Introduction
Berkeley's enduring reputation as a haven for eccentrics-the
magical, the magnificent, and the malevolent-has contributed
greatly to the community's rich cultural history. Though most
of today's residents and visitors are unfamiliar with
Berkeley's earliest roster of offbeat characters, their legacy
became part of the foundation for one of the country's most
vibrant intellectual communities.
In the mid-twentieth century, Berkeley grabbed the national
spotlight as a bastion of free thinkers and rabble-rousers.
But the area had been long established as a fertile home for
visionaries and individualists in the 1870s and 1880s, and
even as far back as the gold rush era.
Early Berkeley was a true frontier town embodying all the
excitement, potential, and danger of America's Wild West. From
the outset, it was a place where new ideas were tested, and
where people who didn't feel quite at home in other locales
seemed to find comfort and camaraderie.
Of course, most of the town's population consisted of
stalwart men and women-from ranchers, road builders, and
business owners to maids, saloon keepers, and farmhands-who
worked hard following their careers and visions of their
lives. And among them lived innovators, artists, and
campaigners whose head-turning discoveries and endearing
antics were preserved in local newspaper accounts. These
publications also captured the more sordid events of the day.
In a place where urban areas hardly encroached on endless
acres, disputes over land led to sad cases of murder; early
attempts to mete out justice were often inconsistent and
accounts of them are often baffling. Some of the events and
sentiments of that era are still quietly influencing our
culture today.
A century or more ago, anyone on the street would have easily
identified these famous local characters. Over the years their
stories sadly faded from common memory. But any community will
benefit from reexamining its forgotten social and cultural
roots. To that end, I present this book about early Berkeley's
eccentrics, heroes, and cutthroats as a tribute to all those
whom ever have dreamed here or called this place home.
Richard Schwartz
