CunJ- % '^/uuJr Oj^ O^M- ynirr^ ^ifci*. >;*>'•' ^ii-'.,'^ ' V* ■v.?»^V*' SB ■;:■:>■.>»*- ■;- ■'J-r-^iA 'iVii^-;' /■■■^.Vi- -ri;:-!' ■■'.'"., . ;■' i .,^"'. ' - ■ r\' --■':'• ;^■>v''''■'■'■^.■-?^-■.■f'•.;^,r/ '/.-.. , ' 'W '. i ' ^■?v:yf.';*V F 868 .S66 S6 Copy 1 SOLANO COUNTY. CALIF O RNIA 0" The LAND of FRUIT, GRAIN and MONEY ISSUED BY BOARD OE SUPERVISORS SOLANO COUNTY JAMES E.SULLIVAN, CHAIRMAN . . . . RIOVI ST A H.J.WIDENMANN . . . . . . . VALLEJO DAVID M. FLEMING ...... VALLEJO GRANT CHADBOURNE ...... SUISUN V^. H. PAYNE . . . .... VACAVILLE / T NORTHERN SOLANO COUNTY NKAR WINTERS, CAL (bounty IJlifornia Nestled in the foothills of the Coast Range on its Western bord- er, and extending across broad acres of the most fertile land in l)ounteous California, till its Eastern confines are marked by the majestic Sacramento River, lies Solano County. It is, in part, in the Sacramento Valley, the great stream of Northern California break- ing through Solano's hills in the onward rush of ages toward the sea, and thousands of its acres being in the vast area that has been a world's granary for years, its products going to all lands. A quarter of a million acres, nearly half Solano's area, is devoted to grain raising. The wheat grown here is the best milling wheat produced in the State. Thousands of cattle, horses and sheep graze on the u])land pastures and marsh lands, and great industrial establish- ments pay fortvmes in wages annually, but the brightest gem in the diadem of resources and industries that marks the County's un- questioned leadership is the fruit produced in its sheltered valleys, a product that has made the county famous far and wide. The first decidious fruit sold in the United States each year is grown in Solano County, where are several sequestered valleys, with gently rising slopes, sheltered by ranges of high hills that bar the egress of moisture laden clouds in one season and shut out the hot drving winds of another. Here the trees bloom in February and the fruit forms rapidly, ripening beneath the genial heat of the spring sea- son, which^is really early summer. In early April the shipments begin and continue until late fall. The soil is unexcelled, even in California, for productiveness, and the fruit raised on the limited area is sold for millions of dollars annually, returning fortunes to the orcliardists of this favored section. Citrus fruits are marketed here a month ahead of the Southern California products. In the Eastern section of the county where the enterprise of man has wrested broad acres from overflow, is another fabulously rich section, the delta lands of the Sacramento River being noted for thei. productiveness. In addition, many large industrial establishment? are located within the county, a great majority of the people being prosperous wage workers, whose yearly earnings, with the resources of the soil, the products of field, farm and factory, make a story of wealth and prosperity- that seems incredible, the income - the count} from all sources exceeding the princel}' sum of Twenty- Two Million dollars per year, This favored section is of a limited area, h^-om east to west its extreme length is forty-five miles, while from north to south the county measures thirty-five miles. The surface of the county is 911 square miles, or 583, 000 acres, of which 40.000 acres are water, included in the Sacramento River and Suisun and San Pablo Bays. Besides its great natural resources, or rather because of them, Solano County ranks as one of the strongest counties in California, from a financial view-point. There is not a dollar of county debt. either bonded or fioating. Three communities — v^Hejo, Suisun and Rio Vista, — own their own water systems and su])plv their in- habitants at rates at least fifty per cent lower than those paid in cities depending u])on private capital for this essential necessitv. The real LO.\DINrT C.\RS AT SUISUN, C.\L., WITH FKUIT FOR EASTERN CITIES PROSPEROUS INDUSTRY AT DIXON, SOLANO COUNTY property and improvements in the county are worth, at a conserva- tive valuation, Jf 30.000,000, while the mortgages amount to the comparatively insignificant sum of $2,666,000, the major portion of which is represented in money invested in home building witliin municipalities. The enormously rich agricultural and horticultural holdings are practically free of incumbrance. The tax rate for county purposes is from $1.00 to $1.10 on the $100.00 outside incorporated cities and towns, and 4.0 cents les> inside, where no levy is made for road purposes. The expendi- tures, while by no means extravagant, are liberal for school, road and hospital expenses. The county salary roll, including town- ship officers, is about $45,000 per year. The sum of $c;o,ooo to $60,000 is annually spent on the roads, which are maintained in excellent condition throughout the year. Public schools cost over $130,000 per year, of which $37,500 is raised in the county tax. The sum of $17, coo is spent sprinkling the roads, and over $11,000 for the expense of the homeless, sick and indigent. CLIMATE. As in other respects. Solano County is greatlv fa\'ored in climate. The rainy months are from Xovember to March, with desultor^■ rains a month or six weeks earlier and later. The dry season is from six to eig-Iit months, (irain and hay are kept in the field till hauled f.)r shii)nient. Snow and hail are practically unknown, and frosts rarely do any damage to even delicate plants. The averatie rainfall is sixteen to twenty inches, though it is greater in the fruit-growing sections. Intense cold is unknown, and at Mare Island Xavy Yard and other indu- trial plarits hiindreds of men work in I he open air the year round. Jn summer the heat is never oppressive, rarely go- ing above lOO degrees Farh. The nights are cool, a breeze from the ocean coming each day at sunset, cooling the atmosphere, and greatl}' adding to the health and comfort of the people. POPULATION. The population in 1900 was 24,193, and is now estimated at 30.000, of wdiom nearly one-half li\'e in \'"allejo and Benicia, the industrial centers of the county. The county could easily sup]:)ort double its present population. ADAPTABILITY. The land of Solano County \aries in the purposes for wdiich it is adapted, the following table having been compiled by E. X. Eager, when County Surveyor, to show the area available for different modes of cultivation. No. I fruit land 53.000 acre^ No. 2 fruit or No. i grain land 240,000 acres No. 2 grain or No. 1 pasture land 75,000 acres Pasture land 45.000 acres Mountainous grazing land 30,000 acre^ Marsh or tule land 100,000 acres Water 40,000 acres INDUSTRIES. The Mare Island Xavy Yard, employing 2.000 men, most of whom are skilled mechanics, is the greatest industrial factor in the county. The government also has an army arsenal at Benicia, while among the private enterprises are the Pacific Portland Cement Works, east of Suisun, with a pay roll exceeding $100,000 annually ; the quarry of the E. B. & A. L. Stone Co. at Cordelia, with a capa- city of fifty to one hundred car loads of crushed rock daily, beside great cjuantities of basalt paving blocks and building stone, limited only by the demand ; the Starr IMills at South Yallejo, with a capa- city of 2500 barrels of flour daily ; three tanneries at Benicia and one at \"allejo, with a total annual output of over $2,000,000; Iron \A^orks at lienicia with an output of 1000 tons daily ; canneries at Dixon, Benicia and Rio Vista ; fish packing establishments, many cream- 6 =^ ON b o o en'es. several fruit packini^ establishments in Suisun and \'acaville, three wineries at Cordeha. a tule factory at Rio \'ista, planing; mills and numerous smaller industries. In the aggregate these pay $3,000,- 000 in wages during the year. During the fruit season, work is plenti- ful in Suisun and \'aca X'alleys, 3,000 people finding work in the former and 5,000 in the latter. The fruit growers prefer white help to L'hinesc and Japanese labor, and are making earnest efforts to secure sufficient white labor to handle their product. Alen. women and children find renumerati\'e employment in the packing and cut- ting sheds for many months each year. POWER. Power for all pur]X)ses is accessilde and reasonable in price, the power lines of the Ray Counties Power Company, carrying a voltage of 55,000, traversing the county from end to end. P>ranch li'i's to Xapa, Sonoma and Marin Counties leave the main line of this corporation at Cordelia, furnishing power to the counties named, while the main line crosses Car(|uinez Straits between N'allejo and l>enicia, with branch lines to both these cities, and conveying pow^' to Contra Costa and Alameda Counties. Electric power is utilized for nnuiing dairy machinery, pumps for irrigating alfalfa and other fields, and is right at hand for any purpose, from a fractional horse ]30wer motor to a gigantic inchistrial plant employing hundreds of men. FRUIT. The orchards of Solano County are a source of vast wealth, not on]\- in the value of the ])roduct itself, but in the emi)l(\Ainent of thousands of hands in the fields and i:iacking houses, and in j^repar- ing and transporting it to market. The fruit section extends from (ireen X'alley through Suisun, Lagoon, Vaca and Pleasant \'alle}'s and their adjacent hills to Putah Creek, the county boundar}-, and along the banks of that stream in a belt from two to six and eight miles wide for a distance of twelve or fifteen' miles to the Yolo P)asin, which forms the eastern boundary of the county. In this s])U'n(lid fruit belt are over a million trees, diciduous and citrus, with i'ruit ri])cning every moiuh in the year. lieing the first marketed in the several varieties the highest price is always obtained for the fresh product, while the dried fruit, raised on non-irrigated land, gives the highest ])ercentage of marketable i)roduct, some varieties losing but half their weight in evaporation. Idie knowdedge gained by study and experience is utilized in handling and grading the fruit, wliich is sold at a large i)rofit throughout the Ignited States. Great cpianti- ties of fruit are taken by canneries and carried to the consume,- m that form, adding to the wealth of the grower, beside gi\ing empkn- ment to hundreds oi people. The assessor's list of 1904 gi\es the following data concern- ing fruit cultivation, to which may be added approximately five pcr cent for new trees coming into bearing and increased acreage : Grapes 2200 acres. Apples 2265 trees. Apricot 33,165 trees. '. !'' ^iJi^B ■"-" "^H / ~l^M ■ •^1 — illlj^ ^1 *+*- ^mk ®M ' - JM ■ft- iMSwmemL:-*^ Jl -H- wKk ^aHSBl^'* ^m /iv i^r®Hr' ra /iSr nfm ^B '- '^ ijr ^ ijP^ ^ m^m Ajf ^^m ^^MfT* ^ '"sJmt^^ ^ 'W M bB J41V'* ^/J|H ~ ^ flfl • — ^^^^' jjf J ■^ jwJr^r 1^ ^' V^Pr" *^ J^B ■/F ) " whWm ^^^^^^ li J p . 1 ifl )_ / /ft ^^ ^ ** '^hV^^KjV fg^g 11 ' ^'^ '^I^B Ja'^.m^Bj lL J Ml ^ as €^ 'flf^F^^SL^^^^BM^HflH Mfei ^^^^a^i^^^m ^ ifma^^M ^ - .^ ^^^ 3 ^^E fe* t^ a MBBI«flBfe»>JCT * ^•flfc.^ ^f k -. VH^^^^JSSKRpi ^ r^"".. "JEpy^M^ « % ^^H^y^^" " jyBg|^MBpB| i* ^^^SVl'A'*' J^^^hP'^-i * I'ilil^JirM ■ »mm^^r^* 'i& m'^H, ,. -^^ m^^H^^ f: ^M ^^ '°^ ■I^^P' ^& 13 ^^Klt w ""^ ^^n H ~^^HF '\sJb Cherry 3'''-740 trees. Fig..'. 5430 trees. Olive 3.050 trees. Peach 332.570 trees. Pear 218,540 trees. iM-ench Prunes 281.460 trees. Prunes (varied) 105,630 trees. Orange 3.440 trees. Lemon 2,130 trees. Ahnond 100,240 trees. Wahnit 3.7'^>o trees. From the above tal)le it will be seen that the soil is adapted to every variety of fruit grown under the sun. The preponderance of fruits that can be marketed fresh, dried or canned is a note worthy feature, the growers not depending upon any one method of getting the highest returns from their products. Hie shipping of fruit is a business by itself. The fresh product is carefull}- selected, wrapped and packed, and shipped in ventilated refrigerator cars to the Atlantic seal)oard. Each car contains ten tons of fruit, and frequently has the product of a dozen or more growers, each being disposed of separately, the incidental cost being divided pro rata. Experienced hands secure steady employment in packing the fruit in crates and boxes, the regular smooth layers of luscious fruit presenting a most attractive appearance, to which may be added the exquisite flavor gained from weeks of ripening under genial sunshine, which develops the saccharine qualities to the utmost degree, and evolves a product fit for a king's table — unexcell- ed anywhere. The long rainless season in California is especially propitious for curing fruits, which are cut and spread on great trays, covering acres in extent. The moisture evaporates quickly, leaving the sugar and flavor unimpaired, the dried product being second only to the ripe fruit. In Solano County thousands of tons of fruit are prepared every year in this manner, and shipped in car load lots to all parts of the United States, while great (piantities are exported on the ocean liners radiating from San Francisco. GRAIN. While thousands of acres are devoted to fruit raising. Solano County has a vastly greater area given over to cereals. In the north- eastern and central section of the county are great ranches devoted to grain growing. The rich adobe land of the Montezuma Hills pro- duces the best milling wheat grown in California. Failure of crops is unknown and 50,000 tons of wheat, free from w^eeds or foul stuff, is the annual offering of this portion of the county. On Ryer Island, and in the northern and eastern sections of the county, large areas are planted to barley, the yield in some instances going as high as 10 sixtv sacks to the acre, though that is above the average. The total grain output of the county in a favoral^le year will exceed 150.000 tons. The farmers have the advantage oilered by water freights and their product is marketed at a mininumi expense. HAY. Ocat (|uantities of hay are raised annually in the county and shipped from Dixon, Elmira, Suisun, Rio \Tsta, Benicia and X'allejo. A fair estimate of the amount would be 20,000 to 25,000 tons of high class hav. In Benicia and Vallejo townships the principal product of the farming section is hay. LIVE STOCK. The value of the live stock in this county runs to very large figures. The sheep industry brings in a rich return for the 75,000 head owned in the county. Among medium sized flocks, where the owner can give his indi\'idual attention to them, the profit for a year is efjual to the value of the stock. The spring and fall clips at the present ])rices, will average over $2.00 per head, wdiile the yearly increase, in some of the fiocks in Northern Solano has amounted to 100 and 125 per cent in numbers. Sheep are kept on all farms and run on cultivated fields after seeding, keeping down the weeds and noxious grasses, and are also put on the stubble after the crops are taken off. On Ryer Island the sheep remain on the grain fields till late in March, keeping t^ie grain down to prevent too rank a growth. The large flocks, from 3,000 to 10,000 in numbers, are kept on the ranges in l^lmira. Denverton, and Maine Prairie Townships, though nearly every farmer in the county has from twenty-five to 250 and 500 sheep, which make a goodly increase in his yearly profits. As a rule the sheep are crossed with a thoroughbred strain, getting the best wool and mutton cpialities, combined with strength and hardiment. CATTLE. The cattle industry goes hand in hand with the dairy interest, though there are several ranges devoted to raising beef cattle. The Humboldt Stock Farm, located about two miles from Suisun has about 200 thoroughbred short horns with an imported bull, valued at $4,000, at the head of the herd. The stock from this farm are all registered thoroughbreds, and are sold for breeding. Manv of them have been bought in the county and the (piality of tlie stock is being constantly improved. It is estimated that 100 car loads, or 2600 head, of beef cattle will be ship])ed from Suisun alone this year. DAIRYING. The dairying interests of the county are going ahead l)y leaps IS and bounds. There are at least 15,000 head of dairy cattle in the county, with creameries at Benicia and Dixon, two in Vallejo and one in Rio Vista beside a number of large dairies. Quantities of milk and cream are also shipped to Oakland, Alameda and San Francisco. Grizzly and Joyce Islands, reclaimed lands adjoining Suisun Bay, have hundreds of dairy cows, the moisture underlying the soil keep- ing- feed green almost the entire year. In the uphand section, the acreage in alfalfa is constantly increasing. Irrigation from wells is both easy and cheap, and five and six crops are cut each year, aggre- gating ten to twelve tons to the acre if cut for hay. or furnishing the equivalent of green feed. The product of Solano County creameries receives the highest price in San Francisco, the entire output of the Dixon creamery being handled by one retail establishment. HORSES. Horses, thoroughbred and standard bred, have l^een raised in Solano County since Theo Winters established his famous stud on Putah Creek. To-day there are several noted breeding farms here. The Suisun stock farm of five thousand acres in the Potrero Hills has the premier stallion Demonio, 2:11 1-4, a full brother to Diablo. Yal- lejo has Gaff Topsail a son of Diablo and Baywood 2:09 1-4 a son of Woodnut, while the Hoy breeding and training farm in Solano Coun- ty opposite Winters has Bayswater Wilkes at the head of the stud. Several fine standard bred stallions are owned at Dixon. There are race tracks at Vallejo and Dixon, a number of horses being in train- ing at both places. Draft horses are a factor of Solano County farms. In the present year imported Percheron stallions have been bought in \'allejo. Sui- ?un. Dixon and Rio Vista, while an imported Belgian Draft stallion is owned in Suisun \^alley and a splendid (ierman coach stallion has been imported by Vacaville owners. Each of these horses is valued at $3,000 and upward, and with the infusion of new blood into the county. Solano may easily hold its rank as one of the foremost horse breeding sections of the State. POULTRY. Strange as it may seem, Solano County has few places devoted to poultry raising, a condition which will last but a short time. A poultry ranch of eight acres near Fairfield with an expenditure of less than $2,000 for facilities gives a product of $1200 to $1500 a year. Similar results are obtained at places newly started near Dixon and Benicia, showing that this business may reach immense proportions. In the central portion of the county, with ample facilities for reaching a market is a stretch of 10,000 acres admirably adapted for poultry. The soil is dry with an abundance of gravel. \\ ater is easily reached. This section is an ideal i)oultry raising localitv. The land is cheap, and if settled by small poultry farmers, will produce twenty-fold what it does now as a grazing land. If fully settled this section will maintain millions of fowls, and produce an income that will run in- to the millions. At this time hundreds of cases of eggs and coops of poultry are shipped each year to market from the several stations along the line of railroad. HOGS. Tlio prosonce of so many dairies in tlie count}" and much (li\'er- sified farming favors the raising- of hogs as by-product on the farm-. 'Hie yearly aggregate shipped to market will reach $100,000. SCHOOLS. The educational facilities of Solano County are a source of rigliteous pride to her peojile. The allowance of funds for public schools in the tax levy is liberal, while in addition special taxes ar.* levied for high school and in several instances for the better main- tainance of the elementary schools. There are fifty-six schools in the county, with sixty-four buildings, and 142 teachers employed. The average cost of each elementary school pupil is $25.80 per year. The average cost of high school pupils is $70.70 per year. Teachers' salaries average $72.50 per month. The value of school property in the county is a quarter of a million dollars. There are high schools at Vallejo. Benicia, Fairfield, Dixon and Vacaville, while the county has a joint interest in the high school at Winters. Yolo County. The high school libraries in the county contain 3,330 volumes and the libraries of the other public schools 2d>,'/2)7 volumes. Beside the public schools there are three splendid private institutions of learning. St. Catherines Academy in Benicia, and St. Gertrudes Academy in Rio Vista are boarding and day schools, and St. Vincent's school in Vallejo is a day school. The three institutions aft'ord edu- cational facilities for hundreds of childn.Mi. TRANSPORTATION. Solano County, washed for miles along its eastern and southern shores by the Sacramento River and Suisun Bay. with two navigable sloughs penetrating for miles into its interior and with its two larg- est centers of population on Carciuinez Straits and the Mare Island Straits, is most happily situated as regards transportation facilitic'^. Numerous landings and warehouses are accessible to shippers, whil-^ water freights on all commodities are very low. The Southern Pacific Railroad with its connections runs a main line directlv through the county with branches from Suisun to Napa Junction connecting with lines from V'allejo to Calistoga and Santa Rosa, while at I''dmira another l)ranch runs to Vacaville and on through ^\)lo County. Suisun is on the main line of the Southern Pacific Road and Vacaville is but four miles from it. so no delay is encountered in routing fresh fruit shi])ments to eastern points, time being an im- portant element in this important industry. An electric line has just been put in operation between Vallejfj and Napa making fast time with superb passenger accomodations. At Vallejo connection is made with the steamers of the IMonticello Southern Pacific Company's Terminal, South Vallejo, Solano Couaity Steamship Company, making six round trips daily to San Francisco. These are the most handsome and fastest bay steamers plying out of San Francisco, and do a very large business. The headquarters of the company which operates these steamers is at Vallejo, where it owns extensiv'C wharfage facilities. The shipping business of Vallejo is divided, the Piper, Aden, Goodall Co., of San Francisco, operating five steamers and a fleet of schooners and barges running a regular freight line to Vallejo. The Southern Pacific Company also runs a daily freight steamer to Vallejo and Benicia. All lines of river steamers plying from San Francisco to Stockton and Sacramento, touch at Benicia, and the Sacramento River lines at Collinsville and Rio Vista, and other landings when business warrants it. The rail- road runs ferry steamers to connect its train service between Vallejo and Vallejo Junction and between Benicia and Port Costa. The Solano, on the latter run is the largest ferry boat in the world, trans- porting three trains at trip. The steamer Newtown, owned at Rio Vista, does an extensive business in bay and river freighting, as does the Steamer Suisun City running between Suisun and San Francisco, and owned in the former place. The traveling facilities between points in Solano county will be greatly enhanced by the building of the electric lines, for which franchises have been granted. The lines now running from Napa to Vallejo will shortly be extended to Benicia. Franchises are held by the founders of that road for lines from Benicia to Suisun via Cordelia and Suisun Valley, from Suisun to Rio Vista, and from Suisun to \"acaville and Dixon, and on to Woodland in Yolo countv. All preliminary work has been done on these lines, which will reach 17 cverv point of importance in this ma<;'nificient section. A competing- steam line through Solano County is a certainty in the near future. Thousands of dollars have been paid for rights of way for a road to tap the Vacaville fruit belt and run south, which must be built by January ist, 1907. while projects for bridging Car- quinez Straits and Suisun Bay are now under consideration by the Federal authorities. When these projects are completed, Solano County will have competition in transportation, both in rates and in service. RECLAMATION. The original lines of Solano County embrace over 100,000 acres of swamp and marsh land, most of which has not been wholly re- claimed. Ryer Island containing 12,000 acres, has been completely leveed and is a veritable garden spot. Grizzly and Joyce Islands with a similar area, have tide levees, and the Egbert tract of 10,000 acres above Rio Vista, has been leveed, but being in the direct line of over- flow from the great Yolo Basin and its outlet. Cache Slough, has been flooded several years in succession. The owners of this valuable land are awaiting the inauguration of a permanent plan for rectifying the channel 01 the Sacramento River, when they will rebuild their levee and the 10,000 acres of rich land will again yield as highly profitable crops as Ryer Island. Some very rich land in the immediate neighborhood of Suisun is now being reclaimed, and Cross Island, containing 7,500 acres of land lying between San Pablo Bay and Napa Creek, is growing very heavy barley crops. On the shore line north of Vallejo a tract of 900 acres has been reclaimtd and will be de- voted to asparagus culture and dairying. Operations have been start- ed on the adjoining tract extending into Napa county. There is a great expanse of marsh land, extending around Sui- sun Bay from Benicia to Collinsville, with sloughs to Suisun, Denver- ton and Maine Prairie, upon which the advocates of reclamation ha\\; set covetous eyes. This land, now worth $15 and $20 an acre, will be worth $100 when the great dredgers have traversed its borders leav- ing substantial levees behind. The broad sloughs will be deepened and otherwise improved, the products of the land being shipped by water to market. This project offers a splendid opportunity for investment with a certainty of a handsome income from the outlay. MINING. The only successful mining in Solano County has been for quicksilver, which was first discovered by John Neate in 1852. Six- teen years later he opened the Brownlie mine east of Vallejo, from which $30,000 worth of quicksilver was taken at a depth not exceed- ing forty feet. Later he located the St. John mine, which was work- ed energetically from 1873 to 1880. producing $504,000 in quicksilver. Much of the ore averaged eight and ten per cent in quicksilver, and the yield never went below 2 7-8 per cent of the cinnabar reduced. The mine was closed from 1880 to 1899, when it was taken over by a new corporation and re-opened throughout at an expense of $100,- 000. The tunnel 1300 feet in length was retimbtred, and the shaft opened to a depth of 682 feet, and crosscut beneath a great body of Dixon, Solano Count}-, Churches and Public School Building ore which is now l)cing- worked. New and niixlern reduction works using crude oil as fuerhave been established and the development of the rich property, which extends over 713 acres of land, is going right ahead. A scoreof men are employed and quicksilver is being shipped regularlv. There is a vast ore body in this mine which has not been touched. Another mine is being developed on the Hastings Tract a few- miles southeast of the St. John mine and in the same hill as the origin- al Brownlie mine. A tunnel has been run into the hill for a distance of 900 feet under cutting a vein of cinnabar thirty feet wide. A re- duction plant is being erected by the owners of the mine. EMPLOYMENT. The manufacturing industries in the county employ thousands of men. The government establishments at ?\Iare Island and Benicia disburse $2,000,000 annually in the county for wages and supplies. The cement plant near Suisun, the rock crusher plant at Cordelia, the iron works and tanneries at Benicia, the Hour mills and tannery at Vallejo and the tule factory at Rio Vista, afford constant employ- ment, while the canneries and the fruit packing and cutting- establish- ments give work to thousands during the season. Building and other improvement work are constantly under way, and the indus- trious artisan or workingman is seldom idle in this favored land. The income of the county from all sources is so great that everyone has the opportunity to earn a good living, while mercantile establishments of all kinds do a thriving business. The schools, churches and social opportunities aft'ord abundant means of mental improvement and recreation and tend to make contented prosperous communities in every respect. PLEASURE RESORTS. The hills and valleys of the western section, the broad sweep of AT WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, SOLANO COUNTY ORCHARD LAND NEAR SUISUN, SOLANO COUNTY the river on the east, and the great expanse of bay shore, afford ample opportunity for health and pleasure seekers. One of the most accesible health resorts in the State is the Vallejo White Sul- phur Springs, a beautiful summer resort with waters of great medici- nal value and excellent accomodations for the health and pleasure of guests. This place is a great favorite resort for residents of Val- lejo and Benicia. Glen Cove, another picnic and health resort, is situated on Carquinez Straits, with a steamer landing to accomo- date excursions from all bay and river points. In Green Valley, the City of Vallejo owns, in connection with its water system, a thous- and acres of natural picnic park, which atrracts thousands of pleas- ure seekers annually from the different parts of the county. Tolenas Springs, north of Fairfield, has a rich mineral spring amid rugged, beautiful surroundings. When accomodations are provided this will make an ideal pleasure resort. It is the site of the famous Tolenas marble quarry, whose beautiful product is highly prized wherever LARGEST FERRY IN THE WORLD, BENICIA. SOLANO COUNTY 21 known. Putali Creek lias many l)eantiful spots to attract those who seek a change from work or business. The Sacramento River on its lower reaches has many picturesque scenes. All these places are easy of access and are additional attractions in this land of plenty. VALLEJO TOWNSHIP. Lying in the extreme southwestern corner of the county is Vallejo Township, including the City of the same name, with approxi- mately one third of the population of the entire county. This town- ship is the southern portion of the great Suscol grant, originally held by General M. G. Vallejo, by whom the site of the city was selected and for whom it was named. The township is a narrow strip extending along Napa Creek and Mare Island Straits to the junction of the latter with Car([uinez Straits, and for several miles along that waterway. Its soil is mainly a rich adobe, which has yielded great grain crops for half a century. Of recent years much of the land has been devoted to dairying and the auxiliary cultivation of hay. Little grain is now raised here. There are about twenty dairies in the township, supplying two creameries in Vallejo with material for making i,ooo pounds of butter daily, while very large quantities of milk and cream are shipped to San Francisco and Oak- land. From 2,000 to 3,000 milch cows are owned in the environs of Vallejo and their produce is shipped in various forms from that point. The reclamation of the tule lands along Napa Creek above Val- lejo, is but a question of a short time. One tract of 900 acres has just been dyked and work is to be inaugurated on another at once. There is no flood water to speak of. the tides being the only element to consider. Cross Island of 7,500 acres in Vallejo Township and Napa County has been successftilly reclaimed and produces immense crops of barley and hay. Island No. i lying between Cross and Mare Islands is also reclaimed. These tule lands produce abundant- ly and will be largely planted to asparagus, a most prolific and profit- able product. Vallejo Township includes the St. John (|uicksil\er mine, which has produced over half a million in cjuicksilver and which has recently been re-opened and, with a large area of unexploited cinnabar ledges, promises to yield untold wealth. An institution well worthy of consideration is the Good Temp- lars' Home for Orphans, located on a commanding site overlookino- the City of Vallejo and the waters beyond. Here 250 little ones, whose being "homeless orphans"" is the only passport demanded at its ])ortals, are cared for, and reared on lines of truth and righteousness. They are provided for till fourteen years of age. The home was established and maintained by the Independent Order of Good Temp- lars, but was placed on a permanent financial basis through the be- cpiest of the late E. I. Upham, of Collinsville, being the noble monu- ment far surpassing any structure of stone or bronze. The insti- PLACES OF WORSHIP, VALLEJO, SOLANO COIXTV tution IS admiral)!}- conducted, and is aided by residents of all sections of "^olano and neighboring counties. In this township a few miles from the cit}' are the \'allejt> White Sulphur Springs, a most popular health pleasure resort. It has an excellent hotel, cottages, clubhouse, pavihon, lake, and ail facilities for pleasure and health seekers, and enjoys a large patron- age during the season from May to November. It has telephone service and a regular stage connection with all boats and trains at Vallejo. CITY OF VALLEJO. The City of Vallejo is Solano's metropohs. Its population is about 12,000. The city has a charter framed by its citizens. The water system, owned by the municipality, is worth $1,000,000 and furnishes a bountiful supply of pure, fresh water, the storage rese'-- voir being in the mountains fourteen miles distant. There are over twenty miles of pipe in the distributing systems. The rates to con- sumers are about one-half those paid elsewhere, yet the revenue from this source pays all expenses, the sinking and interest funvl demands and leaves a surplus which grows larger as the payments on maturing bonds are made. One-half the original bonds have been paid off. and two new issues for improvements have been made. The city property, including six fire department houses and apparatus. City Hall, Public Library building, public wharf, and five school buildings, is worth $125,000 beside the water system. The entire business portion of the city has been paved with bitumen at a cost of $100,000 to property owners. There is a regular police force and letter carrier service. The public library, containing- 6,000 volumes of which forty percent are works of fiction and the balance reference and statistical works of all kinds, is housed in a new stone building erected by Andrew Carnegie at an expense of $20,000. and ecpiipped at a further expense of $3,500 to the city. Files of all standard maga- zines and all the leading California newspapers are kept in the read- ing rooms, SCHOOLS. l^he public schools include a high school and elementary grades in fi\e buildings, while an additional school is maintained at the ( )rphans' home. The corps of teachers number thirty-five and the annual expenses approximate $35,000. A feature of the system is a night school, where fifty young men and women, wlio work during the day for a livelihood, are enabled to obtain an education. The dav pupils number 1400 of all grades. The high school is fulh' accredit- ed by both great universities and the standard of the schools through- out is as high as any in the State. Beside the public school a day school is maintained at St. \'in- cent's Convent, where 450 boys and girls are taught by a staff of 84 CARNEGIK PUBLIC LIBR^^RY, VALLEJO, SOLANO COUNTY. eleven Sisters, with one lay assistant. The course of study takes twelve years and is identical with the public school course, includiuQ- the high school, with special instructions given in stenograph}-, music and drawing. The municipal assessment roll of Vallejo amounts to $3,500,000. The tax rate is below $1 on the $100, and will be reduced as the su:'- plus from water revenues increase. The city owns a wharf, insuring competition in shipping rates, beside adding to its revenue. Streets are completely lighted by a system of ninety-five arc lights. Com- mercial lighting is provided by electric and gas corporations, rates being very reasonable for all domestic purposes. Vallejo is one of the healthiest cities in California. An elaborate sewer system is maintained, while cool, fresh breezes from the bay are conducive to both health and comfort throughout the year. The death rate is among the lowest of any city reported in the United States statistics, and in some years has been the lowest of all. Resi- dence lots cost from $100 to $3,000 and business property from $20 to $400 per front foot. Rents for dwellings range from $8 to $50 per month, and store rents from $10 to $100 per month. Building opera- tions are active and there is an excellent opportunity for investments. The determination of the Government to make Mare Island Navy Yard a shipbuilding as well as a repairing plant assures permanent employment to a much larger force of rnen than at present and bids fair to more than double the population of Vallejo in a decade. The transportation facilities of Vallejo are excellent. It is on the line of the Napa Valley and Santa Rosa branches of the South- ern Pacific Railroad Company, has an electric railroad to Napa, which will be extended to Benicia and also to Lake County, and has two lines of steamers to San Francisco, one making six round trips daily, in connection with the electric road, beside a service of five round trips daily by rail. On an hour and thirty minute schdule the Monti- cello Steamship Co's. steamers make six round trips in connection with the electric road and travelers are assured of every ease and comfort with a choice of routes. Vallejo has three daily newspapers and one weekly. The churches include the Baptist, Catholic, Episcopal, Methodist and i'resbyterian denominations with attractive edifices, and a congrega- tion of the Christian denomination which holds services in a hall. One theatre runs continuously and one at frequent intervals. A splendid institution is the Naval Branch of the Y. M. C. A., a club- house for enlisted men, founded by Admiral and Mrs. B. H. McCalla. and furnished with every facility for the comfort and pleasure of "Jack ashore." The building and equipment are worth $100,000 and is fully occupied at all times. The Vallejo Yachting and Rowing Club has a handsome clubhouse on the water front, where \'isiting yachtsmen are royally entertained. Two banks do a very large business. The fraternal organizations of Vallejo form a roster of the great 86 beneficial societies. The Odd Fellows own two halls and have five l)ranches including the Patriarchs Militant and Rebekah Degrees. The Masonic fraternity owns its hall and has all five lodges from the Commandery down, there being two Blue lodges and chapter of the Eastern Star. The Redmen own their hall, there being a prosperous Gi Pen Valley Waier Falls, Owned by the City of Vallejo. Solano County, McMillan Photo Source of Vallejo's Great Water Supply. tiil^e and two councils of the I'ocahontas Degree. The Eagles main- tain their headquarters under lease and the Elks have a handsome club home. Forestry has three branches, each with a companion degree. The Knights of Pythias. Uniform Rank and Rathbone Sis- ters are three flourishing bodies. The Native Sons and Native Daughters, Young Mens" and Young Ladies' Institutes, Knights of Columbus, Druids, Workmen and Degree of Honor, Maccabees and Lady Maccabees, Woodmen and Women of Woodcraft and other fraternities, the Grand Army of the Republic, Women's Relief Corps, Ladies of the G. A. R., Naval Veterans, United Spanish-American War Veterans and affiliated societies of those who have served the flag are numbered among the organizations, all of which do much to build up the social life of the community. Mare Lsland is the principal factor of employment, yet Vallejo has other notable industries. The Starr Mill with a capacity of 2500 barrels of flour and 1,000 sacks of crushed barley daily, does an im- mense business, exporting flour to Europe, Mexico, Central and South America, Hawaii, the Phillipines, China and Japan. Its local field goes throughout California and into Nevada and Utah. The wheat is bought in all sections of California and the Pacific Coast, and handled on both practical and scientific lines, so the flour pro- duced is of the most accurate standard known. Every lot of wheat milled is first tested from grain to bread, and the standards recpiired in each of the varied markets of the mill are met. All grain is handled by power in and out of the irAW. which has its own electric ])lant, power being generated on the premises. Crude oil is used for fuel, and the cost is as cheap as in any steam plant in California. A great cpiantitv of crude oil is also sold for fuel and road purposes, am]ile facilities for handling it having been installed. The high value of the i)roduct of this mill is shown by the large numl:)er of brands made to order for ])atrons throughout the world. Quantities of flour are sold annuallv to the I'nited States Armv and Xavy, meeting the most severe tests. A sjjecial moisture and air proof package origi- nated in this mill has caused a heavy demand for its product for ship- ment. Abt)ut fifty men are given steady employment the year round. The Engelbr Wiese Packing Establishment exports salmon to Germanv, where it is smoked. The fish are gathered by tenders and cleaned, i)ickled and shipped in cooperage in cold storag^^. PTom twenty-five cars upward are shipped each year, the value being x$i40,ooo. An ice plant in connection with the establishment meets the local demand for this commodity. The tannery o])erate(l by the \'alleio-Santa Rosa Tanning Com- ])anv has an outjnit of 50,000 sides a year, beside finishing the output o:' auxiliary tanneries. Its equipment is unexcelled in the State, and its product brings the highest price. Special devices to facilitate work and improve the quality of the output are in use. The tannery employs from forty to fifty men. The Vallejo Cement Block Company, manufactures artificial building stone, and gives emplo5'ment to a dozen men. It is a new industry and promises well. Another small industry that advertises Solano all over the world, is W. F. Henry's manufacture of man 'o war views. A business that has grown from 1,200 orders in 1900 to 17,000 in 1904, giving constant employment to several hands. ( ITV "K VAl.LKJO LOOK H^y^/^tm^ u.:^3.^\t^ '*~«.-s;v^ .T»*# X .v:^! NOltTIlERX AIMHTIOX To VALl.K.Hi. WHIC ■BatiiHMi.'v^r*' '^-^bN^^^aut^uM ^ROM MAKE ISLAND NAVY YARD ND WAS A WHEAT FIELD FIVE YEARS A(i() The Aden Company has a planing mill and luml)er yard, employ- ing- from sixty to one hundred men and enjoying a large patronage in Solano, Napa, Lake and Sonoma Counties. The hcackiuarters of the Piper, Aden, Goodall Co. steamers are at the shipyard of this company. Vallejo has a steam laundry employing sixty hands, three l)rew- eries with a combined output of 10,000 barrels annually, four bottling works that put up 50,000 cases of lager beer and two carbonated RIOT OF APRIL ROSKS IN BLOOM, VALLKJO, SOLANO COUNTY water factories producing 65,000 dozen yearly. A large number of men are employed in these establishments. ( )ther industries include a large machine shop and a stone yard with appreciable outputs. A. considerable business is done in dressed meats, three establishments sending carcasses worth approximately $150,000 a year to San Fran- cisco. MARE ISLAND NAVY YARD. Mare Island Navy Yard, drawing its labor supply from Vallejo, is the largest government institution west of the Mississippi River. Its equipment has cost over $12,000,000, including a splendid granite dock, which has been in use twenty years with no expense for re- pairs. A larger dock is now being constructed. Scores of brick and steel buildings are occupied by the 2,000 workmen employed. The Ordnance department and magazines are the supply headquarters for the United States Pacific and Asiatic tieets, as are also the marine barracks and medical departments. Splendid facilities for the repair of all classes of vessels are available, and a modern building slip and complete equipments are about to be installed for building the collier "(Ontario'" recently ordered by Congress. Hundreds of ships have been repaired for the Navy, Loast Survey, Light House, Revenue and Army Transport services and for foreign governments, while thi vessels built include the Mohican, Monadnock, and Intrepid, the tugs Monterey, Unadilla, Pawtucket and Sotoyomo, and numerous smaller crafts. Nearly all the war vessels built at the Union Iron Works received their boats and e(|uipments from Mare Island. Three of the vessels which won the great battle of Manila Bav under Admiral Dewey — the Boston, I5altimore and Petrel — had been thorough! v overhauled and prepared for duty by mechanics at Mare Island, while every shot fired from the main batteries of the fleet on that memor- able occasion was prepared at the Mare Island magazines. This '■^-lablishes the claim that the standard of workmanship on the Pacific is higher than in any other industrial establishment on the Pacific Coast. The mild climate enables the men to work in the open air the year round, this fact alone enabling Mare Island to successfully compete with Eastern yards where progress is retarded by excessive heat in summer and cold in winter, sufficiently to counteract the higher wages paid here. In this respect Mare Island may justly be termed a workingman's paradise. The pay roll is over $5,000 a dav, exceeding $1,500,000 annually, while vast sums are expended for material and supplies. The yard plant includes electric power stations and every arrangement for comfort and convenience of the workmen as well as the officers and enlisted men and other residents of the island. « BENICIA TOWNSHIP, Adjoining \"allejo township on the east is Benicia Township, a fertile section including two ranges of hills with a beautiful valley between them and extending into the marsh lands of Suisun Bay. It contains over 20,000 acres of farming land, much of which is devot- Tapes, fifteen pci cent pears, ten per cent apricots, three per cent cherries and two per cent miscellaneous. The percentage of cherries, is increasing owing to the high profits. I'lums will bring an average of $1,250 per car and other fruits average $1,000 per car. The shipment of fruit is mainly in the hands of five large con- cerns, though each grower's product is treated as an individual con- signment, and sold as a unit. This gives those who use the greatest care in packing the best returns, the appearance and condition of the fruit being the factors in the price obtained. The cars are routed to avoid competition in the eastern markets, no greater quantity be- ing sent to anv locality than can be disposed of to the best advant- So large a quantity of the fruit being sold in the east the pro- ceeds are largely affected by the local crop on the Atlantic seaboard. Should that portend serious competition with the Vacaville product the growers refrain from shipping, and dry their fruit. The fruit being non-irrigated carries a minimum degree of moisture and the evaporated product averages from sixteen to fifty per cent of the ripe fruit in weight. The record for 1902 was 450 carloads of dried fruit, aggregating 6.750 tons, of which approximately one-third were French prunes valued at $900 per car load, one-half were apricots and peaches worth $2,100 and $1,800 per car. and the balance mixed fruits and nuts worth $1,500 per car. It will be seen that this im- mense output disposed of an even greater volume of fruit than the fresh shipments. In addition to these aggregates were about 100 car loads of fresh fruit sold in California and the northwest and probably thirty or more carloads of select fruit sold to canneries. The handling of this immense volume of fruit requires a great army of workers, and the fruit season adds at least 5.000 souls to the population of Vacaville township. Men. women and children receive good wages for easy work. White labor is preferred to Chinese and Ja])anese when it can be obtained, and the leading men of the community have taken steps to induce white people to spend the fruit season in this section where ideal conditions enable them to combine pleasure and ])rofit during the smnmer. VACAVILLE. The town of Vacaville is beautifully located in the heart of \'aca Valley. It is a rich community, with s|)lendid schools and churches, and all that goes to make residence desirable. There is a town government, good volunteer fire department, public librarv. splendid public school housed in a brick building, and emploving six teachers, a Union High School with a stafi^ of five teachers, fullv accredited by the State University. \A'ater is pumped from wells by a private cor])oration. and electric lights are sui)])lied from the Dav Counties 46 Power lines. Dwelling lots cost from $ioo to $750 and dwellings rent from $5 to $15 per month. Business lots are worth $40 a front foot and store rentals range from $15 to $50 per month. Building- operations are active, the community having a greater proportion of handsome homes, surrounded by semi-tropical gardens, than any other place in the comity. Buck Avenue, the leading residence street, would attract favorable comment in a city of 50,000 population. Vacaville has handsome churches occupied by the Advent, Bap- tist, Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian and Christian denominations, while an Episcopal Mission is maintained in I. O. O. F. Hall. The leading fraternities are well represented. Masonic bodies include blue lodge, chapter and commandery, and a chapter of the Eastern Star. The Odd Fellows have subordinate, encampment and Pebekah degrees. The K. of P., N. S. G. W., W. O. \\'., and AV. C). W. have branches here. The Ulatis Club, a social organization bas commodious quarters for the pleasure of members and guests. A steam laundry and bottling works are included in the town's in- dustries, while a prosperous bank and many attractive mercantile establishments do a large business. The Steiger rock quarry north of town, has a crushing plant with a capacity of 125 tons daily. The roads throughout the township are kept in excellent condition at ail times. TRAINING SHIP INTREPID, BUILT AT MARE ISLAND, SOLANO COUNTY COUNTRY SCHOOLS. Beside the excellent schools in Vacaville, there are eleven district schools in the township, where the primary and grammar grades are taught, the pupils, after completing their studies there, being eligible for entry into the high school. The splendid educational facilities of this section will compare favorably with similar institutions any- where. SILVEYVILLE AND TREMONT TOWNSHIPS. Northern Solano is composed of these townships, which are a part of the Sacramento V^alley. The northerly line of each is Putah Creek and they extend southward for miles along stretches of roll- ing and level land of great fertility, producing heavy crops. The belt of land adjacent to Putah Creek is a rich sandy loam, in which fruit trees and vegetables thrive and produce remarkable crops. To the southward of this is the "Dixon Ridge," in reality a former bed of Putah Creek. This is a rich sediment land and has a high value for all purposes. Great acreages are planted to grain in both town- ships, which lie side by side. From a belt from six to eight miles south of Putah Creek are sold great quantities of almonds, apricots, peaches, prunes, pears and grapes, while citrus fruits are raised in commercial quantities. The orange crop on the Currey Place in this tract has never failed. This section raises the finest tomatoes in California, averaging twenty-five tons to the acre. They are put up at the Dixon cannery, where it is not an unusual thing to add water to them when cooking, so firm is the natural product. There is .• constantly increasing area devoted to alfalfa, which is irrigated from wells. The water is found in unlimited quantities at a slight depth and is raised by electric pumps. The land yields five and six crops per year, the aggregate making ten to twelve tons of hay per acre. The dairy interests keep in close touch with the subdivision of the larger tracts of land and the increase of alfalfa and irrigation. Though northern Solano has two townships, the business center is the town of Dixon. The other railroad stations and shipping points are Tremont and Batavia. The princi])al grain crop in the entire section is barley, which is farmed with the best modern labor- saving machinery. The yield averages twenty-five sacks to the acre. The yearly shipments are 8,000 to 10,000 tons of grain from Dixon, 6,000 from Tremont and from 5,000 to 7,000 from Batavia. Maine Prairie is a water point on Montezuma Slough to which grain is hauled in large quantities from these townships and shipments of 16,000 tons of grain per year are made. The aggregate has been as high as 20,000 tons per year. The land throughout Silveyville Town- ship is very rich and this township has the highest assessed valuation in the county. Tremont is also a rich section, the southern porti-.n being a heavy adobe soil especially adapted for grain. The extreme eastern border is adjacent to the Yolo Basin, and is damaged at times by high water. The completion of the reclamation scheme for the Sacramento River will obviate this and the land in question will be extremely valuable. DIXON. The town of Dixon is an enterprising- little commnnity on the main railroad line. It has a town government, and a light and water corporation affording adequate supplies of both facilities. The line of the r.ay Counties Power Company passes through the town furnishing power to all industries. The population is about 1,000. There is g'ood fire protection, rents are very reasonable, from $5 to $15 for dwellings, and from $15 to $100 for stores. Dwelling lots are worth from $100 upwards and business property $125 per front foot, (iood elementary schools and a high school afford educational facilities. Fraternities are- well established, the Masonic bodies in- cluding blue lodge, chapter and Eastern Star. The Odd Fellows and Rebekahs have s'olid branches. There are K. of P., W. C). W.. ^^^ (). W., A. O. U. W., and F. of A. There are three fraternal halls. A bank with a capital of $500,000 does a good business. Hie tax rate is about sixty-five cents for municipal purposes. Licjuor licenses are M^75 ptM- ([uarter, others being nominal. A feature of this section of the county is the telephone systems which center in Dixon. Every farm for miles is connected, the original lines having been simply liarbed wire fences, llie telephone system covers an area of fifty miles and more in extent reaching a long distance into Yolo County. A pleasing element of life in Dixon is an excellent brass band, which gives frecpient air open concerts. The industries of the place are extensive and include a canner>', creamery and fiour mill beside grain warehouses, machine shops, l)ottling works, and several large mercantile establishments. : The Foster Cannery has an annual pack of 25,000 cases of tomatoes, 15.000 cases of peaches, and 10,000 cases of apricots. The management contracts for the planting of at least 200 acres of tomat- toes annually and receives cpiantities oi fruit from other sections. About 200 hands are emi^loyed for about fi\e months in the season. The out]^ut of this cannery is sold to a great extent in ( )regon and Washington. The Dixon creamery has a yearly ()ut])ut of 300,000 pounds of butter, and distributes $60,000 to the dairymen each year. The butter is giltedged, and is all handled by one of the largest retail firms in San I'rancisco, the creamery always getting above the market price. The Inisiness is increasing yearly in every respect. The concern is owned by local capital. The Dixon flour mill lias a capacity of fifty barrels of flour and a carload of crushed barley daily. It supplies the local market for a wide area and also ships flour and feed as far as Xewada. The shipments from Dixon include a great (piantit}- of earlv vegetables and eggs, fifty cases of the latter being sent daily in sea- son. There are only half a dozen exclusive poultry farms in the \icinit\-, but the large margin of j^rofit has led a number to take it up and the l)usiness promises to expand very rapidly. Every year there are twenty-five carloads of dried fruit and ten carloads of almonds shipped from Dixon. A large portion of the out- put of this prolific section is hauled to Winters and Davis, towns located just across the liiie in Yolo Comity. The largest almond growers iu Tremont township belong to the Davisville Almond As- sociation and their product is sold at that point. Fifteen carloads of melons raised every year on the bottoms south of Putah Creek, are sold in Yolo County. CLIMATE. The climate of this section is superb. The north winds which cause some detriment in the Sacramento Yalley are spent by the time they reach Dixon, and have only the beneficial effects of drying up moisture that would otherwise cause rank vegetation and malarial conditions. The nights arc cool, moist bay breezes insuring an equable temperature. In harvest time, the moisture from these winds, with the reduction in temperature, forms a heavy dew. so that harvesting cannot begin until the sun has been up several hours. The Dixon churches include handsome structures of the Baptist, Catholic, Lutheran. Methodist and Presbyterian denominations, all of which are well sustained. In addition to the excellent graded schools of Dixon there are ten district schools in Northern Solano, seven being in Silveyville and three in Tremont township. ELMIRA TOWNSHIP. Occupying the central section of the county, Elmira Townshi]) has a variety of resoinxes. It comprises forty-five square miles, all uplands. The soil varies, that portion adjoining \"acaville being re- markably fertile, while the eastern portion of the township is devoted to grazing. Splendid crops of barley are raised in this section, while the town of Elmira is the great wool center of the county. $75,000 worth of fleeces being shipped from here annually. Dairying is ex- tensive, the cream being sold at Dixon and Benicia. A great amount of poultry and eggs are raised in this section and 100 carloads of hogs are included in its annual output, i.ooo tons of hay and 3,000 tons of barley are shipped from Elmira, while a considerably larger por- tion of the crop is moved by water. The town of Elmira is a pros- perous little community, being the junction of the A^aca Valley and Southern Pacific railroads. It has a good school. Catholic. Christian and Methodist churches administer to the needs of the residents. The fraternal societies include Masonic. Odd Fellows, and Independent Foresters organizations, the membership extending to the farming section that is tributary to the town. Elmira Township is not thick- 1}' settled as some portions of the county, yet four district schools are maintained in addition to the scliool at Elmira. DENVERTON TOWNSHIP. This section of the county, sixty square miles in extent, is a vast farming and grazing section, on vvdiat is known as "the plains." It is mainly level, though its southern portion is rolling land, the borders of the noted Montezuma Hills. Denverton is bound to at- tract a larger population, and offers special attractions to the home- seeker of limited means. The soil, in a great area, is especially adapt- ed to poultry raising, being gravelly with ample water a short dis- tance below the surface. There are some very large holdings in the township, vast flocks of sheep and large herds of cattle being owned here. There is a shipping point on Nurses' Slough at Denverton. where is a brick warehouse, in which about 16,000 sacks are stored and shipped each year, being hauled from the adjacent ranches. Denverton township has ample school facilities, there being four schools within its confines. MAINE PRAIRIE TOWNSHIP. This township, like the other central portion of Solano County, is purely a farming section, with large areas devoted to grazing. The township has an area of eighty square miles, of which approximate- ly one quarter is marsh land capable of reclamation. Montezuma Slough, a navigable water way, nnis through the township and af- fords shipping facilities at very reasonable rates. There are 10,000 acres in the township planted each year to barley, the yield running as high as twenty sacks to the acre. The shipments from Maine Prairie average 12.000 to 16.000 tons of barley yearly and have been as high as 20.000 tons, the value approximating half a million dol- lars. Of the sheep in the county fully twenty per cent are owned in this township, and the output of wool and lambs adds a large amount to the income of the owners. The township will gain materially from the realization of the reclamation plans, which are now under consideration in the county. Beside Maine Prairie, which has a shipping point and postoffice, the little village of P>inghampton. with a school, church, postoffice and stores, is the only settlement in the township. The telephone system extends throughout the section and communication is as easy as in a large city. The schools in the township are in P>ingham- ton and Maine Prairie. MONTEZUMA TOWNSHIP. The most noted grain section in all California, wdiere the best milling wheat in the State is grown, is the Montezuma Hills, whose bases are washed on the east bv the Sacramento River, and whose slopes on the south merge in the swamp land l^ordering Suisun Bay. These hills lie in Montezuma and Rio Vista Townships. The for- mer has fifty square miles of area, of which one-fifth is marsh land. The balance is wonderfully rich adobe, upon which wheat has been raised continually for half a century. These hills produce annually 50,000 tons of wheat, which is shipped from Bird's Landing, Meehan's Landing, Dadahni's Landing and Rio Vista. In addition every farm has much stock, cattle and sheep being owned in hundreds, and form- ing a substantial revenue in addition to the fortunes derived each year from cereals. Sheep do remarkably well. The flocks are graded, a large infusion of thoroughbred blood maintaining a standard which l^roduces the best results in wool and mutton. Montezuma Township has two towns. Bird's Landing is a pros- perous community, doing business for a large section. Here is located a handsome brick building owned by the local Odd Fellows Lodge. It is typical of the rich country surrounding it. Collins- ville is the other town, located at the mouth of the Sacramento River. It has a school, and Episcopal and Catholic churches. There is a Methodist church at Shiloh Landing. Collinsville is the shipping point for a large dairy business lying on the mainland, the dairies in the vicinitv having 1,500 cows. The output of calves, hogs, poultry and eggs is large, of the latter the average being ten cases daily. Collinsville is also a fishing center, many boats having headquarters here. About 400 tons of salmon, caught in the lower reaches of the Sacramento, are shipped during the year, there being two seasons. Both lines of steamers running on the Sacramento River make Collinsville a regular landing place, afifording communication both ways every day. A large acerage of fine bottomland near Collins- ville has been planted to asparagus, and quantities of this highly profitable grass are shipped during the season. RIO VISTA. The eastern borders of the county are marked by Rio Arista Township, past which the Sacramento River runs. An arm of that stream forms Ryer Island, which is a very rich tract of 12,000 acres, fully reclaimed, and a great factor in the wealth of the township and the county. Rio Vista Township includes a portion of the Monte- zuma Hills, and also many thousands of acres of river bottom land, which will increase greatly in value when permanentlv protected from the overflow of the river. Local levees have been Iniilt, but the water from the Yolo Basin, wdiich leaves the river one hundred miles to the northward, causes the trouble. The remedy is only a matter of time, the L^nited States and State authorities having taken steps to rectify the channel of the stream. Rio Arista is a great shipping point. The grain and wool from the rich surrounding country passes mainly through its three ware- Iiouses, The barle}-, boairs, potatoes and other prochicts of Ryer Island are shipped directly over the levees saving the expense of haul- in l;-. This township has a gross production exceeding two millions annuallv, the farmers working their places on the most approved lines. ha\'ing grain as a staple, but with thousands of sheep, hogs anrt I'UBLIC SCHOOL, RIO VISTA, SOLANO COUNTY cattle, gi\'ing a constant source of revenue the year round. Tlie river passes their doors, carrying milHons in freight every year from the entire Sacramento V^alley. Just across the river are the rich islands in Sacramento County — Sherman, Brannan and Grand Islands — which are tributary to Rio Vista in business afifairs. This com- bined area has a population of at least 10,000 and a value of many million dollars. It will make connection with the railroads by a line from Rio \^ista through Solano County, which will tend directly to the advantage of Rio Msta. RIO VISTA. The town of Rio Msta, with a population of 850 is one of the oldest in California, having been founded prior to the discovery of gold. It was originally located above what is now called Newton Landing, just north of the present site at the base of the Montezuma Hills, where the town was moved to 1862, after a disastrous over- flow of the Sacramento River. The municipality is an incorporated town, which owns the water system, the water being pumped from the river. A high pressure pump gives ample pressure to guard against fire. The town has an excellent public school, while St. Ger- trude's Academy, a private day and boarding school maintained by the Sisters of Mercy, has a State wide reputation. The course of study includes elementary and high school subjects, as taught in the public schools of the State, with a business college department. and special instructions in music, drawing and painting. There are thirty-two Sisters in the community, of whom eighteen are engaged in teaching. There are no boarders and seventy-five day pupils in the Academy, while an auxiliary department, situated a short dis- tance from the academy, has fourteen bovs receiving inctructions similar to those given the young ladies. The churches at Rio Vista are the Catholic, Congregational and I\lethodist. Rio Vista is a very prosperous town. Rents for dv-^llings are from $16 to $20 per month and store rents are from $10 to $50. Resi- dence lots cost from $150 upwards and business lots from $500 up- wards. A large lumber yard and planing mill, receiving cargoes direct from ocean going vessels, afifords material for ])uilding in a wide area both of Solano and Sacramento Counties along the river. The industries of Rio V'ista include a cannery operated by local capital. It has a gross capacity of i.ooo cases dailv and packs each year about ic,ooo cases of fruit, tomatoes, beans, peas and sweet corn valued at $250,000. The labor employed is secured from the vicinity as far as possible. Another industry is a tule factorv, where life preservers, packing mats, and cases are made from tule of a peculiar fiber. Iliis business is constantlv growing, a hundred men being employed in cutting the tule and manipulating it for the market in its various forms. A por- tion of the output is shipped to Euroi)e at regular inter\als. Rio \'ista has a machine shop capable of doing all ordinary machine work, and all the auxiliaries of a prosperous community. An excellent weekly paper is published and a bank adds materially to the business of the town. Its patrons extending o\'er a wide area. The climate is moderate, the heat of summer being modified by cool- ing breezes from the bay. Numerous handsome homes, with tropical plants growing in profusion, add to the attractiveness of the streets. The fraternal societies owning halls are the Masons and Odd Fellows in conjunction, the Native Sons of the Golden West and the Knights of Pythias. There are organizations of Rebekahs, the Rathbone Sisters and Eastern Star, a court of the Ancient (Vder of Foresters, and branches of both great Portugese Benoxelent So- cieties. The Rio Club has a well appointed club house and is a head- quarters for the progressive people of the community. Four district schools flourish in the township outside Rio \'ista. The water shipping facilities of Rio Arista are unexcelled. Three warehouse and wharf firms handls commodities of all kinds, the an- nual tonnage of grain being over 10,000, while much hay, flaxseed, wool and other products are shipped from these points. The gross shipments of fresh fish, mainly salmon, from Rio \ ista are 365 tons per year. Game is also shipped in immense quantities during the season, Rio Vista being the center for scores of professional hunter-^ and many other sportsmen, who get large l)ags in the slcnighs and o\-ertiowed lands. RYER ISLAND. Ryer L^land. one of the richest pieces of land in California, is in Rio Vista Township. It consists of 12,000 acres of delta land in the Sacramento River, and is protected by strong levees. Barley is grown on 7,000 acres, producing from forty to sixty sacks to the acre. Beans are ])lanted on 3.000 acres, yielding from thirty to forty-five sacks, averaging eighty-five pounds in weight, to the acre. Bartlett pears, peach and plum trees number 16,000. Potatoes average 230 sacks to the acre on 200 acres. The area planted to asparagus is 400 acres, and a cannery is under consideration to pack tlie succulent grass directly from the field, so it will lose non(^ of its crispness and flavor. The growth of flax and hemp has been carried on for years, the hemp growing to a height of sixteen feet and yielding 1,500 pounds of fiber to the acre. 'Idiis product is sent to Oakland to be made into baling rope, which is thirty to forty-five per cent stronger than ordinarv rope. The island has cross levees and good roads. It is a remarkable section, the land being always kept moist from the river, and a failure of crops is unknown. Sheep to the number of 16,000 are fattened on the island each year, being turned into the stubble and later into the 56 o^rain fields, this means being taken to prevent a too rank growth of grain. Wood Island, opposite the town of Rio Vista, has a shipyard where river steamers are built and repaired, many men being con- stantly employed there. GROSS VALUE OF THE ANNUAL PRODUCTION OF SOLANO CO. l'"niit $5,000,000 Grain 3.500.000 Hav 200,000 W'o-etables 1 50.000 Beans 250.000 Canned (Joods 600.000 Wine 1 25.000 Live Stock 500.000 Dressed M eats 1 50.000 Wool 1 50.000 Dairy Products 500.000 * Poultry and Eg-g-s 100.000 Building- materials 2,000.000 Leather 2.000.000 Flour 2.000.000 ( )ther manufactures 3.000.000 Pickled Fish 200.000 Fresh Fish 50.000 Quicksilver 100.000 Natural ( las 25.000 Wages etc.. in V. S. Arsenal and Xavv Yard 2.000.000 $22,600,000 Estimated OCT 33 1205 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 017 168 762 7 f^^ t^ CONCLUSION. The facts and fioures set forth in the precetHng- pages have been carefnlh' compiled and completely \-erified. The showing- t\)r the county is as surprising as it is gratifying-, and will prove instructi\-e to our own people as well as to outsiders into whose hands it might fall. To these latter we will say that Solano's hospitality fully ecpials her wealth, and that every inducement is offered to those who wish to come an-iong us and add to our citizenshij). There are numerous op])ortunities for those with capital, great and small, and for those who can contribute in energy and intelligence to the community. The foundation has been well laid, and those who cast their lots with us will find a section unrivalled in its natural advantages, and fully e(juipped in every way to make prosperous and hapi)y homes. t^ t^^ FROM THE PRESS OF THE VALLEJO EVENING CHRONICLE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS illlllllll 017 168 762 7 «