I See by the Papers...

All was quiet that midsummer evening in 1912 Santa Rosa, except for two dozen guys trashing the Chinese neighborhood on Second street.

The men were not thugs from a San Francisco Chinese crime gang, although just a few months earlier the community here worried that a Tong war underway in the city would escalate and draw "highbinder" assassins to Santa Rosa. Nor was the havoc caused by a mob of local drunks looking for trouble. Descending on Second street that night was an official posse of lawmen and sworn citizens conducting the first opium raid in Santa Rosa.

(RIGHT: 1908 Sanborn map section showing Santa Rosa's Chinatown highlighted in blue)

A lengthy account of the raid appeared in the Press Democrat (transcribed below) and offers a glimpse of the small Chinatown near the intersection of Second and D streets, rare because it was never mentioned in the local newspapers except for occasional calls for it to be torn down and replaced with a park, hospital or something Burbank-related.

The excuse for terrorizing the community and ransacking their homes was the new law outlawing opium use in California - apparently the first time personal possession of drugs or drug paraphernalia was criminalized in U. S. history. The law was passed in 1909 and appealed up to the state Supreme Court, where it was upheld in 1911. Shortly after that Chinatown raids began in larger cities across the state. The posse raid in Santa Rosa was coordinated to start jointly with raids in Sebastopol and Petaluma Chinatowns.

Even though opium possession was only a misdemeanor subject to a $100 fine the posse gave no quarter in their quest, frisking the residents and tearing into everything they found. From the Press Democrat account, "Some half dozen places were entered, doors were locked and the Chinese occupants quickly herded into one room, and then the search began. Boxes, drawers, sacks, tins, paper packages, clothing, beds, and in short everything was overhauled and a thorough search made. Doors that were locked and for which keys were not delivered up at once, were burst open. So were trunks and boxes...pretty much of a litter remained after the officers had done their work."

The incident also revealed no improvement in anti-Chinese bigotry; the PD article ran through all its old racial epithets - "Celestials" being the kindest of them - but the most loathsome comment in the paper was this: "They all gave some kind of a name. There were Chows, Gows, Ons, Gees, Sams, Harrys and goodness knows what else. For all the officers knew some of those names may have been aliases, too. No one cared particularly anyway. The names all sounded alike."

The reporter further added his/her pissy little judgements of their lifestyle: They "do not smoke very good tobacco," smells in some bottles "were not over-appetizing" and "the lard in preparing the evening meal had not been of the freshest variety." In fact, many in the posse may have been there just to snoop and later snark about the quality of Chinese lard or such; while the party included every active and retired cop in town, other members had no apparent reason to be involved, including State Senator Herb Slater, undertaker Frank Welti and 20 year-olds Arley Gard and Ernest Clay.

In truth, the purpose of the whole business - from the federal import ban also enacted in 1909 down to the raids after 1911 - was meant to harass the Chinese community. The import ban only affected the smoking form of opium favored by Chinese - the opium-based "nerve tonics" predominantly used by whites were still legal.

Smuggling the four-ounce cans over from China proved easy; in her oral history with Gaye LeBaron, Song Wong Bourbeau (born 1909 in Santa Rosa) recalled "they ship them over just like you would ship a dozen eggs." All the ban accomplished was to quickly drive up the price tenfold; by 1912 a night's smoke cost around seven dollars, roughly half a working man's weekly wage and a couple of years later it would double again (MORE). To his credit, former U.S. Congressman from Santa Rosa Duncan McKinlay proposed to tax opium at $5 per pound, believing it was impossible to stop the smuggling trade.

Nor did the Santa Rosa police care about opium smoking before the new law made arrests so lucrative - although they did intervene when white youth were found using the drug, as shown in an example here. And while Santa Rosa had raided Chinatown before, then it was for gambling; in 1910 a series of raids busted Chinese men for playing stud poker (a charge which must have caused guffaws at card tables in saloons and fraternal clubs around town). But those fines brought in less that $250, while in that single opium posse raid the city cleared over $1,000. So it's no surprise that another posse hit the Santa Rosa opium dens in May 1913, this time making more arrests. Likewise in that search they gave "seven places on Second street...a most thorough overhauling." Because breaking stuff up is just something a posse has to do, as everyone knows.

 HIGHBINDER SCARE IN SANTA ROSA CHINATOWN LAST NIGHT

 Santa Rosa's Chinatown on Second street between Main and D streets was pretty badly scared Wednesday night. Talk of "Highbinder" was in the air, following the receiving of a telephone message from "My flen in Napa" by Wong Mow, one of the local Chinese merchants.

 The word was passed around like wildfire. Chinese pickets were stationed here and there on the lookout app along the block in front of the Mongolian quartets, and Chief of Police Boyes was notified. The Chief instructed the patrolmen on the meats to make frequent visits during the night to Chinatown.

 The message received by Wong Mow about half past 7 o'clock word that a party of Chinese highbinders from the warring companies in San Francisco were headed for Santa Rosa and were of the number who shot and killed a man in Marysville. The news was sufficient to put Chinatown all on the lookout.

 At one o'clock this morning a Press Democrat representative visited Chinatown. The "lookouts" were still on duty. They were crouching down in the darkness of the shadow of buildings ready to sound an alarm...

...There are many San Francisco Chinese taking refuge here at the present time. A dozen queueless ones arrived here Wednesday night. They have been drifting in for a week...

- Press Democrat, March 21, 1912

STILL IN FEAR OF HIGHBINDERS

Celestials in Local Chinatown Perturbed Over News of Tong Slayings in Other Places

The excitement in Santa Rosa's Chinatown following the highbinder murders in other cities was increased when the news of the slaying was told there yesterday, and last night the "lookouts" were still on duty. The local Celestials fear that the bad men may visit here.

The casual passerby along the block on Second street occupied by the Chinese quarters last night would not have noticed anything out of the ordinary except for the lookouts crouching in the dark shadow of some building. But the advent of a reporter or policeman known to some of the Chinese merchants was sufficient to draw a crowd of Chinese eager to learn if any news of the approach of the highbinders was forthcoming...

- Press Democrat, March 23, 1912

QUONG SING PROUD MAN ON SATURDAY

Quong Sing, the local merchant, was a happy man on Saturday, when he paraded at the head of the New Cathay Boys' Band from San Francisco. This band is composed of thirty-seven young Chinese who rendered some splendid selections during their march through the streets. These lads have only been playing five months, but they handle their instruments and their music like seasoned veterans. In the band are two lads of eight and nine years, who play the alto horns. Quong Sing is proud of the new China and the boys who were here on Saturday. He was instrumental in bringing the band to this city.

- Santa Rosa Republican, May 4, 1912

POSSES RAID CHINATOWN AND SEVEN ARRESTS MADE

Raids Also Made in Petaluma and Sebastopol

More Arrests in Petaluma and Sebastopol--Opium and Yen She Found and a Number of Outfits on Wednesday Night

There was considerable excitement, quiet excitement at that, in Santa Rosa's Chinatown Wednesday night. The same can be said of the Chinatown of Sebastopol and that at Petaluma, for in all three places raids were made for opium, yen she and smoking outfits. In all three places both drugs, a number of pipes, hoy toys and other contrabrand articles were unearthed. Five Chinamen, a Chinese woman, and a white man were arrested and landed in jail by the officers, and their cases will come up for hearing in Justice Atchinson's court. One man was arrested in Sebastopol, and shortly before twelve o'clock he joined the motley crew behind the bars. Four arrests were made in Petaluma.

The raid in Santa Rosa's Chinatown, located on Second street, between Main and D streets, was headed by Chief of Police John M. Boyes and the officers of the department and of the Justice court, and special deputies aided by Chief Inspector Fred A. Sutherland of the State Board of Pharmacy of California. Sheriff Jack Smith and his posse, had charge of Sebastopol, and Deputy Sheriff Rasmussen and Chief of Police Ed Husler in Petaluma. Deputy Inspector W. T. White of the State Board aided in Sebastopol and Deputy A. J. McDonald of the State Board aided in Petaluma.

For some time the officers and the chief inspectors of the State Board have been aware of presence of the drug and its use in the Chinese quarters in the places named. The inspectors have obtained evidence, and not long since Chief Inspector Sutherland bought a dollars' worth at one of the places raided on Second street. Consequently the raid was planned for Wednesday night at half past nine o'clock in Santa Rosa, Sebastopol and Petaluma.

On Second street in this city at the word of command given by sign by Chief Boyes, the posse that had previous divided up entered the Chinese quarters very quietly, no one knowing what was about to transpire. Some half dozen places were entered, doors were locked and the Chinese occupants quickly herded into one room, and then the search began. Boxes, drawers, sacks, tins, paper packages, clothing, beds, and in short everything was overhauled and a thorough search made. Doors that were locked and for which keys were not delivered up at once, were burst open. So were trunks and boxes. A number of packages of Yen She, some tins of opium, pipes and smoking outfits and other accessories in the smoking of the weed were discovered by the various posses and were carefully piled up, and later this evidence was taken to the police station.

Then the Chinamen were each given a "frisk," or a search, and taken. At times, this was quite amusing, most of the Celestials taking the bantering in good part. Their language, too, had there been an interpreter present, might have savored of the profane. If it did not then, it will when they come to pack those boxes again and clean house, for pretty much of a litter remained after the officers had done their work. They all gave some kind of a name. There were Chows, Gows,Ons, Gees, Sams, Harrys and goodness knows what else. For all the officers knew some of those names may have been aliases, too. No one cared particularly anyway. The names all sounded alike.

Prior to entering the places the officers had provided themselves with search warrants, but none of the Chinese thought to ask for them, anyway. These warrants were procured so that everything might be legally done. It was after midnight before the raid ended here, the search occurring considerable time. Some of the scents discovered in the places during the overhauling of some of the ancient receptacles were not over-appetizing. More than one of the posse pressed into service can testify to that. Those "Chinks," some of them at any rate, do not smoke very good tobacco, either; and the lard in preparing the evening meal had not been of the freshest variety.

Another thing revealed during the search of several of the Second street "joints," was that the Chinese evidently do not put much faith in banks. A surprising lot of money was unearthed, and left of course. There were stacks of twenties, tens and fives in gold, as well as silver. The money will be put in another safe place by the Chinese today.

Attorney Rolfe L. Thompson will prosecute the offenders, representing the State Board. He was on hand at the raid Wednesday night, and at the police station when the prisoners were brought in.

Tried a Getaway

The white man, captured on a charge of having sold morphine, lives in this city, and has been a frequent habitant of the Chinese quarters. A warrant was in the pocket of Chief Boyes for his arrest, when he suddenly stepped into the very place where the Chief was assisting in the search. Police Officer George Matthews grabbed and handcuffed him. Later he tried a getaway but was captured by Attorney Thompson and Elmer Mobley, and was taken to the jail and locked up by Matthews.

The Santa Rosa posse was composed of Chief of Police Boyes, [21 other men named].

The Sebastopol Raid

As stated Sheriff Smith headed the raid at Sebastopol, and it was conducted along similar lines to the other places. Some Yen She and an opium outfit was taken from the place of Gong Gee. There was no excitement, and but a few Chinese were found at home. The idea prevailed there as here that in some manner the Chinese had got a "tip" as to what was about to happen. In Sheriff Smith's posse were [22 other men named].

Raid in Petaluma

Chief Hussler of Petaluma was assisted in the raid there by [5 other men named]. The net result of their work was the arrest of four Chinese and the capture of a considerable quantity of contraband materials and smoking outfits. Three of the Chinese were locked up and one released on $200 cash bail.

- Press Democrat, August 1, 1912

CHINESE PAY $450 FINES

Result of Rain on Opium Dens Wednesday

Ten Chinamen appeared before Justice Atchinson Thursday, charged with having illicit drugs in their possession. This is the catch of the raids in Petaluma, Sebastopol and Santa Rosa, made on Wednesday night by the State Board of Health Inspectors.

The first to appear was Lou Yet of Sebastopol. He entered a plea of guilty and was promutly [sic] fined $100 by Justice Atchinson. The next were four Chinamen from Petaluma. They were considerably incensed over having to be tried here. They chattered and harangued for some time, but were unable to furnish the bail, and three of them were returned to jail to await developments. The other was dismissed. Attorney Gil P. Hall of Petaluma appeared for him on behalf of George P. McNear, explaining that he was only a cook and had just entered the place for a chat.

The five arrested here were promptly arraigned. They had little to say, but appeared to be very distressed. Sam Wo Lung was fined $200 on two charges. Wong Quong was fined $100 and Dock Yen $50 and fifty days in jail. Two others were dismissed for lack of evidence. One was a man and the other a woman. Harry Tong was returned to jail until such time as he could raise the money to pay his fine of $100.

Clint Rickliff, Ed Gautier and Earl Bumbaugh, the three white men captured in the raid on the Chinamen, are to be tried by Justice Atchinson also. These men are all known to be fiends and it is possible they will be sent to some asylum for treatment.

- Santa Rosa Republican, August 1, 1912

THREE LONE CHINAMEN REMAIN NOW

There are three lone Chinamen in the county jail at the present time as the left-overs from the recent opium rains in the county. All the other defendants have had their cases disposed of and something over $1,000 has been paid in fines. One of the Chinamen will serve 200 days in jail and the two others are in for one hundred days each. They will have to go a long time without their smokes.

- Press Democrat, August 8, 1912

OPIUM SMOKER IS CAPTURED

Officers Gard and Ragain Arrest Sam Wo Lung While Engaged in Enjoyable Smoke

Officers Gard and Ragain made a very clever capture of an opium smoker and his entire outfit, including the yen shee, which he was heating on his needle preparatory to taking a smoke at 2 o'clock Thursday morning.

The victim of the raid was Sam Wo Lung, who was recently acquitted of having opium in his possession when captured in the last raid conducted under the direction of the State Board of Health. He is considered one of the leaders here and his capture with the goods on him is considered quite a victory for the officers.

When searched at the police station it was found that Sam Wo Lung was well provided with ready cash and he put up $100 cash bond with proper grace and returned to his place, 620 Second street, minus his pipe and outfit. A charge will be placed against him under the State law in Justice Atchinson's court.

- Press Democrat, October 16, 1912

CHINESE GAMBLERS CAUGHT IN A RAID

Police Visit Doon Kee's Place Thursday Morning and Capture Six Visitors Playing American Game With the Stakes

Police Officers N. G. Yeager, A. G. Miller and G. W. Matthews made a raid on Doon Kee's place on Second street this morning about 2 o'clock and arrested nine Chinese found in the room. Six of the number were engaged in playing Studhorse porker [sic] and were greatly surprised at the interruption.

Officer Matthews was the first to reach the table and secured the cards and stakes, while Officer Miller secured the Chinese money being used for chips. All in the room were taken to police headquarters. Several denied they were playing, but none would say who the players were, so all were informed tht they would have to put up a cash deposit of $10 each to secure their liberty.

Doon Kee arrived on the scene, and after some parleying, secured the name of those who were not playing and they were immediately released while $10 cash bail was put up for each of the other six by Doon Kee.

The six charged with gambling were Ah Wong, Ah Ching, Ah Sing, Wong Kim, Sam Kee and Moon Kee.

- Press Democrat, December 1, 1910

ARREST CHINESE FOR GAMBLING

Officers Make Third Raid Early Tuesday Morning and Gather in Fifteen Orientals

In their third raid upon the Chinese gamblers the police shortly after 2 o'clock this morning arresting 14 inmates of Doon Kee's gambling house. Last Thursday morning at about the same hour 12 Chinese were arrested and later six were fined $10 each for gambling.

Three of the same men were caught this morning and in their case $20 cash bail was demanded, while the other 11 were allowed their release upon $10 cash bail. A woman will also be charged with being in the place, making a total of $180 bail pending their hearing.

- Press Democrat, December 6, 1910

CHINESE CONTRIBUTE TO THE DISTRICT FAIR

Charlie Quong Sing, the pioneer Chinese merchant of Santa Rosa, whose smile and "Nice day, eh?" and "Anything new?" (the latter when he meets a newspaperman) have become regular salutations of everyday life in Santa Rosa, called at the Chamber of Commerce rooms on Wednesday and handed in a donation of two dollars and a half for the district fair.

He counseled Director Walter Price to tell Mr. Dunbar and the committee to call around at the place on Second street a day or two before the fair starts and he will go around with them among "the boys" and they will contribute more money to help the fair along.

- Press Democrat, August 7, 1913

Pharmaceutical companies today urge us to pester doctors for free samples. Wouldn't it be easier if they just threw drug samples into our yards? That's what they did in the early 20th Century; I can't imagine why they stopped. What could possibly go wrong?

What gives this story a believe-it-or-not twist is that drug tossing happened so often that Santa Rosa had an ordinance to prohibit "gratuitous or free distributions of any medicines, nostrums, ware, or remedies for afflicted, sick or diseased persons...where, infants or children can or may possess or use the same." Okay, I can see how that might be a problem. (One patent medicine that began advertising in the Santa Rosa Republican, and thus was a good candidate for lawn samples, was "Dr. Pierce's Golden Medical Discovery," which was mostly alcohol with digitalis, laudanum, and the opium-like extract of wild lettuce to "fortify the body against all germs.")

The other oddity in the 1909 annals of advertising was the free "cooking school" offered by PG&E. Yes, the gas company wanted consumers to use gas stoves - no surprise there. But at the same time, I don't recall Standard Oil giving driving lessons to sell more gasoline. Also, the ad campaign seemed ill-planned; PG&E bought full page ads in the Press Democrat with only enough copy to fill a couple of column inches. Needless to say, the PD wrote enthusiastic reviews about the cooking demonstrations.

The secret was that PG&E was acting more like Gillette than Standard Oil; they also sold water heaters and stoves directly to the public: "The demonstration is given primarily to call attention to the use of gas for household purposes and to the stock of ranges, water heaters, etc., carried by the local branch of the Pacific Gas & Electric Co."

The instructor in Santa Rosa was a disciple of Emma P. Ewing, who had sought to pioneer the teaching of home economics after the Civil War. She was called "the woman who would have taught America to make good bread if America could have been taught," which hopefully sounded less passive aggressive a century ago.

Here Suzanne Tracy, the author of several cookbooks including "Twelve Lessons in Scientific Cookery," taught classes. If her recipes are an accurate measure, the food she taught Santa Rosa to cook was awful, usually devoid of herbs and any seasonings other than salt and pepper. Her tomato sauce called for just stewed tomatoes and a little butter, flour, and minced onion. (That sound you hear is every Italian grandmother spinning in her grave.)

POLICE WILL STOP A BAD PRACTICE 

Throwing of Medicine Samples Into Dooryards Must Be Checked, Chief Rushmore Says

Complaint has been made to the police that medicine vendors have been throwing free samples of their wares about the yards and on doorsteps in this city recently where children can pick them up and eat it. One man found his baby eating some of the stuff Saturday.

Chief of Police Fred J. Rushmore desires to call the attention of all interested in the matter of the city ordinance governing such actions and declares he will make an example of the first offenders caught violating the law. Any one discovering such distribution going on will confer a favor upon the public as well as the police by immediately notifying the latter that arrests may be made. The ordinance provides: "It shall be unlawful for any person or persons in the gratuitous or free distributions of any medicines, nostrums, ware, or remedies for afflicted, sick or diseased persons to distribute, drop, throw, deposit or leave the same, or cause to be distributed, dropped, thrown, deposited or left in any street, doorway, yard, or place or open lot or otherwise exposed in such manner so that, [illegible microfilm] where, infants or children can or may possess or use the same."

- Press Democrat, February 7, 1909

COOKING SCHOOL FOR SANTA ROSA

Santa Rosa ladies will welcome the good news that a summer school of cooking is to be opened here next week. Miss Suzanne Tracy, the well-known lecturer and demonstrator of the culinary art will give a series of lectures.. Miss Tracy has been conducting schools this year is Fresno, San Jose and Sacramento, and each lesson has attracted large and enthusiastic audiences. The lady is so well known in her profession that little need be said to herald her coming. She is a graduate teacher from New York, and will no doubt expound the mysteries of cookery according to the latest scientific principles. The astonishing fact about the school is that the lessons are to be free. Mr. Thos. D. Petch, manager of the Santa Rosa Gas & Electric Company, has arranged to have Miss Tracy come here and give a course in cooking. Miss Tracy will instruct in all branches of cookery, including soups, salads, bread and cake making, pies, cooking of meats and vegetables, and various kinds of desserts. She will at her lessons use a gas range and will explain how to regulate the heat in order to receive the best results from the least expenditure of fuel. While these lessons have been arranged primarily for gas consumers, Mr. Petch says he extends a cordial invitation to all ladies to take advantage of the instruction by attending the classes. Announcement will be made later as to the place where the school will be and the time of the lectures.

- Press Democrat, August 8, 1909

LARGE AUDIENCE AT THE COOKING LECTURE

The first of the series of ten lectures to be given here by Miss Suzanne Tracy, which was given Wednesday afternoon at the store-room in the Native Sons' building, drew such a large number of ladies that Manager Thomas B. Petch of the Pacific Gas &  Electric Company, said that it may be necessary to secure larger quarters for the lectures.

The large room had been filled up with a kitchen in one end which contained gas ranges and all the necessary appliances for baking. Miss Tracy took for her subject, "Cakes and Icing," and gave a very instructive and interesting lecture on the making of cake and icing. The lecture was illustrated by the lecturer who made a cake, baked it, and after making the icing, iced it in the presence of her audience.

Miss Tracy is a lady of charming personality. She thoroughly understands her work and enters into it with enthusiasm. Every afternoon this week she will lecture, taking various subjects each day, so as to give the housekeepers of Santa Rosa a good opportunity to secure valuable pointers on cooking.

The demonstration is given primarily to call attention to the use of gas for household purposes and to the stock of ranges, water heaters, etc., carried by the local branch of the Pacific Gas & Electric Co., at their Fourth street office in the Union Trust-Savings Bank.

- Press Democrat, August 12, 1909

A policeman's lot is not a happy one, particularly when a skulker tries to conk him with a bottle, or a pair of drunks engage in tag-team wrestling with the officer to prevent themselves from being dragged off to the pokey. And then there was the young chicken rancher who required four strong men to restrain him, crazed from his addiction to "fifty cigarettes a day, smoking day and night, with a little morphine thrown in."

OFFICE HAD SOME TROUBLE
Officer Yeager Arrests Obstreperous Prisoners

Monday night was a night of fights for Officer N. G. Yeager. Every person he attempted to arrest put up a stiff fight and he was compelled to use force to land them in the jail, where they became sadder and wiser people.

The first fight occurred when Officer Yeager attempted to arrest Stella Dixon, a woman of the under world. She had been drinking and was roaming about aimlessly. When the officer took her into custody her friend, Jim Campion, attempted to prevent her being arrested. He took a strenuous hand in the affair and as a result he was placed under arrest also, charged with drunkenness. Officer Yeager was game, but he had the time of his life landing his prisoners, because both offered such stubborn resistance. The Dixon woman came here on a hop picking special during the summer and has since remained.

Later in the night Officer Yeager undertook to arrest George Woods, who was on a rampage from drink. Woods, who is considered somewhat of a scrapper, put up a fight the minute Yeager undertook to arrest him. It was a merry time the officer had in attempting to get the handcuffs on the prisoner. He finally landed his man, however. The patrol wagon was needed for the Dixon-Campion pair.

Officer Yeager believes it was the dampness of the weather that caused the fighting spirit to be aroused in these persons.

- Santa Rosa Republican, December 10, 1907

FOUGHT WILDLY TO MAKE ESCAPE
Fifty Cigarettes Daily and Morphine Part of Diet That Drove Henry Anderson Insane

In lucid moments, after he had almost torn his cell in the county jail to pieces and made his escape by wrenching boards and tin from the walls. Henry Concord Anderson, a young chicken rancher from down Sonoma way, told a Press Democrat reporter that fifty cigarettes a day, smoking day and night, with a little morphine thrown in, were responsible for his condition.

Anderson for a time on Wednesday was one of the most wildly insane men that has ever occupied the padded cell in the grim building on Third street. It took Sheriff Smith and Deputies McIntosh, Reynolds and La Point to handle him, and finally strap him hand and foot to a stretcher. Then he became tranquil for a time. In order to secure him without using much force a little strategy was used. He was induced to thrust his hand through the peephole in the door and did so, and then the wicket was opened and the straps were put on him. Judge Denny and the Lunacy Commission convened at the county jail in the afternoon and Anderson was adjudged a fit subject for the asylum at Ukiah.

- Press Democrat, May 2, 1907

ASSAULTED IN THE DARKNESS
Coward Under Cover Hurls Bottles at Policeman Who is Patrolling a Tenderloin Beat at Night

Shortly after nine o'clock on Wednesday night a dastardly attempted assault was made upon Police Officer P. L. Wilson while he was patrolling his beat on First street, between D and E streets. Four beer bottles were hurled with considerable force at him by unknown cowards hiding in the darkness. Two of the bottles fell at his feet and smashed. One of them almost grazed his helmet. If it had hit him on the head the chances are it would have killed him.

The officer was walking along the center of the street. The first he knew that something was happening was when one of the missiles whizzed by his head. The next moment a bottle smashed at his feet and the splinters of glass showered over him. Two more bottles were thrown. He pulled his gun and speaking in the direction from which the bottles were thrown, said: "Whoever you are you can't run fast enough for me." There was no move. If there had been the officer was ready. An investigation was immediately made, but the bottle thrower were not to be found, undoubtedly having sneaked away down the creek bank under shelter of the darkness. The officer has two of the empty bottles that were not broken and the necks of the two that were broken.

The bottles were not hurled at Policeman Wilson in jest. He says they were thrown with too much vehemence for that. The aim was deliberate. The bottles were not thrown from any house. The throwers were in hiding near a big tree. The policeman has no idea as to their identity. Inquiry was made at houses on the street, and the people denied that they kept the brand of beer the labels indicated.

- Press Democrat, September 12, 1907

Today medical marijuana's the thing, but a century ago, it was medical cocaine and morphine - likewise legal, as long as you had a prescription.

Congress banned the importation of opium in 1905, but didn't prohibit or restrict sale of drugs made from the narcotic itself. Two years later, California took the lead with the Pharmacy and Poison Act of 1907, which required a prescription from a physician, dentist, or veterinary surgeon (!) to buy any product containing opium or cocaine from a drug store.

Trouble was, by 1907 Americans were already hooked. A generation had grown up with myriad bottles and pill boxes in their medicine cabinets that contained some form of opium or cocaine. Laudanum famously became the drug of choice for women with menstrual cramps; children with coughs might be given a sip from a bottle of Heroin, a product made by Bayer. Besides the druggy patent medicines, pharmacists in 1907 were still making their own medicines in the back of the drug store. A druggist recipe book from that period shows that a pill to ease the discomfort of "grip" (flu) might contain as much as 1,500 milligrams of opium. Other common ingredients in those flu pills were quinine, ipecac, belladonna, and sodium salicylate (a base component in aspirin, and which we now know can trigger fatal Reye's Syndrome in children).

The dangers of that easy availability of "dope" is underscored in the second story, where a local toddler finds a box of opium-laced tablets and almost dies of an overdose. Apparently no parenting book of the era warned about the dangers of leaving candy-coated morphine within reach a two-year-old.

NOT SO EASY TO BUY "DOPE" NOW
Only on Prescription Can Morphine, Cocaine, Etc., Be Sold by Druggists Under New Law

Another of the new laws that has gone into effect will work something of "a hardship" upon those unfortunate persons who have become addicted to a use of morphine, cocaine, and other "dope."

A copy of the law was seen in the office of District Attorney Lea yesterday, and it provides that druggists can no longer sell morphine, cocaine, etc., to persons unless they present a prescription regularly made out by either a practicing physician, dentist, or veterinary surgeon. A heavy penalty will be imposed for infraction of the law.

- Press Democrat, April 20, 1907

EAT TABLETS AND DEATH WAS NEAR
Little Son of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Peterson Has a Narrow Escape From Death

The two-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Peterson, who reside near this city, when he grows older will learn that whether it was his childish instinct or not that made him on Wednesday morning toddle over to his mother and prattle to her something about "tandy," thus saving his life. The child had a miraculous escape from death, and only after the most strenuous efforts on the part of the attending physician that he was saved.

While his mother's back was turned John L. Jr., walked into his brother's bedroom climbed up onto a chair and in the course of his investigation of the bureau found some nice looking sugar-coated things in a box that were to him "tandy." He eat [sic] about a dozen of them and then toddled off to find his mother and inform her in baby talk of his discovery. Mrs. Peterson at once investigated and discovered that the child had eaten about a dozen grip capsules.

A short time afterwards she saw that the child was becoming very drowsy and this aroused her suspicions that all was not as it should be, When he came in to lunch Mr. Peterson confirmed his wife's fears, and Dr. Bogle was sent for. When he arrived the physician saw that there was no time to lose. He set to work on the child at once, and kept it up for nearly five hours before he was pronounced out of danger. The tablets the child had eaten contained some opium. It is quite certain but for the child's remark regarding candy the eating of the tablets would have cost him his life. Seeing that he always takes a nap for two or three hours in the afternoon Mrs. Peterson noticing his drowsiness, would have put him in bed and then the effects of the drug would have completed their deadly work. On Wednesday the child was reported to be considerably improved.

- Press Democrat, April 25, 1907

Even if the newspaper ad wasn't offering services from a petty criminal and drug addict, it still would've been unusual.

Taking up a full one-third page in the Press Democrat page on June 18, 1905, the advertisement was essentially a 20-word classified on steroids, with its few lines of type stretched, padded, and boxed to try to fill the empty space. Even larger than the usual weekly ads for children's clothes and ladies' dainties from The White House department store, this display promoted only product: The services of one Joseph N. Forgett, cement contractor.

It's easy to imagine Forgett walking into the Press Democrat office to purchase that prominent advertisement and likely also ordering a large number of flyers as well, confident that a remarkable business opportunity was at hand. The Santa Rosa City Council was ordering property owners to lay concrete sidewalks next to their curbs -- a decree not without controversy -- and there were many absentee landlords, not to mention many locals who were probably clueless on mixing cement from scratch, as you had to do in 1905.

But the unusual ad from the man with the unusual name appeared only once, and less than three months later, Forgett was in the papers again, this time for being under arrest. He was charged with carrying a meat cleaver under his coat and stealing an opium pipe.

This was only the beginning of the Forgett's public disgrace, which would climax two years later in 1907 as he led a sensational escape from the Sonoma County jail. In the accounts that appeared in the PD (transcribed below), Forgett and two other inmates overpowered the jailer and beat him severely before stealing his gun. A mob formed as word spread. Forgett and most of the other fugitives were quickly caught.

At his trial that October, Forgett offered a surprising defense: "I got out to save my wife," he told the court, claiming that the jailor was making moves on Mrs. Forgett, also in jail as a vagrant. Another female prisoner supported the claim by testifying that the jailer "had hugged Mrs. Forgett so violently that her waist was almost black and blue." The District Attorney countered that he had letters from Mrs. Forgett where she vowed to "stand pat" and that she and the other girls "would give old Fred [the jailer] merry hell."

But defending his vagrant wife's waist from "old Fred" wasn't the main defense: He was insane because of opium withdrawal, the court was told. "When he could not get it, he said, he suffered considerably and at times did not know what he was doing," the Press Democrat reported. His brother and mother testified tearfully that Joe was 15 years into his drug habit. The jury found him guilty, but asked the court for mercy.

The details of what happened to Forgett after that isn't yet known to me (UPDATE HERE), but other records show that he lived a long life and stayed around Santa Rosa. The 1910 census finds him as an inmate in the county jail; a 1913 city directory lists him as a contractor, which could be a hopeful sign that he was on the straight-and-narrow. Voter registration records indicate he was a bricklayer in the late 1920s, and a few years later, a mason staying at the Belle Vista Hotel.

Despite his woes, Joseph N. Forgett left his mark on Santa Rosa; on at least one sidewalk (Beaver St. north of College Ave.) you can still see his name stamped into the pavement. A century-old advertisement set into stone. Perhaps Joe Forgett visited these tombstone-like slabs in his old age; maybe these were the links that kept him here past his years of wildness.

FORGETT PLACED UNDER HEAVY BAIL
LANGUISHES IN COUNTY JAIL IN DEFAULT OF NECESSAY BONDS
He Now Faces Charge of Petit Larceny With Prior Which May Mean Term in Prison

Justice Atchinson placed Joseph Forgett under $1,000 bonds Monday to keep the peace for six months. This was the result of the charge made last week by Harry Long that Forgett had made threat against his life and was carrying a concealed weapon. Justice Atchinson suspended sentence on Forgett's promise of good behavior but as he was arrested again Saturday night with a cleaver under his coat the court decided to place him under bonds. Forgett is in the county jail in default of the necessary bond.

The charge of petit larceny for the stealing of the cleaver and opium pipe found on his person when arrested Saturday is being held in suspension as he has been convicted on a similar charge and this time a prior will make the offense a felony, and conviction a term in the penitentiary.

- Press Democrat, September 12, 1905

Opium Pipe Stolen

Joseph Forgett was arrested yesterday afternoon by Constable James H. Boswell, charged with petty larceny. The warrant was sworn out a couple of weeks ago, but was withheld until yesterday. Forgett is charged by Ty San with having stolen an opium pipe and a cleaver while he was visiting at the place of the Chinese on Second street. Ty does not mind the loss of the cleaver, but when his pipe was missing and he was temporarily deprived of his poppy sleep he became wroth and affixed his signature to a complaint alleging its theft by Forgett. The man was released on his own recognizance by Justice Atchinson and his case set for trial next week.

- Santa Rosa Republican, October 12, 1905

DESPERATE JAIL BREAK IN THIS CITY LAST NIGHT
JAILER OVERPOWERED AND TEN PRISONERS ESCAPE
Dragged Into a Cell and Keys and Gun Are Taken
Great Excitement Prevails and Scores of Citizens Surround Jail--Eight Prisoners Recaptured--Two Desperadoes at Large

A jail break, planned with all the cunning of the criminal heart that stops not at the sacrifice of human life if the taking of it is necessary to effect the desired purpose, took place at the Sonoma county jail on Third street about five minutes to six o'clock last night. Ten prisoners, including three women, escaped. Jailer Fred LaPoint was attacked and brutally beaten, dragged into a cell and locked up, and his keys and pistol taken.

These are some of the sensational features of last night's occurrence at the jail. The city was thrown into a state of excitement as the news of the break spread and for hours the grim building was besieged with an eager throng. Up to midnight eight of the ten escapes [sic] had been returned to jail. Two, the most desperate of the gang, were still at large. They were John Anderson, who was yesterday morning convicted of grand larceny in the Superior Court and Tom Williams, awaiting trial on a charge of burglary.

OVERPOWER JAILER

When locking up time came Jailer LaPoint went to the door of the small cage that leads into the main jail and unlocked the gate to let Trusty Ralph Rogers passed into lock up. Joe Forgett, who has been doing time for several weeks, made a dash at the gate, grasped the jailer around the throat. A moment later Jack Anderson and Tom Williams rushed to Forgett's assistance and after a hard struggle they had the officer down and overpowered, stunned by blows in the face and head. They jumped on him and then dragged him inside and hurled him into a cell, turned the lock and then they and the others made a rush from the building. Trusties Rogers and Ed Clark say they did what they could to assist the jailer, but were driven back by the threats and a flourish of knives and a pistol. Rogers ran around to the police station and gave the alarm and Clark telephone[d] news of the affair to Sheriff Smith from the jail, making no attempt to escape.

J. Capell and W. Kraus, arrested last Sunday for carrying brass knuckles, and believed to be bad characters, were locked in their cells when the break occurred, having refused to go to work that morning. When they saw what was being done, they begged the escaping prisoners to unlock their cell doors and allow them to join them, but no attention was given their entreaties. The nine other prisoners, most of whom could have escaped if they desired, followed Clark's example and made no attempt to leave. Most of these men were up on minor charges.

START IN PURSUIT

Sheriff Jack Smith, who was at his home, and his deputies and the other officers were all quickly on the scene. At the jail a hasty tob [sic] was taken and it was found that the missing ones were Anderson, Williams, Forgett, McGriff, three boys named Foster, Karbaugh and Mazza, and three women, Mrs. Bane and Miss McNeill of Petaluma and Mrs. Joe Forgett. Then the Sheriff and many citizens in vehicles, autos, bicycles and afoot started in pursuit. Then also the crowd began to gather around the jail doors and the excitement grew amain. Dr. Jesse arrived and attended to Jailer LaPoint's injuries, finding in addition to the cuts and bruises that his shoulder had been dislocated.

It was not long before a hack dashed up to the jail and Chief Deputy County Clerk G. W. Libby jumped out followed by Miss McNeill, one of the women who had escaped. Sometime afterwards W. A. Bolton's auto pulled up with a rush at the jail. It contained Police Officer John Boyes and with him were Joe Forgett, Mrs. Forgett and Mrs. Bane. The quartet were found lying in an orchard near the race track by Officer Skaggs.

Later in the evening Chief of Police Rushmore and Police Officer Ed Skaggs came in with Mazza, Karbaugh and Foster. They were captured several miles from town on the Bennett Valley road. They had secured a ride on a wagon and had left it when it turned down a lane. Jeff Cook learned that three lads had passed along the road on a wagon and he and Chief of Police Rushmore drove hurriedly and overtook them. Rushmore and Skaggs took the trio back to jail. The boys had the jailer's keys.

CAPTURED AT MELITTA

It was about 11 o'clock when a telephone message was sent to town by former Deputy Sheriff J. L. Gist that Constable Sam Gilliam had captured McGiff at Melitta.

Mention has already been made of the part played by the two trusties, Clark and Rogers, in their effort to rescue the jailer. They told their stories to the newspapermen and officials. Jailer LaPoint declares that Forgett made the first attack on him. Anderson and Williams are said to have been prime movers with Forgett and they appear to have been the ones who evolved the attack and plan of escape, according to declarations made to District Attorney Lea last night.

Forgett was the first taken into the jail office after his return to make a statement to the District Attorney, which statement was taken down in shorthand by Court Reporter Scott. He stated that the break had been planned for two or three days. He said it was not the intention to hurt the jailer and he said he did not see blows struck when the attack was made. He made a rambling statement.

William Verley, one of the prisoners who did not go with the rest, told the District Attorney that he had refused to yield to the importunings of Forgett and the others to join in the break. He said Forgett and the others had talked up the plan for a couple of days. Forgett's suggestion was that they should saw themselves out. Then the scheme followed out last night was finally determined upon. A weapon that would have come in very handy doubtless was secured in the form of the leg of an iron bedstead. Both Verley and the lad Mazza saw Forgett secrete this in the bosom of his shirt. Later, Mazza says, Forgett carried it into a closet and afterwards threw it down on the floor of the cook room. Verley says he did not see much of the struggle at the time of the attack upon LaPoint. He claims that he ran outside with the idea of summoning aid and says he did tell one man to go for an officer. He then returned to jail.

MAZZA AFRAID

When Mazza told District Attorney Lea that he saw Forgett put the iron in his shirt, he (Mazza) stated and almost screamed "Don't tell him that I told you. He will kill me if he knows it."

After describing how Jailer La Point was handled by Forgett, Anderson and Williams the lad burst out, "I tell you I cried, for the man had been good to me. Yes, he had."

At the time of the attack upon La Point, McGriff is said by one of the prisoner spectators to have been standing at the table where the meals are served and some of the prisoners interviewed say he had agreed beforehand to "stick with the boys" if they made the break. Verley's reason for not going is characterized by one of the returned escapes as being an attack of "cold feet"

Jailer La Point's pistol was taken from a drawer in a bureau in his bedroom. One of the prisoners says Anderson was the man who took it. At another time he is said to have been seen by both Verley and Mazza with part of a knife. The offense with which the jailbreakers will be charged is a most serious one. The three women appear to have simply run out with the rest. The Bane and McNeill women would have been liberated today, having served out their sentence.

At the time of the outbreak Under Sheriff Lindsay was at the hospital. When he returned to town he took command at the jail and notified the officers in the adjoining town to be on the lookout.

In addition to the officers named Deputy Sheriffs McIntosh and Reynolds, Police Officer Lindley, and Yeager, Constable Boswell and others assisted in the pursuit of the escapes.

Forgett told a frivolous story in excusing the part he took as leader of the plot.

Little Mildred Treanor, granddaughter of Mrs. H. A. Hahmann, who lives opposite the jail, and another little girl saw the crowd rush from the jail and she at once ran round to the police station to give an alarm. Several persons heard Jailer La Point's lusty cries of "murder," but for the time being took them to be shouts of possibly an insane patient confined in the jail.

PLAN DEAD MARCH

Yesterday afternoon when Jailer La Point carried a cup of coffee to a man named Ed Miller, detained in the insane cell upstairs in the jail building, Miller said: "Look out! They have planned a dead march on you." Here was a warning which the jailer did not heed. This was natural enough, as it came from a man supposedly mentally deranged and who had in his rambling frequently cursed him. Miller called the turn. They had planned a "dead march" on the old man, sure enough.

- Press Democrat, June 8, 1907

TO BE TRIED ON ANOTHER CHARGE
Preliminary Examination of Joe Forgett on Two Complaints Takes Place of Saturday

The preliminary examination of Joe Forgett on two more charges, jail breaking and burglary, took place in Justice Atchinson's court on Saturday morning. The charges are a sequel to the break last month from the county jail in this city. The alleged burglary consisted of the taking of Jailer La Point's pistol from a bureau drawer in the latter's bedroom. He was held for trial on the breaking jail charge and the burglary matter was taken under advisement. Forgett is already held for assault upon the jailer. At the proceedings on Saturday, District Attorney Lea prosecuted and Attorney William F. Cowan defended.

- Press Democrat, July 7, 1907

SENSATIONAL DAY IN FORGETT TRIAL
Joseph Forgett Faces a Jury in Judge Seawell's Department of Superior Court

"I got out to save my wife." This is the excuse Joseph Forgett offered on the witness stand in Judge Seawell's Department of the Superior Court on Wednesday in explaining his part in the memorable break from the county jail three months ago when some seventeen prisoners escaped.

Before making this statement Forgett had prefaced it with others in which he alleged he had been informed by notes and by two other young women occupying upstairs rooms in the jail that Jailer Fred La Point had been making love to his wife, Jessie Forgett. This information, combined with a sudden reduction of the amount of morphine to which he had been accustomed before his incarceration in the county jail, he alleged had worked him up to such a pitch that he had resolved to take the first chance to break jail. Consequently when on the night of the break Jailer La Point momentarily left both gates leading from the big cage open he jumped for liberty, but denied that he had seriously hurt the jailor. It was his intention, he said, to grab the jailor and lock him up in the cell he (Forgett) had been occupying and then to sit on the steps of the bastille and await the coming of Sheriff Smith, whom he proposed to tell what he had done with La Point.

Mrs. Jessie Forgett testified as to the alleged familiarity on the part of the jailor with herself. At the time she was in the jail on a vagrancy charge with two other young women, who were also witnesses, Mrs. Bains and Viola McNeill, the latter two from Petaluma. Mrs. Forgett stated that La Point had called her into the bathroom at a time when, she alleged, he was ready to take a bath. The other females testified as to other alleged improprieties. One of the wanted it understood that La Point had hugged Mrs. Forgett so violently that her waist was almost black and blue.

District Attorney Lea had some letters, however, in which Mrs. Forgett had written to her husband that she and the other girls would "stand pat" and that they "would give old Fred (Jailer La Point) merry hell." District Attorney Lea contended that the women were making unjust charges against the jailor and intended falsifying their testimony. Another letter from Mrs. Forgett to her husband was referred to in which Mrs. Forgett mentioned the story that she and the girls would testify to when the trial came in which Forgett would be charged with assisting in the jail break. The jury, of course, is the judge of the credibility of the witnesses. Jailer La Point gives the allegations of the women the lie direct.

Witnesses were called Wednesday to show that Forgett had been addicted to the use of morphine for years. He admitted himself that he had used it for fifteen years, and had taken as much as fifteen or sixteen grains a day when he could get it. When he could not get it, he said, he suffered considerably and at times did not know what he was doing.

The witnesses examined during the day were [...]

- Press Democrat, October 10, 1907

JURY'S VERDICT JUSTICE--MERCY
After Brief Deliberation Joseph Forgett is Found Guilty of Assisting in Break at County Jail

After a very short deliberation the jury in the case of the state against Joseph Forgett brought in a verdict of guilty as charged in the information, namely, assisting prisoners to escape from the county jail in this city, and recommended him to the mercy of the Court. The Judge will take cognizance of the recommendation.

Thursday morning was devoted to the arguments by counsel for the state and defense. The District Attorney opened for the prosecution and W. F. Cowan responded. District Attorney Lea made the closing argument. The verdict did not occasion surprise as Forgett himself the night of the jail break, when he was returned to jail, told in a calm deliberate manner how he and other men in the prison had planned the escape. A strong plea was made, however, that at the time he was in a state of insanity by reason of his supply of morphine having been cut short.

Time was when Joe Forgett was a sober and industrious man. Then he began taking morphine and to this can be traced his downfall. His brother and mother did what they could to help him break away from the habit. When Fred Forgett broke down on the witness stand and wept on Wednesday while telling what he had done to aid his brother to reform he told the truth as many in the court room knew. The brother's tears were genuine. They were not shed for effect. Neither was the mostening of that aged mother's eye simply the effervescing of sentiment. She still loves her wayward boy despite he is come to forty years of age.

- Press Democrat, October 11, 1907

"Nostalgia ain't what it used to be," Stan Kenton famously said, and anyone tempted to wax sentimental about old-time Santa Rosa needs to take a closer look, starting with a peek at the maps.

I've been spending much of my research time recently with the 1904 Santa Rosa Sanborn maps (project TBA). These maps can be found for many communities in the U.S. and were made for fire insurance assessment. They show the precise outline and some basic details for every building (even outhouses, sheds, and chicken coops), the type of roof and chimney, where the fire hydrants are, diameter of the water pipes, and all those other details an insurance company might think important before insuring the property owner. The maps were updated every few years, so through them you can often watch a town grow. But that's only the tip of the proverbial iceberg; ethnic neighborhoods are sometimes indicated (hello, redlining) as well as redlight districts and other details that would be otherwise lost.

Before diving into the maps, first an update to an earlier post, "When we all met Downtown Saturday Night:" The first item below shows that the free Saturday night entertainment in downtown Santa Rosa not only included band concerts from the courthouse balcony, but also moving pictures and slides of illustrated songs. One of the dials on my time machine is now set for a Saturday midsummer night in 1905 when the whole town's in the square singing "Wait 'Till the Sun Shines, Nellie." The sweet little Iowa town in "The Music Man" was never half as charming.

But come the start of horse racing season, we got trouble right here in River City.

As will be shown in a following post, the saloons and hotels along Fourth Street and Main Street were openly running illegal games, including roulette, craps, faro, and klondike, which apparently was similar to six-card stud. The Santa Rosa Republican, which exposed the gambling that local police apparently had been ignoring for decades, compared the nighttime scene in downtown Santa Rosa to a mining camp.

The Republican expose also revealed that young boys were welcomed at the gambling tables alongside adults. And local youth weren't just tempted by cards and dice; a few months before, a pair of kids were found in an opium joint on Second street and taken to the police station for a "severe lecture." Opium wasn't illegal in 1905 (although smoking it was considered a "pernicious practice as far as white people are concerned" - see Press Democrat, above), and doubtless many boys experimented with the drug, which was widely available in California; former U.S. Congressman Duncan E. McKinlay of Santa Rosa proposed in 1912 to tax opium at $5 per pound, believing it was impossible to stop the smuggling trade. Likewise many locals probably had a lifelong gambling addiction that began in their teens. What shocks is that either vice was entrenched in such a rural town with a population just over 10,000 - we're not talking Hell's Kitchen or the Barbary Coast, here. Distances were small; Junior only had to go two short blocks from an opium couch to a barroom poker table, staggering past Courthouse Square, where Ma and Pa enjoyed that Saturday singalong. Was that a scene cut from "The Music Man?"

It's those insurance maps, however, that reveal more about the rough side of early 20th century Santa Rosa. In that era, whorehouses were indicated with the euphemism of "Female Boarding Houses," which is confirmed in a newspaper article in the following post that identifies Santa Rosa's "redlight district." The heart of the district is shown in the map detail of the intersection of 1st and D streets. On the 1904 map, Santa Rosa had eleven brothels in the immediate neighborhood, and many were also large buildings or had two stories. By contrast, Petaluma, which was about two-thirds the size of Santa Rosa, had two cottage-sized bordellos shown on their 1906 map.

Why in the world did Santa Rosa have such a big redlight district? Like the illegal gambling, town officials obviously had an unwritten policy to tolerate prostitution on a large scale. But there also had to be enough demand to support the business. Even though autos were few, all roads and train tracks in Sonoma County eventually led to Santa Rosa, and nights on those remote farms or deep in those dark redwood forests can be famously cold and lonely. Were there enough locals to keep the red lights burning? Probably not, unless business was also supplemented by steady traffic from San Francisco men, who were specifically mentioned as the driving force behind the gambling problems in racing season. The questions beg: How "wide open" was Santa Rosa in this era? Was backroom gambling offered at the saloons year-round, and were the whorehouses as busy in January as August? Was Sonoma County's "River City" really the Bay Area's "Sin City?" (Well, one of them.)

(At right: a gag postcard mailed from Santa Rosa, July 8, 1910. On the back, "Milt" tells Miss Pederson in Napa that he is "feeling blue.")

Unfortunately, there's not much more we can learn about Santa Rosa's redlight district from the insurance maps. The Female Boarding/F.B. nomenclature seems to only have been used for a few years around the turn of the century. The maps were also produced irregularly. The 1904 map was followed by another four years later, which shows two of the 11 bordellos were now residences. But after 1908, the maps were only updated with slips of paper to be pasted over the map. It wasn't until 1936 that an all-new map was created for Santa Rosa, and by then the neighborhood was almost entirely auto and farm equipment repair shops. Only two of the old prostitution houses remained in this pre-WWII Gasoline Alley, and they were the same buildings that the 1908 map had reported as converted to private homes.

However rough the downtown party, Santa Rosa did have a bonafide family-friendly playground in the Grace Brother's Park, as mentioned in the second item below. Then owned by the local brewery, it was known at the turn of the century as City Gardens, and before that, Kroncke's Park (and long before that, Hewitt's Grove). It was about a half-mile from downtown, on the other side of Fourth St. from McDonald Ave, and it wasn't really very big -- deeper than wide, it was only about the total size of an average city block -- but it included a bowling alley (they played ten pin, same as today, except they used a wooden ball), a saloon with a beer garden, a large pavilion with a dance floor, and a concession stand that sold ice cream and other treats. Electric lights were strung overhead. Notices about social and church groups renting the park appeared in the 1905 papers regularly. But still, you wonder; as delightful as biergarten bowling and ice cream surely were, the park was still a trek or trolley ride from the brighter lights of the downtown district, where other allurements were only steps away (or at least, for men and boys) -- the opium rooms tucked away on Second Street, and the door-after-door whorehouses that beckoned on First.

Today, all traces of early Santa Rosa's funland, both naughty and nice, are obliterated. The old Chinese neighborhood on Second St. (shown here in blue) - which the bane of Santa Rosa except when it came to cheap labor, chow mein, and the occasional dalliance with opium pipes and lottery tickets - is now the forlorn, always-shadowed walkway between the parking garage and the back of the movie theatre. Most of the redlight district (colored red) between D and E Street is now replaced by the state office building. Santa Rosa also destroyed the park that dated back to before the Civil War, and which was arguably the true soul of the town; the old Grace Brothers Park/City Gardens is now the Creekside Park apartment complex at 1130 4th Street.

Saturday Night Attractions

One of the biggest crowds that have attended Saturday night band concerts in Santa Rosa in the past listened to the music rendered by the Santa Rosa Band in front of the court house and the other attraction provided by the merchants at the other end of the street. It consisted of moving pictures, illustrated songs and other features of entertainment in the Hopper Block. The pictures were thrown on a large canvass [sic] against a building on one side of the street. The crowd of spectators was a dense one, completely blockading the thoroughfare at times. A more interesting program and a complete change is promised for next Saturday night.

Delightful Afternoon's Diversion

The second concert by Parks' band at Grace Brothers' Park will be given this afternoon beginning at 1 o'clock. The first concert last Sunday was well attended, and was highly enjoyable. The program was a pleasing variety of popular airs, classical music and dance tunes. Many of the concert-goers danced in the pavilion and the rest spent the afternoon up on the lawn under the trees, and listened to the music. Many children were there and all sorts of children's games were in vogue among them. Ice cream, lemonade and similar refreshments will be sold at the park during the concerts. Gentlemen pay an admission of 15 cents. Ladies and children enter free of charge.

- Press Democrat, June 11, 1905

Less than three weeks later, two youths were again arrested on Second street for "hitting the pipe" on Nov. 29. This time, they were brought before a judge and fined $5.00.

ARRESTED BOYS IN OPIUM JOINT

SUSPECTED OF HAVING COMMITTED THEFT AND WERE CAPTURED ON SUNDAY
Were Smoking the Drug When the Officers Came Upon Them and Spirited Them Away From the Place

On Sunday afternoon Police Officer Lindley visited a Chinese joint on Second street and removed two youths who were engaged in what is commonly known as "hitting the pipe." In other words the lads had started in to smoke a pipe of opium. The officer took them to the police station, and there gave them a severe lecture.

This is not the first time that the officers have driven opium smokers out of the Chinese quarters, and have succeeded in putting a stop to the pernicious practice as far as white people are concerned.

The officer caught the boys at the time when he was looking for a lad suspected of having committed theft. They were allowed to go, and it is probable that they will not be found where they were on Sunday for some time to come.

- Press Democrat, November 10, 1904