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Continued from last week
On May 7 of the same year, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors appointed a fire commission. The Commission then held an election to raise money for a hose, a hose cart, and a hook-and-ladder unit. They also needed a building in which to store them, so the volunteer fire department was officially organized on March 18, 1889.
The year 1889 saw many important events in the developing San Mateo Community. Under the head engineer, Herman Schussler, the Crystal Springs dam was completed. The completion of this project ensured that the people of San Mateo would have access to quality drinking water, enabling further growth in the area.
The activity surrounding the dam’s construction further added to San Mateo’s growing population. It was in the same year as the dam’s completion that William Howard had part of his estate subdivided. Although subdividing had been attempted in the past, this was the first successful effort to sell smaller plots of land. With this came the development of San Mateo’s middle class.
In this same year, Richard H. Jury and Charles N. Kirkbride established the Leader, San Mateo’s first successful newspaper and one of the earliest proponents of the incorporation of San Mateo. On September 3, 1894, in a vote of 150 in favor of and 25 against incorporation, San Mateo became a formal town.
Everything else is just history
