California Historical Society | Exhibits/Events

CALIFORNIA 1900 - on the Threshold of a New Century
Turn-of-the-century art, artifacts, and photographs from around the state
October 21, 1999 -- February 19, 2000

pt 1 | pt 2 | pt 3 | Exhibit Checklist | Bibliography & Acknowledgements

California 1900 - part 2

As railroad influence declined, the importance of the automobile increased dramatically. By 1900 numerous small plants across the United States were producing automobiles and there were about 4,000 of these "horseless carriages" in the United States. Both the California State Automobile Association, which was headquartered in San Francisco, and the Los Angeles-based Automobile Club of Southern California were formed in 1900. By the late summer of 1901, the first mass-produced vehicle -- the "curved dash" Oldsmobile -- was introduced, and seven years later Henry Ford brought out his inexpensive Model T, which helped make automobile ownership popular. Although automobiles were still relatively rare in 1900, they were spotted motoring through California, a fact evidenced by a July 1900 issue of the Marin Journal, which proclaimed, "An automobile passed through town on its way north." The frequency of such sightings rapidly became commonplace, however, as the popularity of automobiles grew. These driving machines increasingly shared the road in an uneasy relationship with horse-drawn buggies, bicycles, and streetcars; counties across the state began to enact ordinances regulating them. In 1901, the California legislature passed a law permitting autos to be licensed and taxed. By the 1920s, automobiles were commonplace in California. Los Angeles, with one car for every three persons, had become the most motorized city in the world.

The popularity of automobiles in California went hand in hand with the state's cheap and abundant oil, one of its many rich mineral deposits. At the turn of the century, many California counties were extracting their abundant natural resources. Copper and silver played an important role in Shasta County's economy; Tuolumne County was in the midst of its second Gold Rush; San Benito and Santa Clara counties were among the leading mercury producers; and borax was being hauled out of Inyo and San Bernardino counties by mule teams. It was the oil industry that grew most dramatically during this period, however, making California the nation's largest oil producer. Early on, oil was refined into kerosene and later it was used in the production of manufactured gas. Following the introduction of a successful oil burner in the early 1880s, industries, railroads, and steamship lines increasingly turned to oil, and by the early 1900s, the conversion from coal to petroleum was nearly complete.

The oil industry in California began in the 1860s, but new discoveries later in the century caused the industry to burgeon. A major discovery in the city of Los Angeles in 1892 led to the erection of hundreds of oil derricks in the northwest part of the city, and fields were discovered in other parts of the county as well. Major discoveries were also made in Santa Barbara, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, Kings, and Kern Counties. This boom brought many new settlers seeking employment with the growing industry.

California was also gifted with abundant and fertile lands for the growing of crops and the raising of livestock. In 1900, agriculture dominated the state's economy as it would throughout the twentieth century. California was a leading producer of fruits, vegetables, and grains, and many county economies depended on specialized agricultural crops. Riverside County depended on the Washington navel orange as its primary industry; Contra Costa County was an important wheat-producing area; and Butte County was famous for its fruit and olive orchards. By 1900, California was producing nearly a quarter of the nation's canned fruit, eighty percent of its wine, and the bulk of its raisins. In southern California, citrus fruits were an integral part of the economy, supplying the majority of the nation's oranges and lemons. California contributed significantly to the growing of hops and sugar beets and was still a major wheat producer, even though wheat growing was giving way to more profitable crops that could be cultivated through irrigation. The state was the nation's leading producer of barley and grew high-quality oats. Dates, olives, cantaloupes, and lettuce were emerging as significant crops.

California was also an important producer of livestock. The raising of cattle for both beef and dairy products continued to be major industries, as they had been in the nineteenth century, even though cattle were increasingly relegated to feed lots and irrigated pasturelands rather than large open ranches. Sheep, reared for wool and mutton, were raised in large numbers, and poultry production in California boomed in the late nineteenth century, particularly around Petaluma, where the incubator and brooder were invented. In coastal communities, commercial fishermen brought in great catches of salmon, sardines, tuna, cod, crab, and oysters.

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