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5.3 CULTURAL RESOURCES
<br /> The cattle industry in California reached its greatest prosperity during the first years of the
<br /> American Period. Mexican Period land grants had created large,pastoral estates in
<br /> California,and a high demand for beef during the Gold Rush led to a cattle boom that lasted
<br /> from 1849 to 1855. In 1855,however,the demand for California beef began to decline as a
<br /> result of sheep imports from New Mexico,cattle imports from the Mississippi and Missouri
<br /> valleys,and the development of stock breeding farms.When the beef market collapsed, the
<br /> California ranchers were unprepared. Many had borrowed heavily during the boom,
<br /> mortgaging their land at interest rates as high as ten percent per month. The collapse of the
<br /> cattle market meant that many of these ranchos were lost through foreclosure,while others
<br /> were sold to pay debts and taxes (Cleland, 1941: 108-114).
<br /> During the American period, in addition to cattle and sheep ranches, a growing number of
<br /> farms appeared. A rural community cultural pattern existed in the study area from
<br /> approximately 1870 to 1930. This pattern consisted of communities made up of population
<br /> aggregates that lived within well-defined geographic boundaries, shared common bonds,
<br /> and cooperated to solve shared problems. They lived on farmsteads,tied together by a
<br /> common school district, church,post office,and country store. These farmsteads and
<br /> dispersed farming communities gave way to horse ranches, dairies, and nurseries,which in
<br /> turn were replaced by the establishment of the roadside service complex. The roadside
<br /> service industry thrived in the highly mobile,mechanized pre-and post-war society,which
<br /> was linked by state and federal roadways.
<br /> Although no land grants were given to the Central Pacific in the San Joaquin Valley,the
<br /> company financed itself and construction of the first railroad in San Joaquin Valley began in
<br /> 1870 at a new railroad town named Lathrop. By the close of 1870,this line reached the
<br /> Stanislaus River. The Central Pacific connected to the main Southern Pacific line at Goshen,
<br /> approximately 150 miles south of Lathrop. Subsequently, other rail lines were constructed in
<br /> the San Joaquin Valley and served as feeders to this main line. In 1903,the Western Pacific
<br /> Railway incorporated and between 1905 and 1909,the company constructed a railroad that
<br /> ran from Oakland through the San Joaquin Valley and into the Sierra Nevada Mountains
<br /> (Smith 2004).
<br /> 5.3.1.4.1 City of Lodi
<br /> In 1859, a small group of families established a school on a site near Cherokee Lane and
<br /> Turner Road,in the present day City of Lodi. By 1869,settlers Ezekiel Lawrence,Reuben
<br /> Wardrobe, A.C. Ayers,and John Magley offered the Central Pacific Railroad 12 acres of a
<br /> 160 acre town site to build a rail station. The railroad accepted and when surveyors began
<br /> laying out streets, settlers came from Woodbridge,Liberty City,and Galt to create present
<br /> day Lodi (Hillman,1985).
<br /> Lodi was initially called Mokelumne and Mokelumne Station for the nearby river. It is not
<br /> clear where the name Lodi originated and several stories are told to account for the name.
<br /> These stories include a local record setting horse named Lodi who reached fame in 1869, the
<br /> first site where Napoleon won military victory in Lodi,Italy,and several families from Lodi,
<br /> Illinois,who settled in present day Lodi, California (Hillman,1985). The city was officially
<br /> incorporated in 1906,additional public buildings were built from 1906 to 1915,including a
<br /> public library and a hospital, and the city purchased Bay City Gas and Water Works in 1919
<br /> (Hillman 1985). Early industries in the Lodi area included saw mills,flour mills,vineyards,
<br /> orchards, and cattle ranching.
<br /> 5.3-6 SAC/371322/082330008(LEC_5.3_CULTU RAL.DOC)
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