San Leandro Portals to Past History for Fun

“It was in the year 1892 that the first trolley cars began to operate throughout San Leandro from Oakland to Hayward, known as the Oakland-San Leandro and Hayward Electric Railway.  It consisted of a one line track with wooden posts and cast iron extensions projecting out to hold the trolley wire. A year or two later, one bright sunny day, a gang of construction workers began to tear up our main street.  On inquiry, it was learned that they were about to install a double track system through town.  This the citizenry did not desire, claiming the street too narrow for a two-track line.  Quite a crowd gathered ordering the construction crew to cease work.   This they refused to do, and a battle took place right there – even throwing a rope over one of the trolley posts with the intention of a lynching party.                 The construction boss was put in the old town jail a...

Saturday, June 4, 2016 Parade (1 0-11 am) &  Festival  (11am-6 pm) Downtown San Leandro #SLCHERRYFEST It was a lovely time to be alive and the most spectacular sight of all was the cherry trees in blossom, thousands of cherry trees as far as the eye could see...There were little villas hidden in the valleys of blossoms." June 5, 1902 San Leandro hosted the 1st Cherry Festival.  Bessie  Best....was considered on the San Leandro's fairest maidens was chosen queen of the Cherry Festival.  The festival was opened with parades, flag raising and a 21 gun salute. An estimated 25,000 people attended and 15 tons of cherrys were given away!  This year on June 4, 2016, the 107th Cherry Festival will again celebrate the tradition. Come visit the San Leandro Historical Society Booth.  I'll be there between 1-3pm. Download the app on Google Play or Itunes

There are many fine historic homes in historic San Leandro that I will cover in a later blog.  This home, however, was the first of the grand residences. The Estudillo Home "In 1850 Señor Estudillo saw the completion of a fine family home, the Estudillo Home. Lavish champagne parties costing thousands of dollars were held in the stately home.  Eventually the home became part of St. Leander's Church and remained standing for almost one hundred years before it was torn down in 1949 to make way for the construction of St. Leander's rectory."* " Jose Joaquin Estudillo died at this residence on June 7, 1852.  Upon transfer of the county seat to San Leandro in 1854 the Estudillo home was offered for temporary use to the county.  During that period a fire broke out and forced evacuation of the court then in session.  To avoid any objection to the transfer to another location, Judge Hester is said to have reconvened the court as close to the origina...

I.H. Begier reported that one cherry tree on the Rindespacher place on Estudillo Avenue yielded 1100 lbs of fruit. In 1900 agriculture was still the mainstay of the San Leandro communiity. Cherry and apricot orchards furnished both local and eastern markets. The shipments to San Francisco in July 1901 were reported at 100 tons per day.....some fruit averaged but four to the pound. Mr. Begier planted rhubarb in 1902 and a year later shipped 40,000 rhubarb plants to Jersey Island on the Sacramento River. A 40-lb box of aspargus sold for 40 cents a pound and the first box of cherries shipped to Phildephia that year brought $22 for 10 pounds. Another crop of some importance was "horse beans" or "favas". At the end of th 1901 season M.M. Avelas reported having shipped 18 carloads of this crop to the east. Some 240,000 pounds also was reported as having been shipped to Cuba. In addition to the fruits mentionsed, currants, raspberries were raised in cons...

San Leandro Creamery Truck KANAKA ROW of San Leandro boundaries were: Pacific Street to the west, Alvarado Street to the east, Davis Street to the north, and Williams Street to the south. Kanaka Row derived its name from the nickname established Portuguese gave to Portuguese settlers from Hawaii. The other Portuguese enclave in San Leandro, Dutton Avenue, also known as Chicken Lane, is pictured c. 1890. Portuguese immigrants along Chicken Lane thriving chicken farms. Portuguese women often served their own chickens for dinner and crocheted to let down at night. Their hobby was also practical; many Portuguese women made tablecloths and other lace items to give as presents.  #KanakaRow #KanakaLane #ChickenLane #LittlePortugal Andrade standing on Dutton Ave (Chicken Lane ) 1890 Dutton Ave Area 1890 258 Dabner - Old Lamplighters House 1871 "The historical-architectural value of these properties lies in their combination as a "perio...

March 20, 2015 Robert S. Farrelly’s home was built in 1869 at Farrelly Drive & Oakland Road (E.14 th  St) Another Gold Rush squatter, Farrelly was a farmer from Pennsylvania who purchased a tract of land and began to develop it as a cherry orchard. & flower gardens.   He was one of the early shippers of fruit in 1891.  In addition to being located on a main route, there was a shipping station on the San Leandro Creek at Toler Road. The Farrelly home and orchard became one of the show places of the county  Mrs. Farrelly helped establish Broadmoor Mother’s Club in 1915.  The original site was at the corner of Breed @ Broadmoor. It is now located on the grounds of Roosevelt School.  The school property also host the Farrelly Swimming Pool and Farrelly Building which is on Dutton Ave (formally Chicken Lane) Mrs. Farrelly owned a property at the corner of Washington & Ward.  She donated it to the Masonic Lodge aka. Legion Hall....