Sarah Lim: Merced County invested in 1915 expo to bring growth

When the Panama-Pacific International Exposition closed its doors on Dec. 4, 1915, more than 18 million people had visited the 10-month-long world’s fair in San Francisco and many of these visitors viewed the Merced County display in the California State Building.

In order to pay for the exhibit, the Merced County Board of Supervisors in 1911 became the first in the state to levy a special tax and appoint a local Exposition Committee to handle the money raised from the levy.

Did Merced County’s investment at the PPIE pay off? Although there are no specific data to show a direct correlation between growth in Merced County and the exposition, some interesting indicators from that era shed light on such a parallel.

First, Merced County’s population grew at a much faster pace – almost double – in the second half of the 1910s in comparison with its first half. Second, according to San Joaquin Valley Exposition Association officials, the advertising return for the Valley’s $250,000 investment on its PPIE display was approximately 4,000 percent. Finally, the direct benefits of Merced’s PPIE display were seen in increased land sales that would continue through the rest of the 1910s and into the 1920s.

The increase in land sales had an additional catalyst – farmers’ excursions. During the PPIE, Santa Fe Railroad Co. encouraged visitors from throughout the country to visit the world’s fair by offering not only special rates, but also tours of towns and cities along the way. In collaboration with the Merced County Chamber of Commerce, the railroad company organized a couple of farmers’ excursions, bringing hundreds of potential settlers to the county.

One such farmers’ excursion to Merced took place on Nov. 18, 1915, when travelers from the East and Midwest arrived at the Santa Fe Railroad station in the early morning. Based upon an itinerary from that time, the following is a description of what those visitors might have seen that day as they toured Merced:

▪ Starting from the Santa Fe Depot, the auto-tour parades down tree-lined K Street by well-tended yards. Soon the visitors’ attentions are directed to an impressive Queen Victorian-style structure on their right as the cars turn left onto 21st Street. Known as the Merced Sanatorium, it was originally a home for Maj. George Beecher Cook, a Civil War veteran. This well-established tree-lined neighborhood belongs to the esteemed citizens of Merced and features elegant homes with styles ranging from Craftsman bungalows to Colonial Revival mansions.

▪ Leaving 21st Street, the tour next turns left onto G Street and heads north to Bellevue Ranch, the headquarters of the Crocker-Huffman Land and Water Co. The visitors will get an earful of how the company’s water system irrigates almost all eastern Merced County and how the company’s dominant interests center on grain farming, cattle ranching and meat packing.

▪ Departing from the ranch and traveling east, Rogers’ 25-acre Adriatic fig orchard is within sight. Although the harvesting season finished three weeks earlier, there are still figs hanging on the trees. Seeing the well-grown trees and touching the warm loam soil, the visitors now understand why Merced County is known as the “Home of the Fig” and why the Valley climate is perfect for fig production.

▪ While traveling back west on Bear Creek, the visitors see more fig orchards. As they cross G Street Bridge over Bear Creek, they take a tour of the Bradley Addition at the intersection of 21st and G streets. This newer neighborhood just outside the Merced city limit is one of the Crocker-Huffman Land and Water Co. colonies. Started in 1903, it contains over 4,000 acres that are platted into 10- and 20-acre lots. With well-supplied utilities and stately mansions, the Bradley Addition is suburban living for Merced’s rich and famous.

▪ 21st Street ends at Yosemite Highway, but the tour will continue – heading east on Yosemite Highway to the Tuttle area. Tuttle is another example of an impressive farming operation run by the Fancher brothers. They each had inherited the ranch from their late brother and pioneer settler, George H. Fancher, whose 68-feet high tombstone stands on the corner of Arboleda Drive and the Yosemite Highway and that is surely not missed by the visitors.

▪ Making a U-turn on the highway and traveling back to Merced, the visitors next see the county hospital on 15th Street between C and D streets. If they ask whether the 90-bed facility is big enough for a population of 18,000, they are told that more beds are not necessary because Merced is a healthy county. Out of 58 counties in California, Merced County has one of the lowest mortality rates.

▪ From 15th Street, the tour most likely travels down to Main Street (or 17th Street) for a visit to the established business district. In the heart of the city, they will also see City Hall and the firehouse, churches, lodge halls, the county library and schools before arriving at Courthouse Park. They walk up the granite steps of the magnificent courthouse and hear stories about President William Howard Taft’s visit and summer concerts in the park.

▪ Leaving the courthouse and driving south on Palm Avenue (or N Street), they see how the row of young palm trees divides the nicely paved avenue into two-direction traffic. Good city planning comes to mind. Leaving the city on Front Street (or 16th Street), the visitors continue to travel west to Buhach Colony and Atwater before they end their tour at noon by returning to the Santa Fe Depot.

To experience such an excursion, please visit the current Courthouse Museum exhibit, “Promoting Merced: A County of Many Resources.” You will be able to see what these excursionists saw in our county 100 years ago. While visiting the exhibit, don’t forget to buy tickets to our annual tea party in the historic courthouse on April 11. This annual fundraiser benefits the Courthouse Museum’s exhibits, programs and grants.

This story was originally published April 3, 2015 at 2:11 PM with the headline "Sarah Lim: Merced County invested in 1915 expo to bring growth."