Spanish Explorers in S.F. Bay

By Larry Clinton, President

This tale of the first Spanish vessel to visit San Francisco Bay has been excerpted from a translation of the journal of Father Vicente Santa Maria, aboard the supply ship San Carlos under the command of Frigate-lieutenant Juan de Ayala in the year 1775.  It provides a glimpse into how precarious such explorations could be:

It was thought impossible that His Majesty’s supply ship San Carlos should make an expedition. Though sailing under orders on other occasions, she was never to be counted on since her mission could never be accomplished as the orders called for. The best that could happen to her was to escape being wrecked or to have a few days’ relief from danger. Even on this voyage there was no confidence in her at the start, since the first moves she made while yet at San Blas [Mexico] were omens of bad luck; just as she was getting to open water she ran aground, and as she kept pounding on the sand she was in danger of breaking up.

Even the least fainthearted were terror-struck, so many and so great were the alarms that popular rumour scattered abroad; but as matters turned out, without dire mishaps the San Carlos arrived in a hundred and one days at the harbour of Monterey. We stayed as long as it took to unload cargo, renew our supplies of water, get firewood, and do other things needful for the farther part of our journey.

On the morning of the 27th of July, favoured by a southwest wind, we set sail from the harbour of Monterey for that of San Francisco. We went on so well that by the 31st we had made six leagues. This was owing not so much to the ocean currents, we thought, as to our holy father St. Francis, in whose honour we were holding a novena.

The same good luck continued, so that neither rough seas nor strong contrary winds were enough to put us in desperate case by disabling us, or to vex us by holding us back.

So it was that on the 5th day of August, at 8 o’clock in the morning, the captain decided that the first sailing master should take the longboat and make a reconnaissance of the shore and the entranceway to the harbour so that the ship might enter safely. The long-boat was thus employed all that day and the night following.

At sunset we lost sight of the longboat. This made the captain feel anxious and exposed to danger, and with good reason. The wind favoured and he wished to take advantage of the clear night to enter the harbour; but he feared that the longboat, in changing direction from going northerly along the shore of the San Francisco peninsula to easterly in the Golden Gate,  had lost sight of us, and with that the chances of success were not good at all. Nevertheless, his fears could only be allayed by reaching his goal, so the captain decided on following with the utmost caution the course indicated by the direction the longboat had taken. A great help to us in doing so—and we were now at the entranceway to the harbour—was a crescent moon that could be seen ahead of us above a high and distant shore.

Neither the very strong currents nor mistrust of striking a submerged rock could check the captain’s resolve not only to make his way into an unknown harbour, but, even more worth remarking, to go in as far as to the place where we should best be anchored. The next day we observed an odd thing, which was that as we were proceeding broadside to an island beyond which, further ahead, there was not much depth, the current and a dead calm stopped us, and it was as if we dropped back. So as not to lose headway it was decided to cast anchor opposite the island of Santa Maria de los Angeles [Angel Island]. Thus we passed the night in anxiety from not knowing the whereabouts of the longboat.

At half past 6 o’clock the next morning the longboat came to the ship. When the captain asked the sailing master why he had not returned the preceding evening, he answered that (after having reconnoitered a good and safe anchorage for the ship)  he had tried to go out to meet her and guide her in but was prevented by the strength of the current against him. He had therefore decided to anchor and pass the night in a cove near the mouth, on the south side.

Next time:  the Spaniards encounter the indigenous “heathens.”

Bloody Fight in Sausalito

By Larry Clinton, President

The following excerpt is from the Sausalito News of February, 1952.

Many Sausalitans coming home from the bustling city to relax in this picturesque and peaceful community, will be surprised to know that Sausalito saw a bloody battle around the turn of the century.

The story is told in an article clipped from the new magazine “Gentry.” According to the “Gentry” clipping – a reprint from an eastern publication of that era -- this particular Corbett-Choynski bout was “a most bloody and brutal encounter.”

Corbett defeated Joe Choynski of San Francisco in one of the most “grueling, rough and dirty” fights ever staged.  The battle was reported to have actually taken place in two acts in spring, 1885.  Corbett met his opponent in a stable loft in Sausalito, crowded with more than 100 “hysterical” spectators who expected a police raid at any moment.

A check with old-time Sausalitans who well remember the two fighters, disclosed that the barn – a 26x29 foot structure – was either located on the present site of the downtown park or between the Chinese laundry on Bridgeway, just south of Princess Street.  It is believed that the stable which was located on the present plaza was the one, however, since it was the largest in town.

An ex-pugilist Patsy Hogan refereed and Corbett and Choynski wore two-ounce gloves.  The article describes how Corbett made a gory mess of  Choynski’s “countenance” for almost four rounds, while the latter retaliated with “ponderous thumps” to the mid-section. 

At the start of the fourth round, Corbett broke his right thumb on the side of his opponent’s head.  And at this point, the Marin county sheriff could stand no more.  He stopped the bout.  If memories of Sausalito’s long-time residents serve them correctly, Frank Haley was the sheriff at that time.

The account of the fight goes on to state that the second act of the fight was resumed six days later, on Tom Williams’ barge anchored off Suisan Bay.  Skin-tight gloves were used and under a broiling sun, “the two plug-uglies belabored each other for 27 rounds.  Finally, a stunning left by Corbett broke his opponent’s proboscis, causing unconsciousness.”

The writer of the eastern account of the west coast fight left no doubt he frowned on this “savagery” in the art of self-defense.  Contending that Corbett, an erstwhile banker, stick to his banking, despite the fact that he was then being eyed as a possible opponent for the great John L. Sullivan.

In addition to his banking job, Corbett was boxing instructor at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.  He had three sisters living on Cazneau Avenue and visited them frequently.  He trained in Sausalito for a great many of his fights, taking on his sparring partners in the Dexter apartments, which were located opposite the old San Francisco Yacht Club building on Bridgeway, then known as Water street. 

Corbett also had a few pupils in Sausalito whom he instructed in the art of boxing.

As the editor of the “Gentry” article points out, Corbett no only became the world’s heavyweight champion less than three years after the bloody bout with Choynski, but is revered as the father of scientific boxing and the inventor of the art of shadow boxing.  Many claim he was the most adroit boxer of all.

All this may leave the reader wondering what was what.  Was the bloody battle actually staged here or was Corbett actually a scientific boxer?  The Sausalito old-timers have a simple explanation for this one.  The bloody battle, or at least nearly four rounds of it, took place in Sausalito and Corbett was adroit enough, but “there was just bad blood” between him and Choynski, a Golden Gate baker boy.

James J. Corbett, a year after his epic Sausalito boxing match.

Photo: Wikipedia public domain image

A Waterfront Way of Life: Galilee Harbor

By Steefenie Wicks

The history of Galilee Harbor is rich in fact that sometimes sounds like fiction.  This small waterfront community has spent the last 31 years trying to educate the public about life on the water and what that means to them and their community.   The community has always been involved in the argument that living on the water is the most traditional way of keeping the waterfront alive.  This idea however is not one that was favored by the Bay Conservation and Development Commission  in 1991.  An article written by historian Carl Nolte and printed in the San Francisco Chronicle in June of 1991 takes on the plight of the Galilee Harbor community as they sought permits to become the first all live aboard harbor in California.

The following is an excerpt from the beginning of that article, “Way of Life In Peril on Galilee Harbor”:

The law and a lifestyle are engaged in one of those guerrilla wars that no one wins on a muddy corner of the Sausalito waterfront.

This one is over Galilee Harbor, a collection of 50-some small boats in various stages of genteel retirement that serve as floating homes.  About 65 or so people live there, the kind of people they used to call artists, or Bohemians, or maybe just colorful types.

Choice Waterfront Land

The Galilee people, who pay an average rent of $250 a month for their berth space, are living on some of the choicest waterfront land in the world: rich habitat for animals and birds and shore life, and, by the way, worth a fortune.

 So naturally, there is a problem.  In the old days, the Sausalito waterfront was administered by a policy of what Galilee resident Joe Troise calls ”benign neglect.”

But now it’s neither benign nor neglect.

The Galilee Harbor people, who have been organized since 1978 into a nonprofit community association, are no fools.  They and their allies used federal funds, private foundation money and their own initiation to draw up a big, new plan for an all-new Galilee Harbor.  The plan would replace the funky piers and rickety walkways that are both charming and a bit unsafe.”

 The “Peril” that Nolte refers to in his article is the Bay Conservation and Development Commission or BCDC, as they are known. This organization considered the Galilee community to be illegal.   At that time the current members of the community were being fined by the state for occupying the space. This was also a time when the community was being told to leave or they would be removed. It was only through political changes in Sausalito that would allow the Galilee Harbor Community to obtain their Conditional Use Permit  (CUP), from the Sausalito City Council.  Although, this was a major victory for the Harbor, the looming fear of BCDC hung heavy in the air. The next hurdle would be to submit the form for a BCDC permit to remain at this location .

Nolte’s 1991 article continued:

“The next, and the hardest, trick was to get a permit from the BCDC, the guardians of San Francisco Bay.  A flinty-eyed organization that takes its work seriously, BCDC decides what can or cannot be built on the Bay Shore.  Last month, the BCDC staff, which has wide discretionary power, filed a suit against the Galilee Harbor and its members.  The thrust of the suit is that the Galilee community is living on the waterfront illegally.

“’From our point of view, what they are doing now is illegal until the commission issues a permit, if it ever does,’ said Alan Pendleton, BCDC’s executive director.

“Just you wait, say the Galilee people.  Even now, they are getting ready to submit an application to the commission for Sausalito’s first ‘officially sanctioned live-aboard marina.’

“But Pendleton and the BCDC staff are standing by to blow the plan out of the water.  ‘The rules say that new houseboat marinas should not be established in the bay and that is what this is,’ he said.  ‘The issuance of a permit does not seem very likely.’

“In the romantic view of the Galilee people, the existence of the harbor is in the best traditions of Sausalito. If it is driven away, Troise says, it will be another waterfront victory for ‘fake plastic boats that just sit there. People will wonder where did all the real life go?’

“In the realistic view of BCDC, Galilee should get a permit or get out.  The chance of getting a permit? ‘Not very good,” said Pendleton’.”

In closing, it is interesting to note that the Galilee Harbor Community, signed its settlement agreement with BCDC in 1996 and is the only legal all live aboard harbor in California.

On January 26 Steefenie Wicks, founding member and resident photographer, will share images and stories of Galilee Harbor’s Community Association.  She will be joined by waterfront historian Susan Frank, as well as Galilee Harbor Manager Doreen Gounard and Project Manager Donna  Bragg-Tate.  This event, starting at 5 PM in Council Chambers at Sausalito City Hall, includes refreshments and is free for Historical Society members. It’s $10 for non-members. For information on this program and the Historical Society, check www.sausalitohistoricalsociety.org or call 415-289-4117.

Galilee Harbor’s world-famous painted mailboxes.

Photo courtesy of Steefenie Wicks

Charles Botts and “Old Saucelito”

By Larry Clinton, President
The following account is excerpted from Jack Tracy’s book, Moments in Time.

William Richardson always dreamed of a city that would spring up in Sausalito. Charles Botts actually did something about it. Botts, born in 1809, son of a prominent Virginia lawyer, came to California with his wife Margaret in 1848 on the ship Matilda. He became the naval storekeeper in Monterey, a position of considerable influence and prestige. During the gold rush, he set up law offices in San Francisco.
Botts raised $35,000 in gold to purchase 160 acres in Sausalito’s cove from financially desperate William Richardson in 1849. Botts was also a delegate to the California Constitutional Convention that same year, where he was one of the more vocal participants.
During the 1850s, Botts sold portions of his Sausalito holdings, being careful to retain water rights on the property.  
After Mare Island was selected as the United States Navy shipyard for the West Coast [over Sausalito], Botts lost interest in his local real estate venture and sold his remaining property to others. In 1858 he moved to Sacramento where he tried his hand in the newspaper business and also became a judge in Yolo County.
In 1862 a traveler passed through what was left of Charles Botts’s “Old Saucelito.” William Henry Brewer recorded these observations in his diary:
“... It was long after dark before we found Sausalito where we stopped at an Irish hotel. We ate a hearty supper, then sat in the kitchen and talked.
“Hogarth never sketched such a scene as that. The kitchen with furniture scattered around, driftwood in the corners, salt fish hanging to the ceilings and walls, lanterns, old ship furniture, fishing and boating apparatus, Spanish saddle and riata — but I can’t enumerate all. Well, we stayed there all night and for several hours the next morning, then took a small boat for San Francisco along with a load of calves and pigs piled in the bottom.”
Brewer also couldn’t resist a dig at Sausalito in general:
“Sausalito is a place of half a dozen houses once destined to be a great town ... $150,000 lost there; City laid out, corner lots sold at enormous prices, ‘water fronts’ still higher ... for a big city was bound to grow up there and then these lots would be worth money. The old California story, everybody bought land to rise in value but no one built. No city grew there. Half a dozen huts and shanties mark the place and ‘corner lots’ and ‘water fronts’ are alike valueless.”

Moments in Time and other local historical books are available at the Ice House (780 Bridgeway) and at the Historical Society’s headquarters on the top floor of City Hall.



The earliest known photograph of Sausalito, c. 1852, shows Charles Botts’s metropolis at its zenith, with perhaps thirty inhabitants.  The center of the little cluster of buildings is located where Second and Main are today.
Photo courtesy of Sausalito Historical Society.

Sausalito’s First Railroad

By Jack Tracy
The following acount is excerpted from Jack Tracy’s book, Moments in Time.

On April 12, 1873, an event occurred that seemed to secure Sausalito's future. Amid much enthusiastic cheering, a groundbreaking ceremony took place in Sausalito, marking the start of construction of the long-promised railroad that would link Sausalito to the lumber empire to the north.
Railroads were the key to growth for towns all over the country, and California was no exception. New towns struggling for existence suddenly prospered when even the thinnest of rail links was established. San Rafael was one of the first to have its own line, the San Rafael and San Quentin Railroad. This single broad-gauge track between the ferry landing at Point San Quentin and the center of San Rafael gave an invigorating boost to local commerce.
The North Pacific Coast Railroad, incorporated in 1871 with the aid of a public bond issue in Marin County, had a grand plan to run a line through Marin connecting the emerging towns, and continuing up the coast to the vast redwood stands along the Russian River in Sonoma and the Gualala River in Mendocino County. The Sausalito Land & Ferry Company directors, sensing that this could be the breakthrough for their town, gave the financially feeble railroad company thirty acres along Sausalito's waterfront as an inducement to make Sausalito the southern terminus of the new line.
Because the bond issue called for  a southern terminus at Point San Quentin rather than at Sausalito, a legal battle ensued. After considerable legal fireworks, Sausalito won out, and in 1873 construction began. One work gang commenced at Tomales, moving south. Another gang worked at Fairfax, and a third started at Strawberry Point where a trestle was constructed across Richardson’s Bay to Sausalito. The trestle connected with Alameda Point (later Pine Station), approximately where Nevada Street meets Bridgeway today.
North Pacific Coast Locomotive Number One "Saucelito" was shipped by sea to Tomales in 1874 as work progressed on the rails. Ambition being tempered by lack of cold cash, it was decided that Tomales would the northern terminus for the time being. On January 1875, another ceremony marked the passing of the first train over the completed line. James Wilkins, a former mayor of San Rafael and founder of the Sausalito News, recalled in 1927: "The railroad, as completed in 1875, was a ramshackle narrow gauge affair, built along lines of least resistance, with a lofty disdain of the laws of gravity and a preference for curvature instead of tangents.”
The Sausalito Land & Ferry Company retired the nineteen-year-old ferryboat Princess and happily turned over all ferry operations to the railroad. A new ferry landing and railroad wharf was built slightly north of the old one at Princess Street. There it would remain for the next sixty-six years. Trains began hauling logs and lumber from the redwood forests to feed San Francisco's endless building boom. And passengers came too, commuters from fledgling towns along the line and vacationers from San Francisco. Sausalito's small business community was delighted and encouraged by the influx of new people as shops and stores opened for business along Caledonia Street near William Richardson's old casa.
In the summer of 1875, the North Pacific Coast Railroad absorbed the San Rafael and San Quentin Railroad and converted it to narrow gauge from broad gauge to unify the two lines. The main passenger terminal was shifted from Sausalito to Point San Quentin, where it would remain until 1884. Even though the wharf remained  in Sausalito, and several trains a day  brought passengers and dairy products from nearby towns, the main traffic  was routed through San Quentin. The track from San Rafael to San Quentin avoided the several steep grades and curves on the line to Sausalito.
In spite of that setback, Sausalito continued to grow. With the railroad came more people, laborers at first, the merchants from many national backgrounds. Added to the Americans and British were families from Italy, Franca Germany, Austria, and Portugal, from China, Ireland, and Greece— all contributing to the character of Sausalito.

Moments in Time and other local historical books are available at the Ice House (780 Bridgeway) and at the Historical Society’s headquarters on the top floor of City Hall.


Engine Number One, the Saucelito, in service with the white Lumber Company c. 1880.
Photo courtesy of Sausalito Historical Society.