The San Francisco call., 1909-09-26

latter part OF 1850. Through che Of
forts of several benevolent women me-
tices were given out through the press
and from the pulpits OF the churches
that a meeting would be held January
81, 1881, at the First Presbyterian
church in Stockton street. Organiza-
tion was effected at that meeting. a
constitution was presented and dis
cussed and was finally adopted at a
meeting held February 10, 1851. A
board of managers was formed and
official announcement made of the
opening of the San Francisco orphan
asylum. And so was born the first
charity in California.
On March 10. 1851. the first orphan
age was opened in cottage in Happy
valley" not on any street or any num-
Der, for there were none in that dis
trict. When one said that he lived in
Happy valley" the direction was COM
plete. When streets were laid out the
cottage was near Second and Natoma
streets. This house was given rent
free by w. d. M Howard, and was
equipped through moneys raised by
newspaper appeals and private sub
scription. The first orphan family,
which was mothered by Mrs. Wilson,
was composed of three orphans and six
half orphans-four girls and five boys.
Needing more room, move was made
III lllc lOiitWlHk december TO a mouse
in Folsom street near Second, given
rent free to the society by General II.
w. Halleck.
Althoughfthe accommodations of this
second home might have been ade-
quate for some time, the managers
realized that a permanent site must
be secured and provision made for the
future. Various locations were
thought of, and the present site was
here is an interesting story. The
municipality, feeling the obligation to
do something for Its dependent chill
dren, decided to put a section of out
side land" on the market, thereby Civ
ing the managers of the orphanage an
opportunity to bid for some of Ii. There
was no one minded in those days, as
there is none now, to raise hand
against the well being of the orphans,
and SO the present site of the orphan
age was bid in for the nominal sum
OF 800. The city gave it's deed and
within a short time work was COM
menced on the central building.
Although this particular piece Of
property, like nearly all of San Fran
cisco at that time. was a sandhill in
the midst of sandhilfs. the material for
building was found not more than a
block away. 1t was the soft blue
BIttH ccIpcHtiHC IOChs SOiHt VI WHICH
went later into, the construction of
the much talked OF fence. To be ex-
act, the material that went into the
building was quarried from that par
ticular part of the outcropping that
became one of the. first reservoirs OF
the Spring Valley water system. The
new building was completed a year
and month from the purchase of the
site, and SO on March %, 1854, a faw-
lily of 16 children with their protectors
took possession of the place. Five
years later a small addition was built
on the north. An interesting and
generous gift three years afterward
made possible the building of an ex-
tensive wing on the south side. Two
stories of the four which constituted
this addition had to be taken down
after the recent calamity. The loss
was a serious one because II meant the
deprivation of a lot of needed room
and because 1t disfgured one of the
unusual and historic structures in this
city.
The building of the addition to the
south, known as the Sansome wing.
came about in this way:
In 1852 the Sansome hook and lad
der company of pioneer fame decided
to disband and voted their building
to the San Francisco orphan asylum
James Lick promptly made a gift Of
the ground upon which the hook and
,,ddar building stood Then the houSe