Even in the 1860s, fights over Searsville water Even in the 1860s, fights over Searsville water (July 17, 2002)

Editor's Note: This is the sixth part of the story of the people who have lived on the banks of the San Francisquito Creek and its tributaries through the centuries.

By Nancy Lund

One of the big issues surrounding the San Francisquito watershed in the early days was about who had rights to what water.

From the 1860s on, various water companies sought control of the creeks' waters to supply customers in Redwood City, Menlo Park, Mayfield (Palo Alto around California Avenue), and even San Francisco. They envisioned confiscating all the water from all the creeks. This did not make creek-side dwellers happy.

As early as 1860, the San Mateo County Gazette was reporting court cases involving the plans of the Spring Valley Water Company to condemn all the waters of all the creeks. Although these plans never came to pass in full, eventually the company did build a large dam that still provides water to San Francisco.

The Corte Madera Water Company's attempt to take the water from Bear Gulch Creek resulted in subterfuge from people living on its banks. The September 1, 1866, Gazette reported on the situation.

"... it was ascertained that the Bear Gulch Creek furnishes to the inhabitants for miles the only water fit to use for any purposes -- that all the wells in that section of the country had suddenly become impregnated with sulphur, iron, salt, alkali, etc. and the waters thereof were horrible ... [a commissioner] asked [creek-side residents] to show him the stuff they had put in that water to flavor it, which request ... aroused the ire of one woman: ... "Och, ye want to rob me of me wther, ye mutherin', thaving robber, do ye? Begone wrd ye, an never let me see the likes of ye here agin, bad luck to ye!"

An irate letter to the editor of the Gazette in 1867 railed about the creeks' "being dried up by the con-damnation of all the water on this side of the mountain in this county."

In 1878 residents of Searsville learned that the Spring Valley Water Company planned to claim all the water running into and flowing in the San Francisquito Creek to increase the supply for San Francisco. They would accomplish this by building a 105-foot dam on the creek just above its convergence with Bear Creek.

Rumors among residents ran wild. The November 23, 1878, Times-Gazette reported:

"Will we sell out or not, is the all absorbing topic now agitating the residents of Searsville and vicinity. The survey of the Spring Valley Water Company shows that the lake to be formed by the proposed dam at the Murray place will entirely submerge the site of the town. At Eikerenkotters' the surface of the water will be on a level with the eaves of the store.

The Murray mentioned in the article, John Murray, immediately sold his 108.8 acres to the company for $13,000 and moved to Menlo Park. His property provided an important anchorage for the dam. Most other residents sold too. They were offered the opportunity to remain in their homes tax- and rent-free until the dam was completed. Some were hired to work on the dam. All had the right to move and/or salvage structures that had to be removed.

Two families were reluctant to sell their homes. Joseph Spaulding's 1886 demand of $2,000 was too high for the company to accept. When a real estate agent came along with two attractive ladies as potential buyers, Spaulding sold to them for $1,175. He didn't mention that the property might shortly be under water. And the real estate agent didn't mention that his clients were intermediaries who sold the land to the Spring Valley company.

In 1888 one Henri Barroilhet persuaded Elizabeth Welsh and her daughter Mary to sell their 68 acres to him. Since he was a representative of the Spring Valley Water Company, he immediately sold the property to the company.

The dam, 60 instead of 105 feet high, was finished in 1891, and the last Searsville residents abandoned their town, although it was never covered by the waters of the reservoir, first called Portola and later renamed Searsville.

A Times-Gazette reporter told what he saw in an October 31, 1891, article:

"... (At Searsville yesterday) all was bustle and activity. It looked as if the water would come up inside of 24 hours from the way that houses and barns were being torn down and fences removed. On the road just this side of Searsville was a small frame house mounted on a sled, drawn by six horses, slowly working its way toward high ground.

The Searsville School remained in service on the west shore of the newly created lake for three more years. In 1894 it was dismantled and a new school built on land donated by Andrew Hallidie in a little village called Portola, emerging along the banks of Sausal Creek. When the children left, only a water company caretaker remained.

As for the success of the plans of the Spring Valley Water Company, the reservoir they created was never used for San Francisco's water; rather it provided water only to Stanford University through complicated arrangements with Stanford's Manzanita Water Company. The reservoir began to silt up immediately. From an original capacity of 344 million gallons, it had shrunk to 173 million gallons by 1914. (In 1919, another 7 feet was added to the dam. Today the reservoir's capacity is about 40 million gallons.)

In her book "Stanford, Story of a University," E. E. Mirrielees described the water:

"Water coming through the pipes (from the new reservoir) was ... good only for cleaning or the sprinkling of the yet non-existent lawns. It carried silt and an odor identifiable a block away."

The university relied on wells for drinking water but continued to use the rank Searsville water for bathing until 1901.

Next: Early life on the flatlands.

Nancy Lund is the Historian of Portola Valley and a member of the Almanac's Panel of Contributors.