Missing From Chabot Canyon – The Blossers and the Claremont-Chabot Tract

The progress to date of Clyde Sunderland’s northerly oblique aerial of Chabot Canyon from 1935 leads to the bottom right corner to the right or east of the indicated black line following the long since culverted feeder to Temescal Creek. This section, or Kellersberger’s plots 11 and 12, was also known as the Claremont-Chabot Tract, land in Ellen Chabot’s name in the 1886 Block Book once the land was divided.

L169-05-HJW Geospatial Inc, Pacific Aerial Surveys, Oakland CA, Courtesy E. Bay Regional Park Distri, (Image 1 of 21)

A closer view of the section in question shows the entrance to Marie Way, maroon arrow, very formalized on maps from decades before, but very underdeveloped by this account. No. 7240 has already been discussed, but the 1936 WPA card will be presented in sequence. No. 7157 Chabot Rd. is labelled for clarity, but the house itself was not part of plots 11 and 12.

L169-10-HJW Geospatial Inc, Pacific Aerial Surveys, Oakland CA, Courtesy E. Bay Regional Park Distri, (Image 2 of 21)

A review of the telephone numbers from the reverse directory of 1936 is of utility. At the minimum, four homes stood on the south side of Chabot Rd. in this tract indicated by black arrows, the numbers for no. 7256 indicating a multiple dwelling or as will be discussed, no. 7258. Three potential homes existed on the north side indicated by orange arrows, ignoring no. 7157.

L169-15-Kelts' Geo. Directory, Courtesy Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey, Oakland City Planning Dept, (Image 3 of 21)

Starting on the south side, the western-most home indicated by the green square in L169-10 is no. 7130, noted here to have been built in 1931. Oakland City records list the building permit BP A43268 granted on May 17, 1930 to RH Blosser, owner and builder, for a two-story, seven-room home. No architect is listed.

L169-20-Courtesy Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey, Oakland City Planning Department , (Image 4 of 21)

Ahead to a detail from an east view of Chabot Canyon from Aug. 19, 1963 showing a cleared-out south side of Chabot Rd. The Maybeck-designed 7240 Chabot Rd., yellow arrow, is still intact as already reviewed, but no. 7130, red arrow, is as well. With no parcel appraisal yet found for removal of no. 7130, it was not clear why this home survived so late in time. The grandchildren of Roy and Saddie Blosser were sought out to provide a possible reason.

L169-25-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 9973-2 Detail, (Image 5 of 21)

According to granddaughter Cathie Blosser, Roy and Sadie Blosser purchased the land in 1924 and over the next 5 years lived in a shack down by Temescal Creek built by 1906 earthquake refugees. In 1930, after paying off the 4500 dollar loan for the property, they started building their permanent home up closer to Chabot Rd. Their son, John Avery Blosser, pictured here in the front yard, was born in 1915 and along with a second-cousin helped build the home and create the water supply from the creek.

L169-30-Courtesy Bill and Cathie Blosser, (Image 6 of 21)

John Blosser became a physician, and he married Elizabeth Spurgeon, the two shown in the family living room. They eventually followed their children to Oregon as gleamed from the obituary for “Betty”, who lived to be one hundred years young. http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/eastbaytimes/obituary.aspx?n=elizabeth-spurgeon-blosser&pid=155268601

L169-35-Courtesy Bill and Cathie Blosser, (Image 7 of 21)

From her grandmother’s receipts, Cathie Blosser discovered that renowned Bay Area architect William Raymond Yelland designed the home, possibly the reason for its longevity. Grandson Bill Blosser noted the lower level of the house, seen here in a north view of the rear, was where he and his two sibs had rooms and his dad had his shop. “The lot sloped heavily, so the top floor actually was at “ground” level, facing out onto Chabot Rd. A sleeping porch can be seen on the right that opened out of the dining room”.

L169-40-Courtesy Bill and Cathie Blosser , (Image 8 of 21)

Bill Blosser noted that the redwood tree in their front yard was the one historical artifact from the house that remains. It was brought from the family property in Mendocino County, which is where Roy and Sadie were born and raised. The Blosser and Millican families go back to the Gold Rush days in Mendocino County. Cathie added,“The Chabot house has, and still is, an integral part of the story of the Blosser extended family. It truly established a ‘sense of place’ for generations”.

L169-45-Stuart Swiedler Photo, (Image 9 of 21)

To the direct east of no. 7130 was no. 7158, noted on the 1936 WPA card to have been built in 1935. Oakland City records list BP A58911 granted on Aug. 8, 1935 to James N. Kelley, builder and owner, for a one-story home. It was built after the aerial image from 1935 was taken, eventually built on the front left section of the dotted turquoise rectangle in L169-10. No. 7200 would be added in 1951, to the right and south as already reviewed.

L169-50-Courtesy Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey, Oakland City Planning Department , (Image 10 of 21)

For completeness, the 1936 WPA card for no. 7240, the Maybeck-designed B.D. Marks Greene home is shown here, having already been reviewed earlier.

L169-55-Courtesy Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey, Oakland City Planning Department , (Image 11 of 21)

The home in the orange square in L169-10 was no. 7256, noted on the 1936 WPA card to have been built in 1916. Records could only be found for the construction of a garage, listed as BP 42517 on July 1, 1916 to Wesley Plunkett, owner. The Plunketts added 2 rooms in 1926, as part of a duplex that included no. 7258 after fire-related repairs based on BP 99919 to Wesley Plunkett, owner, and Curtis Wright, builder, on Jan. 7, 1925.

L169-60-Courtesy Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey, Oakland City Planning Department, (Image 12 of 21)

An image of no. 7256 was captured in the right foreground of this south view from July 1, 1941 to document SN passenger cars being returned to Chico with SN 661 providing the honors along Temescal Cut. The homes around Marie Way in the background of this image will serve as a segue for a review of the north side of Chabot Rd. east of Roble Rd. in 1935.

L169-65-David Merrill Photo, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 43970sn, (Image 13 of 21)

The 1936 WPA card for no. 7301 indicates a construction date for a four-room home as 1917. BP 65783 from Oakland City indicates a Dec. 8, 1921 date assigned to owner, HG Brause, and builder, T. Campomenosi for a one-story, two-room on the north side of Chabot Road, 150 feet east of “Maria” Way at a cost of 550 dollars. No ground images have been found.

L169-70-Courtesy Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey, Oakland City Planning Department , (Image 14 of 21)

The last 1936 WPA card is for 7309 Chabot Rd., listing a building date of 1918. A city listing was found for BP 66375 to EE Barocon and JK Swanson dated Jan. 16, 1922 for a one-story, four-room dwelling on the north side of Chabot Rd. near Marie “Avenue”. No WPA card or record from Oakland city was found for the existence of no. 7171, which should have been west of Roble Rd.

L169-75-Courtesy Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey, Oakland City Planning Department, (Image 15 of 21)

Based on this 1950-60s Sanborn map, nos. 7301 and 7309 should be obscured by the trees in L169-10, indicated within the blue rectangle. Hints of structures are evident. Identification of the structure in the yellow rectangle in L169-10 west of Marie Way has not been made, but if numbering was that different in 1935 than it was by 1950, it could be no. 7171. More research is needed.

L169-80-Courtesy Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey, Oakland City Planning Department , (Image 16 of 21)

The 1924 Block Book establishes the presence of the Blossers and Plunketts on the south side of Chabot Rd., the latter property in Harriet’s name. The Brauses owned several lots to the north beyond no. 7301, with the Beckmans owning additional property beyond no. 7157, and Esther E. Barton must be the “EE Barocon” noted previously at no. 7309. Ellen Chabot Bothin’s inclusion is of interest.

L169-85-Thomas Block Book of Oakland, Courtesy Oakland History Room, Oakland Public Library, (Image 17 of 21)

According to Board of Equalization documents, Ellen Chabot Bothin granted the Oakland and Antioch Railway passage through her land on Aug. 29, 1911. The comparison here between her land in 1912 and 1913 indicates she sold the property to F.W. Bilger, of Blake and Bilger Company quarry fame. Her inclusion in the 1924 document indicates she must have retained small plots of the land.

L169-90-Thomas Block Book of Oakland, Courtesy Oakland History Room, Oakland Public Library, (Image 18 of 21)

One other item of interest was the assignment of land to Breckinridge and Florence David Marx Greene, owners of the Maybeck-designed no. 7240 Chabot Rd. In 1918, their home and additional shed structure resided in the area bordered in turquoise and listed under Florence’s name. In 1919, land owned in 1918 by the Oakland builder, Geo. H Hoyt Co., bordered in orange, is now listed under Breckinridge’s name. This will become the Blosser’s property in 1924.

L169-95-Thomas Block Book of Oakland, Courtesy Oakland History Room, Oakland Public Library, (Image 19 of 21)

From 1918-1921, the situation with the Greene’s land assignment remained unchanged. The assignment of land to Gertrude Beckman, red arrow, and the change in name of the Brauses land to Cathy indicate time has moved forward. In 1923, Hoyt now has all the Greene parcels, some in his name and some in the Company name. He will sell the upper or western part to the Blossers, and retain the rest for a time still to be determined.

L169-100-Thomas Block Book of Oakland, Courtesy Oakland History Room, Oakland Public Library, (Image 20 of 21)

The effort to document Oakland property in Sunderland’s 1935 north-directed aerial oblique of Chabot Canyon is shown here. For two plus decades after this date, all will be tranquil in the Canyon, and housing development will accelerate, a topic for the future. A very special appreciation to Bill Blosser and Cathie Blosser for sharing their memories and images, and to Betty Marvin, Gail Lombardi and John Bosko for making this historical account possible.

L169-105-HJW Geospatial Inc, Pacific Aerial Surveys, Oakland CA, Courtesy E. Bay Regional Park Distr, (Image 21 of 21)