California's vital economic and cultural development from the 1870s to the early twentieth century strengthened both its Pacific Basin connections and its ties to the North American West. In the economic arena, that development is seen most vividly in the harnessing of water resources, the rise of commercial agriculture, the emergence of the petroleum and boride enterprises, the electrification of municipal railways, the land and population boom in southern California, and the growth of maritime trade and naval facilities. As the Golden State broadened its economic base, it acquired sufficient cultural polish to draw national, and in some instances international, attention to its writers, artists, photographers, newspapers, and institutions of higher learning. In short, California's reputation as a Pacific Eldorado where riches abounded and dreams came true took on fresh meaning and credibility.
Timeline
1852 What later becomes Mills College for Women is founded in the Bay Area town of Benicia 1855 Jesuits establish Santa Clara College 1863 The San Francisco Examiner is founded
1865 California’s first oil well is drilled in Petrolia, Humboldt County
The San Francisco Dramatic Chronicle, forerunner of the Morning Chronicle, begins publishing
1868 The California legislature charters the University of California; the campus is situated initially in Oakland and shortly thereafter moves to Berkeley
1870 California is ranked first in the quantity of wine produced in the United States, accounting for more than half of the nation’s output
1873 Andrew S. Hallidie of San Francisco invents the world’s first electrically powered cable car system
1874 The state adopts compulsory elementary education
1879 Political economist Henry George publishes Progress and Poverty, espousing his single-tax theory The University of Southern California is founded in Los Angeles
Pacific Eldorado: A History of Greater California, First Edition. Thomas J. Osborne. © 2013 Thomas J. Osborne. Published 2013 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
1880s Southern California’s real-estate boom extends into Mexico San Francisco is the world’s leading whaling port
1881 Helen Hunt Jackson publishes A Century of Dishonor, detailing the mistreatment of the California Indians
The Los Angeles Times is founded
1884 George Chaffey founds the Los Angeles Electric Company, resulting in the City of Angels becoming America’s first electrically lit municipality
1885 California’s wheat flour exports to Hong Kong reach nearly 450,000 barrels
1886 In Lux v. Haggin, the state supreme court holds that the downriver riparian rights of Miller & Lux trump the prior appropriation claim of Haggin’s firm (and by implication any similar future claims based on the old Hispanic doctrine)
1887 The Wright Irrigation Act is passed by the state legislature, recognizing the public’s right to establish irrigation districts, exercise eminent domain, and raise revenue to finance irrigation projects
Pomona and Occidental colleges are founded in Claremont and the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles, respectively
1888
Built largely by Chinese immigrants and sited at the edge of the Pacific, the palatial Hotel del Coronado opens in San Diego
1890
The Union Oil Company of California is founded, with headquarters in Santa Paula The Pacific Coast Borax Company is founded by Francis Marion “Borax” Smith Hawaiian King David Kalakaua visits, and dies in, California Yosemite National Park is established
1891 Leland Stanford Junior University is founded in Palo Alto
1892 The Sierra Club is created and headquartered in San Francisco by UC Berkeley and Stanford professors; John Muir is elected president of the organization, which today is nationwide
1893-4 The midwinter International Exposition is held in San Francisco, marking the first world’s fair held on
America’s Pacific slope
1898 In the Spanish-American-Cuban-Filipino War, 80,000 men from Washington, Montana, Iowa,
Wyoming, Kansas, Tennessee, and Utah ship out across the Pacific from San Francisco harbor to the Philippines
1901 Robert Dollar enters the San Francisco shipping industry, developing a steamship line that becomes a major carrier in the growing China trade
Frank Norris publishes The Octopus, a Story of California, a novel depicting the Southern Pacific as a heartless exploiter of San Joaquin Valley wheat growers
1903 The transpacific submarine cable is completed, connecting San Francisco to Manila via Hawai’i, Midway, and Guam
Francis Marion “Borax” Smith establishes the East Bay Key System of rapid transit from Piedmont and Berkeley to San Francisco, using rail and ferries
Bay Area author Jack London publishes his most popular book, The Call of the Wild, a novel about a San Francisco dog that adapts to the Alaskan wilderness
World History
