California Article
Pieces of the Past
column by Jim Reis The Kentucky Post March 8, 1999
With music concerts, literary debates, social clubs and gala balls, California had it all. Not the California on the West Coast, but the one on Campbell County's southeastern edge. And it was location, location, location that made California the bustlingly and vibrant community it was in its heyday. Last month, tiny California, incorporated on February 7, 1874, quietly turned 125.
While the city's location along the Ohio River and Ky. 8 now make it somewhat isolated to those living along the expressways, California's location was one of its greatest assets in the late 1800s. Then travel was dominated by railroad and steamboats and California was well-served by both. Ohio River steamboats called on California twice a day and trains stopped there six times daily. The following is a look back at life in California 100 years ago:
In Lewis Collins' famous History of Kentucky, the section on Campbell County only noted six established communities in the 1870s. There was no Fort Thomas or Cold Spring or Highland Heights or Southgate. The six communities were Newport, Dayton, Bellevue, Alexandria, Carthage and California.
A map of the community published in the mid-1880s showed three streets running from the river to the railroad tracks - Union, Washington and Jackson. In the other direction, running north to south, were Jefferson, Madison and Nelson. The public landing was at the foot of Union Street.
Among the best-known residents of California at the time were Etta Peacher, who ran a millinery goods shop; blacksmith F. B. Lehr; J. C. Demoss, a partner in the dry goods shop of DeMoss and Jolly; and the Hissem family, which included steamboat Captain M. L. Hissem and William J Hissem, a businessman and one-time county judge. P. H. Hoffman was minister of the California Methodist-Episcopal Church. California also boasted a private school, the California Seminary on Washington Street near the railroad tracks.
A new Methodist church building was dedicated on September 14, 1887. A writer in the Kentucky State Journal said the city was full of preachers for the dedication and "today chickens are scarce." That church was apparently built by James M. Jolly, a highly respected bricklayer and builder. James Jolly also built the Alexandria Courthouse and a number of local churches, including Flagg Springs Baptist, Second Twelve Mile Baptist, Wesley Chapel Methodist and the old Sts. Peter and Paul.
On Sept. 6, 1888, The Kentucky State Journal reported that everyone in the town seemed to be in a house painting mood. The writer said, "A stranger would think that all the houses had just come from under the hands of the carpenter." The same account said a new business was about to open in California - the W. J. Hissem Brick Works and Coal and Lumber Co.
The Kentucky State Journal writer also commented that California had one of the best singing quartets in the area, consisting of Mark Miller, J. R. Diviney and the Thomas sisters.
A later newspaper account, published December 12, 1889, noted the recent formation of the California Musical and Literary Society and its hosting of an event that included 'vocal and instrumental (efforts) of the highest order' and speakers, each restricted to five minutes, who spoke on a variety of subjects.
A subsequent account noted much community interest and discussion on monetary and commercial affairs. A Kentucky State Journal story on February 27, 1890, noted the students of Professor Ogden had presented a 'grand entertainment' celebrating the birthday of President George Washington, especially a show-stopping song by Claud Maddox entitled, 'I Died for Love.' The writer said Will Herndon also stood out for his performance as a drunken man.
As the main transportation link to the southern end of Campbell County, the writer said travelers passed through California on way to such communities as Gubser's Mill and Persimmon Grove. A Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Co. advertisement in February 1890 noted eastbound trains stopped in California daily at 8:15 a.m., 5:11 p.m. and 10:34 p.m. and westbound trains stopped at 6:43 a.m., 9:23 a.m. and 5:45 p.m.
The California Musical and Literary Society also sponsored occasional debates. One such debate in March 1890 centered on the idea of prohibition, which the group judged a failed idea. Instead, the debaters recommended higher license fees, which tavern owners would pass along to customers in higher drink costs. On April 29, 1890, a writer with The Kentucky State Journal wrote, "Our town is destined to be a great place in the near future." The writer said $140 worth of train tickets had been sold that month in California with freight train use also on the rise and telegraph business "becoming quite extensive." The writer added several new town lots were for sale and "there is no place on God's green earth where a man can be happier and make his family happy if that is his desire."
California also made its mark on county politics when William Hissem was elected a state legislator in 1891. California residents held a citywide celebration and a special chartered train brought Republican Party dignitaries and bands to California from Newport, Bellevue and Dayton.
Among the 'celebrities' living in California at the time was Taylor Keys. Keys, who died in January 1892, was one of two men who drove cattle across the original suspension bridge over the Licking River, between Newport and Covington, when it collapsed in January 1854. No one died, but a new bridge had to be built.
Also in 1892 the city was at the center of a letter-writing debate over the division of the American Methodist Church into northern and southern conferences. The local minister at the California church defended the Southern Conference as a legitimate regional body, while a minister from the Northern Conference blamed the break-up on Southerners still sympathetic to slavery.
In June 1893 California lost a doctor, C B Maddox, but gained a new postmaster, I. W. Daniel. Also that year Capt. William Conroy began operating a new stern-wheeler ferry boat between California and Clermont County, Ohio. Many Ohio residents used the ferry service to get to the train passenger service in California, while Campbell County residents used the ferry to transport tobacco for sale in Ohio. California would be the subject of periodic floods through the 1890s and early 1900s, but the community continued to flourish. In 1909 the Elgin Creamery Co. opened a butter and cheese plant in California.
The city's fate took a dramatic downturn in the great flood of April 1913, when the Ohio River peaked in Northern Kentucky at 69.9 feet. Accounts at the time in The Kentucky Post said 350 people had to be evacuated from California, many by the government rescue boat 'Greendale.' Accounts said more than half the homes in California were under water. That flood, followed by the even deeper flood of 1937, would have a long-lasting effect on California. That, coupled with the end of regular steamboat passenger traffic and most local rail traffic, made California more isolated.
The eventual construction of Mary Ingles Highway (Ky. 8) made California more accessible by highway, but it remains relatively isolated on the southeastern edge of Campbell County. Still an independent community, California today has a population of about 150.
Among the families tied closely to the history of California in the late 1800s and early 1900s were the Jollys and the Hissems. James M. Jolly, who built the California Methodist Episcopal Church, was born on December 13, 1817, in Lewis County, but he spent most of his life in eastern and southern Campbell County. He was a minister as well as a builder.
The Kentucky State Journal on May 23, 1892, reported Jolly's death, but two days later the newspaper retracted the story, saying Jolly was 'alive and well.' James Jolly lived until September 1900. A son, Edward M. Jolly, become postmaster of Mentor. He, in turn, was the father of A. J. Jolly. A. J. Jolly was born on May 15, 1882. He was a teacher and businessman and elected as a state representative.
A. J. Jolly lobbied hard for a new elementary and high school in the California area. When he died at the age of 43 in 1925, the school that he helped to start was named A. J. Jolly School in his honor. The high school part of A. J. Jolly School was later merged into Campbell County High School, but the elementary section still operates near California under the name A. J. Jolly School. His son, A. J. Jolly Jr., also was active in politics, being elected Campbell County judge. It is for A. J. Jolly Jr. that A. J. Jolly Park was named in southern Campbell County.
William Jackson Hissem was born in Tyler County, W. Va., on March 12, 1863. Hissem's father, Levi Hissem, was a farmer, who in 1870 moved his family to Campbell County, where Levi Hissem farmed and operated a store in which William Hissem worked. William Hissem also attended a business school in Cincinnati. William Hissem ran and was elected a state senator, Campbell County judge and served as an assistant Newport postmaster. He married Nettie M. Pickens in 1887.
William's brother, M. L. Hissem, and M. L.'s son, Wilmot Hissem, operated the packet Tacoma for many years on the Ohio River. William Hissem left Campbell County about 1908 to serve as the representative of an eastern publishing house in the state of California. The Kentucky Times-Star reported in February 1913 that Hissem had died in Stockton, Calf., but it turned out he was only very ill and he recovered. He and his wife later moved to Kansas City.
It is not clear when he died, but it was before the death of his wife, Nettie. Her obituary was published in the Kentucky Times-Star on March 21, 1928.