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San Francisco at the Height of The Litigation over Land Ownership Claims
Rare early map of the City and County of San Francisco, prepared by San Mateo County civil engineer Vitus Wackenreuder and printed by Britton & Co in San Francisco.
This is one of the earliest printed maps of San Francisco to show the western and southern parts of the peninsula, with the land grants, and full topographical detail. The map also shows the northern part of San Mateo County and a small part of Marin County.
The map lays out the location of the lands of early property owners and Spanish ranchos. It also illustrates the planned course of the Spring Valley Water Works from Pilarcitos Creek to Laguna Honda reservoir and the San Francisco Water Works aqueduct that extends to the reservoirs on Russian Hill. The map also illustrates the peninsula during a period of significant change in its topography. Notably, it shows the sand dunes of the Outside Lands (in the current Richmond District) as well as rivers and creeks which either no longer exist or have been radically altered.
Another point of interest on this map is Noe Valley named Horner’s Addition, already platted for subdivision. John Meirs Horner was a Mormon immigrant who bought the land from José de Jesús Noé, the last Mexican alcalde (mayor) of Yerba Buena in1854. The map also shows Pioneer Race Track, constructed in 1851.
The map includes three insets of the Farallon Islands, including a view showing the American outpost on the island.
This is the second state of the map, which was first issued in 1861.
Vitus Wackreuder (1823-1887) was a Germany born civil engineer, who arrived in California in 1849 with the Gold Rush with a carpetbag.
Wackenreuder painted a noteworthy gouache of Mission Santa Barbara in 1852 and made a map of San Francisco in 1861 for the city directory. While in San Francisco he bought and soldproperty on lower Market Street.
The Wackenreuder homestead was on what is now Bayshore Blvd where he lived with his wife Thomasa Eienega and thirteen children. He died in San Francisco on Aug. 15, 1887 of “a shock of paralysis”
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