Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Father and Daughter Die in Separate Fires


I wish I had a photograph of Ernest Cerf to go with the following newspaper clippings. Descendants of Ernest Cerf, please send me a scan of a photo of him that I can share with everyone. 

Oakland Tribue, August 25, 1908

BIG FIRE SWEPT TESLA
Hotel, Coal Company’s Store and Other Buildings Are Destroyed

DEAD MAN IS WELL KNOWN IN CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO
            TESLA, Cal., Aug. 24. – A fire which broke out in the Tesla hotel late last night caused the loss of one life and the destruction of much property before it was extinguished.
            Ernest Cerf, manager of the Tesla Coal Company’s store, was asleep at the hotel at the time and was burned to death before help reached him. His residence was in San Francisco, where he leaves a family. His brother [should read his son], Marcel E. Cerf is a well-known attorney of that city. The hotel and several adjoining buildings, including the coal company’s store, a saloon and a few small residences, were consumed by the flames.
SWEPT THE TOWN.
            The burned property all belonged to the San Francisco and San Joaquin Coal company, for which concern Cerf was the buyer. The fire broke out at 3:30 this morning, and, despite the efforts of the volunteer fire department, burned itself out, destroying a considerable portion of the town, which depends upon the Carnegie Brick and Cement Works for its existence. It is believed that the property loss will reach $7500. It is understood to be insured. The buildings burned are the hotel and bunk house, saloon, butcher shop, ice cream parlor and pump house.
NO CHANCE TO ESCAPE.
            The fire causes no stoppage of activities, as arrangements have already been completed to house and feed the men.
            Cerf, who was sixty-five years of age, was asleep in the second story of the hotel. The frame structures burned like tinder, and he was unable to escape. The cause of the fire is unknown.


San Francisco Call, 26 August 1908

ERNEST CERF IS BURNED TO DEATH

Meets End in Blaze Which Destroys Hotel and Business
Houses in Town of Tesla

Flames Rage for Hours Despite Efforts of Volunteer Fire Brigade

            TESLA, Aug. 25.---Ernest Cerf, manager of the Tesla coal company’s store, burned to death in his apartments in the Tesla hotel at an early hour this morning by a fire which destroyed the hostelry, as well as a butcher shop, vegetable store and saloon adjoining, and started a grass blaze which raged through 100 acres of pasture land nearby and was not brought under control until nearly noon today.
            Cerf was awakened when the fire was discovered in the hotel and, rushing out into the hallway, held a short conversation with Dr. H. L. Swanger, who occupied apartments nearby. He returned to his room, presumably to attempt to save some of his property. Dr. Swanger and a chambermaid, who were the only other occupants of the hotel, escaped from the building after throwing a portion of their belongings out of the windows, but Cerf did not reappear, and in the excitement attendant upon the fire his absence was not noticed until it was too late to attempt to rescue him.
            His charred body was found in the ruins of the hotel when the fire had burned itself out. It is presumed that he was overcome by the heat and smoke in his room and fell unconscious before he could return to the open.
            Cerf was 63 years old. He is survived by a widow and eight children, who live at 2821 Steiner street. One of his sons is Marcel Cerf, a well known San Francisco attorney. Another is Cedric Cerf, a prominent student at the University of California.
            The oldest child, Charlotte, is a teacher in the Polytechnic high school, the second, Barry, is an instructor at the University of Wisconsin. The four others are Emile W., a mining engineer; Rebecca and Lorraine and Mrs. James A. Forster. Cerf was a native of Touraine [sic], France, and had been connected with the Tesla coal company for many years. His body was shipped to Oakland.
            The fire, which is believed to have been started from smoldering coals in the kitchen stove, broke out between 3 and 4 o’clock this morning, and burned for several hours despite the efforts of the volunteer fire department. The burned property all belonged to the Alameda and San Joaquin coal company. It is believed that the loss will reach $7,500. There was no insurance on the buildings.

Note: The town of Tesla is located in Corral Hollow Canyon, twelve miles southeast of Livermore and southwest of Tracy in Alameda County, California.


San Francisco Chronicle, Aug 26, 1908

Oakland Tribune, July 8, 1959

MISS CERF, 79, MISSING IN RESORT FIRE

            Miss Rebecca Cerf, 79, member of a distinguished California family, is missing and presumed dead in the fire that destroyed a Norwegian resort hotel June 23.
            Twenty-four tourists died in the Stalheim Hotel blaze.
            Miss Cerf, who lived at El Cortez hotel in San Francisco, left April 22 for a tour of Europe. Herbert Leland, San Francisco attorney who is a close family friend, said he has ascertained she was a guest at the hotel when the fire broke out.
            One of the survivors, Mrs. Sidney S. Kahn, 65, of 1880 Jackson St., San Francisco, said Miss Cerf rode in the same bus to the hotel and was staying in the same wing of the hotel. It was destroyed.
            Miss Cerf was the sister of the late San Francisco Superior Judge Marcel E. Cerf. Her nieces include Mrs. Charles Cushing, wife of a University of California music professor.
            A native of San Luis Obispo, Miss Cerf was graduated from the University of California in 1902. She lived for years on the family’s extensive ranch near Stockton. During World War I she served with the Army Medical Corps.
            She was active in charitable groups and a member of the Women’s Overseas Service League.
           
Oakland Tribune, July 12, 1959

REBECCA CERF DEATH CONFIRMED

            The death of Rebecca Cerf, member of a distinguished San Francisco family, in a Norway resort hote fire June 23, has been confirmed.
            She was earlier reported missing and presumed dead. Confirmation was received by attorney Herbert Leland from the U.S. State Department. No details were available.
            Miss Cerf, 79, was the sister of the late Marcel E. Cerf, San Francisco attorney and former Superior Court judge; the late Prof. Barry Cerf of Reed College, and the late Cedric E. Cerf, a Stockton rancher.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Ernest Cerf and a New Seaside City

Not too long after my family and I moved to San Luis Obispo, I read a newspaper column called "100 Years Ago" that mentioned the name Cerf.


The town mentioned in the article is now called Grover Beach, located just south of the town of Pismo Beach. The Huntington beach referred to in the article is now called Pismo State Beach. We'll find out later why the beach was called Huntington, but first let's take a look at what was going on.

Although it appears that a Cerf was involved in creating the town of Grover Beach, he wasn't the main person behind it. A 35-year-old lumber man named D. W. Grover from Santa Cruz, California, reportedly paid $22,982.20 to the founder of the city of Pismo Beach for the land where he envisioned a seaside resort area. He filed his paperwork for the new town with the County of San Luis Obispo on August 1, 1887.

Ernest Cerf became involved on December 29, 1891, when D. W. Grover and his wife transferred around 1,000 acres known as the Grover and Gates Tract to Nathan P. Carnall of San Francisco and C. J. Russell and Ernest Cerf of San Luis Obispo for the sum of $1. The deed specifies that grantees would act as agents to sell lots in the town within three years. The proceeds of sale would be divided as follows: 60 percent for mortgage and interest, 25 percent toward the sum of $40,000 due D. W. Grover, and the remaining 15 percent (plus any amount of 25 percent over $40,000 due D. W. Grover) is split 2/10 to D. W. Grover, 3/10 to Russel, 3/10 to Cerf, and 2/10 to Carnall.

Attached to the deed transferring the property were the following exhibits.



This is difficult to read, so I'll provide a transcription for this one as follows:


GROVER
THE NEW SEASIDE RESORT,
Pizmo Beach, San Luis Obispo County, California.

Along the Coast of California are many very pleasant Pleasure Resorts, but in beauty of location and natural attractions none can excel the new town of GROVER, on Pizmo Beach.
                The Beach is, without exception, the Finest on the Coast of California; with an average width of over 300 feet, and a length of 20 miles of hard sand, it forms a perfect, enjoyable and unequaled drive.
                A Grand Avenue 100 feet in width connects Grover with Arroyo Grande, a charming town on the Pacific Coast Railway, 1 ½ miles distant.  Newsome Hot Sulphur Springs is about 3 ½ miles, and in the opposite direction and at about the same distance the newly discovered Nichol Hot Springs are reached by good roads, the Scenery being of the richest and most interesting character.
                The Southern Pacific Railroad will pass through Grover, and will erect a Fine Depot at this point.
                This Road, when finished, will make the favorite through Overland Route, making through connection from San Francisco to Los Angeles.
                A New Hotel containing over 200 rooms, fitted and furnished with every known modern improvement, is in course of construction.  Thirty acres will be devoted to the hotel, and laid out in walks, drives, flower beds, etc.
                The climate is conceded to be the best in the world.
                The Prices obtained at other New Seaside Resorts, so rapidly advancing and eagerly paid by an ever increasing tide of Eastern people and those from our own State, sufficiently indicate the future of Grover.
                For a Delightful Home, Safe Investment, Quick Returns, and Large Profits, buy a few Lots at Grover.
                A Grand Barbecue on the grounds each day, Free to All.
                TERMS OF SALE—One-third cash, balance in two equal payments, due in six and twelve months, with interest at 6 per cent per annum.
EXCURSION TO ARROYO GRANDE,
Via San Luis Obispo, by Pacific Coach Steamship Company’s steamer “Queen of the Pacific,”
Monday, August 1, 1887…….at 2 P.M.
Round Trip Tickets, only $8, Good for Return until Aug. 10th.
By the Southern Pacific R. R. 4th and Townsend, SPECIAL ROUND TRIP TICKETS, $12.
WILL BE SOLD FOR TRAINS LEAVING ON
July 30th, 31st and AUGUST 1st, at 8:30 A.M.
GOOD FOR RETURN TILL AUGUST 6th, INCLUSIVE
Tickets can be obtained at Office, 321 Montgomery Street
Free Conveyance furnished from Arroyo Grande to Grover.
For Maps and further Information, apply to
C. C. THAYER, Auctioneer, 321 MONTGOMERY STREET, San Francisco.
Or SOUTHERN LAND & COLONIZATION CO., San Luis Obispo, Cal.
BACON & COMPANY, PRINTERS, SAN FRANCISCO.

(End of transcription)

The Cost of the Lots

The Deed specifies the cost of the lots. Lots in "Grover proper" were $100 per acre. Lots in blocks outside facing Grand Avenue cost $250. Corner lots were priced 50% higher, and inside lots 30% higher. Specifically, the Deed sets out some prices as follows: Block A $3,030; B $1,953; C $1,084, D $915, E $1,567; F $1,245, G 1,498; H $800; I $800; J $800; K $700; L $400; M $250; N $200; O $200; P $600; Blocks 76-94 $283 each; Blocks 108-114 and 52-58 $70/acre; Blocks 115-122, 133-141, 153-162, 44-51, and 20-24 $50/acre; Blocks 163-165 $40/acre; Blocks 18, 19, 25, and 26 $55/acre; and Blocks 16, 17, 27, and 28 $60/acre.  Clearly, not all lots were for sale; some may have been sold already. Here is the map that was filed with the deed (sorry, some of the edges were cut off).

West side of Grover Map


East Side of Grover Map

The Role of the Railroad

D. W. Grover and his agents were betting that when the Southern Pacific Railroad completed its track, the town of Grover would have a depot stop, thereby attracting more tourists and investors. On April 7, 1892, Ernest Cerf, et al., transferred land to Southern Pacific to be known as "Depot Grounds for the Town of Grover."  

An article in The Tribune reads: "On the first day of July, 1892, lots were advertised for sale in the new town of Grover located at Huntington Beach. 'It is a fact disputed by none,' the town's promoters wrote, 'that this is the finest beach on the coast, and it is the first point where the Southern Pacific Coast (planned) route . . . touches the beach.' The town of Grover was laid out with lots 100 by 120 feet on a slightly elevated sandy plain sloping toward the beach. With nothing built up between the town site and the water, every lot seemed to offer an open view."

The beach in front of Grover was originally called Huntington Beach, named after the principal owner of the Southern Pacific in an attempt to lure a depot stop in Grover. However, most of the large sweep of beach along the coast was already known as Pismo Beach.  The name of Huntington Beach never stuck.

Meanwhile, the agents actively promoted the sale of lots in Grover. Here is a composite of articles that appeared in the newspapers in 1894.


As you can see from the articles above, 400 lots were sold as of November 1894. The railroad track had not yet reached Grover by that date. It was in fact not completed until January, 1895. A short time before Southern Pacific had finally announced that the developing townsite of Oceano, just south of Grover, would be the site of the sought-after depot station. Land developer, R. E. Jack "paid for a spur track off the main line to the beach where Jack had arranged for the construction of a Victorian-styled pavilion to accommodate conferences, dances, and recreational activities. The new building was completed in August 1895."

What Became of Grover

According to the Grover Beach website, "The seeds of development didn't flourish as planned until . . . 1935." The first store and post office didn't open until the mid-1940's. Finally, in the 1950's, the town grew dramatically and continued to grow in the decades to follow. "The city now has a population of 12,650 residents (as of January 1999) and Mr. Grover's dream of a train station became a reality in November 1996 when Amtrak began rail service with two daily stops at a newly constructed train station."

References:

"History of Grover Beach, CA," Grover Beach, CA, March 18, 2012, website: ca-groverbeach.civicplus.com/.

Nicholson, Loren, Rails Across the Ranchos, Fresno, CA: Valley Publishers, 1980.

San Luis Obispo County Deeds, San Luis Obispo County Recorder's Office, San Luis Obispo, CA.

The Tribune, various dates.





Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Cerf Brothers were Gold Miners


San Luis Obispo County had a gold rush in 1877-78, and Ernest and Moses Cerf were in the middle of it. The gold mines of La Panza Grade, comprising claims that began as early as 1872, were located along the San Juan River where the San Jose Range of mountains joins the Santa Lucia Range. By 1877, somewhere between 250 and 400 miners, primarily Hispanic with some Chinese and Americans, were reportedly mining for gold in that area. They lived around the town of La Panza, now a ghost town.  Just over the summit from La Panza is the town of Pozo. The Pozo Saloon, built in 1858, is a favorite weekend destination for locals today, offering historical color and weekend music concerts.


La Panza post office and store in 1892.


Town of Pozo. 1870s. Road apples and all.    Pozo Saloon
Historical photo of Pozo Saloon.

On March 1, 1875, Ernest Cerf paid $800 to P. P. Louvell for the gold mining claims known as San Jose, Tres Amigos and Ivanhoe Tunnel. Then on January 23, 1877, Ernest Cerf and others sold several mining claims (San Jose, El Rincon, Tres Amigos and Ivanhoe Tunnel) for the sum of $1 to La Rinconada Quicksilver Mining Company. The Sacramento Daily Union reported on March 14, 1877, “Articles of Incorporation of the La Rinconada Quicksilver Mining Company.  Capital $1,000,000, in shares of $10 each.  Directors: Juan Castro, Hypolite Dallidet, Estevan Castro, L. Landeker, Ernest Cerf and P. P. Louvell.  The principal place of business will be in San Luis Obispo.”  The deed recording the $1 sale noted that Ernest Cerf owned 6,560 shares of La Rinconada.  At $10 a share, that’s a huge investment. I’ve learned that things aren’t always what they seem, so it’s possible I am missing something here. Probably he received the shares in exchange for the mining claims.

Why did Ernest transfer the rights to the claims instead of keeping them for himself?  In the History of San Luis Obispo County, California, the following information was found that might answer that question. “Gold has been found in the various gulches and creeks of the county. Specimens worth over $5.00 have been found at the head of the Santa Rosa Creek, and the placer diggings at San Jose and La Panza are sufficient proof of gold existing in paying quantities.  We have been informed by merchants here that over $100,000 worth of gold has been taken out of the two districts named during the past two years. Scarcity of water prevents the working of these mines during the summer months, hence the labor is confined to two or three months in winter and a little dry rocking during the summer. Competent engineers have examined the water system of the La Panza District, and say abundant water can be obtained within two miles of the mines, and by an investment of $10,000 can be conducted thereto. It appears to us to be a small risk and expenditure for a scheme that might prove of incalculable value to the projectors, and great benefit to our county. We draw the special attention of our readers to this probable source of profit.” (Angel 252-3)

How successful was the gold mining? Most miners averaged about $2.50 a day at a time when gold sold for $20 an ounce (Dart 46). The mine owners were optimistic, as we see in this quote: “...we have no hesitancy in asserting that good returns will be made from a proper working of these claims.  The present owners, Messrs.  A. Blochman and Co., have great faith in the future of this property, which is evidenced by the great watchfulness observed over it by them.” (Angel 251). And then published in the SLO Tribune on February 23, 1883:

On Monday last we were shown by Mr. Cerf, of Blochman and Co., a fine lot of several hundred dollars’ worth of gold-dust from the mines of La Panza, in this county. In the receipts of bullion at San Francisco, as reported annually by various statisticians, the name of San Luis Obispo never appears, and thus in the reports sent abroad, one—as many others are—of our important interests is neglected. Throughout the San Jose Mountains, between the Salinas and the San Juan Rivers, gold is found, and, where water is obtainable, can be mined with profit. On La Panza, Navajo, Montezuma, and other streams of that region, mining has been carried on quite extensively; and during the gold excitement of 1878-79 several hundred were engaged in washing for the precious metal. Numerous quartz veins have been found showing gold, but no machinery has been erected for crushing the ore. The gold is altogether obtained from the placers by cradle and sluice washing. The want of water is the chief obstacle to successful mining. The annual product, unless the drought prevents work, is about $10,000 of gold-dust annually; also some $60,000 worth of chrome iron ore, and possessing immense deposits of quicksilver, copper ore, gypsum, onyx, alabaster, and asphaltum. If San Luis Obispo is a first-class “cow county,” so is it able to take high rank in mining, as its mineral resources are of a wonderfully rich and varied character. (Angel 250)

In the end, the lack of water in the semi-desert area of San Luis Obispo probably ended the gold rush at La Panza. I looked for a deed showing La Rinconada Quicksilver Mining Company had sold its interests in the mining claims, but none was to be found.

References:

Angel, Myron. History of San Luis Obispo County, California, Oakland, CA: Thompson & West, 1883.

Dart, Louisiana Clayton. Vignettes of History in San Luis Obispo County, San Luis Obispo, CA, 1978.

Sacramento Daily Union, Vol. 3, No. 18, 14 Mar 1877, California Digital Newspaper Collection, http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cdnc.

San Luis Obispo County Deeds, SLO County Recorder's Office, San Luis Obispo, CA.