Sarah Lim: Calendar gives glimpse of Merced history

Would you like to learn about Merced’s first 125 years of history at a glance? Then take a glance at the Merced County Historical Society’s 2015 calendar. It provides a glimpse of Merced since its incorporation through 12 carefully selected photos.

These historic photos highlight each decade in Merced history, beginning with building the city on the muddy plain and finishing the year with the building of UC Merced on the range. It celebrates the people, arts, culture, education and business of this community which has gradually transformed from an agricultural-based railroad town into a 21st century university city.

January features an aerial view of Merced in 1889. Merced was incorporated on April 1, 1889, with a vote of 300 to 59. It was governed by a council-manager government, and municipal business was conducted on the second floor of the first firehouse on 18th Street. Merced had a population of 2,009, according to the 1890 U.S. Census, and was a busy stopover for Yosemite-bound tourists.

The construction of Yosemite Valley Railroad in 1906 boosted Merced’s standing as the “Gateway to Yosemite.” Served by three railroad lines, Southern Pacific, Santa Fe, and Yosemite Valley, Merced became the transportation hub for the San Joaquin Valley as depicted in the February calendar. As a result, Merced experienced a boom in population, services and organizations over the course of this decade.

The 1910 U.S. Census depicts Merced as a prosperous agricultural community with land, water, wealth and a population of 3,102. As a political center, Merced County Courthouse, featured in the March calendar, became a popular spot for events and photographs from the WWI inductees’ swearing-in ceremony to the annual Fourth of July celebration.

Into the Roaring ’20s, Merced was often described by headlines of economic expansion and prohibition raids. While the construction of schools and businesses maintained a steady growth, so did the bootlegging business. During the latter part of the decade, Merced County lawmen regularly raided rum establishments as illustrated in the April calendar which features District Attorney F. M. Ostrander and Sheriff W. T. White.

The Great Depression affected Mercedians as unemployment rates soared. Both public and privately funded construction projects such as the post office, Merced Theatre, and Our Lady of Mercy Catholic School were aimed to alleviate hardship and stimulate the local economy. The May calendar photograph shows the placing of the cornerstone of the U.S. Post Office located on 18th Street. Built in 1933, this Public Works Administration project was the first federal building ever constructed in Merced.

World War II dominated the life of Mercedians, from sending off our young men to war, the building of Merced Army Air Field, and the internment of Japanese Americans, to celebrating the end of the war. The decade ended with the nation’s first U.S. Air Force Day celebration, pictured in the June calendar, as a full brass band marches down Main Street with military precision and with Merced as a chartered municipality.

Post-war Merced observed a decade of building projects, arts and music. The Merced Art League and the Merced Symphony Association (formerly known as Merced Concert Orchestra) were formed. Merced’s music scene was dominated by the popular Blue Notes, selected for the July calendar, which inspired the formation of many local rock ’n’ roll bands in the 1960s.

While the nation experienced the turbulence of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, Merced had its share of unrest and protests. But the community focused on economic expansion with the building of the new Highway 99 and north Merced development including the founding of Merced College in 1962. The August calendar depicts the first commencement exercise of Merced College at the Merced County Fairgrounds in 1964.

With the north Merced expansion underway, the city of Merced decided to take action with a comprehensive downtown redevelopment program in the 1970s, designed to remake the commercial district to be more modern, aesthetically pleasing, and pedestrian friendly. The September calendar depicts a night scene on the pre-redevelopment Main Street without trees or expansive sidewalks, but with unsightly power lines.

Merced saw a great increase in population in the 1980s due to the arrival of Laotian refugees. Because of the sudden surge of Hmong settlers from about 500 in 1977 to 7,000 in 1982, 1982 became known as the year of the Hmong to many local agencies. Blia Xiong, featured on the October page, was one of the many Hmong artists whose paj ntaub (story cloths) helped bridge cultural differences by presenting Hmong history and folklore.

The economic difficulties of the 1990s were manifested in many forms including the closure of the county library and public parks. When the federal government decided to close Castle Air Force Base in 1995, it inevitably added more hardship to the struggling economy. Fortunately, local business Wallace Transport, pictured in the November calendar, and corporate giant Ragu entered an agreement for the first commercial reuse of the air base in July 1995.

Entering into the 21st century is a new age of higher education for Merced. After decades of planning, the 10th University of California campus broke ground on Oct. 25, 2002, and opened its doors to the students on Sept. 6, 2005. As the first new American research university in the 21st century, the university provides much needed intellectual and financial investment for Merced and serves as a catalyst to Merced’s development for the next 125 years.

The cover of the calendar features the current decade, and it is a surprise. If you are a member of the Historical Society, you will receive a complimentary calendar when you renew your membership this month. Membership dues constitute 14 percent of the museum’s operating budget and benefit museum programs such as our annual Christmas tree exhibit. From all of us at the Courthouse Museum, we wish you a joyous Christmas and prosperous New Year.

This story was originally published December 12, 2014 at 4:34 PM with the headline "Sarah Lim: Calendar gives glimpse of Merced history."