2.0.1. Davisville 1868: Twelve Months in Davis' Gestation

Month-by-month and sometimes week-by-week account of the twelve months of 1868 involving the founding of Davis. Originally a quasi-quarterly four-part exhibiit spread over the year of 2008 that was shown at the Hattie Weber Museum of Davis, it is presented here in the same four parts, one each in a separate folder.

1. January, February, March, April, 1868

The place called "Davisville" was invented as part of a scheme more rapidly and cheaply to ship grain out of Solano and Yolo Counties. Therefore, the town's story properly begins with that scheme's story. And that story is importantly about the California Pacific Railroad laying railroad tracks from Vallejo to West Sacramento starting at Vallejo in March, 1868. This first part of the exhibit is in four parts: l. The title pages; 2. A chronology of 14 stories from local newspapers telling what is happening; 3. 1865 and 1866 maps of the area; and, 4. a large and detailed drawing of the Davis farmstead, where Davisville seems to have gestated in the early months of 1868. Two overview photographs of the exhibit qua exhibit preface presentation of the individual parts.

2. May and June, 1868

The account of May and June is presented in six parts: 1. title pages; 2. a chronology of nine pages of newstories of the time with interpretive commentary; 3. an 1877 map of Solano County showing the progress of the railroad in May and June; 4. a depiction of the tunnel that had to be dug between Cordelia and Suisun; 5. a description of the innovative "track-layer" machine employed to lay the railroad; and, 6. a report on doings at the Davis ranch in May and June. These six parts are preceeded by photographs of the three panels of the exhibit as it appeared at the Hattie Weber Museum of Davis.

3. July, August, September 1868

Part 3 of "Davisville 1868" is in five parts: 00. Overview photos of the exhibit as seen at the Hattie Weber Museum, 01. The title pages, 02. Six placards reproducing July, August and Septembner stories of doings at the new "Davis Town," 03. a composite of a bird's eye drawing of the Davis farmstead in relation to the new town grid, and, 04. A photo of an early train arriving at the brand new depot building, with a caption to the photo written by Joann Larkey,

4. October, November, December 1868

The final quarter account of 1868 is in five files: 00. Photographs of the exhibit as it appeared at the Hattie Weber Museum of Davis, 01. the title pages, 02. four pages of reports taken from newspapers, 03 a reproduction of the first known map of Davisville, recorded with Yolo County, and, 04. an overlay of that map onto a 2008 aerial photo of the same area, highlighting the location of the original Davis farmstead.