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Wharves along San Francisco's waterfront provided the richest source of income in California.
San Francisco Bay had provided sheltered waters to Native Americans in reed canoes, whalers, fur traders and explorers for centuries before the rush of gold seekers began arriving on ships from around the world.
From 1849 on, San Francisco's water commerce increased year after year, into the early 1900s.
Merchants were the money-makers in the early days, far exceeding the fortune (or misfortunes) experienced by gold miners.
The characters and their schemes were well known and well publicized. Land-grabbing was the fashion and many a man laid claim to waterfront land. San Francisco's muddy shoreline, which originally went for $50 a lot shortly reached $1 million.
Each street ended in a wharf, and the owner of said wharf exacted huge tolls from passengers, drays, wagons and all vessels, from the ships to the lighters who help unload the cargo. The cargo was also taxed. A toll was put on anything that could be weighed or measured.
Wharfage alone cost medium-sized ships $100 a day and larger ships $200. By the Fall of 1850, about six thousand feet of pier space, extending into the bay like the fingers of two large hands and costing about one million dollars, had been constructed.
The wharves were crowded from morning through night with drays, wagons, horses, sailors, miners, and merchants. Some wharves were developed to such an extent that by 1851-52, they were small cities of stores, shops, and storeships lining the waterfront.
San Francisco also had its share of savory characters, so much so that in 1851 the first Vigilance Committee was established. It was not well-organized and by 1856, another Committee was established in the style of a military organization. In addition to a police force, it had a "navy" under the command of Captain Edgar Wakeman, a character in his own right. His watchful eye, and willingness to act, earned him the title "Emperor of the Port."
The National Maritime Historical Park in San Francisco has brought this wonderful era to life on Hyde Street Pier and at their annual Festival of the Sea, held in fall of each year.
Limantour and The Battle of the "Bulkhead". . .
September 11, 1897
Mountain Democrat
Placerville, California, USA
POLLY LARKIN
The Forum Club, a literary organization
of this city, of which all
the members are of the fair sex,
have installed themselves right in
the heart of clubdom. In other
words, it is in the vicinity of the
Bohemian Club and the Press Club.
The rooms, three in number, are elegantly
furnished. The reception
room is in green and oak with easy
chairs, couches, innumerable fancy
pillows, soft and inviting as down
can make them; and there are dainty
writing desks, furnished with the
necessary articles, and tables covered
with current literature. It is
well-lighted, and is a most delightful
place to dream in and weave endless
beautiful thoughts into word-paintings.
Of course, being a woman's
club, there are any amount of palms
and beautiful plants to add to the
attractiveness of their lovely quarters.
The tea-room is in blue, even
to the rare old china, but it does not
necessarily follow that the members
belong to that old school known as
"blue-stockings. " Here a woman is
in charge and stands ever ready to
furnish the members with a cup of
refreshing tea and light refreshments.
The dressing-room is provided
with a couch and a dressing
table supplied with all the necessary
toilet articles. A large hall opens
out of the reception-room, which is to
be used for lectures and entertainments.
The members of the Forum
have gained their heart's desire and
now have ideal club quarters, just
what they have been longing for for
some time past.
San Francisco Bay Area
Arcadia Publishing
San Francisco, the flamboyant and cosmopolitan city by the
bay and its neighboring municipalities, was born to tell stories. Ranging in ages from 68 to 91, the narrators reflect the ethnic and religious diversity of a metropolis that has been a pioneer of several social, political, and cultural movements. They also stretch across both ends of the economic spectrum. A Japanese-American woman describes the harsh humiliation of internment during World War II, while an Irish Catholic man fondly remembers being a paperboy in the same neighborhood for ten years. An African-American woman from Marin City explains why she'll never sell the quilts she makes. Another woman recalls kissing under the Golden Gate Bridge with the man who eventually became her husband.
More than 80 photographs from the
narrators and collections of local libraries, museums, and historical societies complement the people and places of the San Francisco Bay Area.
The Golden Crucible: An Introduction to the History of American California 1850 to 1905
Blake Ross
First Prize Essay James D. Phelan Historical Essay Contest held under the auspices of the San Francisco Branch, League of American Pen Women. From the Introduction: The Golden Crucible is well named, because, first of all, in the minds of the people, California is regarded as the Golden State. It was not the actual discovery by Cabrillo that awakened wonder, but the discovery of gold by Marshall.
