The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1867-11-16
Correspondence q the Pacific Commercial Advertiser.
Letter from California.
OAKLAND, August, 1867.

OAKLAND, August, 1867.
Situation OF Oakland.
To those who are no; familiar with the geography
Of our Golden State, il may he Of interest 10 know
something Of that which Is callel - the garden spot
of California The citizens Of Oakland are not at sl
averse TO spreading their fame, and we send to Sand
wich Island tourists a cordial invitation to visit our
classic groves. Oakland is situated in Alameda
County, on the san Francisco Bay, directly opposite
the metropolis. Ii first derived its name from the
groves Of lve-oaks, amid which the main portion Of
the town is built. The beautiful Alameda Valley,
which borders this side of the hay and lies 1T the base
of the coast range, i the lap Of nature into which we
have settled for ease and comfort. The landscape is
unsurpassed in loyelinesS. Nothing can rival the
grandeur of a sunset as seen in Oakland through the
Golden Gate and nothing can be more picturesque
than our valley, over which spread groves of oak
trees, orchards, flower gardens, and waving fields Of
grain. Through the s~hruS5ery and trees the spires
of many churches, colleges and schools are seen as
cending. On all sides are elegant and even palatial
residences of hundreds of wealthy merchants, law
yers and retired business men of San Francisco.
Every hour the ferry-boat is seen crossing the bay
with n full load of passengers and freight, connecting
with a long pier, over which runs a railroad through
the heart of the city.
II may be asked, what has occaSioned this great
prosperity? In answer, let Inc briefly sum up the
causes First, Oakland is the natural drain of a rich
agricultural district; secondly, its proximity to San
Francisco and its beautiful landscape make it n most
4 delightful suburban town, such as Brooklyn is TO
New York; and thirdly, the schools, colleges, churches
and good society, together with its unequalled health
fulness of climate, have gathered here from all parts
of the State, hundreds of families of refinement and
education. As our reputation has been chiefly based
on our educational facilities, | will endeavor to de
scribe in brief our leading institutions.
The Oakland College School.
This institution has iourished fourteen years, and
is acknowledged by all to be without a rival in this
State. Its students are drawn from all portions of
the Pacific coast, many of them coming even from
Mexico and several from the Sandwich Islands. 1t is
controlled by no sectarian organization and its aim is
to furnish for our cosmopolitan people a comprehen-
sive academic system. Boys of all ages are admitted,
and in order to provide for their several wants, they
have been organized into three large departments
with separate buildings and dormitories. One of them
is especially designed Fer very young boys, for whom
are engaged special teachers and a matron. For tue
larger boys ole department is intended TO provide a
thorough preparation for the more extended college
course; another comprises in its course of instruction
all the elementary English branches, and a complete
department in practical and theoretical business.
Surveying and civil engineering are taught by means
of field excursions with a full set of instruments.
Especial attention is given throughout all to the
study of the modern languages and at n social re-
union, l once heard Il dialogue by the students in
which eight different languages were spoken with
perfect accent. As n recommendation for the school,
it is said that since its first establishment not n single
case of serious sickness has been contracted within
its walls. About fifteen teachers are employed, to
each one of whom a distinct department is assigned,
and over all presiies the principal and owner, the
Rev. /. ii. Brayton, A. NJ, n graduate of Hamilton
College.
The College of California.
This institution, though entirely separate from the
College School, has been developed from it. Its basis
is strictly non-sectarian and its standard of admis-
sion equal to that Of any Eastern college. Each
year it has graduated n class of students who are
already doing honor to their State and Alma Mater.
Its faculty and Board of Trustees contain many of
the most influential men on the Pacific coast, and the
a Associated Alumni of the Pacific stimulate its
progress by their annual meetings in its halls. At
the last commencement exercises the Grafton was de-
lvered by Pref. Benz. Silliman, LID, of Yale
College. Among the Associated Alumni are the Gov
ernor of the State, several of the most distinguished
Legislators, Gen. Mcdowell and other officers, the
State Superintendent of Public Schools, and many of
our most successful merchants and lawyers. Their
yearly gathering in Oakland has tended to draw in
creased attention to our educational facilities, and if
coming events ever do cast their shadows before,
before many years we shall have n State University,
of which the College Of California is but now the
foreshadowing. The State Mining and Agricultural
College has been located in its immediate vicinity
and will very soon be in active operation. All the
most influential of our papers both in San Francisco,
a~1 tba ,,tar,,r onapl- aIyncata nnr .1a,n 10 H.
title of the Cambridge of the Pacific In fine,
nothing can be more prosperous than the condition of
our schools and colleges. NJ. NJ.