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THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT of LAKE MERRITT, OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA: 1852-1907 a Thesis Presented to the Graduate Faculty of California S

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THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT of LAKE MERRITT, OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA: 1852-1907 a Thesis Presented to the Graduate Faculty of California S THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF LAKE MERRITT, OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA: 1852-1907 A Thesis Presented to the Graduate Faculty of California State University, Hayward In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in History By John Heinitz May, 1992 THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF LAKE MERRITT, OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA: 1852-1907 By John Heinitz Approved: Date: 10~cx:::;,u~~ \2 ~ 'ttz • ~- ~;,fI-,' .' ... .. , PREFACE The city of Oakland has a wonderfully exciting, diverse history with which many of its citizens are scarcely familiar. For example, the Lake Merritt that many Oakland citizens currently enjoy has an interesting history that was more contentious than one would probably expect. By studying the early development of the lake, a person can better appreciate the enjoyment the lake and its surrounding park offer today. For instance, Lake Merritt was once the depository of much of the sewerage of the city, a giant cesspool that, especially during low tides, left mounds of unsightly, malodorous garbage on the muddy shores. Ambitious civic leaders proposed a project of building retaining walls around the outer perimeter of the water, dumping the silt from the bottom of the lake behind the walls, and building a boulevard on top of the reclaimed land. This project provoked vehement debate regarding the high cost of constructing a boulevard that many believed to be a luxury rather than a necessity. Oakland's citizens are currently grappling with similar issues regarding Lake Merritt and the city's park systems. iii iv How much money, if any, should the city spend on improvements that some see as ornamental or luxurious, rather than essential? What type of improvements are best for the lake and its surrounding area? In this time of financial constraints, where would the money come from for maintaining or altering the current situation? How do the political circumstances within the city government support or detract from any proposed changes? By studying the history of Oakland, and, in this instance, that of Lake Merritt, a person realizes that the people of Oakland can enjoy the lake and its surrounding area today because voters, almost one hundred years ago, worked through the questions and began the process of saving and improving the lake for future use. We have a responsibility to future generations of Oakland citizens to continue that process. People who are interested in pursuing their study of Oakland's rich history have a great deal of help available to them, especially with the resources and help of the Oakland Public Library system, primarily the Oakland History Room in the main library. Not only does the library have a great deal of sources for study, but the librarians are helpful and diligent in their efforts to assist the library's patrons. I also enjoyed the use of the resources and the staff at the v Oakland City Clerk's office, which stores the original city council minutes. I am also indebted to Dr. William Bullough and Dr. Richard Orsi. Their careful readings of the drafts, their guidance in directing my study, their helpful suggestions, and their unfailing support for my efforts taught me a great deal about the study of history and the sharing of my findings through writing. I also give my thanks to my friends and colleagues at Zion Lutheran Church and School, who have helped me in a variety of ways, not least being their continued friendship and support. Most importantly, I thank my wife Ruth, whose encouragement and assistance enabled me to undertake and complete this project. TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE iii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. ................. vii CHAPTER I. BEGINNINGS . 3 II. THE PROGRESSIVE AND CITY BEAUTIFUL MOVEMENTS .26 III. THE ELECTION OF 1892 .60 IV. THE ELECTION OF 1898 .94 V. THE ELECTION OF 1904 129 VI. THE ELECTION OF 1907 159 VII. EPILOGUE 175 BIBLIOGRAPHY 180 Appendices A. THE DEED OF 1891 FROM THE OAKLAND WATERFRONT COMPANY TO THE CITY OF OAKLAND ..... .. 190 B. THE DEED OF 1874 FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA TO THE CITY OF OAKLAND .... .. ..... 192 C. THE AGREEMENT OF 1890 BETWEEN PROPERTY OWNERS AND THE CITY OF OAKLAND. ........ .194 D. THE LETTER FROM THE COMMITTEE OF EIGHT: 1898 .. 199 E. LETTER ABOUT CENTRAL PARK; 1904 .... 203 vi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 1 Map of Oakland by Julius Kellersberger, 1853 2 Oakland's Founding Trio and Dr. Samuel Merritt 57 Map of Oakland c. 1871 58 Lake Merritt, Along Lakeshore Avenue c. 1880 59 Map of Proposed Boulevard Around Lake Merritt, 1890 93 Map of Oakland, 1893 127 Map Showing Locations of Proposed Improvements, 1904 128 Map of the Controversial Sather Tract, 1904 158 Map Showing Locations of Proposed Improvements, 1907 174 Mayor Frank K. Mott and Mayor John L. Davie vii """.~""="=.,. ",="b$"=~....~--J¥ .. 'J Map of Oakland, by Julius Kellersberger, 1853 Mel Scott, The San Francisco Bay Area: A Metropolis in Perspective 2d ed. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985), 34. 1 Horace W. Edson Adams Andrew J. Carpentier Moon Dr. Samuel Merritt (Photographs courtesy of Oakland Public Library) 2 CHAPTER 1 BEGINNINGS Lake Merritt today is the pride of Oakland. Located in the heart of the city, it is often described as "the jewel" in Oakland's crown. The lake's beginnings, however, were much more humble and contentious than one would expect. Oakland developed around a natural tidal slough much larger than the current Lake Merritt. Fed by three creeks, which wound through salt marshes to their common destination, the slough was actually an arm of the bay's estuary. Because the histories of the lake and the city are intertwined, a brief review of the early development of both Lake Merritt and Oakland is necessary. The native people living in the East Bay region were hunters and gatherers who lived "amidst plenty." They fished, hunted, gathered acorns from the numerous oak trees, harvested a variety of native plants, and rowed their canoes on the slough and out on the bay itself. The Spanish called them costefios, meaning "the coastal people," the origin of the most common name given to the natives living in this 3 4 area, "Costanoans." Descendents of these people prefer, however, the name "Ohlone." An Ohlone village was located in the area now known as Trestle Glen, which the earliest American settlers named Indian Gulch. When the Spanish colonizers established Mission San Jose in 1797, the Ohlones came under their influence. By the time the Europeans became directly involved in settling the area known today as Alameda County, most of the remaining Indian population was concentrated near the mission. 1 Europeans' involvement in the area surrounding the tidal slough that is now Lake Merritt began primarily with Luis Peralta. Under the authority of the King of Spain, Peralta received a grant of land when he retired from service in the Spanish military in 1820, a common practice to reward loyal service. Such gifts took the place of pensions and somewhat made up for the trials of serving in far-away places, where a soldier's pay was sometimes slow in arriving, if it arrived at all. 2 The Spanish governor of California, Don Pablo Vicente de Sola, made the land grant to Don Luis Maria Peralta on October 18, 1820, when Peralta was sixty-six years old and lBeth Bagwell, Oakland: The Story of a City (Novato: Presidio Press, 1982), 5-6. 2Ibid., 10. 5 the father of nine grown sons and daughters. The grant consisted of eleven square leagues, or about 44,800 acres, of land, making it one of the largest grants in California. It extended approximately from the bay's shore to the top of the hills, and from San Leandro Creek to Albany Hill. Known as Rancho San Antonio, it included the future sites of Oakland, Piedmont, Berkeley, Emeryville, Alameda, Albany, and part of San Leandro. Since the King of Spain gave Peralta the land prior to Mexico's independence in 1821, the land grant was also one of the oldest grants in California. 3 Luis Peralta did not live on the ranch himself, however. He had previously received a grant of land near Santa Clara and had established his home in the town of San Jose. The land of the Rancho San Antonio remained unchanged, therefore, until his sons began their involvement in that area in the 1830s. In August 1842, Peralta divided his northern ranch among his four sons who soon developed homes on their land. He gave Ignacio the southern portion of the grant, from San Leandro Creek to approximately where Seminary Avenue is today; Antonio received the land from Seminary Avenue to the San Antonio Slough (now Lake Merritt); Vicente received the part from the southern portion of the slough 3DeWitt Jones, ed. "Oakland Parks and Playgrounds," typescript (Oakland: The Oakland Parks and Recreation Departments, 1936?), 3; Bagwell, Oakland, 10. 6 along the bay's shore to the northern part of today's Oakland (including the site of the original town of Oakland); and Jose Domingo obtained the northwestern section of the orginal land grant, which included the present sites of Berkeley and Albany.4 The Gold Rush in 1849 and the resulting increase in population shattered the Peraltas' tranquil lives on their estates. Early settlers who squatted on the Peraltas' lands in the wake of the Gold Rush displayed contrasting attitudes toward the land's ownership. Those who first settled along the eastern shore of the San Antonio Slough believed that the Peraltas' ownership of the land was legal and binding. The people who settled on the other side of the slough, however, assumed that the land belonged to the American government and was thus public domain and open for settlement.
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