Oakland Tribune from Oakland, California • 114

HEN Claude L. Cameron Oakland was a student few years ago he studied the history of Rancho el Fort Churchill is better known to forniaris due to the fact that it was garrisoned by men from the San cisco Presidio. Fort Ruby was far off in the Ruby Mountains of eastern Nevada. The building has since been moved 100 miles or more to Elko where it stands as. a museum for the Northeastern xsevaaa nisioncai outieiy.

Rancho Las Juntas Valle de San Jose in Southern Alameda County, one of California's largest land grants, and then developed his study into an A-grade thesis that won him the plaudits c-f his instructors. Claude Cameron's thesis was conveniently brought to our attention in view of today's color photo of the Walter S. Johnson home on Foothill Road between Dublin and Heasanton, one of the few remaining Alameda County byways not too much affected by the swift changes brought about by modern freeways and speed- ways. Foothill Road is the old Fages Trail, explains Patricia Soito' in her Years of Pleasanton." She 1845. When gold was" discovered he went off to the gold fields.

His share of the Rancho el Valle de San Josfe was left behind for his son to occupy. It was his son who built a home of adobe in 1849 at an intersection of three crude roads. One of these roads led Jto what is today Sunol, another extended toward what became Pleasanton, and thei third wound through the hills toward Mission San Jose. The other two land recipients, Augustin' and Juan' Bernal were sons of Joaquin Bernal-who had been sent to California by the King of Spain to explore for mineral deposits. He arrived in 1795, found no minerals of value, and remained to serve as an army officer.

In reward for hisservice he was allowed a land grant? and selected the Santa Clara Valley site he called Santa Teresa Rancho. Here Augustin was born. The Bernal family held a position of prestige during Spanish rule in California, and were able to maintain this position under Mexican rule. They also mustjhave been a hearty family because? Joaquin Bernal lived to be 87 and' his wife reached the age of 110 years; Occupied in' 1850 "Juan Bernal, younger son of this marital union, was born in San Fran give up his as prosecuting attorney and was succeeded by Hiram Johnson, who had not yet come to con- spicuous public notice. It proved to be the real beginning of his outstanding career.

Later Heney became associated with' 'the newly-formed Progressive Party, as. an admirer of the great 'Bull MooserVTeddy-Roosevelt, along with such leacers as Edward Dickson, Chet Rowell and Meyer Lissner. In 1914 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the United States' Senate He aspired' to the Governorship on the Democratic ticket, but on technical grounds his candidacy wass invalidated. In 1917-1918 he 5was 'special-attorney for the FederalTrade Commission in, matters pertaining to the: high cost of living, with particular reference to the packing industry. later he was appointed special counsel for the 'Senatorial Investigating Com-mittee, Bureau Toward the end of his life he served as Superior Court judge in Los Angeles; residence in the peaceful town of Santa' Hunt Historical Heritage Among 32 additional sites com-, memorating America's herit- age listed by the Department of the of the landf he built adobe.

to-housed an Indian overseer of. livestock pastured in the valley Many travelers passed across the lands owned-by Berria be tween the year the grant was given and J. 1850 when' he -finally -moved into" his adobe im-. Jhe, rancho. Among these travelers wasHCaptJohn Charles Fremont of ilie United States Army who in 1846" camped at a site between -what are today the towns of Sunol and Pleasanton Francis J.

Heney Dr. Rockell D. Hunt says there is something the character and per sonality of the late Francis J. Heney that excites Ms admiration "One writer has caUafcjhM'li cisco crusader'Heiwas in San Francisco but. had lenjvaliant! service It was after he; had won national dkSiictwn timber1andif rauids4 Oregon' that he was (with the aid of President Theodore Roosevelt and Disk, Atty.

William H. Langdon) engaged as special deputy district attorney to take charge of prosecuting offenders in the San Francisco graft cases. Here was a systematic campaign to purge the government of what Robert Glass Cleland has called a 'moral collapse in municipal Backed-by former Mayor James D. Phelan and philanthropist Rudolph IMCAI xuuiauujr i p.m. wc vuuu a i Costa County Historical Society will meet for dinner at Paul's Place in Mar- tinez, after which a talk will, be given by Miss Ruth Galindo and her sister, Mrs.

Leonora Fink. The two sisters will tell the story of the Welch grant, known as "Rancho Las 'Juntas." This great ranch extended from theMartinei waterfront to the north end of Walnut Creek, and from Alhambra Creek on the west to, Walnut Creek on the "according io John WvWinkleyra direc ii.iil" 41 A. 1 OHS inai ims was me irau uy the "sandalled feet of Father Serra, and tte plodding hoofs of covered wagon oxenWalterS. Johnson's color ful Golden Eagle Ranch home is none other than the restored adobe residence of Don Augustin Bernal who started building the adobe in 1848 and moved in two years JaterIt was Augustin Bernal who was given land grant known as Rancho el Valle de San Jose. The home stands back on a hillside some distance from the highway.

Its site is about midway between the Cas-tlewood Country Club and the' 1846 Interior at Washington, D.C., as being cisco June 23, 1810. He grew up on his father's rancho and left to serve only a Spreckels, Heney became the man of the hour. He was able to obtain the- in FSIZZ short time a a soldier. After this ex iMeaoowiarK uairy. Aiinougn waner in twarmv h(k ri penence in tne army he returned to Johnson remodeled the Bernal adobe it dictment of the notorious political boss Abe Ruef and the then Mayor Eugene Schmitz.

The investigations, conducted by William J. Burns, revealed such evidence of malfeasance they aroused not only the people of San Francisco but the entire state. Indictments were; also. tor of the society and the man who told us about the forthcoming dinner meet-' ing. "Most of the towns of Martinez, Pacheco, Pleasant Hill and Walnut Creek lie on lands of this old rancho," he tells us.

"William Welch, an Irish-' man, came to California about 1821 and settled at San Jose. In 1828 he drove a i herd of cattle to the neighborhood of Mt. Diablo seeking land upon which to settle. He was unsuccessful, but he returned in 1832 and this time he made application for the land grant that be- came known as the 'Las Juntas Rancho The land was granted him by the Mexican 'government in 1844, and soon he moyed with his family from San Jose to his new possession. Here he built an adobe home which the Indians, destroyed a few years later.

It stood near thWold Welch home that still stands at the'north end of Walnut Creek on Jones StJVelch died in the late 1840s or early; the exact date not being recorded. His widow and son, William, built' a frame house at the same location of the one the Indians destroyed. But this home also burned in 1883. Later the present Welch house was constructed; the very same house that now stands deserted and forelorn. Members of the society should feeHortunate in having an opportunity, to hear the Santa Teresa Rancho where he worked until 1852.

In that year he moved his family to a newly constructed adobe on his share oi the property obtained in the grant Here, he lived only a short distance from his brother's adobe and became a prosperous livestock producer. Joaquin Bernal's oldest son, Augustin, was born in 1795 at Rancho Santa Teresa. After spending his childhood and adolescent years there he 'entered the army and served as a soldier for 20 years, attaining the rank of an officer. That is what won him the land grant; the other recipients receiving shares due to being his relatives. Augustin was married twice and fathered seven children.

His first wife, brougnt against memT)ers7rthr3oaTd of Supervisors for alleged bribery; The unsavory situation became; more: vand more involved, and. the unparalleled vigor of Heney'S prosecution' brought him many enemies; he and his backers were pilloried, and in some instances savagely attacked by prominent newspapers. Fremont Older of the Bulletin, who was devoted to the campaign to 'clean up the government and punish includes the original walls of the house that once provided shelter for Don Augustin's family. Don Augustin's original rancho grant included the present sites of the Phoebe Apperson Hearst Ranch and the Francisco Alviso adobe. I "While the Hearst Ranch was to become a country club and golf course, and the Alviso adobe a part of a dairy, the Bernal Ranch lands were to become the of Pleasanton," Cameron points out in his thesis.

A Family Domain 'Trior to December of 1822 when Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna proclaimed Mexico a free republic," the Claude Cameron thesis reports, "only two Spanish land grants had been ttnade in what is now Alameda County. k)nce the Mexican Republic was established, a colonization law was adopted fwhich enabled the government to give rgrants in CliforniaTT. In 1839 Augus-(-tin Bernal; his brother, Juan Bernal; this brothers-in-law, Antonio Maria Pico eligible for the "registry of National Historic Landmarks," two are in California and two in Nevada. The CahV fornia sites are Fort Ross in Sonoma County and the old Oak Grove Butter-field Stage Station in San Diego County.

Nevada sites selected were Fort Churchill and Fort Ruby. These sites, possessing exceptional historic value to the American people, are described in new studies by the Interior Department's National Park Service. "The registry eventually will cover all major-periods of human history in the United States. The registry is designed to recognize and endorse the preservation of landmarks owned by both government and jrivate agencies. Owners or administrators of sites found eligible for landmark status may apply to the National Park Service for such and will receive a certificate.

To date 405 sites have been recommended for classification. Of these, 297 are eligible for registered national Historic Landmark status. The remaining 108 are units of the National Park system. The newly listed Fort Ross site was dedicated in 1812 by the Russians as" their headquarters, in California. It was at Oak Grove on the Butterfield stage route that Camp Wright was maintained.

Oak Grove (1858) was the first of the stage stations west of Warners Ranch. Both of the Nevada sites were of a (nMtaryiiaTure, established to halt Indian uprisings in Nevada in 1861. -the chief was kidnaped taken to Santa Barbara, and there was Welch story as told by the Galindo sisters. Thpxr arp descendants of nioneer talk of assassination. As a climax to the drama Heney was shot in the head while performing his duties.

His assailant, probably deranged, afterward committed suicide. Contra Costa. County families and are also thoroughly trained in research Donna Maria Higuera, died before Augustin moved to his adobe home on the Rancho el Valle de San Jose. During 1848, the same year that Donna Maria passed away, construction on the new home was begun, and due to the size of this structure it took two years to be completed. Despite therecent death of his wife, Augustin was not to have a home which lacked awoman's touch.

Shortly after moving under its sheltering roof he took Francisca Soto as his Francisco Galindo, whose wife was T.l 1 and Antonio Sunol petitioned Governor Alvarado of Alta California for a grant tof land. Augustin had served the armies jviana uoiores jvianueio racneco, aaugn-ter of Salvio Pacheco to whom the vast Rancho Monte Del Diablo was granted. Francisco Galindo became part owner of the ranch in later years. Both the Galindo and Pacheco families made Hiram Johnson Bows "Ruef was found guilty and sentenced to a term in the state penitentiary, while Schmitz escaped only on a technicality. To these and other cases Heney had devoted three years without compensation to himself.

On account of his serious wound he was compelled to let both Spain and Mexico for more than 20 yean tttTOs induced ih-thVtr. to make the grant on April 10, 1839, erty. Sometime between 1835 and 1839 (although he was not the legal owner their homes in Concord, a community first known as Todos Santos William. Welch's wife was Maria Antonia, a sister of Francisco Galindo. The pioneer Nicolas Galindo came to California with the Anza Expedition of 1775.

Such is the background Of the interesting story dinner guests will hear this coming Thursday evening (Nov. 16). Reservations should be made by writing James B. Jory, P.O. Box 190, Martinez, Dr.

Winkley warns. Romeria South Some weeks back when the Knave featured a story on the beginnings of the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego's front yard we had no idea whatsoever that the California Historical Society was plotting their November Romeria in that direction. But so they did, and riffht now there, are 'several hundred 4 i i and the legislature to approve it on May 22, 1840. It was the largest allowed 1 under Mexican law, and the largest given in the area now known as Alameda County; It originally consisted of 64,000 acres, but was reduced to a little more than 48,000 in 1865 when patented under California law. Most of the land lost in 1865 was the share obtained by Antonio Sunol who had to give up much of his property in order to save the remainder from squatters Once the original grant was made Augustin Bernal his brothers and two sister's husbands received equal shares.

Antonio Pico, who was married to Pilar Bernal, immediately sold his share, to Antonio SunoL who in turn sold to Juan Bernal in 1846. Pico then returned to San Jose and resided there until 1861 when President Lincoln appointed him Register of the United States Land Office in Los Angeles. He held the post one year, then returned to San Jose where he died in 1869. Except for brief trips to his wife's relatives he never returned to the land which Augustin Bernal had given him. Joaquin Came First "Antonio SunoL the other brother-in-law of Augustin Bernal, was married to Maria polores Bernal," continues Cameron.

"He was bora in Barcelona, Spain, June 13, 1797. At the age of 8 a French admiral, took him to France where he was educated. Instead of returning to Spain he became a sailor in the French navy and is reported to have been present at Napoleon's surrender at Waterloo. He reached California aboard the first French merchant ship to enter San Francisco Harbor. Here he deserted the ship and found his way to San Jose where he became a merchant Antonio stayed in San Jose but a short time after his wife's death in 'V.

Tap i 4 1 1 society members from the San Francisco Bay area tramping the sands of Coronado Beach and strolling the colorful gardens of the picturesque, Hotel -del Coronado. "It will be a trip back into California's very beginnings," observes Donald C. Biggs, society director. "However, when del Coronado is reached the Romeria travelers will enter a later but no less fascinating world of the past the California boom of the 1880s "and opulent 1890s, as wonderfully realized and lovingly preserved in the magnificent Hotel del Coronado." The Romeria's excursion into California's past will be guided by distinguished scholars, educators and authors. Yesterday they had a walking tour of Pala Asistencia conducted by the Verona Fathers, in addition to a talk by.

Dr. Werner Marti on arrival at San Pascual. In the afternoon they were at Mission. San Diego de Alcala, and the. dav concluded Iwith a tanauet in 4 J-J.

I I' mi jT I -fl1 the Hotel del Coronado's Coronet Room THE KNAVE It took two 84-1 850) for Augustin Bernal to build this adobe on Foothill Road now occupied by Walter Joh nson 1 i.