Sausalito Water: "The Sweetest on the Coast."
Monday, August 22, 2011 at 01:26PM by Annie Sutter
This story appeared in the Fall 1991 issue of the Historical Society Quarterly. It has been modified.
In the rolling hills of what came to be known as Sausalito, fresh water springs and streams were abundant. They poured down to the bay, creating marshes and watering holes visited by deer, elk, mountain lions and even grizzlies. The water was also enjoyed by Indians who built steambaths or "temescals' in their beach huts, some of which were in the little cove at the south end of Sausalito which later came to be known as Whaler's Cove.
The area was first mapped by Juan Manuel de Ayala of the bark SAN CARLOS in 1775 and named Saucelito after the willow trees on shore. Other ships' logs had it noted as South Salieto, San Solito, and finally as Sausalito. The word circulated by visiting ships said that Sausalito's water was the sweetest on the coast and was reputed to stay fresh longer than any other. Ships took on both wood and water at the cove beginning in the 1820s, and according to the log of Captain Beechey of the exploration vessel H.M.S. BLOSSOM, William A. Richardson, an English sailor who arrived in San Francisco in 1822, had a profitable little water business going at Whaler's Cove by 1827. Richardson made it easy for visiting ships to find the anchorage with the sweet water - he put out the word for ships to announce their arrivals outside the headlands by cannon, then his crew of Indians would paddle out and guide them to the anchorage. In the 1830s, a "traveler of the period", William Osborne, observed ships' crews throwing casks overboard, tying them together through the handles and towing them ashore "like so many sea serpents." They were lugged up the hillside, filled and rolled back down to waiting longboats. A tedious task, and doubtless one with high cask casualties.
The watering facilities soon were expanded. During the 1840s a cistern was built along with a series of flumes to carry water down to the beach. In "Historic Spots of California," written in 1937, we find an idea of what remained: "Captain Richardson piped water to a great cistern 30' square and 15' deep which he had dug for the purpose. From this cistern pipes were run on a trestle and thence to a boat, the WATER NIXIE, and transported to San Francisco and distributed by horse and mule-drawn carts for the price of fifty cents a bucket." Another account has the hull of the ship CORDOVA being put to anchor in the cove and used as a cistern to which ships' longboats repaired for water. In the 1850s Richardson had added two more boats to his fleet, to carry water and sell it in San Francisco. He also began selling oysters (125,000 bushels annually were reportedly shipped to the city), produce, horses and cattle. In the 1850s the cistern became known as "The Water Works", a business which changed hands several times until it became a part of a large land purchase by the Sausalito Land and Ferry Co. in 1868, which continued to sell Sausalito's "liquid gold."
This photo, c1852 was taken a few years after the whalers visited the shores at the cove to take on wood and water, when rudimentary buildings and piers had been built.
Courtesy Sausalito Historical Society.
Reader Comments (5)
Your article is nice, I read your article to learn a lot and hope to see your next article, look forward to your masterpiece, you can also see our information cheap gucci belts, I hope it can give you You some convenient.
cheap gucci belts
high swiss replica panerai watches
quality ,low replica rolex daytona
price, don't miss it ...belive Swiss Replica Watches
you can get it.breitling navitimer replica
Your website have very interesting article. I got knowledge from here. Besides that, your blog is so popular among the searchers from search engines. It means yours website is very goodAlarm Monitoring Houston [url=http://www.smithmonitoring.com/houston-security/]Alarm Monitoring Houston[/url]
The fake breitling watches will charge aliment because they are automated with abounding baby affective parts.There are new styles of replica tag heuer Formula 1 which are absolute adorable and popular. New styles of omega seamaster replica can be begin at the online store.
If you are not having abercrombie yet, check them out and own them now as were not so affordable ever before. You will not miss them out. Be it Christmas or Valentine's Day or any other special day that you would like to celebrate, a abercrombie and fitch uk gift would be just perfect for any occasion. Many people think of the perfect abercrombie uk to purchase for their loved ones. Even if you shop for your special occasion at the last moment, you are sure to find something nice at abercrombie & fitch sale. burberry gifts are not restricted to just your lover, you could also pick perfect for almost everyone, including your family and friends. What is so extraordinary and unusual when it comes to burberry uk is that you have an option to pick and select your own to be attached onto the of your preference. Just in the range of burberry outlet, it provides options of a standard or you could opt for the obsidian. Once you select the bracelet, then you select the charms to be supplemented onto the bracelet. You will have so many options to choose from the burberry handbags that it may just get very difficult for you to make a choice. Well the burberry sale are not limited to the use of bracelets; they can be used on as well. They can be easily hooked on to the burberry outlet store. So you have accessory which is versatile. One of things appreciated by it's fans is the versatility of burberry. To attach your special burberry uk there is a sterling silver link provided which can hold up to three charms. The good thing is that the burberry sale is easy to take on and off. So my suggestion to all of those who are considering buy michael kors as a gift for your loved ones for any special occasion would be to definitely check out their amazing. The collection is so huge and with lots of variety that you are sure to find michael kors bags for everyone. So your wait for a good piece of michael kors dresses ends with the variety offered. michael kors sandals is incredibly popular, and the collectable nature of these beautiful pieces of means that many people are searching for them online.