S1 Episode 3 Yerba Buena's Hide and Tallow Trading Period, and the Original Shoreline 1822

Today’s episode is a little different. It’s partially based on serendipity, in addition to my normal detective work. I focus on the early activity at the (still) unnamed Yerba Buena cove and the hide and tallow trading in the still named Mission San Francisco District.

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Today’s episode is a little different. It’s partially based on serendipity, in addition to my normal detective work. I wanted to walk around the original perimeter of Yerba Buena, to feel how big this pueblo was, and see where historic structures once stood in relation to the original shoreline.

At the end of my walk, standing at the TransAmerica building, something drew me to a cocktail lounge at 582 Washington Street, at Hotaling Place, called High Horse. In the name of research, I ordered a Pisco Punch. Purely for research.

I mentioned to the bartender I had a San Francisco History podcast. The serendipity that day was in this bar. In the basement, which the bartender told me had San Francisco history.

In front of me, I’m looking at a portion of the seawall that once protected a small part of Yerba Buena cove, whether as Yerba Buena or as San Francisco. We don’t know the seawall’s original build date.

But, this seawall has a presence. It looks old, and it has layers of different material, vertically, and horizontally, which were added over time. The seawall runs along Hotaling place and around the corner on Washington Street. It’s amazing to think that where I was standing was where the shallow waves rolled in, and met with the shore, near Montgomery Street.

I’ll describe the seawall in better detail, in a future episode, once I’ve had a chance to study it more. But, this seawall has a touchpoint to today’s episode, which is about the shoreline of Yerba Buena, and maybe? … the hide and tallow trade. How is that? Keep listening.

“Yerba Buena Biographies: William A. Richardson, Jacob Primer Leese, Nathan Spear, John C. Fuller, Francisco Cáceres, Francisco De Haro.” California Historical Society Quarterly, vol. 14, no. 2, 1935, pp. 123–131. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25160574. Accessed 3 May 2021.

Watson, Douglas S., “An Hour's Walk Through Yerba Buena, Which Later Became San Francisco.” California Historical Society Quarterly, vol. 17, no. 4, 1938, pp. 291–302. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25160797. Accessed 3 May 2021.

John Young’s “San Francisco a History of the Pacific Coast Metropolis, Vol 1”, 1912.

Here we go…

So, what was California hide and tallow trading? And, how did it start? During the California Mission days, and into the Rancho days, cattle roamed everywhere in the San Francisco District. Everywhere. And, in large numbers.

You didn’t do much to raise cattle, they multiplied on their own. The labor involved was the farming to feed and butcher the cows for their meat. And, then, to process the cows for their hides and tallow for use and also trading. When the Mission system ended, the California Rancheros continued with the same lucrative business model.

The cows provided easy profit, for their valuable hides and tallow. And, that’s because cows weren’t available everywhere, so the California hides and tallow were readily sought after elsewhere in the world. But, there’s one problem. During the Mission days, Spain did not allow trading with foreign ships.

To avoid a paper trail, the Missions and Rancheros found a way around that. They traded goods with incoming ships, rather than use currency. The incoming ships brought furniture, clothing, furs, china, silverware, alcohol, and jewelry. And, the Californios traded in cow hides (also known as California banknotes), and tallow for the imported goods. The incoming ships would leave with the traded hides and tallow to sell elsewhere in the world.

Mission Dolores and the rest of the San Francisco District were illegally trading with ships out of the still unnamed Yerba Buena cove as early as 1817. The Russians made annual trading visits to the Bay of San Francisco (as it appeared on maps at that time). Also, ships from England, France, Boston, the Sandwich Islands/Hawaii, traded from this still unnamed cove, because it was better protected than the Presidio Port, and also because this location was not on ‘the radar’.

1822 became the year ‘New Spain’, as it was previously called, became Mexico, which meant Mexico could change Spain’s previous restrictions, regarding trading with foreign ships. We now have the (legal) start of California’s hide and tallow trade period.

To give historical perspective, in 1822 Mexico wins independence from Spain, but the California Missions aren’t secularized, until 1832. And the settlement of Yerba Buena wasn’t until 1835.

While Mexico made trading with foreign ships legal, illegal trading continued in the Bay of San Francisco. And, even General Mariano Vallejo was a part of this untaxed trading. Illegal trading continued, because now, in 1822, the law required your ship to first stop in Monterey, to pay a trading fee, before trading either there in Monterey, or south in San Diego or north in San Francisco. But, ships would circumvent the Monterey stop, and go straight to San Francisco Bay.

Said another way, after Mexico won independence from Spain, not much changed in the hide and tallow trading in San Francisco.

We’re still n 1822. William A Richardson, arrives on the British ship, Orion, at Presidio beach, to trade supplies at the Presidio. I have to assume they first stopped in Monterey to pay their trading fees, if they didn’t arrive in the unnamed cove. Richardson, who spoke some Spanish, was sent to shore to act as a translator and conduct the trading with the Presidio.

After conducting business, Commander of the San Francisco Presidio, Ignacio Martinez, invited Richardson back to the Presidio for a fiesta later that night. The Californio’s fiestas were legendary. They went on for three days, and included rodeos, bands, grand dinners. And, I doubt this fiesta was any different.

The brandy, the music, the dancing… and his interest in the host’s lovely daughter kept Richardson entertained until the sun came up.

After an all nighter, Richardson must have been in rough shape, when he returned to the ship in the morning.

The conversation with the Captain didn’t go well, as he explained why he was getting back to the ship at this hour. He either jumped ship, or was dismissed, because later that same day, Richardson returned to the Presidio, and asked Martinez if he could stay in California, or at least until the next British ship came to port.

Long story short, Richardson ends up becoming a Roman Catholic, which is necessary to become a naturalized Mexican citizen … which is necessary … to marry the host’s lovely daughter, Maria Antonia Martinez.

Richardson goes on to be an important player in Yerba Buena’s history. It was Richardson who had the idea to develop the still unnamed cove. Twice he had approached Governor Figueroa about creating a pueblo at the unnamed cove. Twice, Figeroa denied him.

Figeroa eventually changes his mind, because... On December 14, 1834, Francisco de Haro was elected as the first Alcalde of …the still uninhabited Pueblo de Yerba Buena, (not to be confused with Washington A. Bartlett, who twelve years later, became the first American Alcalde of Yerba Buena).

An alcalde was appointed to sand dunes, sage brush, and wild mint/aka yerba buena, while the few local residents lived near the deteriorating Mission San Francisco de Asis/Mission Dolores, with even fewer families still living at the Presidio, as well as the handful of local rancho families.

It’s 1835. As part of laying out the new town, with a port, Governor Figueroa declared no land grants would be made within 200 varas (about 555 feet), from the cove’s beach, to avoid that part of the coast from falling into private hands. Much to the locals unhappiness, the beach would be kept exclusively for government use, throwing cold water on hopes to develop this area to cater to the existing, and growing, trade business. Which, explains why Richardson’s plans were originally denied.

This also explains why the first homes and businesses were located away from Yerba Buena’s government reserved, water’s edge.

But, Figueroa died in September 1835 before the land could be surveyed for the pueblo planning.

With Figueroa’s death, the San Francisco District, and the recently named Yerba Buena, was now open to different possibilities. Recall, fiesta loving Richardson? With the new Governor, Jose Castro, Richardson was given the opportunity to formally create the plans for the new town.

Richardson named the first street in Yerba Buena, Calle de la Fundacion (the Founding Street), which was called Dupont Street, for a while, and is now known as Grant Avenue.

Under the command of General Mariano Vallejo, Richardson becomes Captain Richardson, the first harbor master of Yerba Buena Cove at the Port of San Francisco! He pitched the first ‘house’, in Yerba Buena, made of four redwood posts, and a sail, to create a tent, located at today’s either 823, or 827 – 843 Grant Avenue, between Clay and Washington Street. What I’m finding is, just because a San Francisco plaque states something, doesn’t mean the plaque is accurate…which is not what I would have expected.

Richardson, his wife, and three children lived in that tent for three months, before building his adobe Casa Grande, on the same spot.

Richardson managed two schooners which was his (good) idea, to improve how food was transported from the better produce growing San Jose and Santa Clara Missions, to the more food deprived Mission San Francisco de Asis. The ox and cart land travel between the Missions was notoriously slow, and the schooners could more quickly navigate the waters, to transport food from the south bay, to the San Francisco bay.

The schooners, however, found a secondary purpose. That’s right. In the hides and tallow trading, with the anchored ships in Yerba Buena.

The landing-for ships in Yerba Buena cove was specifically at Clark's Point (now the Corner of Broadway and Battery streets), because high tide came up in this location, where as the beach was more shallow near the middle of the cove.

Richardson’s prices, at that time, were 12 cents per hide, $1 for a 500 pound bag of tallow (that’s a lot of candles and soap), and 25 cents for 2.5 pounds of wheat. In less than five years, the price goes up to 22 cents per hide.

In 1836, American Jacob Primer Leese, aware of the current and future business potential in the Port of San Francisco, arrives to set up the first mercantile store in the newly created Pueblo de Yerba Buena. This port already had had annual exports of 20,000 hides and 2.000,000 pounds of tallow. Leese already had a mercantile store in Los Angeles, with his two partners, Nathan Spear and William Sturgis Hinckley.

Leese is an American, and Yerba Buena is still under Mexican law. So, that’s bold, on his part. He and his business partners want to move their existing business to Yerba Buena, to establish a permanent store, on land, and sell to both the local rancheros and the incoming ships. Rather than the current model of incoming ships anchoring offshore, and Richardson’s two schooners going out to them, acting as temporary stores on water.

The San Francisco Acalde, Francisco Guerrero, was pleased to hear this news! Except, the land he offered Leese was … at the mouth of Mission Dolores Creek, or at the opening of the bay near the Presidio… because he did not have the authority to grant the land where Leese was requesting.

(The Mexican government had reserved 200 varas of the Yerba Buena shore for their own government use and trading business. But, Leese is not being offered land even near Yerba Buena cove.)

A ruffled Leese returns to Monterey, where Alta California Governor Chico said he would… speak with the San Francisco District, Acalde Guerrero, to allow Leese to build within the government reserved cove, and the paperwork was to state, “‘Wherever Leese thought was advantageous to his mercantile business”.

We are seeing a friendly business relationship growing between the Californios and Americans, which, at this point, is mutually beneficial. There’s the softening of Mexican laws to accommodate their new partners, whom they plan to grow and prosper with. General Mariano Vallejo is welcoming of the foreigners, and believes the Americans are good for business and Alta California.

Back in 1826, Captain Fredrick Beechey, wrote, “California must awaken from its lethargy, or fall into other hands.” It’s clear California, and Mexico, were unaware of the outside interest in Yerba Buena cove and the surrounding land, which doesn’t mean they didn’t see the value and possibilities. They didn’t actively do anything to develop it, nor were they aware other countries wanted it.

There are documents of the time, in Mexico City and San Francisco which state the potential of the land (but didn’t specifically mention the Bay of San Francisco). Which is interesting, because the United States was interested in California specifically for the new port of San Francisco.

<tick, tick, tick>

A few months later, on July 1, 1836, Leese returns to Yerba Buena, with a letter from Governor Chico, and all the boards and materials to build his home, with an attached mercantile store! He built right next to Captain Richardson’s Casa Grande…200 varas from the Yerba Buena shoreline

Leese builds his shack in three days, and coordinates Yerba Buena’s the first 4th of July celebration. He invited everyone from the ‘countryside’ as it was called. The party lasted for three days, with dancing, music, eating, drinking. Both the Mexican and United States flag were raised, that day.

You know, you had to be a Mexican citizen to be granted land. Soooo…

The next year, 1837, Leese, just like Richardson, marries his own Californiana, Mariano Vallejo’s sister, Rosalia, giving him rights as a Mexican citizen, and they give birth to the first (Anglo) child born in Yerba Buena. A girl, named, Rosalia, after her mother.

In earlier San Francisco history, Leese has been incorrectly credited as being the first person to build a home in Yerba Buena. San Francisco even had a plaque stating that, until 1938, when the California Historical Society petitioned to correct the plaque. He was the first ‘American’ to build a house, but Englishman Richardson’s tent, then his adobe home, in 1835, predates Leese’s home by a year.

Californios felt the good times would last, and any changes in ownership, would include them. After all, they are giving the Americans favorable treatment in the hide and tallow trading, and sharing the wealth.

<tick, tick, tick>

At this point, I’ve described the history that led up to Yerba Buena, and the foundation for San Francisco. There are other important people and stories to Yerba Buena’s start. But, I felt Richardson and Leese achieved important ‘firsts’ for Yerba Buena.

Let’s recap:

As early as 1817, illegal trading was occurring in the then unnamed Yerba Buena Cove as part of the hide and tallow trading.

Yerba Buena is established in 1835.

Richardson is the first harbor master of the Port of San Francisco, and the first to build a home in Yerba Buena.

Leese is the first to build a store, and to father an Anglo child born in Yerba Buena.

But, I feel compelled to say that the Ohlone Indians, prior to the Missions in 1776 were the first inhabitants of Yerba Buena.

Richardson and Leese are the first Anglo inhabitants in Yerba Buena.

Recall the seawall at the beginning of the episode? At High Horse 582 Washington Street at Hotaling Place?

We know sea trading was occurring as early as 1817 off the Bay of San Francisco, and Mariano Vallejo was a part of it, both prior to, and after, the Pueblo de Yerba Buena settlement in 1835.

When was that exposed seawall I was looking at, created? Was it started before Yerba Buena’s settlement, to make the hide and tallow trading more hospitable to the incoming ships, and as part of protecting the 200 varas of government reserved shoreline? Was it started in 1835? Or, after 1846, when Yerba Buena becomes San Francisco?

We know this seawall is connected to San Francisco before the landfill, while the shoreline was still located in its original location. Well, at least we know the seawall was created before the landfill of this specific part of the cove.

If you buy a drink at High Horse, ask the bartender about the seawall. Or, walk down Hotaling Place, and imagine the sound of waves against this seawall, as you look towards the Embarcadero. Under your feet, you would be standing on a muddy, sandy beach. And, if you look towards Battery and Broadway, imagine ships anchored, not far from where you’re standing, there to trade with the local Missions and Rancheros.

To me, this is the romantic beauty of early San Francisco. At this point, it’s well-known secret, with few rules, and lots of good times.

<Outro music>

I have more to say about this seawall, and its touch point to Yerba Buena and San Francisco history. I’m going down the rabbit hole on this one, dear listener. I will continue to research this specific corner of San Francisco, and keep you posted, on my progress.

Please bookmark this podcast to be alerted when new episodes are released. Thank you for listening. This is Monkey Block, and I’m your private early San Francisco history detective, Girlina, retelling forgotten stories from San Francisco’s golden past.

Monkey Block San Francisco's Golden History

S1 Episode 3 Yerba Buena's Hide and Tallow Trading Period, and the Original Shoreline 1822 - 1836

Monkey Block San Francisco's Golden History

S1 Episode 3 Yerba Buena's Hide and Tallow Trading Period, and the Original Shoreline 1822 - 1836

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