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. SAN JOSE BOARD OF TRADE. There was a Board of Trade in San Jose in 1874, organized for purely commercial purposes. George B. McKee was President, and E. H. Swarthout, Secretary. The greatest problem with which it had to wrestle was the adjustment of the difference between gold and silver coin. In those times silver was at a discount of from one-quarter to three per cent, and to the retail dealers this was a matter of considerable importance. They were practically compelled to receive silver from their customers and to settle with their wholesalers on a gold basis. How to do this without loss to themselves and without altercation with either their patrons or wholesalers, was a matter of considerable moment. At this time too the trade dollar came into circulation and tended to complicate matters. They succeeded in putting all transactions on a gold footing, and thus equalized matters. They also made an attempt to prevent the collection of the merchandise license tax which was then imposed. They all agreed that it was inequitable, and raised several hundred dollars by subscription in order to contest it in the courts. Before anyone was found willing, however, to become defendant in a lawsuit, the Board dissolved and the money was used to assist Edward Martin, a merchant of Santa Cruz County, in a suit involving the same questions. The present Board of Trade was organized September 27, 1886, with the following Directors: D. B. Moody, President; A. Friant, First Vice-President; William Osterman, Second Vice-President; Frank Stock, Treasurer; G. W. James, A. Barker, W. C. Andrews, P. Etchebarne, Joseph Enright. S. A. Barker was selected as Attorney and Edward B. Lewis, Secretary. Early in 1888, at the request of many prominent citizens, the Board took in hand the matter of inducing immigration to the county. An Executive Committee was appointed, consisting of C. W. Breyfogle, A. Friant, and J. H. Barbour. For several months this committee gave nearly their entire time to the work assigned to them. They sent an agent to Los Angeles to meet Eastern people coming into the State by the Southern route, and spent much money in advertising the resources of the county, both in California and the East. The rooms of the Board in the Bank of San Jose Building were supplied with a full exhibit of the different products of the soil, to be shown to visitors, and excursions were brought to the city from various points. The citizens responded liberally with money, which was judiciously expended by the committee. So effectively was the work done that the "boom" came almost before it was expected. In the early spring there was quite a marked movement in real estate, but as the tourist season was about ended before the Board began its work, it was soon over, and a renewal was not expected until the following winter. But in August the rush began. In a week from its commencement the sales of real estate ran up to a million of dollars per week, and the County Recorder was compelled to quadruple his force in order to take care of the instruments presented for record. Values doubled before the month was out, and several hundreds of acres of new land in the vicinity of San Jose was subdivided into lots and sold. Country property was cut up into five and ten-acre tracts, and during the following season planted to trees and vines. The wild excitement subsided after a time, but there has been a steady increase of values ever since. HOTEL VENDOME. One of the first propositions brought before the Board was that of building a mammoth hotel for the accommodation of visitors to the city. It had been industriously advertised among tourists that San Jose had no adequate hotel accommodations for any con�siderable number of visitors, and, although this was not true, it had the effect of keeping many from the city. The Board of Trade could not itself build the hotel, but it could give the undertaking its active moral support, which it did. Public opinion was practically unanimous in regard to the necessity of the enterprise, and there were assurances that the capital stock would be promptly subscribed. The question of location was most difficult to settle. It was proposed that permission should be asked from the city authorities to place the hotel in the center of St. James Square; but it was soon ascertained that the city could not grant this privilege. Negotiations were then entered into for the purchase of the Morrison lots, at the northwest corner of First and St. John Streets, the plan being to make St. John Street ten feet wider, and to erect a four-story block on the entire frontage on First Street, from St. John to the Court House, Mr. Beach turning in the St. James Hotel property to assist the enterprise. In examining the title it was found that the property could not be alienated at that time, inasmuch as it included an interest of certain minor heirs. For this reason that project was abandoned, but the movers in the matter did not abate their efforts. A stock company was formed and the old homestead property of Josiah Belden, on First Street, near Empire, was purchased. It contains eleven acres planted as a park. The owner at the time of sale was C. H. Maddox, and it required $60,000 to make the purchase. With this purchase the Hotel Vendome may be said to have originated. The company was organized August 11, 1887, with the following Board of Directors: J. B. Randal, W. S. Thorn, J. S. Potts, L. Lion, C. W. Breyfogle, A. McDonald, T. S. Montgomery, F. H. Mabury, and G. Lion. The stock was placed at $10 per share in order that all who wished might assist in this great improvement. Enough of the shares were soon sold to warrant the commencement of the present magnificent building, which will probably be ready to receive guests by the time this book reaches its readers. The estimated cost of the building is $250,000. It has a frontage of 254 feet, and is three stories in height exclusive of basement and attic, the basement of brick with pressed brick facing, and the building proper of redwood. The first story is fifteen feet in the clear, the second twelve, the third eleven, the attic ten, and the basement nine. The basement contains rooms for the servants, barber shop, bakery, store�rooms, fuel rooms, etc. On the first floor is located the main entrance, 41x66 feet, in which is the office, the grand stairway, elevator, private stairway, etc. Here also is the dining-room, 60x80 feet, with two wings, 30x40 feet, thirty chambers, ladies' parlors, billiard-room, reading-room, baggage-rooms, etc. On the second floor there are fifty-three rooms. Here suites can be extended to seven rooms if desired, and on the front nine rooms can be merged into a single suite. There are an equal number of rooms, with the same facilities for suites, on the third floor. The attic contains forty rooms. Each suite throughout the building has bath and toilet rooms and electric bells. Three towers rise from the building, the central one 100 feet in height, and those on the ends 85 feet each, The club-room, stables, laundry, etc., will be some distance in the rear of the hotel. PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS. In the spring of 1887 the Board of Trade presented a petition to the Mayor and Common Council of San Jose, asking them to call a special election for the purpose of deciding whether or not the city should issue bonds to raise money for necessary public improvements. Two elections for this purpose had been held before this, and the proposition to issue bonds had been defeated. It was thought it would meet a similar fate now. The call was made, however, and the Board, with the assistance of the press, presented the matter in such an urgent manner that the bonds were ordered to be issued. From this transaction comes the substantial bridges on Santa Clara Street, the magnificent new City Hall, the beautiful improvements at St. James Park and at Alum Rock, the perfected sewerage system, and convenient cross�walks. The first Executive Committee of the Board resigned in June, 1887, at which time a new committee was appointed, consisting of Henry Phelps, N. Cadwallader, and W. T. Adel. This new committee took up the work where the old committee laid it down, and have carried it successfully forward. A display of our county products at the Mechanics' Fair at San Francisco was made by them, and the great exhibition at the same fair in 1888, the fame of which has spread all over the Union, was arranged under their auspices. They made an exhibit of our horticultural resources at the Iowa State Fair of 1887, at the Grand Army Encampment at St. Louis in 1887, and at Columbus, Ohio, in 1888. The Board of Trade, since its organization, has disbursed nearly $50,000 for the people of the county, and that it has been judiciously invested is proved by the signs of lively prosperity on every hand. THE DEATH PENALTY. Since the American occupation the death penalty has been inflicted twenty-two times in Santa Clara County, each time by hanging. The first was in 1849, when three persons were hanged by order of the Alcalde's Court. They had been convicted of murdering two Germans in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and robbing them of $8,000. They were the same parties who stopped Thomas Fallon on the road, related in the first portion of this work. In the same year Antonio Valencia was hanged for the murder of Edward Pyle. Theodoro Vasquez was executed January 30, 1852, for stealing a horse. The law at this time permitted the infliction of the death penalty for grand larceny. This law was repealed in 1856. Ramon Romero was hanged November 26, 1852, for grand larceny. Guadalupe, an Indian, was executed December 17, 1852, for murder. Demasio Berryessa was hanged by a vigilance committee July 22, 1854. He was charged with having murdered Alexander McClure. Pedro, an Indian, was executed for murder December 7, 1855. Gregorio Soberana, December 14, 1855, for murder. Blas Angelino, September 12, 1856. Antonio Cardoza, May 3, 1857. Francisco, an Indian, May 8, 1857. Ricardo Lopez, July 11, 1857.Francisco Guileroz, July 18, 1857. Salvador Garcia, November 2, 1860. Abner Smith, July 10, 1863, for the murder of Mr. Van Cleave, of Santa Clara. Ah Pat, a Chinaman, October 30, 1863. Tiburcio Vasquez, the bandit, March 19, 1875. Encarnacion Garcia, hanged by vigilantes at Los Gatos, June 17, 1883. Joseph Jewell, November 30, 1883, for the murder of Renowden. Jean Wasilewski, October 24, 1884, for the murder of his former wife. Charles Goslaw, November 25, 1887, for the murder of H. A. Grant. Jose Ramirez, December 3, 1887, for the murder of Francisco Acero. TEMPERATURE. The following table shows the thermometrical observations, taken at San Jose, for one year:� 1885.HIGHEST.LOWEST.AVERAGE. December 753455 1886. January 642846 February 753856 March 773355 April 754057 May So4256 June 925671 July 915673 August. 895371 September 876174 October 744057 November 743253