Liberty County: Two cities, one metro area

[N106 10]

A reworked and rebuilt Jefferson- an early Christmas Present to my fans

Many of my readers probably know me from the old Jefferson CJ...  I made quite a ruckus over the past couple of days...
However, I mentioned that I was merely restarting- now that I have bigger dreams.  I dream to build two major cities in one region- Jefferson and Mission City.  But, before I get started, I need to mention a few changes.

1) I am going to make this new CJ a little more interactive.  In Jefferson, everybody will get to choose where the midtown district, uptown district, university, and even some more important neighborhoods are.  In Mission City, the same principles will apply to a lesser degree.
2) I am using a different region.  The problem with the old region was simple- it wasn't big enough.  I started dreaming bigger, and saw that a region with 16 large cities was too small.  The new region I'm using has 100 large city tiles- well over enough.
3) I had some requests for region pics in the last Jefferson.  So, In this new CJ, I will be offering street maps of all cities.  At first, there will be small single pics, but they will ultimately grow steadily larger until I may eventually need to have entire updates of maps due to the sheer size of the region and the megalopolis to inhabit it.
4) It will take longer to build.  In the previous city journal, Jefferson went up to 1950 so fast due to the lack of other areas.  However, because I will have 6 towns by 1900 with their own illustrious histories, It will take many updates- no less than, say, 20 updates.  I will also have more photos and stories this time.
5) This one will last.  The last Jefferson made it 4 pages and that's it.  This one's different...  I will have so many different projects in the region  that it will last due to variety.  I have made sure from the beginning to plan this CJ out to last- I chose a big region, and am writing histories for 6 different cities.
Now, for the first update of the new Jefferson.

Update 1: Mission City is Born

Mission City was the first city in the Liberty Valley.  It started when two Spanish conquistadors found the valley while looking for gold in 1556.  In 1649, work began on the San Paso mission for the small population of local native Americans on the edge of the valley.  The mission was completed in 1791, with a fort nearby that was built around 1700 to protect the Indian mission from Indian raids by the Indians that the mission was being built for.
In 1821, the San Paso Mission joined Mexico in the Mexican Revolution.  It broke free of Spanish control, and was a typical Mexican village up until 1848, when the village when to America with the rest of California in the Guadalope Hildago purchase.  At the time, 196 people lived in the San Paso Mission, now called Mission City by Anglo-American settlers.

That is a painting of the mission around 1850.

And that is a painting of the fort around 1850.

The fort was built right by the under construction mission in 1707.  In 1848, they were considered the center of San Paso/Mission City.
In the early days, as late as 1870, most every single printed letter from Mission City was in Spanish.  During the 1870s, with the mass arrival of Anglo-Americans, the language shifted dramatically to English.
In 1851, the first store opened in San Paso/Mission City.

With new people arriving to Mission City during the 1850s, the settlement decided to build a sheriff's office for the safety of the people.

For years, Mission City/San Paso's economy would rely on farms that would enroach the entire valley by 1940.

Back in the days of Spanish rule, a governor appointed by Spain established his estate in the area.  In 1854, the old adobe estate was replaced by an illustrious brick mansion that resembled those in the cities of the east.

In 1854, the first schoolhouse was built in San Paso/Mission City.  It didn't segregate due to the fact that there were more Mexicans than Whites, and because it was the only schoolhouse in the entire valley at the time.

By 1860, Main Street had formed (though it ran perpendicular to the downtown of the time) and also, the CBD was beginning to form.  It was a few small shops to serve the village of Mission City/San Paso, which had 852 residents at the time.

Also, Joseph Leland (the founder of Jefferson) story begins here.  Leland was born in 1837 in Connecticut.  In 1855, he moved out west to San Francisco, arriving there in 1856.  Two years later, Leland decided that San Francisco was too big, and moved to the village of Mission City/San Paso.  He founded a successful business there (Leland's saloon) and built a fairly large house in town in 1861 over his old home.

By 1860, Mission City/San Paso had 852 residents, and was growing gradually upon farms (the soil was very fertile in the valley)  There had been no mayor yet, and there wouldn't be a mayor in Mission City/San Paso until 1871, which would also be the year that a name for the village would be decided.

And that's the first update.
Now, I need to know:
1) How do I turn off the grid?
2) Which name do you like better: San Paso or Mission City?
And, I would like to thank the makers of the following:
the NAM
the SAM
the RH building plop
Simgoober, Pegasus, and Ill Tonkso
creator of Digby for giving me ideas on making rural areas more realistic
and, everybody who supported me in my old CJ

[Follarch 326]

I suggest finding an admin to delete the other two copies of this. Seems you must of pressed the submit button three times cause of the slow speed. But I can't wait to see some pics.

[Raysfan16 5]

1: Smiply press 'G'. You can press it again to turn it back on too.

2: IMO they're both equally good, I'll leave this to someone else.

Good realistic history with missions and forts too!

[Hawkeye9 0]

Pics look great, and i am very much lookin forward to this cj!!!

Good luck and Merry Christmas!!!

[phoenix7 3]

I liked the original Jefferson, so I'll be reading the new expanded CJ. Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkah

[aaglo 0]

very cool, and 100 tiles?! impressive!

[N106 10]

Replies

Archean: Thanks for noticing that

Raysfan16: Thanks for answering my first question,  good point, and thank you.

Hawkeye9: Thank you, and Merry Christmas!

phoenix7: Thank you.

aaglo: Thank you, and yes, 100 tiles.  My computer is fairly new, so it can handle it.  And, 100 tiles should bee enough space for what I plan to do.

Update 2: Liberty County in the 1850s

Mission City/San Paso may have been the only settlement in Liberty County, but it was surrounded by a metro already.  In 1850, Mission City/San Paso had 196 people, and the entire county had 982.  In 1860, Mission City/San Paso had 852 residents, and the entire area 1,986.

Some call Thomas Carpenter the Joseph Leland of Mission City/San Paso.  He moved to the settlement in 1849, and started his own farm, and built his own house.

Homes like that: next to farms were not uncommon in the early days.  Up to 1930, most farms were family-owned.

Thomas Carpenter saw a problem.  In 1852, farmers complained that the slopes between the plateau above the settlement and the flood plain were too steep to farm.  Thomas Carpenter knew that the soil- while not as good as in the flood plain, was fertile on the plateau.

So, Thomas Carpenter came up with a new idea- terrace farming.  In order to work, the terrain could not slope more than 2-5 degrees in any given place.  Carpenter's terrace farming was revolutionary.  By 1860, one could spot terrace farms surrounding the settlement.

As you can see, Carpenter was pretty influential.

In 1856, Liberty County's government (stupid, racist, white, hypocritical protestant slave-owners) ruled that protestents should take over the San Paso mission.  The catholics were forced to build a new house of worship at the edge of San Paso/Mission City.

The new catholic church was a beautiful meditteranean styled building, completed in 1858.

And here is a map of the area in 1860.

The mission and the fort are in the east half of the map, at the southern end of the denser area.  Downtown is about 1 block north of the fort along a street.  Main Street is the one that extends from by the river north to an abrupt stop near the top of the map.

Alright, now, I still need to know- which name would everybody like- San Paso or Mission City.  The name will have to be decided by 1871.

[N106 10]

Update 3: Mission City begins to grow

By 1860, Mission City/San Paso was an unincorporated settlement of about 852 residents.  It was growing slowly by farming and ranching.  But, in 1867, that all changed.  An African American by the name of Thomas Freeman found gold near Mission City/San Paso.  Freeman was quick to file a claim on the site, knowing that if he filed the claim after the gold was discovered, he'd be denied on accounts of race.

Freeman immediately initiated mining of the area.  A gold rush caused the population of Mission City/San Paso to grow quickly.  Freeman became wealthy off of the Freeman Mine, and built the first mansion in the area in 1870.

The Freeman Mine was completed in 1868, and was the only mine to have any success with gold in the area.

Freeman would be killed by a highly racist group in 1879.

The Elizabeth Family, which would eventually create the PUOEWWCTSM (pay us or we will crash the stock market) bank, moved into one of the larger houses of the area in 1862.

After the San Paso Mission was taken over by protestants, a park was built right by it for strolling and banquets.

The newer catholic church had more space, and built a much larger park with a flower garden in 1865.

In 1869, the first civic cemetary opened in Mission City/San Paso.

The original county courthouse was built in 1868.  It would serve Liberty County until Jefferson became the county seat in 1887.

In 1861, a farmers market was built in Misson City/San Paso.  It was the first business to have all signs printed in English only.  By 1870, 90% of the population spoke English fluently.

By 1870, Mission City/San Paso had 3,008 residents.  The mining economy was booming, and Mission City/San Paso was rapidly becoming a regional boomtown.  By 1870, Mission City/San Paso was no longer the only town in the region- Joseph Leland and 200 other settlers were laying out Jefferson along the Liberty River.

Also, Mission City/San Paso was booming because of the 1867 discovery of fertile soil.  Never before had the area seen such a boom.

Anyways, I've decided what to name Mission City/San Paso. I left the decision to one of my friends because my audience to this CJ wasn't saying anything.

[Follarch 326]

My only point to help your updates is to not go "too" overboard with photoshop. People love the effects but we also would appreciate the images to be clear and detailed. Other then that, you seem to have a nice little town and I'm sure as time goes on you'll find more ways to build it into a great city.

[suplado! 23]

wow -- really like the use of special effects on the pics...bringing back past pics!!

[Raysfan16 5]

Hey- another great update, sorry that I couldn't help you on the name, but I couldn't decide.

[kj3400 178]

It looks really nice. You seem to have a knack for historical towns. As for the name, I like San Paso.

Keep it up!

[phoenix7 3]

I too like San Paso better. I agree the photoshopping is over the top, it makes it hard to see your actual city.

[SounderBruce 173]

Great CJ so far; love the special effects!

[nottheboss 1]

sorry i have noticed this before

i would have said san paso

have fun playing with photoshop

[WillG_75 19]

This is looking great! Can't imagine how hard it would be to make an historic city.

[N106 10]

Replies

Archean: The reason for this photoshopping is because I am trying for the "historic" feel.  However, I noticed that I recieved this complaint on the old city journal- so I will try to keep the photos a little more stable.

suplado!: Thank you

Raysfan16: I already decided the name by the time the last update came up, so don't worry.

kj3400: Unfortunately, it seems that I already decided the name.  Everybody will know what name I picked in a few updates.

phoenix7: I already picked the name.  As for the photoshopping, I am trying not to go too far overboard... its tough, though- considering that I want the pictures to look historic too.

ComputerGuy890100: Thank you

nottheboss: Don't worry, one of my friends helped me choose a name.

WillG_75: If you've played for 5 years, 1 of them in realism, and get the right mods, its not too hard.

Update 4: Liberty County in the 1860s

In 1861, the Civil War broke out, dividing north and south.  In Liberty County, things didn't get too out of hand due to the low population.  There was a shootout at the local saloon in 1863, and the sherriff had to break up a street fight in 1865.

In the early days of Liberty County, trees were even planted along sparsley used roads in order to provide shade from the sun during the summer.

In the late 1860s, the growing protestant population of Mission City/San Paso started building seperate churches for each branch of protestants.  The first of these new churches was a small chapel, made of wood, on the eastern edge of town.

In 1866, the governor's house had the lot around it rebuilt as grass due to the fact that Mission City/San Paso was expanding.

In 1865, Mission Island was an unihabited island just away from Jefferson.

In 1865, the Liberty County government initiated exploration of the Liberty Valley.  The first exploration was a group sent by boat to Mission Island.  They spent about 11 days there, and reported that the soil on the island was very fertile.  As a result, farms began to appear on the island. (nobody knew that the entire valley was fertile yet)  By 1866, several homes and farms had appeared on the western end of the island.

In 1867, a bridge was built to the island from Mission City/San Paso.

By 1870, all of Mission Island was covered by farms, and a few homes.  It helped the economy with booming farmland and ranching.

Even though in 1870, Mission City was still a rugged wild west town, its wealth was growing, and several larger homes appeared.

This manor belonged to a man named Fred Thompson.  Thompson was the founder of the Mission City Courier in 1869.

This mansion belonged to Edward P. Lewis, who created the Liberty County Engineering Association (LCEA), which built the bridge to Mission Island, helped with the construction of the Freeman Mine, and to this day holds a monopoly on all engineering projects in the Liberty Valley.

The Mission City Courier was founded in 1869 by Frederick Thompson.  They met in a rather smallish building until about 1910.

The first article of the Courier came out 2 days after the building opened.

By 1870, Mission City/San Paso had grown, as seen in the below map.

The downtown was growing fairly quickly, with new stores and even a couple of offices opening.

By 1870, Mission City/San Paso had 3,008 residents, and the surrounding area included put the population up to 5,318.

Well, that's another update.

Question: Is there any mod that switches modern cars with older vehicles?

[Raysfan16 5]

Hey good update again, Mission City seems very interesting with its anti-grid.

To answer your question, it might be on the STEX, but if not you're out of luck.

[blue sinjid 7]

Hm this is a great start to this cj! From the region map it looks a lot like Torontos map

[N106 10]

Replies

Raysfan16: Thank you

blue sinjid: Thank you, and the map is Portland, Oregon.

Update 5: The Survey of 1867

In every city's history, in every region's history, there are multiple turning points.  For the Liberty Valley, it was when the Native Americans left the region in the 1400s, when the San Paso Mission was completed in 1791, when America won the area in 1848, and the Survey of 1867.

The survey had been planned since 1860.  A starting base- Fort Freedom, was constructed in 1863 near where the San Paso and Liberty River meet.  Unfortunately, the survey was delayed due to the civil war.  But, in the early spring of 1867, a survey team headed by Joseph Leland arrived at Fort Freedom.

The surveyors first followed the Liberty River south.  Joseph Leland frequently noticed that the soil was free of rocks.  Upon passing the future townsite of Jefferson in late spring, he officially announced that the entire valley had fertile soil.

He found the future townsites of the following 5 cities- Jefferson, New London, Plateau City, Riverview, and Tulsa.

This is the future townsite of Jefferson.

The future townsite of Riverview...

The future townsite of New London.

The future townsite of Tulsa.

The future townsite of Plateau City

The survey ended in November of 1867, when the surveyors landed at Mission Island to meet the Liberty County government.  Leland reported the fertile soil, and that the valley was perfect to create a vast agricultural empire.

For Mission City/San Paso, this was good news- The farming plus the gold rush would cause a major boom that would last until the early 1880s- and lead to the founding of several new farming towns in the region.

Merry Christmas everybody!

Edited - Oversized pics

BT

[SounderBruce 173]

Great update!

[Keep-Up 0]

great editing like always and good story

[N106 10]

Replies

ComputerGuy890100: Thank you, and Merry Christmas.

Keep-Up: Thank you, and Merry Christmas.

Update 6: Fort Freedom is Born

If I recall correctly, we last saw Fort Freedom as an 1863 photograph.  It was the lauching point for the survey of 1867, but by 1867, Fort Freedom itself was already a developing town.

It all started in 1864.  Two men, the Goodrich Brothers, laid out a plan for a potential county capitol.  They argued that the facilities provided in San Paso/Mission City were ineffective.  The Goodrich Brothers were wealthy New York businessmen born in 1834 and 1838.

In 1861, the Goodrich Brothers moved out to the Liberty Valley.  They saw the spot that Fort Freedom was built on in 1863 as perfect to found a town.  Streets were laid out in 1864, and construction on a town hall began immediately.

Fort Freedom Town Hall was completed in 1866.

Until 1889, Fort Freedom was constantly vying with Mission City/San Paso to become county seat.  In 1869, a governor's house was built in Fort Freedom.  It was rarely used, and converted into a mayor's house in 1894.

Below is an aerial lithograph showing what Fort Freedom looked like in 1870.  In 1870, Fort Freedom had 744 residents.

Sorry... I forgot to turn off the grid.

Below is a map of Fort Freedom in 1870.

The town was incorporated in 1864, becoming the first town to become incorporated in the region.

By 1870, Liberty County had 6,162 residents.  844 lived near Fort Freedom, and the other 5,318 lived by or in San Paso/Mission City.

Merry Christmas everybody!  From Mission City/San Paso and Fort Freedom!

[N106 10]

Update 7: Jefferson is Born

Yes, finally, the highlight of this CJ is starting...

After the Survey of 1867, Joseph Leland returned to San Paso/Mission City.  Throughout the year of 1868, he was drawing up a plan for a new city.  Throughout 1869, he gathered supporters of his new idea- which was a master planned grid, each block 330 feet by 330 feet.  There would be four blocks from north to south, and 8 from east to west.  The surrounding area would be farms.  

Some commerical zoning would exist at the intersections of Central and Columbia Avenue.  The roads running from north to south would be numbered- called avenue for the west, and street for the east.  The roads going from west to east would be called states north of Columbia Avenue, and cities to the south.

By March 1870, Leland set out onto the frontier, with 232 settlers.  About half of the settlers were hispanics searching for a better life than could be offered in Mission City/San Paso.  The first homes, farms, and even a post office were built throughout the year of 1870.  By the time 1871 was starting, the new community was somewhat successful.

Below is the center of town as it looked at the start of 1871.

From January to May of 1871, the Great Land Sale took place.  Lots sold for as little as 15 dollars, and the population of the new town exploded.  In 1871, the first store, Sam's General Store, opened for business.

Throughout 1871 and 1872, the new town exploded in growth.  In November of 1872, an election was held to find out the name of the new town.  Some of the options tossed around were Leland City, Nova San Paso, New Mission City, and Westville.  The option that was chosen was ultimately Jefferson.  Jefferson was growing quickly in the early 1870s.

The first classes were held in a field in 1872.  The next year, the first schoolhouse in Jefferson was completed.  Two days after the schoolhouse opened, the first example of discipline was used- a boy was hit on the back with a ruler for talking in class.

Like everywhere else in the valley before the 1920s, Jefferson was almost completely dependent on farms.  Also, shade trees were planted even along the most rural roads in the area to protect from the hot sun.

In 1873, Catholics established a small church in Jefferson.  This really worried the protestants back in San Paso/Mission City.

In 1874, the Leland Estate was built.  Joseph Leland, the unofficial mayor of the town, oversaw the construction.  He had trees and grass planted around the estate, and held a large opening banquet in which the entire town was welcome to come.  From 1874 onwards, every single mayor of Jefferson would live in the Leland Estate.

In 1877, the first civic cemetary was built in Jefferson.  The opening banquet had a low attendence, though.

From 1871 up until the 20th century, the town of Jefferson urged people not to settle in the floodplains near the river.  Everybody complied, and when the river flooded in 1876, Jefferson was safe and unharmed.

By 1880, Jefferson had 2,505 residents, but was growing more slowly.

As a frontier town, Jefferson was isolated from the rest of the world, with miles of hot plains between them and Mission City/San Paso.  Even Mission City/San Paso was isolated and uncultured.

Also, there were some newspaper articles from the Mission City Courier about the founding of Jefferson. But after that, the Mission City Courier really didn't seem to notice what went on in the rest of the region.

Also, there was an article for the Great Land Sale in 1871.

Merry Christmas everyone!

[N106 10]

Unfortunately, I've hit a roadblock...

This CJ is still young, but, I'm gonna have to restart the city tile of Jefferson. The reason: sudden failure of agricultural demand. I was building up the city, when, suddenly, BOOM!!! Agricultural demand is 5,000 below 0. I'll change the update for photos of the new city, though the newspaper articles will stay the same. Good thing its only 1880...

[Raysfan16 5]

Ouch, that happens sometimes.

Good updates though!

[SounderBruce 173]

Aww... I feel so sorry for you having to start over.

[Schulmanator 5,787]

Nice! I like the historic pix and look forward to seeing more.

[N106 10]

Replies

N106: Wait, why on Earth am I replying to my own message?!

Raysfan16: Thank you

ComputerGuy890100: Don't worry...  It could be worse.

Schulmanator: Thank you

Update 8: Riverview is founded in 1870

Riverview was founded in 1870 by a man named Pedro Massalis.  Pedro was a hispanic, born in San Paso/Mission City in 1839.  He went with Joseph Leland in the Survey of 1867, and was friends with Leland.  In 1870, Massalis completed a plan for a village to be named Riverview, and led 60 settlers out into the valley.

This was the spot he chose.

The village grew slowly.  By 1880, Riverview had 206 residents.  Half worked on farms, and the other half worked in the undersized commercial district at the town center.  There were a few stores, and it was fine due to the fact that there was not much- even in San Paso/Mission City

(AGH!!! Forgot to turn off the grid!)

The plan of Riverview can be seen on the map and a view of the entire village.

Below is a map of the village in 1880.  Few changes would take place in the design of the village until about 1900-1920.

Riverview was the second of three new settlements founded in the Liberty Valley in the 1870s.

[SounderBruce 173]

Great update.