Petaluma’s 1912 a year of change, development

In 1912, former President Theodore Roosevelt, became irked at his snubbing by the Republican National Committee, which had gone for incumbent William Howard Taft. So, Roosevelt bolted from the GOP and formed a third party, The Bull Moose Progressives.

California, led by Petaluma and the Bay Area, voted for “Teddy” in the closest electoral vote in state history. Out of 677,944 California votes, Roosevelt beat Woodrow Wilson by just 174 votes. Not only was Teddy very popular here, but his running mate, Hiram Johnson, was governor of California then.

Democrat Wilson went on to sweep 40 states and win big because of the split Republican ticket. He took an amazing 435 electoral votes and also got control of Congress. It has been said that America was changed forever.

In Sonoma County in that election, a lady named Jennie Colvin, became the first woman ever to vote here, seven years prior to the country allowing women’s suffrage. Also, in that election, most of the Sonoma County’s districts, went for prohibition of alcohol. But, not Petaluma, with it’s many saloons and vintners.

The Sonoma County Sheriff testified he had seen too many “women get happy through booze” and, he stated, it was “demoralizing.” That was a double big no-no, because women were not even allowed to enter saloons at that time.

Just prior to the election of 1912, President Taft had signed a resolution making New Mexico the 47th state in the Union. New Mexico had been a territory since 1850, and its boundaries had been established in 1863. The snag that had kept it in limbo for 62 years had been the argument over whether it should be admitted as a slave state or non-slave state. Hard to believe that issue lasted until 1912.

The year 1912 was a newsworthy one worldwide as the “unsinkable” liner Titanic, on its maiden voyage from England, did indeed sink after hitting an iceberg in the North Atlantic Sea. More than 1,500 lives were lost.

The 1912 Summer Olympics in Sweden also made big news, with Native American Jim Thorpe winning both the decathlon and the pentathlon. Thorpe was recently named America’s “Greatest Athlete of the Twentieth Century.”

In Petaluma, much was also afoot. The Petaluma Daily Courier was reporting that, at The Hill Opera House, one could see, “for the first time in this city, colored motion pictures.” The film was of the coronation of England’s King George, and it was promised that, “Not only motion, but color is obtained.”

On Jan. 31, Petaluma industrialist John McNear announced the grand opening of his new Mystic Theater in his McNear Building on Main Street, and our mayor, carriage maker William Zartman, exclaimed that, it was “the prettiest vaudeville house in California.”

John McNear Jr. was going to manage the theater and promised, “The house will book all of the good clean attractions and censored pictures.” The first act to be booked was “Van & Livingston and their nonsensical novelties.”

John McNear’s other son was George Plummer McNear, or G.P., as he became known. The McNears were wildly successful in Northern California and their many excellent endeavors are legend here. However, in the spring of 1912, they made a doozy of a miscalculation. John McNear announced he would begin construction of his American Livery Stable, saying, “This monster stable will have 100 stalls and four corrals and four buggy whip and robe rooms.” He noted that several of the “old Chinese houses” would have to be removed to make room for the stable at the corner of C and Third streets.

Had Mr. McNear overlooked the looming advent of the automobile? Well, in that same issue of the Petaluma Argus, it was announced that, “The Winton Roadster, ordered by Robert Steitz, arrived here on the Steamer Gold, and it has all the latest improvements and is even equipped with a self-starting device.” It didn’t need one of those McNear buggy whips? Also arriving on the Steamer Gold that same day was the “Elegant Stearns five-passenger auto, equipped with a silent engine.”

In addition, the Petaluma fire department was lobbying our city council that same spring to buy a “motor-propelled fire apparatus,” which was a “combined chemical, auto, pump and hose wagon.” It seems that the trend away from the horse was boldly afoot here.

Just to be cautious, our council passed an ordinance that regulated Petaluma alleys to be one-way, with entrances only from the north ends, because too many of the horse-drawn wagons were having to attempt back-ups, thus blocking the alleys.

And, in the world of 1912 real estate, Petaluma’s J.W. Horn Company was offering “three acres, in city limits, overlooking the valley, with a nearly new four-room cottage with bath, patent toilet, hot and cold water and ample poultry buildings” for $3,500 with only $1,000 cash. Now, that “patent toilet” appeared to be a whiz of a feature. Real estate today, seems so, well, mundane.

(Historian Skip Sommer is an Honorary Life Member of Heritage Homes and the Petaluma Historical Museum. Contact him at skipsommer@hotmail.com.)