Santa Clara County, CA History Transcribed by Kathy Sedler This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor, OR the legal representative of the submitter. All persons donating to this site retain the rights to their own work. Pen Pictures From The Garden of the World or Santa Clara County, California, Illustrated. - Edited by H. S. Foote.- Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1888. DURING the War of the Rebellion, Santa Clara County evinced her willingness to stand by the Union, both with money and men. Of the former, many thousands of dollars were contributed and placed at the disposal of the Sanitary Commission. Of the latter, more volunteers were tendered than required, and many crossed the mountains in order to enlist under the old flag. Those who enlisted here were either retained in the State or sent to Arizona and New Mexico. There was no draft ever ordered in California to secure her proportion of troops, while there was always a reserve, in the volunteer companies organized under the State laws, more than sufficient for any emergency that might arise. California was far from the center of government, with a long line of exposed sea-coast, and, in case of foreign complications, subject to attack. For these reasons it was necessary that her people should remain at home to protect their own territory. This was done to a great extent, although each regiment, as it was organized, understood that it was to be sent East to take position at the front. Many men from Santa Clara County, not being able to enlist at home, went to San Francisco and other cities where the quota was not filled, in order to be enrolled. These were credited to other counties. Of those who enlisted from Santa Clara County we have record of the following: COMPANY C, FIRST REGIMENT,�Infantry. Organized in San Jose, June, 1861. Reorganized as veterans at Las Cruces, New Mexico, November 29, 1864. This company was on duty in New Mexico, operating in the heart of the Apache country. They had many desperate engagements with the Indians. Lieutenant Vestal, with his company, assisted in the capture of the notorious Showalter and his party. The company while in the desert marched a distance of over two thousand miles. SECOND REGIMENT.�Infantry. Organized November 29, 1861. Served against Indians in northern part of the State and in Arizona. The Santa Clara men in this regiment were generally credited to Mayfield. T. C. Winchell was Adjutant of this regiment; Montgomery Maze was Second Lieutenant of Company A; C, P. Fairfield was First Lieutenant of Company I. THIRD REGIMENT.�Infantry. Organized in 1861. Served in Utah and Colorado. J. C. Merrill was Captain of Company B of this regiment. There were Santa Clara County men in Companies D, E, and G. William J. Callahan, deceased, was in the latter company. EIGHTH REGIMENT.�Infantry. Company C was organized at San Jose in 1864 After being mustered in, the regiment was stationed at Fort Point, California. FIRST BATTALION OF MOUNTAINEERS. Organized in 1862. Served in the mountain campaigns against the hostile Indians in California and Nevada. Geo. W. Ousley was Captain of Company B of this battalion. FIRST CAVALRY REGIMENT. Company E organized August, 1861. Served in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Engaged against the Kiowa, Comanche, Navajo, and Apache Indians. There were Santa Clara men also in Companies I and L of this regiment. FIRST BATTALION OF NATIVE CAVALRY. Company A was organized in San Jose in 1883, by Captain J. R. Pico, Served in California and Arizona. The battalion was composed principally of native Californians. In addition to the foregoing troops mustered into the United States service, the following organizations were held in the State service: FIRST REGIMENT.�Cavalry. H. M. Leonard, Major. Company E, Redwood Cavalry.�H. M. Leonard, Captain; E. Vandyne, First Lieutenant; D. J. Burnett, Senior Second Lieutenant; H. C. Morrill, Junior Second Lieutenant. Sixty men in the company, all armed. Company I, Burnett Light Horse Guard.�J. R. Hall, Captain; P. Henry, First Lieutenant; J. Chrisman, Senior Second Lieutenant; A. J. Fowler, Junior Second Lieutenant. Fifty men in the company, all armed. Company K, New Almaden Cavalry.�L. F. Parker, Captain; J. P. Dudley, First Lieutenant; H. H. Curtis, Senior Second Lieutenant; A. F. Foster, Junior Second Lieutenant. Forty men in the company, all armed. NATIONAL LIGHT ARTILLERY. S. O. Houghton, Captain; C. T. Henley, First Lieutenant; Jacob Weigent, Junior First Lieutenant; N. B. Edwards, Senior Second Lieutenant; Edward Ladd, Junior Second Lieutenant. FIFTH REGIMENT.�Infantry. A. Jones Jackson, Colonel; A. B. Rowley, Lieutenant-Colonel; J. Porter, Major; J. O. Wanzer, Adjutant; Chas. N. Senter, R. Q. M.; A. J. Corey, Surgeon. Company A, Union Guard.�Chas. P. Crittenden, Captain; E. J. Morton, First Lieutenant; Geo. Evans, Senior Second Lieutenant; N. Klein, Junior Second Lieutenant. Sixty men, armed with rifles. Company B, San Jose Zouaves.�A. W. White, Captain; M. Campbell, First Lieutenant; F. B. Fuller, Senior Second Lieutenant; W. T. Adel, Junior Second Lieutenant. Eighty men, armed with rifle muskets. Company C, Alviso Rifles.�Thatcher F. Barnes, Captain; John Root, First Lieutenant; Edward W. Williams, Senior Second Lieutenant; Chas. E. Morrison, Junior Second Lieutenant. Sixty men, armed with rifle muskets. Company E, Gilroy Guards.�John H. Adams, Captain; William O. Barker, First Lieutenant ; W. N. Furlong, Senior Second Lieutenant; William Van Gundy, Junior Second Lieutenant. Forty men, armed with rifle muskets. Company H, Santa Clara Guard.�William H. Swope, First Lieutenant; W. H. Menton, Senior Second Lieutenant; A. F. Harlow, Junior Second Lieutenant. Sixty men, armed with rifle muskets. JOHNSON GUARD.�Unattached. John M. Murphy, Captain; N. B. Edwards, First Lieutenant; J. F. Faulkner, Senior Second Lieutenant; P. W. Riordan, Junior Second Lieutenant. Fifty men, armed with muskets. INSTITUTIONS COURT HOUSE. FOR a short time after the county was organized under the Government of the United States, the old juzgado was used as a court-house. It was ill adapted for this purpose, and, in addition to its inconveniences, it belonged to the city, and was under control of that municipality. From the first day of the county's existence it felt the necessity of providing suitable buildings for the accommodation of its courts and officers. The lack of money with which to either purchase or build was a serious obstacle to the settlement of the difficulty. In June, 1850, the Court of Sessions, then the legislative department of the county, gave notice that the county judge would receive proposals from parties owning property which they would either give or sell to the county for a site for county buildings. Among the responses to this notice was one from James F. Reed, who offered to donate eight lots in the block bounded by Third, Fourth, William, and Reed Streets, to be used as a site for the court-house, and two lots in the block immediately south, to be used as a site for the county jail. This offer the county accepted, but the buildings were not placed there, and the negotiations came to nothing. The next month the court made another order, by which it authorized the county judge, J. W. Redmon, to select a proper site for county buildings, and directing "that he cause to be erected the necessary buildings and superintend the same, and that he draw from time to time his warrant on the county treasury for such sums as may be necessary for that purpose." This was an extraordinary power to grant to any one man, but it was never exercised to its full extent. In the meantime, the county government had moved from the old juzgado to the building on First Street, opposite Fountain Alley, and afterwards the Bella Union Building on Santa Clara Street, where the Auzerais House now stands. In 1851 Judge Redmon selected Market Plaza as the site for the court-house, and the same was purchased from the city. This included the old State House, which was fixed up for the use of the courts and county officers. This building seems to have been looked upon by the people as common property, and they were accustomed to hold all sorts of meetings and entertainments there. This was considered by the county government as an infringement of its dignity, and in July, 1852, the sheriff was ordered to "take charge of the court-house and allow no dances, balls, or shows to be held therein." This order elicited such a cry of indignation from the people that, within two days after its issuance, it was modified so as to allow the use of the building as an assembly hall and place of entertainment, but instructing the sheriff to collect, for such uses, a sufficient amount to pay the fees of a janitor and watchman. The old State House having burned, the court-house was removed to the adobe building on Lightstone Street, owned at that time by Frank Lightstone, and the officers again began to look about for permanent location. Levi Goodrich was appointed as architect, and directed to present plans and specifications, the idea being to rebuild on the old lot at Market Plaza. The plans were drawn, and the clerk directed to call for bids; but before anything further was done, A. S. Caldwell made a proposition to sell the county the lot and buildings at the southeast corner of San Fernando and Second Streets. A committee was appointed and reported that the building, with a little alteration, would be suitable for a court-house, and the purchase was made. The price paid was $4,000. In December, 1853, this building was officially declared to be the county court-house, the same order setting apart the south room on the lower floor as the district court�room. This building was afterwards known as the "What Cheer House," and is still standing. The county sold the State House lot to a Mr. Briggs for $500, reserving the right to use the jail thereon until a new jail could be built. The county occupied its new quarters for sixteen years, when it became necessary to have enlarged accommodations. An order was made offering a hundred dollars for the best plan for a new court-house. Pending this matter, the clerk was authorized to negotiate with the city council for the use of the second story of the City Hall on Market Street for a court-room. This resulted in a two years' lease of the upper portion of the City Hall, in return for which the county gave the city the use of a portion of the lot at the corner of San Fernando and Second Streets. This exchange was effected in August, 1860. In the latter part of this year, Levi Goodrich presented plans for a new building, which were adopted, and he received the premium of $100 offered therefore. In March, of 1861, the Board of Supervisors asked Hon. A. L. Rhodes to procure the passage of an act by the Legislature, authorizing the county to issue bonds to pay for the building; they also directed Mr. Goodrich to prepare working drawings. The lease of the City Hall expired in 1862, and at that time Martin Murphy was finishing his brick block on Market Street. He offered to rent the upper portion of these buildings to the county for $190 per month, and finish them in a manner suitable for use as county offices, the large hall at the corner of Market and El Dorado Streets to be used as a court�room. The county accepted the offer and took a five years' lease, with the privilege of renewal. This was the last location of the court-house prior to the construction of the present building. Two years elapsed before anything more was done towards a new building. During this time there grew up a sentiment that the old lot at the corner of San Fernando and Second Streets was not a suitable location, and the supervisors were urged to purchase another lot. There was some opposition to this suggestion, and some heated debates were had over it at the Board meetings. Two of the supervisors, Messrs. Quimby and Yates, were opposed to buying another lot, and when the resolution was adopted to change the location, voted in the negative, as they also did at each subsequent stage of the proceedings. Among the sites offered the Board was the one now occupied by the court-house. It was owned by W. H. Hall, who offered to sell it to the county for $5,000. The committee appointed to examine the title reported that they had had it examined by the "best attorneys in the city," and that it had been pronounced valid. The purchase was consummated, Mr. Hall receiving from the county the sum of $7,353 in currency, in lieu of the $5,000 in gold, the extra $2,353 being the difference between gold and greenbacks at that time. The original tract was one hundred and thirty-seven and a half feet front on First Street by two hundred and seventy-five feet deep; subsequently twelve and a half feet more frontage was secured from Josiah Belden, and in 1867 more frontage was purchased, the price of the latter being $40 per foot. Adjoining property is now rated at $275 per front foot. Work on the court�house was pushed as rapidly as possible, and on January 1868, the county officers took possession, Originally there was but one court-room, the ceiling of which extended to the roof. In 1879 a floor was laid cutting this apartment into the two rooms, as they now are. The cost of the building was about $200,000. COUNTY JAIL. The first county jail was located on the lot occupied by the old State House, and was erected when that building was used as a court-house. When that lot was sold to Briggs, the county reserved the right to use the jail until a new one could be built. In 1854 a contract was awarded to Marcus Williams to erect a jail on the last part of the lot at the corner of Second and San Fernando Streets. The price was to be $15,000, and R. B. Buckner was appointed a committee to superintend the construction. This jail was completed January 2, 1855. It was of brick, with iron cells, and was considered a remarkably secure place for confining prisoners. It was used until 1871, and did good service. It was injured by the earthquake of 1864, but the walls were drawn back to their places with iron rods and the building pronounced as good as new. When the new court-house was built it was found necessary to have the county jail nearer to the court�rooms, and Levi Goodrich was directed to prepare plans for a new building. The plans were submitted and adopted, and the architect directed to proceed with the construction. This was in 1870, and during the next year the jail was completed and in use. The old jail was torn down and the brick used in the new building. The old jail lot was sold for $5,850. COUNTY HOSPITAL. The first organized effort to care for the indigent sick was made in 1854, when a committee from the common council met a committee from the Board of Supervisors and agreed to act in concert in this matter. By the terms of this agreement the county was to bear two-thirds of the expense and the city one-third. All affairs concerning indigent sick were to be managed by a joint committee, composed of two members of each Board. The council, however, refused to confirm the action of its committee, alleging that they were able to take care of their own indigent sick. On this the supervisors appointed George Peck, R. G. Moody, and William Daniels as a relief committee, or Board of Health. During this year the county received $869.49 as its share of the State relief fund. The next year, 1855, a county physician was appointed and the city agreed to pay $50 peer month towards maintenance and medical attendance for indigent sick. About the same time the old Levy property was rented for a hospital, the county paying a monthly rent of $40 per month. In November of the same year the county advertised for proposals for a house and lot for hospital purposes. In response to this call the Merritt Brothers offered to sell the old Sutter House for $5,500. This house was situated to the northeast of the city, and to it was attached twenty-five acres of ground. The proposition was accepted and the county occupied the premises until February, 1856, when, the owners failing to make a good deed to the property, the contract for the purchase was rescinded. The county then advertised for proposals for taking care of the indigent sick. The first contract was let to Dr. G. B. Crane, who agreed to maintain the patients and furnish medical and surgical attendance for $4,600 per year, the number of patients not to be more than seven per day, or, if in excess of that number, to be paid for at that rate. For several years the patients were farmed out in this manner, the county paying the contractor from $4,000 to $5,000 per year for the service. In 1860 the necessity for a hospital building became very apparent, and a committee was appointed to select a site. Many offers of property were made, but the proposal of Hiram Cahill was finally accepted. This tract contained twelve acres of land, and was situated on the south side of South Street, just west of the Los Gatos Creek. The price paid was $4,000. The buildings were repaired and enlarged, and a pest-house built on the creek to the south. These premises were occupied until 1871. Before this time, however, in 1868, the hospital became too small to accommodate all the patients. The city had grown much larger, and there was considerable objection to the location of the institution so near to the city limits. An effort was made to secure another location, but it was three years before a new site was chosen. The Board finally purchased, of John S. Conner, one hundred and fourteen acres of land where the infirmary is now situated. The price paid was $12,400. In 1875 the contract for the building was awarded to W. O. Breyfogle, for $14,633.70. Messrs. Lenzen & Gash were the architects. Before this, however, the buildings from the old grounds had been removed to the new site, and the old premises cut up into lots and sold, netting the county $4,518.4 In 1884 eighty-one acres of the new tract were sold to different parties, leaving thirty-three acres in the present grounds. The money accruing from these sales amounted to $14,727.71, being $2,327.71 more than the cost of the entire tract. Up to 1883 there was no almshouse in Santa Clara County. Invalids in destitute circumstances were cared for at the county hospital, while the indigent who were not invalids were cared for by allowances by the Board of Supervisors. These allowances were of money, provisions, clothing, fuel, etc., as each case might demand. For many years the destitute children were cared for by the Ladies' Benevolent Society, this society receiving from the supervisors a monthly allowance of a certain amount per capita. Many children are still cared for in this manner. Each supervisor exercised a supervision over the destitute of his respective district, and all allowances were made on his recommendation. This was a vexatious duty for the Board, and whatever care was exercised, impositions were successfully perpetrated. The expense necessarily incurred by this system of affording relief began to be very burdensome, and in 1883 steps were taken to establish a county farm. In March of that year a committee was appointed to examine the matter, and this committee reported the advisability of organizing an almshouse. From this time to the latter part of 1884 the Board occupied itself in examining different sites offered for the location. Finally the present site was adopted, and a hundred acres of land purchased of James Boyd, for $25,000. The tract contained the present main building, which had been erected some years previously by John O'Toole, a former owner, at an expense of $21,000, and which was intended as a residence. Now all aid to destitute persons is extended through this institution. Persons not residents of the county are not aided at all, but are returned to the counties where they belong. THE first record that we have of the establishment of public schools is a document which was found among the old archives of the pueblo, and purporting to be a contract, made in 1811, between the commissioners of the pueblo, on behalf of the families thereof, and Rafael Villavicencio, for the instruction of all the children of the pueblo. Having been sent to the commander at Monterey, it was returned with additions and modifications, and the document thus amended constituted the first school law of the city of San Jose. As such, as well as on account of its peculiarity, it deserves a place in this work. Following is the text: " I return to you, that the same may be placed in the archives, the obligation which the inhabitants of the neighborhood have made with the infirm corporal, Rafael Villavicencio, who transmitted it to me by official letter of the thirtieth of last September, in which he obligated himself to teach the children of this pueblo and vicinity to read, write, and the doctrine, and to be paid therefor at the rate of eighteen reals per annum, by every head of a family, in grain or flour. As in this obligation of both parties the conditions are not expressed, which I consider ought to be, I have thought proper to dictate them, that you may make it known to both parties in public, with their consent, and that it be signed by you, the Alcalde, Regidores, and the teacher, and registered in the archives. Firstly, the pay of eighteen reals annually, by each and every head of a family, I think is quite sufficient for the teacher, and as it is all they can give, in virtue of which the commissioner will be obliged to collect the same at the proper time, in order to deliver it to the teacher. The teacher, in virtue of the pay which is to be made to him, will also be obliged to perform his obligation with the greatest vigilance and strictness, without giving his attention to anything else but the teaching. As the hours are not expressed in which the attendance of the children ought to be at school, they will be these: six in a day,�three in the morning and three in the afternoon ; in the morning from eight o'clock until eleven, and in the afternoon from two until five, it being the duty of the commissioner to compel the fathers to make their children attend, and to see that the teacher in no instance fails. Every Thursday and Saturday afternoon the children will not write or read, but explanations will be given them, these two afternoons, of the doctrine (faith), at which times the commissioner will attend, and advise the teacher that he must answer for the much or little explanation which he may make. When the teacher observes the absence of any of the scholars at the school, he will notify their fathers, who will give some satisfactory reason why they were absent on that morning or afternoon; and if they should be absent a second time, then he will notify the commissioner, who will compel the fathers to send their children, without receiving any excuse or pretexts, particularly from the mothers, because they will all be frivolous, since the children have sufficient time to do all that they are required to do. Lastly, during the time in which the children are at school, their fathers will be exempt from being responsible to God for them, and the teacher will be the one who is thus responsible; as he will, also, in consideration of his pay, be responsible for the education and teaching of the holy dogmas of the religion; and the teacher is he who must be responsible to God, the parish priest, and to their authority. "It is also understood that the fathers are obliged to examine their children at home, as to the advancement which they may make, and to complain to the commissioner when they see no advancement, in order that he may remedy the matter, if necessary. As the teacher is responsible in the divine presence for the education and good examples of his scholars, and as he must answer to the State for the fulfillment of his obligations, he has the right to correct and punish his scholars, with advice, warning, and lashes, in case of necessity; and particularly he ought to do it for any failure to learn the doctrine, for which he ought not to accept any excuse, nor to pardon anyone from punishment who fails to learn it, or who does not commit to memory the lesson which may be given him." We have no information as to how long the " infirm corporal" conducted this school, but it was a fair type of the educational system of the country up to the time when the parish schools were organized under the immediate supervision of the church, and taught by the priests. These teachers were men of high education, and the curriculum consisted of considerably more than the " reading and writing " bargained for with Raphael Villavicencio, and we may logically infer that the spiritual instruction of the pupils was on a correspondingly high plane. At the present day we see these parish schools developed into such institutions as the St. Joseph's day school, and the Academy of Notre Dame, presided over by men and women who have abandoned the world for the purpose of devoting their lives to this noble work. The first Protestant school of which we have any record was opened by Rev. E. Bannister in 1851, and was called the San Jose Academy. In it were taught not only the English branches, but the classics. At first it was a private enterprise, but in the same year it was incorporated, having a Board of nine trustees. In 1853 a school for young ladies, called the Bascom Institute, was opened. It was under the auspices of the Pacific Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was managed by nine trustees. Mrs. R. C. Hammond was the first principal. She was succeeded by Samuel Lea as principal, with Orrin Hinds as assistant, and the institution continued prosperously until October, 1859. The first common school was organized by a committee of citizens in March, 1853, and was taught by Rev. Horace Richardson. In June of the same year the committee opened another school in the Baptist Church and employed Orrin Hinds as teacher. Of those whom the discovery of gold brought to this coast, a large proportion were men of liberal education, many of them collegians and fitted to take the highest rank in the various professions. By reason of their intelligence and mental culture, these men were put to the front in public affairs. They determined that the new State should have every facility for popular education that could be afforded. Legislation on this subject commenced early and was characterized by a spirit of liberality, which was met with enthusiasm by the people at large. As a result of this legislation this county was, in 1855, divided into sixteen school districts. Having a large number of educated men to draw on for a supply of teachers, the schools became wonderfully efficient from the start. The liberal salaries paid teachers attracted the best educational talent from the older States, and, almost from the very beginning, the common schools of California took rank with the very best in the Union. Especially was this the case in Santa Clara County, where the liberal appropriations of the State were supplemented by equally liberal ones from the county funds, which enabled these schools to be at once placed in a most effective condition. The school statistics for 1888 show that Santa Clara County has seventy-three school districts, with one hundred and seventy-four teachers; that there are eleven thousand two hundred and fifty-nine school children between the ages of five and seventeen years, and that there are eighty public school buildings, erected at an average cost of about $5,000 each. The public school property is estimated at $436,072; the school libraries contain seventeen thousand one hundred and seventeen volumes, valued at $25,178. The schools are graded from primary departments to the High School, and the course of study includes all branches necessary to enable the pupil to matriculate at the State University. The city now owns the following principal school buildings: Santa Clara Street School, containing eight rooms and assembly hall; built in 1867, at a cost of $22,000. Reed Street, or Third Ward School, eight rooms and assembly hall; built 1870; cost $16,000, Fourth Ward School, eight rooms and assembly hall; built 1874; cost $18,000. First Ward School, eight rooms and assembly hall; built 1875; cost $20,000. Second Ward, or Empire Street School, eight rooms and assembly hall; built 1877; cost $19,000. There are several smaller buildings at convenient points in the city, while another large house to cost $20,000 is about to be erected. THE STATE NORMAL SCHOOL was established by an act of the Legislature, May 2, 1862. It opened its doors with thirty-one pupils. It was located in San Francisco, where it occupied rooms in the public-school buildings of that city, first of the San Francisco High School, then rented rooms on Post Street, and afterwards at the Lincoln Grammar School. Its usefulness in providing efficient teachers for the public schools of the State was soon recognized, and in 1870 an appropriation was made for the erection of suitable buildings. One of the most memorable battles ever witnessed in the legislation of the State, occurred on the question of selecting a location for this institution. Nearly every county in the State offered a site, and some of them large subsidies in money. San Jose offered to give Washington Square, containing twenty-eight acres, for the use of the State, and this offer was accepted. A large and magnificent wooden building was erected, under the supervision of the architect, Mr. Theo. Lenzen. This building, with all of its contents, including furniture, maps, charts, library, apparatus, and museum, was burned to the ground, February I 1, 1880. The Legislature was then in session and a bill was immediately introduced into that body for an appropriation to rebuild, the school in the meantime occupying rooms in the High School building. An effort was made to change the location of the institution, and the fight of 1870 again came on with renewed vigor. But San Jose was again successful, and an appropriation was made with which the present magnificent building was erected. The number of students for the year 1887-88 was five hundred and ninety-seven; there were sixty-one in the graduating class. SANTA CLARA COLLEGE. This institution is in the town of Santa Clara, near the old Mission Church, which is included in the grounds. It is a Catholic school, established by the Jesuits, through Father Nobili, in 1851, but was not incorporated and empowered to confer degrees until 1855. Since that time its career has been one of progress in all the branches of a liberal Christian education. Many of the most prominent men of the State claim her as alma mater. The best educators of the famous. Society of Jesus have occupied chairs in the faculty and have administered the affairs of the in�stitution in a manner that has given the Santa Clara College a world-wide reputation. Its curriculum does not stop with the ordinary college course, but embraces the learned professions as well. When the hills and gulches of California were full of prospectors for the precious metals, the opinions of the Department of Metallurgy were sought for as absolute authority, while in the Departments of Agriculture and Horticulture it has rendered equally valuable service to the State. Students from the Old World seek its academic shades to perfect themselves in specialties, while its halls are filled with young men of all classes and creeds. It stands on a historic spot, surrounded with the traditions of the days when the little band of devoted priests planted the banners of the church in this lovely valley, and laid the foundation of our present greatness. The original cross, erected in 1877, still stands before its portals. COLLEGE OF NOTRE DAME. The massive buildings and beautiful grounds of the College of Notre Dame, standing in the heart of the populous city of San Jose, in no way indicate the small beginning from which they sprung. In 1844, a band of devoted Sisters established a mission school in the Willamette Valley, in Oregon. In 1851 other Sisters of the Order started from Cincinnati to join in the work on the Willamette, They were to come by way of the Isthmus, and Sister Loyola of Nouvain, and Sister Mary of Nismes, came down from Oregon to San Francisco to meet them. Finding that they would be compelled to wait some time for the arrival of the vessel from Panama, these Sisters accepted the hospitality of Mr. Martin Murphy, and became his guests at his ranch near Mountain View. They looked through the valley and were charmed with its natural beauties and advantages. At this time Father Nobili was laying the foundations of Santa Clara College. He suggested that the Sisters should establish an educational institution here, and these suggestions were supplemented by the urgent entreaties of Mr. Murphy and other citizens. The Sisters were easily persuaded. They chose the present site for their buildings, purchasing at first a tract of ground 101 3/4 x 137 1/2 feet. There was no Santa Clara Street then, and no improvements near them. San Jose had but twenty-six houses, and they were nearly all on Market Street, or further east. The ground was grown up with mustard and weeds, through which an acequia, or water-ditch, flowed sluggishly. The only improvements were three adobe walls with a tile roof. Whether or not the Sisters knew it at the time, they made a very shrewd selection, the old mustard patch having become immensely valuable. Having made their choice of location; they did not delay their work. Mr. Goodrich, the architect, was employed, and by August their school was in operation. From this small beginning has risen one of the grandest educational institutions in the Union. The foundations of the present main building were laid in 1854, and the Sisters have added buildings from year to year, until they have reached their present dimensions. UNIVERSITY OF THE PACIFIC. This institution was established in 1851, under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church. For the first few years of its existence it had a hard struggle for life. It occupied buildings in the town of Santa Clara, working, watching, and waiting for a reward for its labors. In 1866 the tract of land on the Alameda, known as the University tract, was subdivided into lots, with a site for the University reserved in the center. In 1871 the first building was completed and the University established in its permanent home. The expense of the building absorbed all the funds, and the question of meeting current expenses and maintaining the efficiency of the institution was a nightmare that continually haunted the trustees. In 1872, at the General Conference held in San Jose, a desperate effort was made for salvation. Eloquent appeals were made to the members of the Conference, and to the lay brethren, and to the friends of education generally. The result was that different sums were pledged by individuals, sufficient in the aggregate to make up a respectable endowment. With this the institution took a new lease of life and has prospered ever since. A new building, to be used as a boarding-house, was soon erected, and this was followed with other and more pretentious improvements. The first college class graduated from a classical course in the State of California was sent out from this institution in 1858. Hon. Thomas H. Laine, of San Jose, was a member of this class. The college course is open to males and females alike. The curriculum is complete, and the high position in the various walks of life taken by its alumni fully demonstrates the thoroughness of its discipline. GARDEN CITY BUSINESS COLLEGE AND ACADEMY. Prof. H. B. Worcester, proprietor of the Garden City Business College and Academy, came to San Jose in the fall of 1876, and took charge of the Business College Department of the San Jose Institute for one term; and in January, 1877, opened a school for instruction in bookkeeping, and for business training, in his own private parlors. Eight years before, in, 1869, Prof. James Vinsouhaler established a commercial college in San Jose, which he conducted successfully until his death, in the spring of 1876. The business college was then connected with the Institute, changing the name to Institute Business College. But the combination proved unsuccessful, and the school soon went down. After the collapse of the institute, Professor Worcester leased its building on First and Devine Streets, in which he carried on his young and growing school till near the close of 1878. He then leased the hall in the Farmers' Union Building, corner of Santa Clara and San Pedro Streets, and removed his school to it. There was at first considerable unoccupied room in the large hall, forty by eighty feet in area, but under the professor's able management it soon grew to the full capacity of the hall. Still thinking to improve and enlarge the facilities of the college, Professor Worcester leased the still more commodious quarters the college now occupies, known as Commercial Hall, at 59 South Market Street. The room is one hundred feet square, and is divided into a lecture-room, school-room, recitation-rooms and office. It is admirably lighted and in every way well adapted for the purpose, and is fitted up and furnished with all the furniture and appliances of a first-class commercial college, including desks and sittings for a hundred students. The attendance during the school year numbers from one hundred and fifty to two hundred. The business course embraces book�keeping, penmanship, arithmetic, business paper, commercial law, business correspondence, business practice, lectures, and reading. The academic course includes such studies and instruction as will fit the pupils to enter any of the literary colleges or universities. Many of the graduates from the Garden City Business College are filling prominent positions in banks and other large business establishments. After obtaining his early education, Professor Worcester enlisted in the U S. Army, from which he was discharged at the end of two years' service on account of ill health. He took a course in Bryant & Strattan's Business College, and entered upon a career of twelve years of practical business life, at the end of which he was tendered the principalship of the Aurora Business College, in Aurora, Illinois. He filled this position from 1873 till 1875, when he resigned to come to California, to recover his wife's failing health. As an instructor in the school-room Professor Worcester has few equals. His methods are original, and his power to present facts and impart knowledge to the receptive mind, is peculiarly striking and impressive. LELAND STANFORD, JR., UNIVERSITY. In 1884 Senator Leland Stanford announced his intention of founding an institution of learning, as a monument to the memory of his deceased son, and to endow it with property valued, at that time, at $10,000,000. The location selected for this great university was the famous Palo Alto Rancho, in the northern part of Santa Clara County. It was to be as complete in its scope as any of the noted universities of the Old World, with the modern idea of a thorough technical education in all the departments of art, mechanics, agriculture, and horticulture. This idea was elaborated by consultation with eminent men, and on the twenty-first day of May, 1887, the corner-stone of the great institution was laid in the presence of the prominent men of the State. In the meantime the value of the property, constituting the endowment, had increased to nearly double the first estimate, and, with the rapid growth of the State, will be worth over $20,000,000 by the time the university is ready to receive students. With this magnificent fund there will be no limit to the usefulness of the institution. It is not the province of this work to describe the buildings, which are of the mast substantial character, and will endure when this book is forgotten. The work is being pushed rapidly forward by skilled workmen.