San Felipe, California

[FilipposRoads 9]

The Life and Death of a Great American City

San Felipe, California

Hello, this is my first city journal in this forum and I would like to present you my new project: San Felipe. San Felipe is a city in California located between Los Angeles and San Francisco, and in this diary we will cover the period from its founding as a small village into the present day (hopefully) as a sprawling metropolis. I will try my best to ensure the city grows naturally and realistically within the limits of Cities: Skylines. 

1903 - Founding

San Felipe was founded on October 5th, 1903 as a small farming village at a region already well developed by agriculture. The region known as the San Felipe valley nested among the mountains and the sea was already notable in the Spanish and Mexican eras for the fertility of the area. The valley experiences a typical pacific Mediterranean climate with very mild winters and hot summers and thus was ideal for the growing of plants native to Spain and other Southern European countries such as Oranges, Apples, Citrons, etc. It was during the American conquest however that the area truly developed with an influx of settlers creating the large farms found in the valley, and using the water from George's Lake for irrigation purposes. Nevertheless the area did not start developing until the late 19th century where the first settlement was formed at the heart of the valley. In 1903 it was incorporated as the City of San Felipe, already having a population of 1,000 people. 

The center of the town was delimited as the intersection between Main Street (leading from San Francisco to Los Angeles) and North Street (leading to the Whitting Iron Mines). From 1903 onwards the town growed at a slow pace as more and more farmers came to the city seeking better living standards (electricity was introduced in 1904 and a modern sewage system was installed). 

1907 - The arrival of the Railroad

In 1907 Union Pacific was charged with constructing a spur railway from the main line connecting Los Angeles to San Francisco with San Felipe, with the aim of transporting passengers and shipements from the Iron Mines. For this purpose the San Felipe Railway Station was built in Spanish Mission Revival Architecture and became an architectural centrepiece in San Felipe. The railway initially built as a single track at standard gauge proved very important for the development of San Felipe, as it reduced the otherwise dangerous and rough trip through the mountains. The city then started growing faster as more and more businesses started opening and farms became increasingly profitable and adapted to newer technology. In 1910 the first high school was built at the south side of town. in 1911 the San Felipe Ironworks where founded with the goal of creating products with the use of iron. This was the first heavy industry to be established within city limits. 

1913 - The Oil Age

In 1913 perhaps the biggest single event in San Felipe's history happened: on January 10th a farmer struck oil on his property and immediately the news propagated throughout America that Oil had been found in San Felipe. Further south in Los Angeles oil was discovered too and the population exploded. Thousands of labourers flocked from America seeking to make their fortunes off this precious black liquid. Hundreds of oil wells were set up by many different "companies" made by fortune seekers. Indeed, the oil boom was immediate and it would shape the city to come. One historian later said: "a small country town in America rose overnight from a farmer's village into a city with the prospects of becoming a city of the rank of New York City or London."

The oil age was on, and indeed the infrastructure started proving inadequate with the shipments of oil which had to be shipped to Los Angeles or San Francisco, making the single rail line a bottleneck. At the same time the San Felipe Steel Mill was inaugurated with the purpose of producing steel off the iron reserves of the Whitting Mine. It proved to be a huge facility, perhaps the biggest in the West Coast and would too prove a vital component of San Felipe's economy. 

1916 - The Port

In 1916 the Port of San Felipe was inaugurated, a project of Southern Pacific's Railway in order to effectively ship the oil into the harbour and then to various ports throughout the Western US. The Port was to contain at first one pier with four cranes, a dedicated railway line and a goods station. The Port was considered the most modern port in the US. The city then exploded in growth rivalling other oil towns resulting in the creation of many new blocks and the influx of thousands of new people, turning San Felipe into a medium sized city. 

[Turjan 1,048]

Nice start .

[Chappington 131]

Really like this concept, looking forward to where it goes next!