HISTORY Q} SAN MATEO COUNTY FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES WITH A DESCRIPTION OF ITS RESOURCES AND ADVANTAGES; AND THE BIOGRAPHIES OF ITS REPRESENTATIVE MEN /‘:1 ILLUSTRATED COMPILED AND WRITEN BY PHILIP W. ALEXANDER CHARLES P. HAMM BURLINGAME. CALIFORNIA | 9| 6 PRESS OF BURLINCAME PUBLISHING CO. Burlingame. CaliIornia FOREWORD IN the following brief historical sketch are shown only the main phases of San Mateo County’s growth, as it would be impossible to portray in detail all the events of historical importance which have occurred in the county during the last one hundred and forty years, since the white man first set foot upon peninsular soil. First were the Indians already in loose and scattered possession of the soil; then the Spanish explorers, followed by the Jesuit and Fran ciscan fathers. Next came the great land grants or ranchos with titles from the Spanish crown itself. These in turn were divided into lesser estates consisting, nevertheless, of thousands of acres apportioned among various rich men with their stately country seats. The last stage of development of the county is now at hand,—that in which the land is divided into its final segments consistingr of smaller country estates and lots of the suburban home dweller. ACKNOWLEDGMENT The chronicling of the events which have transpired in a com munity such as San Mateo County, is a task that requires the cooperation of many. Assistance of various kinds has come from many sources, making it possible to compile this work. The publish ers wish to express their appreciation to the following, for their cooperation:—Henry P. Bowie (historical data); Frank Eksward Secretary—Manager, San Mateo County Development Association, (general data upon entire county); Ed. McGettigan, Secretary-Man- ager Redwood City Chamber of Commerce (article on Redwood City) ; Davenport Bromfield (article on the subdivision of the County into its various tracts); E. E. Cunningham (article on the history of South San Francisco); Joseph S. Hunter (article on Hunting and Fishing in County); Rev. _]as. A. Grant of Burlingame (article on Catholic Church in County); Rev. VV. A. Brewer, Burlingame; H. C. Tuchsen, Redwood City; D. A. Raybould, San Mateo; and T. T. \Viseman, San Mateo. Most of the photographs of the residences of the county, including the frontispiece, were taken by R. K. Crawford of Burlingame. Al most all the portraits in the Biographical section were taken at the Von Oorschot Studio, San Mateo. Many of the cuts and photographs, illustrating the historical section were furnished by the Tourist Association of Central Cali fornia through the courtesy of Mr. E. D. Moore, its Managing Di rector; and by the Peninsula Industrial Commission, through the courtesy of its manager, Mr. Ed. T. McGettigan. TABLE OF CQNTENTS Part One (‘H.\P. Spanish Colonial Activity ............................................................... ........... ..I English l\'avigators Visit Peninsula ...................................................... .11 Indians of County ............................................................... ..................... ..III Growth of County ............................................................... ................... ..IV Early Days of San Mateo and Redwood City ...................................... ..\' Mexican Land Grants in San Mateo County .................................... ..\/I Catholic Church in County ............................................................... ... ..\'II Early Days in Colma Region .............................................................. ..VIII Some Old Resorts of County ............................................................... ... ..IX Period of Large Landed Estates .............................................................. ..X Suburban Development Period ............................................................ I San Mateo County: Today and Tomorrow .................................... ..XII Bayside Cities of County .................................................................... ..XIII County Real Estate Values ............................................................... ..XIV ClimateFloriculture of County in County ............................................................... ........................................................................ ................... ..XVI County’s Physical Characteristics .................................................... ..XVII Highway System of County .............................................. ............ ..X\-'III Coastside of County ............................................................... ............. ..XIX San Mateo County Development Association .................................. ..XX Schools of San Mateo County ............................................................ ..XXI Transportation Facilities ............................................................... ..... ..XXII Hunting and Fishing ............................................................... ......... ..XXIII Part Two Biographies of Representative Men .............................................. ..p 113 Part Three Industries ................................................................ ................................ ..p 195 Part Four Beautiful Residences ............................................................... ........... ..p 205 INTRODUCTION AN MATEO in its soft, musical pronounciation, still voices mem ories of the past, when the Franciscan fathers were winding their chain of missions through the Californias. - San Mateo—the name itself is of Spanish origin and emblematic of the nation which laid the foundation of this state. Translated, it means, “St. Matthew,” which shall serve to remind us of the faith of the Franciscans which carried them across the seas to distant Spanish America, there to serve their God and King. The history of California began with the first white man who set foot upon the soil, and has been interwoven by the two distin guishing elements always prominent in early Spanish colonization,— the military and the ecclesiastical. So it was in that portion of the state which later became San Mateo County; first came the men-at arms hewing the way, followed by the priests and mission builders. On October 9, 1776, came the foundation of the mission in San Francisco—Mission Dolores. During the next year, on January 18, 1777, the Mission of Santa Clara was built. It was a long day’s jour ney on horseback between these last two missions. Almost the entire route lay in what is now San Mateo County. There was no road, or even a path in those days, to guide travelers from the cordial hospi tality of the Presidio and Mission of San Francisco to the assured welcome waiting them at Santa Clara Mission. These two missions were but a small part of the unbroken chain of Franciscan missions extending up the coastside of California from San Diego to San Francisco—a space of six hundred miles. There are twenty-two in all, thus dividing up the distance between each station in the chain to an average length of thirty miles. The names of these missions, from south to north, with dates of foundation are,—San Diego (1769); San Luis Rey (1798); San Antonio de Pala (1816); San Juan Capistrano (1776); San Gabriel (1771); San Fernando (1797); San Buenaventura (1782); Santa Bar bara(1786); Santa Ines (1804) ; La Purissima (1787); San Luis Obispo (1772); San Miguel (1797); San Antonio de Padua (1771); Soledad (1791); San Carlos or Carmel (1770); San Juan Bautista (1797); Santa Cruz (1791); Santa Clara (1777); San Jose (1797); San Francisco de Asis (1776) ; San Rafael (1817) ; and San Francisco Solano (1823). 12 HISTORY OF SAN MATEO COUNTY Although the foundation of the missions at San Francisco and Santa Clara was the beginning of the development of the county. it is really in Europe where we must look for the first cause. In fact all the stirring and picturesque history of this period can be traced back to the difterent phases of political and religious activity in old Spain, rising to a fever heat in the court of Charles III. Thus the history of San Mateo County really began in about the middle of the eighteenth century in Spain, when that nation, under Charles III, the greatest of the Spanish Bourbons, experienced a wide spread national awakening from a period of disgraceful lethargy, into an era of prosperity, enlightenment and reform. PART ONE SPANISH COLONIAL ACTIVITY HE rehabilitation was keenly felt throughout the Spanish col onies, particularly in Mexico and the Californias, all of which were ably administered by Jose Galvez, the great agent of the Spanish crown in America, whose zeal and enthusiasm in carrying out his sovereign’s policy of expansion are matters of historical comment. For a century and a half, Spanish statesmen had been intending to colonize the Californias. Their plans included possession of Mon terey Bay, formerly discovered by the Spanish navigator Yizcaino. They considered this harbor the finest on the Pacific Coast, and de sired it for the use of their ships engaged in the Philippine trade. \\'ith this purpose in view, Charles III hastily dispatched a num ber of veteran Spanish regiments to America with instructions to Jose Galvez to commence an active campaign. \\'hen they landed at Yera Cruz, Galvez assigned them to posts of duty along the frontier. One of these, a dragoon regiment bearing the name of “Espana,” contain ed a company under a captain who was destined to play an important part in the fulfillment of the Spanish monarch’s plan for the settle