Summer 2015 - Stanislaus County Roads

Transcription

Volume 8, Number 2
Stanislaus
Historical
Quarterly
Summer 2015
Stanislaus County
Founded 1854
An Independent Publication of Stanislaus County History
Stanislaus County Roads,
Accidents & Yosemite
Early Decades of Motoring
1916 Buick
1913 Studebaker
1911 Overland
1913 Marathon
1914 Maxwell
An Account of the Changing Roadways
Stanislaus County, 1900-1920
From Mud-Holes to Asphalt
R
oadways were singularly important to the effectiveness,
productiveness, and the popularity of the automobile. Because of
this, road systems were transformed quickly from bumpy dirt
pathways to asphalt highways. Autoists saw hours reduced to
minutes as their gasoline conveyances navigated improved
roadways. The transformation of streets and highways into
pleasurable, safe, and quicker roadways took time and much money
to develop. Lack of enough funding was the prime stumbling block
to their improvement, but technology as well needed to advance to
improve roads. This article presents Stanislaus County’s transition
from mud-holes to asphalt during the first two decades of the
twentieth century.
oil of 200 degrees and hotter was applied, which was purchased hot
from neighboring refineries and poured on the roads using tank
wagons hauling 90 gallons of oil. The oil’s extreme heat was
significant in that the liquid penetrated the surface quickly and
deeply, providing a stern roadbed.”
California Dustless Roads Company manufactured oil
wagons that not only poured the oil but were equipped with “stirring
fingers and drags for going over the road,” mixing and distributing
the oil across the surface. White remarked that one surprising
resultof a well-oiled road was it held up during winter storms,
especially if there was a sub-foundation of gravel. One oiled
roadway had a 9 percent grade, with the rainwater draining off
quickly not damaging the road. He commented that overall though,
Oiling Roadways
The first transformation came with the oiling of roadways. a properly prepared and oiled road remained strong through
Stanislaus County Supervisor A.E. Clary oversaw Road District constant usage.
The main roadway between Modesto and Salida that
No. 5 of the county. He commented to Stanislaus County News on
continued
into Stockton was in dismal condition from winter rains.
July 18, 1902 that a representative from the Associated Oil Company
Long stretches of the road had
of San Francisco would be
been flooded, with muddy
visiting to evaluate the roads
sections causing traffic to travel
around Crows Landing and
around them. Stanislaus County
Newman for oiling. He remarked
Supervisor Carmichael told the
that graveling roadways that
News on April 1, 1904 that he had
began a few years earlier,
a crew beginning to repair it.
improved them, but oiling would
First there would be plowing to
make the roadbed solid, even,
fill in the holes and then grading
and dustless. Clary addressed
to smooth the surface. Oil was
the condition of Modesto
expected to be applied when the
streets, explaining that they
roadway dried and then
were of solid formation, but they
Typical
country
road
such
as
in
Stanislaus
County
before
crowned, which meant that the
would be better if they were
paving
Rae
photo
oil and other top materials would
sprinkled with water for two
be
mixed
and
dried
to
form
a
solid
road.
weeks for the foundation to settle and then oil could be administered.
It
was
further
reported
by
the News that at the time the
The cost wouldn’t be much, but the streets would be improved. He
county
had
18
miles
of
oiled
roads
from
a program that began two
noted that the road from San Jose to Mt. Hamilton had just been
years
earlier.
Each
county
supervisor
had
responsibility for roads
oiled, and the roadways in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco were
in
his
district.
For
oiling
purposes
Supervisor
Clary used a DeCamp
oiled to great satisfaction. Complaints were issued though, claiming
oiler,
supervisors
Davison
and
Lewis
utilized
“Glover’s
attachment,”
“the oiled surfaces were sticky and the carriage wheels threw the
while
Supervisor
Coffee
invented
his
own
oiler.
Clary was
oil on clothing, but these complaints were not heard after the
considered
the
father
of
county
oiling
and
a
relentless
advocate
of
roadbed had become solid after several weeks’ wear.”
using
very
hot
oil
to
create
a
highly
durable
consistency.
He
heated
Theodore F. White of San Bernardino County recalled his
experience concerning oiled roads in a news article of July 25, 1902. the oil to the boiling point in a steam boiler holding 3,000 gallons.
In 1890, an oiling company charged $204 per mile and oiled 30 miles Clary purchased the oil from a Bakersfield oil company for 72 cents
of roads in his county, which proved to be a successful experiment per 42-gallon barrel. He applied the oil from 100 to 200 barrels per
for the traveling public. He remarked that to avert cost, ten years mile to the road’s surface, which cost $40 to $75 a mile, depending
later San Bernardino County decided to oil the roads itself. White upon circumstances. To finish the job, he used a road grader to mix
the oil and loose top material forming a solid crust.
described the process:
Supervisor Davison reported to the newspaper on August
19,
1904
that his oiling campaign was complete. In his district, a
“A generous amount of oil, 100-150 barrels per mile, 18 feet wide,
significant
amount of mileage had been oiled in and about Ceres,
was poured on the roadways to build up the surface, with the idea
Turlock,
and
Waterford, and along Crows Landing Road. It was
of creating a permanent roadbed. Weeks before the roads were
estimated
that192,000
gallons of oil had been applied.
oiled, they were prepared by grading, watering, and packing. Hot
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Summer 2015
Paved City Streets
strongly recommended that Modesto and Stanislaus County lose
It was time to improve city streets from dust and mud to no time in doing its own planting.
In Turlock on August 17, 1906, L.L. Baxter circulated a
cement or bitumen or asphalt surfaces that used some type of small
broken rock for durability. Modesto began the process of paving petition, soliciting money to assist in the oiling of the city’s streets.
its streets first by securing petition signatures of business owners According to the newspaper, John Denair contributed $50 and C.H.
for one block on 10th Street, between H to I streets. The owners Geer $100 to the project. By the end of the day, Baxter collected
$605 in pledges. The county had
were to pay part of the costs. The
plans to grade and oil Main and
petition was presented to the
Front streets at county expense,
Modesto Board of Trustees on
but the funds Baxter was collecting
October 20, 1905, according to the
were to extend the work to the
News, but a legal agreement was
curbs.
needed signed by 75 percent of the
It was disclosed by the
business owners on the block. City
News on February 22, 1907 that
Attorney Hazen prepared the
R.W. Mitchell of Livingston, under
document to be resubmitted. The
the direction of Merced County
News commented that “the brave 10th
Supervisors, began the work of
Street owners” have joined the
plowing and grading the highway
nation in the campaign to construct
from the Livingston bridge to
“good roads.” It was this “publicStanislaus County line. When the
spirited cry for street improvement
10th Street in Modesto when it was paved
weather was warm enough, oil
that will lift Modesto out of the class
Boer photo
would be applied to the six-mile
of villages and to the ranks of the
towns of progress.” The Modesto Board of Trade vocally supported stretch. The newspaper commented that now Turlock needed to
persuade Stanislaus County supervisors to grade and oil the same
improved streets.
Most people did not know the difference between the road from the county line into Turlock. The distance was two miles,
types of paved surfaces. What was bitumen? Asphalt? Both were a which would mean that “there will be a fine road for the traveling
kind of coal-tar or residue from petroleum. Once dried, they formed public from Stockton to Merced.”
a hard, durable, and nearly rain-proof surface. There was an example
of an asphalt street in Stockton, prompting Modesto Trustee G.J.
Wren to visit the city. It was his opinion that asphalt was better
Good Roads
street material than bitumen or cement. But he told the News on
Governor Gillett signed the “Good Road Law” on March
October 27, 1905 that it would cost too much to use in Modesto at 29, 1907 that would permit the issuing of bonds in counties for the
the present time. Bitumen surface was the next best but was inferior purpose of road improvement. The law required that 10 percent of
to asphalt though cheaper, especially if extensive street paving county voters needed to sign a petition to call for the appointment
would be done.
of a county highway commission of three members. The
According to the newspaper of March 16, 1906, the responsibility of the commission was to study the road system and
Elkhorn Township of San Joaquin County approved a 20-year bond recommend to the county supervisors the kind of road work needed,
of $80,000 to pave 20 miles of rural roads with a bitumen surface. To the miles to be covered, and an estimated cost to complete the
pay back the bond, it would cost property owners four cents per project. Then the supervisors needed to act by calling for a bond
acre annually. The News exclaimed that “the people of the city of election to request the issuing of bonds to finance its good road
Modesto would do well to follow the example of the people of program. If the bonds were passed by the voters and issued, then
Elkhorn Township.”
the road work would be under the direction of the county highway
commission. The Good Road Law also required that the improved
Contrasts in Roads
roads “be of a durable and lasting character.”
Stanislaus County roads were in desperate need of repair.
The road from Modesto to Stockton was unpaved, with
its condition remarkably different in Stanislaus and San Joaquin How bad were the roads? An article in the Merced Sun on April 5,
counties. A News editorial of August 17, 1906 declared that the 1907 told how bad they were in neighboring Merced County, which
Stanislaus County section of the roadway and San Joaquin County’s could well be their condition in Stanislaus County:
section “showed quite a contrast in the roads of the two counties,
with the odds in favor of the Stanislaus roads.” The editorial “Here’s a story concerning the muddy roads, the truth of which is
commented that the San Joaquin stretch “was a terror to autoists vouched for by one of our most prominent and veracious citizens.
and was responsible for much bad language from auto owners.” A Snelling rancher, while on his way to the county seat this morning,
The road was “sandy, which was found in most San Joaquin County noticed a hat lying on the six-mile grade near Merced. The rancher
roads, nearly all the way to Stockton.” But, the News noted that the got out of his rig [buggy] and went over and kicked the hat. The hat
highway from Ripon to Stockton was lined with trees, planted on didn’t budge, and he kicked again. ‘Hey, what are you kicking me
Arbor Day, which would provide a shaded drive. The editorial for?’ This angry exclamation came from under the hat. Imagine the
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rancher’s consternation when he discovered that the hat was worn
by one of his neighbors who was stuck in the mud, and to add to
the wonder of the circumstances, the man was astride a mule.”
(Some stories do get exaggerated to make a point.)
Summer 2015
in the U.S. and 1,975,000 miles of unpaved roads. He calculated that
the cost of maintaining paved roads was 250 percent cheaper than
unpaved roads, with Logan Page, Director of the Office of Public
Roads of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, agreeing.
News came on July 12, 1907 from Bakersfield that the
Farmers’ Institute
breaking of the Buena Vista levee, washed out the Sunset Oil Field,
The county’s Farmers’ Institute held its annual conference
from which San Joaquin Valley road oil came. H.A. Blodgett was the on November 19, 1909 in which farmers throughout Stanislaus
principal supplier and now needed to do immense repairs especially County gathered to hear speakers on farm topics, meet for
to the Sunset Railroad that had
discussions,
and
hold
been inundated. The newspaper
organizational business meetings.
commented that the valley would
The major issue was good roads,
become even a dustier problem
according to the News. Farmers
without the needed oil.
were irate because the county
Modesto had paved its
supervisors had not called for a
first two blocks of I Street with
bond election to finance improved
concrete. The News on August 2,
roads. It was declared: “It is a well1907 announced a future
known fact that some of the roads
dedication, calling the paving
of Stanislaus are almost impassible
project “the beginning of the era of
for an auto, because of the many
the ‘City Beautiful,’ and now we are
chuckholes
which
are
assured of better streets and walks
encountered.” An address given by
in all parts of the downtown
Example of a freshly completed state highway section,
W.R. McIntosh of Fresno
section.”
part of over 2,000 miles planned for the state, which
discussed the road system that had
The Counties Committee
included the state highway section running through
been developed in the southern part
of the California Promotion
Turlock, Modesto, and Salida. The roadway consists of
of the valley. The conference
Committee met in Santa Cruz on
asphalt, with cement shoulders
attendees came to the general
June 6, 1908. For years the
California Highway Commission photo
consensus that “the roads in
promotion committee had been
Stanislaus should be fixed and that
campaigning for good roads. This was the ninth semi-annual at once!”
meeting of the Counties Committee, where representatives from
A committee was appointed at the conference to draft a
California counties met with state highway and road officials to resolution to be presented to county supervisors at its meeting in
discuss road improvement. Conference speakers and discussion December, asking for action concerning road improvement in the
groups addressed the theme of “Good Roads in California.” The county. One clause of the institute’s resolution read:
News commented on good roads:
“There is a universal demand for better public roads in Stanislaus
“The subject of good roads is one that is of interest to all classes of County, for the use of all classes of people, and especially for the
people. The farmer wants good roads in order that he may deliver producer, affording cheaper facilities for marketing our fruits, cereals,
his products to town with the least wear and tear on his team and and alfalfa of the county, and guaranteeing rapid and comfortable
wagon; the merchant wants good roads in order that the farmer opportunities for going to and from the county seat and other
may get to town oftener; the automobilist wants good roads in railway points.”
order that he may travel with more pleasure and safety. So it goes
with all. There is an especial reason for each man wanting good
A Hughson farmer, W.M. Coward, advocated the turnpike
roads, the fact remaining that everybody is interested in them.”
method of charging for road usage. He said in a News article of
January 20, 1911 that this would fund constant water sprinkling to
Being very disappointed in county supervisors’ reluctance keep roads usable, in good repair, and dustless. The newspaper
to support bonds to develop good roads, the News editorial of explained that this had been tried elsewhere in the state, especially
August 27, 1909, noted that Merced County would hold a bond along the coast, with “tremendous success.” It was recommended
election on September 18th for $750,000 worth of road bonds. This that the proposal be heard by the county supervisors.
meant that Merced County would eventually have 250 miles of
good roads. The editorial asked, “What was Stanislaus County
State Highway
doing to improve her roads? Taxpayers recoil at the thought of
Progress was being made in Modesto to pave 7,200 feet of
bonded indebtedness, but twenty years from now there will be a 7th Street, which was the main thoroughfare in which the state
continuous system of good roads from Bakersfield to Marysville.” highway entered the city from the south. According to the News of
It was noted that Austin T. Bryne in his “Treatise on Highway April 7, 1911, a petition for the paving was filed with the city trustees
Construction” disclosed that there were 42,000 miles of paved roads
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Summer 2015
for consideration. The newspaper noted that “among the signers membership from each supervisory district, to measure the support
were Mar Louie, Mar Yen, Sam Yen, and Sing You, four of our of an election concerning a $1 million county roads bond.
Modesto now had five miles of bitumen paved streets,
Chinese patriots, who together represent a frontage of 175 feet on
7th Street.” The newspaper article declared that this action could found in the business and residential sections. City voters had
passed a $30,000 bond to continue the paving, with a group of
begin the process of paving at least 50 blocks in the city.
Support for good roads was widespread in the county. A residents on September 15, 1911 petitioning Mayor Wren to spend
News editorial of April 21, 1911 commented on the poor condition money on specifically improving intersections.
of the county’s roads, especially the state highway between Turlock
and Modesto: “In several places it is almost impassable for vehicles,
State Highway Routes
on account of sand, and bicyclists are forced to walk from one to
One would think that the state highway route, north to
two miles while making trips between the two cities.” The editorial south, through the county, would be the existing main roadway
remarked that good roads were needed also to advertise the county, from Turlock, through Modesto, to Stockton, but this assumption
so travelers would praise and not complain about them. The editor was challenged both in San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties. Three
declared that “Stanislaus County should not lag behind. We need other routes were proposed. A motivating factor was free funding
good roads and should have them.” The News editorials were for a nice highway that brought customers traveling from far and
directed towards the county supervisors, who were obstacles to wide. By law the state highway must pass through the county
the road modernization
seats in the valley, with the
process.
mountain county seats being
Most of San Joaquin
connected by lateral highways.
Valley was focused on the
These were the other three state
development of a state
highway routes proposed,
highway that would run
which were noted in the News
straight through the valley,
on September 29, 1911: (1) from
north to south. The state
Stockton through Escalon,
legislature had authorized an
down McHenry Road into
$18 million state highway fund
Modesto, (2) from Stockton to
for the development of the
County road near Patterson Patterson during dry, hot
Oakdale with a branch to Sonora
roadway. The San Joaquin
summer
Township Historical Society photo
(Tuolumne County’s seat) and
Valley State Highway
a branch to Modesto, and (3)
Commission was formed in Fresno on May 11, 1911, having from Stockton to Knights Ferry, with branches to Sonora and
representatives from Fresno, Kern, Kings, Merced, Stanislaus, and Mariposa (Mariposa County’s seat) and a branch to Modesto. Even
Tulare counties. Officers were elected, with the board having five though state highway construction was to be paid by the state, it
members from each county. The idea of having the commission had its limitations; therefore, budgeting was a major consideration
was to establish a uniform process of state highway construction, in deciding the state highway route. The local boards of trade were
where each county was responsible for road standards to conform active supporting those routes which were advantageous to them.
with the other counties. The commission advocated beginning
Good roads were known to increase land values. It was
construction on the state highway in each county simultaneously disclosed in a Milwaukee report of November 17, 1911 that acreage
to vastly quicken the opening of the new roadway. The new in and out of Milwaukee had increased by $5 or more per acre
organization passed several resolutions to be presented to the because of improved roads. Travel time had been cut in half, and
proper authorities. One was for state funding of construction of there were savings on tires, vehicle maintenance, and gasoline.
county roads, with the counties paying 25 percent of the costs. The good roads campaign continued in Stanislaus County through
Here again, the commission wanted standardization, where driving a Good Roads Committee of 15 members appointed by the country
on roads in Kern would be the same as in Stanislaus. Part of the supervisors. At their November 17th meeting, they organized an
resolution was for state funding to assist the counties in road repairs. educational program to acquaint the public of the necessity of
Another important resolution was to put Pacheco Pass road under improving county roads, especially countywide thoroughfares. The
the state highway system, because of its importance in linking the meeting’s chairman, T.H. Kewin, presented a lengthy report on
coastal cities with the San Joaquin Valley. It was the most direct county road conditions and methods afoot to rectify some of the
and scenic route.
problems.
At its conference of December 1, 1911, the county’s
Good Roads in Stanislaus County
Farmers’ Institute strongly urged the completion of good roads
In the hope of moving the county’s good road program throughout the county. Of particular interest was the improvement
ahead, county supervisors met on September 15, 1911 at Turlock of transporting farm products to markets. According to the
Board of Trade’s facility with representatives from other county newspaper, D.B. Thompson, who lived ten miles from Modesto,
boards of trade and the county representatives of the San Joaquin remarked that he could save half in hauling costs if roads were hard
Valley State Highway Commission. The attendees drafted a petition and smooth.
It was announced on December 15, 1911 that the State
asking the county supervisors to appoint a committee, with
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Summer 2015
Highway Commission had divided California into seven districts, on May 17, 1912. It was his position that the county needed paved
headed each by a state engineer for the purpose of managing roads soon to accommodate the increased motor travel, especially
construction on the state highway. Stanislaus County was in large trucks. He remarked that instead of making costly road repairs,
Division 3, with headquarters in Sacramento. The counties in the pass a road bond of 40 years to have them paved, which would
district were: Alpine,
cost less in the long term.
Amador, Butte, Calaveras,
Waxing philosophical,
Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn,
Annear remarked, “It is
Nevada, Placer, Plumas,
axiomatic to say that a
Sacramento, San Joaquin,
good road hastens the
Sierra, Solano, Stanislaus,
development of the
Sutter, Tuolumne, Yolo, and
traversed territory, as well
Yuba.
as benefiting all commercial
Advocates of the
and social activities within
state highway routes
its reach and that it is a step
through Stanislaus County
toward higher civilization. It
met with the State Highway
should appeal to every
Sylvan Club House at corner of Sylvan and McHenry roads. The
Commission on January 26,
person the necessity of
organization supported the McHenry Road route of the state high1912. The two routes under
good roads, which will offer
way
Gauvreau photo
consideration by the
the least resistance to the
commission were the McHenry Road route and the Turlock to motor enthusiast, the pleasure seeker, the investor and above all
Stockton route. Members of the county’s highway commission the home-seeker.”
provided information as well as advocates of the routes. Those
Annear was disappointed when the county’s Good Road
wanting the McHenry Road route argued that it was a direct roadway Committee in its investigation found a multitude of taxpayers who
to Stockton and it transected the greater population, thereby were opposed to a county road bond. He once again reminded the
providing availability to more people. Sylvan Club strongly public that the roads were deteriorating severely because of heavy
supported the McHenry Road route, while those on the West Side traffic. Annear found that this was the case in Oakdale and Patterson
advocated the Turlock to Stockton route that would better serve areas where the roads were “in deplorable condition.” The following
the population of the western section of the county. The State were the county’s road repair costs for five years:
Road Commission was to visit the county to view the road system
before deciding which state highway route to choose.
Year
On Roads
On Bridges
Paving more of Modesto streets was being considered by
1906-07
$47,668.12
$48, 021.06
the city council. The News on February 16, 1912 reported that
1907-08
50,527.68
28,734.40
additional paving was requested for H and I streets, which would
1908-09
61,801.56
13,149.81
cost $15,000. Also, the Modesto Business Men’s Association
1909-10
58,422.78
6,512.12
requested that more street signs be placed in the business district.
1910-11
63,012.94
39,738.91
State surveyors from the State Highway Commission were in
Total
$279,433.08
136,156. 30
Modesto on March 22, 1912 doing a preliminary survey of the
Turlock to Stockton state highway route, the one chosen by the
The average expenditure per year had been $55,886.61.
commission.
Annear remarked that if the total expenditure of $279,433.08 had
On April 5, 1912, the surveying crew was accosted by the been applied to the construction of paved roads, there would now
renowned zealous guardian of speed on the Tuolumne River bridge, be 50 miles of such roads in the county. He ended his commentary
Bridgetender Roberts. He tended to take his responsibility too by remarking that the solution was to educate county residents
seriously at times. He caught head surveyor W.J. Riley driving his about the unnecessary cost of road repair, encouraging them to
horse-drawn rig across the bridge faster than a walk. Roberts fired pass road bonds to pave county roadways.
his gun into the air, with Riley commenting to the judge, he thought
The city of Merced was more advanced than Stanislaus
they were being ambushed. Riley was arrested by Roberts and County in paving roads. The Merced Sun on May 24, 1912 reported
brought before Justice Jennings, who fined him $5. Riley’s that the city trustees had a progressive plan for street paving,
supervisor Chief District Engineer D.L. Clark protested the arrest deciding to lay asphalt on 54 additional blocks and put in concrete
but to no avail. Those present were dismissed, with the surveyors curbing. With this work completed, Merced would have 90 blocks
and engineer arguing furiously with Roberts, causing Jennings to of pavement. In contrast, Turlock’s city trustees planned to pave
demand that they leave his courtroom immediately and to desist only 3rd and 4th streets and grade and oil A Street.
with their conflict or there would be further fines. The men obeyed.
Paved County Roads
A very informative and articulate article, written by
Stanislaus County Engineer Edgar H. Annear, appeared in the News
$18 Million
President of the State Highway Commission, Burton A.
Towne, a Lodi resident, answered press questions on May 31,
1912, concerning the state highway project. The newspaper
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reported that Towne remarked that “throughout the state there
seemed to be some uneasiness regarding the highways to be
constructed.” Towne remarked that per the 1909 state highway law
providing $18 million, an administrative structure was in place to
insure that the project was completed properly. The plan was simple,
he explained. The state highway system will consist of 2,700 miles
of roadway, will run down the center of the state, north to south, in
“the most direct and practical route,” with an additional state
highway route coursing along the coast. He noted that the roadways
will be in constant use by those traveling distances, but their most
activity will come from the local population, who need them daily
for business and personal use.
Modesto’s bitumen paved streets were already
deteriorating, according to J.P. Purvis in his letter to the News of
December 27, 1912. He declared that “the abrasions on these streets,
which a year or so ago were mere cracks, are now from one to six
and eight inches wide with a corresponding depth, which is daily
increasing.” I and 9th streets were especially becoming as “rough as
country roads,” Purvis claimed. Further, he declared that they were
a disgrace to the town, and there were plans to pave up to eight
miles of them!
The state highway’s construction expenditures were a
constant concern. The state discovered that it was more economical
to replace contractors with state supervisors to coordinate the
purchasing of materials and the supplying of labor. A news account
of January 2, 1913 revealed that the state paid $1 to $1.80 per yard of
material, while contractors charged the state as high as $4.66 and as
low as $2.50.
There was obvious commercial interest in completing the
state highway quickly through the county. Stanislaus Board of Trade
spearheaded a movement to raise $75,000 locally to spur construction
forward. It was felt that the investment would provide satisfying
results for the county, cities, and farms in expediting the project. Of
special interest was state highway access through Modesto to
Yosemite, now a popular visitors’ attraction. Money could be made
by local businesses from the numerous Yosemite travelers passing
through. Also the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco
would bring a vast contingent of visitors from across the nation
through the area. This would mean, as with Yosemite, more business
and maybe the sparking of interest in passing travelers to reside in
the county. According to the News on February 6, 1913, George R.
Stoddard, President of Modesto’s First National Bank, offered
$11,000 towards the $75,000. V.D. Whitmore, representing the county
trade board, would present the $75,000 proposal to the State Highway
Commission.
Road Improvement
Impressive strides were being made in road improvement
across the nation. The Office of Public Roads of the U.S. Department
of Agriculture, reported on February 18, 1913 that in the past three
years public roads had been improved by an estimated ten percent,
while public highways improved by 20 percent. The roadways
selected for improvement were those most traveled, thereby
providing better driving efficiency where it counted. Farmers saved
millions of dollars with better roads, where they could expedite their
crops to market thereby reducing waste, and also saving on the
Summer 2015
wear and tear of vehicles and horses. It was disclosed by the public
roads office that the U.S. had “650 model county road systems,
and 26 states had state-aid plans for roadways.”
With the coming of Spring 1913, county supervisors
needed to consider road repairs to correct the damage done by
winter weather. The News on February 18, 1913 reported that
Supervisor James Dunn had plans to grade the Modesto to Salida
roadway, making it passable until it was converted into the state
highway. Supervisor McMahon contracted Mr. Haslam of Oakdale
to plow and grade McHenry Road. Winter storms had halted state
highway construction, according to a news account of February
27, 1913. Sections where the state highway had been constructed
had weathered the winter, allowing traffic to pass, such as the
segment between Turlock and Ceres. In March, the Denair Board
of Trade traveled by autos to Hughson for a meeting with Hughson
Board of Trade. The boards appointed a joint-committee to represent
them before the county supervisors to request the extension of the
Santa Fe Road from Denair to the Merced County line.
The State Highway Commission approved the issuing of
$800,000 in bonds for completion of state highway construction in
the counties of El Dorado, Humboldt, Riverside, Sacramento, San
Bernardino, San Mateo, and Stanislaus. These counties wanted to
quicken construction, along with funding other projects related to
state highway construction. This amount was above the $18 million
originally allocated to the state highway fund.
The Turlock Journal reported on March 13, 1913 that
Stanislaus County would receive $75,000 of the $800,000 to complete
state highway construction from Ceres to the Stanislaus River. Of
the $75,000, Considine & Bates Construction Co. of Los Angeles
was contracted for $32,300 on April 3, 1913 to work on seven miles
of the roadway. E.O. Burge, contractor for the state highway
segment from Turlock to Ceres, told the Journal that the work
would be finished by May 1st. He commented that there were 60
men at the moment working on the last two-and-a-half miles.
There was enormous interest in constructing a new road
from the West Side to Modesto. The Patterson Irrigator disclosed
on May 1, 1913 that the Sperry Land Company and the Turlock
Garden Land Company owned property on the proposed several
routes and anxiously supported the project. Once a route was
selected, then a petition would be presented to the county
supervisors for action.
Turlock was making strides in having nicely paved streets
connecting with the state highway to attract travelers to the side
streets of the business district. The city’s plan was not to have a
“poor street” where businesses were located. Center Street had
been paved, according to the Turlock Journal on May 22, 1913,
providing the best access from the state highway.
County’s State Highway Construction
Considine & Bates had finished paving two miles of its
seven-mile stretch of the state highway from Modesto to the
Stanislaus River, which would be completely finished by January
1, 1914, according to the News. The width of the state highway was
30 feet, but only 15 feet was paved, with the other 15 feet being two
dirt shoulders of 7½ feet. The concrete pavement was 4½ inches
thick, with a bitumen covering of 1½ inches. It was decided by the
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Summer 2015
county’s highway commission to use bitumen on the highway north everything, including road construction, so they decided not to
of Modesto, instead of asphalt, because the cost per mile for bitumen appoint a commission or call for a road bond election to finance the
was $6,000 a mile, while asphalt was $12,000. But the bitumen wore project. The newspaper editorial exclaimed that the people of the
faster and would require repairs within in few years. Contractor county were ready to pass a road bond measure.
Another Turlock Journal editorial of October 2, 1913
E.O. Burge used asphalt though on the state highway section from
claimed there were copies of a new petition being circulated, calling
Turlock to Ceres.
for a county road bond election.
The stretch of county
There had been other such
road between Patterson and
petitions in the past only to be
Westley had earned the
vetoed by the county
infamous title of “the worst road
supervisors. The editorial
between British Columbia and
supported the new petition, but
Mexico.” This was County
also recommended that
Supervisor Clary’s domain, with
residents not wait for a
him declaring to the Patterson
commission to be appointed by
Irrigator that he planned to
the county supervisors. It urged
harrow down the bumps, fill in
instead that voters appoint their
the holes, and then gravel it,
own commission to study the
providing a good roadbed.
roads, design a comprehensive
The availability of a
system of county highways,
“national highway” that
State highway construction near Turlock, asphalt roadway,
and then present the findings
connected the two coasts was
with cement shoulders California Highway Commission photo
and recommendations to the
in the planning. This would
supervisors. Should they
require the linking of state
highways across the nation. The top auto manufacturers were said rescind that action, then at least the county had a plan in hand until
to have set aside 10 percent of their profits towards financing the which time the supervisors decided to act differently.
coast-to-coast thoroughfare. Several states had already approved
generous appropriations for the development of the national
Auto License Fees
highway. There was expected to be up to 50,000 autos traveling to
Auto organizations were irate over a new state law to be
the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco. The state was effective January 1, 1914 that increased auto license fees. But many
doing its best to provide a nice state highway for these travelers. autoists wanted the increased fees, because auto license fees had
Considine & Bates had some business difficulties that been used to improve roadways. The December 1913 California
stalled its construction. According to the newspaper on August 21, Cultivator, a farmers’ magazine, remarked that farmers had long
1913, Considine withdrew company money and disappeared. Bates opposed auto license fees, complaining that improved roads didn’t
then borrowed $6,500 from the Maryland Casualty & Bonding benefit them. But after experiencing the better rural roads that
Company of Los Angeles to meet his contract and complete the allowed them to transport crops quicker and cheaper to market,
construction. State highway inspector, Engineer R.R. Hatchett, took they were in favor of the increased license fees. The Cultivator
up residence in Modesto until the job was completed. The state commented on the auto organizations’ vow to go to court,
highway section two miles north of Ceres to two miles south of remarking, “This action is poorly advised and will give the cause of
Turlock, half of the county’s state highway, had been approved a good roads a serious setback.”
and accepted as finished by the State Highway Commission on
September 11, 1913.
Repair Work
Reluctant County Supervisors
The county populace was growing weary of the county
supervisors stalling on the good roads bonds. An editorial of
September 25, 1913 in the Turlock Journal fired a salvo declaring,
“Let the members of the board get together and settle on some line
of action and the people will do the rest!” It commented that
elsewhere counties had voted for good roads bonds and were
moving forward. The problem here was county supervisors wanted
full control of the entire program. The state law stipulated that
county boards were to appoint a commission to study the county
roads and make recommendations to the board. Then once a program
was formed, the supervisors would call for a road bond election. If
passed by the voters, the commission would oversee road
construction. But the county supervisors wanted full control over
Rainy storms delayed the completion of the state highway
from Modesto to the Stanislaus River, reported the News on March
5, 1914. Some of the concrete was in place, but the non-cemented
sections were flooded and boggy. It was estimated that the project
would take another six weeks. The Modesto Herald reported that
the approved section of the state highway between Ceres and
Keyes also had its problems. A newspaper account of March 26th
told of a “frog pond” crossing the highway that was 100 feet across,
with “water deep enough to give trouble to automobile engines.”
Gravel was poured into the frog pond for now, but it was slushy,
causing autos to stall, needing horses to pull them out. It was a
sorry sight for a state highway section that had been accepted by
the state as completed, but without proper culverts, the rainwater
collected and drained across the roadway.
Now with the streets paved in Modesto, lines to mark off
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parking could be painted. Police Commissioner C.D. Swan and his when completed would be three times the road construction found
crew painted lines in the center section of downtown streets for in any other state.
parking, reported the Herald on April 23, 1914. The center parking
The California Automobile Association announced on
strip was 15 feet wide. This new plan for parking eliminated the September 3, 1914 that signage would be posted on roads and
curbside parking that held up traffic and blocked views.
highways in preparation for the deluge of American motorist visiting
Travelers noticed the cracks in the concrete on the the state for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco.
unfinished state highway near
The association commented that
Modesto. Bitumen had not been laid
“every route and important highway
yet over the concrete foundation.
in this part of the state will be
The Herald told the public on May
thoroughly posted.”
7, 1914 not to worry, because the
cracks didn’t mean poor
Other County Roads
workmanship. The concrete cracks
The linking of mountain
were in fact beneficial, explained State
county seats with lateral state
Highway Engineer Hatchett,
highways was the next step taken by
because they would allow expansion
the State Highway Commission. The
and contraction of the concrete as
Merced Sun reported on October 8,
temperatures changed. Once
1914 that the commission visited the
bitumen was applied, the cracks
region,
studying
roadway
would be filled and covered. The
possibilities from Stockton, Modesto,
Lateral state highway construction, near
engineer remarked that the cracks
and Merced to the eastern mountain
Riverbank, asphalt roadway, with cement shoulsaved immense expense, because
counties. The commissioners
ders
California Highway Commission photo
expensive metal expansion joints
“traveled more than 2,000 miles,
didn’t have to be used. This significant savings allowed additional conferring with county officials and others informed of the probable
miles of roadwork to be constructed.
routes.” Also being investigated were highways on the east side of
the Sierra.
County Highways
The residents of the Oakdale and Waterford region wanted
The Herald of June 18, 1914 told the public “It’s dead. Not a new road between their towns, running along the railroad tracks.
sleeping, but absolutely DEAD!” This was in reference to a county The Oakdale Leader commented on October 22, 1914 that the
road commission and a bond election for good roads in the county. roadway would be 60 feet wide and would be a straight line, thereby
County supervisors once again rejected a petition, calling for a cutting out three miles. A few years earlier, a survey had been taken
commission and election. Supervisors Clark, Clary, and Whitmore of the road’s pathway but construction wasn’t funded because of
voted against the petition while Dunn and McMahon voted for it. the high cost. Now there was a new campaign, with property owners
An incensed Herald declared, “When the proposition came to the ready to provide rights-of-way. With this and the survey, supporters
front yesterday it was immediately ‘stepped all over’ and will never petitioned county supervisors for approval of such a roadway.
recover.” Still though the number of county residents was growing,
who favored a road commission and a road bond election.
Lateral State Highways
Those supervisors voting against the petition explained
The state highway was nearly finished from the city of
that their constituents were against the measure. Whitmore Merced to the Stanislaus County line, according to the Merced
commented that “practically all of the big taxpayers in his section Sun on October 22, 1914. All that was lacking was the asphalt top,
were opposed to good roads bonds.” Supervisor Clary remarked and once finished, then the State Highway Commission needed to
that he thought the road bond issue had died long ago. Supervisor accept it. Surveys and cost estimates had been secured for the
Dunn disagreed, saying that “he believed the people of the county state highway lateral from Salida to Sonora, Tuolumne County’s
should be given the opportunity to decide the matter.” The opposing seat. The next step was the sales of road bonds to pay for the
supervisors agreed that good roads were needed, but they chose roadway. Chairman of the State Good Roads Committee, T.H. Kewin
to support their influential constituents. That meant, according to of Salida, remarked to the newspaper that road bonds were necessary
the Herald, that good roads would only occur through private to augment the cost paid by the state. Kewin had the responsibility
funding by subscription.
for bond sales.
County newspaper editorials continued their quest to
Road Improvement
bring good roads to the county. Another one appeared on November
California’s road improvement program was ranked second 25, 1914 in the Turlock Journal, speaking to the topic of rural
in the nation, according to the State Highway Commission on July development through road development. The editorial commented
2, 1914. New York was in first place with 2,402,785 square yards of that the farmer was normally reluctant to support good roads, but
concrete laid on its streets and highways. California had 1,979,000, good roads benefited the farmer as well as the urban dweller. Good
but the commission commented that the state had plans to lay 300 roads made it profitable for the farmer to transport his crops to the
percent more. It further stated that California’s state highway project railheads, transportation centers, and markets, which were in the
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urban areas. The writer explained that urban residents used rural
roads for pleasure, business, and travel, which meant that the rural
areas were seeing more settlement. This was profitable for rural
property owners, because their land values increased, and new
county residents meant more profit for the entire region. Good roads,
concluded the editorial, was profitable for everyone, urging the
farmer to change his thinking and support better roadway
development.
Regional state highway engineer, D.W. Chamberlain, noted
in the Fresno Republican on November 25, 1914 that construction
was being hurried before the winter storms arrive. He revealed that
Merced now had a
sizeable oil heating
plant,
costing
$22,500, to use in
road construction
and maintenance.
The State Highway
Commission
notified the public
on December 2,
1914 that money
from the $18 million
state highway fund
was
nearly
depleted. Because
of this problem,
Every county community was involved
only construction
in the “Good Roads” campaign.
paid by existing
Shows such as this one was very popucash could be done.
lar that was advertised in the Turlock
No charging of
Journal on October 25, 1916
construction to the
state would be accepted. This meant that important segments of
the state highway would remain unfinished. Tulare County would
be the most affected, which was the only stretch of the state highway
in the San Joaquin Valley not to be completed. There would be no
attempt by the state to fund proposed laterals to mountain county
seats in 1915 or 1916, which included Alturas, Downieville,
Markleeville, Nevada City, Sonora, and Susanville.
Undeterred, the county supervisors agreed to issue
$216,000 of state highway bonds to pay for the state highway lateral
from Salida to Sonora. It would be those residents living in that area
who would buy bonds, because the highway would directly benefit
them. But this roadway was significant to the welfare of Stanislaus
County, as well as Tuolumne County. The roadway would pay for
itself, because of the additional commerce produced by access to
Sonora, Knights Ferry, Oakdale, Riverbank, and Salida, a distance
of 27 miles.
Editorials continued to flow supporting the good roads
campaign. E.L. Sherman of the Modesto News on May 5, 1915 argued
for the fullest support countywide, because everyone would benefit
from new lateral state highways crossing the county, east to west,
connecting with the main north to south state highway. He endorsed
the Sonora highway completely, urging all to buy the state highway
bonds, because in some way every county resident would be
affected. Some would see less results, but the idea was to provide
Summer 2015
all county citizens with a modern transportation system.
In regard to a county road system, Sherman estimated
that 180 miles of paved roads would be needed, costing an estimated
$1 million. He commented that this “would prove a good business
investment for the whole county and would do a great service in
the way of development.” In a letter to the News editor printed May
12th, Nels Hultberg of Turlock, thoroughly agreed with the editorial,
and then he criticized the non-supporting county supervisors: “I
am utterly at lost to see why action on the matter should have
tarried so long. It has been a puzzle to me why the supervisors
turned down the recent petition by the citizens asking them to take
such action in the matter as the law requires.”
More Money Needed
The depleted fund for state highway construction was
being rescued through an appropriations proposition on the
November 1916 ballot. Governor Hiram Johnson signed Assembly
Bill 1750 on May 26, 1915 that provided $15 million in state highway
bonds to build seven new lateral state highways to connect the
coast with the interior of the state. It was up to the voters of the
state to approve the additional $15 million in the assembly bill on
November 1916. State Treasurer Friend W. Richardson issued a
report on August 18, 1915, comparing the number of California
voters found in each county per one automobile. He found that in
Orange County there was one auto per every six registered voters;
Fresno County, one to seven; Los Angeles, San Diego, Tulare,
Stanislaus, and Yolo counties, one to eight; Kern, one to nine; San
Francisco, one to 11.6 voters; and Alameda one to 13.3.
The auto license tax figures for the first six months of 1915
were released by the state on August 18, 1915. The Department of
Motor Vehicles reported that it received $1,722,763 in taxes, of which
the state would keep half for state road maintenance and the other
would return to the counties for their road work. During the sixmonth period license tax was received from 138,600 registered autos,
23,365 motorcycles, and 15,558 chauffeurs. In Stanislaus County
there were a total 2,143 autos, motorcycles, and chauffeurs,
amounting to $12,753 in tax, of which the county would receive
$6,377 back. In comparison, San Joaquin County would receive
$19,594 in returned taxes from 3,060 licenses, and Merced $4,283
from 710 licenses.
Cow Takes a Walk
Just north of Riverbank at Langworth, the state highway’s
construction to Sonora was sabotaged by a four-footed beast.
Everyday fresh cement was laid on the roadway, and then was
guarded every night and barricade fences were set to protect the
cement until it dried in the cold weather. On the night of January 1,
1916, the newspaper told of a cow who decided to take a night
stroll. She broke through a fence and wandered curiously on top of
the drying cement, meandering for some 400 feet. The contented
animal sauntered back to her field, not knowing that she had done
considerable damage that would take several days to repair. The
news account commented that “on another occasion a man did the
same trick, evidently with malicious intent, and now the highway
engineers take no more chances either with man or beast.”
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Summer 2015
County Highway Costs
finding that there were enough funds to complete the project. Some
Yet another editorial on good roads appeared, this time in would be spent on the overpass over the Santa Fe tracks in Riverbank
the Oakdale Graphic on February 2, 1916. It argued that if and that would cost $10,000, with the state and Santa Fe each paying
when a $1 million road bond for county highways was available for half.
voters, they should approve it, but not be extravagant in spending
It was announced on April 5, 1916 that county supervisors
it. It is “better to have medium-priced highways with money to keep had approved 158 miles of paved county highways, according to
them in their original condition for years than boulevards, which the Modesto Herald. The primary roads were: Modesto to La
the county is unable to maintain.” The
Grange, Modesto to Crows Landing,
editorial warned that there was a growing
Thalheim (Valley Home) through Oakdale to
concern among county voters that “the
Waterford, and another on the West Side from
present generation was mortgaging the
Vernalis to the southern county line. The
income of the next generation for
mileage of the paved highways by
improvements that will themselves be worn
supervisor’s district were: District No.1
out during our own time.”
(northeast county), Supervisor Clark, 46 miles;
Plowing and grading the roadway
District No. 2, Supervisor Whitmore (center
between Ceres and Hughson had begun,
south county), 58.25 miles; District 3
according to a Turlock Journal article of
(northwest county), Supervisor Little, 12.25
February 9, 1916. Roadwork was badly
miles; District 4 (center east county),
needed because it was becoming nearly
Supervisor Johnson, 11.25 miles; and District
impassable. Those who used the roadway
5 (West Side), Supervisor Clary, 30.75 miles.
advocated for a permanent cement and
asphalt road, which they felt would not be
Road Repair
much of a tax burden.
On July 19, 1916, the Turlock
The Turlock Journal of February
Journal article noted that the Central
23, 1916 reported that the county Beautifully cemented streets of Turlock
California Paving Co. began laying mastic, a
supervisors did an end-run, by appointing - Main Street at the railroad depot
tarry substance with small broken rock, to
Turlock Historical Society photo
an “Advisory Highway Board” instead of a
improve worn street pavements. Main Street
county road commission, as required by law. The advisory board was the first roadway to receive the treatment. The process was an
was just to investigate and make recommendations to the economical measure to coat the streets before they had to resupervisors concerning road work, whereas the road commission asphalted. Apropos to this street repair was a poem printed in the
did the same, but its wider responsibility was to head all county Turlock Journal:
road construction, according to state law. The supervisors wanted
control of all road construction and were ignoring the state law.
Fixing the Street
Repairs of Lander Avenue, leading south out of Turlock,
was approved by the city council on February 23, 1916 reported the
They took a little gravel,
newspaper. For a time, those using the road had requested the
And took a little tar,
council to improve the roadway with some urgency. Local farmers
With various ingredients,
were especially concerned, being dependent upon the roadway to
Imported from afar;
bring their crops to market.
They hammered it and rolled it,
Hughson and Denair boards of trade continued to pursue
And when they went away,
the new roadway along the Santa Fe tracks, south to the county
They said they had a pavement,
line. Property owners wanted to be paid $75 per acre for their rightTo last for many a day.
of-way land, but county supervisors vetoed the matter, wanting
the rights-of-way without cost. The boards met with Supervisor
Oh, the pavement’s full of furrows,
Whitmore to resolve the issue on March 7, 1916, according to the
There are patches everywhere,
Turlock Journal.
You’d like to ride upon it,
The county supervisors’ Advisory Highway Board met
But it’s seldom that you dare;
on March 15, 1916 with the supervisors to present its investigative
It’s handsome pavement,
findings and to provide recommendations. After reviewing the
And credit to the town,
information the advisory board presented, it was estimated by
They’re always digging it up,
supervisors’ Chairman John Clark that the county needed between
Or puttin’ it down.
125 to 250 miles of paved roads, which would cost between $1 to $2
million in road bonds. The next step was for the supervisors to call
Finally, after years of controversy, county supervisors
for a road bond election.
approved a road bond election to be held in November 1916 for
The newspaper announced that the State Highway
$1,482,850 worth of bonds, according to the Turlock Journal on
Commission miscalculated the figures for the Salida lateral to Sonora,
August 8, 1916. County Engineer Annear agreed with the
———————— 761 ————————
—————————————
supervisors on the cost of construction and miles to be paved. The
plan was to pave 144 miles, which would provide a system of county
highways with four inches of concrete, topped with asphalt.
Center street parking was a success in Modesto. By placing
parked cars in the center of the street provided a safe buffer between
the two lanes, making intersection traffic more negotiable, removed
obstructive autos from the curbs, and provided better access to
sidewalks and businesses, observed the newspaper on August 23,
1916. It commented that “automobilists are heartily falling into
support of the plan.”
State Highway Moving Along
The State Highway Commission ordered all commercial
signs on state highway property to be removed. On August 23,
1916, the Merced Chamber of Commerce was asked to take down its
signs advertising the city on the state highway as the “Scenic
Circuit to Yosemite.” The booster organization felt some resentment,
remarked the Turlock Journal, because it had gone to considerable
expense and time to post the signs. But, still the commercial signs
were on state highway property and needed to be reset on private
property.
On October 18, 1916, Governor James N. Gillett fully
endorsed the issuing of $15 million in state bonds to continue the
work of developing the state highway system. He was becoming
known as the “Father of the State Highway System. He commented
that “good roads are our greatest asset and one of the very best
investments we can make.” Gillett talked about California having “a
splendid system of highways” that was recognized throughout the
nation as the best. He further declared that the state’s “salubrious
climate and magnificent scenery will bring thousands to our state
for the pleasures of touring and sightseeing, deriving advertising
benefits that no one can estimate.”
County Road Bonds
County residents were rallying in support of the $1,482,850
road bond to be voted upon on November 7, 1916. On October 18th,
Modesto Mayor D.W. Morris gathered members of the county’s
Good Roads Clubs at the city hall, according to the Modesto Herald,
where 60 were present from businessmen and professional men to
farmers, all enthusiastically endorsing the road bond measure.
County Engineer Annear explained in the Modesto News that county
taxpayers would have 30 years to pay back the bond loan. The
loan’s interest rate would begin at 2.24 percent and end at 3.09
percent. The funds could only be used on paving the county’s
highway system, not for city streets. With great relief the road
bonds were approved on November 7th by county voters after years
of frustration.
Throughout the county, road repairs continued at a rapid
pace and more predominately when the weather permitted. The
word was that every county road would receive attention, according
to an article in the Turlock Journal of December 18, 1918. County
supervisors Clark, Raines, and Whitmore reported that grading and
repairing of roadways in their districts had been completed for the
winter. Roadwork in Supervisor Little’s district consisted of grading
several roads leading to Paradise Highway, while $3,000 was spent
grading and preparing other district roads for the winter. Supervisor
Summer 2015
Johnson placed gravel on the Dry Creek Road southeast of Oakdale
for a cost of $3,000. He was using day laborers to make other repairs
for winter usage, according to the Modesto News.
Oil was still being poured on minor county roads,
prompting the Turlock Board of Trade to write to Supervisor
Whitmore on March 8, 1919 about “removing large quantities of
oiled dirt at present piled along the roadways and on private property
in this district.” Whitmore replied by letter on March 12th, which
was printed in the Turlock Journal, stating he was planning to
remove the oiled dirt when the weather permitted. He remarked that
then he would use the material on the sandy roadways instead of
using expensive oil. Whitmore explained that this was “going to be
more or less of an experiment, as I think the cost of hauling oil is
almost prohibitive.”
Written by Robert LeRoy Santos
(Continued from page 781) minute for the next twenty minutes,
and $25 for arriving 25 minutes early, with the park official having
the option of pulling the autoist’s permit for the season.
Popular Big Oak Flat Road
The Big Oak Flat Road to Yosemite was the chosen route
for those in northern California. The Oakdale Graphic on July 14,
1915 remarked that hundreds of tourists have motored through
Oakdale, connecting with Big Oak Flat Road at the Chinese Camp
intersection of the highway. The newspaper commented that the
roadway in Oakdale “was lined with autos loaded with campers and
their camping outfits, going into the mountains and to the Yosemite.”
One tourist told the newspaper that “If I go into Yosemite Valley a
hundred times, I will always travel by the Big Oak Flat route.”
The improvement of the Tioga Pass roadway that crossed
east over the Sierra, north of Yosemite Valley, to Lee Vining, was of
particular interest to the cities of Modesto, Oakdale, Riverbank,
and Salida. According to the Oakdale Leader of July 14, 1915, they
pledged jointly $1,000 to the State Highway Commission to assist
in the repair work.
Increased Number of Visitors
Usage of Camp Curry in Yosemite Valley had increased in
1915, according to a news report in the Turlock Journal on
September 1, 1915. In 1914, there were 5,340 guests registered, while
in 1915 thus far, there were 8,900. Those from out-of-state vastly
outnumbered Californians entering the park, because of the 1915
Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco. The newspaper
commented that Yosemite Valley’s tourist facilities were not overly
used, because the average stay was one-and-a-quarter days. There
was little congestion, because of the required steady movement of
traffic.
Yosemite Superintendent R.B. Marshall and the U.S.
Department of the Interior announced new rules on March 29, 1916,
allowing more driving freedom. A new park map was available,
illustrating the roads, trails, and the important scenic spots.
Marshall declared that no longer would there be U.S. soldiers and
military supervisors. Instead there would be park employees whose
duty was to extend proper courtesy to all persons visiting the valley.
He remarked that in so far as possible, ‘red tape’ will be done away
with, giving the man on the ground a chance to enforce all rules and
regulations along broad and generous lines.”
R.L. Santos
———————— 762 ————————
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Stanislaus County 1916 map produced by California State Bureau of Mines, illustrating the major roads
found in the county at the time
Sources used for both SQH issues on the automobile:
Stanislaus County News, Turlock Journal, Calif. Highway Commission 1921 Report, American Automobile (Rae), American Automobile Industry (Rae), and Turning of the Wheel (Pound).
———————— 763 ————————
Stanislaus County Motoring Accidents
Early Years, 1905 – 1919
Articles From the Stanislaus County News & Turlock Journal
“Turning Turtle”
SCN = Stanislaus County News TJ = Turlock Journal
S CN, March 10, 1905 – Auto Causes a Smash-Up,
Stockton Tourists with Chug Wagon Scare Horse and Injure Man.
A number of queries were received in Modesto, Monday and last
evening from Stockton asking who had been killed on the road
between Modesto and Stockton, somewhere near Modesto. The
information had been brought to Stockton by some automobilists
that a man had been killed on the road by a runaway.
Investigation finally proved that there had not been
anyone killed as stated, but that a man had been severely hurt by a
runaway. A party of people riding in three automobiles had come to
Modesto Sunday from the Slough city. While here it is said they
partook of the flowing bowl so that when they started for home
some of them at least were in a reckless or indifferent mood. Between
Salida and Ripon they met Joe Miller, a resident of Salida and a man
named Johnson on their way home from Ripon. Miller’s horse
became frightened at the approaching automobiles, but the latter’s
chauffeurs cared nothing for a scared country horse and steamed
right along toward the frightened animal. The consequence was
that the horse overturned the buggy and threw both Miller and
Johnson to the ground. Miller was unhurt, but Johnson fared worse.
He was bruised, his face badly scraped and his head cut by the fall,
while blood from his many wounds flowed freely.
Assistance arrived and helped the two men, but the
automobiles who caused the trouble did not hesitate in their journey.
When they arrived at Ripon they reported that a man had been
killed on the road. When they arrived in Stockton they also reported
that they had caused a runaway which had killed a man. Some
people care very little for mishaps they cause to others.
SCN, July 14, 1905 – Unpleasant Auto Experience on the
Grayson Road. “Dick” Roberts, wife, son, and daughter of Madera
had an unpleasant experience on the West Side about a mile this
side of Grayson Thursday July 6th. The family started from Madera
in their automobile, a new White steam machine, for San Francisco.
They arrived in Modesto and stayed all night and on Thursday
morning left for Livermore. Some one directed Mr. Roberts to go by
way of Grayson, and he did so.
A short distance this side of Grayson there is some heavy
sand on the road, and it was all the machine could do to pull through
it. The strain on the machine beat one of the rods which in turn
struck the feed pipe from the gasoline reservoir, knocking it off. The
gasoline, under a pressure of fifty pounds, flowed under the machine
and caught fire. The occupants barely had time to get out before
the flames reached them. Much of the woodwork of the new auto
was burned before the tourists could put out the flames with sand.
The party was stranded in the middle of a sand plain, with
no assistance near. Finally they reached a telephone and called up
George Young, who hastened to their rescue. The condition of the
machine was such that it took the skilled mechanic from ten o’clock
in the morning until five in the evening to put it in such shape that
the auto could proceed under its own power. Mr. Young worked
under the machine all day in the hot sun, and the tourists had to
stand around all day and wait.
SCN, September 14, 1906 – Hardy Majors Run into by
Automobile. Hardy Majors of Crows Landing had an exhilarating
experiment with an unknown devil wagon last night on the corner
of H and Eighth streets near the City hotel. Mr. Majors had been in
Modesto for some days, and last evening started for home. As he
rounded the corner into Eighth Street about 9 o’clock, a big
automobile chugged out of the dark and ran full tilt into his rig. The
speed was quite lively. The right front wheel of the surrey was
totally smashed, but apart from that the damage was easily repaired.
Mr. Hardy has had to wait over for repair, and meantime he would
like to know something about his assailants who ought to have had
the common courtesy to stop and inquire as to the damages at
least. Two men were in the machine.
SCN, November 9, 1906 – Run Down By an Automobile,
M.B. Kittrelle Seriously Injured in a Wreck on the Waterford
Road. M.B. Kittrelle, the well-known stockbuyer, was seriously
injured in a wreck on the Waterford Road shortly after six o’clock
Saturday evening, and now lies in the Surryhne Sanitarium in critical
condition.
Mr. Kittrelle was returning from Waterford, where he had
been in connection with his business, and had reached a point
about 2½ miles from town, when he was run down by an automobile,
driven by C.L. Jones, who was on his way home from Modesto.
The two vehicles came together with a head-on crash, and the
occupants of both were thrown to the ground. The sudden contact
was heard by people living near, who hurried to the scene to render
assistance. Mr. Jones had landed in a sand pile, and aside from a
wrenched shoulder and numerous bruises, was uninjured. Mr.
Kittrelle, however, was found in a limp and unconscious condition
and was thought to be dying. He was hastily brought to town,
when an examination disclosed a broken thigh, a bruised and
blackened body, and a lacerated head, but no fatal injuries. Mr.
Kittrelle is feeling better at noon today, and unless complications
arise, his condition is thought to be favorable for recovery. His
recovery will no doubt be slow on account of his age, which is 50
years.
The horse driven by Mr. Kittrelle was so injured that it had
to be shot. His buggy was completely demolished. The front of the
automobile was crushed in, one lantern smashed, and the right
front axle bent. It is asserted by Mr. Jones that he was driving at a
moderate rate of speed, that he had turned to the right as far as
possible to allow room for the buggy to pass, and that the horse ran
directly in front of the moving machine. Mr. Kittrelle states that he
was quietly jogging along toward town, and that he did not see nor
hear the machine until it was upon him. No lights were shown, nor
did the horn sound a warning of the monster’s stealthy approach.
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The dim shadow of the juggernaut approached out of the darkness
so startled the horse that it had no escape.
In a statement to the News, Mr. Kittrelle says he had met a
number of vehicles on the way. It had grown quite dark, and when
he noticed the object ahead of him in the road, he thought it was
another carriage. There was no sound above the noise of his own
wheels. In the next instant they met in the middle of the road. He
had seen it was an automobile and given his reign a jerk, just as it
rushed upon him else it had passed directly over him. It is further
state that A.K. Bennett said he did not see the accident at all. He
passed some fifteen minutes afterward. A number of people residing
along the road on which the accident occurred had noticed that the
speed of the machine as it passed their homes, and recall the fact
that it carried no lights.
SCN, November 9, 1906 – Mules Injured by Flying
Automobile,
Unknown Driver Dashes through Herd of Work-Stock. Mr. Van
Norman of Westley is out the price of a good mule, says the Newman
Index. While leading a number of mules on the road Friday, an auto
without lights and without warning ran into the bunch, injuring one
so badly it had to be killed, and then dashed away. The driver of the
auto was unknown.
SCN, July 12, 1907 – Automobile Causes Accident on the
Salida Road. J.M. Culpepper and W.A. Jones of the Modesto
Business College were severely injured in an accident on the Salida
Road this morning while driving from their place three miles north
of town. They were nearing town when their horse became
frightened at a passing automobile, upsetting the vehicle and
severely bruising both gentlemen in the fall. The horse ran on
through town and was last seen going out the Crows Landing
Road. The buggy was completely wrecked being dragged for some
distance behind the running horse. Neither of the two men were
dangerously hurt, the both were badly scratched and bruised.
SCN, August 23, 1907 – Oakdale Automobilists Has
Accident at Riverbank. Four men from Oakdale were in Modesto
Sunday to see the ball game, driving over in Arthur Leitch’s car. On
the way home the batteries gave out at Riverbank, leaving the party
stranded on the far edge of the irrigation district. The report reached
Oakdale that the machine had been badly wrecked, and all the
automobiles of Oakdale at once started to the rescue of their fellows.
Six machines came down in less time than it takes to tell the story.
The unfortunate travelers were towed into town behind another
car, much to their discomfort.
SCN, December 4, 1908 – Auto Collides with Street Car,
C.H. Cowell, Prominent Farmer and Irrigation Leader Seriously,
Perhaps Fatally Injured. W.H. Cowell, better known as “Wright”
Cowell, the father of irrigation in San Joaquin Country and one of
the best-known farmers in this part of the San Joaquin Valley, collided
with a street car yesterday about noon in Stockton while driving
his auto on south San Joaquin Street, and received injuries which
probably will result in his death. The car was going south quite
rapidly, while Mr. Cowell was coming north. The street car and
machine were on opposite tracks. Upon nearing the street car, the
rear wheels of the auto skidded on the rails, throwing the forward
part of the auto against the car.
Mr. Cowell was dragged a considerable distance, and the
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auto badly wrecked. The patient was rushed to the St. Joseph’s
Home in an automobile, and on examination, it was found that he
had suffered a fracture at the base of the brain, his right leg was
broken above and below the knee, and in addition he received
many bruises and a possible fracture of the hip. Members of the
family and relatives were informed at once. Mr. Cowell, who was
well known throughout this part of the region, was seventy years
old. He was a pioneer irrigationist, and his activities in this direction
made him famous in the southern part of the San Joaquin. His home
is at the southwest corner of Miner Avenue and Stanislaus Street,
where he has lived for many years with his family.
SCN, December 18, 1908 – Modesto Man Is Injured by
Auto, Charles Snyder Run Down This Morning While Crossing
H Street. While trying to avoid a collision with a number of vehicles
on Tenth Street this morning, F. Prumsey, who was driving a small
Reo automobile ran down and seriously injured Charley Snyder on
the corner of Tenth and H streets. The number of vehicles and the
slippery street confused the driver of the machine, and turning to
the right as he was coming up Tenth Street to avoid a collision with
a buggy, which was tied there, the driver encountered a rig coming
along Tenth Street from the other direction, and turned to the left
down H Street to avoid a collision.
Just at this moment Charley Snyder started to cross H
Street to the drug store, and was unable, when he saw the machine,
to get out of the way. The machine struck the man just above the
knees on the side and hurled him into the air. As the man fell, he
struck his face on the pavement, cutting a deep gash on his left
check from the eye down to lower edge of his jaw, and a deep cut
over two inches long was also sustained on the back of his head.
The car was not going at a very rapid rate, but the streets
were very slippery, and it was impossible for anyone to move very
fast and keep his feet. The machine was brought to a stop a few
yards further on, and the men, who were in the machine, came back
to inquire the extent of his injuries. The man’s injuries were attended
to by Dr. DeLappe, and he pronounced the wounds nothing serious
but very painful, and no bones broken. Mr. Prumsey is the foreman
on C.D. Swan’s ranch near Montpellier. Mr. Snyder lives in the
Maze Addition of Modesto and came to town this morning on
business. The latter was taken to the sanitarium where his injuries
were dressed and is resting quite comfortably this afternoon.
SCN, March 19, 1909 – Auto Victims Will Recover,
Oakdale Merchant, Wife and Party Escape Death in Auto Accident.
Word from Oakdale to the News this afternoon says that all members
of the Nightingale auto party who were injured late yesterday when
the machine plunged over a 30-foot embankment into the Stanislaus
River, bid fair now to recover. M.J. Nightingale, who was acting as
his own chauffeur when the accident occurred, and received the
most serious injury, is now at the Thompson Sanitarium, but it is
thought that unless pneumonia sets in as a result of his exposure
and injuries, he will pull through. Mrs. Nightingale is at her home,
and with the exception of a few severe cuts and bruises on head
and face, is none the worse for her fearful experience. Mrs. Burns
and little daughter were seriously injured.
The accident happened at Knights Ferry late yesterday.
The auto in which the party was riding suddenly left the road as a
result of a broken gear and dashed down the steep 10-feet declivity
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into the river. The three ladies of the party fell out while the auto
was making its dive, but Mr. Nightindale, being fastened in by the
steering wheel, was forced to remain in the machine until it reached
the bed of the river. In escaping drowning, he was lacerated about
the face and had his nose almost torn off, while his lips and chin
were cut and bruised. The water being shallow, he escaped. In
falling, both women were somewhat bruised, the daughter of Mrs.
Burns being less bruised than either of the two ladies.
SCN, August 27, 1909 – Victim of Auto Accident Better.
Mike Byrnes, a well-known resident of the Wisecarver Addition in
Modesto, who was run over by an auto driven by H.T. Crow on
Saturday, is now in a fair way to recovery. The accident happened
on the Waterford Road, when Byrne and companion were riding
out to work. Although his injuries were not very serious, he might
have been killed, as the machine was said to be going at a rapid rate
of speed, and ran squarely over his body and dragged Byrne for
some distance before it was stopped. Byrne turned on the wrong
side of the road. Dr. Griswold attended to the man’s injuries, and
reports that he is getting along as well as could be expected.
SCN, September 10, 1909 – Modesto Man Met Tragic
Fate, Harry A. Bates Hurled from Auto and Fatally Injured Passes
Away at Noon without Recovering Consciousness. All Modesto is
mourning today over the sudden demise of Harry A. Bates, who
was thrown from an automobile early yesterday morning, and
suffered injuries from which he died three hours later. Mr. Bates
was planning a recreation trip to the river yesterday with his family
and a party, but his machine was a trifle out of condition and he
went down to the Dingley garage on Tenth Street to have some
repairs made. Chester Crowder, the foreman of the garage, was just
preparing to leave the garage in Ernie Conneau’s machine, which
had been overhauled and was still stripped of everything except
the running gear and the frame. Bates asked Crowder for permission
to ride with him, and Crowder said, “All right, Harry, but you must
be careful, as there is nothing to balance you on the machine.”
Bates got on the machine, and was again cautioned by Crowder to
be careful and not lose his balance. Mr. Bates laughed, and said, “It
would be a joke if I fell off this thing, wouldn’t it.”
They headed downtown, and the auto was working fine.
They watched the open engine and were sitting on a galvanized
tank. They were on Ninth Street when suddenly a milk wagon pulled
out from being parked and drove in front of the auto. Crowder
swerved to miss hitting it causing Bates to topple off the auto,
hitting his head on the side of the machine and then “falling heavily
on his head.”
Crowder stopped immediately and walked back to Bates
expecting him to be uninjured as “he just barely rolled off the
machine and did not seem to strike heavily.” But he was unconscious,
and Dr. DeLappe came quickly, examining him thinking he would
recover in a short time. But as the doctor examined closely he found
his skull fractured at the base of the brain and knew he would die
soon. He called a Stockton doctor to consult but Bates died without
gaining consciousness. One witness who traveled behind the auto
from the garage to the accident said that it was traveling no faster
than 8 to 10 mph. Bates was a prominent businessman in Modesto.
SCN, April 22, 1910 – Mayor Post’s Valuable Dog Victim
of Auto. Sunday morning while in the vicinity of the Tuolumne
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River bridge, Charles Post, Modesto’s new mayor, had the
misfortune to lose his valuable dog, which was run over and killed
by a reckless autoist. The dog was on the bridge when the auto
which was crossing at about 25-mile clip, run the animal down. Mr.
Post says that he would not have taken $50 for the animal, and he
knows who the guilty party is and intends to see that the guilty
party is and intends to see that the fellow is prosecuted. It has been
reported of late that autoists were utterly disregarding the
admonition to slow down while crossing the bridge, and the
authorities will make an example of some enthusiastic buzz wagon
man who is caught exceeding the speed limit on this bridge.
SCN, May 20, 1910 – Sonora Child Hurt by Auto. The 10year-old child of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Rudolph of Sonora was
severely injured yesterday in sight of several Modestans when she
was run over by an auto driven by Mrs. T. Winn. The little girl had
just left her mother, who was busily talking to a friend, when the
machine struck her. It is rumored today from Sonora that the child
succumbed to her injuries early this morning.
SCN, July 29, 1910 – Narrow Escape for Auto Party. Just
as Frank Gomes, who was at the wheel of his new auto, arrived in
Modesto last night, after searching for Charles Bortles, a 12 yearold drowning victim of the San Joaquin River, the machine ran into
the curbing at Well’s corner and narrowly missed turning turtle. In
the machine with Mr. Gomes were Elmer Maze, Frank Reeder and
Wm. Bortles. Mr. Gomes was driving up I Street from the direction
of the depot, and as he went to turn the corner, he reached for the
brake with his foot, but struck the feed, and the car raced around
the corner at a rapid gait, striking the high curbing a slanting blow.
The curbing was too steep for the car to go onto the sidewalk, and
after skidding along the street for a short distance, it was brought
under control. Had the machine turned turtle, those in the car in all
probability would have been seriously injured. The only damage
done to the car was the cracking of the rims on the front wheels,
and those in the party are thanking their luck that it was not worse.
SCN, August 12, 1910 – Women Injured in Auto Wreck
Will Probably Recover, Remains of R.C. Patton Sent to Newman
for Burial. Dispatches indicate that Mrs. Guy Kilburn and Miss
Frances Munson, who are lying in the Belvedere hospital in San
Francisco as a result of a disastrous automobile wreck Sunday
evening, stand a good chance to recover. R.C. Patton, the wellknown Stanislaus man and resident of Newman, who was driving
the car, sustained a fractured skull, dying at four o’clock the next
morning. Patton met death in trying to escape from a motorcycle
policeman in San Jose, after he had been arrested for violating the
speeding ordinance. The accident occurred after a sensational flight
through town, when Patton unwittingly ran into a blind street, and
in trying to turn the auto turned turtle. There were five in the vehicle.
SCN, August 26, 1910 – Frail Fence Post Saves Auto
Party from Death. That a party of Modestans owes their lives to a
frail fence post and a few strands of barb wire, which is all that
saved their auto from plunging over a sixty-foot embankment, is
the meager report that reached Modesto today from the coast. The
driver of the auto was Lloyd Halverson, the skillful, but somewhat
too daring chauffeur who works in the Mires Garage on Ninth Street.
The accident is said to have occurred last Saturday as the autoists
were nearing Pacific Grove. With Halverson in the auto were Misses
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Josie and Stella Mosher, two well-known Modesto girls, daughters
of a prominent rancher near here.
Miss Josie is carrying one of her arms in a sling as a result
of the accident, the flesh having been torn from one thumb and the
bone broken in the hairbreadth escape from death. Halverson was
driving his father’s big E.M.F. touring car, and was making pretty
good time along one of the mountain roads between here and the
coast. In trying to make a sharp turn without slacking speed, the car
wheels skidded, and the auto slipped off the road bed down a steep
embankment at the side of the road. That the machine did not
overturn is considered remarkable.
Those who received word of the accident say that it
occurred on the mountainside, where a drop of sixty feet leads to
the canyon bottom. All that saved the machine from taking this
dizzy plunge was the fence post, against which the car struck as it
fell over the roadside. That the fall would have meant certain death
for all in the car goes without saying. The Halverson family and a
small party of friends are still at the beach and full particulars of the
accident were not obtainable at this time.
SCN, September 2, 1910 – Modestan Figures in Oakland
Auto Accident. M.E. Tucker, a Modesto capitalist, and a woman
companion in an automobile, colliding with a street sweeper driving
on Telegraph Avenue shortly after 3 o’clock yesterday morning,
and both had narrow escapes from serious injury. Lewis, who was
driving the street sweeper, was thrown to the street and painfully
bruised. Tucker and his companion became entangled in the meshes
of the circular broom, but escaped unhurt. One of the horses was
knocked down and getting up, started to run, but instead it was
able to regain control of the team. Prosecuting attorney for the
street sweeping contractor asked for a warrant for the arrest of
Tucker, but the matter was adjusted out of court by Tucker agreeing
to pay for the damage done to the sweeper and horse, and Lewis’
doctor bills.
SCN, September 2, 1910 – M.B. Kittrelle Is Victim of
Auto Accident. M.B. Kittrelle was the victim of an auto accident
today, and the right hind wheel of his buggy was torn off by the
machine of Sam Updike. The accident occurred near the Woodland
Colony schoolhouse this forenoon. Both drivers turned out to the
right hand side of the road, and in trying to pass, the auto, which
was not going fast, collided with the rig. Mr. Updike, whose machine
was not damaged, assisted Mr. Kittrelle in getting to Modesto.
This makes the second accident in which Mr. Kittrelle has figured,
he having been run down and seriously injured by Mr. C. Lee Jones
a couple of years ago.
SCN, September 30, 1910 – Autos Collided With Little
Damage. J. Donaldson of the Modesto Steam Laundry and Lee
Jones of Modesto collided with their autos yesterday morning at
the corner of J and 11th streets. Mr. Donaldson was just leaving
South Methodist Church when Mr. Jones came down the street
driving his car, and as Mr. Donaldson took a wide turn at the corner,
Lee drove in front of him to pass, and the two machines met. Mr.
Jones’ machine was not materially damaged, while Mr. Donaldson’s
car was slightly damaged, the front wheel being broken, also the
fender. None of the occupants of the cars were injured, save for a
severe shaking up when the cars collided.
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SCN, September 30, 1910 – Bicyclist Jumps When Auto
Hits His Wheel, Claibone Hall Slightly Injured When Struck by
Assessor Campbell’s Automobile. While enjoying a ride in his auto
last evening, Assessor J.F. Campbell ran into Claibone Hall, a young
man about 18 years of age, while turning the corner at I and Ninth
streets. Mr. Campbell was coming down I street and went to make
the turn to Ninth, when Hall rode up from Ninth. Both men saw each
other, and both attempted to turn in the same direction. Mr. Campbell,
fearing a collision, turned quickly the other way, and Hall, who was
riding fast, also turned at the same time. Seeing that a collision was
unavoidable, Hall tried to jump onto the hood of the machine, but
did not jump high enough, and was caught on the spring of the car.
His hands were cut by the glass from the lamps and his right hip
was also slightly cut. His injuries were not serious, however, and he
was able to reach home, where his wounds were attended to. Mr.
Hall said this morning that both he and Mr. Campbell were going at
a rate of about six-miles-an- hour when the collision occurred.
SCN, October 7, 1910 – Reckless Autoist Smashes His
Car, Dashes into Curb While Racing Down Ninth Street Last
Evening. A young man who gave the name of Hammat of Livingstone
last evening attempted to drive his car down the streets of Modesto,
but the streets were not wide enough for him and his brand of
driving, and he collided with the curb in front of Ad Brown’s
residence on 9th Street. The car was badly wrecked and the
occupants thrown out of their seats, but fortunately no one was
injured. Hammat recently wrecked his car near Ceres while returning
home from Modesto, and it is a safe prediction that whenever he
comes to Modesto again pedestrians will have important business
at their homes.
SCN, November 22, 1911 – Oakdale Students in Auto
Wreck. Saturday night in returning from the basketball game
between the Oakdale and Lodi high school teams, held at the latter
place, the auto owned and driven by Stuart Coleman of Oakdale ran
off the end of a bridge and turned turtle, landing bottom-side-up in
the mud, says the Oakdale Graphic. The occupants of the auto
were thrown clear of the machine, and no one was seriously injured.
Four were in the auto, when they were enjoying the ride home from
the game. All had gone well when in endeavoring to pass another
auto on a bridge two miles this side of Stockton, when the Coleman
auto ran off one end of the bridge and fell to the bottom of the
ditch. It turned turtle in falling, striking on its top. The occupants
were thrown out clear of the car. Though quite badly shaken up,
none were injured. This is most remarkable and fortunate, since so
many are fatally injured in auto wrecks where the machine turns
over.
SCN, December 1, 1911 – W.K. Bassett Collides with
Automobile, City Editor of News Run Over but Not Badly Hurt.
W.K. Bassett, city editor of the News, while riding a bicycle on I
Street this afternoon, collided with an automobile driven by Emory
Gates, and sustained severe bruises, but no broken bone. Bassett
was riding rapidly, and Gates was going in the opposite direction.
When he saw that Gates intended to turn into Thirteenth Street,
Bassett put on his brake, but could not stop in time. Gates also
threw on his brake, but the newspaper man was thrown from the
bicycle, the front wheel of the automobile passing over his legs.
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Gates stopped, however, before the hind wheel touched the prostrate
man, who scrambled from under the machine and was taken to his
home by Gates. Dr. DeLappe was called and found that the only
injuries to the newspaper man were bruises, and he will be at his
usual duties. Bassett declares that Gates was not to blame for the
accident and praised him for stopping the automobile so quickly.
The rear part of the automobile was wrecked.
SCN, December 1, 1911 – Moss Drives Auto With Arm
Broken. Lou T. Moss, Modesto Commissioner of Revenue and
Finance, drove an automobile from five miles out in the country
with one hand, his right wrist having been fractured when he
attempted to crank the engine of the car. The accident occurred in
Wood Colony, while Mr. and Mrs. Moss were driving through the
country. Mrs. Moss cannot operate the steering gear of a machine
in the satisfaction of her husband and although in great pain the
fractured bone of his right wrist almost penetrating the flesh. Moss
guided the car with his left hand to his physician in this city where
the fracture was set.
SCN, December 1, 1911 – What To Do When Your Auto
Skids. Henry D. McCoy of the Chanslor & Lyon Motor Supply
Company says that when driving on a “greasy” road it is the wisest
to go slowly. He says “Do not get into a tight place where the use
of brakes and quick steering are necessary, as either of these may
cause skidding. As soon as the car shows signs of skidding,
declutch immediately. If this is done in time the car will probably
right itself. The brakes should not be applied until the car has
recovered a straight course. At the same moment one declutches
the front of the car should be steered in the same direction as the
back is sliding.”
SCN, December 8, 1911 – Killam Almost in Auto Accident.
Walter H. Killam, city editor of the Modesto Morning Herald is still
alive but a cement bridge over the Oakdale road about three miles
out of town is deserving of no credit of this fact. Killam and Claude
Shackelford had spent the day beyond Knight Ferry gathering
Christmas berries and were returning about 4 o’clock yesterday
afternoon when a single buggy insisted on monopolizing the center
of the road just ahead of the newspaperman at the rudder of his
E.M.F. auto. At the approach to the bridge Killy thought he had a
chance to beat it around the buggy, and made a try for it. The ends
of the bridge thickly grown with weeds, and Killam believed his
machine competent to ride down weeds, took a chance at it. The
end of the span was hidden beneath the weeds brought him up
short, bent his fender and threw his machine over against the buggy.
Without stopping the rig proceeded on its way, and Killam finding
no severe damage done and no bones broken in himself or
companion, also proceeding to Modesto.
SCN, February 2, 1912 – Automobile Stops Team in
Runaway. An automobile, driven by J.L. Arris, succeeded in
stopping a runaway after a chase of a mile or more yesterday at
Turlock. The runaway team was that of the Turlock Creamery. The
horses became frightened at an approaching train and started at a
rapid rate up the main street. George Shepard, the driver, leaped
into Arris’ automobile and the machine sped after the horses. When
the car came abreast of the horse-drawn wagon, Shepard jumped
into the seat and seizing the reins brought the horses to a stop
about a mile from where they started on their wild run.
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SCN, February 16, 1912, Youths’ Joy Ride Ends in
Disaster, Young Stanton Vivian Runs Father’s Machine into
Embankment. A thirst for a joy ride and its gratifying caused
Stanton Vivian, the 12-year-old son of W.H. Vivian, considerable
trouble last evening, nearly resulted in serious injury to Mrs. E.J.
Hurlburt, and smashed the steering gear of a big Stoddard-Dayton
automobile belonging to the lad’s father. Frightened by what he
had done, young Vivian left the disabled automobile in front of his
father’s home and decamped last evening, spending the night with
a friend who was one of the joy-ride party.
It seems that the Vivians were spending the evening at a local
theater, and had left their machine outside, as is the custom. The
boy, with about ten youths of his age, spied the car and
appropriated it. He hustled his companions into the machine and
opened up the gas. She moved, she sped, she traveled fast down
Tenth Street. The lad at the steering gear turned at Needham because
he couldn’t go straight ahead. At Eleventh street, missing his
bearings, he started for an embankment. He hit it, he went over it,
but in the operation the steering gear broke. Just ahead were O.S.
Hurlburt and his mother, Mrs. E.J. Hurlburt, walking to their home.
They dodged one way so did the machine; they dodged another,
so, verily, did the automobile; again they dodged, but Mrs. Hurlburt
slipped and fell and the big car passed close by her and stopped.
Immediately there was a scramble and when Hurlburt had
assisted his mother to rise there was a machine true enough, but
not one of the boys in sight. Soon after Hurlburt and his mother
had gone on their way, Vivian reappeared, and with the help of the
other boys, moved the car to his father’s home. Then he “beat it”
and was not seen by the family until this morning. The Vogelman,
Calvin,s and Holtham boys were in the party, but they were only
three of the six. It was in truth great joy ride for youths, and Modesto
probably holds the record for such an affair.
SCN, February 23, 1912 – Three Hurt When Auto Backed
Off Mountain Grade. When the automobile in which they were
seated plunged 50 feet over a precipice on the Mount Hamilton
Road, 10 miles from here, R.C. McComish and W.M. Begg, prominent
attorneys of this city, and Margaret Begg, the 5 year old daughter
of the latter, were seriously injured. Begg sustained a broken leg
and his daughter had three ribs fractured, which McComish was
badly cut. The machine, owned and driven by Beggs, started over
the embankment as he reversed and attempted to turn. The brakes
failed. Fifty feet down the face of the cliff the automobile lodged
against a tree with terrific impact, sending splintered wood and
shattered glass flying into the air. McComish had fallen from the illfated car as it shot downward, but Begg was caught and pinned
beneath the wheel while his daughter was crushed in the wreckage.
SCN, March 5, 1912 – Drove Too Fast to Avoid Meeting
Train. Peter Sulelfler was arrested by Tuolumne River bridgetender
Roberts yesterday, haled to Judge Jennings’ court, and fined $5 for
fast driving. The prisoner admitted that he drove his horse on the
bridge at a trot, but said that his animal was afraid of the cars and
he drove rapidly so he would not meet any while he was crossing
the bridge. He said he heard the whistle of an engine, but admitted
it was in Modesto. After paying his fine he demanded a receipt
from Judge Jennings, and could not be convinced that the court
did not give receipts.
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SCN, April 5, 1912 – Automobile Hit by Motorcycle. Last
evening a motorcycle and an automobile collided at the corner of
Tenth and I streets, and, as is the usual thing in such collisions, the
motorcycle came out second best. The automobile was driven by
Everett Turner and the motorcycle by Will West. The two machines
met near the middle of the street intersection. The auto was going
along I Street from the east and the motorcycle was coming from
the west. Apparently both machine drivers began to turn about the
same time, and West became confused, and ran into the automobile.
He had thrown on his brake, but was unable to avert the collision.
The automobile was not injured, but the front part of the motorcycle
was wrecked and the engine was damaged.
SCN, May 17, 1912 – Aged West Sider Hit by Automobile.
George Ward, who for many years has been the faithful Newman
gardener for E.S. Wagenhelm, was knocked down and run over by
an automobile Friday morning. He is quite hard of hearing and does
not see well. He was watching some men who were moving a house,
when P.J. Schimm of Patterson ran his machine into him. He is now
suffering with a broken leg and severe bruises about his body and
head.
TJ, May 17, 1912 – Autoists Nearly Drown in Ditch,
Turlock Men Driving New Hudson Car Plunge into Lateral 3. M.
Hedman and Charles Tornell driving the former’s new Hudson “33,”
plunged from the bridge over lateral 3 into the ditch Tuesday
afternoon. Both sustained painful injuries and narrowly escaped
drowning. Mr. Hedman had just purchased the machine and in
company with Mr. Tornell, who was driving, was bringing the
machine to Turlock. When they were nearing lateral 3 a cloud of
dust obscured their view and before they knew it, Mr. Tornell saw a
wagon loaded with alfalfa immediately in front of him. He turned to
one side, and not knowing that he was so close to the lateral, drove
the machine over the edge of the bridge. The machine toppled into
the ditch, which was running nearly full of water, injuring the
machine to a great extent. The occupants of the auto were in the
water about twenty minutes before they could be extricated from
the wreck. Mr. Tornell suffered a bruised shoulder and a gash in the
head, while Mr. Hedman escaped with a few minor scratches. Had
the ditch been carrying its capacity of water, both occupants of the
machine would have drowned before they could have gotten out.
SCN, May 17, 1912 – Montpelier Youth in Auto Wreck.
Paul Yancey of Montpelier, a chauffeur and a young woman, name
unknown, are reported to have been the principles in an all night
joy ride which ended in a disastrous wreck on the Cherokee Lane
near Stockton at 4 o’clock Sunday morning. A large Overland auto
lay overturned in the ditch near the Shippee place on the Cherokee
land all Sunday with all signs removed from the machine by which
it could be identified and hundreds of pleasure seekers declared
that somebody must have been killed in the wreck, for it seemed a
killing accident. The machine was wrecked, the wheels were broken,
pieces of spokes were lying around, the top was torn off and the
glass windshield was smashed. Nearby the fence posts were broken,
several boards from the fence were torn off and broken and all
signs pointed to a traffic collision with the fence before the auto
went upside in the ditch. Blood was on the front of the auto, but the
auto’s license number had been taken off to prevent identification
of the joy riders.
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The machine was owned by a resident of Montpelier,
Stanislaus County, and was in the care of his son, Paul Yancey, who
came to Stockton on Saturday for a lot of fun. He made up a party
with chauffeur and a young woman of recent acquaintance and the
trio went to Lodi Saturday night and stayed out late. At about 4
o’clock Sunday morning they started for Stockton, all full of the
fun, and bowled along faster than the lawful speed. Into the ditch
they went at the Shippee place, but not how it occurred the chauffeur
could not say. He was bruised, but not much hurt. Yancey was
uninjured and had a narrow escape, and the woman, who was riding
with him, was seriously injured. Her face was bruised and bled
freely and one of her legs was cut by the wreckage. The three
abandoned the machine and struck out across the Morada lots to
the home of one of the suburbanites, where at 5 o’clock they were
given first aid attention, and the woman was made comfortable
until the first car came along from Lodi, when she was hustled
aboard and brought to her room in Stockton. The men also came
into town, and Yancey made arrangements to get his father’s auto
cared for in pieces. He reported at the home of his brother-in-law
E.L. Hudelson, on East South Street in Stockton, at about the noon
hour and said he had been in an accident, but gave no particulars.”
The chauffeur reported that one of the long boards from
the broken fence went through the wind shield of the machine and
came out the rear, but how the occupants of the car escaped death
he could not explain. He said he did not know how the accident
occurred, for the road was straight and without depressions. He
admitted the car was being driven very fast and that it was a jolly
party.
SCN, May 24, 1912 – C.A. Butz Cranks Auto, Arm
Broken. The automobiles have added another victim to their already
long list of accidents. Charles A. Butz, who is employed as the
window dresser at Schafer’s, had his wrist dislocated and arm broken
today while attempting to crank Mrs. A.L. Cressey’s automobile.
Mrs. Cressey, with a friend, had been in the store making some
purchases, and when they had finished, she asked Manager
Chamberlain to start her machine. It was fortunate for Chamberlain
that the ladies forgot one of their packages. He said he would go for
the package and asked Butz to crank the machine. Butz turned the
engine over a few times, when it back-fired and the crank struck his
arm and broke it. Butz was immediately taken to Dr. Robertson’s
office and was given medical attention. It will be several weeks
before he will be able to be back at the store.
TJ, December 12, 1912 – Motorcycle Rider vs. Palace
Auto. On Saturday afternoon of the last week, Leonard Lowe, a
youth residing about six miles south of Turlock met with an accident
which might have terminated seriously for him, but which he was
fortunate enough to escape without injury. The peculiar part of the
affair was that neither of the parties concerned in the accident
could be held to blame for the resulting occurrence. Lowe was
riding west on Main Street in Turlock last Saturday afternoon on
his single-cylinder Indian motorcycle, and started to cross
Broadway. Just at the time that he started to cross the street, Palace
Market’s automobile came down Broadway, going south. Lowe
was on the right hand side of Main Street and the market machine
was on the right side of Broadway. That made the width of Broadway
between the two when they started across the intersection.
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Lowe judged from this that he had plenty of room to keep
going at his regular speed and still have time for the auto to pass in
front of him. However, the auto either slowed a trifle, or Lowe had
not figured correctly, for the motorcycle crashed into the rear of the
other machine. Badly frightened, Lowe sprang off his machine as it
struck the other, and so sprang clear of all harm. The Palace Market
man was not affected by the collision in any way, his auto being so
much heavier than the motorcycle. The latter machine however,
presented a woeful aspect. The seat was broken, the frame scratched
in many places, and the front wheel could not be turned through
the forks. The wreck was left at the V.M. Peel Cyclery, and Lowe
procured a motorcycle from somewhere and hurried home, where
he said that he had a large number of cows to milk.
TJ, February 20, 1913 – Fatal Accident Occurs at Tracy.
Former Mrs. Louise R. Enslen, born in Modesto, where she lived
with her first husband, was riding with her second husband, W.E.
Coffin of Oakland, to visit relatives in Modesto when their car
overturned on a turn near Tracy. Mrs. W.E. Coffin is the daughter
of Henry Vogelman, well-known Modesto resident. The accident
occurred on a sharp turn north of Tracy about 11 a.m. Mr. Coffin
was driving at 40 mph and attempted to turn with the roadway
when the automobile skidded, turned over twice, and pinned both
occupants beneath. He was instantly killed, but Mrs. Coffin escaped
with slight injuries. He had been warned about the turn by someone
at the Tracy hotel, and Mrs. Coffin had told her husband to slow
down at the turn, but he was already into it when it tumbled over.
Mrs. Coffin had recovered from another auto accident in Oakland
where she wasn’t expected to live.
TJ, February 27, 1913 – Automobile Was Destroyed by
Fire. From some unexplainable cause the Brush automobile owned
by Mr. H.T. Randolph, while about a mile east of Turlock, caught
fire last evening and was destroyed. Mr. Randolph had just had
some repairs made, and while it was being tried out, it appeared to
work stiffly. The machine was being pulled by the auto of Mr. A.W.
Thorton, and while being towed, the conflagration ensued.
TJ, March 27, 1913 – Angry Bull Made Attack on Car.
Mr. and Mrs. A.W. Thorton of Turlock, who spent the weekend
visiting relatives at Lodi, witnessed an exciting incident as they
were coming home yesterday. Mr. Thornton and his wife had just
left Stockton, when they overtook a drove of cattle, and as there
was a big five-passenger car, with a red body, in front of them, they
decided to let the bigger car serve as a guide through the herd. This
plan would have worked well, but a vicious bull, angered by the red
color of the bigger car, charged upon it and delivered a blow that
caught the car amidships, and badly frightened the ladies who
occupied the rear seat. Before the angry bull could repeat the attack,
however, one of the drovers came to the rescue and the enraged
animal was driven away.
TJ, July 3, 1913 – R.L. Belt’s Auto Went Up in Smoke.
Yesterday at noon, while R.L. Belt was coming from Stevinson in
his Regal under-slung machine, he struck an exceedingly tough
part of the road near the Chedester bridge, and from some
unexplained cause his auto took fire and was destroyed, all the
inflammable material in it being reduced to ashes. A large stock of
salve, which was Belt’s stock in trade, along with extra tubes, tires,
and other material, which he had just laid in preparatory to a business
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trip throughout the valley, went up in smoke. The machine was
insured for $800, but this does not come near covering the amount
of the lost sustained. While the machine was burning, says, Mr.
Belt, the electric horn began sounding, and continued to sound
until it was destroyed.
Recently while Mr. Belt was on one of his trips in the same
neighborhood, he gave a ride to a tramp, whom he overtook on the
road, but who was so abusive that he was forced to put him out of
his auto, fearing that the man had some malicious design on starting
a quarrel without any provocation. Yesterday, Mr. Belt met two
men, who asked him for a ride, but remembering his former experience,
he refused them. A little later, when the auto had burned, these
same men passed Mr. Belt, and exulted over his misfortune, saying
they had wished that his machine would burn up, and that their
wish had been realized.
TJ, July 10, 1913 – Motorcycle and Auto Collide. A
collision between an automobile and a motorcycle, which might
have resulted much more seriously than it did, occurred between 8
and 9 o’clock last evening on the state highway about 2½ miles
south of Turlock. Dr. Julien, in his auto, was going south at a good
clip and Edwin Grandberg, with David Carlson, was coming toward
town on a motorcycle. Mr. Grandberg stated that today as he was
on the right side of the road as both machines neared a crossing
with the doctor’s auto on the left, he supposed the latter would
make a turn into a crossroad, and at the same time both drivers must
have become a little confused. The motorcycle and auto came
together at a tangent, with the result that Grandberg and Carlson
were thrown violently forward from the machine, and sustained
severe injuries, the head of the former being badly gashed. The
motorcycle was badly wrecked, and the auto had an axle sprung
and a headlight broken. Dr. Julien took the injured men in his auto
to the home of David Carlson near Turlock, where he attended them
and made them comfortable as possible. Both were able to be out
today.
TJ, July 17, 1913 – Auto Accident Is Explained. Editor, I
hereby wish to make the following correction regarding the
motorcycle collision mentioned in the newspaper. Dr. Julien is not
to be blamed in this matter whatsoever, as he turned to the right
properly, and was entirely off the state highway when I struck his
auto with my motorcycle. There was a crossing to the left near the
place where the collision occurred. I supposed the doctor would
turn on said crossing, hence in my confusion I turned to the wrong
side, right against the front corner of the doctor’s auto. The collision
was absolutely my fault, and I am thankful to the doctor for his
generosity in not resorting to the authorities under the
circumstances. Edwin Grandberg
TJ, July 24, 1913 – Big Machine Went Into Ditch. An
auto party which was bound for Atwater, and which came form San
Francisco, went into the ditch on Front Street in Turlock yesterday
afternoon where Front joins the state highway. Although it was
impossible to learn the name of the party, the gentleman running
the machine said that at Ceres he had been instructed to follow the
state highway straight through when he saw that Center Street was
better, and attempted to turn back. There was not room enough for
him to make the turn, and the machine went into Lateral 4. Although
there were nine people in the machine, which was a big 7-passenger
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car, no one was hurt, except for a few scratches. The machine is not
badly damaged either, although one axle is broken, the fender is
bent, and the running board damaged.
TJ, July 31, 1913 – Two Killed by Tracy Collision. Two
Greek laborers were killed outright, two more fatally injured, and
two not seriously injured when Southern Pacific passenger train
No. 84 struck an automobile truck driven by Henry Schmidt,
proprietor of the Tracy brewery, as the truck was crossing the track
in the railroad yards in Tracy this noon. Schmidt jumped and escaped
unscathed, but his 15 year-old son sustained a dislocated hip and
lacerations about the head and face. Schmidt had delivered beer
and was on his way back to town and gave a ride to six Greek
laborers, who were headed for Tracy for dinner. He and his son
jumped out, but the laborers were sitting down in back and did not
have time to jump. Two of the laborers were not seriously injured,
but the other four, fatally. Schmidt is at a loss to explain how the
accident happened. He states he heard nothing nor did not notice
the train until it was practically upon him. The auto truck was
smashed to splinters.
TJ, August 28, 1913 – Merced Auto Ran into Milk Wagon.
This morning D. Cable of Turlock, while driving a milk wagon on
the state highway a short distance north of town, was run into by
an automobile driven by a Merced man whose name was not learned.
As a result of the collision, Mr. Cable suffered a number of bruises,
the horse he was driving was injured, and the tongue of the wagon
broken. The auto escape without serious damage, and its driver
continued on his way to Merced.
TJ, September 11, 1913 – Modesto Woman Hurt by
Motorist. Mrs. J.C. Cavell was struck by a motorcycle driven by
Victor Peterson of Turlock yesterday evening at the Southern Pacific
crossing north of the depot, and suffered a severe shock and a
number of bruises from being thrown to the pavement. The
Bakersfield passenger train had just pulled out and the crowd that
had gathered at the station and along the crossing was leaving
when Peterson on his motorcycle ran into the crowd barely missing
several persons. Mrs. Cavell was watching a horse that was loose
to avoid danger from that quarter when the motorcycle hit her.
Peterson was held by the officers until Mrs. Cavell had recovered
sufficiently from the shock to insure that serious injury had not
resulted.
TJ, September 25, 1913 – Leg Broken While
Motorcycling. Last night Ernest Erickson and Miss Esther Anderson
went for a motorcycle ride on the road west of Turlock, and when
about one-half mile out of town, met a buggy with V.G. Thompson
driving. The motorcycle carried no light, and the buggy was not
seen until near at hand. Erikson tried to pass by swerving his
motorcycle to one side, but the pedal of his machine caught the
road. He had both bones of one leg broken below the knee. The
motorcycle sustained minor damage, having one pedal bent. An
automobile happened by just after the accident occurred, and Miss
Anderson was brought home, medical attention summoned, and
the young lady made as comfortable as possible.
TJ, October 2, 1913 – Motor Bike Riders Run into Buggy.
Last night at about 8 o’clock, Blain Brunner, riding a tandem
motorcycle with another man behind him, collided with a buggy at
Denair, and sustained a few minor bruises. George Grubb, who was
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in the buggy, also escaped injury, but the buggy was badly broken
and the horse he was driving was lamed. Brunner and his
companion, who are said to have had no lights on their motorcycle,
were thrown quite a distance, and the motor was badly wrecked.
TJ, October 9, 1913 – Bicycle Struck by Passing Auto.
Clifford Lee of Turlock had a narrow escape from injury yesterday
evening, and is mourning a damaged bicycle. Mr. Lee was standing
in the street with his wheel near the corner of Main and Broadway,
when an automobile driven by S.H. Crane came around the corner
and struck the bicycle, which suffered considerably from the
collision.
TJ, October 9, 1913 – Local People Hurt in Accident.
Word has been received in Turlock that H.W. Dockham and wife,
who went to San Francisco a few days ago to attend the meeting of
the State Editorial Association, had met with an automobile accident
in which both were badly shaken up rendering it necessary for
them to be taken to the Emergency Hospital for a short time. The
extent of their injuries was not learned, but it is understood that
they would be able to be out in a day or two. The San Francisco
Examiner of the today says: “H.W. Dockham, editor of the Turlock
newspaper, drove his automobile into a tree in Oakland yesterday
to avoid a collision with another machine at the corner of Nineteenth
and Harrison streets. Dockham sustained a fracture of the ribs, and
his wife suffered injuries to her hip. They were treated at the
Emergency Hospital.”
TJ, October 16, 1913 – Auto Owner Tells How It
Happened. Editor, with all due respect to your honesty and intended
correctness of the report of an auto striking a bicycle, I will say that
it was not exactly correct. First, that the boy had no narrow escape,
and second, that the automobile was not coming around the corner,
but was being turned around as the ordinance directs, and very
slowly, and the horn being sounded several times. On the south
side and on the street, were a group of boys. They seemed not to
pay any attention to the warning, and the auto was slowed until it
barely moved, when they lastly moved and the boy with the bicycle
dragged it back, as I thought, out of the way, and I don’t understand
yet how the hind wheel could have hit it. I moved along to the post
office, and as I stepped out, a gentleman, whom I did not know, but
is a businessman here, stepped across the street and gave me his
hand and said, “I want to tell you that that was no fault of yours.
You wasn’t going 3 miles-an-hour and tooting your horn.” I was
not aware then that I had hit bicycle at all. S.H. Crane
TJ, October 16, 1913 – Another Auto Burned Saturday.
Fred Rhodes of Livingston had the misfortune Saturday evening,
while driving his automobile just this side of the Merced River, to
have the machine catch fire completely destroying the car. Mr.
Rhodes was attempting to go over quite a strip of very sandy road,
and running on low gear, it is supposed the engine became too hot,
thus causing the trouble. The machine was a five-passenger
Speedwell, costing when new $2,000. The amount of insurance, if
any, was not learned. The strange coincidence of the affair was that
the accident occurred in pretty near the exact spot where R. Belt
lost his machine to fire a few months ago.
TJ, October 30, 1913 – Cyclists Hurt in Collision. Last
evening at about 7 o’clock, on the state highway between Turlock
and Modesto occurred a rather serious motorcycle collision. Gus
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Dahlstrom and Anton Larson, both of Turlock, were returning from
Stockton by means of a motorcycle. While attempting to pass by
the side of a horse and buggy driven by Bart Essen, accompanied
by Mrs. Essen and baby, they miscalculated the distance, and a
collision resulted, throwing Mrs. Essen and baby out of the rig, but
neither one was seriously hurt. The young men were both thrown
to the ground with sufficient force to render them unconscious. At
this juncture, W.J. Thornberg and party came along with an
automobile, and brought the young men to town, taking them
immediately to the sanitarium, where it was found that Larson had
received quite a serious cut in the face, and otherwise was uninjured.
Mr. Dahlstrom escaped, with the loss of his front teeth and a few
minor injuries.
TJ, November 13, 1913 – Motorcycle Takes Scurry. L.A.
Crow, second cook at the Coffee Club, had rather an unfortunate
accident Sunday evening while attempting to start his motorcycle
in front of the post office. The machine in some manner got away
from him and dashed across the street running directly into a wagon
which was standing on the opposite side, breaking the wheel and
otherwise damaging the rig.
TJ, November 27, 1913 – Auto Damaged Two Buggies.
The driver of a small run-about automobile was responsible for the
complete demolition of two buggies and severe injury to the
occupants about 8 o’clock on the state highway between Modesto
and Ceres. In both cases the reckless driver crashed into the rear of
the rigs, and extricating himself and his machine from the wreckage
of the vehicles, drove away hastily without offering any assistance.
In one buggy were Mrs. M. Mustoe and little daughter of Waterford
and Mrs. H. Tyre of Ceres, and the other Ad Giller of Modesto. The
reckless driver was headed toward Ceres, and the local officers in
adjoining communities and cities are on the lookout so arrest can
be made.
TJ, December 25, 1913 – Automobile Burned Yesterday.
Mrs. Ida M. Wellup, of No. 138 Angelus Street, Turlock, had the
misfortune yesterday while driving her automobile through some
sand on low gear, near Lateral No. 6, about eight miles southwest of
town to have the machine catch fire, completely destroying it. It is
understood that the loss is covered by insurance.
TJ, December 25, 1913 – Martin Erickson Dislocates
Wrist. Martin Erickson who is employed at the Turlock Hardware,
had the misfortune Saturday, while cranking an automobile to have
the crank fly back hitting him on the arm, resulting in a severe
bruise and also dislocating his wrist, which will necessitate his
laying off for some time.
TJ, February 28, 1914 – Motorcycle and Buggy Collide.
While coming into town from their home near Denair last evening,
Verne Harmon and Harley Peterson, who were riding a motorcycle,
collided with a horse and buggy near the Hawkeye Dairy, throwing
the two young men to the ground and fracturing the shoulder of
Mr. Peterson. They immediately came to town, summoned the aid
of a physician, who dressed the injury and at last reports the young
man was getting along as well as could be expected. Neither horse
nor buggy, aside from a few scratches received any particular injury.
TJ, March 5, 1914 – Robert Red Was Struck by Car.
Wellington Brown driving west on Main Street, near the post office
struck 12-year-old Robert Red, son of C.C. Red, carpenter, as he ran
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out in the road while playing with some boys. The car knocked him
unconscious and ran over his legs. Mr. Brown tried to avoid the
accident and stopped immediately. The boy was taken to the doctor,
regained consciousness, but was nauseous. No bones were broken.
TJ, March 12, 1914 – Attorney Griffin Is Injured by Fall
from Auto. While returning from La Grange yesterday evening, the
automobile in which Attorney P.H. Griffin of Modesto was riding,
struck a deep hole in the rut of the road, the jolt throwing him out
and fracturing one shoulder, besides inflicting severe bruises. B.C.
Adams, a government representative, was not thrown out, but
sustained a badly bruised knee. Mr. Griffin’s physician states that
the injury to the shoulder is not particularly serious, and that he is
resting easily. The machine was driven by Floyd L. Wisecarver.
TJ, April 2, 1914 – Marshal Injured in Auto Accident.
About noon today a horse belonging to Kiernan Brothers got loose
and wandered down Front Street to Main Street in Turlock, and
when in front of the public library ran into an automobile driven by
A.L.Philbrick, accompanied by Marshal W.T. Vary. The driver of
the auto had no time in which to check his machine, and the horse
was violently struck, turning a complete somersault over the auto,
striking Mr. Philbrick and Marshal Vary and throwing them out
upon the pavement. Mr. Philbrick was not injured, and overtaking
the machine, which was still running, stopped it. Marshal Vary was
not so fortunate, receiving many severe bruises and severely
injuring one of his shoulders. Dr. Wilson cared for him. The auto
was badly damaged.
TJ, May 28, 1914 – Skidding Auto Turns Turtle. Last
evening Mr. Perry of Merced, accompanied by three ladies and a
young child on their way home in an automobile, when north of
Turlock and near the Standard Oil station met a team. In turning out
of the road the auto skidded and turned turtle, throwing out the
occupants of the car, who were all more or less injured but not
seriously. They were taken to Dr. Wilson. After having their injuries
attended to, word was sent to Merced friends to meet them in
Turlock.
TJ, May 28, 1914 – Two Two Maxwells in Collision. A
Maxwell car driven by Claude Shafer of Turlock came into collision
with a Maxwell car driven by O.M, Cowell at the Tidewater crossing
on the French Camp Road about 10 o’clock last night. Shafer’s car
was badly damaged. No one was hurt, but both drivers blame each
other for the accident.
TJ, June 11, 1914 – Autoist Arrested on Felony Charge.
A felony warrant was issued for D.R. Howell, aged 21 years, charging
him with running down Robert Murphy Saturday night in Modesto,
and throwing him from his motorcycle, causing injuries from which
he is not expected to recover. The warrant charges failure to render
assistance, which is a felony under state law. Hearing is set for
Saturday. Howell was arrested and later released under a bond of
$1,000.
TJ, June 25, 1914 – Modestans Hurt When Auto Upsets.
Miss Essie Ester, her sister, Mrs. L.R. Hughson, their mother, Mrs.
James D. Estes, all of Modesto, were injured today when their
automobile, driven by Mrs. Hughson, turned turtle on a sharp bend
near San Mateo. Miss Estes and Mrs. Hughson are attending the
summer session of the University of California and were driving to
Modesto. Miss Estes suffered a fractured skull.
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TJ, July 23, 1914 – Man Killed by Patterson Auto.
Nicholas Vaccaro, resident of Tuolumne and Stanislaus counties
the past 35 years, was run over by an automobile driven by M.
Miller of Patterson at 11 o’clock this morning and died at the Evans
Hospital at 12:20 of the injuries. Vaccaro was picked up immediately
following the accident by Dr. C.W. Evans, who was an eye witness,
and with the assistance of Roy Mires, Frank Andrews and C.M.
Callis, was taken at once to the hospital. Examination quickly
disclosed that there was no hope for recovery as the skull had
been terribly crushed.
TJ, July 26, 1914 – Auto Turns Turtle and Occupants
Are Caught, Members of Board Have Narrow Escape While on the
Way to Inspect Work on the Detour Canal. Directors T.A. Owen, E.
Kiernan and N.J. Witner left the irrigation office in a Ford machine
belonging to the district with the intention of visiting the Davis
Reservoir and inspecting the work being done of the detour canal.
The party left Turlock shortly after nine o’clock, with Director Owen
at the steering wheel of the auto. Everything went well until the
directors had reached a point on the road about an eighth-of-a-mile
beyond the Hawkeye dairy when a rig was overtaken at 9:45.
Director Owen turned the auto to one side in order to
pass the wagon ahead. The ground was very sandy, and the
machine swerved and the machine headed toward a fence. Director
Owen made an effort to turn it back into the road, the result was
disastrous, however, as the auto suddenly turned completely over,
and Owen and Kiernan were caught beneath it. Owen was pinned
down, with the weight of the machine resting on his head, while
Kiernan was held by the machine resting across his chest. Wilmer
was thrown clear of the machine.
Wilmer, aided by the driver of the rig which they were
attempting to pass, lifted the machine from the other members of
the party. Owen, who was badly injured, blood issuing from his
ears and mouth, did not lose consciousness, and shortly afterward
the directors were picked up by Joseph Oyer, who placed them in
his automobile and brought them into town. Owen was taken
directly to the Turlock Sanitarium, and Dr. Jacobson called, and at
2 o’clock this afternoon resting as easily as could be expected.
Witmer suffered from bruises.
TJ, July 30, 1914 – Turlock Motorist Hits Street Car.
Fearing to turn from the state highway into the soft dirt at the side
and unable to stop his motorcycle in time to avoid a collision, L.U.
Miles, a Turlock man, smashed into the side of a cemetery car on
the state highway in Fresno at 6 o’clock last evening and was
badly injured, says the Fresno Republican today. Miles was
brought by a passing autoist to Sample Sanitarium. His head, face,
and body are badly bruised and lacerated, and Miles sustained a
deep gash on the chin. Miles had tried to avoid a street car that had
stopped before crossing the Southern Pacific tracks. Witnesses
said Miles was driving at a high rate of speed when he crashed into
the side of the rear end of the street car that threw him. He was
unconscious, but recovered quickly and taken to the sanitarium.
TJ, August 15, 1914 – Auto Collides with Motorcycle. At
about 2 o’clock this afternoon an automobile driven by Mrs. E.T.
Vignolo and a motorcycle driven by Frank Soomers of Mare Island,
who was visiting J.C. Hallstone, who was also on the motorcycle,
accidentally collided on the corner of Main and Front streets. Mr.
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Soomers received severe bruises, while the motorcycle was quite
badly damaged. Fortunately, Mrs. Vignolo was uninjured, and the
car escaped any serious damage. Mrs. Vignolo was driving up East
Main Street, while the young men were coming up North Front
Street, and it is thought the accident occurred by the motorcycle
passing of a number of cars at the same time causing something of
a confusion.
TJ, August 27, 1914 – Ceres Man Hurt in Auto Wreck.
O.H. Sparks of Ceres was brought to the Modesto Sanitarium last
night suffering from a broken knee and two broken ribs, the result
of an automobile accident on the state highway near Esmar [just
south of Ceres] yesterday. Mr. Sparks was driving his new car
south from Ceres, when he turned around to wave to a neighbor
whom he had just met on the road. In doing so, he lost control of
the wheel for a moment, the machine swerved to one side, and
crashed into a concrete siphon. He was thrown to the pavement
with ribs and knee broken and the machine was badly wrecked.
TJ, August 27, 1914 – Accident Worse Than Reported.
Last Friday evening Gladys Wideberg, the four-year-old daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. C.J. Wideberg, was struck by an automobile driven
by N.O. Hultberg, while the latter was driving on West Main Street.
The child was taken to a drug store by Mr. Hultberg, and it was
reported that there were no injuries other than a few slight bruises.
The auto was being driven slowly, and the child ran in front of it,
one of the wheel passing over her shoulder. It has since developed
that the child’s collar bone and three ribs were broken, but there
were no internal injuries, and she is getting along well under the
medical care of Dr. Julien.
TJ, September 3, 1914 – Turlock Auto Hit Taxicab. The
Stockton Mail of yesterday gives the following account of an
accident in which Joseph Long of Turlock was involved. A taxicab
driven by Walter Haines was considerably damaged at the corner
of Weber Avenue and San Joaquin Street yesterday, when it was
struck by an automobile driven by Joseph Long of Turlock. There
was considerable dispute as to who was to blame for the collision,
and it is not known how the affair will be settled. Long’s machine
was coming west on Weber Avenue and turned south on San
Joaquin Street, striking Haines’ cab, which was en route to the
Southern Pacific depot, wrecking the side of the car and springing
the front axle. Long claims that as he was going south on San
Joaquin Street, he had the right-of-way, while Haines claims Long
ran into his car without endeavoring to avoid him.
TJ, September 3, 1914 – Modesto Cyclist Seriously Hurt.
Raymond Harwick, an employee of the G.P. Schafer Company, is
lying at the Evans Hospital in critical condition with a concussion
of the brain from a collision of his motorcycle with a buggy last
night at 12 o’clock on the state highway south of Modesto. The
occupants of the buggy were uninjured. Harwick, on his machine,
was turning out to go around the buggy driven by Robert Beebe,
but failed to turn far enough to miss the rig. His machine caught the
rear wheel with such force as to tear it from the rig and he was
thrown heavily to the pavement. He has been unconscious since
the accident, and there is little hope for his recovery. The motorcycle
was a complete wreck.
TJ, October 15, 1914 – Automobiles in a Collision. J.A.
Goodall of Keyes, driving a Ford, crashed into the rear end of an
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automobile standing on the state highway near Ceres Sunday night,
both he and his companion receiving more or less painful injuries
from flying glass from the windshield, says the Modesto Herald of
yesterday. The standing machine was owned by a Sacramento party
and carried no tail light. Goodall came up on it so quickly that he
was unable to avoid the crash. His machine was wrecked
considerably.
TJ, November 12, 1914 Badly Injured in Motor Collision.
Henry Helth, solicitor for the Ceres Nursery, is in the hospital in
Stockton with probable fatal injuries received in a collision between
his auto and a streetcar of the Tidewater Southern Railway last
Friday. He was driving along the highway and at a point where the
road crosses the tracks of the Tidewater near Escalon was struck
by a streetcar. There was neither time for the streetcar to stop nor
for the autoist to jump from his car. The unfortunate man was picked
up and placed on the train and hurried to Stockton, where it was
found he was suffering from concussion of the brain and both arms
were fractured. There were also several lacerations about the head
and body. The auto was demolished.
TJ, November 22, 1914 – Four Hurt in Auto Smashup.
Leslie Van Wye is at the Modesto Sanitarium suffering from injuries
that may prove fatal, which he received in an auto accident at 4
o’clock Saturday morning on the state highway between Modesto
and Salida. James George, Elmer Arrington, and Robert Robinson,
who were with him, were all badly injured. Van Wye has four broken
ribs and received internal injuries, while Arrington has a sprained
ankle and a broken collarbone. The smash-up resulted from the car
striking the cement barrier of a siphon across an irrigation ditch.
The party was rescued by A.N. Von Berger, a rancher, who happened
to be passing in an auto en route to his home from Modesto. His
attention was called to the accident though quite dark by seeing
the machine piled up. He dismounted and found that Von Wye was
pinned under the machine and all but one of the men unconscious.
The injured were brought to Modesto and given medical attention.
TJ, December 2, 1914 – Autos Collide at a High Speed.
An auto collision in which the autoists had a narrow escape from
serious injury occurred Wednesday afternoon about two miles
south of Turlock. Two autos, driven by T.T. Donahue of Escalon
and J. Newman of Fresno, collided head-on while traveling at a high
rate of speed, and both machines were badly wrecked. In the machine
with Donahue were his wife and daughter, and Mr. and Mrs. J.B.
Donahue. The Newman machine carried six men in addition to the
driver. The drivers of the machines turned aside to allow a vehicle
drawn by a horse to pass, but both autos swung over to the same
side of the road. The resulting collision threw the occupants of the
machines out, but with the exception of a severe cut in the face
received by Mr. Newman, only minor injuries were received. Both
machines were too badly wrecked to continue the journey, and Mr.
Newman and party, after having had his auto shipped back to Fresno
for repairs, continued their trip by train.
TJ, December 16, 1914 – Narrow Escape of Turlock Party.
C.E. Runnels, C.A. Blauert, R. Bell, and Mr. Kane of Turlock had an
exciting experience, and a very narrow escape from death last
Thursday evening. The party had been to Merced Falls, and was
returning in an E.M.F. car. At about 5:30 o’clock, while near the
Buhach ranch in the vicinity of Atwater, they came to a bridge. At
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the edge of the bridge there was a deep chuck hole, where the grade
was lower than the planking, and this hole, being filled with water,
could not be seen readily in the dim light.
Thinking the grade, as is usually the case, was higher
than the floor of the bridge, or at least on a level with it, the car was
driven ahead, and the danger was not realized until it was too late to
check the speed and avoid the jolt. The brakes were thrown on, but
the front wheels of the car went into the chuck hole, throwing the
rear wheels of the car into the air. The car swerved, skidded, plunged
off the road and turned turtle, catching all four of the occupants
underneath it. Mr. Blaert and his companions managed to extricate
themselves, and the car was righted, after which passing
automobilists brought the car to Turlock, which was badly smashed.
All the members of the party were more or less painfully bruised.
Mr. Blauert having two ribs broken and one foot lamed. The fact
that the top of the car was raised no doubt prevented more serious
injuries.
TJ, December 28, 1914 – Jesse Place Hurt When Ford
Upset. Jesse Place, employed by the Turlock Irrigation District, met
with a severe accident Saturday evening, while driving a Ford,
containing himself, Mrs. E.M. Thomas, Mrs. Tim Sullivan and Miss
E. White, along the bank of an irrigation canal near Hickman. Owing
to the wet and slippery condition of the soil the machine suddenly
became uncontrollable and ran off the bank turning over and
catching Mr. Place beneath it. The rest of the party were thrown
clear of the machine and escaped injury, but Mr. Place had three
ribs broken and suffered other injuries. A party of surveyors came
along soon after the accident occurred. The ladies were taken to
their home and the injured man was brought to his home in Turlock,
where he received treatment and is resting as easily as can be
expected.
TJ, January 6, 1915 – Young Men Hurt in Auto Collision.
Last Friday evening about 4 o’clock Harry Wilson, a son of Dr. W.L.
Wilson, accompanied by Hilding Olson of Turlock, were driving
toward Modesto, and when about three miles north of Turlock
attempted to pass an automobile containing Harry Smith, Lucien
McCart and Myrtle and Florence Lundgren, with Smith at the steering
wheel. A collision occurred, and both machines were overturned,
that driven by Wilson being so badly wrecked that it had to be left
where it was and towed in later. As a result of the collision young
Wilson suffered a badly fractured nose, with other bruises, and
Lucien McCart had a collar bone broken. All the other members of
the other party escaped injured, and Smith drove his machine on.
The injured were picked up by a passing auto and brought to
Turlock. Members of the accident, who were interviewed, say they
do not know just how the accident occurred as neither of the autos
were being driven at a very fast rate speed.
TJ, March 3, 1915 – Auto and Buggy in Collision. A Ford
auto driven by George Vaughn of Turlock, who was in town Tuesday
visiting friends in Patterson, collided with a buggy on Del Puerto
Avenue after the show Tuesday night, says the Patterson Irrigator.
The occupants of the buggy were Mr. Torrison and his sister, who
live in the north end of the colony and who had driven to town to
attend the theater. The vehicle was turned partly over, and the lady
spilled out, but fortunately she was not injured. Mr. Vaughn stopped
his auto promptly when he saw that a collision was inevitable.
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TJ, March 10, 1915 – W.E. Clary Badly Injured by Auto.
W.E. Clary, a son of Supervisor A.E. Clary of Modesto, met with a
very serious accident Sunday, when his auto turned turtle on the
road between his ranch and Newman. The injured man is now in a
critical condition at the Evans Sanitarium at Modesto, where an
immediate operation was performed for internal injuries, including a
rupture and several mutilations of the smaller intestine. The accident
is said to have occurred while Clary was attempting to pass another
conveyance on a steep grade. The machine skidded and turned
over, Clary being caught beneath it. He was taken to his home, but
soon afterward conveyed to the sanitarium at Modesto for treatment.
TJ, May 19, 1915 – Auto Butts into Freight Train. H.E.
Davis and J.T. Cadenhead, young men of Merced Falls, drove their
automobile, a big touring car, head-on into a Southern Pacific freight
train last Monday night shortly after midnight, at a crossing between
Modesto and Ceres. Davis was cut on the hands and head, receiving
a scalp wound requiring five stitches. Caldenhead suffered only
minor injuries and was able to return to Stockton the next morning.
The machine was a complete wreck. The men were brought to
Modesto by Hiram Hughson, who was passing in an automobile
shortly after the accident. The young men were on their way to
Merced Falls from Stockton. They left Stockton at 10:30 o’clock.
They declare that no warning whistle was sounded and that the
train was upon them before they knew of its approach.
TJ, June 23, 1915 – Dr. Lloyd Kruschke Killed by Fall.
Dr. Lloyd Kurschke, a dentist employed by Carmichael & Free, and
well known here, was killed Saturday night in a motorcycle accident
which occurred on the state highway a mile south of the Tuolumne
River bridge. Kruschke was found lying in the road in an
unconscious condition and taken to Modesto, where he refused
the services of a physician, saying he would be all right in the
morning. At four o’clock in the morning he was sleeping soundly,
but two hours later was dead. Although unconscious when picked
up at 12 o’clock Saturday night by Hiram Hughson, he soon regained
consciousness, and was able to ride to Modesto. The cause of the
accident, so far as can be learned, was simply a skidding of the
motorcycle on the edge of the pavement.
TJ, July 14, 1915 – Auto Smashup. George Chapman was
badly hurt, and Charlie Westfall, Nicholas Westfall and Joe Sanders
slightly bruised and cut when an automobile which Chapman was
driving turned a complete somersault on the state highway half a
mile north of Modesto late yesterday afternoon. Chapman is at the
Evans hospital. The others after medical attention, were able to go
to their homes. The extent of Chapman’s injuries is not known, but
it was stated last night that he was seriously hurt and was suffering
a great deal. Chapman was struck in the abdomen by a part of the
automobile, and probably has sustained internal injuries. Chapman’s
father is F.C. Chapman, a rancher living near Modesto. Nicholas
Westfall, nine years old, was badly cut about the face by glass from
the windshield, and his brother was slightly bruised. Sanders was
practically unhurt.
TJ, July 21, 1915 – Hangs to Machine Hurt. Riding a
bicycle while clinging to an automobile cost Elton Parsons a hard
spill on the state highway pavement between Ceres and Keyes this
morning, as well as a badly peeled face. Parsons was riding with
one foot on the side foot-board of the machine toward Modesto,
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when the driver in lighting a cigar allowed his auto to make a sudden
swerve, skidding the bicycle, and throwing the rider heavily on the
cement. Parsons is a brother of F.E. Parsons, one of the proprietors
of the Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Shop.
TJ, July 21, 1915 – Autos Smashed on Highway. At a late
hour last Saturday night, a collision occurred on the state highway
north of the Thornburg ranch, when a Ford driven by Antone
Ferreira and containing several persons and an Overland driven by
Campbell Taylor, came together, both machines being badly wrecked.
Ferreira was going toward Modesto and Taylor toward Turlock. In
the latter’s car were a young man named Wold and three others.
One of Ferreira’s party was somewhat injured, and was taken to the
Turlock sanitarium for treatment, but the others escaped serious
injury, and were taken home by passing vehicles.
TJ, July 28, 1915 – A Flimsy Excuse by Auto Driver.
Sheriff George Davis brought S.H. Hartuniau to Modesto yesterday,
and he was arraigned before Justice W.H. Rice on a charge of failing
to stop and render assistance after his automobile struck and
seriously injured J. Canley on the state highway about one mile
north of this city. Hartuniau was released on $500, says the Modesto
Herald of Sunday. He admitted to the officers at the sheriff’s office
that he had struck the man with the right front fender of his car and
hurled him to one side of the road. When asked why he failed to
stop and see how badly the man was injured, Hartuniau said his
wife had taken suddenly ill and he wanted to get to Modesto where
she could get a drink of water. After leaving Modesto, Hartuniau
avoided the highway until he was well past Merced, going to
Waterford and taking the dirt road instead of the paved highway.
Undersheriff Loren Davis had notified officers in all of the towns,
however, and Marshal Barnett stopped the machine.
TJ, September 1, 1915 – Hughson Boy Dies in Auto
Accident. Howard Hughson, 19, son of Mr. and Mrs. George
Hughson, met instant death Sunday, when a large touring car, which
was being driven by him, plunged over an embankment, a distance
of one hundred feet. A younger brother, Carroll, who accompanied
him, escaped with slight injuries. The steering gear was defective,
and the boys were on their way to a garage to have repairs made
when the accident happened.
TJ, September 1, 1915 – Auto Racing Ends in Three
Deaths. Clinton W. South of Ripon, his three-year-old son Lawrence,
and his mother Mrs. Celestia A. South, who was 70 years-of-age,
were killed Thursday afternoon on the state highway half a mile
north of Salida, when a tire blew out and their machine skidded
against a telephone pole, tearing down a section of barb wire fence
70 feet in length, and then somersaulted twice. South’s skull was
fractured at the base, while his mother and son each had their necks
broken. His auto hit a jitney bus in which Mrs. T.E. Walden, widow
of Judge Walden of Newman, was seriously injured. The driver of
the jitney bus was taken to the Evans Sanitarium at Modesto stated
that the South auto, which was traveling toward Modesto, tried to
pass a yellow roadster, and that a race ensued, which ended when
one the tires on South’s Cadillac blew out and the accident occurred.
South has a wife and three other children.
TJ, September 8, 1915 – Lightening Causes Auto
Accident. Blinded by the vivid flashes of lightning, which visited
this section Tuesday night, Carl Lamble of Newman drove his auto
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head-on into a hay wagon driven by James Miller of Keyes, as the
latter was returning from Modesto, says the Ceres Courier. The
accident happened about a mile from Ceres. One of the horses was
killed outright and the other badly injured. In the machine with
Lamble were his brother and Mr. and Mrs. A.J. Fray, all of Newman.
Mrs. Fray suffered a slight concussion of the brain and her husband
a severe cut under the arm. The injured parties were picked up by a
Mr. Beasley of Coalinga and hurried to Evans Hospital in Modesto
where they received medical attention.
TJ, September 15, 1915 – Auto and Wagon Collide on
Highway. Another slight smash-up occurred on the highway north
of town yesterday afternoon, when an auto driven by Joe Long, a
rancher residing east of Turlock, crashed into the back end of a
wagon loaded with sweet potatoes. Fortunately Mr. Long and the
driver of the wagon, whose name was not learned, escaped with
minor injuries, principally a severe shake-up. The front of the
machine was jammed in and the wagon somewhat broken.
TJ, September 15, 1915 – Prominent Modestan in Auto
Wreck. Lowell Gun, manager of the Modesto Creamery, George
O’Connor, one of the Modesto city trustees, William Kelley and
James McCormick, were in an automobile driven by O’Connor which
struck Luck McFall’s delivery truck driven by Joe Elliott on the
road near Manteca several days ago, according to the Modesto
Herald. The horse, which Elliott was driving, bolted and tore loose
from the wagon dragging Elliott from the seat and along the hard
road for ten feet. He was carried to Inglebrook Sanitarium, where Dr.
Goodale and Dr. Cross found that his hip had been fractured, besides
receiving a number of cuts and bruises. The auto is said to have
been traveling at a rather fast rate of speed and when a turn was
reached it was necessary to make a wide turn in order to avoid a hay
truck that was standing at the curb, making it impossible to stop in
time to avoid hitting the delivery truck. The auto received a twisted
front axle, bent fender and a few scratches.
TJ, October 20, 1915 – Single Rig Hit by Automobile.
About 6:30 o’clock last Sunday evening an auto driven by Jack
Basfelt, and containing three women, while going toward Modesto,
collided with a horse and rig driven by J.H. Leedom, accompanied
by J.C. Farr, opposite the Thornburg property on the state highway.
The Leedom rig was practically demolished, and both Mr. Leedom
and Mr. Farr were badly bruised and shaken up. One of the women
in the auto was bruised about the face, but no one was seriously
injured. The auto was somewhat damaged and the windshield being
broken.
TJ, October 20, 1915 – Harry Dobler Hurt in Collision.
Harry Dobler of Turlock was picked up in an injured condition on
the state highway Saturday night by the driver of a jitney bus
plying between Turlock and Modesto. Dobler was conscious when
picked up, and stated that a wagon had struck his motorcycle, but
could give no definite explanation. He was taken to Cottage Hospital
in Turlock, where a medical examination disclosed that he was
suffering from a fractured shoulder blade and a broken leg, and is
getting along was well as can be expected.
TJ, October 20, 1915 – Mrs. Anna Colburn severely hurt.
Mrs. Anna Colburn of Oakdale, while riding with her son-in-law,
Rev. F.C. Farr, last Monday, was severely injured when the car
skidded in the sand and turned over. Rev. Farr was uninjured and
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assisted Mrs. Colburn from her position beneath the machine. A
medical examination disclosed that Mrs. Colburn was suffering from
a dislocation of the shoulder, as well as a number of cuts and bruises,
and possible injuries. Mrs. Colburn was removed to the home of
D.C. McKinnon and is reported to be resting easily.
TJ, December 1, 1915 – Sudden Death of Mrs. C.S.
Abbott,
Crippled Steering Gear Results in Collision. Mrs. Charles S. Abbott,
wife of the secretary of the Modesto Irrigation District, was instantly
killed last Wednesday night about 10 o’clock on the state highway
three miles north of Modesto while riding in an automobile with
E.R. Maze and Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Tatum, when the car collided
with a buggy occupied by Joseph Bosch. The auto skidded and
turned over, while Bosch jumped free of the buggy.
According to the evidence given the coroner’s inquest,
held Friday, the party left Modesto at seven o’clock in the evening
for a drive and after reaching the outskirts of Stockton started back
– Between Salida and Modesto the steering gear began to give
trouble and when the buggy driven by Joseph Bosch was met, a
collision occurred, the axle of the auto striking the buggy wheels
and tearing one of them loose. Although Maze had set the brakes
hard, the front wheels of the car cramped, the car shot to the left
side of the highway, and tipped over. The car was then traveling at
a rate of about 25 miles-an-hour. Mrs. Abbott was killed instantly,
her back being broken and the abdominal artery severed. Mrs. Tatum
was thrown clear of the car, but received numerous cuts and bruises,
from which she is still suffering. Maze and Tatum were not injured.
Charles Schneider, who was passing brought the party to Modesto
for medical attention. The automobile, a Winton, was badly wrecked.
TJ, December 1, 1915 – Ceres Girl Hurt by Collision.
Miss Irman Lyman, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. E.C. Stewart of Ceres,
met with a serious accident last Saturday evening, when the
motorcycle, on which she and Alvin Owens were riding, struck the
rear end of an automobile driven by G.A. Good of Modesto. The
accident occurred on Tenth Street in Modesto, and as Miss Lyman
was rendered unconscious, she was taken to the Modesto
Sanitarium for treatment. She recovered consciousness after an
hour or two, and barring bruises, was apparently not seriously
hurt. Owens was not injured, and no damage resulted to the
occupants of the automobile.
TJ, December 15, 1915 – Speed Officer Took Tumble. A
small dog that was not observing the rules of the road got in front
of Speed Officer H.G. Jackson on the highway near Ceres last
Thursday afternoon and was struck by the officer’s motorcycle.
Jackson took a hard tumble and was rendered unconscious, his
injuries being so severe that he was compelled to take a layoff of a
few days to recover. The dog escaped with no perceptive injuries,
much to the relief of the small dog’s owner.
TJ, February 9, 1916 – Sudden Death of Axel Nordgren,
Car Plunges from Bridge. Axel Nordgren, a nephew of City Trustee
Joseph Samuelson of Turlock, with whom he lived, was instantly
killed last Saturday night after 7 o’clock, when the car which he was
driving went through the railing on the south end of the Ripon
bridge across the Stanislaus River and plunged to the earth thirty
feet below. According to accounts given by Ed Anderson and
Roscoe Richey, who were with Axel Nordgren in the car when it
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went over the bridge, the party left Turlock about 5:30 in a Kissel
Kar automobile owned by Anderson, who is connected with the
Carquinez Packing Company. He had been going over the machinery
at the Turlock cannery, and was anxious to get back to San
Francisco, engaged Nordgren, who was an employee of the Ford
Garage owned by Hale Brothers, to drive the car.
The party approached the Ripon bridge at a rapid pace,
and had crossed the river proper, when they struck a bad piece of
roadbed, which caused the car to lurch up against the concrete wall
at the end of the bridge. The car scraped the wall until it came to the
end of the concrete and struck the wooden railing, when it
immediately tore its way through, and went end first to the ground
below, striking upon an isolated spot of earth not covered with
water. Nordgren was instantly killed, his neck being broken,
Anderson and Richey escaping with only minor bruises. The crash
made by the breaking railing and falling car attracted the attention
of persons on the other side of the river, who went to the assistance
of the unfortunate men.
TJ, February 16, 1916 – Ford Machine Hit Stray Cow.
The Simidians brothers met with a peculiar accident last Friday
night when they were returning to Modesto from Turlock with their
families, but no one was seriously injured. When about a mile-anda-half south of Keyes, and while traveling at a rate of about twenty
miles-an-hour, a stray cow wandered in front of it, and was struck
by the Ford. The auto was whirled around and overturned, catching
the occupants underneath, but they were all able to crawl out. The
car, which suffered a broken windshield, a smashed top and other
damage, was righted and the party went on. Nobody appears to
have seen the cow after the accident, so it is not known whether
she suffered any injuries or not.
TJ, February 23, 1916 – Sheriff in Collision. Driving
slowly through a belt of dense fog on the highway between Ceres
and Keyes Thursday evening, Sheriff Geo. Davis crashed into a
surrey driven by D.M. Steel, a blacksmith of Keyes, badly smashing
the horse-drawn vehicle but not injuring anyone. No lights were
carried by the surrey, and the fog was unusually thick at that point,
making it impossible to see ahead. Mrs. Davis, who was
accompanying the sheriff, was the only one to suffer from the
accident, being ill yesterday as a result of the shock. Steel attached
no blame to the sheriff for the accident.
TJ, March 8, 1916 – Dwyer Family Hurt When Car Upset.
Five members of the Dwyer family, who reside on the Merced River,
were more or less injured and two Japanese employed by the Dwyer
ranch were seriously hurt last Sunday evening when the Ford car in
which they were riding en route to Turlock turned over on the state
highway. The two Japanese were brought to Turlock and taken to a
local sanitarium for treatment. According to accounts given by
members of the party, their car was forced to one side of the highway
by a large machine which had just passed a third car. The Dwyer
auto plowed into the loose earth and overturned. The driver of the
bigger car, which forced the Dwyer machine out of the road, did not
stop to render assistance, but kept on its way. Dwyer had a shoulder
crushed, and his wife and small children were severely bruised and
scratched.
TJ, March 15, 1916 – Rapid Growth of Auto Accidents.
The steam and electric railroads of California have presented to the
Summer 2015
State Railroad Commission, which is now conducting an
investigation into railroad crossing accidents in California, figures
showing that automobile accidents increased more than twice as
much as the total increase in the number of automobiles in the state
during a period of five years, between 1910 and 1915. The increase
in automobile registration in the five years was 1,080 percent and
the increase in automobile accidents in 1915 was 2,557 percent. The
figures also show that the greatest percentage of accidents is due
not to mere carelessness, but a tendency on the part of automobile
drivers to ignore and disregard totally train warnings, crossing
bells, flagmen, and the like, the percentage killed from this cause
being 40.2, while 15.6 ran into the sides of trains, and 14.7 percent
tried to beat trains to the crossings. The negligence of railroad
employees as a cause of motor vehicle accidents is found to be
very small on the other hand, amounting to .009 percent.
TJ, March 15, 1916 – Auto Wrecked by Train at Salida.
During the noon hour Sunday an automobile containing six persons
was struck at Salida, seven miles north of Modesto, and wrecked
by a Southern Pacific northbound passenger train. A boy, Willie
McManison, aged 12 years, of Soquel, received internal injuries
and little hope of his recovery was entertained. Mrs. Clarence Angell
of Salida had both legs broken. F.A. Angell of Soquel and his son
Clarence Angel of Salida, also a little daughter, were slightly bruised.
Those injured in the accident were taken to Modesto for treatment.
Mr. and Mrs. Angell had been visiting their son, a rancher near
Salida, and were on their way for a trip through the valley when
they were struck by the train, which does not stop at Salida. Angell
miscalculated the speed of the train, and endeavored to cross the
track ahead of it, the fender of the locomotive striking the car.
TJ, March 22, 1916 – Ceres Ladies Hurt by Runaway.
Sunday morning while Mr. and Mrs. Fred Caulkins of Ceres and
Mrs. J.M.D. Ellis of Fresno were driving into Ceres to attend church,
their horse became frightened at a passing automobile, and ran
away, overturning the buggy. All the occupants of the buggy were
more or less injured. Mrs. Caulkins receiving a bad cut over the eye,
while Mrs. Ellis, besides being stunned, received a fractured wrist
and severe bruises on the head and the face. Mrs. Ellis had been
visiting her daughter, Mrs. Caulkins, and intended returning to
Fresno Monday, but her physicians have forbidden her to undertake
the trip for a few days at least.
TJ, June 21, 1916 – Auto Wrecked by Night Collision.
An Overland Six car driven by Capt. M.C. McLain of Oakland, and
containing five occupants, collided with another car last Friday
night two miles north of Turlock. The occupants of the other car, a
Cole, two men and two women, refused to give their names, and got
away. The Overland Six was badly wrecked. Capt. McLain and his
party were returning to Modesto, after attending a social party at
the home of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Shadle Turlock. No one is reported
injured. Parties who saw the driver of the Cole car state that he was
steering his machine in a reckless manner, and that his lights shone
so brightly as to be confusing.
TJ, August 9, 1916 – Auto Struck Woman. In attempting
to rescue her little child, Mrs. Henry Rosen of Modesto was struck
by an automobile last evening at 6 o’clock and knocked to the
pavement receiving slight concussion of the brain and bruises on
her left side. She was taken to the Evans Hospital and is under the
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care of Dr. J.L. Hennemuth. Mrs. Rosen’s child, who was in the
middle of the street at H and Seventh streets in Modesto, toddling
along ahead of her and whom she thought was about to be run over
by an automobile driven by J.W. Thalheim, a Turlock rancher, ran
out to catch her child.
TJ, December 11, 1918 – Asleep in Bed When Hit by
Auto. Asleep in his bed in a little frame house at the point of
intersection of the Crows Landing Road with the state highway,
Augusta Maska, aged 68 years, was struck by an automobile
Tuesday night at 9 o’clock, and as a result of injuries received, was
taken to the county hospital. His condition is not serious. M.W.
Brady, of Vallejo, was driving the car, traveling south on the highway.
The night was foggy, and as he was not familiar with the road, he
did not see the street sign at the turn of the highway and crashed
into it. Before he could stop his car, it had crashed into the house
where Maska laid asleep, the sign battering through his walls. A
passing auto carried Maska to the hospital, and Brady’s car was
taken to a local garage badly damaged.
TJ, January 1, 1919 – Mad Bull Turns on Automobile. A
bull owned by Joe Denis, on November 28 attacked the passing
auto of F.H. and Emily Rippeto near Crows Landing, and upset the
car, Mrs. Rippeto suffering a fractured hip, which according to her
husband will be a permanent injury, and he has brought suit in the
superior court at Modesto through Attorneys R.R. Fowler and G.B.
Helm for damages in the sum of $5,000, with $250 additional for
hospital and medical expenses. The Rippetos charge Denis with
negligence in allowing the bull to be at large on the highway.
TJ, January 8, 1919 – Car Turns Over and Burns Up.
None of the war veterans returning from the front will have so much
on a party of four young people who “went over the top” of the
highway in a six-cylinder car Wednesday night north of Newman,
says the Newman Index. The car was a big Studebaker Six, driven
by the owner, Manuel Bettencourt, a young man living between
here and Turlock. Mr. Bettencourt had a friend from San Francisco,
young Louis Brazil, with him, and the two boys came to Newman,
where they had acquaintances, and took two Newman girls, Louise
Cunha and Birdie Hammers, out for a drive.
The turn on the highway at the Orestimba bridge, near the
Lee Moorehead ranch, was their undoing. It is a dangerous turn, a
little more than a right angle, and the few extra degrees often throws
off the calculations of a driver. Bettencourt is said to have tried to
take it at around 40 miles-an-hour. Anyway, he was going too fast
to negotiate the curve. The big car flew off the track on the left and
turned squarely upside down in the ditch.
The windows were down and all four passengers were
trapped inside the big car. Brazil and Miss Hammers in the back
seat, managed to crawl out, although Brazil and Miss Cunha, in the
front seat, could not move alone and the car was on fire. Whether
the bruised and wounded pair could have rescued them was a
question that was fortunately left unanswered, for help was prompt.
Motor Cop Peters was among the first to arrive, and there was
plenty of help to pull Bettencourt and his companion out before the
fire reached the gasoline tank. The blaze flamed up so fiercely that
the wreck had to be abandoned. Nothing was saved except a couple
of tires, taken off by Mr. Peters. The injured quartet was rushed to
the West Side Hospital for treatment. Dr. Sparks found Brazil the
Summer 2015
only one seriously injured, although both girls and the driver had
cut and bruises in plenty. Brazil had a compound fracture of the leg,
which will lay him up for some time.
TJ, January 29, 1919 – Mrs. M.R. Dallas Killed by Car.
Mrs. Martha R. Dallas, wife of Sheriff Robert L. Dallas, was crushed
and instantly killed at 11:50 o’clock Saturday forenoon at Modesto.
Mrs. Dallas was returning to her home carrying a small package of
meat, when Nathan E. De Yoe, in backing his car out, lost control,
the machine dashing backward into the sidewalk in front of the
Modesto Candy Kitchen, pinning Mrs. Dallas against a marble
pillar at the entrance of the store. Death was almost instantaneous.
Sheriff Dallas was out-of-town at the time, but was finally
located at Newman and hurried home, accompanied by his son
William. Mr. De Yoe stated that in backing his car from the parking
space his foot caught between the foot throttle and the pedal. The
car took an “S” shaped turn, striking a Ford car and knocking it out
of the way, and then ran backward across the sidewalk. Mrs. Dallas
saw the machine coming, and made an attempt to escape, but failed.
It was necessary to shove the machine away from the pillar before
the body of Mrs. Dallas could be released. So great was the force of
the impact that the pillar was badly damaged, as was also the
machine.
TJ, January 29, 1919 – Intoxication Causes Auto Death.
A report was in circulation in Turlock Wednesday morning to the
effect that two young men in a Ford car had, while intoxicated,
driven into a car occupied by a woman and a baby, the collision
occurring on the road between Turlock and Newman. According to
the report the two drunken young men had “beat it” without offering
assistance. The baby had been killed. Another woman in a touring
car drove in pursuit of the two young men.
TJ, January 29, 1919 – Judge Hitchcock in Collision. A
Newman correspondent of the Modesto News wrote that Judge
Hitchcock of Livingston, who was driving a Ford car, ran into a
Dodge driven by John Angel of Stevinson, a few days ago and
wrecked the latter’s machine. Mr. Angel was returning from Newman.
After the smash, Judge Hitchcock drove away without stopping to
see what damage he had done, or to offer to share the expenses,
according to the report. Mr. Angel’s car is in Newman being
repaired.”
Written by Robert LeRoy Santos
Stanislaus Historical Quarterly is published four times a year,
featuring freshly researched articles on Stanislaus County history. Currently, there is no charge per subscription or individual issues, but readers must notify the editor to be placed
on the mailing list. Ideas for articles or historical information
concerning topics of county history may be sent to the editor.
This is a non-profit educational publication. Stanislaus Historical Quarterly is edited, copyrighted, and published by
Robert LeRoy Santos, Alley-Cass Publications, Tel:
209.634.8218. Email: [email protected]. Ellen Ruth Wine
Santos is assistant editor and proofreader.
Front cover photos: Turlock Journal advertisements
———————— 778 ————————
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Summer 2015
(Continued from back cover) One speaker told of the vast Coulterville. The matter is still under consideration by Fisher, who
interest locally, statewide, and nationally in touring California to was waiting on reports as to feasibility of the routes.”
view the state’s natural wonders. Another claimed that the
automobile was the superior vehicle, with California roadways being
Big Oak Flat Road
the best in the nation, transporting Americans to the coast and the
Oakdale staunchly advocated the Big Oak Flat gateway
mountains for scenery and points of interest.
road. The Secretary of Oakdale Chamber of Commerce, G.D. Avery,
At the hearing, proponents of the Big Oak Flat gateway sent a letter to Stockton Chamber of Commerce in support of Big
road testified that the route was “sixty to one hundred miles nearer
Oak Flat, which was printed in the
than Wawona from such
Stockton Record on December 20,
population centers as Alameda,
1912. He commented that the
Berkeley, Oakland, Sacramento,
roadway had “uniform grade,
San Francisco, San Jose, and
absolute safety and scenic
Stockton, and all points in northern
advantages.” Oakdale planned
California.” This access was of
sending a representative to the
particular importance since the 1915
upcoming supervisors’ meeting “to
Panama-Pacific Exposition would
protest against the Coulterville or
draw thousands to San Francisco.
Wawona routes.”
The Wawona gateway from Fresno
Maps of the Coulterville
and Madera would mean 100 miles
Road from Modesto to Yosemite had
more of travel in the summer heat
been prepared by County Surveyor
Riders on an electric-powered Locomobile stopping at
for northern Californians. Big Oak
Annear to present to the Merced
Buck Meadows on Big Oak Flat Road, 1901 .Johnston photo
Flat spokesmen noted that $4
County supervisors and Interior
million had been spent on highways originating from Sacramento Secretary Fisher. Stanislaus County supervisors wanted Merced to
and the Bay Area, providing “good modern roads, traversable at all join them in a campaign for the Coulterville gateway road. Merced
seasons.” They noted that the existing Big Oak Flat Road would would link with the Coulterville road through Hornitos. The survey
need widening for 15 miles, but Priests Hill’s steep grade had already maps clearly illustrated the lower altitude of the roadway in
been reduced. Stockton was the hub of railroad, water, and highway comparison to the other gateway road competitors, where grades
traffic, with the mileage from that city to Yosemite Valley being 115 were steeper to climb and elevation higher.
miles over the Big Oak Flat gateway road.
Still more grade reduction of Priests Hill on Big Oak Flat
Coulterville Road
Modesto Chamber of Commerce and county supervisors
sent letters to Secretary Fisher in support of the Coulterville gateway
through Modesto, according to a News report on October 22, 1912.
The argument was that Modesto had the most direct route from the
state highway, with scenery being better than Big Oak Flat.
A headline in the News of December 13, 1912 read:
“Coulterville Road Favored. Secretary Fisher Will Include It in
Government Survey.” Attorney L.L. Dennett of Modesto,
representing Modesto Chamber of Commerce, spoke with Fisher in
Washington, D.C., concerning the Coulterville Road. Fisher
reportedly told Dennett that “government officials realize that the
Coulterville Road was the most accessible one, and that the chances
are all in favor of the opening of the central route into the Yosemite.”
Dennett remarked to the newspaper that the interior secretary had
promised that a government survey of the Coulterville Road would
be done. Local Congressman J.C. Needham also saw Fisher, writing
to chamber of commerce secretary, F.L. Wisecarver, that the interior
secretary also promised a survey to him. Dennett remarked that the
county would provide a “first class highway” to La Grange from
Modesto, while Mariposa County needed to improve the roadway
from Coulterville to the Stanislaus County line.
The News’ headline of “Coulterville Road Favored” to some
meant “chosen.” Congressman Needham directed a telegram
immediately to the Modesto chamber, declaring that there was “no
foundation for the press report that Secretary Fisher had chosen
Road was needed to ease the climb. It was reported in the Turlock
Journal on March 13, 1913 that T.K. Beard of Modesto was
contracted by Stanislaus County supervisors for $16,000 to reduce
Priests Hill grade from the existing 15 percent to five percent. Since
Priests Hill was in Tuolumne County, Stanislaus County was
contributing to the success of Big Oak Flat gateway road. The
supervisors favored the Coulterville Road though, because it
crossed more county land, and it was central, but they also
supported Big Oak Flat, because it coursed through the county as
well, through Oakdale to the county line with Tuolumne County.
Auto Access to Yosemite Valley
New U.S. Interior Secretary Franklin K. Lane held hearings
on April 25, 1913 in Washington, D.C. concerning auto access to
Yosemite and to all national parks. Also on the agenda was the
selection of the gateway road to Yosemite. In all of this, Secretary
Lane was concerned mostly about public safety. Western members
of both houses advocated auto access to national parks. Merced
and Modesto chambers of commerce met on May 8, 1913 to develop
a strategy to convince Lane to select the Coulterville Road route.
Secretary Lane decided to allow autos to enter Yosemite
on May 1, 1913. The newspapers carried his press statement:
I have decided to allow automobiles to enter the Yosemite Valley.
There are 100,000 automobiles in California, and to these the valley
has been closed. This form of transportation has come to stay and
to close the valley against automobiles would be absurd. I have
found one road over which by applying strict regulations I think it
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will be reasonably safe, and I am going to ask the automobile people
to put a portion of the road in good condition and impose automobile
entrance fees that will provide something toward the maintenance
charge. Automobiles will not be allowed to run about the valley, but
must travel over a prescribed roadway from entrance to the exit. I
want to make our parks as accessible as possible to the great mass
of people.
Summer 2015
already decided to purchase bonds, because it was a good
investment. The senator stated that the desire was to provide a
roadway that would have the “widest public use.” Work turning
the route into a “good road” would begin in Stockton and continue
to Yosemite Valley. Curtin remarked that the gateway route would
“open a new and wonderful country to half the population of the
state.”
Gateway Chosen Secretary Lane surprised everyone,
Road Repair Needed
announcing on May 29, 1913 that both Big Oak Flat and Coulterville
Stanislaus County’s West Side contacted county
roads would be the gateways. The two
supervisors requesting a direct connection
roads merge at Crane Flat 15 miles north of
with Modesto and the Coulterville Road.
the Yosemite Valley entrance. From Crane
San Jose wanted such a roadway in
Flat, the roadway joined El Portal Road to
Stanislaus County to link with a possible
the valley entrance. This way northern
road over Mt. Hamilton into Modesto,
California travelers would come by way of
linking with the Coulterville Road. San
Stockton, through Oakdale, on Big Oak Flat
Jose was a vocal advocate of the
Road, and state highway travelers would
Coulterville Road, and according to the
have a direct connection through Modesto,
news account of June 12, 1913, “wanted
straight east, on Coulterville Road, linking
some return.”
with Big Oak Flat Road at Crane Flat. The
A resolution was drafted by the
solution seemed simple. Lane wanted all
Stanislaus County Board of Trade to be
bridges and roadways to be examined for
submitted to the county supervisors,
safety and repaired before he would deem
asking for a road bond to transform the
the gateway officially open to the public.
county roadway links to Yosemite into
There was a real problem though
“good roads.” The focus of the resolution
that would take time repair. From the
was Yosemite’s access from the state
Mrs. Lola Clark from San Francisco, navijunction of the two roads at Crane Flat to
highway that ran through Modesto, Salida,
gating the turns in her Locomobile on
Yosemite the “road is said to be impassable
and Turlock. The Turlock Journal of June
Priest’s Hill, Big Flat Road, 1901
for automobiles for many miles, and it is
12, 1913 listed the roads the trade board
Johnston photo
expected that nothing will be done for some
wanted repaired:
time to make this stretch of bad road better,” according to the
newspaper. For a time this would require Coulterville Road travelers 1. From Modesto to Waterford to La Grange and thence connecting
to use Mariposa Road to Mariposa and then turning east on El with the Coulterville Road
Portal Road into Yosemite. Also those traveling on Big Oak Flat
Road would not turn east at Moccasin to climb Priests Hill, but 2. From Modesto north to Salida, to Oakdale, to Knights Ferry and
continue on the Mariposa Road to Mariposa then turn east on El thence connecting with the Big Oak Flat Road
Portal. The news account of May 29, 1913 claimed that the
Coulterville route “will result in the biggest advertisement that this 3. From Turlock to Waterford to La Grange and thence connecting
city [Modesto] and county has ever received. The thousands of with the Coulterville Road
autoists who have been clamoring for the privilege of driving their
machines to Yosemite will pass through this city and eastern 4. From Modesto along Crows Landing Road to the proposed Mt.
Stanislaus annually. The Coulterville Road affords direct access to Hamilton Road to San Jose, linking San Jose to Yosemite by the
Yosemite, over the best roads to be found anywhere.”
Coulterville Road
There was a celebration at the Yosemite Valley entrance
on May 25, 1913 when P.J. Walker, President of the Automobile
The Modesto News on June 26, 1913 reported that
Club of California entered the valley in his auto. Park Superintendent improvements on the Coulterville Road were being completed by
Major Littlebrandt met him at the entrance and rode with him into “a large crew of men putting the road into shape for automobile
the spectacular park. They arrived at Yosemite Village at 9:30 where travel.” Supervisor Mentzer of Mariposa County was responsible
a conference was held to discuss park rules for autos. for the project, who notified Modesto Chamber of Commerce of the
Accompanying Walker were eight other cars, with two coming from progress. Modesto and Merced chambers raised $3,000 to aid
Los Angeles.
Mariposa County with its Coulterville roadwork, because of the
Plans for the improvement of Big Oak Flat Road were heavy expense.
announced in the Turlock Journal on June 5, 1913 by State Senator
John B. Curtin of Sonora. Road bonds would be issued by the state
San Jose and Visalia
in the amount of $75,000 for sale to the public. Local banks had
The Modesto Chamber of Commerce on July 10, 1913
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began taking preliminary steps to campaign for a road from Mt.
Hamilton through West Side’s El Salado Creek Road and Adobe
Valley, just south of Del Puerto Canyon, near Patterson. Then
construct a highway from Patterson straight to Modesto, linking
with the Coulterville Road. The chamber was willing to spend $5,000
to begin construction.
News from Visalia came that the U.S. Interior Department
had opened Sequoia National Park to autos. On July 17, 1913, the
first auto entered the park, with a group of 12 autos following.
According to the newspaper “permits were issued a half mile inside
the park as they pass through Rocky Gulch.” Now autoists had
access to both Yosemite and Sequoia, which meant after seeing
one, motorists could drive to the other.
The part of the Coulterville Road between Waterford and
La Grange was seeing repair work, according to the Turlock Journal
of August 7, 1913. Scrapers were busy, to be followed by watering
and packing. It was estimated that a month would be required to
complete the effort.
New Auto Rules
The stringent Yosemite auto rules had many motorists
exasperated. On October 16, 1913, George Roop of Porterville
protested the rigid requirements, which was printed in newspapers.
He declared, “The guards are officious martinets, who revel in their
authority and who seem to take delight in harassing the owners of
motors who make the trip. I wouldn’t drive a car through the park
again, under present rules, for $1,000!” When the autos entered the
park, the hour and minute were marked on their fee card. Then the
autoist was required to travel slowly over a prescribed route and
exit the park not too early or there were fines. If one arrived early, it
meant he speeded. His car could be impounded until the next day,
regardless if the passengers were women and children. Having
heard enough complaints about park employees, Interior Secretary
Lane withdrew all troops patrolling the park, closing it temporarily,
until a better public program of legal enforcement could be
established.
Road Repairs
A considerable amount of repair was undertaken on the El
Portal Road to Yosemite, from the city of Mariposa, reported the
Turlock Journal on November 27, 1913. The El Portal Road could
be reached at the city of Mariposa by roads from the valley counties
of Madera, Merced, and Stanislaus. There was a train terminus at
Mariposa, where stagecoaches and motorized vehicles picked up
passengers, taking them along El Portal Road to Yosemite. Beginning
on November 19th, an autobus service was opened at Mariposa that
transported visitors to Yosemite, taking one hour-and-a-half to the
entrance, along the winding Merced River Canyon, with its steep
grades and clinging boulders. The open sightseeing autobus was a
25-passenger car, taking the visitors not only on the El Portal Road,
but also acting as a tour bus on the Yosemite Valley floor. By spring,
the company would have ten such autobuses in use, carrying a
minimum of eight passengers to a maximum of 25. The improvement
of El Portal Road was concentrated on “taking out curves, reducing
grades, and otherwise putting the road in good and safe condition
for automobile traffic.” The news account announced that the
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autobus service would be available all winter for “those who wish
to see Yosemite in its winter garb.”
Road signs directing traffic to Yosemite, provided by the
California Automobile Association, were placed along the section
of the Coulterville Road leading from La Grange to Coulterville by
F.L. Wisecarver on April 14, 1914. Directional signs for tourists
were especially crucial at road intersections in the unpopulated
areas.
The Coulterville Road near Waterford was nearly
impassable, remarked the Turlock Journal on June 18, 1914. The
road was piled high with dirt, was dusty, and a disgrace according
to a committee of residents who lived there. The committee saw the
county supervisors, asking if the county’s general funds could be
spent on sprinkling the road with water to at least keep the dust
down. The roadway was in Supervisor Clark’s district, with him
declaring that he was unprepared to do any such thing, because he
didn’t have water carts and the area lacked wells. He also commented
that “owing to the depth of the dust, it was absolutely impractical
to water this road as it would take a flood to make any impression.”
Clark opposed using county revenue for it anyway, because “it
would cost several thousand dollars to make the road somewhat
passable.” Critically, the newspaper commented that for the county’s
good road demonstrations to the public, the state highway was the
only county roadway worth claiming. Supervisors Dunn and
McMahon planned to sprinkle sections of their districts’ roads,
with the Turlock Journal satirically noting, “which is some
advancement from the dark ages.”
Heavy Traffic to Yosemite
Autos were pouring into Yosemite Valley declared the
newspaper on June 25, 1914. Mariposa County Supervisor Mentzer
of Coulterville remarked that 40 automobiles departed Coulterville
to Yosemite that morning, while others were at the park’s entrance,
waiting admittance. It was estimated that hundreds upon hundreds
of autos would be traveling from the state highway in Modesto to
Coulterville and then on to Yosemite. Already that morning ten
vehicles left Modesto towards Yosemite, with another ten Modesto
autoists planning a weekend excursion there.
Yosemite Rules
Revised rules for auto use were announced by Yosemite
Park on February 17, 1915. The entrance fee was set at $5 per auto.
Motoring off the prescribed roadway in Yosemite Valley remained
prohibited. While on the roadway, autos were required to remain
100 yards apart. Brakes were checked for safety at the park entrance,
before admittance. Maximum speed on the valley’s roadway was 15
mph. Animals had the right-of-way, such as pack animals, saddle
horses, and horses or mules pulling wagons or other conveyances.
When these animals approach a car, the vehicle was required to
stop and wait until they were safely pass. If any animal seemed
fearful of an auto, the motor must be turned off until it is safe.
Regulations on driving time through Yosemite Valley were
still enforced. The vehicle was clocked entering and leaving, with
fines being assessed if the arrival at the exit was too soon. The
fines were: 50 cents per minute for the first five minutes, $1 per
(Continued on page 762)
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Stanislaus Motorcar Passage to Yosemite Valley
1906-1916
T
Road to Half Dome
he automobile open the gateway to Yosemite National could tour Yosemite Valley in their cars. The news account remarked
Park. This meant that thousands of visitors had access to one of that those disappointed visitors wanting to see from their autos
the natural wonders of the world. They would be coming from far “the great national sight-seeing place, will have to abandon their
and wide, motoring along the mountain roadways in their motorcars trips.”
The ban continued for the next five years. Every year it
to witness the magnificent spectacle of water, rock, and trees. Before
the automobile, access to Yosemite was by horses and horse or was fought by the public, but the federal government prevailed,
mule-drawn vehicles. Once, the roadways were Native American maintaining that the national preserve needed full protection from
pathways and then bumpy Gold Rush dirt roads, winding through the encroachment of modern civilization. Many felt that charging
an auto entrance fee
the Sierra. Trains hadn’t
would help keep the park
reached Yosemite yet, but
in top shape and pay for
stagecoaches transported
modern
problems,
visitors from distant train
according to the News on
depots to Yosemite Valley.
July 26, 1912. This
After arriving, park
proposal was condemned
conveyances were used
by the San Francisco
to carry the awestruck
Call, explaining that those
tourists to the various
are public roads, paid by
sites.
taxpayers, and thus, no
Beginning in
fee, which was an
1900, the automobile
additional tax, should be
began to change life
required. Those in
forever. Its quickness,
Touring conveyences at Hotel Del Portal, Yosemite, 1913. The hotel was
California’s auto industry
comfort, and utility
built in 1907, being destroyed by fire in 1917
Johnston photo
and tourism advocated
captivated everyone.
Before its introduction, visitors to Yosemite traveled long distances, vociferously to open Yosemite to motor traffic. A San Francisco
using slow conveyances, over crude roadways. The auto changed industrialist commented that tourists would be attracted from across
all of that, with the motoring public wanting to see the spectacle of the nation and within the state to visit the natural marvel, which
Yosemite by car. A rising debate was which San Joaquin Valley meant “large sums of money would be left with the merchants,”
town would be selected as the gateway to Yosemite from the central with “the motorist as a rule being a good spender.” Also, “the
state highway? Would it be Fresno, Madera, Merced, Modesto, [Yosemite] valley would attract a high class of visitors.”
Turlock or Stockton? Basic funding for the gateway road would be
derived from the state, leaving the decision up to state authorities.
Yosemite Gateway Roads
That issue and others will be the topics of this article, all focusing
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Walter Fisher held hearings
on Stanislaus County’s automobile access to Yosemite.
in California on various Yosemite issues. The News of October 18,
1912 reported that the primary topics were railroad access, auto
Autos Banned in Yosemite Valley
access, and the gateway roadway from the San Joaquin Valley. The
The first local newspaper article noting auto access to first day of hearings concerned railroad access, followed the next
Yosemite was from the Stanislaus County News of March 16, 1906. day by auto access. Percy DeWalker (Oakland), President of the
The Sierra Railway had plans to run a branch line from Jamestown California State Automobile Association and F.L. Baker (Los
to Yosemite. It had reached a point of 40 miles from the entrance of Angeles), President of the Automobile Club of California both
Yosemite. The news account announced that at the current railway testified advocating auto entrance to the park and a gateway road
terminus, autos would then transport passengers to the entrance. from the San Joaquin Valley.
There were three gateway roads on the hearing’s agenda:
It noted that the trip would take less than a day, and would be “over
Big Oak Flat, Coulterville, and Wawona. Stanislaus County was
one of the most picturesque routes in the country.”
Autos though were banned from Yosemite Valley, being especially interested in the Big Oak Flat and Coulterville gateways,
halted at its entrance. On June 14, 1907, the News reported that U.S. because the roadways would pass through it from the San Joaquin
Secretary of the Interior Garfield clarified this policy publicly by Valley. Modesto and Turlock supported the Coulterville Road, while
issuing a direct order stating that “automobiles were forbidden to Oakdale advocated Big Oak Flat. Both were avenues of travel from
enter Yosemite Valley.” The state’s automobile organizations the Bay Area, the central coast, and northern California to Yosemite.
proclaimed they would fight the ban in court. Many autoists had Presentations were given in support of the individual gateways.
(Continued on page 779)
planned to visit Yosemite during the 1907 summer, hoping that they

Summer 2015 - Stanislaus County Roads

Transcription

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