Appendix D - Cultural and Tribal Cultural Resources Supporting Information PUBLIC

4 1860. The first Dublin school, the Murray School at 6600 Donlon Way, built in 1856, was the first in eastern Alameda County. Dublin’s first church, St. Raymond’s Catholic Church, was built in 1859. By 1870, Dublin had two hotels, a general merchandise store, a church and Sunday School, a wagon and blacksmith shop, a shoemaker and a school (Kolb 1965:3). As a crossroads community on the road from Mission San Jose to Martinez and the east/west road from Oakland to the Central Valley, Dublin became an official stagecoach stop and a watering hole for men and their horses. In 1878, the small community named variously “Amador’s”, “Dougherty Station” or “Dougherty” eventually became known officially as the town of “Dublin” primarily because of the large number of citizens of Irish descent. Murray Township’s isolation from San Francisco Bay delayed the development of agriculture in the area. The main transportation for agricultural products before the railroad was a series of landings along San Francisco Bay providing the East Bay with water access to outside markets (Halley 1876:482). Consequently, although the Mexican period ranchos in what became Murray Township were subdivided in the 1850s, the American ranches in this area were still several thousand acres, and often the land was owned by non-residents and leased for grazing or cultivation of hay and grain (Thompson & West 1878: 25). Between 1860 and 1890, wheat was by far California’s most important grain crop (Hilkert & Lewis 1984:1). California wheat did not need the binding and curing of Midwest wheat, so it could be shipped long distances upon being harvested. By the 1860s, wheat became the most important agricultural product in the western section of Murray Township. In 1884, one author noted that “immense quantities of wheat were raised” near Pleasanton (Baker 1912:444). In 1876, historian William Halley described the Rancho Santa Rita area as the “richest land in the township” where “75 bushels [of wheat] to the acre has been taken off” (Halley 1876:493). Samuel Martin reportedly cultivated over 1,000 acres of wheat on the property (Oakland Land and Improvement Company 1886:2). By 1878, the Martin’s 5,000 acres had been subdivided into primarily 200 to 300 acre parcels, although he still retained 900 acres of the original rancho (Thompson & West 1878:53; see also Hinkel & McCann 323-324). Wheat farming declined in California by the 1890s because yields dropped from not rotating crops and the development of competing wheat growing areas like Australia and Argentina (Hilbert and Lewis 1984:2). The development of irrigation and new transportation systems in California also led to wheat being replaced by more lucrative crops, like fruit and vegetables. After the Central Pacific Railroad arrived in Murray Township in 1869, the economy changed over the next two decades from livestock ranching to the cultivation of grains, fruits and vegetables. The completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869 opened a tremendous new market for California fruit and other agricultural products. In almost every area in the county served by adequate rail transportation the large ranches were subdivided into smaller holdings for more specialized crops. A typical family farm of this era practicing mixed agriculture focused on wheat, barley and hay, in addition to producing garden vegetables and dairy products. The development of the canning industry, creating new methods of preserving and storing foods for later consumption, also stimulated the cultivation of fruit and vegetables in California (Braznell 1982:11-21).