Union City History Collection A collection of articles on Union City history By Timothy Swenson Copyright 2005 Copyright 2005 - Timothy Swenson All Rights Reserved Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 You are free: - to copy, distribute, display, and perform the work - to make derivative works Under the following conditions: Attribution. You must give the original author credit. Noncommercial. You may not use this work for commercial purposes. Share Alike. If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under a license identical to this one. For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work. Any of these conditions can be waived if you get permission from the copyright holder. Your fair use and other rights are in no way affected by the above. 2 Three Towns - Early Names for Alvarado There are four town names that run through the history of Union City; New Haven, Union City, Alvarado and Decoto. The Decoto area of Union City has always been named Decoto. How the names of Union City, New Haven and Alvarado apply to the western part of town is a little less clear. In September of 1850, John Horner made available a number of plots close to a landing that he built in a bend of Alvarado Creek. He named the town Union City, after a steamer he owned called “Union.” In December of 1850, about a half mile east of Union City, Henry Smith bought some land and founded the town of New Haven, named after his home town of New Haven, CT. What is not all too clear is how the name Alvarado came to be associated with both towns. Currently the whole area is known as the Alvarado district of Union City. A number of the “old timers” remember growing up in the area and calling it Alvarado. This gives the impression that Union City and New Haven merged to form Alvarado. Looking over the published histories gives a slightly different story. The “History of Alameda County” by Wood (1883) mentions New Haven and Alvarado in almost the same paragraph. In the 1928 “History of Alameda County” by Merrit, mentions “New Haven, since named Alvarado.” The 1905 “History of Washington Township” published by the Washington Township Ladies Club mentions “Union City had a rival in Alvarado .. [which] was first called New Haven.” The 1878 Thompson & West Atlas shows an etching of “Union City Warehouse and Landing at Alvarado,” which was owned by James Barron. An 1875 bill of lading from James Barron says only “Union City Landing” and no mention of Alvarado. The most recent history of Washington Township, written by John Sandoval, says “in one section of enactments the village is called New Haven, and in a later section it is referred to as Alvarado.” Sandoval is talking about the enactments that were used to create Alameda County and to designate the first County Seat. In researching this subject, I’ve found that period maps can tell a lot, although they are not 100 percent correct. The 1878 Thompson and West atlas shows only Alvarado for the area. An 1880’s map shows both Alvarado and Union City. The same is true for both an 1873 Topographic map, a 1906 Navigational chart and a 1929 map of the East Bay. The maps seem to point to Union City being distinct from Alvarado, even up to the 1930’s. Luckily, I have come across an article that seems to have the definitive answer. The article “New Haven and the Two Alvarados” by J.N. Bowman, was published in 1933 in the California History Magazine, the official magazine of the California Historical Society. The article is well footnoted and heavily researched. Mr. Bowman details the same about Union City and New Haven, as documented above. He then goes on to talk about two San Francisco lawyers, Strode and Jones, that 3 purchased a plot of land just to the south of both Horner and Smith, in September 1852. They named the town Alvarado, after Juan B. Alvarado, a Mexican governor of California. The town may not have been more than just a name as there was no serious development of this area. On March 15, 1853, when creating Alameda County, Henry Smith introduced a bill to the state Senate locating the County Seat as New Haven and the Seat of Justice at Alvarado. It is known that the first meeting of new Alameda County officials was held in Smith’s store in New Haven, but the meeting minutes dated April 11, 1853 show the name Alvarado. In a foot note, Bowman states that Mr. Jones was an important political player in the state and the naming Alvarado as the Seat of Justice might have been a compromise to get his support for Smith’s bill. Records show that the first use of “Alvarado, formerly New Haven” was on August 29, 1853 on survey maps and in deeds starting on October 3, 1853, where the double designation was used well into the 1860’s. It would appear that the general use of Alvarado would apply to the area covered by New Haven, Alvarado and Union City, but map makers were making a distinction between the “new” Alvarado and Union City. First Presbyterian Church of Alvarado Just down from Union City Blvd on West Horner St. is an old church. The major part of the church is the second church for the Presbyterian Church of Alvarado, built in 1902. The first church building was built in 1860. In the late 1850’s, there were no churches in Alvarado. Church services were held in the second story of Mr. Horner’s store. Mrs. Charlotte Cornell and Mrs. Julia Thompson organized a Sunday school in the public school house. Soon, both decided that a church was needed in Alvarado. As Mrs. Cornell was Presbyterian and Mrs. Thompson was a Methodist, they both struck off to build their separate churches. Mrs. Cornell contacted the Pastor of the Centerville Presbyterian Church, Reverend William Wallace Brier. The Centerville Presbyterian Church was the first Presbyterian Church in Washington Township, and of which, Mrs. Cornell was a member. Rev. Brier promised to help build the Alvarado church, and committed $500 from the Church Erection Fund to the project. It was up to them to find the land and the rest of the funds. A Mr. Jones was visiting Mr. Cornell’s General Store, when Mr. Cornell asked if he would be willing to donate part of his land for the church. Mr. Jones agreed, but only if the landowner, Mr. Murphy, would release him of his mortgage. Mrs. Cornell traveled to San Jose to see Mr. Murphy to secure the land. Mr. Murphy agreed and the deed was written up so that the land belonged to the Synod of the Presbyterian Church of San Jose. 4 To generate the rest of the funds needed to build the building, Mrs. Cornell organized a festival. Since the festival was to have as many people attend as possible, Mrs. Cornell had to sell the new church as benefiting all of Alvarado by bringing respectability to the town and increasing property values. The festival was held in a large brick warehouse, decorated with bunting and evergreens, and lighted by chandeliers. Everyone pitched in by contributing various cooked items, including pies, cakes, biscuits, pickles, preserves, and so on. They also sold books, which they had purchased in San Francisco, for a small commission. Admission was only 50 cents. After the final tally, the festival generated $600 for building the church. A day after the festival, a schooner landed in Alvarado with a load of lumber and other building material. Mrs. Cornell and her group thought that a benefactor from San Francisco was making a large donation to their cause. Much to their disappointment, the load was for building the Methodist church. Soon the Presbyterian Church was built and was ready for furnishing. Mrs. Cornell traveled to San Francisco to purchase carpet, a sofa, 2 chairs, and other furnishings. A friend from San Francisco donated lamps. The bell came from a foundry in Brooklyn (Oakland). Mr. Cornell sent the foundry $50 for the bell. The foundry operator, with the help of some of his friends, contributed $100 toward the bell, and sent the church a bell costing $150. Mr. Buel, the agent of the Bible Society, furnished a pulpit bible. Nathaniel Gray donated a number of hymnbooks. Other friends donated various books for the Sunday school. The church was dedicated in May, 1861, by the Rev. Dr. Hamilton of Oakland, with him preaching the sermon and Rev. Brier and others assisting in other duties. In 1902 the present building was built, just to the west of the original church. The original church was soon torn down. A dedication was held for the new building on September 21, 1902. At the time, the Rev. V. Chalmers Gunn was the Pastor. The Elders were Andrew Kerr and James Logan. The Directors were John R. Buchannon - President; James Logan - Secretary; Andrew Kerr, James McKeown, and Mrs. S. H. Granger. The Custodian of the Building Fund was I. V. Ralph, a local banker. 5 Prominent families from Alvarado have been associated with the Presbyterian Church of Alvarado, such as the names McKeown, Logan, Granger, Farley, and Jung. Union City City Halls When Union City incorporated in 1959, there was no City Hall. The City Council was meeting at Barnard Elementary School, but someplace was needed for the City Administrator to work. It was decided that the first City Hall would be the Alvarado Firehouse, located at 3841 Smith St.