Tag Archives: orchards

Cottle’s Cobble Stone

July 5, 2016Historical Researchargiculture, boundary, cobble, Cottle, creek, dove, dove hill, evergreen, family, farmers, farming, fence, generations, hike, hiking, hill, historic, mining, nature, orchards, silver, silver creek, Silver Creek Linear Park, silver creek road, stone, stones, traces, vineyards, wallevergreen

The Cottles were long time residents of Evergreen who lived in Silver Creek, creek adjacent along Dove Hill. You can see them here, O. B. Cottle, directly on Silver Creek Road on the left side of this map. Trusted historian, long time resident and valued Community member, Colleen Cortese, told me that I’d like pieces of Orval Cottle’s Cobble Stone fences along Silver Creek Road. Try to say that 5 times past. Cottles Cobble Stone, Cottles Cobble Stone…. I followed that lead and looked where she told me.

In fact, I followed that path specifically along Silver Creek, the creek, that continues once the road ends. This is a lovely little hike to commune with nature in a hurry. I had my computer packed with historic maps with me, trying to feel my way across the land and features. The Cottles lived around here somewhere. This beginning to the path would’ve been the first place the road and creek crossed. Where this meets Yerba Buena Road in another crossing of the creek as Silver Creek Road once led up the hillside. But… following the road didn’t do much for my hypothesis.

Along my hike to the West of the trail, I found two giant stones out in the open that I could align visually to be fence, but no visible guts of a stone wall like I’d suspect. I personally had zero desire to find out if there were rattle snakes certainly sunning on this gorgeous summer day. This path was old Silver Creek Road that connected to San Felipe Road some time ago, so it could’ve been the most Southern point of the Cottle Ranch.

I veered for a hike up to the base of the electrical towers here, which appears to be a dog friendly path into Silver Creek. Well, I found more giant stones like before, but there at the edge of the plateau was a great cobble stone barrier left in tact. At the high elevation, I could see it all over the place. I knew I had found it.

I found my way back to my car and saw a pile of the same stones at the base of the pond there, across from Silver Creek Linear Park, as I was leaving. I’ve been driving past here looking for Cottle’s Cobble stone a couple times and haven’t found it. That’s what this was the whole time. Not a decorative element by the home development company, but a genuine element. Rusted barbed wire along the path would’ve been the genuine article too. So I had to turn left off of Silver Creek Road and see if I could find anymore more of the cobble stone.

Jackpot. In fact, totally cobble stone wall formations left behind in construction. It’s apparent all over the place. It was probably expensive to remove but considered quite charming. This area, I suspect, was repurposed for the roadway here to the right. This cobble stone barrier is relic of a forgotten time. It’s beauty, however, never overlooked.

The Cottles were married in Wisconsin in 1842 and came West to Nevada County in 1850, where he entered the mining boom. Mr. Cottle did a little bouncing around as a kid. In 1854, the couple relocated the family to Evergreen. Orval had a hard time buying his property in Evergreen, Silver Creek adjacent specifically, and rumored to have paid for the same land 3 different times.

Thought the map above states 254 acres on Silver Creek Road, a contemporary 1860’s source describes the Cottle Estate as “Located seven miles south-east of San Jose, where the valley floor gives wasy to the low foothills of the Mt. Hamilton Range, was the Cottle Farm of some 320 acres.The little stream known as Silver Creek meandered through the Cottle acres at the foot of the hills and then some distance southward left the foothil area and ran through the valley lands.The home buildings of the Cottle Farm were located on the edge of the valley floor, as it broke into the wider expanse downward some ten or fifteen feet to the shallow bank of the creek.”

Children playing with their neighbors and cousins, rolling rocks down the hill would knock out a portion of the stone wall. That could be the reason these rocks have no noticeable debris between the giant rocks. It’s actually something I thought about looking at the landscape. The Cottles’ only daughter would end up marrying the neighbor boy, Frank McCray, who was present in the rocking and rolling that broke the cobble stone wall.

The Cottle Family cultivated orchards, vineyards, cattle, chicken and various other harvests. They would have taken full advantage of Silver Creek running through their yard, using the natural irrigation and spring nearby. It’s why the area is so grassy. It was cleared for farming over a hundred years ago. This is Mr. and Mrs. Cottle on their 50th wedding anniversary. They were very well liked and their grandkids were born in Evergreen as well.

“Nor-wood”

June 12, 2016Artwork, Historical Researchcreeks, evergreen people, Evergreen School District, family, flood, flooding, generations, McClay, Norwood, Norwood Avenue, Norwood Creek, orchards, pellier, Quimby, Quinby, Rancho Yerba Buena, Renaud, street name, tully, vineyardsevergreen

The lead for Norwood is a real stumper. As a name, its quite popular. Norwood Avenue dates back to the mid 1800’s. So, what was it named after? There were fabulous people named Norwood who would settle into Santa Clara County in 1849, but Mr. Joseph Gould Norwood would make his home in the Alviso/Santa Clara township, nowhere near Evergreen. So, that’s not our Norwood. I reviewed historical maps and grant records throughout Evergreen’s history looking for a Norwood family to tie this name to. I couldn’t find one.

Norwood’s Creek is definitely a geographic feature of Evergreen and has been for a long time. Today, the creek exists beyond the private road at the end of Norwood, but is diverted through housing developments through water tanks and pumping stations. There’s probably a sizable water pipe under the street that later empties as Norwood Avenue ends on White Road. That’s why the current path is a straight line at points. This pipe system is necessary because Evergreen has had a long history of flooding with its sometimes unpredictable waterways. Frank Cunningham lost his large property with a huge lake on it because the City of San Jose needed to be able to better control the watershed.

Looking into Norwood, the Avenue itself in between Quimby Road and Tully Road came about between two maps. In 1876, a County wide Atlas was created and there’s no mention of Norwood Avenue. It runs along the line between these yellow, orange and the lower green section. We are looking at once corners of Ranchos Pala and Rancho Yerba Buena, and the adjacent Pueblo Tract. Tully Road isn’t a thing yet, but it will be located on the strong black line noting his and partner Wallace’s property.

The Norwood Creek would feed into the farms, vineyards and orchards of Joaquin Higuera, Tully & Wallace, Pierre Pellier, and J. A. Quimby possibly at the time. The creek would’ve provided a natural irrigation. The Pellier Ranch was one of the largest in Evergreen with Norwood Creek traveling through it. John Tully would own property all over Evergreen. In fact, John Tully’s lawsuit from Antonio Chaboya opened up the conversation for other European farmers homesteading on Rancho Yerba Buena.

Fourteen years later, in 1890, Norwood Avenue runs through to present day Flint Avenue. At its creation, it’s spelt Flindt Avenue. Here, you see John Tully’s partnership with Wallace desolve with his passing and the family sold his half of the property away in small 10 acre lots.

Larger farms like the McClay family’s, shown here to the left, and Leo Renaud on the South side of Norwood Avenue. On the South corner of White Road and Norwood Avenue was Elmer Chase, Richmond Chase and Valley of Heart’s Delight Fruit Packing Co. owner. With the elder Pelliers passing, the property passed to Pierre’s daughter Henrietta, who married Mr. Mirassou, then Mr. Casalegno. One of her daughters would marry Mr. Renaud on Norwood Avenue. The creekbed isn’t show here in this picture, but the properties are growing smaller. The map would be impossible to read with all of Evergreen’s creeks also noted. This area was awesome for vineyards.

Remington Drive where Norwood Creek Elementary School is located is most likely this beginning stretch of road off of Quimby Road which doesn’t quite connect but is very near the school’s location along Mr. Tully’s widow’s property. The Hall’s Subdivision along Norwood Avenue would be one of the first in the area, along with the Cadwallader Subdivision.

This map in 1956 shows Norwood Avenue in the center. Remington hasn’t become a major paved road yet. Notice how Evergreen written in red is so much lower. Its not that the Norwood area or the creek is outside Evergreen or Rancho Yerba Buena.

Norwood is the relationship it has with downtown Evergreen and its placement within the Rancho. When broken into two parts its North Woods. It is farthest North of the along the Rancho Yerba Buena border. In all likelihood, the Creek was named Norwood long before the avenue. It was a popular family name for people from northern lying woodlands. This was the woods to the North of Evergreen along a main artery of White Road. The Norwood area as the Rancho had streams trickling through it and densely populated with trees, with nearby farmhands houses on the North side. The woods provided the Chaboyas a little buffer with their ranches along Quimby Road. The forested area would create a natural boundary for the cattle as well. John Tully would plant eucalyptus trees along Tully Road which still grow today in the heavily wooded area. This would also refer to the area where Cedar Grove Elementary School is located, but we’ll talk about “Cedar” in Evergreen at another time.

Here’s the artwork with references to Norwood Creek.

Alfred Chew’s Residence

May 27, 2016Artwork, Historical Researchaborn, california, chew, chew family, civil service, downtown evergreen, evergreen, evergreen people, family, leadership, orchards, statehood, street name, Valley of heart's Delightevergreen

The people and places featured in books and publications back in the 1800’s were highly regarded as well as some of the only glimpses into other places at the time. Alfred Chew was made popular by the Thompson and West Altas published in 1876. Print was a limited medium, but made the exchange of information possible. Tales of the Western Frontier being tamed were becoming public knowledge as fruit, dried and canned, would reach the East Coast from Santa Clara Valley. The building of railroads brought many people to California through and after the Gold Rush, but also made the export of fruit and curiosity a real commodity.

Images of Santa Clara Valley were published for the whole world to delight in, along with our bountiful produce in the Valley of Heart’s Delight. This would’ve also served as a tourism guide of landmarks to see when visiting the area. Evergreen and Silver Creek were located in the Rancho Yerba Buena Survey, eventually becoming the whole of Evergreen. The associated map for the above photo is to the right, from Thompson and West’s 1876 Atlas with Alfred Chew’s residence featured. Fitting, the Survey of mention is in green.

As you can see from this 1890 map to the left, before the turn of the century, Aborn Road was known as Evergreen Road west of White Road and San Felipe Road. To the East of San Felipe Road, the heavily driven Evergreen artery Aborn Road was known as Chew Lane. The Chew property is also featured here in the 1890 map at the top right corner along Chew Lane. That got me chewing on who Alfred Chew was.

Mr. Alfred Chew (1834-1910) would do a little traveling from his Ohio home front before settling down. Young Alfred would come with his parents, Morris Rees Chew and Mathilda Crumley, to live in Illinois before traveling West on his own. In 1853, Alfred Chew would start his journey West with the Kirkpatrick Company, headed for Oregon and making the most out of getting lost at the Missouri River. Kirkpatrick didn’t immediately arrive in Oregon that time. Before becoming a farmer in Evergreen, Alfred would meander South into California. We know about Mr. Alfred Chew for his leadership in early California Statehood in different areas of the State. Alfred Chew would run cattle through Gilroy before he would suffer from typhoid fever. Before returning home to Illinois in 1860, Mr. Alfred Chew would pursue government posts, and surely a different type of occupation than he had before. He was the US Deputy Surveyor for San Luis Obispo County in the late 1850’s. Alfred Chew would return to Illinois and marry Margaret Kennedy, returning to Evergreen with his new bride.

Alfred Chew would come to Evergreen and begin farming in 1860 3 miles outside of Evergreen. Alfred Chew would take his year’s profits and purchase a portion of attorney William Matthew’s property near downtown Evergreen in 1861, which was granted to him in exchange for legal services from the Chaboya vs. Squatters battle in years prior. This 1896 map shows no road where Chew Lane and now Aborn Road exists. Evergreen literally grew up with and around the Chew Family homestead. This is a black and white close up of the 1876 Thompson and West Altas with Chew’s property under “SAN”, before the road in his name was created. He would’ve moved in right next door to Charles Smith and Genrio Chaboya as one of the first residents of Evergreen.

After his winfall year farming 200 acres 3 miles outside of Evergreen in 1859, Chew would buy 100 acres of his own and build his home in downtown Evergreen. He would raise 7 children with wife Margaret, Mamie. They would’ve gone to the Evergreen Schoolhouse. Mr. Alfred Chew would return to civil service, elected to the Board of County Supervisors in 1873. He would serve on the Board from 1874-1878. Chew would also serve in Santa Clara County’s Assessor’s Office into the early 1900’s. Both his wife, Mamie, and his daughter, Emily Ann or Emma, would teach at the Evergreen Schoolhouse down the street from his downtown Evergreen house. Emma would also marry into the well-known, well liked Hostetter Family, who found their way to Santa Clara County with the Evergreen Farnsworth family guardians. Over the 50 years Alfred lived in Evergreen, Chew’s neighbors would sell their large downtown Evergreen farms away to make room for subdivision housing. Evergreen would continue to grow in population. Chew’s farm had a very different fate.

Mr. Alfred Chew’s Obituary would read “PROMINENT SAN JOSE ORCHARDIST IS DEAD Alfred Chew,” County Treasury Watchdog Passes Away SAN JOSE, Calif. Jan. 2. — Alfred Chew, for 33 years the “watchdog of the county treasury” and one of the most prominent orchardists of the county, died late last evening; at his home near Evergreen at the age of 75 years. For nearly half a century he had served the community as supervisor and deputy assessor or deputy tax collector. He is survived by seven children… ”

The Chew children would continue to live in and work on the Evergreen farm on Chew Lane. Chew’s reputation and leadership in the early days of Evergreen was the reason its main artery was name after him over a hundred years ago. You can see it crossing the “A” in this 1902 map along the Hart Line.

As you can see from the 1911 map to the left, this was the time Evergreen Road and Chew Lane became one Aborn Road. John Aborn, another revered Evergreen character, was a local pioneer figure from before Alfred Chew’s time in Evergreen who fought for farmers with the Chaboya Family, making the town of Evergreen possible. I wonder how his family must’ve felt about the renaming. Regardless of how Alfred Chew would’ve felt about the change of the street’s name, he would never have witnessed the change of address. The Chew Estate would stay in the family for a short while longer, all married and established, and the Chew family would move out of Evergreen in the 1910’s with Mamie’s passing.

Shortly after the Chews’ death and Aborn Road’s creation, the original 100 acres purchased from William Matthews in 1861 would be sold to another famed Evergreen family, the Mirassous. Henriette Pellier would marry Mr. Mirassou, see her family carry on the tradition of winemaking and move the winery operations from Pellier Ranch off Quimby and Chaboya Road in 1911 to the Chew property off of Chew Lane. There, the Mirassou family would have its famed vineyards and historic tasting room on Aborn Road for almost 100 years.

Through this artwork we’re trying to explain the transition from Native wilderness, to Mexican cow pastures to American homesteads. The artwork that features Mr. Alfred Chew’s residence from 1876, though certainly built in the 1860’s, is a piece that tries to do just that. Farmers moving into Evergreen would breathe new life into the ever green hills. Leaders like Chew would shape a developing area and Evergreen’s identity to the rest of the Country. It’s important to know who Chew was in Evergreen’s narrative.

Through the grapevine – Pellier Contributions

May 5, 2016Artwork, Historical Researchagriculture, business, california, evergreen, family, fruit, generations, grapes, mexican, missions, orchards, pellier, period, prunes, settlers, Valley of heart's Delight, vineyards, wine, winemakingevergreen

My grandmother used to own a home off Norwood Avenue and have volunteer grapevines charging up through her hillside backyard. Little did she know, my grandmother’s house was a part of the Pellier estate, one of the largest in early Evergreen.

The Pellier Brothers would eventually come to call Evergreen home in the late 1850’s. Before that, the Pelliers would live in the Pueblo of San Jose as California became a State and as San Jose became its Capitol in the early 1850’s. Luis Pellier would get creative with his brother Pierre while gold panning in 1848, changing San Jose and California forever once again.

By bringing over their cions , seeds, clippings and plantings from their Native Country of France, Luis, Pierre and Jean Pellier would set fire to the huge California Fruit Industry. Basically, there was no industry before that, as Mission lands and their predictable orchards were left unattended and were being reclaimed by wilderness. The California Missions were secularized by Mexico in 1833. By the time the Pelliers came to California, the Missions weren’t even holding Catholic Mass.

In fact, Evergreen before the Pellier journeys would’ve been cattle grazing land. After the Pellier journeys, Santa Clara Valley would become known as the Valley of Heart’s Delights.

What was grown in the Spanish Period at the Franciscan Missions in California from 1769-1821? I’m so glad you asked. The indigenous native peoples, priests and monks grew “mission grapes”, apples, lemons and oranges, beans, veggies and olives for the most part. Olive Oil would be a source of pride for the Missions. The “Mission Grape” of the Spanish colonists was a Vitus vinifera, a Spanish variety that was black and blue in color. The clippings would’ve been brought over sea with Cortez’s colonization of Mexico or New Spain. Only problem was less than 1000 acres of vineyards would be cultivated in California until the 1850’s. These plants were a dying off as people left the Missions. The Mission Grape would have been made into wine for Sacraments. The Spanish may have brought apricots as well, originating in Turkey. There was an indigenous plum tree present in California. A wild grape, too, would be indigenous. Mission San Jose would be one of the biggest producers, but would’ve been closed for several years by the time the Pelliers set sail.

What did the Pellier brothers from France with help from the Delmas brothers bring to the Port of Alviso and to Santa Clara County? Luis and Pierre Pellier would pull into port and sell peach, pear, plum, cherry, apple and prune cions off their boat in Alviso in the 1850’s. Certainly his most famous contribution was the Angen ‘D Petit Prune, but the Valley of Heart Delight would begin with these trips to France and these cions. With the driving force of the Pelliers’ new varietals, the Fruit Industry would soon provide thousands of jobs, would drive people to come to the Santa Clara Valley and would bring spark the Fruit Canning business. We, in California, still feel the benefit of their actions today.

The French Prune brought to California in 1854 was considered perfect for drying and dipping. After it was grafted on to a California plum tree, it became an instant success. Pellier raised orchards of prunes and a nursery famed in downtown San Jose. The Angen ‘D Petit Prune was immediately adopted by other Santa Clara Valley’s orchardists. This would become Santa Clara County’s identity to the rest of the United States through the 1950’s when Silicon Valley bumped it. The prune’s attributes, complimentary for drying and dipping, would make them a popular commercial export.

The Prune Orchards would quickly spread all over Santa Clara County, the Valley of Heart’s Delight, and then all over California. The French Prune ignited the whole California Fruit Industry, as only dried fruits could be exported. The Mexican Government had a hard time settling California. California through the Mexican Period (1821-1848) wouldn’t be well-known for its awesome agriculture, despite the rich soil noted by the Spanish Missionaries. Evergreen was a grazing land. The Missions closing meant the crops became scarce. Pellier’s strategy was inspired by the high price of fruit.

A dollar gets you much less today, so you will naturally need more dollars to obtain the same product over 100 years ago. Here’s an exception to that rule. Before Luis and Pierre Pellier’s travels, an apple would cost over a dollar. Today, $2.00 would get you a pound or several apples. The demand was so high for apples and produce, most people couldn’t afford them. You could forget about apple pie. That would’ve cost you over $20.00 in apples alone in 1850’s California. If you were in California in the 1850’s, you were a pioneer, gold panning and roughing it. Their business idea was brilliant. I wonder if they knew about the Manifest Destiny campaign that would send thousands of newcomers to California in a few short years.

Luis Pellier would open “City Gardens” and sell his cions and young trees to the rest of Santa Clara County’s farmers in 1850. This was the epicenter of the Valley of Heart’s Delight, creating a path to the American Dream for farmers coming to California. The Pellier brothers would leave their popular nursery and orchards in downtown San Jose, where Pellier Park is today, and move to Evergreen to plant acres of vineyards in later 1850’s.

In 1858, Luis Pellier, now Evergreen resident, would present nine varieties of foreign grapes at the national trade show, being described as “unequalled to any other of the same variety”. Luis Pellier’s introduction of new grapes would almost single handedly create the California Wine Industry as well. Grafted on to Mission vines and indigenous vines, these grapes is really well in Evergreen. When wine was made and the word spread, the Pelliers struck gold again.

The Pellier brothers are originally from the Bordeaux region of France, well-known for its Wine Industry. The Pellier boys would’ve grown up cultivating their parents’ vineyards and orchards in France. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec would’ve been easily found in that region of France. Folle Blanche, the ultimate brandy making grape, has been contributed to Luis Pellier. A Black Burgundy grape, another brandy grape, would also be brought to California by Pellier. A Mourvedre vine, similar to a Mission Grape but a French strain, has also been drawn back to Pellier. These would become popular in Zinfandel vineyards. Chasselas Fontainebleau, French Colombar and Madelaine are green grapes for white wines that have also been contributed to the Pellier brothers trips to France.

Even though the Pellier brothers would become famous for their perfect prune trees, descendants of the Pelliers would be boastful of its Pinot Noir grapes and wines. These certainly would’ve been brought back from France in the 1850’s by their forefathers. Pellier descendants, the Mirassou family, have called Evergreen home for over 150 years. Mirassou Winery operated off of Aborn Road for 100 years and continues to be a landmark in Evergreen. Today, the Mirassou Winemaking Family continues to be the oldest Wine Family in California and continue to call Evergreen home.

Before this point, varieties of wine could only be found in Europe, mainly in France and Spain, and imported into the United States. California wasn’t well settled, but that would change fairly rapidly. Again, Missions harvested Mission Grapes for altar wines and brandy, but there wasn’t much more out there. What was out there was going away with the Missions closing. With the Gold Rush and Manifest Destiny in full affect, the Pelliers would be at the right place at the right time to make something amazing happen. California is the second capitol of wine today. It would difficult to envision Napa Valley today without its vineyards. 80% of these vines can be traced back to that Alviso Port. California’s Fruit Industry was initiated by Pellier’s cions. Luis Pellier is acknowledged as one of the founding fathers of San Jose. Here’s the artwork specific to the Pellier Family past and its present.

Generations of the Kettmann Clan

May 5, 2016Artwork, Historical Researchagriculture, apricots, business, civil service, downtown evergreen, evergreen, evergreen people, family, fruit, generations, invention, kettmann, orchards, street name, township, Valley of heart's Delight, vineyardsevergreen

Along the research for this Evergreen project, I have met the most fantastic people. If this guy needed a new best friend, I would be first in line. I discussed with Honorable Judge Gerhard J. Kettmann (Jerry) the four generations of his family who blossomed in Evergreen and continue to call Evergreen home today. He’s the ultimate expert, having written a book and working on another about their family history. What is extraordinary about the Kettmann family, making it a crucial piece of our mural series, is their witness to almost 150 years of Evergreen’s development. We will start by discussing how the Kettmann’s came to America. The United States is a country of immigrants. We would all come here from somewhere else. I think that’s the first thing that bonds all of us Evergreen residents together.

Johan Hermann Gerhard Kettmann (George) was the youngest of 8 siblings, born in 1827 in Kettenkamp, Germany. His someday wife would be another German immigrant growing up only 8 miles away in Germany. Gerhard Kettmann would leave his Native Country of Germany at the age of 22 and arrive in the Port of New Orleans in 1849. Gerhard Kettmann would travel from Louisiana through Panama to come to Sutter County, California in 1853 and pan for gold. With a little luck along the Yuba River and Feather River, George would come to purchase 160 acres of land in Sutter County.

George Kettmann would marry Bernadina Torbrecke in Marysville, California, but there’s a very cute folkloric story to this pairing. Dina was first cousin of the Krehe Family, who would also come to live in Evergreen. Henry and Bernard Krehe would invite their unmarried family members from Germany to come to the United States. George Kettmann, being close friends with the Krehes, got to make his pick first and chose Bernadina.

Whether that story was true or not, the German couple was married in Marysville, California in January of 1858. George and Bernadina Kettmann would have eleven children. The Kettmann clan would begin grow in Sutter County on the acreage along the Feather River, operating a general store known as “Five Mile House”. In addition to the store along the highway, George also would raise a herd of sheep and cattle on his 160 acres before moving the whole herd, family and all, to the Santa Clara County.

George Kettmann showed interest in Santa Clara County in the 1850’s, after traveling their with a family member. With the new variety of fruit being introduced to the agricultural field stimulated by Luis and Pierre Pellier, Kettmann made his move to Evergreen, then a tiny farming town. George Kettmann would purchased a portion of Rancho Yerba Buena in 1867 near downtown Evergreen along Evergreen Road. In fact, this first Evergreen parcel purchased by the Kettmanns belonged to the Chaboya Family’s attorney, William Matthews, and had been paid land in order to settle those legal fees.

This initial parcel was a perfect 150 acre rectangle with the exception of the land that had been donated to the Evergreen Elementary School. Evergreen’s schoolhouse would be where the shopping center with the Valero and Wells Fargo is today. The Evergreen Elementary School would be located here until 1892, when it moved a little down San Felipe Road. Kettmann Road at Aborn Road is very near this school site, but it would’ve been on the other side of Thompson Creek, then Dry Creek. Let it be known though that even the attorney didn’t donate this land. That carried over on the Title from the previous owner, Mr. Cadwallader.

The Kettmann family didn’t stop with that first purchase of 147.7 acres in downtown Evergreen. Through an interesting purchase and exchange of land with fellow German immigrants, the Hassler family, the Kettmanns obtained another 103.10 acres in 1875. The Hasslers and Kettmanns separated the properties along the Touchard Line, which falls on part of present day Neiman Boulevard. Modern day Kettmann Road, where the Evergreen Library Branch is located on Aborn Road, runs between these two land purchases. As Evergreen folklore would have it, this acquisition was the only purchase Antonio Chaboya’s family actually profited off of after their debts were settled trying to evict their new neighbors. In 1881, one of George Kettmann’s sons would become an Evergreen landowner as well.

The eldest of eleven siblings, Clemens Andrew Kettmann was born on the Marysville ranch in 1858, less than a year after the couple wed. Clemens would’ve made the journey with his father, George, the large sheep herd and fellow cowboys to Evergreen in 1868. Clemens Kettmann was the only son to make the journey at 9 years old. Young Clem only had sisters at that point. The trek from Marysville with the herd must’ve taken over a month on horseback. The rest of the family would come in 1869, after Dina gave birth to another sister. From the Evergreen homestead, the clan would continue to raise livestock but also incorporate fruit, vegetables and grain into their business strategy.

Homestead Laws would allow families to obtain a certain portion of land from the government after cultivating it for 5 years. The Kettmann Family as a group diversified this ranching strategy in the heart of Evergreen and accentuated their grazing potential with homestead purchases along the back side of Mt. Hamilton Ranch. These adjoining Mt. Hamilton homesteads weren’t fantastic for farming, but it could and would be done with altered harvesting equipment. The Kettman clan had so many acres in the Mt. Diablo Mountain Range, this area would become known as “Kettmann Range”. Lamb and sheep would be a rarity in Evergreen and San Jose at this time. Cattle ranching would’ve been totally ordinary and generally what had been grazing throughout Evergreen for some 50 years beforehand. The Kettmann clan held on to their German heritage by passing on this tradition.

Clemens Kettmann would come to purchase the adjacent parcel to his father’s in 1881, then 23 years old, from Louis Kampfen, another German farmer, who obtained his portion after the Hasslers from the previous Hassler/Kettmann deal. This was 80.18 acres large, literally being the family’s “80 acres”. Kettmann’s friends and cousins, the Krehe Family, would also move in nearby. There was quite the hotspot of German American culture in early Evergreen, with the Smith’s and Stephens Families nearby.

Clemens A. Kettmann would marry a German-American lady, Mary Vollmer, in 1890 at St. Joseph’s Basilica in downtown San Jose. Mary wore an apricot colored dress, how fitting. Clem Kettmann and Mary Vollmer would have seven kids on their Evergreen homestead. This labor force, along with his younger brothers at his father’s homestead next door, would help Clem Kettmann cultivate the land.

Having a big family in the 19th century was a big deal. You needed help working on the farm. In fact, having eleven children wouldn’t be enough to operate ranches as large as these. The Kettmanns would employ help in the house and on the farm. The children would start picking fruit between school breaks and into adulthood would sew sacks and become a part of the traveling crew harvesting crops all over Evergreen. Harvests were true team efforts. A barter system would be reached for labor and harvesting. Horses were in high demand for plowing and the like. Labor was generally $2.00 a day for a horse and a man. This was a typical scene from the Fowler Threshing Syndicate, harvesting grain. Evergreen was a teambuilding utopia back in the day. Strength in numbers seemed to be a focus.

Generations of the Kettmann clan would grow up in Evergreen alongside the Industrial Revolution. George Kettmann would’ve farmed just like he had learned to in his Native Germany, very much by hand. The Farming Industry during this time would transition from horse and plow, pitchforks, sickle and scythe to tractors, threshing machines and haypresses. George’s youngest son, Andrew Kettmann, would develop tools for apricot harvesting. Clem’s children, too, would’ve hand first on experience transitioning from horse pulled threshing crews to tractor or truck pulled rig. The Kettmann clan would continuously learn to adapt their farming techniques as the technology improved. In the 1920’s, Clem’s son, Julius, would open a garage to help fix machines in downtown San Jose after adapting and fixing machinery on the family homestead. This legacy can be seen as descendants now operate the Kettmann Machining, Inc. in San Jose.

George and Clem would both plant orchards on their properties. Clemens Kettmann would plant several acres of apricots with their commercial stock going way up. Mixing his varieties of apricot, Clem created a sweet apricot which was also large and ripened evenly. Clem’s sloped property presented irrigation problems for portions of his orchards. He found the unirrigated crop was sweeter but smaller than the other harvest. These were his apricots. He would find the same to be true of his corn crops. Those that were naturally watered were naturally sweeter.

The Kettmann families would plant several acres of prunes and cherry orchards along with their apricots. The clan also had several acres of vineyards also at their Evergreen property. Threshing crews would cultivate over a hundred acres of grain, oats and alfalfa from the Kettmann farms. I never thought about it before, but horses take a lot to feed. If you have horses for plowing, you need acres just to settle your own horses. The Kettmann family would continue to grow and branch out in Evergreen. Into the 1900’s their children would take over the roles running the farms and ranches after their education. Prohibition cause a lot of vintners to pull up their grapevines and retire their wine businesses. The Kettmanns did not however and made a small fortune continuing to sell grapes for underground wine operations. Between these ranches and the Kettmann Range, the Evergreen family was sitting pretty.

The German American Inventor and all around funny guy, Andrew Kettmann would grow up sewing sacks for grain and maintaining the family farm. George’s son and Clem’s youngest brother, Andy Kettmann would open downtown Evergreen’s second Saloon along San Felipe Road. Andrew Kettmann’s Saloon became increasingly popular amongst quicksilver miners through World War I. This spot would be a hub of culture until 1920 when Prohibition was enforced. Until then, many tipsy tales were told out of Andy’s Saloon.

After George’s passing in 1912, his property would be equally divided amongst his eleven children. The Kettmann Family Ranch would continue to modernize with Clem’s son’s, Louis. Louis Kettmann would take Clem’s horse powered ranch into the present with the purchase of a tractor built from tank parts. Large mechanical farming equipment would need to be leased or the old machinery would need to be updated. The rural Village of Evergreen was rapidly changing through the early 1900’s. Cars were a blessed invention and roads would be paved, but open space began to dwindle. That free path to the Kettmann Range through Downtown Evergreen would close up. Clem would pass in 1943. The Kettmann family continued to expand, but some would start breaking away from the family business to pursue their own goals. Farming in Evergreen would become more scarce as more residents starting moving in. Managing the wasn’t easy business as my interviewee would realize firsthand.

In the summer of 1947, Judge Jerry Kettmann, then just known as Jerry, would lease hay land from Grandma Mary (Vollmer) Kettmann. It was Jerry’s idea to make it rich that summer and buy a convertible to take out coeds from San Jose State. This same model T, pictured here with Jerry taken over that summer, pooped out in the middle of the road off San Fernando and 4th Street near the University. Jerry called his cousin to help push the car out of the roadway and into the gas station it pooped out yards away from. Jerry Kettmann would sell off a nearly paid-off tractor to cover his losses and pay his grandmother back that summer.

George’s great grandson and Clem’s grandson, Judge Gerhard J. Kettmann, was born in 1926 in Los Gatos but would soon relocate to his father’s Evergreen homestead. As a boy, Jerry would attend Evergreen Elementary School, then Roosevelt Middle School and San Jose High School. Kettmann recalls family get togethers with the Chaboya family as a child. Jerry would throw apricots like snowballs, run through vacant mine shafts and sleep in homemade treehouses in Evergreen. Judge Kettmann is a huge fan of flying, a fondness he developed on an aircraft carrier in World War II. Kettmann’s father and grandfather could’ve told him tales of Montgomery’s pioneer flights from their own experience.

After serving in the Navy in World War II, Jerry Kettmann later worked in the railroad as a fireman, at the Baron-Gray Packing Company packing fruit and then at the Post Office downtown before attending SJSU for Aviation Engineering then Business and Economics. Sadly, young Jerry’s 1947 dream of striking it rich quick would never be realized.

The Honorable Judge Jerry Kettmann was accepted to Stanford Law in 1953 but instead attended UC Berkeley, where he graduated in the upper third of his class. Judge Kettmann began working as a Trust Attorney for Wells Fargo, but left to pursue trial law with the District Attorney’s Office. Though Judge Kettmann is partial to Civil Law, he told me about 85% of the cases he saw on the bench were criminal cases. Judge Kettmann would oversee cases at the height of the Civil Rights movement, even appearing in front of an Angela Davis case. Rioters would shout things and try to frustrate Judges. It wouldn’t work on Judge Kettmann, though. He removed their signs and have them properly tagged by court officials as the defending attorney tried including them as evidence. Judge Kettmann would find himself arbitrating through the later part of his career.

Judge Gerhard J. Kettmann would retire from the Law and write from his Evergreen home. The Kettmann family historian carries a tradition that began about 150 years ago in Evergreen. Judge Kettmann, though groomed on the farm, managed to keep up with the quickly changing times. This area of Evergreen, between Kettmann Road and Neiman Boulevard was developed beginning in the 1960’s. At 89 years young, Judge Kettmann’s enthusiasm is contagious. Really, I am so proud of my Evergreen people. It makes my job so easy when they are great and have great stories to tell! Here’s the artwork we have worked up for the Kettmann Family.

Before the Rancho

April 25, 2016Artwork, Historical Researchagriculture, antonio, california, californios, Chaboya, indians, mexican, mexico, missions, natives, Ohlone, orchards, pedro, period, rancho, Rancho Yerba Buena, statehood, vineyardsevergreen

Our fair Evergreen certainly has seen so many changes since Europeans first came. Our City, or Pueblo, of San Jose was founded the year after the Revolutionary War, 1777. Pueblo de San Jose was the first city in “New Spain” and the first non-religious settlement. Back then, it was Spanish Territory. In 1822, Mexico would win their independence and Alta California would become Mexican Territory. Evergreen was Rancho Yerba Buena through the Mexican Period. In 1848, the Bear Republic would revolt, and Statehood was inevitable in 1850 after Gold was found. Evergreen would be flooded with European newcomers, looking for the American Dream. All that having been said, and having been written down, Evergreen was around before the written record.

California was estimated to have had 13,000-15,000 natives before Spanish colonization. Modern Day Evergreen would be home to Native American several tribes. Hundreds of campsites would be evident in Silver Creek Valley Country Club alone before its construction in the early 1990’s. Artifacts would be found over by the Villages and what would’ve been the Blauer Ranch in the 1960’s. Arrowheads and mortars would be found all over Evergreen.

I have been told to be delicate in how I label the Evergreen Native people. For sure, Ohlone is an appropriate title, but that’s most Natives in Santa Clara Valley. The larger umbrella is Costanoan, all over the South Bay Area to Monterey. As this narrows, the labels become less sure without first person confirmation. An anthropologist might lump them in with the larger Muwekma Ohlone group. Let’s peek under the smaller umbrella.

Tamien or Tamyen were Muwekma and refers to the Native Americans near the Guadalupe River and the Pueblo of San Jose. They would’ve come to Mission de Santa Clara first. That’s not our indigenous Evergreen bunch. Pala or Palenos refers to the Native Americans in and around nearby Rancho Canada dela Pala and Rancho Pala, both being named after a famed Ohlone leader to the. The Werwersen tribe is nearer to Halls Valley and Mt. Hamilton to the Northeast. Native people along Coyote Creek, the western boundary of Rancho Yerba Buena, were called the Aulintac tribe. These are opposite corners of the 25000+ acres of Rancho Yerba Buena and present day Evergreen. Who was in the middle? Who was there at Silver Creek Valley Country Club from 350 years ago? These people had a name and I would hate to misquote. I will get the official tribe name from the people themselves. I want to find our Evergreen Natives, especially since we have so much evidence of them.

From all accounts, our Evergreen indigenous people lived a hunter gatherer lifestyle and a nomadic one at that. Tribes wouldn’t stick around in one place for long and live off the abundant land. Berries, roots, seeds, acorns, and natural grains would take up a large part of their diets. The Ohlone would hunt from a rich, diverse wildlife. A nomadic way of life kept the environment healthy. Ritual dances would be a huge part of their Kuksu Religion. Dance would be incorporated into rain, fertility, hunting, harvest and other sorts of ceremonies. I think Evergreen is gorgeous today. Could you imagine how stunning it was back then? Alum Rock Park is a great resource to get in touch with our Ohlone Natives. Alum Rock Park also has springs similar to Evergreen, along with artifacts and guides to engage with. It’s a popular field trip destination.

In the 19th century, where did they all go?

The Spanish would enter California in the 1760’s. The DeAnza Expedition and Spanish colonization would eventually wipe out the indigenous people across Santa Clara Valley. The Pueblo de San Jose would be established by the Spanish in 1777 and the Mission de Santa Clara de Asis would open right alongside it.

Mission de San Jose opened in June 11, 1797 by Father Fermiin Francisco de Lasuén. It’s located in present day Fremont, on Fremont Boulevard. The Native Americans baptized at Mission de Santa Clara de Asis, near present day Downtown San Jose, would go back home to their land miles away until Mission de San Jose opened nearby. Early days of Mission de Santa Clara and the adjoining Pueblo would see Winter flooding of Guadalupe River, so you couldn’t blame anyone for not wanting to stick around.

The Franciscan Missions along the El Camino Real would be hubs of agriculture at the time. Naval Bases at both San Francisco and Monterey would rely on the Santa Clara Valley to feed themselves. Olive orchards, mission grapes and livestock would be handled by a workforce made up of the Native American converts. After ten years of service, a worker would own a plot of land with a couple of location restrictions.

The Mission of San Jose would open up its doors to 33 people in 1797. Small pox and disease introduced by the Spanish would decimate populations at the Mission around 1805. An earthquake brought down the bell tower in 1808. Nonetheless, the population of Native Americans at the Mission de San Jose would grow steadily through the 1810’s-1820’s. A permanent church was constructed in 1809, only to be struck by an earthquake in 1868. A reconstruction stands there today on Fremont Boulevard. The indigenous people from the San Joaquin Valley at Mission San Jose would revolt in 1928-29. Even still, in 1831, the Mission housed over 1800 Native Americans from across the Bay Area and Central Valley.

After a decade of civil war, Mexican Independence from Spain would be realized in 1822. The Territory of New Spain, or present day Mexico and California, would rule itself with the Roman Catholic Church’s protection. A few years later in 1834, the Franciscan Missions would be secularized by the Mexican Government and the Native Peoples would leave the Missions. By the 1840’s, the Native peoples were clumped together in Communities around the Silicon Valley, finding work on ranches where they could. It must’ve been hard to be an indigenous person letting go of your way of life then be turned out of your new home at Mission. Native Americans would return to their land which was granted to Mexican ranchers, like Antonio Chaboya, in the meantime, therefore have no place to return to. They would’ve been understandably upset. This is where we again encounter our Native Evergreen people.

The Chaboyas would also defended their lands from returning indigenous peoples. The Evening News in 1916 would record an event before it faded in time and memory. Don Pedro Chaboya, brother of Evergreen’s Antonio and alcade or mayor of Pueblo de San Jose, held off a Native revolt in the 1840’s with a band of ranchers and defending the Mexican Rancheros. The returning indigenous people, 300 members strong, would steal over 600 horses and squat on various ranchos. The Ohlone Natives were nomadic originally. The indigenous peoples would lived off the land, leaving little trace. They had the carbon footprint we all want. The Ranchers probably wouldn’t have fought at all unless the theft of horses and cattle happened.

In Antonio Chaboya’s Rancho Yerba Buena, who couldn’t possibly oversee every acre at all time, they were difficult to locate. Rancho Yerba Buena found homesteaders setting up shop after years on Rancho Yerba Buena.

Ranch hands and Ranchers alike, Californios, would come together to defend their way of life. Several of Pedro’s brothers, Jose Berryessa, Sebastian Peralta, Augustine and Jose Bernal, Balentin Higuerra and Augustine Narvaez were just a couple notably ranchers in Pedro’s militia. The Mexican Band of Ranchers would run the Natives off as far as Pacheco Pass, lead by Pedro Chaboya. The Californios would overpower the Ohlones while they took refuge at Lake Tachi.

The Franciscan Missions would become Catholic Churches again in 1868 but the Ohlone Natives would not return in full force. By 1935, the Evergreen Native people were almost extinct. Of course they married into other families and assimilated to their new surroundings. Tracking them down has been really hard, but I have some leads to follow with the Missions themselves. The Ohlone peoples of Santa Clara County and beyond still haven’t been recognized by the Federal Government due to lack of knowledge about them. Their peaceful way of life should be praised, as everyone else who came to Evergreen enjoyed the bounty of the land too. Again, I like to wonder what the Evergreen area looked like before the Spanish colonialists came. Here’s the artwork that features our indigenous Evergreen populations.

Apricot Town

April 16, 2016Artwork, Concept, Historical Researchagriculture, apricots, coe, fruit, kettmann, orchards, pellier, prunes, san jose, township, Valley of heart's Delightevergreen

In discussing what makes Evergreen what it is today, I kept being asked about the variety of fruit shown in the proposed artwork. Almost every interviewee asked me why I was showing love to all the fruit picked here. We have vineyards associated with Evergreen, for sure. My parents kept telling us that they moved in across from apricot orchards and the houses were built when we were too young to remember. The majority of orchards in Evergreen were apricots.

Barry Swenson, Evergreen Native and Downtown Developer, recalls the school schedule coinciding with harvest schedules. “Cot” Season would be from July to August, prune harvest following that before school would resume. Prunes were a big business in the Valley of Heart’s Delight with 80,000 acres of prune trees. Apricots would come in second with some 7,000 acres of trees. Farming families would raise huge farms and huge families to cultivate the rich Evergreen soil. Harvest time was a community event. Families, companies and neighbors all pitched in to pick fruit and harvest grain.

I bet you’re asking: “What’s the prune got that the apricot doesn’t?”

Luis Pellier’s small Agen prune / plum cions would make him famous once successfully grafted or implanted onto a natural wild California plum tree. He’s often called the father of the “California Fruit Industry.” The prune was successfully marketed as “Fine to Dry”, though the prune would need to be hastened through a boiling or dipping process. Prunes as a crop were much easier to harvest than apricots, so they were an attractive investment. Santa Clara County would grow up around prune orchards and packing factory all thanks to Pellier. The Apricot didn’t have a fancy PR campaign and wasn’t so easily dried and exported.

Canned apricots are totally cool and were popular. I certainly remember eating them as a kid. They would still play second fiddle in the Santa Clara Valley to the prune. In the later half of the 1800’s though, that dried prune had the country captivated. Dried fruit to export was a new thing. Canned fruit had been around for a little while as the primary way of exporting fruit long distances. In fact, there weren’t can openers when Evergreen fruit started going into cans. Railroads would be the only way to get fresh fruit out of the Santa Clara Valley. Into the 1900’s, Evergreen Packer, Edmund N. Richmond and the Richmond-Chase Company would be one of those canners using Evergreen harvested apricots.

Not until San Felipe Ranch owner, Henry W. Coe for which the largest State Park is named, changed the drying process did apricots take off. Apricots sun-dried and pitted without any treatment get really sweet but black in color. That’s a difficult product to get to sell. Henry W. Coe perfected the apricot drying system with a sulfur smoke which preserved the color and the golden apricot embraced as a fine dried fruit. Coe was a business man using his back East, New York connections. His exports and products may have inspired the “Heart’s Delight” knick name by the rest of the Country. Importing and exporting was Henry Coe’s strength and he was first to market with the dried apricot.

It turns out that back East, people loved golden apricots and may have gotten over the whole prune fad. The dried ‘cot was new and hip. The farmers across the Town of Evergreen would be blanketed with thousands of acres of apricot orchards. In 1914, 600,000 apricot trees were recorded in Santa Clara County, most of those planted in Evergreen. In the early 1900’s, the apricot industry would improve in Evergreen. German-American farmer, Mr. Emil Farhner, would figure out that cutting the apricot in half, not just pit them, would hasten drying as well as prevent blackening and reduce drying error.

The dried golden apricot technique was perfected here in Evergreen. The delicious snack quickly became a big hit across the country. Tons of the dried fruit were sent around the world, over 25,000 tons exported a year from Santa Clara County. Apricots became especially big business for the Evergreen orchardists. Eastside San Jose Fruit Growers Association would operate out of McLaughlin Road and Tully Road Headquarters until 1899 when it was acquired by California Prune and Apricot Growers, which eventually became SunSweet.

The dried ‘cot was so popular, the methods of harvest also needed to innovate to keep up with the demand. Prunes fell to the ground for harvest, where apricots had to be picked off the trees while on ladders. That can be a balancing act. An Evergreen Native would own the patent on the apricot picking bucket in 1920. Evergreen Native and youngest son of Gerhard Kettmann, for whom Kettmann Road is named, would invent a bucket that hung over the ladder rung, where tying the bucket would eventually dump the bucket or limit how many you could pick at a time. The apricot industry would really develop in Evergreen soil.

Back to that PR campaign the dried prune had, the apricot cions were brought with Spanish colonists through the El Camino Real and raised on the Mission lands. Mission of Santa Clara and Pueblo de San Jose were founded in 1777. Mission of San Jose would open its doors in 1797. That would date the apricots’ roots back in California before 1800.

The apricots were already here before the European immigrants and California Statehood. Spanish “Mission Grapes”, too, were also already around and probably the vines French cions would be grafted on to by Pellier. There were no printing presses to spread agricultural trends in the mid 1800’s. Some Santa Clara Valley farmers would witness the Industrial Revolution very personally and learn to adapt their machinery and techniques, like Andrew Kettmann.

A little trivia: When a apricot and a plum/prune have a baby, it’s called a pluot.

Another bit of trivia: All prunes are plums, but not all plums are prunes.

When people think of Evergreen, they think specifically of Apricots. I think that’s because of the frequency of “Cot” orchards in and around town. It’s not misplaced association, however. I don’t think people know how Evergreen apricots really are. The apricot was made perfect here by forward thinking farmers. The “Cot” is definitely an Evergreen thing.

Here’s some of the artwork we have planned with ‘cots featured.

Redundant Theme – Orchardists

An overwhelming motif of Evergreen is our orchards. You’re going to see a lot of trees in rows portrayed throughout the Evergreen Mural Walk.

My parents would tell tales of moving in across Stevens Lanes from apricot orchards. In creating the artwork for this project, everyone asked why there weren’t more apricots and prunes. This theme is plain as day to those of us who remember fruit stands and vineyards. Our newer residents may not understanding what was here before we moved in.

Our Evergreen entrepreneur and agriculturalist, Luis Pellier, hatched a plan in 1847 while gold panning to bring the seeds, plants and clippings from his native France and forever change the fruit industry of California. The cost of a single apple was $1.50 at the time, which in 1849 dollars was cost prohibitive. Without our guy, there wouldn’t be the awesome economy in San Jose during the 1800’s. He’s really the father of California’s wine and fruit industries. The Pellier family still lives in Evergreen today.

Gunless lawman and California statesman, Charles White, came to America in 1833, but his son was a popular orchardist and businessman. These are Charles E. White’s orchards to the right.

John Tully would own and operate many orchards throughout Evergreen, as would H.L. Stevens. From the 1850’s forward, Evergreen would blossom with orchards.

The East Side Fruit Growers Association opened in 1893 off Tully Road and McLaughlin Road, serving as a trade association for local farmers across Evergreen and East San Jose. They would join a larger sales organization in 1899.

Otis B. Whaley would also make our list of well-known, well-liked orchardists of Evergreen. Also having served on the Evergreen Elementary School Board of Trustees for 27 years, he would cultivate his orchards in Evergreen from 1911 until he passed in 1947. The third school opened in the Evergreen School District would be named in his honor in 1963.

When railroads off Monterey Road became popularized in shipping fruit back east, the fruit industry would shift focus downtown towards the rails. The East Side association, like others in the Santa Clara Valley, would be acquired by the Santa Clara County Fruit Exchange, a dried fruit co-op opened in 1892, once known as the California Prune and Apricot Growers Association. The plant was located across the street from Del Monte’s Canning Plant. California Prune and Apricot would become Sunsweet and can here until 1915. The Fruit Exchange wouldn’t disband until 1916 after the plant burnt down while leased.

Popular companies like Sunsweet, Del Monte, Sun Garden and Valley of Hearts Delight, Richmond-Chase, would ship Evergreen fruit, dried and canned, around the world. Railroads and later Reid-Hillview would play major roles in exporting Evergreen’s produce. Santa Clara County as a whole was known as the Valley of Heart’s Delight, but Evergreen owns the copyright as its owners still live in town. The town and community of Evergreen would identify as an agricultural hotspot well into the 1950’s.

I have a personal relationship with Evergreen orchards picking fruit and pumpkins from the Cortese fruit stand and orchards. My mother and I made a habit of getting cherries there that never made it home, being snacked on between stoplights. Vincent Cortese would immigrate from Sicily in 1917, and work in the orchards. Vincent would eventually marry an Italian-American lady, purchase his own farm in Evergreen and raise his family with an orchardist tradition and one of civil leadership. The orchards in Evergreen would give way to Evergreen Valley College, but John Cortese, also a lawyer, maintains orchards today. This is a tradition that still bears fruit today.

My continued affections for orchards existed in the various fruit trees in my own backyard as a kid. A love of blossoms and blooms enchanted my childhood. Pies and jams of all kinds came out of our Evergreen kitchen. Apple sauce is a tradition. Our backyard gave us peaches in the Spring, Plums in the Summer and Apples all Fall and Winter long. Lemons, and therefore lemonade, are in abundance at my house. To say I’m drawing from experience would be an understatement.

Orchards have always been in my life as a native of Evergreen. Below are pieces that have and haven’t made the cut, but all include our redundant theme of orchards.

Pellier Roots

December 30, 2015Artwork, Historical Researchagriculture, apricots, business, evergreen, evergreen people, family, generations, mining, mirassou, orchards, pellier, prunes, Valley of heart's Delight, vineyards, vintner, winemakerevergreen

The Pellier family and their descendants have been long time Property and Business Owners in San Jose and Evergreen since the late 1840’s. Though one of the murals is designed specifically for the descendants of the Pelliers, I have another mural for what I’m calling the “Pellier Contribution” to San Jose and the Santa Clara Valley.

Mini-History lesson: The Spanish Missions ran the agricultural business and mostly did business with the local naval bases that protected them. The Indians were the farmers and the monks participated as well. However, when California became Mexican Territories, the missions closed down and the Indians were displaced. The vineyards and orchards went dry and much of the valley turned to cattle pasture.

Louis Pellier (1817-72), son of winemakers outside of Bordeaux, had plenty of experience keeping the family farm. At the age of 32, Louis left France during the French Revolution and traveled around Cape Horn to arrive in San Francisco in 1847-8. Louis sent for his brother, Pierre, and they found success gold mining in Weaverville. Pierre served in the French Army during the revolution and came to California in 1849.

Louis quickly realized that there were going to be a flood of people coming to California for the Gold Rush and American Dream. The price of the limited produce was extremely high. With family in France and experience he gained on the family farm, Louis could get into that business. Pierre came to California in 1849 in search of gold, but the Pellier brothers returned to their native country several times in search of a different kind of gold.

On their 1850’s journeys, Pierre brought back his long lost sweetheart, Henriette Renaud. Louis realized his business plans. Louis, Pierre and Jean, the Pellier brothers, stretched out across France, looking for fruit and vegetable varieties to repopulate the rich soil of the Santa Clara Valley. Not all of the plants would arrive alive when traveling by boat. There was a fair amount of learning taking place in the process. In steamer trunks and barrels, the brothers brought seeds, small potted plants and clippings to propagate once back in California.

The brothers improvised when water ran low, presumed to be due to underestimation on the first journey. They kept the clippings alive by inserting them into potatoes for moisture, which worked well.

The Pellier brothers brought some other notable names, the very young Delmas brothers, to California with them. The brothers made considerable amounts of money and bought large plots of land in San Jose and east of San Jose. Unfortunately, the Pelliers sold all their stock of seeds off the dock of Alviso, which meant they had nothing to plant for themselves after the first voyage. This created the necessity of return trips to France, possibly crossing through Panama by train on their way back to California.

Louis Pellier founded City Gardens Nursery in 1850 with Pierre, at the present day corner of St. James Street and San Pedro Street. The Pellier prune clippings were grafted on to wild Californian prunes, and arranged into rows making the first California prune orchards in 1856. City Gardens was open to the public for picnics and for the nuns to pick freely. The prune was a success, and City Gardens was a cultural hub of Downtown San Jose. The California Prune Industry and Valley of Heart’s Delight radiated outward from the Downtown Pellier orchards. This, however, will be a forgotten garden. The Pellier’s other pride lies east of San Jose in the 1860’s.

Louis and Pierre bought land in Evergreen, which was once part of the Chaboya Land Grant or Rancho Yerba Buena. When Louis sold his portion to Pierre, it became one of the largest ranches in the township of Evergreen.

Louis Pellier had a spat with his brothers, presumed to be due to the sale of all the plants or the neglect of their orchards on one of his journeys to France. Pierre took his horticultural skills and expertise to his ranch and vineyards in Evergreen. Louis stayed downtown. Louis took a wife, a woman of French heritage, who wasn’t well suited for him. She quite possibly drove him mad, possibly creating the wedge between brothers.

Don’t worry. There was a lot of love there between the Pellier brothers, even towards the end. Pierre even named his first son after his brother. In 1872, Louis died in a state hospital, due to a nervous breakdown after the separation with his wife. He and his wife had no children. His brother, Pierre, took care of the estate, and the family decided to pay-off the widow with proceeds of the Downtown property. There was a Will in place, but the greedy widow kept coming back for more until a cash settlement was reached.

Louis’s amazing business venture wouldn’t reach its height for many years. In 1929, California would cultivate 171,330 acres of prune orchards. The La Petite D’Agen from France grafted onto the wild prunes proved to be perfect for California. It was fruitful or meaty enough to be dried, making the prune easy to export all over the country. The growth of the railway system made the export possible. Pierre Pellier brought back the Black Burgundy, French Colombar, Chasselas, Fontainebleau, Pinot Noir, Madeline and others from France. With these new varieties, Louis and Pierre Pellier founded the Valley’s French wine industry at City Garden Nursery.

Pierre Pelliers’s vineyards and orchards a few miles east of San Jose would get passed down to his five children, who later became vineyard owners and winemakers themselves, following in the Pellier’s footsteps, even through Prohibition. The descendants of the Pellier brothers would, in fact, become one of, if not the, most famed business out of Evergreen. The family still has living descendants in family house in the neighborhood. They deserve their own mural in my humble opinion.

Here’s a look at the artwork I have planned for the “Pellier Contribution.”

Down White Road

December 26, 2015Historical Researchbusiness, evergreen, evergreen people, family, generations, leadership, orchards, rancho, Rancho Pala, State Capital, statehood, street name, territory, whiteevergreen

So, there’s a main artery of Evergreen North to South down White Road. In fact, a couple locations I scoped out were on White Road. One of my quests was for “White”. Why this name for an important road? Why on my maps from the 1850’s forward? This was an important person back then and today.

Some of my historical references mention a C. E. White in the 1870’s and 1880’s. Was this my Mr. White, namesake of White Road?

Turns out no. I searched property grants and maps from the area checking for the first occurrence of the name. That wasn’t that hard. It was actually one of the first grants in the area and one of the first European names that occur in Evergreen.

Charles White – C. E. White’s father – came to Santa Clara Valley in the 1840’s. Chas. White bought Rancho Pala, just Northeast of Rancho Yerba Buena. His wife, Ellen, and children were granted the properties later on. Rancho Pala is actually a very small part of Evergreen. What White accomplished during his short life was incredible. And the manner in which he died was rather fantastic as well, though I chose not to use it within my artwork.

Charles was born in 1808 in Ireland. He came to the United States with his wife and two kids, and crossed over land through Missouri, Oregon Trail style.

The White Family quickly became some of the most well liked people in the Pueblo de San Jose. Mr. White served many years as an aclade, or magistrate, similar to a modern day judge. Mr. White was critical part of California’s Statehood and then participated in the “Legislature of a Thousand Drinks”, which made California’s first State Capitol Pueblo de San Jose.

Charles White was also a crucial player in San Jose’s creation of downtown, by selling smaller plots and raising funds for the City treasury. Charles White died on board Steamboat Jenny, which exploded after leaving port at Alviso in 1853.

C. E. White, a well-known businessman and orchardist, was Charles White’s son. Through the early 1900’s. Ellen owned Rancho Pala until she passed away in 1887.

They are no known direct relatives of this branch of the White Family. The only way I was able to verify that this was the same Charles White in all the different accounts was through another related White family. Charles and White are both pretty popular names. Charles White referred to in every possible configuration.