S1 Episode 5 Thompson's Cove and Yerba Buena's First Civic Improvement 1840s

San Francisco history enthusiasts like me, already know about Clark’s Point. But, how many people know about Thompson’s Cove? And, what about Yerba Buena's first civic improvement?

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As I do research for episodes, sometimes I run across a study, or a book, that grabs my San-Francisco-Pre Gold-Rush attention, and interrupts where I wanted to go for the next episode. (We’re really close to the gold rush, Dear Listener. I promise, I’ll get there.)

Today’s episode is based on a magnificent rabbit hole, which brought me closer to understanding early Yerba Buena, that touches on the portion of the exposed seawall, I mentioned two episodes ago, located in the basement of a cocktail lounge at 582 Washington Street. 

Today’s episode, aka the rabbit hole, is largely based on a peer reviewed publication.

Conrad, Cyler, et al. “Hide, Tallow and Terrapin: Gold Rush-Era Zooarchaeology at Thompson's Cove (CA-SFR-186H), San Francisco, California.” International Journal of Historical Archaeology, vol. 19, no. 3, 2015, pp. 502–551., www.jstor.org/stable/24572801. Accessed 10 Apr. 2021.

The shortened abstract for this paper (I hit the jackpot) “Zooarchaeological investigations at Thompson’s Cove, San Francisco, a Gold Rush-era site, located on the original shoreline of Yerba Buena Cove, provide evidence of the maritime California hide and tallow trade, and consumption of abundant wild game, in Alta California. This diverse assemblage dating primarily to the 1840s – 60s allows rigorous investigation into the economic and subsistence activity of San Francisco, in the pre Gold Rush era.”
(Oh, that was poetry…)

This study was from a 2006 – 2013, archeological investigation during the renovation and seismic retrofitting at today’s The Battery, at 717 Battery Street, previously known at the Musto Building from 1907.

San Francisco history enthusiasts like me, already know about Clark’s Point. But, how many people know about Thompson’s Cove? (It appears it’s not just people who disappear from history.)

With my episode preface done, here we go…

Recap Last Episode

The local commerce in Yerba Buena Cove, was based on hide and tallow trading with the incoming ships from Boston and England. The trading commerce mostly kept a low profile, to avoid the high taxes and, I believe, the $400 total value of what could be bought, which is what encouraged trading versus purchasing. 

That’s called smuggling, but it was a well known secret, that our local San Francisco District government participated in. Monterey? Not so much.

Describe Yerba Buena Thompson’s Cove 

El Pueblo de Yerba Buena was a half mile indented cove, where at the most northern point, the Loma Alta Hill came sharply down to the water. During low tide, this is where small boats could land. On the southern end of the cove, we had a less popular landing spot, El Punto del Rincon, protected by another range of hills, where at high tide, boats could land. But, the northern part of the cove was certainly a better landing spot, and therefore, more popular.

The middle/inside of the cove was shallow, and at low tide uncovered 1/4 a mile of mud flats. 

In 1838, the Yerba Buena northern landing spot for ships, specifically had a tiny little bay, a cove within the cove, called Thompson’s Cove, located at northeast corner of today’s Sansome and Pacific streets. Collectively, this area was called Punto del Embarcadero.

Are you curious about the Thompson behind Thompson’s Cove? I know I was. I didn’t just want to know about the cove, I wanted to know about the person. (Here comes the rabbit hole.)

https://www.sfgenealogy.org/sf/history/hbbeg15.htm
The Beginnings of San Francisco CHAPTER XV. The Village of Yerba Buena, 1839-1846

In 1831, Alpheus Basil Thompson lived in Santa Barbara with his wife, Francisca Carillo, and their children. Francisca is the daughter of the Alta California governor, Carlos Carillo. Thompson had a trading business between California and China, so from Santa Barbara, he ran a trading post, and traveled to Monterey, the Bay of San Francisco, to the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii), and to China. (I believe that was his travel path.)

In 1833, as part of the smuggling at Yerba Buena cove, Thompson had his ship seized, right there, in Yerba Buena. I’m going to guess someone from Monterey came up, or followed a lead they seized . Thompson, his entire staff, and the cargo, were detained at the shore for several months, until large bonds could be secured for his release. You would think Thompson would have had enough of the Bay of San Francisco, and the Yerba Buena Cove, after that unexpected stay. But, no…

In 1838, Thompson, returns to the ‘hair of the dog’, and opens a proper hide and tallow business in Yerba Buena, while still living at both Santa Barbara and Yerba Buena. He started what was called a ‘Hide House’ at a specific spot at the cove, which dealt with cow processing, and sea otter hunting (for their pelts). Thompson knew there was money to be made in Yerba Buena. During his unexpected stay at the cove, he had several months to analyze the traffic!

For the next nine years, this area of the Yerba Buena cove was known as ‘Thompson’s Cove’. After that, it was known as Clark’s Point. (I’ll say a little bit more about that later.)

Thompson’s Cove, unlike the rest of the Yerba Buena shoreline, was rocky, made of sandstone bedrock, of Franciscan formation, with bay mud sediment on top. (Sidenote, Franciscan sandstone was once called San Francisco sandstone.) The rest of the Yerba Buena shoreline was mostly mud flats, and mud flats best describes the majority of the original Yerba Buena shoreline, before landfill.

Thompson’s Cove was advantageous with its rocky shoreline, and shallow cove, which allowed small boats to land, at low tide. And, the tides at this location were from six to eighteen feet deep…which was true prior to wharves being constructed. 

Thompson’s Cove, with its wave-cut platform in the bedrock, and rocky shoreline without mudflats, explains why, at other spots along the cove, required larger ships to dock much farther out from the shore. That all makes sense, now.

So, that wave-cut bedrock became the identifier for Thompson’s Cove, known to whaling and trading ships as ‘the most stable spot for small boats and larger ships to land’… and explains why Yerba Buena’s earliest cultural artifacts are found in this location. 

Thompson’s Cove, like the majority of the rest of the cove, remained landfill free until 1853 , so the recovered cultural artifacts were mostly prior to the gold rush. Said another way, the mud flats on top of the bedrock, stored archeological fragments of Yerba Buena’s pre gold rush past- a time capsule for discovery in 2006 - 2013. Talk about going back in time!

Some of the recovered items at Thompson’s Cove were accidentally lost, and other items, intentionally discarded, during the trading, and loading, from the smaller boats, to the larger ships. An example of accidental loss was a sealed wood barrel, with eleven full bottles of beer. I’ll assume no one meant to throw away beer.

The whaling and trading ships from Boston and England would come to trade with locals at Yerba Buena. The cow products were brought to the shoreline for secondary butchering, and for the hides to be processed for leather, and the tallow for candles, soap and cooking.

The primary butchering, specifically for meat consumption of the choice parts of the cow, happened elsewhere (likely at the nearby ranchos). 

The excavated artifacts at Thompson’s Hide House at Thompsons Cove showed evidence of secondary butchering, uncovered partial skeletal fragments indicating butchering for soup cuts, and salting meat. But, entire carcasses were also discovered, indicating hide and tallow processing. Interestingly, the skeletal remains were mostly cattle, but also elk and deer.

The dating showed elk was more heavily butchered pre gold rush, which was because elk tallow was considered superior to cow tallow. Who knew?

Cattle, elk and deer mandibles and femurs were excavated, along with crab, clam, mussel, oyster, and abalone shells. (I bet it smelled great at low tide!) 

Actually, Yerba Buena mudflats were a common dumping spot for both locals, and the visiting ships. So much, that in 1847, a local law banned killing vultures, and similar birds, who would take away the animal remains at low tide. (You don’t want to kill those birds.) 

Laguna Salada

But, I digress. Thompson’s Cove became an important stopping point for incoming ships, because it was easily identifiable from the ocean. But, if you look at early maps of Yerba Buena, near the center of the cove, there is a distinct inlet, a laguna salada/saltwater lagoon, that you’ll see on maps. This large inlet, jutted into the middle of prime Yerba Buena real estate, between current day Montgomery and Sansome, Jackson, Washington. There was also a smaller, freshwater lagoon, nearby, but we aren’t discussing the smaller lagoon.

Prominent people lived just southeast of Thompson’s cove, but, this albatross of a saltwater lagoon, had to be navigated, to get to Thompson’s Cove. They would have to jump over the narrowest part of the the lagoon, when possible, wade through the water, or take a small boat, to get to Thompson’s Cove. The prominent people were Richardson, Leese, past and current alcaldes, like Noe, Vallejo, Guerrero, Sanchez, Hinckley, and important businessmen like Spear, Leidesdorff, and, Jacques Vioget, the owner of the very popular Vioget’s saloon. Vioget needed to procure spirits to the locals!

An obvious question is, “Why did they wade through the lagoon, or take a boat, to travel five city blocks?” That’s because Yerba Buena wasn’t naturally flat in the 1840s. The still remaining Californio inhabitants lived near the Presidio and the Mission, or on the surrounding ranchos, where the land was conducive to cattle raising, but the Yerba Buena residents lived where they could inside the boundaries of the town. Collectively, this was all called the District of San Francisco.

In his 1869 book, The Golden Americas, John Tillotson described Yerba Buena as “A lump of bakers dough, which has been kneaded into fantastic hills and valleys, which, after having been worked, had been forgotten so long that the green mold had begun to creep over it.” He’s discussing the unpassable, five block walk, which as you see it today, is a flat, easy walk.

Okay, so it’s hard to get to Thompson’s Cove. Why didn’t they build their homes closer to Thompson’s Cove?

Well, at Yerba Buena’s infancy, there was only one part of this shoreline that was flat enough to build homes, and that’s was in the southeast part, where these prominent people built homes. Thompson’s Hide House was at an even smaller area, literally on the edge, that allowed for the building of a small structure.

The Jackson Street Footbridge

In 1844, Acalde William Strugis Hinckely, Yerba Buena’s first American elected alcalde during Mexican rule, (which is not be confused with Washington Bartlett, Yerba Buena’s first American alcalde under American rule) also lived in the southeast of this lagoon, with all the other prominent people. Hinckley had enough of navigating this albatross of a lagoon, and planned Yerba Buena’s first civic improvement! 

Keep in mind, for this next part, that in 1844, it was called Thompson’s Cove, and was not renamed Clark’s Point until 1847, which dates this quote from 1847 or later. 

“In 1844 he was alcalde (that’s Hinckely), and built a little bridge across the neck of the laguna salada at Jackson street, thus enabling the citizens to pass to Clark's Point without going around the laguna. This was the first street improvement work in Yerba Buena.” (Again, this quote was from 1847, or later, after the renaming of Thompson’s Cove to Clark’s Point. There’s more to the renaming of Clark’s Point, but that’s another rabbit hole, I’ll spare you from.)

So Hinckley, via this foot bridge, is responsible for the first civic improvement in Yerba.

This footbridge was the biggest thing to happen to Yerba Buena. It was a huge deal, at the time. So big in fact, people travelled from the neighboring towns to view this bridge, and to jump up and down on it, to test the sturdiness. I wouldn’t have tested the bridge that way. But, perhaps, it wasn’t too far to fall, if the bridge didn’t pass the jumping test?

Article on Yerba Buena’s first Civic improvement. The foot bridge.

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/1st-S-F-civic-improvement-Yerba-Buena-footbridge-4649647.php#:~:text=Laguna%20Salada%20This%20lagoon%2C%20known%20as%20the%20Laguna,%27s%20footbridge%20was%20the%20talk%20of%20the%20town

This bridge is more than Yerba Buena’s first civic improvement. This footbridge opens up this growing part of town, and allows for more development, that caters to the exclusive group of Yerba Buena and, soon to be, San Francisco’s, founders. 

The common Joe, or Jose, did not live inside the Yerba Buena’s boundaries. The sitting alcalde decides who gets a 200, or 100, vara lot inside the town’s limits. But, the largest demographic of Yerba Buena inhabitants was quickly becoming foreign settlers.

This is another way of saying only settlers, or Californios, of stature, lived in Yerba Buena. The less affluent Californios continued to live farther away, at the decaying Presidio, the decaying Mission, or at their ranchos. And the Ohlone? After the mission secularization, given a choice, they mostly left the immediate area. (They tried that one, already.)

For reference, these prominent Yerba Buenan’s built homes near the heart of the pueblo, called La Plaza Grande, that will soon be renamed Portsmouth Square. La Plaza is the tiny financial district of Yerba Buena (and actually remains very close, to today’s Financial District). 

This saltwater lagoon is literally across the street from a muddy shoreline that would be filled, and become the infamous Montgomery Block. But, for where we are right now, in time? It’s just muddy shoreline.

This is still Alta California, and Yerba Buena is still Mexican territory. But, Yerba Buena is being shaped by, and for, the American settlers, who are not quietly establishing their footing in Mexican territory, at ‘the liveliest port in California’. And, the local government is granting them favors, with open arms, and smiles, expecting the good times to continue, even if Alta California passes hands to the United States.

Seawall

Recall the exposed seawall at 582 Washington Street? In 1844, the High Horse Lounge, would sit on muddy shoreline, being just a few feet away from the laguna salada, and the footbridge. To look at the seawall today, you can see water stains on a particular corner of the wall, on the corner of Hotaling Place and Washington Street.

Hotaling Place is a short, one block alley, in the middle of Washington and Jackson, between Montgomery and Sansome. This alley is cute, but strangely placed.

But, the alley is placed exactly where the laguna salada was located. Hotaling Place by the way, was originally known as Jones’ Alley, should you decide to research it. 

Now that I know about the history of this part of Yerba Buena, the laguna salada, and the foot bridge, just a few feet away, I think about the definition of a lagoon, “a stretch of salt water separated from the ocean by a low sandbank”. (And, another rabbit hole, in three, two, one ….)

The laguna salada, was eventually filled in 1848, so let’s assume the footbridge was collapsed, and used to fill the lagoon. (If they filled in the lagoon, they no longer need the bridge.) That is speculation on my part, but it makes too much sense. So, the lagoon was filled to the shoreline in1848, but I know that landfill for the shoreline, in this exact location of the Yerba Buena Cove, didn’t start until 1853, five years after the lagoon was filled.

So, it’s possible the disassembled bridge filled in the lagoon. But, it’s a lagoon, so there’s a sandbar blocking the water from going directly into the Pacific Ocean. Did this sandbar become Jones’ Alley, in 1853, with the landfill? This is more speculation on my part, but did part of that bridge go on to become the earliest attempt at a barrier to the sea, placed just behind the sandbar? 

I know in 1848, we still don’t have a proper seawall in this immediate corner of San Francisco, but in 1848, the lagoon is filled. Overall landfill hadn’t occurred, yet, because, I know this, across the street, the Montgomery Block wasn’t built until 1853. But, as I continue to dive into this very specific corner, and consecutive years, of Yerba Buena and San Francisco history, the mention of a seawall is bound to come up.

Through more serendipity related the seawall, I met a fascinating group; a Bay Area brick expert, also a brick museum owner for Remillard Bricks, and another person, their volunteer historian. We met at the High Horse to have the building’s brick and the seawall examined. I have more to say, but I’ll need to get into that visit in my next episode, as I need to wrap up this part of Yerba Buena history.

The little bridge that could, once had a plaque at the corner of Montgomery and Jackson Street, commemorating San Francisco’s first civic improvement. But, for reasons I do not know, the plaque was removed, and never replaced. Now, you just need to know about the bridge, and the saltwater lagoon, when you walk by Montgomery @ Jackson, to acknowledge its previous existence. You can consider yourself part of a small club! 

As for Alpheus Basil Thompson, during the 2006 – 2013 excavation, the research team recovered a branding iron with a “T”, that is on display at ‘The Battery’ at 717 Battery Street, the exclusive, invitation only, social club. Could Thompson have guessed his Hide House would go on to become an exclusive club, catering to San Francisco’s next gold rush, the tech boom?

It seems time lets people and places, fade into the past. Both Thompson’s Cove, and the footbridge. seem like small flashes in San Francisco’s past, but in both examples, they provide the foundation for something bigger. There’s a synergy, an interconnectedness, here.

Everyone collectively needed Thompson’s Cove for the commerce, coming from the water. Thompson’s Cove needed the footbridge for their residents to get to the point of commerce. And, El Pueblo de Yerba Buena needed the footbridge and Thompson’s Cove, to become … California’s liveliest port, which the United States has every intention of acquiring. 

In my next episode, I will relay more information about the seawall and the meeting with the brick expert and the group.

Today’s transcript, with cited sources, can be located at monkeyblocksf.buzzsprout.com. You can also search for MonkeyBlockSF on Facebook, or Twitter.

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Thank you for listening. This is Monkeyblock SF, retelling forgotten stories from San Francisco’s golden past.