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The drawing on the right, below, shows local Native American
Indians on the Bay, around 1816. The
resourceful and mostly peaceful Muwekma Ohlone tribes
were
eventually pushed out of the area, and
their land was taken from them. By the Gold Rush days, few remained.
The area we call the Mission was not the most hospitable place
for later settlers. Huge sand dunes and swamps abounded. However,
a steady supply of fresh water was available to the farmers
and cattle ranchers.
The
painting on the left portrays early explorers traveling north.
Spanish speaking residents and landowners who had come from
Spain and Mexico, considered themselves Californios. The major
portion of their property was obtained when Mexico secularized
the Missions, granting vast acreage
to favored individuals. When the United States took over the
territory in 1848, the Californios began to lose their holdings.
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An
1816 drawing of Mission Dolores with the indigenous Indians,
many of whom perished due to illnesses brought into the area
by the settlers.
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This
is the plaza, sometime before 1835. The well dressed people
may have come to view the hanging of a prisoner or an escaped
slave.
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The
almost abandoned buildings, in 1849. By that time, they were
being used as stables for military horses, a bar, a gambling
house and a hotel.
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A
seminary was added around 1865, and the wayside "Mansion
House" was utilized as a stage-coach stop for travelers
to San Jose and beyond.
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The
Mission district enjoyed more sunshine than other parts of the
city, and in later years was considered desirable for the building
of summer homes. Resorts for recreation were developed, as well
as race tracks and other types of public entertainment. This
pleasant area of farms and orchards also attracted immigrants
from Ireland and Germany, due to more favorable land prices.
Large steam shovels, horse teams and a host of workers labored
over a period of years to move the sand dunes and fill in the
marshes and lowlands. In earlier days, surveys for grants and
transference of property used the Mexican vara (about 33")
for measuring
land parcels. This is one reason for the uneven dimensions of
many city lots.
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Marsden
Kershaw was the first owner of the house. He was a merchant
who supplied the local public with slate coal that was mined
from the hills east of the Bay. His home was one of the earliest
on this block, and his family lived there until 1893. Reflecting
their advancing fortunes, the neighbors next door rebuilt their
older house in grand Queen Anne style. Their family remained
there until 1906, but sold the property after the quake and
moved out of California. A neighbor purchased it and the corner
property as well, probably using the smaller house for servants
or extra guests. Originally, there was also a barn and a coach
house. Other families on the block were able to use the stables
for their horses.
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The
drawing on the left shows the general area as it was in the
1860's, between Mission Dolores (bottom) and Potrero Hill (upper,
center). Mission Creek (upper, left) ran to the Bay, connecting
to Lake McCoppin. It was said that, at high tide, ships could
navigate up to present day 18th Street. In the upper right,
various waterways from the Mission, including Islais Creek and
the stream that ran along Serpentine (Army) St, can be seen.
The Potrero district could almost be considered an island, since
it was surrounded by water. Mission Bay and all the channels
were gradually filled in during the next decade. Clicking on
the photo will reveal a clearer image of the area where the
house was soon to be built.
The
map on the right shows train tracks angling across the district
that the Southern Pacific R.R. used for this route to San Jose.
There was a complete disregard for an orderly layout of future
streets. Some of the rights of way still remain. The main tracks
went on to the terminal at Mission Bay. A spur line going along
Valencia, continued on to Market, past the popular Willows Park
and Woodward's Gardens. Many of the street names on this map
have been changed since that time.
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On
the left is the Valencia St. terminal. The right photo shows
a horse drawn streetcar at Montgomery and Posts Sts. in the
1870's. This particular route was almost level, so the horses
were not overly taxed. The Masonic Temple is in the background.
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Woodward's
Gardens, shown on the left, was a popular place for family entertainment
in the 1870's and 80's. Almost everything was available for
the public's pleasure: Horticultural gardens, restaurants, a
museum, rides for children, and even a zoo. Many forms of transportation
were offered along Mission St. for visitors to the site. At
the bottom, a horse team is drinking from a trough. The Willows
Park resort, in the right photo, is seen as it was in 1864.
The view is from Mission St. facing Twin Peaks in the distance.
Horse racing was another form of entertainment for the locals.
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It
was a bit adventurous to build residences so close to the recently
drained swamps at the edge of Lake McCoppin, just a short distance
away. The unpleasant hog farms were moved away a few years earlier,
much to the relief of the nearby homeowners. During 1873, after
many homes in
this location had been constructed, a large wooden conduit was
built. It carried most of the water from the local streams into
Mission Creek. This was also the same year that Andrew Hallidie
started operation of the first cable car line. The last parcel
of nearby wetlands which had not been channeled into the large
sewer under 18th St, was finally filled in during the late 1870's.
Only a few homes were ever built on that land, and the area
remains a public park to this day.
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Throughout
the city, numerous artesian springs
were capped by developers, and small streams were diverted
into storm drains. The present owner of this property was
notified that there was still a creek running under the house
in an old oval brick conduit. The drawing shows the small
stream entering the former lagoon from the left. When the
garage and rear deck were added 36 years ago, extra reinforcing
bars were placed in the concrete to support it in the event
of a collapse of the drain. Even though this particular neighborhood
is situated on a hill, a few of the owners of nearby properties
have had problems with the sinking of their foundations. There
are sump pumps in some of the basements to prevent flooding
in winter.
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Some
of the local lagoons in earlier days.
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