The Journal of San Diego History
SAN DIEGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY QUARTERLY
Winter/Spring 2001, Volume 47, Number 1
Gregg Hennessey, Editor
Back to the article: Guide to the Public Records Collection
Front Cover: Office of the County Clerk, 1898. From left to right: Thomas J. Story, Robert C. Jones, William J. Story and Mrs. Baker.
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Back Cover: Recorders Office, 1962.
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Thomas Whaley House, circa 1875. Built in 1857 by Thomas Whaley, this house was the first two story brick building built in Southern California. Between 1868 and 1871 the structure was used by the County for Board of Supervisors meetings, County Court and the storage of County records. 18#B35
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Map of California showing changes in San Diego County boundaries
between 1850 and 1907.
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Allan Gray, County Recorder, moving records into the new
Courthouse quarters, 1962.
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Jose Estudillo’s Homestead Claim for his property
and house in Old Town, 1870.
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Will of Cave J. Couts, 1874.
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Will of Cave J. Couts, 1874, continued from above.
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Mechanic’s Lien between George Marston and the Coronado Beach Company binding each to pay half the cost to pave Orange Avenue in Coronado, 1887.
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Pre-Emption Claim of John Kerren for cultivation and grazing rights, 1868.
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Letter to the Board of Supervisors from the San Diego County
Fish and Game Protective Association asking for a bounty on mountain lions,
County Ordinances, 1928.
Monthly Report of the San Diego County Hospital and Poor Farm, January 1900.
City Hall 1909. This building, located on the corner of 5th and G Streets, was used as City Hall from the late 1890s until 1938, when the Civic Center on the Harbor was completed. It was originally built as a two story structure in 1874 for Consolidated National Bank, and the two upper stories were added in the 1880’s. In the late nineteenth century the building also served as the Public Library. Today it serves as a night club.
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Interior of City Hall circa 1900.
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Mayor Edwin M. Capps with Henry Ford and Thomas Edison at the Panama California Exposition, Balboa Park, 1915.
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Mayor Percy J. Benbough serving dinner to the City Council, circa late 1930s. Born in London England, Benbough came to San Diego with his family in the 1890s. He was appointed Chief of Police in 1931, but resigned later the same year. In 1935 he was elected Mayor, and in 1939 was reelected. He died in office in 1942.
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Mayor Percy J. Benbough with the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, J. Edgar Hoover, 1940.
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City Hall, City Auditor and Assessor’s Office, 1913. From left to right: Sidney Hill, H. M. Strong, C.E. Ellsworth, Col. Blodgett, C.K. Stout, Louis Klein Schmidt and H.L. Moody, City Auditor and Assessor.
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Mayor Pete Wilson with his staff, 1971.
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City Health Department Monthly Bulletin, January 1935.
This cover from the City Manager’s Annual Report of 1950 shows the Civic Center (County Administration Building) and emphasizes the centennial of the City, symbolically showing San Diego moving into the space age.
City Engineer’s Office, Calculating Department, during a less serious moment, 1888.
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A meeting of the Planning Department in the City Hall building on 5th and G Streets, 1937.
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Ed Fletcher, George Marston and John Nolen at Pine Hills in Fletcher’s 1906 Maxwell in 1907. It was during this outing that George Marston decided to pay John Nolen $10,000 for a long range plan for the City of San Diego. Marston later donated the plan to the city.
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Drawing envisioning the layout of an Administration Center and Entrance Portal according to the John Nolan City Plan.
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Santiago E. Arguello, circa 1850. Son of Santiago Arguello, San Diego Acalde and grantee of Rancho Tia Jauna and San Diego Mission Lands, Santiago E. Arguello was the third County Assessor in 1852.
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Portrait of Jose A. Estudillo, circa 1830. A major California land owner and holder of numerous government offices during the Mexican period, Estudillo was the first County Tax Assessor from 1850 to 1851.
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Dedication Ceremony for the Civic Center (County Administration Building) July 16, 1938. Designed by a team of architects, William Templeton Johnson, Richard S. Requa, Louis J. Gill and Samuel Hamill, the Civic Center stands out as a unique example of art deco public architecture and is listed on the National Register. It served as government offices for both the County and the City until the City moved its offices to the Community Concourse in 1964.
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President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicating the Civic Center and receiving the key to the city, July 16, 1938. The Federal Government played a major role in funding the Civic Center project. During the hard times of the Depression the people of San Diego were unwilling to approve bonds for its construction. Consequently, the City and County had to apply to the Federal Government and the Works Progress Administration for funding. Approval came in 1935 with the Federal Government covering eighty percent of the costs. Roosevelt had taken a personal interest in the project and had even toured the site when the project was in its planning phase. Therefore, when an invitation to dedicate the building was extended to the President, he gladly accepted.
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Hall of Records 1913. Located on Front and .C Streets, this building also served as the County Jail until a new jail was built, along with a new Court house, in the 1960s.
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Michael S. Julian and his wife in 1875. Georgia native and co- founder of the mining town of Julian, Michael Julian served as County Assessor from 1871 to .1873. He later moved to Long Beach and opened the Julian Hotel.
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Tax Assessment for Juan Bandini, 1850.
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Louis Rose, 1870. Born in Germany, Rose came to San Diego from Texas in 1850 and became a successful developer, businessman and politician. He was on the first and second Board of Supervisors 1853-55, a member of the Grand Jury in 1850 and City Trustee from 1852-53. He also served as a volunteer in the Garra Uprising and developed one of San Diego’s first subdivisions, Roseville, in Point Loma.
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Ephraim W. Morse circa 1890. A native of New England, Morse was a prominent businessman who ran a store in Old Town. He was also very politically active, having served on the first Board of Supervisors in 1853, as an Associate Judge in the Court of Sessions 1852-53, as Secretary of the City Board of Trustees 1853-56, as County Treasurer from 1861-63, and as School Trustee in 1866.
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Walter Bellon is shown here in the Stingaree red-light district when he was the Plumbing Inspector for the City Board of Health, circa 1915. He had worked for the Health Department from 1911 to 1921 and was instrumental in the clean-up of the Stingaree and Waterfront during those years. Later, he served on the Board of Supervisors for the First District from 1937-1943.
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This early Petition to the Board of Supervisors from 1869 concerns authorization of a wharf to be built at La Playa by Louis Rose. It gives the exact specifications, location and use for the wharf. This record series is an excellent source for information on the early development of San Diego’s infrastructure. Many petitions concern roads, piers, wharfs, ferries and bridges.
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Wharf at La Playa, 1898.
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Board of Supervisors Road Record Book 1, Page 1, 1877. This page lists the first road districts and their geographic boundaries. The Road Record series is a rich source for information on the development of county roads and highways.
George A. Pendleton with his first wife Conception Estudillo, circa 1860. A native of Virginia and graduate of West Point, Pendleton came to San Diego in 1855, and until his death in 1871, devoted much of his time to public service. He organized and served as the Captain of the San Diego Guards from 1856 to 1871, served as County Clerk and Recorder from 1857 to 1871 and was County Superintendent of Schools in 1862.
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This photograph of Philip Crosthwaite, taken for the San Diego Mason’s Lodge around 1880, shows him wearing a Mason’s badge and medal. He was one of the early founders of the San Diego Masons and was bestowed the honorary title of Charter Worshipful Master. Born in Ireland, Philip Crosthwaite came to San Diego from Philadelphia by accident in 1845. He had intended to go to Newfoundland, but instead found himself on a long voyage around Cape Horn to San Diego. After spending several weeks waiting in vain for a ship returning to the East Coast, he decided to make San Diego his home. Soon after his arrival he served in the Mexican-American War and was wounded at the Battle of San Pasqual. Yet, Crosthwaite is best known for the numerous public offices he held in San Diego. He was Alcalde in 1847, first County Treasurer from 1850 to 1852 and County Clerk and Recorder from 1852 to 1853. He even served for a short period in 1852 as Deputy Sheriff, during which time he helped to arrest and hang Yankee Jim Robinson.
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John T. Butler, County Clerk, 1915.
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Coroners Inquest into the death of Lottie Bernard (Kate Morgan) 1892. There are many theories as to how and why Kate Morgan was killed, but the Coroner’s Inquest concluded that she committed suicide by shooting herself. Adding to the mystery, many claim that her spirit haunts room 3502 of the Hotel del Coronado. Coroner’s Inquests are an excellent source for reexamining past questionable deaths, such as Kate Morgan’s.
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Office of the County Recorder, 1898.
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Office of the County Recorder, 1914. From left to right standing: H.F. King, H. Lytle, E.A. Woodward, T.F. Drummand, H.A. Ferry and John F. Ferry, County Recorder. From left to right sitting: N.C. Parsons and Mrs. E.A. Woodward.
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Cave J. Couts (center with hat) with his family at Rancho Guajome, circa late 1860s. Couts, a native of Tennessee and graduate of West Point, came to San Diego in 1850 as a Lieutenant with the Army’s First Dragoons. A year later he married the daughter of Jaun Bandini, Ysidora, and received Rancho Gaujome, near Oceanside, as a wedding gift. He resigned from the army and spent the rest of his life in San Diego pursuing business interests in ranching and running a hotel in Old Town. He also prolifically served in public office, having held the office of County Clerk and Recorder from 1854 to 1857, County Court Judge from 1853 to 1855, County Supervisor from 1856 to 1858, Judge of the Plains at Large in 1856, 1857, 1859, 1861, and 1864, and Judge of the Plains for San Luis Rey Township in 1862, 1863, 1868 and 1872.
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Brand Register: Brand of Louis Rose.
Mining Claims, Julian Mining District, Book A: Claim of S.S. Haines, 1870.
Himalaya Mine, circa 1905. From left to right: Bill Nelson, J. Artley, Jim Kinney and unidentified cook.
Agostin Harasthzy, circa 1850s. An immigrant from Hungary, Harasthzy arrived in San Diego in 1849 and became San Diego’s first Sheriff and Associate Judge of the Court of Sessions, 1850-51. He later moved to Sanoma County, where he established a winery and introduced the Zinfandel grape to California. He died in 1869 at his estate in Nicaragua.
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John Judson Ames, 1858. A native of Maine, Ames came to California in 1849 with the Gold Rush. He published San Diego’s first newspaper, The San Diego Herald, between 1851 and 1860, and was the second County Superintendent of Schools from 1857 to 1859.
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Presentation Drawing of the Russ School (now San Diego High School) by Architects Victor and William B. Stewart, 1881. Completed in 1882, the Russ School was named after local lumberman Joseph Russ, who donated all the lumber and covered all the material costs for its construction. The building burned down in 1911 and was replaced by a Gothic Revival style structure, known as the Grey Castle. AD P 1040-036
School Census Marshal’s Report for Poway School District, 1891.
San Diego County Superior Court House, 1913. This Court House building was built between 1890 and 1892, and was located on the corner of Front and D Streets (Broadway). Architects Nelson Comstock and Carl Trotsche were originally commissioned by the Board of Supervisors in 1889 to design wings to the existing court house, but it was determined that the structure would not support the weight. Consequently, the old structure was demolished and a completely new structure was designed in the Italianate Style. Completed in 1892, the building served as Superior Court and also housed the County’s administrative offices. It was demolished in 1961 to make way for another Court House. In 1996 the Hall Of Justice was completed, across the street from the 1961 Court House. It contains the original stained glass windows, one for each State in the Union in 1890. The Statue of Justice, above the clock, is currently housed in the Museum of San Diego History Atrium.
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Court of Sessions Case File: The People vs. James A. Loring, 1852. Loring was charged with Grand Larceny for stealing a boat, along with William Harney and James Robinson, also known as Yankee Jim. Although Harney and Loring were only sent to State Prison for a year, Yankee Jim was sentenced to hang for his crime. He was executed on September 18, 1852 in the Old Town Plaza. Yankee Jim has since become a legend in San Diego, mostly due to reports that he haunts the Whaley House.
Stone Jail in Old Town, 1893. Built in 1851 for Sheriff Agoston Haraszthy, this was San Diego’s first jail. It was only used for several years after its construction because prisoners easily dug under or through the walls to escape. It’s most notable prisoner was Roy Bean (then not using the title of judge). The ruins no longer stand. The site is on the City’s Historic Register.
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Judge Benjamin Hays, circa 1850s.
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City Justice Court, 1927. Depicted left to right: B.W. Bryant, Miss Amanda Quist, Paul Connors, Judge C.L. Chambers, Herman Allen and Mrs. G.M. Woods.
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Municipal Court, 1948.
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Municipal Court, court room of Judge Brennan, 1948.
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Court House, circa 1885. Built in 1872, this was the first Court House in “New Town” San Diego. The land was donated to the County by Alonzo Horton.
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Interior of Superior Court, circa 1890.
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Envelope from the stationery of Superior Court Judge William D. Pierce, showing Court House, Mission and San Diego Bay, 1895.
Court House employees, circa 1900. From left to right standing: Fred Hubon, Miguel Estudillo, unknown, John Simpson, H. H. Thomas and Le Roy Wright. From left to right sitting: unknown, unknown, Mrs. Thresher, Jonnie Meilke and J.H. Grovstein.
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Federal Building and Court House, 1916. Designed by architect James Knox Taylor, this building incorporates both Neo-Classical and Spanish Colonial Revival styles. It was constructed in 1912 and completed in 1913. Located on the corner of Union and E Streets, it was used for both the Federal Court House and Federal Offices, until another Federal Building was built in late 1970’s at the corner of Broadway and Front Streets. After being restored in the early 1990’s, it has since been used as a Federal Bankruptcy Court.
