San Francisco landscaped our central valley

On the east side of the mountains, two streams in the northern end of San Andreas Valley and one in the southern end fed into San Mateo Creek. This larger creek then flowed east through a canyon into the Bay. On the west side of Scarpers Peak, Pilarcitos Creek flowed south, then west to the ocean.

San Francisco became desperate for water as it outgrew its own scant supply. In the 1860s, the Spring Valley Water Company formed and began to buy up land and rights to water on the Peninsula. A small dam was placed on upper Pilarcitos Creek and the water was diverted to San Francisco through a system of tunnels and pipes.

The central valley of the Peninsula was one long fertile piece of land. A road ran the length of the valley near the creeks from San Bruno to Woodside. Small stores and saloons lined the road and farms dotted the area.

The stage road from San Mateo to Spanishtown on the coast paralleled San Mateo Creek through the eastern gap in the hills. The Crystal Springs Hotel was located in the flat area four miles from San Mateo. It was built in 1869. The San Felix Station, also known as Carey's, was just where the climb over the hills to the west began.

A German Engineer named Hermann Schussler worked for the Spring Valley Water Company. He saw that the long valley was extremely level in elevation. He noted that it would make a natural reservoir for water.

Agents began to buy up farms in the valley. Structures were torn down and the land cleared. Schussler's policy was to also buy up the watershed lands that were to surround the future lakes and dams. First the San Andreas Dam was built in 1868 west of Millbrae. Then an earthen dam was built to impound the water of Laguna Creek. Today that dam is the causeway between the lakes crossed by State Route 92.

Schussler started work on the monumental Crystal Springs Dam in 1887. This was a cement dam made up of interlocking sections like a huge three dimensional jigsaw puzzle. When it was completed, it was the largest cement dam in the world. These projects are only the local portions of the complex Hetch Hetchy system that San Francisco has since built.

In 1890, the Crystal Springs dam was completed on the San Mateo Creek, flooding the tiny resort area and the farms that had once been there. The result now is that in the San Andreas-Canada Raymundo Valley, there is a series of man-made lakes.

Much of the surrounding land is no longer accessible, since it is protected as watershed property. This may be frustrating to some nature lovers who wish they could explore the area.

To travelers passing along Interstate 280, the sight of such open space and natural looking scenery so close to our urban area is priceless

Rediscovering the Peninsula appears in the Monday edition of the Daily Journal. For more information on this or related topics, visit the San Mateo County History Museum, 777 Hamilton St., Redwood City.