Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-03-19
SAN PEDRO.
The sea Port of southern CALI
fornia.
I 3oi's n. BEIKRLY.l


Leaving San Francisco and sailing
down the coast Of California three hum
dred and eighty-seven miles to Point
Firmin and rounding that point, we
reach the bay Of San Pedro.
Since the first settlement Of Califor-
nis, In the past century, this bay has
been one Of the principal commercial
points on the coast, although the busi-
ness that makes 1t the leading port Of
California, outside Of San Francisco, has
mostly been developed in the past fifteen
years.
The port was known as San Pedro
until 1878, when, the business being at
the town of Wilmington, at the head Of
the inner bay, Congress enacted that the
port should be called Wilmington.
In 1882 an Act of Congress established
the Customs District Of WILMINGTON,
with Wilmington as Port of Entry.
and Hueneme, San Buenaventura and
Santa Barbara rs Ports OF Delivery.
The officers of the district are John
r. Briefly, Collectors J. w. Anderson,
Deputy Collector and Charles G. Keyes,
inspector and Boarding Officer at the
Port Of Wilmington; John Scollan, In
spector at the Port of Santa Barbaraj
Frank A. Thompson, Inspector OF the
Ports of San Buenaventura and Hue
meme.
Since the extension OF the railroad to
San Pedro In the summer OF 1882, the
port has been known in shipping news as
San Pedro, but no action has been taken
by the government to recognize the
change.
Until 1870 the business Of the port
had been transacted, to satisfy the de-
mands of trade, by the use OF lighters for
landing merchandise at Timms' Point, at
San Pedro and at Wilmington.
The agricultural development OF Los
Angeles county beginning about 1867,
had been largely increased by the con-
struction of the railroad from Whining
ton to Los Angeles in 1869, and many Of
the business men of the county, looking
to ths future, saw that better facilities
for commerce were needed at the port.
The anchorage in 1870 was about five
miles from Wilmington in San Pedro bay
and about one mile from Dead Mans
Island.
In 1870 an examination OF the bay by
government engineers resulted in the
adoption OF plans for the construction Of
a break kwater, dredging and other i'm
movements to iaake an inner harbor.
The inner Bay of San Pedro, better
known as Wilmington Bay, with an area
of between eleven hundred and twelve
hundred acres, had narrow entrance at
La Goleta, between the main land and
Rattlesnake Island.
From Rattlesnake Island to Dead
Mans Island, about one mile and one
fourth, the Bay OF San Pedro had but
little depth, except in q narrow channel
near to and north OF Dead Mans Island.
Timms' Point, one-half mile from Dead
Mans Island, was the nearest main
land.
The system of improvements adopted
bp the government comprise q training
wall from RAttlcsnake Islapd to Dead
Mans Island, closing the old channel;
another wall from Timms' Point toward
Dead Mans Island. with the channel
for the entrance to tho harbor between
the latter wall and the Island.
These walls form channel from five
hundred to eight hundred feet wide from
Dead Mans Island to Rattlesnake
Island, connecting with the inner bay
that has, as before stated an area of
over HOO acres.
The powerful current concentrated in
. the channel at ebb tides is strong fac
cor in the construction Of the harbor,
which aided by the dredging Of two
bars o. clay, each about thtee hundred
feet wide, extending across the channel.
The depth OF water on these bars at
mean low tide Is now ten feet, and at
high tides from fourteen to sixteen feot.
The plans Of the engineers contem-
piate the improvement OF this channel to
have sixteen feet of water at meaa low
tide and from nineteen and one-half to
twenty-five and one-half feet at high
tide.
The lumber vessels and the steamers
OF the Pacific Coast Steamship Company
(escept the steamship Santa Rosa) now
come to the wharf at San Pedro at high
tide.
With the contemplated improvements
COuDlctcQ, aii tab ciu8Afoto 8ht the hatft-
ber vessels could come to the wharves
even at low tide.
The steamer Santa Rosa and the deep
water ships now discharge their cargoes
In lighters at the anchorage in San Pedro
Bay.
The anchorage Ia about two miles from
the wharves. About seventy thousand
,tous of merchandise are transported
from the outer anchorage to the wharves
in lighters at cost. including loss in
handling, of fully fifty thousand dollars,
annually.
This tax upon commerce can be re-
moved by the expenditure of, not ex-
{. csedine, two hundred and City thousand
! dollars.
With this additional expenditure
there will be channel sixteen feet in
depth at mean low tides and from nine
teen to sweaty-two and one-half feet at
high tides.
The matters Of ships that have been
AS this port during the past three years
agree in stating that only one foot more
water than the draft OF their ships
would be needed to enable them to en-
ter the inner harbor, except in very
stormy weather.
The possibilities Of the harbor are
best shown by taking the depth that
Col. Msndell states can be secured on
the bars, sixteen feet at mean low tides,
{ and adding the tides shown by the tide
tables prepared and published by the
United States Coast and Geodetic Sur.
vey. -.
The tides are frequently higher than
given by the tables.
For the year 1886 these tide tables
show tides above mean low water q
follows;
Feet. Days. Feet. Days
81 s+-- --+s-.s-sf+s i1.u s----- .-f--rs 70
s2..-...... ...... I D. u