HomeMy WebLinkAboutMar14SLOWhatWhile elected to office for one year only, the same slate of leaders served in
1871 along with Marshal: J. P. Lewelling , Treasurer: Nathan Goldtree, and
Assessor: Charles Mauk. Tax Collector: G. W. Barnes continued in the same
office. Interestingly, the elected were also responsible for three key areas of
community development. Not surprisingly, one was Finance and another Land.
A third key responsibility, Streets, addressed the addition of residences and
businesses radiating from the core area around the Mission. With virtually
no staff, an elected official was expected to actually oversee street direction,
width, costs, etc.
Given some of today’s rather eclectic roadways,
it is obvious some officials were better suited to
develop streets than others.Nonetheless, the small
community had an interest in its development before
1870.
The earliest preserved correspondence treasured in
the City vault is from the U. S. Surveyor General’s
office in San Francisco responding to an inquiry by
C. H. Johnson requesting a survey of the town. The
federal official confirmed he would be agreeable to
a survey…but the community would have to pay
for the service. Given the finances of the time, the
offer was not accepted…while three years later, the
first federal survey was completed. This proved to
be an epoch making event for the community the
ramifications of which will be discussed at a later
time.
Suffice to note here, previous legislation used a
survey and map by William Rich Hutton as the
official boundaries of the town. To date, this map
has not been found but using the metes and bounds
description used in various State legislative acts, the
town was two miles in a rectangular shape. Using
today’s map, the town boundaries encompassed
much of today’s northern community. A map is
available upon request.
Rich had a short career here but went on to become
a premier engineer in the East; most notably for the
Washington Bridge in New York City. An additional contribution to our community, he left some
of the earliest surviving sketches of the area.
Additionally, there are other documents helping to determine some municipal developments.
As for the buying and selling of property within the Town, the earliest preserved petition for
History of San Luis Obispo By: Joseph A. Carotenuti
City Historian/Archivist, Admin Volunteer
a lot (1859) concern today’s Monterey and Court Streets. At the time, county business was
conducted in the Casa Grande constructed by Nipomo’s William Goodwin Dana. Part of the
structure was sold to the County while William J. Graves seems to have his home and office
in the remaining portion.
These petitions are an invaluable source of information as to the various streets, owners,
and lot orientation in the pioneer settlement. Once a petition was presented to the governing
board (many with maps showing the location of the requested lot and - in some - the owners
of adjoining lots), there was a certificate of ownership granted if there was no conflict by
another party, a fee paid based on the amount of land with a deed and recording of title an
optional expense.
Contact: jacarotenuti@gmail.com