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Collection: Books and Periodicals
A Memorial and Biographical History of Northern California (1891) (713 pages)
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Page: of 713
252 HISTORY OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.
daily and weekly editions; in Benicia, the Vew
Era, issued in 1877, weekly; in Suisun, the
Republican, the oldest paper in the county,
founded 1855, a weekly; in Vacaville, the J2eporter, founded 1886, and the Enterprise,
founded 1888, both weeklies; in Dixon, the
Tribune, a weekly, founded 1874; and in Rio
Vista the River News, a weekly.
IN GENERAL.
This county is named after Solano, formerly
a chief of the Suisun tribe of Indians, though
the same word in the Spanish language means
the east wind; it also was the second name of
the celebrated missionary Franciseuv Solano.
Solano is bounded on the north by Yolo, on
the east by Yolo and Sacramento, on the south
by Contra Costa, Suisun Bay and the Straits of
Carquinez being the division line, and on the
west by Napa County.
This was one of the original counties of the
act of February 18,1850. The Legislative committee recommended Benicia for the name.
The Mexican land grants in Sola:o County
were: Mare Island, 5,527 acres, patented to G.
W. P. Bissell and others; Las Putas, 35.516
acres, to M. A. Higuera de Berryessa and others
in 1863; Los Putos, 44,384 aeres, to J. M. Vaca
and J. F. Pefia in 1858; Suisun, 17,775 acres
to A. A. Ritchie in 1857; and 482 acres tod. H.
Fine in 1882; Tolenas, 13,316 acres to J. F.
Armijo in 1868; and Los Ulpinos, 17,726 acres
to John Bidwell in 1866.
The following named gentlemen have represented Solano County in the Legislative Assembly:—D. G. Barnes, 1883-’85; A. Bennett,
1880; R. C. Carter, 1885; Robert J. Curry,
1887; Nathan Cutler, 1859; John T. Dare,
1877-78; N. Hi. Davis, 1858; John Donghty,
1855; J. M. Dudley, 1862-’63; John B. Frisbie, 1867-’68; James S. Graham, 1852; Joel
A. Harvey, 1883, 1884; J. L. Heald, 1873-’74;
D. B. Holinan, 1861; Frank A. Leach, 188081; K. E. Leake, 1881; James M. Lemmon,
1865-66; Joseph McKenna, 1875-76; Frank
O'Grady, 1887; T. H. Owen, 1853; A. M. Stevenson, 1856-57; Milton Wason, 1863-64;
B. C. Whitinan, 1854; M. J. Wright, 1871-72.
TOPOGRAPHICAL AND MINERALOGICAL.
The following paragraphs are from the report
of the State mineralogist:
The eastern third of this county is quite level,
more than 100,000 acres being composed of tule
lands. Thecentral portion hasan undulating surface, while the western breaks into high, rounded
hills, which constitute a portion of the eastern
slope of the Coast Range. The soil is everywhere rich, this, taken as a whole, being one of
the most fertile and productive counties in the
State. Solano contains but few streams of any
magnitude. Cache Slough traverses it near the
center, flowing southeast, Mill Creek in the
western part flows south, the Sacramento River
forming the county boundary on the east. This
is one of the most sparsely wooded counties in
the State, the only timber native to the soil
consisting of a much scattered growth of white
oak, confined chiefly to its northwestern part.
The few cottonwoods that formerly grew along
the streains are now all cut away.
Solano, so far as known, contains no deposits
of the precious metals, though several of the
economic metals and minerals occur in the
county. some of them quite abundantly.
In the hills abont six miles east of Vallejo, a
number of veins carrying the sulphuret of mercury were discovered many years ago, this being
the site of the St. Johns and the John Brownlie
mines. At the former, which was afterward
opened somewhat and equipped with plant, a
small production of quicksilver was made,
though nothing has been done there for the past
ten years. None of the other veins in that loeality have been much developed.
Marbles of different kinds, some of them of
rare beauty, are found in this county. In the
hills near Suisun Valley is found a marble which,
in the rough, bears a strong resemblance tu resin.
Being fine-grained and compact. it takes on a
high yolish, and is much esteemed for ornamental purposes. Located abont four miles
north of Fairfield, the county-seat, is a bed of
aragonite, popularly called onyx, and fully described by the State Mineralogist in the report
of the year 1884. Stones suitable for structural
purposes are met with in many parts of Solano,
a good deal of serpentine and sandstone being
quarried in the neighborhood of Benicia. Clay