read Third and West Third streets. In October, 1869, the Western Pacific and San Francisco Bay railroad companies were consolidated into a new company, with Leland Stanford, C. P. Huntington, Mark Hopkins, Charles Crocker, E. B. Crocker, E. H. Miller, Jr., and A. P. Stanford as directors, the capital being $10,000,000.

Subsequently the Western Pacific Railroad Company took formal possession of the local line and ferry. Extensive additions were at once made to the Alameda wharf for the temporary accommodation of the overland and interior freight, which was discharged upon lighters, towed across the bay and delivered to consignees at the Second and King street wharf, at which point freight for shipment on the road was also received, thus making San Francisco practically the terminus of the overland road as soon as the rails were laid to the eastern shore of the bay. With the constantly increasing overland, as well as local freight, the necessity for some more expeditious method of handling it soon became apparent, and the steamer Oakland was accordingly fitted up as the first car ferry-boat, carrying five loaded cars. Suitable slips were provided at Alameda and Second street wharves and freight was thus landed in San Francisco with but little delay and without breaking bulk. Meantime, work had been commenced at Oakland wharf with the view of extending it to ships channel, and providing suitable slips for the reception of the largest sea-going vessels, as well as for the boats in the regular passenger and freight ferry service. The length of this wharf when it came into the possession of the Central Pacific Railroad Company was about six thousand nine hundred feet, with a width sufficient for a railroad track and a roadway for teams, having at the terminus a single slip for the ferryboat El Capitan.

Communication with San Francisco was at a very early day kept up by means of whale-boats, one of which, the Pirourette, plied regularly as a ferry-boat between the embarcadero at San Antonio and San Francisco. On August 4, 1851, the court of sessions of Contra Costa county granted a license to H. W. Carpentier and A. Moon to run a ferry "from Contra Costa (Oakland) in the township of San Antonio, to the city of San Francisco," and fixed the tariff as follows: For one person, $1; one horse, $3; one wagon, $3; one two-horse wagon, $5; meat cattle, per head, $3; each hundred weight, 50 cents; each sheep, $1; each hog, $1.

In 1850 the Kangaroo was put on the route, but made only two trips per week, her point of departure being San Antonio (afterward East Oakland). A small steamer ran from Oakland in 1851 and in 1852, the Boston, and the Caleb Cope, Thomas Gray, master, commenced to ply. Towards the end of the year the Kate Hayes, the Red Jacket, and other boats were put on the route, until finally the Contra Costa Steam Navigation Company was established, with two steamers, making regular daily trips, and charging $1 for each passage. In 1852 San Antonio creek was declared navigable by the Legislature.

As early as 1852 a steam-ferry was established between Brooklyn and San Francisco, the pioneer steamers being the Kangaroo, Hector and Red Jacket; they were followed by the Contra Costa (which was afterwards blown up and several lives lost) and the Clinton of the Minturn line. In the year 1857 James B. Larue, believing that the rates of fare then charged were excessive and detrimental to the interests of the residents of Alameda county, became associated

with several others and established an opposition ferry line between Brooklyn, Oakland and San Francisco, under the style of the "Oakland and San Antonio Steam Navigation Company," its originator becoming president. Having purchased the steamer Confidence, from her was built the San Antonio, which made her initial trip in April, 1858. A general reduction in the rates of fare and freight ensued, one-half in the case of the former, and two or three hundred per cent in the latter. In the fall of the same year the Oakland was launched and placed on the line, and during the summer of 1859 a lively opposition was kept up by the rival boats. The enterprise did not pay as well as its promoters anticipated and a great majority of them were anxious to sell out. The California Steam Navigation Company purchased a large amount of the stock, and tried very hard to get the supremacy, thus Mr. Larue was forced to buy a sufficient amount to control the entire business or allow the whole scheme to fail; and, in doing so, he became largely involved. In 1862 the Oakland and San Francisco Railroad and Ferry Line was established, and the steamers were sold to them. But frequent and rapid communication with San Francisco and low fares and freights were established, which naturally increased the value of property.

In time several steamers were used on the creek route. One of these was the Express. She was run by Wingate, and made trips from San Francisco to Oakland and Brooklyn. The Chi-du-Wan was another stern-wheeler of small capacity, which was on the creek route in opposition to the regular ferry and to two small side-wheelers, the Louise and another, run by the Central Pacific railroad, all three making their landings at the old wharf at the foot of Broadway. The Chi-du-Wan carried passengers across for ten cents. The S. M. Whipple, also a stern-wheeler, did service on the creek route for a while.

In the month of March, 1865, the Contra Costa, or Minturn, ferry line of steamers was sold to the San Francisco and Oakland Railroad Company, and on April 1st that line was extended to Brooklyn.

In 1869 there was formed the Oakland and Encinal Turnpike and Ferry Company, an association of residents of Alameda, who were desirous of some cheap and expeditious communication with Oakland, so that they could make their purchases there instead of in San Francisco, and in order that they could. have the benefit of the Oakland day and night boats. They proposed a turnpike to the edge of the creek and a ferry across. E. B. Mastick, Charles Baum, Thomas Davenport, H. H. Haight, Charles Meinecke, Charles Minturn, B. H. Ramsdell, Henry Vrooman and C. H. King, were interested in this project. It finally became a law on June 21, 1869.

In 1865 the contract for the construction of the Western Pacific railroad, from San Jose to Stockton, was let to Cox & Meyers, and work commenced in the Alameda canyon in the month of June; while the grading of the San Francisco and Alameda railroad was completed to San Leandro in January, and the laying of the track finished in March, the first trip being made from San Francisco, by boat and cars, to San Leandro in an hour and a quarter. In April the contract for the completion of the road to Haywards was let to C. D. Bates and an opening excursion, free, was had August 25, 1865. On the 22d of March the Contra Costa railroad, to connect the San Francisco and Alameda railroad with Oakland and San Pablo was incorporated, but no work was done on the

proposed line. Company.

It was afterward carried out by the Central Pacific Railroad

In 1869 the great Overland railroad joined the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and all the country rejoiced in the accomplishment of this great feat. A most frightful railroad accident occurred on November 14, 1869 between the Alamedabound train on the Alameda railroad and the eastern-bound train on the Western Pacific railroad, about three miles below San Leandro. The Alameda train. consisted of a locomotive, one box car, three passenger cars, smoking car, and one express and baggage car. The Western Pacific train consisted of a locomotive, two express and baggage cars, smoking car, two passenger cars, and one sleeping car. Two cars were "telescoped" on each train. The telescoped cars of the Western Pacific train exhibited a more terrible sight. In one end of the car were about sixteen men, most of them dead, all injured, jammed and tangled with a mass of sticks, splinters, and iron. But two persons were killed on the Alameda train-the fireman and one passenger. On receipt of the news Oakland was thrown into a state of the most intense excitement. On Tuesday, the 16th, several of the dead were buried in Oakland. The funeral of Judge Baldwin took place from the residence of his brother-in-law, the Hon. J. B. Felton, and was attended by the Masonic fraternity and members of the bar.

A new freight ferry-boat, with a capacity for eighteen loaded cars, and additional room for sixteen car-loads of loose stock was built and ready for use as soon as the new wharf was completed in January, 1871, when the freight and passenger business of the company's roads was concentrated at that point. On March 24, 1870, an ordinance to authorize the San Francisco and Oakland railroad and the Western Pacific railroad companies to erect and maintain bridges across the estuary between the city of Oakland and Brooklyn was passed. In 1873 an addition of 3.79 miles to the Oakland and Alameda branch, consisting of a second tract through Railroad avenue and Seventh street, Oakland, from Bay street to Harrison street, and a branch thence to Mastick Station, Alameda, was built. Two new steamers designed for the ferry line -one for passenger and one for freight service-were built in this year, the Oakland being launched in 1874, and the Transit in July, 1875. In this year, too, the construction of new ferry-slips was undertaken by the harbor commissioners of San Francisco, on East street, between Market and Clay streets. In 1875 a new wharf and slip for the ferry-boat running between San Francisco and Oakland via San Antonio creek (the creek route) was commenced, and completed in July of the following year, the steamer Capital being entirely refitted for service on the line. In 1878 a new wharf and slip for the car ferry-steamers were constructed near the mouth of the estuary of San Antonio. In June, 1879, was commenced, and in 1881 was completed the Oakland pier, or mole.

On May 2, 1870, the right of way was granted to F. K. Shattuck and others. for a street railway on Twelfth street; thence to Broadway; thence to Eighth street; thence to Wood street; thence to Railroad avenue. Another franchise was at the same time granted to them for a line on Adeline street and thence to the charter line. On August 29th an ordinance granting a franchise for constructing a street railroad from San Antonio creek along the center of Market. street to the northern charter line of the city, was passed. On May 22, 1871,