Gravel
The first gravel pit according to the Washington Township Country Club's History of the Washington Township? "Niles claims the first gravel pit utilized in the State, situated in the creek bottom on the Shinn property."
"Niles claims the first gravel pit utilized in the State, situated in the creek bottom on the Shinn property. It is a crop that never fails as the rains of each winter replace what has been excavated during the season. In building the new amphitheater on the State University grounds, in Berkeley, one order was for seventy-five carloads of this gravel."
It doesn't say that the Shinn family actually quarried the gravel. It just says that it was in the creek bottom on the Shinn property.
"in the state"? There was other railroad work elsewhere much earlier that must have used gravel.
Is it the "Gravel Pit" seen on the 1878 Thompson and West map no. 4?
The Shinn pit and later what is today's Shinn Pond was on land purchased after 1884 from J.G. Clark? (need docs).
Jonas Clark map at MOLH (IMG_9741.jpeg) shows the Shinn property next to the California Nursery Company.
Where is the "Niles Lake" that the Chinese fished on as recalled by Joshua Fong "The Shinn camp, situated on the edge of Niles Lake had a fish trap fashioned out of rice sacks, much like those observed in later life on a trip through China."
Where is "Shinn Lake" that was where Joe Shinn died while swimming? Was that the original pit?
But was it?
Thompson and West 1878 map overlaid on Google Earth. (realigned with my overlay, because it was not accurate on David Rumsey. The area around the Vallejo Mills/Niles is still difficult. Vallejo Street was aligned here, as was Mowry and Fremont Blvd.
Turquoise is approximate outline of Shinn property that was purchased from J.G. Clark before `1884. (have doc?) It includes the land that was later donated or sold for Niles Elementary School and the Veteran's Hall. (MOLH has blueprints). Note that in 1878, the Contract and Finance Company (Big Four) owned this land.
There is a small spur (Orange) to the "Gravel Bank" across from the Shinn property (Red). Who owned it? The Allardt map shows that C&FC owns the property up to the creek.
Allardt map 1874
The first railroad work was the Western Pacific Railroad (1862-1870) from San Jose to the middle of Alameda Cañon. No maps show this early line without the later work. This early work was not close to the Shinn property as can be seen on the Allardt map. The road entered on the other side of Vallejo's Mills. The gravel spur can be seen on this 1874 map. By 1871? This original route was abandoned by 1871? and cannot be seen on the Thompson & West 1878 map.
Note that the Shinn property on the Allardt map is 210 acres. This was the same boundary as the original Sim property.
The Shinn property next to the Kelsey property was later sold to other people (M.P, J.M., J. Vairn?, J. Suores) shrinking the Shinn property to about 83 acres which can be seen on the 1878 Thompson and West map. Does the text in TW say how many acres is the Shinn property?
Gravel train in the Sanborn etching?
note the "Gravel Bank" spur. Note the Sanborn property on the bottom. This line is not connected to the main rail line??? From Thompson & West. The No. 4 map shows them connected?
Sanborn residence. Note in the background that there is an engine heading toward us, This might be the curved spur to the Gravel Bank. The Sanborn property faced the hills with Alameda Creek heading almost straight towards them. Where is Vallejo Mills? Where is the Western Pacific RR line that is in the map. There are two trains heading opposite directions. Is one heading up the cañon on the Central Pacific Railroad? And the other crossing the bridge over Alameda Creek going north on the Western Pacific? Could the reference drawing or photo have been before WP came.
From Sanborn property driveway along Mowry
Kind of impossible picture! It looks like two trains are passing each other but there is one line.
In between the trains is the vehicle bridge. They've drawn a wagon coming out to indicate that. In the picture below, the train bridge and vehicle bridge are close together.
Another view down canyon Mizzen Top Rancho.
Looking at this map and the driveway of Sanborn, the above drawing looks very much like an artist rendition that is including parts of the landscape that aren't in proportion.
EBRPD Plan is ToyV_1978E.pdf "CHAPTER 1; THE ALAMEDA CREEK QUARRIES; A Land Use-Development Plan; Victor M. Toy"