Wikipedia

Draft:Burnett Township, Santa Clara County, California

  • Comment: The title of this draft either has been disambiguated or will need to be disambiguated for acceptance.
    If the title of this draft has been disambiguated, submitters and reviewers are asked to check the disambiguated title to see if it is the most useful disambiguation, and, if necessary, rename the draft.
    If this draft is accepted, the disambiguation page will need to be edited. Either an entry will need to be added, or an entry will need to be revised. Please do not edit the disambiguation unless you are accepting this draft.
    The disambiguation page for the primary name is Burnett County (disambiguation). Robert McClenon (talk) 02:45, 30 June 2024 (UTC)

Burnett Township
Township
Santa Clara Map showing Burnett Township
Santa Clara Map showing Burnett Township
Burnett Township is located in California
Burnett Township
Burnett Township
Location in California
Coordinates: 37°10′00″N 121°41′32″W / 37.16667°N 121.69222°W / 37.16667; -121.69222
Country United States
State California
CountySanta Clara
Founded1844; 180 years ago (1844)
Elevation
312 ft (95 m)
Population
 • Total802
Time zoneUTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-7 (PDT)
Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1860220—
1870802264.5%
1880540−32.7%
[1]

The Burnett Township is a former township of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area region, which includes the present day cities of Santa Teresa, Coyote, Madrone, and Morgan Hill. The township was named after the California Govenor Peter Hardeman Burnett (1807–1895). The township was established in 1844, from a group of Mexican land grants that were added to Santa Clara County when the county was established in 1834.

History

edit

The original inhabitants in the area included the Ohlone people, residing near Coyote Creek and Santa Clara, California.[2] During the Spanish period, the first permanent settlement was Mission Santa Clara de Asís, established by Franciscans in 1777, which had control over a tract of land stretching from Palo Alto to Gilroy.[3] Gilroy had its own township, bordered to the north by the New Almaden and Burnett townships.[4]: p271  On July 22, 1834, Juan Álvarez was granted by Governor José Figueroa, the 19,973-acre (80.83 km2) Mexican land grant Rancho Refugio de la Laguna Seca.[5] The grant extended southward along Coyote Creek from Rancho Santa Teresa and Coyote to Rancho Ojo del Agua de la Coche and Morgan Hill.[6][7]

The Burnett township was established in 1844 and named after California's first Govenor, Peter Hardeman Burnett (1807–1895). Primarily a farm community, the township had its first settlement when Martin Murphy Sr. (1785-1865), and his wife and children settled in 1844.[4][8] In 1845, Captain William Fisher (1810-1850) of Boston, arrived in the township and purchased the Rancho Laguna Seca from Juan Álvarez. Fisher's son, Thomas Fisher came to Burnett township in 1846. Daniel Murphy established the first orchard at his farm. Captain Fisher cultivated the first vineyard. By the 1850, the population had ground to 540. The township included the election precincts of Burnett and Highland and the school districts of Burnett and Coyote.[4][9]

The 1876 Thompson & West map of Santa Clara County shows the Burnett township, and the railroad stops at Tennant, Coyote, Perry, and Madrone. It also shows several schools and ranchos. The route between downtown San José and Gilroy featured several stagecoach stops that ran through Burnett Township. The names of the stops indicated thier distance from San José. Theses stops provided opportunities to change horses and allowed passengers to have meals or look for overnight accommodations.[9]

Twelve-Mile House

edit
 
Twelve Mile House, the first wood framed building constructed in the Burnett township.

Around 1852, Captain William Fisher built the two-story Twelve-Mile House located along Monterey Road, 12 miles from San José. It was the first wood framed building constructed in the Burnett township. The house was built using redwood from the Santa Cruz Mountains.[4][9][8][7]

Orvis Stevens (1830-1916) of Vermont moved to Burnett township in 1868 and went into farming. In 1875, he rented the Twelve-Mile House, where he operated a store, blacksmith's shop, hotel, and post office. He also served as postmaster and school trustee. His son, Charles Stevens was born near Coyote on March 3, 1868 and planted a commercial orchard with his father.[10][4]

On January 16, 1963, the Twelve-Mile house burned down. A collection of California antiques were destroyed.[11][12]

Coyote Post Office (Burnett post office)

edit
 
Coyote Post Office at History Park in 2024

The Burnett Post Office was founded on April 30, 1862, and named after the Burnett township.[13] The Post Office was located inside the Twelve-Mile House. It served as a regular stagecoach stop on the Monterey Road between San José and Morgan Hill. The Post Office was one of the way stations for the Butterfield Overland Mail route between San Francisco and St. Louis, Missouri. John Barry, the inn-keeper of the Twelve-Mile House, is recorded as the first Postmaster in government records.[4]: p141 [14]

The name of “Burnett Post Office” was changed to “Coyote Post Office” on March 13, 1882. The Post Office relocated from the Twelve-Mile House to a building built by Fiacro Fisher, who also became the building's postmaster. The Coyote Post Office moved to History Park in 1974 and was dedicated on April 5, 1981.[14][15][16]

Coyote station

edit
 
Coyote station after 2024 move to History Park

The Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) ran through the center of the Burnett township connecting San José, Coyote, and Gilroy. The Coyote station was a railroad depot in Coyote, California that was established in 1869. The station was located near the Twelve-Mile House and Coyote Post Office in the heart of the Coyote Valley. The depot took its name from the Coyote Creek and explorer Juan Bautista de Anza who referred to the area as "Arroyo del Coyote."[4][8]

The station catered to the large farming community in the township. SP's daily trains stopped in Coyote to transport the valley's produce to market. Farmers brought their cattle, milk, and fruit to the station for the trip to San José. The train station was in use until the cancellation of the train route in 1959.[13] In May 2024, Coyote station was relocated to History Park at Kelley Park in San José. The building will be restored and made into a transportation museum.[4][17][13]

Eighteen-Mile House (Madrone station)

edit

The Eighteen Mile House, also known as the Madrone station, was in the Burnett Township on the north side of Morgan Hill, 18 miles from San José on the Monterey Road. The Eighteen-Mile House was built in 1858 and was on the Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach route. The Madrone post office was added in 1867, along with a hotel, livery stable, butcher shop, and blacksmith shop. The Madrone station was a train stop between the Perry and Morgan Hill stations.[4][9]

Captain William Fisher purchased 19,973-acre (80.83 km2) Rancho Refugio de la Laguna Seca in 1845 near Madrone. Martin Murphy Sr., an Irish-born Mexican citizen, purchased the 8,927-acre (3,613 ha) Rancho Ojo del Agua de la Coche in 1846 in present-day Morgan Hill, and built a cattle ranch near the Eighteen-Mile House at the mouth of Coyote Creek. James F. Phagley of Missouri, purchased a tract of land near the Eighteen-Mile House in 1870.[13][10]

The Fourteen and Fifteen-Mile Houses sprang up in the area. The Fifteen Mile house, also known as "Perry Station", was a two-story building with a large saloon opposite warehouses owned by the Murphy family.[12][8] The Madrone mineral springs, now known as the Madrone Soda Springs, were located in the Burnett township, approximately 25 miles (40 km) southeast of San José in the Coast Range at an altitude of 2,000 ft (610 m).[4][1]

Twenty-One-Mile House (Tennant station)

edit
 
Bronze plaque for the 21-Mile House site
Main article: 21-Mile House

The Twenty-One-Mile House was a two-story 20 ft (6.1 m) by 25 ft (7.6 m) tavern, blacksmith's shop, and stagecoach rest stop located in the Burnett township near Morgan Hill, 21 miles from San José.[12][4] The 21-Mile House was originally constructed in 1852 by William Host beneath an oak tree later known as the Vásquez Tree. William Tennant (1830-1885) of London, settled at the Twenty-One-mile House and acquired the nearby 1,350 acres (550 ha) property in 1852. Tennant, originally a piano tuner from County Wexford, Ireland, and his family, took on the roles of owner and operators. The house was commonly known as "Tennant Station" during his ownership. When the railroad was extended to Gilroy, Tennant Station served as a request stop and shipping center for the ranches between Burnett Township and Gilroy. After the house was destroyed by fire in 1853, it was rebuilt as a two-story structure measuring 22 ft (6.7 m) by 36 ft (11 m), with two wings measuring 18 ft (5.5 m) by 20 ft (6.1 m) and 16 ft (4.9 m) by 18 ft (5.5 m). The Twenty-One Mile House became a stop for the Butterfiled Overland Stage in 1860.[9][4][12]

Tennant held the position of the town's postmaster, which was established at the "21-Mile House" tavern on April 5, 1871.[18] In 1876, Tennant built a blacksmith's shop. Tennant continued to serve the stage drivers and travelers until his death on June 22, 1885.[4][12][19] In 1885, John O’Toole purchased the ranch and 21-mile house, converting it into a private residence.[9] In 1915, D. Y. Jones purchased the property, demolished the existing building, and erected a modern house in its place. On September 3, 1937, the Santa Clara County Chamber of Commerce declared the site of the 21-Mile House a California Historical Landmark #259.[12]

Geography

edit

Burnett Township was in the eastern portion of Santa Clara County, California, and occupied a major portion of Santa Clara Valley. The Coyote Creek and Calaveras Creek flow through the township.[4][20]

Topography

edit

Burnett Township consisted of a large level plain at the bottom of the valley and a mountain range to the east and west. The highest point is Loma de Tora, also known as Murphy's Peak, now known as El Toro (Spanish for "The Bull"), due west of Burnett station near Morgan Hill. It is at an elevation of 1,427 ft (435 m).[4]

Climate

edit

Due to the moderating influence of the Pacific Ocean, Burnett Township enjoyed a mild, Mediterranean climate. The summer months were typically dry. Winter months had sunny and partly cloudy days, with breaks between rainstorms. The local climate supported chaparral with stands of live oak at higher elevations.[4]

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Munro-Fraser, J.P (1881). History of Santa Clara County, California: Including its geography, geology, topography, climatography and description. San Francisco, California: Alley, Bowen, & Co. pp. 18, 40. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  2. ^ Margolin, Malcolm (1978). The Ohlone Way: Indian Life in the San Francisco-Monterey Bay Area. Berkeley, California: Heyday Books. pp. 61–63, 84. ISBN 978-0930588014. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  3. ^ "Early History". Santa Clara County: California's Historic Silicon Valley. National Park Service. Retrieved January 18, 2008.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p History of Santa Clara County, California; Including Its Geography, Geology, Topography, Climatography and Description. Alley, Bowen & Company. 1881. pp. 253–254. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  5. ^ Hoffman, Ogden (1862). Reports of Land Cases Determined in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Numa Hubert, San Francisco. N. Hubert. p. 97. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  6. ^ "Map of Santa Clara Co. Ranchos". History San Jose. San Jose, California. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Eugène, Gilbert (1979). The California to remember. Copley Books. p. 120. ISBN 978-0-913938-21-8. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d Hoover, Mildred B.; Rensch, Hero; Rensch, Ethel; Abeloe, William N. (1966). Historic Spots in California. Stanford University Press. pp. 431, 448–449. ISBN 978-0-8047-4482-9. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  9. ^ a b c d e f "Historic Context Statement for the City of Morgan Hill". San Francisco, California: CIRCA: Historic Property Development. October 2006. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  10. ^ a b Sawyer, Eugene T. (1922). History of Santa Clara County, California With Biographical Sketches. Los Angeles, California: Historic Record Co. pp. 908, 1471–1472. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  11. ^ "Historic Inn At Coyote Burns Down". Salinas, California: The Californian. January 16, 1963. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
  12. ^ a b c d e f Rader, Benjamin (1940). Vasquez Tree and Site Of 21-Mile House Santa Clara County (PDF). Berkeley, California: State of California, Department of Natural Resources Division of Parks. pp. 1–2, 7–8. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  13. ^ a b c d John Todd (February 5, 1989). "Coyote just crying in the wilderness". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. p. 32. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  14. ^ a b "Coyote Post Office". History San José. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  15. ^ "Coyote Post Office Opening Planned" (PDF). San Jose Historical Museum Association News. Vol. I, no. 3. February 1981. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  16. ^ "Coyote Post Office, Historic Landmark 10-193". History San Jose. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  17. ^ Sal Pizarro (May 21, 2024). "155-year-old Coyote train depot takes a road trip to San Jose". The Mercury News. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  18. ^ "Postal Changes on the Pacific Slope". San Francisco, California: The San Francisco Examiner. December 1, 1879. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  19. ^ "Gilroy Hot Sprints. One of its Proprietors Drowned in a Pluge Bath". San Francisco, California: The San Francisco Examiner. June 24, 1885. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  20. ^ "Southern Pacific Coyote Depot". History San José. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
edit

  Media related to Burnett Township, Santa Clara County, California at Wikimedia Commons


This page will be placed in the following categories if it is moved to the article namespace.
Categories:
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Draft:Burnett_Township,_Santa_Clara_County,_California&oldid=1231758961"