Research

So, I wanted to start this post asking a question that, I feel, is pretty important to any sort of learning: why is it that we as people and, if relevant, as research historians continue asking questions and yearning for more knowledge? Why is it that we have a constant flow of thoughts where we eventually break down and start googling to answer these random inquiries?  I will be the first to admit that the majority of my googling time revolves around finding driving directions or figuring out how to fix something that I have managed to break but we are able to learn so much more from this tool.  We not only have the ability to see what baby pigeons actually look like (has anyone seriously ever seen one?) but we also have a plethora of data at our fingertips for our minds wildest thoughts.  So many of our basic inquiries can be answered with a few meager clicks of a mouse but we will continue to ask more difficult questions and seek out the answers that often times require more then google.  In my eyes this is where the fun all begins.

For this project, like many others I expect, research began on the internet looking up archives and calling around to see what I might be able to find.  Coincidently, I was on one of my little wondering adventures and ended up down by the Shoreline.  I got to talking to a few of the people who maintain the Hayward Regional Shoreline and they directed me to dig into the archives of the Hayward Area Historical Society (HAHS) and also suggesting that I contact the Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center because of their programs on the Oliver Salt Trail.  After scheduling and getting in to see what HAHS had I have determined that the people who work there are pretty awesome and probably underpaid for all of the amazing work they do; I could not recommend them enough!  With this little bit of digging we were able to find essential building blocks to my whole project!  This is why I completely love the research process!  You can look and sometimes you just hit a goldmine and you feel so accomplished with what you've found--then the thinking/writing process starts and you feel completely screwed or like you're at square one once again.  Luckily I am still in the research/honeymoon time where everything is still fun and exciting!

In researching I have found that focusing my time on one salt company of the Mt. Eden area would probably be sufficient for this quarter long project.  I chose to focus on the Oliver family's production mainly because they seem to have been dominant within the industry of the area and because I like the story of their beginning and all their random transformations through time.  I love Andrew August (Ohleson) Oliver was able to travel and do so much during his lifetime from becoming a young cabin boy from a small Swedish town at the age of 18 to buying up his own land and creating a successful business.   Within the next few weeks I will be going into the details of Andrew Oliver and the history of his company so stay tuned!

Photograph courtesy of HAHS: Construction of the Oliver Salt Mill

A Snap Into The Past

Chinese laborers of the East Bay salt industries
Courtesy of the Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center

Post One

Hi my name is Bria and, as part of my Digital History course that I am taking at California State University, East Bay, this blog will be focusing on the salt industry of what is now known as the Hayward Regional Shoreline.  I would like to first warn you all that this is my first ever blog and it will probably show!  Hopefully that will not stray you away.  Also, I am trying to use this research as a master's project so I welcome constructive criticism and any additional information that is found regarding the topics that may or may not come up.

To properly introduce this local history we must see how it all began and understand the importance of that initial starting point.  The salt industry really started when John Johnson came to the East Bay in 1858 buying up land that is north of what is now the San Mateo/Hayward Bridge.  Johnson built one of the first commercial solar evaporation ponds by diking the marshes and lower areas of his land, producing salt, and selling it north to San Francisco for processing and distribution.  Just ten years after Johnson arrived in the East Bay there were over 17 small family salt operations from the San Lorenzo Creek to the Alameda Creek.  Following Johnson, Andrew August Ohleson (later changing his name to Oliver), a sailor from Sweden, moved to the East Bay Area after a failed attempt in finding gold during California's Gold Rush.  Oliver started his salt production in 1866 and had his first full-fledged year of harvest in 1872, the same year he started his business the Acme Salt Company.  Years later following Oliver's death his wife Elsa renamed the business the Oliver Salt Company and his son, Adolph, and his brother, Otto, took over the family enterprise.  In 1927 the Oliver's sold their company and was absorbed by the Leslie Salt Company.  Seven years later Adolph's sons, Adolph Jr. and Alden, bought the land that was once owned by John Johnson and formed the Oliver Brothers Salt Company that existed until 1982.  The Oliver family had been providing salt to the San Francisco Bay Area for over 100 years.

These last few years I have become a sort of nomad--actually, wandering gnome would probably fit as a better description--moving from place to place as my education sees fit.  With all of the moves I have found it important to explore the areas in which I live and the histories that come with those places.  If you look close enough there are traces of the past in our surroundings.   These seemingly unimportant histories continue to stand out.  It's crazy to see that all of this history is so close yet. due to our busy lives, we often forget to take a closer look.  Maybe it's time to start looking?