There are nearly forty churches in the city of Oakland of all denominations, but our space will only admit of our giving histories of the oldest of these. From the days when "two or three were gathered together" under the shade of one of Oakland's spreading oaks, up to the present the city has been the home of churches that have grown in beauty of design and magnificence of architecture, as the years flew by. She is sometimes called the "City of Spires," as she deserves to be, for more graceful outlines are not to be found anywhere. Her number of devotees is large, and, in truth, Oakland is a city of families, boasting in her churches and her schools.
- First Presbyterian Church, 1853
- Independent Presbyterian Church, 1869
- St. John's (Episcopal) Church
- St. Paul's (Episcopal) Church
- St. Andrew's Mission (Episcopal)
- First Baptist Church of Oakland
- Church of the Immaculate Conception (Roman Catholic)
- The First Congregational Church of Oakland, 1860
- The Second Congregational Church of Oakland, 1868
- Plymouth Avenue Church, Oakland, 1871
- German Methodist Episcopal Church
- Methodist Episcopal Church (South) 1881
- Seventh-day Adventist Church, 1874
- Central Mission Sunday School, 1876
From 1876 to 1941 the Nevada County Narow Gauge Railroad, (nicknamed by its passengers, the "Never Come, Never Go R.R.") ran the twenty-two miles between Clfax, Palcer County, and Nevada City, Nevada County, California with stops at Oilville, Smiths, Chicago Park, Coleman, Buena Vista, Hatton, Cedar Kress, Union Hill, Grass Valley, Glenbrook, and Town Talk. It carried gold miners, dance hall girls, merchants, traveling salesman, promoters, and just plain citizens up and down the Sierra Nevada gold country for ten cents a mile.
As was the custom on the railroads of that time, many special passes were granted to privileged citizens. Complimentary passes went to presidents, traffic and passenger agents, managers, engineers, and purchasing agents of other railroads in the southwest. Members of the clergy travelling between the two towns of Grass Valley and Nevada City were extended half-fare passes.
Among the old railroad records in the possession of Holmes and Kathryn Ellis is the Pass Book of the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad Company listing the half-fare and complimentary passes granted by the Railroad from 1907 to 1914. Of special interest to genealogists are the names of some of the traveling clergy that served the miners of these California gold mine communities. are listed below:
Bamford, W.N., Capt. Grass Valley, 1915 Baynton, Jas. A., Pastor Nevada City Spic. Ch. 1912 Beacock, W.L. N.S.J. (?) Methodist Ch 1912 Benninghene, Capt. & Mrs. G.V., Salvation Army 1912 Bruce, G.E., Grass Valley Episcopal Ch 1913 Carter, Rev. W. J., Colfax 1914 Church, Emily, Helper, Grass Valley Salva. Army 1912 Clark, Rev. Wm., Grass Valley 1914, 1915 Clyne, P.J., Pastor Grass Valley Catholic Ch 1912 D'Arcy, M., Pastor & Priest Grass Valley Catholic Ch 1912, 1913 Dauson, Marshall, Acting Pastor Gr. Valley Cong. Ch 1912 Dawson, T., Pastor Grass Valley Eposc. Ch 1912 Sacra. 1912 Denninger, G., Pastor Chicago Park, St Paul's Ch 1912 Ellis, W. T., Sacramento Christ Cath. Ch. 1912 Ellis, John H., St. Patrick Ch Jackson Calif. 1913 1914, 1915 Foster, Bert, Pastor Grass Valey Epis. C. 1912, 1913, 1915 Gillette, John C., Sacramento Ca 1915 Grant W.P., Pastor Grass Valley Meth. Ch. 1912 Oakland, 1913 Heiber, E., Rev. Chicago Park, 1914, 1915 Hogan, M., Priest, Nevada City Cath. Ch 1912, 1913 Holt, D.E., Archdeacon, Sacramento, Calif. 1914 Kiely, Michael, Priest, Grass Valley Cath, Ch. 1913, 1914, 1915 McGarry, John, Grass Valley, 1915 Moreland, Bishop, Sacramento, Calif. Episcopal Murphy, Father E., Grass Valley Church, 1913, 1914, 1915 Nolan, P., Priest, Auburn Cath. Ch. 1913, 1914, 1915 O'Reilly, Patrick, Priest, Nevada City Cath. Ch, 1912, 1913, 1915 Pearson, George L., Dist. Supt. Sacramento Meth. Ch. 1912, 1913, 1914 Riley, Wm. A., Adjunt. Salavation Army, 1914 Robins, W.C. Pastor Nevada City Meth. Ch 1912, 1913, 1914 Sargent, B.F. Pastor Grass Valley Cong. Ch 1912, 1913 Sears, Father, Sacramento Christ Church, 1912 Sharp, Col. John D., San Francisco Salvation Army, 1914 Sheldon, F.S., Pastor, Colfax Meth. Ch. 1912, 1913 Sims, J., Pastor, Nevada City Congregational Ch. 1912, 1913, 1914 Smith, E.H., Pastor, Grass Valley Meth. Ch. 1912, 1913, 1914 Spoolman, J. Nevada City Church, 1913 Squires, J.E., State Supt. Inter. Reform., San Franc. 1914 Sylvester, C.B. Pastor, Nevada City Meth. Ch. 1912, 1913 Tedford, J.E., Pastor, Wastonville, Calif. 1914 Two Sisters of Mercy, Grass Valley Orphan Asylum, 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915 Walker, Edward, Alameda Episcopal Ch. 1913, 1325 Ardley Av. Oakland, 1914 West, Jas. C. Capt. & Mrs., Grass Valley Salvation Army, 1912 Wood, George, Brig. San Francisco Salv. Army 1914 Woodside, Capt. John, Salvation Army 1914
Dates indicate dates passes were issued.
Further reading about Narrow Gauge Railroads:
- Botkin, B.A. & Alvin F. Harlow, eds.
- A Treasury of Railroad Folklore. (Crown, 1953)
- Fleming, Howard
- Narrow Gauge Railways in America. Originally pub. N.Y. 1875
- Edited by Grahame Hardy & Paul Darrell. 1949
- Shaw, Frederic, Clement Fisher, Jr. & George H. Harlan
- Oil Lamps and Iron Ponies. A chronicale of the narrow Gauges.
- (Bay Books, 1949)
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