The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1895-12-02
SUBDIVISION OF LARGE TRACTS.
Intensive Culture VIII Supersede Old
Methods.
The Most Important Move Yet Made
for the Development of
California.


A syndicate has been formed to pur-
chase and place on the market over
dozen of the largest ana most valuable
ranches in Northern California. All
arrangements for closing the deal were
perfected yesterday, and within few
days all the papers required to bind the
holders of the vast tracts of land to
the terms of the transfer Will be drawn
up and signed. From present indica-
tons the syndicate will close with
1913, Goo acres, though it is probable that
an additional 1000 of the Cone ranch
may be admitted into the deal. All this
property, which is now owned and
cultivated by a few wealthy men, will
be cut up into small ranches Of twenty
and forty acres and be improved with
dwellings, and outhouses. When the
vast acreage Of the syndicate land is
taken into consideration, and the fact
that the land has a frontage of seventy
four miles on the west bank of the
Sacramento, besides large frontage
on the east bank, the colossal extent
Of the big land deal will be readily ap-
parent.
Arrangements are not yet completed
as to the Cone property, as it is not def
nitely known whether the original offer
OF the Cone estate Of 5000 acres will be
supplemented with an additional IO,UUO
acres. Arrangements have been COM
p!eted for the transfer of 1o3,GOU acres.
The most important holdings in the
list are as follows: On the west side
of the Sacramento RiVer-BOggs, L, 400
acres: Glenn, II 500 acres; Chambers,
%. 500 acres; Finnell, 10000 acres; Ty-
Ter, 1000 acres; Hemstreet, 1,3U0 acres;
Hart, /, 800 acres; RaWsOn, /, al acres;
Oh the east side of the riVer-ReViS
grant 5000 acres; Bidwell, 1000 acres;
Cone, 1900 acres: Wilson, 5000 acres.
These are the principal holdings, and
they are intersperSed with smaller
holdings of Loco acres and less.
Mr.. Chambers, who has placed 2O,0OO
in the syndicate is a prominent CAPT
talist of st. Louis. His agent and at
torney in fact is John Finnell, who has
put an equal amount of land into the
pool Mr. Finnell has telegraphed to
Mr. Chambers to come to San Francisco
in order that he might approve the ac-
ton taken in his absence and upon Mr.
Chambers arrival the papers will be
signed and the deal closed.
To expedite the work of dividing the
big holdings into small improved
ranches, and thus attract settlers to
California, a corporation will be formed
to which all the lands enumerated will
be decided eventually. The sale of the
stock of the corporation will be used to
pay the owners for their property
though many of the owners have signi-
fed their Willingness to take the pur-
chase price of their land in part at
least; in stock.
Then the plan will be to subdivide the
lands into classes. Lands are to be
offered at prices that will represent
their relative value, and whatever sur
plus is derived above the cost to the
corporation viii be distributed to the
purchasers of the land when the first
subdivision of 10000 acres is closed out.
The object is to sell the land at a very
low figure, it being the ultimate and
paramount object of all interested to
secure a subdivision and occupation of
the country by actual settlers.
All the land Will be divided into two
principal classes, viz. land that is
wholly unimproved end land on which
the corporation viii build houses and
outbuildings Each twenty, forty or
eighty-acre tract will be improved and
made ready for the occupant, and by
contracting for ten or twenty such
dwellings, at a time, the corporation
will reduce the cost to a minimum. The
plan is to subdivide a tract of 10000
acres at a time, and pending it's sub
division the land will be kept in high
state of cultivation so that its value
will not become impaired. Through
each of these tracts Of 10000 acres will
be built a main avenue. The form Of
the land lends itself to this, as no tract
is more than four miles wide, and all
the land has a navigable frontage on
the Sacramento. At the center Of each
tract viii be established trading CEN
ter or village. In connection with the
general plan of subdividing the land is
a proposition to set aside out of each
tract of 10000 acres a sufficient area for
the dwellings, and farmhouses of all the
settlers in the tract. BY placing the
houses conveniently near each other on
a tract of land set aside for the pur-
pose, instead of scattering them all
over the country, social advantages will
be afforded to settlers which, it is
thought, will prove a great attraction to
prospective purchasers.
@. = Huntington has become inter-
ested in the colonization scheme and has
promised TO subscribe literally to the
stock of the corporation. Two features
which are elements of the plan, viz, the
erection Of houses and the distribution
of any surplus derived from the sale of
the lands. are features introduced by
G p Huntington. There was a meet
ing OF all the leading bankers of San
owners Of the property in the office of
c. Huntington a few days before the
Iatter's departure for the East, and
two hours were spent in discussing
plans for the subdivision Of the big
ranches. Mr. Huntington said that no
one realized more than ne the necessity
Tor a division of the big ranches of
California as aid to the settlement of
the State. and suggested the two fea-
lures above named. They will be tried
in the subdivision of the first tract of
10000 acres.
Less than 300 people are now living
on the 153 600 acres comprising the
several big ranches. and the syndicate
hopes by dividing the land into small
ranches to secure 300 Cos new settlers
in the Sacramento Valley 1t is calcu-
lated. at least, that the land in ques-
ton can support that many people.
The entire matter is now in the hands
of VI. H. Mills for adjustment Mr.
Mills said yesterday that the land rep
resents the largest area of fertile land
with the least waste of any land in the
State. 1t is also the most fertile land
in the State and includes the largest
Spanish grants in the State.
1T is popular fad with writer's and
speakers" he said, Ito say that we are
now on the dawn of a new era, but that
statement was never more truthful
than it is now, with the subdivision of
these immense ranches assured. In
tensive culture has superseded the old
cattle husbandry of the old Spanish
period and it is all in response to an
evolutionary force -