Solano, The Way It Was

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Slavery of Indians was common in California

In 1846, Frances Anne Cooper, who later married Benicia founder Dr. Robert Semple, left Howard County, Mo., with her family for California. The San Francisco Chronicle published her oral history of these years on September 9, 1900 in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of California statehood.

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Saturday, March 22, 2008

Suisun City’s Early History full of Drama

Suisun was a fast growing town from the 1870s to the 1890s. Loads of marble passed through Suisun from Judge Swan’s marble quarry located about seven miles north of Suisun at Tolenas Springs en route to San Francisco. A few of the old Suisun families had 40-pound clocks encased in the marble. The mineral water there was bottled and sold, along with sarsaparilla in the bars of the period. The Indians called the springs “The Land of Healing Water.”

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Sunday, March 09, 2008

Suisun’s early years ripe with growth, drama

From an inferno to a circus, city experienced a whirlwind of new things

In my last column, Suisun was incorporated and officers were elected in 1868.  By 1879, nearly 10 years had elapsed before the railroad traversed the tule marsh on the direct route to Benicia. Ballast hauled onto the soft peat ground sank from sight time after time, although hundreds of trainloads were deposited. The sink would appear to be filled and work on the track started again, when suddenly the surface would give way, and the tracks would disappear.

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Monday, March 03, 2008

Recounting women’s roles in early California

The story of how one family decided to embark on a journey to the West

Women played an important role in early Californian history. In 1900, California celebrated its first 50 years of statehood. The San Francisco Chronicle interviewed several prominent pioneer women and published their oral histories in an article on Sept. 9, 1900.

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