Comments on: San Francisco Timecapsule: 01.26.09

By: Peter G. Meyerhof

Peter G. Meyerhof — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 05:33:01 +0000

The route taken by Dr. Semple and General Vallejo on June 14, 1846 did not take them by “the convergence of the Sacramento River and the San Francisco Bay” but inland via Vaca’s adobe near the present-day Pena adobe. Semple first visited the Carquinez Strait on July 3. Vallejo’s land on the south side of the Carquinez Strait was not his initial choice. Although Semple was already promoting the site in November, it was on December 22, 1846 (not Jan. 19 1847) that Vallejo deeded 5 square miles to Semple.

By: NatetheGrate

NatetheGrate — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 23:07:54 +0000

At the time, of course, San Francisco and Benicia really did compete to see which would be the premier city of Northern California, especially after the new state legislature left from the fledgling city of Vallejo in 1853. The legislature did not go to San Francisco at that time but went to nearby Benicia, which had built a stately building to house it. That building is still standing and is now part of a state historic park! But Benicia is the place where word of the gold strike first reached the Bay Area, and Benicia is the place where sailors abandoned their ships to join the gold rush! Many of the derelict ships still lie in the waters off Benicia!

By: magazine

magazine — Mon, 18 May 2009 07:15:33 +0000

I live in Benicia and have for 5 years and i cant believe i never knew about the grudge. hahaha oh well i guess.

By: Richard Miller (Sparkletack)

Richard Miller (Sparkletack) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 00:18:47 +0000

@ Niki: Thanks for the kind words, and you’re absolutely welcome. Nice to be discovered …

By: Niki Deerfield

Niki Deerfield — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 02:46:42 +0000

Awesome, I just found your site today. Loved the time capsule on Jan 30th. I referenced a link to your site in my group, SF Bay Friends on Eons.
Thanks so much for the info and please keep up the great work.

By: richard - sparkletack

richard - sparkletack — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 22:26:18 +0000

By the way, I just can’t help mentioning that Bartlett’s decision to name San Francisco had even further repercussions …

After the town of Benicia was finally established, DoÃ±a Francisco Vallejo actually gave up her first name!

She dropped Francisca and was known simply as “Benicia” for the rest of her life.

By: richard - sparkletack

richard - sparkletack — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 02:32:10 +0000

You’re probably right about that grudge, Joe — I hadn’t heard about the closeness of the vote, but I did know that Benicia was unhappy to lose the honour! It’s a distinction that moved around quite a bit in the early days, too … from San Jose to Vallejo, to Benicia, to Sacramento, to San Francisco, and then back to Sacramento again.

By: Joe H

Joe H — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 02:19:03 +0000

My understanding is that Benicia’s real grudge is against Sacramento. Benicia was the State capital until the legislature voted to move to Sacramento. However, the vote to do so passed with a simple majority while a larger vote (absolute majority, 2/3s, ?) was required. I’m not sure if this is fact or fiction, but that’s what I heard during a tour of the old capitol building there.

By: richard - sparkletack

richard - sparkletack — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 05:56:02 +0000

Deborah – I confess, I invented the bit about the grudge. To put it another way, I imagined how I’d feel if I were a dyed-in-the-wool Benician … grudge city, all the way.

Anyway, glad you enjoyed that tiny slice of history!

By: DeborahW

DeborahW — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 03:46:52 +0000

Great bit of history. I live in Benicia and had no idea “we” bear a grudge against San Francisco! Of course, I’m a relative new-comer.

By: richard - sparkletack

richard - sparkletack — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 02:23:16 +0000

Welcome, Dean! Feel free to subscribe to the RSS feed … saves all that time and trouble remembering to swing back by.

By: Dean McLeod

Dean McLeod — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 01:51:36 +0000

I just found your site for the first time just now. Great work. I’ll look forward to coming back for a close look when I get a chance.