Charles Lux of South San Francisco

In summer, the water in the creek ebbed and flowed with the tides all the way to the point where it turned north. In the winter it could become a torrent and flood hundreds of acres of flat land before it settled down and drained into the Bay. This was a wild, marshy land where thick masses of willows grew to brush height and where an unwary animal could easily become entangled and die. This dangerous terrain, however, was perfect to serve as a barrier to the wandering nature of cattle, and the Spanish utilized the 1,000-plus acres between it and the hills as a natural "corral” on which to raise their cattle and horses.

To the east was the Bay itself to form the third side of the corral and the creek on the west completed the circle.

The climate provided ideal conditions for grazing the several thousand animals the Spanish let roam here and when the cattle were needed for slaughter at the Mission or the Presidio, the nearby-Mission Road along the western Colma Creek was a good path on which to drive them the twelve miles to their fate.

Transportation, water, grass and excellent topography encouraged this type of operation and this land was coveted by many Mexicans when land grants became an acceptable method of rewarding soldiers and pioneers by the Mexican government.

One fortunate soldier, Jose Antonio Sanchez, received this land as well as all of the land south to the present town of Burlingame, from the waters of the Bay to the crest of the western mountains, 15,000 acres in total, in 1835 as a reward for his life-time of loyal service to the government. Upon his death in 1843, his son, Isidro Sanchez, inherited the 1,500 acres south of the San Bruno Mountain. In 1853, he sold this land to Alfred Edmonson for what at that time was a princely sum — $10,000. Edmonson in turn sold it in 1856 for $18,000 to a successful butcher in San Francisco, Charles Lux, who immediately built a two-story "mansion” on the western expanse of the property (Chestnut/Mission Road), near where the Mission Road bridged the creek.

This strategic location near the road and creek was only a few feet above the creek, a mistake that would prove disastrous at times of flood. Eventually floods would cause the house to suffer irreparable damage.

Charles Lux, a tall, distinguished-looking gentleman of Germanic origin, was born in Alsace, France in 1823 and immigrated to the U.S. at the age of 16. He worked as a butcher’s helper for $6 per month on the East Coast before succumbing to the lure of a better life in San Francisco in 1849.

Hungry for success, a year after his arrival he went into business for himself buying and selling wholesale meat and operating a butcher shop on Kearny near Sacramento Street. His skill in processing and selling meat was considerable and it wasn’t long before he became prosperous.

Searching along the Peninsula to find a place to fatten up the cattle he bought to slaughter, he discovered the property to the east of the 12-Mile House for sale and from his savings he purchased the property from Edmonson in 1856.

The house he built took on considerable proportions, in contrast to other buildings in the surrounding area. The fabled mansions of the lower Peninsula were to be built later by prospectors rich from the gold fields but for now, Charles Lux was king and his house the only mansion in the area. Surrounding it he planted a lawn, unheard of by his neighbors, as well as numerous trees and shrubs, interspersed with statues and garden decorations. The ranch became a model stock farm, and he raised "blooded” horses as well.

To make his life complete, he met and married Miranda Potter, a widow with a son. In 1858, Charles Lux and Henry Miller formed a partnership that would make them both millionaires. The Miller and Lux partnership supplied cattle and meat to the city of San Francisco throughout the 19th century and it formed the basis of the city that was to develop around it — South San Francisco. At this time Lux named the area Baden in honor of his home in Alsace, France.

His wife, Miranda, had no interest in Charles’ business, but she did have an interest in charitable pursuits. She founded a kindergarten with 300 shares of Spring Valley Water Company stock (later SF Water Department) and she helped establish the German (Franklin) Hospital in San Francisco. Lux College, originally a girls’ school at Portrero and 17th Street, was another project she helped found. Her husband’s financial donations also helped establish the conservatory in Golden Gate Park.

Charles Lux died at the age of 64.

Eventually the house in Baden fell into disrepair. The lawns were covered over with silt from the creek that flowed down from the hills in the rainy season, and the house eventually burned down. In 1909, a Mr. A.T. Smith built a storage barn on Oak Avenue from lumber salvaged from the house. This structure stood at 150 Oak and was known as Uccelli’s Red Barn.