Sarah Lim: Jewels of Merced-Mariposa on display at S.F.’s 1915 world’s fair

Spring came early to the festive City by the Bay as the temperature reached the mid-70s on March 19, 1915. On this unusually warm late-winter morning, a group of more than 200 delegates representing Merced and Mariposa counties, dressed in their Sunday best and wearing fig-leaf badges, assembled at the main entrance of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition on Scott Street.

Although they got up very early that morning for a long train ride to San Francisco, the lack of sleep did not dampen their cheerful spirit. As they lined up for the official Merced-Mariposa Counties Day portrait, many tried to contain their excitement and, at the same time, breathed a sigh of relief.

Just three weeks earlier, there was talk among the Merced County residents about boycotting this event because the original date, March 17, was considered unsatisfactory. Selected by the PPIE Commission without local input, the original date interfered with Valley farming and school teaching.

Despite much tough talk, a sizable Merced delegation led by Merced Mayor R. Barcroft and joined by their Mariposa counterparts came to the world’s fair to observe the joint Merced-Mariposa Counties Day on Friday, March 19. Shortly after the official portrait, the delegates were escorted to the California building by the Exposition Band as they proudly toured the grounds of the Jewel City.

The PPIE gained the official nickname of the Jewel City because of its classic 435-foot-tall Tower of Jewels that was covered with more than 100,000 cut-glass Novagems that dazzled the visitors day and night. A city within a city, “Jewel City” was built on a 635-acre shore site in the Marina district at a cost of $50 million. Opening on Feb. 20, 1915, the 10-month fair featuring magnificent exhibit palaces, spacious courts, beautiful gardens and decorated avenues celebrating the completion of the Panama Canal while showcasing the rebirth of San Francisco after the disastrous 1906 earthquake and subsequent fire.

The Mission-style California building was the largest building on the fairgrounds. With much fanfare, the delegates arrived at the building just in time for the dedication ceremony. The Exposition officials presented plaques to commemorate the date to J.E. Hill of Merced and J.F. Peck of Mariposa and offered some very flattering remarks about the counties, referring to Merced County as the Garden of Eden.

Merced’s own Rev. J.A. Wailes closed the ceremony with a grand speech that outlined the economic and strategic importance of Merced County to the state. Echoing the Exposition officials’ remarks on Merced County’s fertile soil, Wailes pointed out that “150 bushels of corn per acre has been raised in Merced County” (Merced Evening Sun, March 22, 1915), which was four times more than the statewide average yield per acre in 1914. After the speech, the delegates held an informal reception and the ladies from both counties hosted a dance in the afternoon.

Did the Merced County exhibit at the world’s fair live up to its newly minted reputation as the Garden of Eden? Very much so. In fact, as early as 1911, the Merced County Board of Supervisors appointed the Merced County Panama-Pacific Exposition Commission and enacted a special tax for an exhibit to be placed in the Exposition.

As a member of the San Joaquin Valley Exposition Association, Merced County joined with the other seven counties to curate the best collective exhibit in the California building, which was viewed by an estimated 100,000 people on the opening day. Its 25,000 square feet of exhibition space featured the Palace of Plenty, the Mine of Information, panoramic views of San Joaquin Valley scenes, agricultural product displays, a reproduction of Yosemite Valley, and many more displays.

The Palace of Plenty was a small building with panels bearing the county names of Merced, Mariposa, Madera, Stanislaus, Fresno, Kings, Calaveras and San Joaquin. It was a showcase of Valley products – the building was constructed entirely out of materials from the Valley.

Next to the Palace of Plenty and near the center of the exhibition space was the Mine of Information. In the form of a mountain that measured 16 feet high, 30 feet long and 18 feet wide, it featured a good-sized art and lecture room. Through an entrance designed to look like a mine tunnel, visitors walked in to discover a lecture room where moving pictures of such things as beautiful Yosemite scenery and grain farming methods were presented.

The exhibit was also an opportunity to showcase the talent of Valley artists like Mrs. M.J. Wessels of Fresno, whose lively pictures of farm scenes and portraits were made of seeds without paint or dye. Merced’s gifted modeler Joe Thullen created a miniature Yosemite Valley that attracted huge crowds at all times and made the Merced-Mariposa counties’ part of the exhibit the most attractive display of all.

So did Merced County residents’ investment at the PPIE pay off? Did this world’s fair help the settlement and development of Merced County? Although there is no specific data to show the direct correlation between the growth of Merced County and the PPIE, it is interesting to compare various indicators from that era.

To find out what these indicators were, please join us for the opening of the “Promoting Merced: A County of Many Resources” exhibit on Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Merced County Courthouse Museum. During the opening reception, a PowerPoint presentation titled: “PPIE: California Welcomes the World” will be presented by Maxwell Norton and Charlie Galatro at 6 p.m.

Some of the PPIE artifacts on display include a green jewel from the Tower of Jewels donated by Nancy Taniguchi, opening and closing day badges, and a replica of President William Howard Taft’s groundbreaking trowel on loan from the San Francisco Public Library. For more information about the exhibit, contact the Courthouse Museum at (209) 723-2401. The exhibit is free to the public.

This story was originally published March 13, 2015 at 11:00 AM with the headline "Sarah Lim: Jewels of Merced-Mariposa on display at S.F.’s 1915 world’s fair."