William M. Mendenhall and His Springs
The Independent, JANUARY 25,2007William M. Mendenhall was the founder of the City of Livermore. In 1865 Mendenhall acquired plot 18 of the Rancho Del Valle de San Jose in Alameda County, most of which became the town he named “Livermore.” Mendenhall offered 32 acres of downtown property to Central Pacific to encourage the railroad to come through Livermore. He also donated land for a grammar school, a college, a flour mill, two churches and a cemetery.
Mendenhall platted the town site in 1869 and began to sell lots south of the railroad yards, where they ran from First to Fifth Street and Q to Lizzie Street (later South Livermore Avenue).
In 1866 Mendenhall hired architect Julius L. Weilbye to build his home near where today’s small roads named Mendenhall and Old Tower are located to the west of South L Street. Although the house is gone, Old Tower Road is named for the Mendenhall estate’s redwood water tower, which has been restored and made into a home. The water tank is now the garage to the .east of the house at 1861 Old Tower Road.
Bom in Greene County, Ohio, in 1823, Mendenhall traveled with his family to Michigan at age eight. In 1845 with 12 other adventurous young men, he came on a wagon train to California. They arrived at Sutter’s Fort on Christmas Day. When war broke out with Mexico, Mendenhall joined the Bear Flag party and served under Fremont.
Mendenhall was tall for his day, at six foot one. While stationed in Santa Clara, he met Mary Allen, who at age 16 had come cross-country in a wagon train with her family from Missouri, her home state. San Jose Alcalde John Burton officiated at the marriage of William and Mary at Santa Clara on Apr. 10,1847; some claim it was the first non-Catholic marriage in the Bay Area.
After a time in the gold fields, the couple moved back to Santa Clara. Later, they bought land in Sycamore Valley, where Mendenhall ran cattle and sheep from 1853 until he sold the land in 1859.
Mendenhall served as a Livermore trustee for four years, including one term as mayor. An unusual business he engaged in was the raising of cashmere goats; in 1884 he shipped l,500 of them —13 car loads —to Shasta County.
A few years after the death of his wife in 1903, he moved to Oakland where he lived with his daughter Ella Langan until his death in 1911 at age 88. His funeral was held in Livermore; both he and Mary are buried at Roselawn cemetery. His house and surrounding property were bought by Dr. John W. Robertson to use as part of the Livermore Sanitarium.
Robertson sold it to a Bible college. In 1978 the college in turn sold 23 acres to a developer who tore down the Mendenhall mansion and integrated new homes in the area with the many old trees and created narrow roads for a somewhat rural effect for the Forest Glade development.
Another Mendenhall Road is located about 11 miles southeast of Livermore near Del Valle Regional Park. A one-lane gravel road, it intersects with Del Valle Road and leads to the old resort of Mendenhall Springs on the north side of Cedar Mountain.
As the road climbs the mountain, beautiful vistas of the Arroyo Mocho canyon to the north and Arroyo Del Valle canyon to the south are visible. At one point, the road lies on a narrow ridge with drop-offs on both sides—no shoulders, no guard rails.
The resort was originally called Agua de Vida Springs; William M. Mendenhall gave it his name when he bought it in the 1880s. Under various owners, the resort remained in operation until the late 1920s.
The springs, at an elevation of 1,700 feet, flowed from two prospect tunnels driven in search of gold. According to Mineral Springs and Health Resorts of California for 1892, the lower spring had lightly carbonated water; the upper, larger spring had mildly sulphurated water. Dr. Winslow Anderson analyzed the sulfur spring in 1889 and advised, “This mineral water is of service in dyspepsia, torpidity of the liver and bowels, rheumatism, glandular affections, renal troubles and skin diseases.”
By 1892 a hotel and family housekeeping cottages were on the grounds. In 1909 rates were between $8 and $12 for a week’s stay at the resort. “Being only three hours’ ride from San Francisco by rail, and possessing in the highest degree delightful climactic advantages, this ought to become a favored resort for health as well as pleasure seekers.” Customers came from Oakland to Livermore by train on Tuesday or Saturday morning and then traveled by carriage to the springs.
The Herald listed 25 visitors and told of lively entertainment in August 1909. “Masquerade balls, bonfires and dances have been the order at Mendenhall Springs for the last week. There is quite a gathering from all parts of the country and they are having a jolly time.” William Mendenhall enjoyed the resort himself and spent much of his time there. One of my favorite photographs shows William and Mary seated on a bench at the springs; he is holding a violin, and she an accordion. Even after he moved to Oakland, he still came for a month every summer until his death.
The Mendenhall Springs property is now pa
