San Leandro Portals to Past History for Fun

Castro Valley sold for $400,000 worth of gambling debts! Castro Valley was part of the original 28,000 acre (110 km²) land grant given to Don Guillermo Castro, called  Rancho San Lorenzo . This land grant included  Hayward ,  San Lorenzo , and Castro Valley, including Crow Canyon, Cull Canyon, and Palomares Canyons.  Don Guillermo Castro - The San Lorenzo Land Grant Don Guillermo was born in California, then a Mexican possession in 1810. The son of Don Carlos Castro of Las Lagas Rancho. His birthplace was located near the village of Coyote in Santa Clara County along what is now highway 101.A career soldier, he served in the Mexican army as a lieutenant of militia at the pueblo of San Jose. In 1838, he was listed as a surveyor of government lands in San Jose, and it is about this time he acquired his land grant, roughly 28,000 acres, then known as Rancho San Lorenzo. This land included those areas we...

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

Daniel Best was San Leandros' original industrialist.  He is best know for the invention of the steamplow which eventually evolved into the Caterpiller Tractor earth moving machine.  Caterpillar was a large employer in SL.  The San Leandro Agricultural Plant was located on Davis just below the railroad tracts where the Gateway Apartments now sit.  The original entrance arch is still preserved there. San Leandro Agricultural Plant on Davis Daniel Best Bldg Estudillo Ave @ E.14th After Daniel died, his daughters sold land below Hayward Blvd (E.14th) where Dutton turns into  Best Ave.  Streets incorporated into this area are Best Ave, Cherrywood, Leo, Lafayette, Lorraine,  Great Starter neighborhood with 2-3 Bedroom Homes, 900-1400 Sf, $400,000 to $500,000.  Built between 1925 - 1938.  Lots of character and nice size lots.  Check out the currenty inventory or homes for sale in this area click this link  Best Manor, Farre...

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...

"THE BROADMOOR" Located in the famed garden belt, San Leandro was a great center of floriculture in the 1800's. Flowers grown here in orchards and hothouses were sweet peas, camellias, gardenias, orchids as well as cherry and apricot trees.  At one time it was a $10,000,000 industry supplying flora to places and events such as the Pasadena Parade.  The Oakland firm of Breed and Bancroft had been developing a tract, north of Dutton Ave, which they named "Broadmoor".  After a struggle to get all the land north of the creek annexed into the school district they formally opened the development in 1908. Street Names Breed 1908 Broadmoor 1908  Beverly 1908  Warwick 1908  Dowling Blvd 1908  Sunnyside 1920 Cambridge 1911 SAMPLES OF HOME STYLES IN the broadmoor   TO CHECK OUT ACTIVE/SOLD LISTINGS PLEASE CLICK HERE Broadmoor Manor Homes and Surrounding Areas Most of the homes were built in ...