In my Monday post about Kate Buick, I related a story from her niece, Veva Buick Poorman regarding Kate's use of Morse code.

Here's another one about Kate from Ms. Poorman that describes how her aunt safeguarded Wells Fargo gold.

In Roseburg, Oregon , gold sometimes arrived on the evening train after the local bank was closed. Armed with a small pistol in her handbag, Kate Buick carried Wells Fargo gold home in a satchel. If it was too heavy for the satchel, Kate lugged the gold in Veva's lunchbox. The next morning, Buick would deposit the gold in the bank.

In December 1912, George Sewell replaced Kate Buick as Agent. Roseburg's newspaper, the Daily Review, declared:

In relieving Miss Buick as its local agent, the company was merely following out its newly adopted policy of placing all of its branch agencies in the hands of men. Many of its offices besides the one in this city are affected. Miss Buick, on account of her long experience and thorough efficiency, will be retained by the company as an assistant to Mr. Sewell.

Kate Buick had the last word when she married George Sewell seven months later.

In 1918, the federal government consolidated all express businesses, including Wells Fargo's, under a government-run corporation called American Railway Express . Mrs. Sewell continued work as an agent for Railway Express until 1939, and sporadically thereafter into the 1950s.

Today, nearly two-thirds of Wells Fargo employees are women.

As a tribute to women in the workforce, the Wells Fargo History Museum is collaborating with the Portland Police Museum  and Portland State University's Friends of History  to showcase a free presentation entitled Lola Baldwin, America's First Policewoman.

Posted by Steve at 02:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in At Work, Experts, First-hand Accounts, Gold, Misc, Remember, Wells Fargo Bank, Women's History

In September of 1858, stagecoaches left St. Louis and San Francisco on their way to San Francisco and St. Louis, respectively. The Overland Mail Company  was on the road.

Here's the story of the OMC in a nutshell.

John Butterfield wanted to land the government contract to carry the US Mail to the untamed West. The government was offering 600,000 bucks to whoever could get mail from the Missouri frontier to California, across all the deserts and mountains and lack of facilities, and guarantee its safety and efficiency. Butterfield figured the best method was to carry passengers as well, whose fares would help offset costs.

Anybody who was intelligent in those days knew that the undertaking was crazy. The route took a southerly arc to avoid mountains, but got deserts in exchange. The route had unpredictable weather and geographic hazards, was unpaved and even uncharted in some places. All this meant that the person who wanted to try to get that fat contract had to be a little crazy themselves. In other words, an entrepreneur.

And that was Butterfield , to be sure.

Entrepreneurs  with big vision and willing to risk everything need the sort of backers who are intelligent and willing to risk some. Butterfield was able to gather several Directors for his Company, including Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, whose Express Company in the West was growing fast. The two operations would complement each other, on paper at least, as long as things went smoothly.

Things did go smoothly, albeit at great expense, for about three years. But that's another story...

So the Stagecoaches rolled and regular overland business commenced. The three-week (or so) journey shortened the time it had formerly taken between Missouri and California terminals. By ship , or the lumbering routes by wagon train , it had taken as long as six months. Of course, it cost a lot to ride: $300 in those days is equivalent to thousands  now.

But what a view!

Posted by Charles at 04:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Found in Branding, Gold, Misc, Remember, Ride sharing, Stagecoach, Transportation, Travel, Wells Fargo Bank

Our Museum was visited recently by 18 professors from Peking University  students, in Minneapolis as adult ESL  students. On the same day, a Minnesota man visited the Museum with his three cousins from Sweden. While these two groups may live half a world apart (literally!), their visits to the Museum coordinate the history and diversity that are such major features of Wells Fargo.

The professors from Beijing were touring downtown Minneapolis, looking to test and improve their English skills. In the museum, they were surprised that I had Chinese-language brochures for their convenience. Their second reaction was curiosity at the connections between Wells Fargo and the Chinese population of California in the mid-1800s.

When gold was discovered in California in 1848, the Chinese population was fewer than 100 people. But the Gold Rush radically increased all segments, and by 1860, the Chinese population  had jumped to 110,000. While many businesses in California excluded other nationality and language groups, Wells, Fargo & Co. opened their business to all customers.

To aid transactions with Chinese-speaking customers, Wells Fargo hired Chinese language interpreters and advertised in Chinese-language newspapers. By the 1870 s, Chinese patrons made up one-quarter of the customer base at some locations. Wells Fargo distributed a "Chinese Business Houses Directory" to promote bilingual locations. Indeed, a man named Wong Sam created a Chinese-American phrase book in 1875 that included a list of Wells Fargo offices.

In a similar history, the Swedish visitors to our museum were curious about their ancestors who founded a community in central Minnesota and, they believe, worked for Wells Fargo. Swedish , Norwegian , German , Polish  and other European populations came to the Midwest , hoping to prosper as farmers. Wells Fargo arrived in Minnesota in1885 but only stayed one year. So what were the odds that Swedish visitors had ancestors in Minnesota who worked for California-based Wells Fargo inside a single year? The odds were actually pretty good.

Consider: Wells Fargo returned to Minnesota in 1897. Offices cropped up in cities, towns and whistle stops, bringing express and banking services to the area's businesses and farm families . For our Swedish visitors' ancestors, it was only natural for them to conduct business in Swedish  -- just as other immigrant populations did business in their native languages. These communities were embraced by Wells Fargo, who advertised and did business in many languages.

Wells Fargo's history shows our 155-year success is, in part, tied to the open-minded business practices originating since the very beginning. Wells Fargo's commitment to serving every customer was as strong in Minnesota 100 years ago as it was in California in 1852. And it is as strong today as it was then.

Posted by Heidi Berg at 11:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Found in Farmers, Gold, Minneapolis, Misc, Museums, Perspective, Remember, Wells Fargo Bank

As we celebrate the significant contributions of famous African Americans this month, I think it's important to introduce our collective memory to the often forgotten local heroes and pioneers of African American history. In the 1880 census, 31 African Americans lived in the area of Julian, California . That number, small as it was, constituted 60% of the entire African American population in San Diego County. The town of Julian, located in the back mountainous country of San Diego County and long known for its gold (and more recently for its apples ) is also where early African American pioneers made their mark on San Diego.

One of those pioneers was A.E. "Fred" Coleman . A former slave, Coleman had spent some time in the gold fields of northern California during the '49 gold rush. In 1869, Coleman was a cattle herder living in the area of Julian. One day, after leading his horse to a small creek, Coleman looked into the stream and discovered the unmistakable glitter of gold...and the Julian Gold Rush  was on!

Coleman was soon elected Recorder of the newly formed Coleman Mining District. Between 1870 and 1875, the Julian mines produced about $2 million in gold. The creek where Coleman made his discovery was renamed Coleman Creek . And a nearby street, Coleman Circle , was also named in his honor.

Another pioneer, Albert Robinson, originally came to California as a slave. Robinson won his freedom and moved to Julian around 1880. With his wife Margret, he opened the Robinson Restaurant and Bakery. Margret's reputation for good cooking and hospitality brought in so many customers that Albert soon added rooms to the restaurant. The new Robinson Hotel became very popular during the Julian boom times and beyond. The Robinson's owned and operated the hotel for 28 years. The Robinson Hotel, (presently known as the Julian Gold Rush Hotel ) has been in operation for over a hundred years and is the "oldest continuously operated hotel in southern California" according to the National Register of Historic Places .

These are just three of the African American pioneers who helped shape San Diego County. I invite everyone to do a little digging and learn more about little-known African American pioneers in your own town. For more on Black pioneers in San Diego, check out this article  from the Journal of San Diego History.

Posted by Casey at 02:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Found in African American History, Gold, Misc, Museums, Perspective, Remember, San Diego, Wells Fargo Bank

For forty years, William Robison was the Express Messenger who carried Wells, Fargo & Co.'s Express between Stockton, California   and the Sierra Nevada gold mines . He was active in community affairs and worked forcefully to protect the civil rights of African Americans in California. What distinguishes Robison's accomplishments is the fact that he was active in an era when African Americans faced the hardest attitudes against them: the era of slavery and Jim Crow , 1850-1899.

Born into slavery in Virginia, Robison gained his freedom in 1836 after serving with the U.S. Army in the "Seminole War ." Robison came to California during the Mexican War  and settled in Stockton in 1850. Following a stint at mining (like just about everyone in those years!), he worked for Page, Bacon & Co. , California's largest bank. Robison then hired on with Adams & Co.'s  express business. His route was from Stockton to the mines, carrying mail and newspapers to be first with the news. Adams & Co. crashed in the financial panic of 1855 and Wells Fargo happily hired Robison. He worked for Wells Fargo for another forty years.

Robison actively fought for civil rights. He was a delegate to the State Convention of Colored Citizens in 1856 , which circulated petitions to allow non-Whites to testify in court cases. In the early 1870s, Robison worked to integrate Stockton's schools.

In pre-Civil War years, California was a Free State  and Robison was not quiet about reminding people of that fact. Robison took action as well: According to Stockton historian Virginia L. Struhsaker, Robison was one of an armed band that liberated slaves held illegally in San Joaquin County. An African American man took a huge risk by participating in such an act because negative attitudes were everywhere, even in Free States.

In 1861, for instance, a business agent along Robison's Messenger route protested the employment of a black wagon driver. George Tighlman, Wells Fargo's cashier in the Stockton office, sarcastically replied, "we are obliged to you for your advice...We get along very well with ours; have never had any trouble."

Robison was a respected man in his community. Even the pro-slavery San Joaquin Republican  praised him as "a worthy and noticeable man," noted for "his remarkable kindnesses." Robison was a member of the Stockton Pioneer Society, one of many such organizations formed in that era by "Forty-niners"  and other early-comers to the Golden State. At his death in 1899, other Pioneers wrote of Robison's trustworthiness and the positions of responsibility he held.

In sum: Robison had a military career and claimed his freedom, stayed in one job for decades, was active in civic affairs, joined community organizations, risked his life for justice — and leaves a primary legend as being a great guy. Robison is THE model of citizenship. It's an honor to work with him.

Posted by Charles at 12:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in African American History, At Work, Gold, Misc, Perspective, Protests, Remember, Transportation, Wells Fargo Bank

A couple of months ago (October 21, 2007), Wells Fargo helped celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Sacramento Public Library . A Wells Fargo Stagecoach made an appearance and the Old Sacramento Museum staff presented a gold panning exhibition. The festivities attracted many visitors, young and old, who enjoyed gold panning   and the other activities. The most important part, however, was the celebration of the 150th anniversary  of the Public Library.

Five years after the creation of Wells Fargo in 1852, the Sacramento Public Library was created. By 1857, Sacramento was developing rapidly . The city had a railroad, city hall, newspaper, steamboat service, ten churches, brothels, theaters and a Wells Fargo Express Office. The citizenry felt it necessary to fulfill their intellectual requirements as well – so in October, prominent residents formed the Capital Library Association.

The Association sold stock at 25 dollars per share and raised $25,000 to buy books, furnish the library and purchase land for the building. The Library opened in November 1857 to subscribing members who paid five dollars initially, then two dollars and fifty cents quarterly. The first building was located at 5th and J Streets and housed a collection of 800 books.

The following year, another 800 books sailed from New York , around Cape Horn , and through the Delta  to Sacramento. By September 1873, the library had 260 subscribing members and an annual circulation of 4,234 books. Unfortunately, membership started to decline after that.

The Association offered the property to the City of Sacramento to be used as a free public library. In June 1879, the Sacramento Free Library opened with over 6,000 books. Within six months, the number of daily visitors had grown to over 100. Since then library service has continued to expand, with the opening of branch sites throughout the city's communities.

The main branch  of Sacramento's modern Public Library opened in 1992 on 9th and I Streets in a beautiful six-story building. The Library today offers so much more with exhibits, programs, book readings and events. But the 150-year history of the Library is not forgotten: those 800 books that sailed 'round the Horn  in 1858 are still a part of the Library's rare book collection.

Posted by Martha at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in Get Involved, Gold, Misc, Museums, Perspective, Remember, Sacramento, Transportation, Wells Fargo Bank

Thinking about Wells Fargo's beginnings, a few pivotal events come to mind: Henry Wells hiring William Fargo as an express messenger for the Pomeroy Company in 1842 , and the resistance other Directors of the American Express Company had to venturing into California, pushing fellow Directors Wells and Fargo to create their own company. These events are crucial enough that Wells Fargo & Company might not ever have been created without them.

Another key event was the discovery of gold in Coloma, California  by James Marshall. His discovery led to the Gold Rush  — the migration of thousands of people to California in a short time. These events sparked the interests of express pioneers Wells and Fargo to found the Company. Again, it's feasible to say that this may not have happened if Marshall  had not discovered gold that cold morning in 1848.

Marshall was a carpenter and sawmill operator by trade who came to California in 1845. He started working at Sutter's Fort , putting into motion the events that led to the discovery of gold. In 1848, John Sutter  and Marshall started construction of a sawmill on the American River in Coloma.

On the morning of January 24, 1848 , Marshall discovered a small nugget of gold in the millrace. Henry Bigler was working for Marshall that day and left an account of the discovery: "This day some kind of mettle was found in the trail race that looks like gold."

For a short time the discovery remained a secret. Laborers on the project were the first to prospect after the completion of the sawmill. The secret was soon leaked, and word of gold in California began to get out. News of the strike on the American River  was doubted for months, however, until May 12, when merchant Sam Brannan  raced around the streets of San Francisco shouting, "Gold! Gold from the American River!"

Local excitement brought the first influx of prospectors, and the news quickly spread to the East and then around the globe. Christopher "Kit" Carson  brought the first news of gold to Washington D.C., and on December 5th, President James K. Polk  reported to Congress about the discovery of Gold in California. The finding was official and the Gold Rush was on.

Henry Wells and William Fargo established Wells Fargo in San Francisco in 1852. Over the 156 years since, Wells Fargo has continued a tradition of dependable financial service. We at Wells Fargo are proud of our history and our Company, but we also marvel at how James Marshall's tiny piece of gold at a construction site changed the course of U.S. and California history, and also began Wells Fargo's own history.

Posted by Greg at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in At Work, Gold, Misc, Museums, Perspective, Psychology, Remember, Sacramento, Wells Fargo Bank

As I wrote last week, and as you see here, I got a new banker's uniform. Here at the Wells Fargo Museum in Old Sacramento, we give tours and dress in the style of the era. My pocket watch gave my get-up a classic finish. It also got me thinking about watches Wells Fargo presented in recognition of heroic work. I told the story of Aaron Y. Ross, but another man comes to mind.

James Wales Miller was a stagecoach driver. While on his route one day he outran would-be stagecoach robbers and saved the Wells Fargo treasure box. Miller was asked what he wanted for his valor and he responded;

"A dame big bullion watch."

And that’s what Miller got. Wells Fargo presented Miller a silver watch and chain that together weighed approximately two and one-half pounds. The watch alone was approximately three inches in circumference, and one inch wide.

Although such watches as Ross's and Miller's were presented for valor, heroism was not the only reason to Wells Fargo bestowed watches. Non-employees who helped the company were presented with these exclusive watches on occasion. Thomas W. Davies was one such man. A treasure box was dropped from a stagecoach near San Diego, "carrying 10,000 worth in gold from the Golden Chariot Mine ." Davies found and returned the treasure box to Wells Fargo—intact. Superintendent John J. Valentine sent Davies a presentation watch with an inscription that read:

"As recognition of his integrity in protecting and restoring the Treasure Box, with valuable contents, lost from the Julian City Stage , near San Diego, October 1, 1873."

The loyalty, courage and honesty these men showed paid off for them in the end. Wells Fargo appreciated their integrity, and presented them with some of the finest watches of the time.

Posted by Greg at 03:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Found in Artifacts, At Work, Crime, Gold, Misc, Museums, Perspective, Photographs, Remember, Sacramento, Stagecoach, Wells Fargo Bank

Through December 22, Wells Fargo is running a contest  where you can submit your own music video of the song, "The Wells Fargo Wagon" from The Music Man  and you can win excellent prizes. To help our Guided By History community understand the background of this contest from a historical perspective — and to encourage the submission of excellent videos! — Steve Greenwood in Portland continues the history of the Wells Fargo Wagon. (CR)

Commerce and Industries of the Pacific Coast of North America (1882) is a revealing book that describes the state of carriage and wagon   manufacturing at the end of the 19th century. The author, John S. Hittell , notes that residents of the Pacific Coast "...use an exceptionally large number of wagons and buggies. It is doubtful whether so many are to be found in proportion to the people in any other part of the world."

According to Hittell, the actual number of vehicles produced was few because oak and hickory for light wagons was not available, and so the wood had to be shipped from the East. He also claims that "A great part of the value of a wagon is in the wheels, most of which are made for us beyond the Rocky Mountains." Hittell estimates that the Pacific Coast purchased 7,000 farm wagons annually worth $100 each, but there was not one shop that specialized solely in their production. However, in the production of "spring wagons," which delivery businesses used — including Wells, Fargo & Co.'s Express — San Francisco manufacturers produced about 500 spring wagons  annually. They were worth about $200 each.

The author lists eleven wagon companies in San Francisco, including C. A. Hawley & Co., Marcus C. Hawley & Co. and David N. Hawley, whose business inter-relationships are not detailed. Studebaker Brothers  at 31 California Street were a pioneer "Forty-Niner" business along with Levi Strauss and Co.  and Wells Fargo.

The arrival of the railroads sped communication and transportation, and gave Eastern businesses a competitive edge in supplying horse-drawn vehicles in the West. As cities grew , problems related to horse-drawn vehicles such as accidents, traffic jams, and pollution also grew. Businesses delivered more goods more rapidly, and the need arose to ensure that accidents did not result from speeders. In an effort to reduce accidents, cities regulated the speed of horse-drawn vehicles—Chicago 6 mph, Boston 7 mph, and Detroit 6 mph. San Francisco applied a broader regulation that horses had to maintain a speed that was not faster than a person crossing the street.

Excess emissions  could also be a problem, but it was not the carbon monoxide of today — it was manure, a by-product that is put to good use   for the environment, then and now!

Posted by Steve at 02:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Found in Animals, Branding, Environment, Gold, Misc, Museums, Perspective, Railroads, The Music Man, Transportation, Wells Fargo Bank, Wells Fargo Wagon

Construction has been non-stop for the past few months in Old Sacramento . Half a block down from the Wells Fargo Museum, building has begun on a replica of the Orleans Hotel . The Orleans was originally built in 1850, only to be burnt down in the great fire of 1852. After the fire the hotel was rebuilt in only twenty-one days and six hours, and cost $176,000. The second building stood from 1852 until the mid-20th century, changing ownership and purposes several times. The building was torn down over 10 years ago and the site stood empty. But now, construction on a replica of the Orleans hotel has begun.

How does this historic hotel have ties to Wells Fargo?

Three of Wells Fargo's express agents in Sacramento were involved with the Orleans hotel. Captain William Simmons, Sacramento agent from 1858-60, built it in 1849. His title of "Captain" came from his shipping line that transported freight from New Orleans to California. Simmons bought and shipped a prefabricated building to Sacramento, which became the New Orleans hotel. He was the owner and operator of the hotel until 1852, when he sold it prior to the great fire , which destroyed the original structure.

Samuel Knight was the Sacramento express agent from 1857-58. Three years prior to his appointment as Sacramento's agent, he was in charge of the Orleans hotel. The Orleans at the time was a popular stage stop and neighbor to Wells Fargo's new express location in the B.F. Hastings building two buildings down.

The third agent to work for the Orleans hotel was Alexander Hayden. Hayden was the Sacramento express agent from 1863-66. Ten years earlier, he worked as a clerk at the Orleans hotel under Samuel Knight. His work at the hotel lasted only two years before he left to learn the express business.

The connection between these three Wells Fargo men and their prior occupations working for the Orleans hotel is uncanny. But the neighborhood relationship lives on: The latest version of the hotel will be open in the summer of 2008, and Wells Fargo will be right down the street just like we were 1852.

Posted by Greg at 12:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in Gold, Misc, Museums, Remember, Sacramento, Wells Fargo Bank

Wells Fargo has been musically inclined since the Gold Rush. In 1855, we advanced money for an Italian opera troupe. However they defaulted, so we seized their trunk of costumes and musical instruments as security.

Actually, we are really kind hearted. In 1869, Madame Camilla Urso   proposed a music festival to benefit the Mercantile Library, featuring school children and musicians from around California and Nevada. Wells Fargo offered to carry sheet music, letters, and other equipment far and wide throughout its lines on the Pacific Coast for free. The successful San Francisco festival ran for five days in February 1870.

If it could be sent by express, Wells Fargo carried it. In May of 1860, a future jazz musician in Columbia asked Wells Fargo to supply copies of Schatzman's Sax Horn Instructor. Up they came from San Francisco.

On occasion, Wells Fargo contributed to the Big Bang Theory  . Mariposa agent Julia Jones delivered a bass drum to complete a brass band at Whitlock's Gold Mine . In the spring of 1897, this band, splendid in their white uniforms, serenaded Mariposans with "Old Folks at Home," "The Man in the Moon," and the "Young Bandsman."

In the summer of 1917, Wells Fargo also carried "several valuable violin bows from Colorado Springs to Chicago. Accompanying these bows in a handsome, sturdy, brass-bound packing case were also a few violins – one made by Nicola Amati   in 1662, another by Carlo Bergonzi   in 1723, and a third, modern one produced by Joseph Guarnerius   in 1731.

Wells Fargo starred in the performance of express service. Meredith Willson drew on his boyhood memories in Iowa to write The Music Man  . That story revolves around the arrival of band instruments on the "Wells Fargo Wagon." The whole town turns out to sing: "O-ho the Wells Fargo Wagon is-a comin' down the street, Oh, Please let it be for me!"

Our relations with opera singers improved through the years — we even starred in an opera. In 1910, when Puccini's Gold Rush opera The Girl of the Golden West   appeared, Wells Fargo's agent was heroic.

Posted by Bob at 09:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Found in Artifacts, Branding, Broadway, Gold, Hollywood, Misc, Movies, Music, Opera, Perspective, Remember, San Francisco, The Music Man, Wells Fargo Bank, Westerns

September brings the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month , and I'll probably write several posts about it. My reasons are simple: there's lots to write about, and it's a topic I like. So there.

Latinos have been in America since it became America . Each region and nation has developed its own distinctiveness, which continues today as people move about, settle and live in different — sometimes multiple — areas.

In the late 18th century, Mexicans were expanding northwest into California to try and exploit the Pacific Coast. A couple generations later, Mexico got its independence from Spain — the US came soon after, in 1846. In the interim, Mexican people in California developed a short-lived, but romantic society: Californios. After annexation by the US, Californios' prominence quickly waned as their vast ranchos were broken up. Most died in sad circumstances, but one Californio was able to train his position and status.

General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo  rose through army ranks to become commander of the Northern Frontier. Vallejo deftly handled relations with the Russian outpost at Fort Ross , and kept an uneasy balance with John Sutter  to the east. He personally financed northern forces when the Mexican and Californian governments were unwilling to do so.

Vallejo determined that annexation by the US was the best way to resolve all the problems he had to control . But in an unfortunate paradox, Vallejo's holdings in Northern California were lost to title challenges soon after he participated in the constitutional convention as California neared statehood. This was a fate shared by many of the Rancheros from Californio days.

Vallejo's son, Platón Vallejo, was educated in the East and became California's first native-born medical doctor. In 1872, Gen. Vallejo was in San Francisco on business. He wrote to Platón and asked him to send along money by Wells Fargo Express because "aquí cuesta mucho vivir" ("it is expensive to live here"). A year later, Dr. Platón Vallejo transferred funds again, this time from Vallejo, California — the city named for his illustrious family — to the General at his home in Sonoma.

Posted by Charles at 03:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Found in Artifacts, First-hand Accounts, Gold, Holidays, Independence Day, Latin America, Misc, Perspective, Remember, San Francisco, Wells Fargo Bank

Last week's post on steamers prompted this elaboration by Steve Greenwood, our Curator at Wells Fargo's Portland History Exhibit. (CR)

Steamers were a vital part  of the Pacific Northwest's economy, and the discovery of gold  in Oregon, Idaho and Montana in 1860 and 1861 advanced trade on the Columbia and Willamette rivers. Portland's location at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia established it as the shipping center for the Pacific Northwest and an ideal hub for Wells Fargo's express business.

(Steamboats  were smaller steam-powered boats that traveled on lakes and rivers, while steamships  generally referred to larger steam-powered oceangoing vessels that gradually replaced sailing ships during the 19th century. By the second half of the 20th century, diesel-powered ships had replaced steamships.)

Incoming steamships delivered eagerly awaited family and friends, letters from loved ones, packages, and the latest news from "the States." "I hear the old Steamer Gun," a woman recorded with anticipation in 1863, "and I wonder if I shall get a letter in the morning. That is what I always think when I hear it." Northbound steamships called at Crescent City, Astoria, Portland, and Victoria, British Columbia. Steamships took 3½ days to sail from San Francisco to Portland, and Wells Fargo's express messengers traveled onboard and guarded packages, mail, and millions in gold. Once underway, messengers inventoried express items, checked shipping documents and waybills, and sorted letters and business documents for immediate delivery.

No one knew when the steamship would dock—except at night somewhere between 9 p.m. and 4 a.m. Wells Fargo's agent for Portland, Eugene Shelby, recalled: "The greater part of steamer night found us all waiting at the office, and generally little sleep was secured on those occasions." The Wells Fargo messenger hauled the express to the office and readied it for morning delivery.

Wells Fargo also took to the rivers. Steamboats plied the waters 13 miles south from Portland to Oregon City and then 125 miles to Eugene. Steamboat travel on the Willamette began in the 1850s with routes both above and below Willamette Falls at Oregon City . By the 1860s, early steamboat companies portaged people and goods around the waterfalls on a primitive road and wooden rail system. Built in 1873, the Willamette Falls Locks  enabled steamboats to travel between Portland and Eugene without portaging. By 1882, the Oregon Railway and Navigation Co. had 16 gleaming white steamers on the Willamette and ran steamboats to Eugene until 1916.

In 1861, the rush to Idaho improved traffic on the Columbia with the Oregon Steam Navigation Co.  carrying about 10,500 passengers in 1861, 36,000 just three years later. Steamboats carried gold from Lewiston, Idaho, down the Columbia to Portland, where ocean steamships hurried it to San Francisco. At each stage, a Wells Fargo messenger was aboard. From 1863 to 1867, Wells Fargo annually transported about 5 million dollars of gold out of Oregon and Idaho; from 1877 to 1879, Wells Fargo annually shipped 7 million dollars in gold.

By the time gold mining dwindled, wheat grown in the fertile soils of eastern Oregon became a "golden" substitute. Wheat, bran and other farm products also were transported from Willamette Valley towns to Portland for shipping to California, the East Coast, the Columbia Plateau , and even Europe. This later "gold" strike helped Portland maintain its position as the dominant shipping center in the Pacific Northwest to the end of the 19th century.

Posted by Steve at 02:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in Agriculture, Bran, Farmers, Gold, Misc, Museums, Railroads, Steamers, Wells Fargo Bank, Wheat

Just had a thought after getting the afternoon Tully's  / Starbucks  / Caribou  (pick yer chain!). Like everything under the sun, referring to coffee by brand name is not new.

One research question I fielded many years ago was asking about a line in a Western novel, about "going to town to get some Arbuckle." The Dictionary of Western Terms in our library enlightened me about the Arbuckle Coffee Co. , which had a good business supplying chuck wagons .

Our Archive Collection now includes a few of Arbuckles' advertising cards, which showed maps and scenes of different Western states. We've used them to illustrate the exhibit in Helena, Mont. You can also find other Arbuckle stuff on eBay  or in antiques stores.

Posted by Charles at 12:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Found in Coffee, Gold, Misc, Museums, Remember, Wells Fargo Bank, Westerns

In the 19th century, roads were rough and railroad tracks were sparse. Steamships provided vital transportation of passengers and goods up and down the West Coast.

Regular steamers departed San Francisco south for Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, San Pedro, Anaheim Landing, San Diego and ports in Mexico and Central America. Northbound steamers called at Crescent City, Astoria, Portland and Victoria, British Columbia. In 1870, the steamer journey from San Francisco to San Pedro (the harbor serving Los Angeles) took 48 hours. In comparison, traveling to the same destination  by rail and stagecoach took 60 hours.

Wells Fargo express messengers sailed aboard these coastal steamers, guarding the mail, gold and valuable packages. Once underway, messengers inventoried express items and checked shipping documents and waybills. They sorted letters and business documents for immediate delivery. Messengers inspected sealed containers of gold dust and bullion to prevent tampering.

Wells Fargo's most well-known steamer messenger on the coastal route was Pilsbury "Chips" Hodgkins, who over his long career escorted millions of dollars in gold and money. Chips earned his nickname as a ship's carpenter  on the way to the California gold rush. Chips escorted Wells Fargo's treasure boxes from the mining camps to the inland port of Stockton, to San Francisco, and up and down the coast. In 1871 Chips' steamer dropped anchor at San Pedro Harbor in Southern California in the midst of a gale. Undaunted by heavy seas, Chips rowed ashore in a small boat to deliver the consignments on time.

For his long service, Chips was rewarded with a banquet and miniature treasure box made of silver. Chips Hodgkins worked for Wells Fargo for more than 25 years. In all that time, through all those voyages, he never lost a penny.

Posted by Charles at 03:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in Gold, Misc, Remember, San Francisco, Steamers, Wells Fargo Bank