Embedded Files
The historic Niles Canyon Railway runs through Alameda Canyon (AKA Vallejos Cañon, Alameda Cañon, or Niles Canyon ).
Fold in the Heering photos as well. Find the California state library images which might be cheaper.
These photos of the railroad in Calisphere were possibly taken shortly after the railroad was completed in the canyon, which would be sometime in the late 1869 or early 1870's. How to date them?
Photos were taken when the buckeyes were blooming so April-June.
Vallejo's flume is operating. When did he start his mill back up? Henry Root's report mentions that they disconnected the flume for a time and the the railroad carpenters had to rebuild it.
The photos are labeled Central Pacific Railroad. According to this, the Western Pacific was absorbed into CPRR in 1870. The Western Pacific had been planned to run from San Jose through the Livermore Valley and on to Sacramento. Names associated with WP were Timothy Dame, Charles McLaughlin, and Peter Donahue. Charles McLaughlin's name appears on lots of maps.
Photos could have been taken during 1869, but not sold until 1870.
The photos were all published by "Lawrence & Houseworth". They were originally stereographs. The Lawrence and Southworth photos at Calisphere presented as a grid.
The Thompson and West book published in 1878 has etchings of the railroad.
Route
Route
As far as the route of the railroad, check out these maps from CPRR.org.
Here's a zoomable map from Calisphere with Southern Pacific and Central Pacific, 1880
Oldest historic topo (that I could find) on USGS Historical Topographic Map Explorer, 1906
Henry Root provided a first hand account of many interesting projects in 1922.
First person account 1869
First person account 1869
An interesting read about an interesting life.
"During the summer of 1869 the track was completed from Sacramento, Stockton, Lathrop and Livermore Pass to San José; also, the new line from junction above Niles to San Leandro and the overland freight was routed that way to San Francisco during the month of September, using the old track of the Alameda local from San Leandro to the wharf and slip at the west end of Pacific Avenue."
"During the summer, the old steamer "Oakland" (long since gone to the scrap heap), had been strengthened and converted into a car ferryboat capable of carrying four freight cars at a time. Captains John and Ed. Hackett were in charge of the "Oakland" on two shifts. At about the same time a freight slip and small freight yard were being constructed on block 9 at the foot of Second Street in San Francisco. This block, bounded by Townsend, King, Second and Japan Streets, was formerly occupied and owned by Captain Tichnour and used in connection with the waterfront property outside of it as shipways for cleaning and repairing small vessels, but had lately been purchased from him by the company, and the car ferry steamer "Thoroughfare" was built on those ways in 1869 and 1870. Pat Tiernan was the man in charge of the building of the I I Thoroughfare" and Captain Ed Foster was supervising engineer in charge of the machinery. The engines for the boat were built at the company's shops at Sacramento under A. J. Stevens from patterns of the old steamer "Washoe." The "Oakland" went into service and the freight business via Alameda commenced in the early part of September, 1869, and continued on that route till the freight slip at Oakland wharf and the new line through First Street, Oakland, were constructed and put in operation in 1870.
From November 8, 1869, to the completion of the First Street line, and the extension of Oakland Wharf to deeper water the passenger trains ran over the Seventh Street local track from Brooklyn to Oakland Wharf, now the Mole. The axis of the first car-ferry slip at San Francisco used by the converted steamer "Oakland," was nearly parallel to Second Street as were also the six tracks and freight shed for handling freight of the Central Pacific Railroad Company at the foot of Second Street, San Francisco. But after a short time it was certain more room was necessary which it was not practical to obtain by any extension of the existing layout.
During the year 1869, the trestle on the Seventh Street line of Oakland between Oak Street Station and Clinton Station was reconstructed on a new grade and the opening swing bridge for the passage of small vessels closed. A trestle on the main line from Brooklyn to solid land at the head of the Estuary on the Kennedy Ranch was finished, forming a connection of the Oakland local and the main line. The trestle on the First Street line across the Lake Merritt branch of the Estuary and the connection of the First Street line with the Seventh Street line at West Oakland by a long curve, was all going on during the year 1869. I moved my boarding place from the Hotel de France to Mrs. Long's on Seward Street, West Oakland, to be more convenient to the pile driving work then going on."
Date of these Lawrence & Houseworth Images
Date of these Lawrence & Houseworth Images
In my opinion, these photos were taken after 1866 and before work started in summer of 1869. The buckeyes are blooming so that would be early summer to mid-summer. J.J. Vallejo's aqueduct is still there.
The rail line that passes by C.C. Scott's is shown only on the Allardt map. When was that line discontinued?
There are no photos beyond the Big Cut, the original 20 mile mark. So possibly there was nothing beyond that. We can see telegraph poles and the road does continue a bit. After work started in 1869? When were the telegraph poles installed?
There are Livermore pictures in this series as well. That work started earlier than the work in Niles Canyon in 1869.
Tidbits from Victor
Tidbits from Victor
Stanford and Judge Crocker spent the good part of Spring 1867 rescuing the bankrupt WP (McLaughlin). On June 8, 1867, Judge Crocker said in a letter quoted by Tutorow that the WP deal was done; Stanford was made president and WP was part of CPRR even though it was still known as WP (Stanford) in the press. So, I wonder if the LH Alameda Canon photos were taken in Spring 1867, perhaps at the suggestion of Stanford, as a record of the road they were negotiating for (later known as the Governor's Road). WP (Stanford) didn't resume work until 1868, so 1867 was the year in which the 1866 WP road could be called CPRR's. The water tank at Scott's was used for the excursion trains WP (McLaughlin) was running in Oct-Nov 1866, when it looked likely that federal aid would come their way, but alas for them was delayed to early 1867 (too late to save them). Also by Spring 1868 another group was in the Canon, led by C.D. Bates, who also went bankrupt (possibly because he insisted on hiring white workers}.
The original road was no longer used in 1874, but map was not updated.
This is the only map that we know with that line.
1511, Santa Clara Valley, from the mouth of Alameda Cañon.
Even though most of us in Fremont don't feel like we are in the Santa Clara Valley, in the past our area was considered part of the Santa Clara Valley as well as old San Jose Valley (CHS).
Alameda County was carved out from Santa Clara County and Contra Costa County and made official March 25, 1853, according to Wikipedia.
If these trees are California buckeyes these photos were taken late spring, early summer, unless global warming has changed this.
In 1870, a group of very famous East Coast horticulturalists stopped at Niles Station and admired a huge buckeye. They had dinner with a group of Chinese workers and then continued on their way. Obviously not this buckeye which is quite ordinary.
This picture is of Capt. Scott's place.
Who was Captain Scott. Where is this location now?
"Twenty rods [330 feet] back of the house at the mouth of a ravine near the springs that supply the house is an Indian mound."
From Scrapbook at Shinn House. To look at those two pictures from T&W. Is this now at the MOLH?
From the Centerville Pioneer Cemetery book available at many libraries.
A proposed location for the CC Scott's photos is at today's intersection of Clarke Drive and Old Canyon Heights Drive.
This is a starter location, because it is close to what looks like a ravine and possibly a spring.
Thompson and West have a location for CC Scott's house in 1878 and it is in this location. (However, these maps are not always perfectly aligned.) But it seems a reasonable place to start.
From Henry Root (p. 16) "Early in 1869, Guppy's party, of which I was transit man and in charge of the party whenever he was called away, obtained a boarding place at Capt. Scott's house near Vallejo's Mill and went there to commence the final location from the junction point on the old Western Pacific line about a mile above the mill to Oakland."
From Thompson and West, 1878
"From Mizzen Top Rancho Residence of Capt. C.C. Scott"
A faint trace of the old tracks can be seen that disrupt the vineyard or orchard rows and runs in front of the Scott residence. Was that the first WP railroad into the canyon?
From Thompson and West, 1878
C.C. Scott in 1878. You can see the vineyards and orchards here, too.
Contract & Finance Company is the "Big Four" company.
The Shinn property says "Shinn's Nursery" which was active from about 1873 to 1887.
Duplicated this so you can see this next to 1513 and 1514.
1513, View from Alameda Cañon, looking South
Notice that in this and next picture, we are looking at same oaks and we can see the nose of a hill on the left. Railroad and road curve here.
From Google Earth, you can see that nose as well. This is about where C.C. Scott's place is located.
1514. View near Alameda Canon, Central Pacific Railroad
Similar view but with a building. C.C. Scott's place?
1515, Central Pacific Railroad, Alameda Cañon
Heading up the canyon. This looks like the orchard that is noted in the Thompson and West 1878 map.
1517, First Bridge, Alameda Cañon, Central Pacific Railroad
This would be the first bridge that was later abandoned.
Another source of this photo in stereo.
and another view? No, Victor says it is Farwell. He's seen it dated Oct 2, 1866, waiting for the inspection by the feds.
Victor noted that the building seen from inside the bridge looks similar to the building taken from the bridge.
From California State Library, the San Jose Junction?
Possibly taken from where the first bridge was located. See google overlays.
1518, Creek View under the first Bridge, Central Pacific Railroad
Is this looking down the canyon or up?
From MOLH Dr. Fisher book. The right hand side says M.M. Hazeltine. He was a photographer in the 1860s and 1870s. [IMG_7011] The bottom says "North of Alameda Crossing." RR says that the building on the right is a water tank for the engines. This would have been built after they started the new line to Oakland.
More Hazeltine at Bancroft library "Finding Aid to Photographs of Oregon, California, Idaho, and Other Western Scenes by M.M. and G.I. Hazeltine,approximately 1867-1895"
1519, Looking up Alameda Cañon. From the Bridge
Note the tree on the hillside on the left.
There was no San Jose Junction yet.
1521, Alameda Creek, and second crossing
Continued from Henry Root "The line, at the start, was on steep hillsides and followed generally the line of the wood flume carrying water from Alameda Creek to Vallejo's Mill. The water-wheel of that mill was a high overshot wheel and was a prominent land mark for the valley in 1868."
Note that the tracks are raised up to go over the flume.
1522, Looking Down Alameda Cañon, from second crossing
"On the request of Mr. Montague, Chief Engineer, A. A. Cohen, then in the employ of the Central Pacific Law Department, obtained a lease for one year of Vallejo's Mill and the appurtenances thereof, which enabled the railroad company to shut down the mill during the construction of the railroad. About this time a contract was made by the Contract and Finance Company (which was Leland Stanford, Charles Crocker, Mark Hopkins and C. P. Huntington, with Judge E. B. Crocker having some interest), with J. H. Strobridge & Company to do the grading. J. B. Harris, who had been a "Riding Boss," was the company and was the man in charge of the work. As soon as a piece of location was finished, I took charge of the engineering during the construction. Mr. Cohen had obtained Vallejo's consent to reconstruct his flume during the year of the railroad leasehold, so the first move was to tear out the whole flume along the hillside and get the grading done as soon as possible and then to build a new flume on the lower side of and about parallel with the railroad line. When I had to set grades for the railroad carpenters to build the new flume, I was surprised to find how little fall there was from the intake to the mill. However, I had seen the water run at a good speed in the old flume and knew it must do the same in the new one." Henry Root
1531, The Big Cut, above the third Bridge, Alameda Cañon
Notice the telegraph lines. Some square poles can still be seen along the line. When was the telegraph installed? Prior to the railroad?
1535-1540 are pictures of car interiors. Some are pictures of William M. Tweed ("Boss Tweed"). When did he visit?
1541 is a C.P.R.R Ferry Boat "El Capitan" at the Terminus.
(Assuming that the "Terminus" is not the first Terminus in Alameda, but is the same as The Oakland Long Wharf.)
1542-43 are at the Terminus.
1544, "C.P.R.R Locomotive "White Eagle"
Check the catalog to see what all else is there. There are also Livermore pictures as well.
China Camps and Chinese Worker photos
China Camps and Chinese Worker photos
The Quarries that supplied the sandsone for the piers etc.
The Quarries that supplied the sandsone for the piers etc.
Alameda County Quarries is a summary of various interesting quarries. The following are from original documentation:
Transcribed below (or next to) this.
The Farwell Quarry of of Mr. J.D. Farwell was 3.5 miles northeast of Niles and one mile from the Central Pacific Railroad. It was worked starting in 1868 and the sandstone was used in the piers and abutments of the bridges on the Central Pacific Railroad through Alameda Cañon. (From 1889 Appendix to the Journals of the Senate and Assembly of the twenty-eighth session of the Legislature of the State of California.) Report of the State Mineralogist, 1888.
Victor suggests this would be 1865 or 1866.
Victor suggests this would be 1865 or 1866.
REPORT OF TIIE STATE MINERALOGIST
THE FARWELL QUARRY.
Further westward up the Alameda Cañon is the sandstone quarry of Mr. J. D. Farwell, three and one half miles northeat of Niles, in Sec. 2, T. 4 S., R. 1 W., M. D. M. This quarry has been worked since 1868. It is one mile from the Central Pacific Railroad. Sone from this quarry was used thirty years ago for monuments in the Centerville cemetery, which are still in a good state of preservation. It was also used in the piers and
abutments of the bridge on the Central Pacific Railroad through Alameda Cañon, and appears all the harder for the exposure. Hewn slabs eight feet by one and a half feet by ten inches have been taken out, and blocks that have weighed over four tons. This stone was also used in the Baldwin building, on Market Street, San Francisco, and in the building of the Fisher Packing Company, on Commercial Street, and for bases and copings in the cemeteries. There are three varieties of stone in this quarry - a drab, and a fine and coarse gray variety. The coarse gray and the drab occur in the first portion of the quarry, and the fine grained gray about half a mile further up the cañon. The strata here dip a little to the west of south at an angle of about 70 degrees. Of the coarser grained gray rock, there are some half a dozen strata, varying from two and a half to ten feet in thickness. Above the coarse gray and underlying the drab colored sandstone is a stratum of conglomerate about five feet in thickness. The drab colored sandstone which maintains pretty much the same dip and angle as the gray, consists of a series of strata aggregating probably over one hundred feet in thickness, but it is so covered with earth and brush as to make anything like accurate measurement a matter of difficulty. The fine grained gray variety crops out about half a mile to the northwest of the quarry now opened. An extensive ledge is disclosed dipping approximately at the same angle as the strata in the quarry below. No work has yet been done upon it, but it is an available source of an immense amount of building material. Several sandstone quarries have been worked in the neighborhood of Haywards. That of J. Houcherincho, eight and a half miles from Haywards; J. Dobble's, seven miles, and the quarry of Eudice & Rue, three miles. The stone is of fair quality, and some has been shipped to San Francisco, but the distance to the railroad precludes it from anything but local use.
Farwell Quarry - It is in Rocky Brook Cañon, a tributary of Niles Cañon. The quarries are on each side of the gorge in which out 1 1/2 miles from the railroad, and are in two groups eah side of an anticlinal fold. The rock is shattered and broken, and much waste results from quarrying. Its color is a dark bluish-gray; that of those portions near the surface is buff and light gray. The stone is very durable, and commands a good price in the cities of Oakland and San Francisco. In 1893 about 10,000 cu. ft. of rock were shipped. From 10 to 20 men are usually employed.
And then there was Vivian Batman (Bateman) reading and reprinting some of Mrs. Thane's columns from 1891. Currently images are down, but the OCR is there. Washington Township News Register 10 July 1951.
Thinking Things , Over:::.
By VIVIAN BATMAN
We’re going way back to 1891 this week. Don’t give up, though. Things, apparently, were as interesting in Niles in that day as they are today, sixty years later. For example, Mrs. L. E. Thane, Mrs. Laura Whipple’s mother, and a learned and intelligent woman she was, writes in her daily column in the San Francisco CallBulletin—at that time a morning paper—such juicy little items as the following: '“The church curtains, which were stolen some three months ago, have been returned, none the worse for their travels. John Pratta, who stole them, has been sentenced to two and a half years at San Quentin.” Now who in Niles remembers poor John Pratta? And why in the world would he want to steal the curtains out of a Niles church?
In another column (Mrs. Thane wrote entirely about Niles) she says: “The streets are being sprinkled: summer is here.” “The number of saloons in town is alarmingly on the Increase. The new hotel will be opened July 1 by Mr. Baldwin.” Even in those days, it seems, the populace was worried about the number of saloons in Niles. Times haven’t changed so much after all. In one of her most interesting columns entitled RICHES OF THE HILLS, she tells of the different ore deposits; “The report of the finding of a ledge of gold in the hills near Sunol calls to mind the fact that for the past fifteen years finds of various kinds have been made in the foothills about Niles, the latest being a deposit of yellow chrome. Coal, too, has been found in several places, but the finders have dug a hole two or three feet deep, carried home a few handfuls to try, and have never gone back. One thing that discourages prospectors is that the places are almost inaccessible. Slate is found in several places, of good color and texture. Clays of various kinds, kaolin, cement, and stone for building purposes. “When the Americans came into this valley 45 years ago, they found the Indians quite adept in the use of the cement. Under the guidance of the Mission fathers, different reservoirs and acqueducts had been built for the use of the town and for irrigation blocks of stone being quarried from the hillsides and laid with the cement dug from the same hillside. The Niles cement contains in its natural state, as dug from the mines, all the ingredients necessary, only requiring to be worked into proper shape for the market.
Another successful industry of a similar character is the Farwell Niles Quarry; there are several places in the canyon where building stone has been found, but none have proved to be really first class except this kind. About twenty years ago an Eastern gentleman named Farwell settled in the canyon, and in time he discovered and opened a quarry in Stony Brook Canyon. Slowly and surely the stone has grown in favor, and the mine is steadily worked. “A shaft which was put up for a monument in the cemetery at San Leandro about twenty years ago is as perfect in the minutest detail of carving as it was when erected. The mine could not be worked profitably if it were not for the railroad which runs through the canyon, having switches at the mouth of Stony Brook, four miles up which lies the quarry itself. So precipitous are the sides that the narrowest roadway has been built and there is barely room for teams to turn at the quarry itself. “The stone should demand more than a passing attention, both from Oakland and San Francisco people. Several buildings within the past five years have been built or are now building, notably the Unitarian Church in Oakland and the Rosenthal Block on the south side of Market Street in San Francisco. In front of this block is a stone
Atlas holding the world upon his shoulders. A block of twenty-two tons was cut at the quarry, loaded upon wagons to be hauled to the cars, but proved too heavy. The stone, wagon and horses were hurled to the bottom of the canyon, resulting in a total loss, of course. After months more of labor another stone as large and fine was finally secured, but it was found expedient to have the artist come to the works and chisel the figure in the rough before it could be safely hauled from the quarry.” And now, while we’re still in the past, let’s read a poem about Niles in the days of 1891, written by Mrs. Trane’s son, Bart Thane, at the age of twelve. He later became a star football player for the University of California.
NILES From the city thirty miles, Is a town by name ’tis Niles; By it is a lonely creek, And its shades sweet maidens seek. By them happy youths do stand, Ready with a helping hand; Watching them with an earnest eye. Waiting while the time flies by. In this town there is a church, Oh, but it’s not left in the lurch. There’s two hotels, three saloons, And two or three great big lagoons. Great big orchards are in sight, And the boys yell We’re all right. Yes, there’s some dandy boys and girls, The latter have such pretty curls. But the boys have to work hard and long, Which makes them healthy large and strong.
Photo of Dresser Bridge that shows the sandstone piers in 1993. The NPS document for the Niles Canyon Railway (written by Alan Frank, Al Minard was official author) It was here for a long time. Now: https://web.archive.org/web/20210326185216/https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/Asian_American_and_Pacific_Islander_Heritage/NHLpdfs/Niles%20NHL%20nomination.pdf
Have the piers been covered over?
Google Sites
Report abuse