SU0004098 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Between 1806 and 1817,mission site reconnaissance expeditions were led by Gabriel Moraga (1806, 1808), Father Ramon Abella(1811), Jose Antonio Sanchez(1811), and Father Narciso Duran (1817) (Rensch et al. 1990). The first Euro-American to traverse the area was likely Jedediah Strong Smith,who opened the Sacramento Trail in the late 1820s. Smith reported to the Hudson's Bay Company about the quantity and quality of furs available in California, and in 1828, the company sent its first trapping expedition. Trappers working for Hudson's Bay Company established the settlement of French Camp south of the modern city of Stockton(Rensch et al. 1990). The San Joaquin Valley remained largely unsettled during the Spanish and Mexican _ Periods. Mexican land grants common to many coastal counties were sparsely scattered along the San Joaquin Valley. In fact,much of the region consisted of public lands. Following _ California's gold rush, settlement of the San Joaquin Valley gradually increased as former gold seekers realized the potential for crop production(initially wheat and later row/orchard crops) and cattle raising in the region. Many small towns were founded in the San Joaquin Valley _ because railroad development throughout the area provided access, goods, and employment; in turn, these small towns further influenced settlement patterns in the area. The region has historically been used for agricultural and ranching practices, and these practices continue into _ the present(Jones & Stokes 2002). The city of Tracy began in 1878 as a railroad town to connect the growing Central Pacific and Southern Pacific Railroads. In 1869, Central Pacific Railroad laid railroad tracks from Sacramento through present-day Tracy and over the Altamont Pass to the San Francisco Peninsula. As was common along railroad alignments statewide, small railroad towns sprang up — along the line, including Lathrop (near Stockton) and Ellis at the base of the Altamont Pass. In 1878, a Southern Pacific railroad line was constructed from Oakland through Martinez to connect with the Central Pacific just east of Ellis. A station was established in present-day Tracy — and named after Lathrop J. Tracy, a railroad official. Given its location within the agricultural region, the new community of Tracy grew as a railroad center. In 1894, railroad headquarters were moved from nearby Lathrop to Tracy. — Tracy formally incorporated in 1910, and the new city grew rapidly after the first irrigation district was established in 1915. Although railroad operations began to decline during the early- to-mid-twentieth century, Tracy and the surrounding area continued to prosper as an agricultural region. DeSilva Gales Quarry Project,San Joaquin County Cultural Resources Inventory Report Community Development Department 5 November 2005 _ AS 0&105