Francisco, Etc. L. Nagel Lithography. San Francisco, California. Scale:4 miles = 1 inch. 1860.

Riecker, Paul. Map£[ the County of Santa Barbara. Riecker, Huber, and Munch Publishers. San Francisco, California. Scale:0.5 miles = 1 inch. 1889.

Roberta's Desert Shop. New Railroad and Township Map of California 1880. Roberta's Desert Shop, Publishers. Randsburg, California. Scale:30 miles = 1 inch. No date.

Robinson, w. w. Map~ of Los Angeles. Dawson's Bookshop. Los Angeles, California. 1966.

Roeveen, v. J. Official Map of Los Angeles. Schmidt Label and Lithog raphy Company. San Francisco, California. Scale:1.5 miles= 1 inch. 1888.

Scarborough's Map of California. The Scarborough Company, Publishers. Indianapolis, Indiana. Scale:14.4 miles= 1 inch. 1911.

Tunisen H. c. Tunisen's New Railroad, Distance and Township Map of California and Nevada. H. c. Tunisen, Publisher. Chicago, Illi nois. Scale:13 miles = 1 inch. 1905. 133

u. s. Bureau of the Census. Statistical Atlas. United States Census Office. Washington, D. c. 1903.

U. s. Geological Survey. Santa Rosa, San Francisco, Sacramento, §an Jose, Santa Ana, San luis Obispo, Bakersfield, Santa ~Ionica. los Angeles, long Beach, San Bernadino, Santa Cruz, and San Diego. Individual maps. Scale 1:250000.

Wheat, Carl I. The Maps of the California Gold Region 1848-1857. The Grabhorn Press. San Francisco, California. 1942.

Whitney, J. D. Map _!Q. the Region Adjacent _!..2. the ~ of San Francisco. State Geological Survey of California. Scale:2 miles = 1 inch.

Wright, E. T. Official Map of the County Qf los Angeles. los Angeles Lithographic Company. los Angeles, California. Scale:1.5 miles = 1 inch. 1898.

Wrightt H. c. Expeditions of 1871 -1875 and 1878, under Order of th~ Secretary£[ War. U. s. Army. Scale:8 miles = 1 inch. 1883. Appendix A

California Census of 1890 By Minor Civil Division

134 135

Table A-1

1890 Californi~ Census by Minor Civil Division

County /Twp /City Population County /Twp /City Population ------~------~------Alameda 93864 Los Angeles 101454 Alameda 11165 Azusa 1851 Brooklyn 3108 Ballona 4492 Eden 7336 Cahuenga 1725 Hayward 1419 Calabasas 440 Murray 5937 Chat aqua 668 Livermore 1391 Redondo 603 Oakland 48682 Compton 2013 Ward 1 13379 Compton 636 Ward 2 7421 Downey 3538 Ward 3 6168 El Monte 2557 Ward 4 6403 Monrovia 907 Ward 5 2695 Fairmont 721 Ward 6 4341 Long Beach 1051 Ward 7 8275 Long Beach 564 Oakland 12040 Los Angeles 50395 Berkeley 5101 Ward 1 5318 Claremont 272 Ward 2 8627 Emeryville 228 Ward 3 7492 Golden Gate 788 Ward 4 5795 Lorin 743 Ward 5 2426 Peralta 774 Ward 6 3210 Piedmont 634 Ward 7 6855 Temescal 2032 Ward 8 6928 Washington 5596 Ward 9 3744 Los Angeles 2996 Contra Costa 13515 Garvanza 411 Township 1 5049 Ivanhoe 332 Crockett 301 Los Nietos 1926 Martinez 1600 Whittier 585 Pinole 340 Pasadena 7222 Port Costa 627 Pasadena 4882 San Pablo 367 Rowland 736 Valona 374 San Antonio 3269 Township 2 2414 Florence 750 Township 3 1590 San Fernando 1110 Concord 373 San Gabriel 1713 Pacheco 232 Alhambra 808 Township 4 1270 San Gabriel 737 Somersville 371 San Jose 5010 Township 5 3192 Pomona 3634 Antioch 635 Santa r1oni ca 2327 Santa Monica 1580 Soledad 2711 136

Table A-1 (continued)

1890 California Census by tiinor Civil Division ------County/Twp/City Population County/Twp/City Population ------~------South Pasadena 623 Orange 13589 Wilmington 2360 Anaheim 2917 San Pedro 1240 Anaheim 1273 Wilmington 687 Orange 2721 Orange 866 Marin 13072 San Juan 801 Bolinas 366 Santa Ana 4220 Nicasio 538 Santa Ana 3628 Novato 554 Ward 1 1061 Punta Reyes 770 Ward 2 601 San Antonio 337 Ward 3 710 San Rafael 7008 Ward 4 588 San Rafael 3290 Ward 5 668 Sausalito 2403 Tustin 1076 Sausalito 1334 Westminster 1854 Tomales 1096 Tomales 225 San Bernardino 25497 Allesandro 51 Monterey 18637 American 876 Ali sal 3767 Banning 201 Salinas 2339 Barstow 114 Bradley 1106 Bear Valley 39 Castroville 1682 Beaumont 403 Castroville 641 Cajon 115 Cholame 933 Calico 431 Gonzales 1104 Central 1134 Gonzales 359 Chino 236 Monterey 4677 Cloverdale 86 Monterey 1662 Colton 1716 Pacific Grove 1336 Colton 1315 Pajaro 1428 Cucamonga 416 Peachtree 1103 Daggett 277 San Antonio 1117 East Riverside 330 Soledad 1720 Etiwanda 231 King 253 Hawley 9 Soledad 217 Highland 666 Holcomb Valley 20 San Benito 6412 Ivanpah 11 Hollister 2700 Jurupa 216 Hollister 1234 Mary tin 134 San Benito 1129 Mill 446 San Juan 1112 Mission 327 San Juan 463 Mount Vernon 1001 Tres Pinos 1471 Nan tan 12 Needles 748 137

Table A-1 (continued)

1890 California Census by Hinor Civil Division

County/Twp/City Population County /Twp /City Population

Newberry 87 Escondido 1065 Ontario 1229 Escondido 541 Ontario 683 Fall Brook 415 Pass 184 Guejito 143 Perdew 131 Indio 191 Providence 119 Julian 481 Redlands 1981 Lake 225 Redlands 1904 Lakeside 150 Rialto 329 Linda Vista 191 Rincon 295 l1cCarthy 172 Riverside 4683 Mesa Grande 140 San Bernardino 4012 Mission 123 San Salvador 228 Monument 360 San Timoteo 330 Mount Fairview 254 Seven Oaks 22 Murietta 454 South Riverside 556 National 1353 So. Riverside 280 Oceanside 427 Summit 658 Otay 413 Temescal 276 Pala 215 Union 131 Palm 39 Paradise 125 San Diego 34987 J!aymaster 38 Alpine 284 Perris 602 Ames 71 Pinery 207 Aquango 23 Potrero 91 Ballena 320 Poway 406 Banner 150 San Diego 16159 Bernardo 100 Ward 1 1083 Bladen 82 Ward 2 2010 Borona 36 Ward 3 1924 Campo 418 Ward 4 1674 Capitan Grande 38 Ward 5 1726 Carlsbad 155 Ward 6 2477 Chollas 155 Ward 7 2346 Chula Vista 289 Ward 8 1916 Coahuilla 90 Ward 9 1003 Cottonwood 66 San Jacinto 1192 Delmar 306 San Jacinto 661 Deluz 105 San Luis Rey 434 Delzura 88 San Marcos 369 Descanso 1173 San Pasqual 327 Diamond 85 Santa Maria 394 El Cajon 562 South Hountain 61 Elsinore 475 South Oceanside 274 Encinitas 370 South San Jacinto 171 138

Table A-1 (continued)

1890 Cal{fornia Census by l-1inor Civil Division

County /Twp /Gi ty Population County/Twp/City Population

Spring Valley 281 s.t.o. City 2995 Strawberry 35 San Miguel 1663 Temecula 135 San Miguel 458 Tia Juana 103 San Simeon 931 Vallecitas 94 Cambria 288 Valley Center 265 Warner 130 San Hat:eo 10087 Wildomar 220 Township 1 1828 Winchester 365 Millbrae 243 Yuma 258 Township 2 2005 Township 3 3744 San Francisco 298997 Redwood 1572 District 29 7211 Township 4 1495 District 30 9932 Township 5 1015 District 31 26838 Pescadero 221 District 32 16588 District 33 13448 Santa Barbara 15754 District 34 12229 Township 1 1683 District 35 9748 Santa Barbara 5864 District 36 9081 Ward 1 346 District 37 11890 Ward 2 1397 District 38 12424 Ward 3 1735 District 39 13149 Ward 4 1534 District 40 14967 l~ard 5 852 District 41 18253 Township 3 1547 District 42 20975 Township 4 1045 District 43 15882 Santa Ynez 211 District 44 22046 Township 5 2330 District 45 14200 Lompoc 1015 District 46 11593 Township 6 630 District 47 18386 Township 7 1880 District 48 20157 Township 8 775

San Luis Obispo 16072 Santa Clara 48005 Arroyo Grande 3434 Almaden 1932 Arroyo Gr. 466 Alviso 967 Nipomo 215 Burnett 659 Cholame 806 Fremont 1536 Hot Springs 1524 Gilroy 3268 Paso Robles 827 Gilroy 1694 Morro 1817 Mayfield llOO Salinas 1728 Milpitas 1150 Templeton 308 Redwood 2978 San Jose 810 Los Gatos 1652 San.Luis Obispo 3359 San Jose 26508 139

Table A-1 (continued)

1890 California Census by 'Hinor Civil Division

------~------County /Twp /City Population County /T¥;•p /City Population

s. J. City 18060 Ward 1 1434 Ward 1 2909 Ward 2 1431 Ward 2 5323 Ward 3 1976 Ward 3 5764 Ward 4 755 Ward 4 4064 Santa Cruz 736 Santa Clara 6577 Soquel 2982 Santa Clara 2891 Saratoga 1330 Ventura 10071 Hueneme 2657 Santa Cruz 19270 Piru 174 Branciforte 2438 Saticoy 3371 Pajaro 4821 Santa Paula 1047 Watsonville 2149 Saticoy 218 San Lorenzo 2697 Ventura 3869 Boulder Ck. 489 Nordhoff 244 Felton 259 s. B. Ventura 2320 Santa Cruz 5596

Source: United States Bureau of the Census, Report on ~he Population of the United States at the Eleventh Census-1890, Part .!_, Washington, D.C. 1895. Table 5, Minor Civil Divisions of California. Appendix B

Hispanic Postal Communications

140 141.

In 1774 Anza set forth from Northern Mexico over the present site of Yuma, across the Colorado Desert, through San Gabriel to Monterey. There he and Father Palau laid plans for a sfring of missions, and for a mail service to connect them.

The mail route which became operational in 1775, extended overland from Monterey in Alta California, to Loreto in Baja California, from where it was connected by ship to San Blas on the Hexican mainland. 2 From there overland service was used to complete the delivery.

A soldier courier was dispatched from San Francisco the first of each month to ride the 1500 miles to Loreto, and collect and deliver the mail as he went. Later he would return by the same route to deposit the mail originating from Mexico and beyond. A regular schedule was maintained as to hour and day of arrival and departure at each mission, pueblo, and presidio with a one hour stop provided the courier at each sta- 3 tion.

Despite the fact that government, military, and mission mail was afforded free franking privileges, postal receipts averaged $700 per 4 annum in California for the decade 1790-1800.

1 Ralph J. Roske, Everyman's Eden: A History of California, The Macmillan Co., New York, 1968. p. 88-89. 2 J. M. Guinn, "Early Postal Service of California," Transactions of the Historical Society £i Southern California, v. 4, 1897. P· 18. 3 Guinn, p. 19. 4 Ibid. 142.

A generation later the California mail system declined to the point that under Hexican rule (1822-1846) external mail connections to

California became less regular. An increased number of sailing vessels traveled between Hexican and Californian ports, although on a highly irregular schedule, and consequently captured a good deal of the mail trade. The official bandos, reglamentos, pronunciamentos, and other important documents, however, required immediate dispatch, and so continued to be sent overland by t;he more reliable (though non-scheduled) 5 courier. Thus, Mexico maintained two ineffectual mail systems rather 6 than one efficient one.

Internal mail service in California was a much more efficient system, however. In Spanish times an independent local mail service interconnected the California missions using Indian runners as carriers.

Since the service operated only on an "as needed" basis, letters \-lere generally transmitted singly. The Indian runner normally traversed 60 to 70 miles per day, and for his service received an extra serving at 7 meal time upon receipt of the letter.

5 Guinn, P• 20. 6 Hubert Howe Bancroft, California Pastoral:l769-1848, The His- tory Company Publishers, San Francisco, California, 1888. P• 444.

As an example of the poor service provided by the sailing ships, a mail sack from California containing many important communications was found in Matzatlan, Mexico in 1843. It had been lieing there since 1837. 7 Guinn, P• 19. 143

After the Indian uprising of 1821, however, mail couriers were always soldiers, because Indians lvere generally mistrusted. Twice a week a courier was dispatched in either direction between missions, starting from San Diego in the south and San Francisco in the north.

Letters were thus conveyed throughout the mission chain, with each fur- 8 nishing its share of horse and messenger.

In 1836 after the demise of the mission system, governmental orders established a firm monthly schedule for mail departures. A soldier carrying the mail was to leave Monterey at 8 P.M. on the seventh of each month. He was to be relieved at Santa Barbara, and subsequent relief was to be provided at San Gabriel. The last rider carried the mail to San Diego. Hails were to leave San Diego for the northern settlements at 5 A.H. on the twenty-second of each month. The riders were to keep on schedule according to a posted schedule for arrivals and departures at each halting place, and the populace was to be notified so 9 as to have their letters ready for posting.

Further north of Monterey the service was particularly poor. In writing to the Hinister of War, Governor Vallejo stated:

8 Elmer A. Kell, Jr., Early Travel and Communication in Southern California, (Unpublished Haster's Thesis, Department of History), Univ ersity of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, Hay, 1940. P• 30. Also see Hubert Howe Bancroft, History of California, v. 7, The History Company Publishers, San Francisco, California, 1888. P• 142-143.

9Hubert Howe Bancroft, California Pastoral: 1769-1848, P• 442-443. The administration of the post office in.this department is an unknown thing; there is no regularly established mail service. The mails are exposed to all those who choose t~ tamper with them, and offenders have no fear of punishment. 0

Communications under American Hilitary Control

In 1846 with the Bear Flag Revolt, and the arrival of American

Military troops, the Mexican m~il system was disbanded. For a while the

American Military operated mails from San Francisco (Yerba Buena) northward to Sonoma, New Helvetia, San Rafael, Sauselito, and other points east and north of San Francisco Bay, but not until the spring of 1847, when a new mail arrangement went into effect, could civilians avail 11 themselves of service.

Quartermasters at the posts served as postmasters. Where there was no military post, the alcade received, delivered, and forwarded the mails. The arrangement was for military purposes; but as there was no other mail service in the country, the governor ordered that the citiz- 12 ens be accomodated with free delivery.

The service was performed on horseback by a party consisting of two soldiers \'lhich started every other Honday from San Diego and San

Francisco and met at Dana's Ranch located at Nipomo, near San Luis

11 Ibid, and Bancroft History of California, v. 7, P• 453n. 12 Bancroft, California Pastoral: 1769-1848, P• 444. 14)

Obispo, where they exchanged pouches and started the return trip. Thus, a round trip was accomplished in a fortnight. In May, 1849 the service was extended to include the northern territories of Sonoma, Sutter's

Fort, and Stockton. This local service was augmented from time to time 13 with an occasional messenger to or from Washington.

1 •

13 Kell, P• 30