Jewett Family Narrative

Soloman Jewett

A man and his wife, Solomon Wright and Eunice Jewett had two sons, Solomon, and Philo. Their brother Charles was the son of Solomon Wright and his second wife, Mary Catherine. Their ancestors had moved from Plymouth to the state of Vermont where Mr. Jewett had become a famous breeder of sheep.

The oldest son, Solomon, born in 1835, found sheep very interesting and had learned. a lot about them from his father. When Solomon was only eight years old he drove a band of sheep from Weybridge, Vermont to Albany, New York. He must have been very brave to go on such an adventure all by himself. He wasn't completely by himself, though. He had a whole lot of sheep with him.

Solomon's brother, Philo, was two years younger, born in 1837. Philo had also learned a lot about sheep from his father. The boys had both learned to work hard, be careful with their money, and to set goals and have dreams for themselves.

Philo Jewett

Solomon had seen some of the first gold that was discovered in Pikes Peak, Colorado. He and Philo decided to leave the farm and go to Pike's Peak to search for gold. They began their journey with a team of 8 oxen and some cattle in 1859. When they were about 300 miles west of St. Louis, Missouri, they met a man who had also been traveling to Pike's Peak. But this man was going the wrong way! He had turned back and was returning to his home in the east.

Solomon and Philo were discouraged by the stories told to them by this traveler. They decided to change their plans too. But they didn't head for the east again. They set their course for California instead. When they reached Nevada near Carson City, they left their cattle and went on.

They arrived in California in September of that year having walked the entire distance from the Missouri River! After five months they arrived in Hangtown which is now the town of Placerville north of Bakersfield.

When they first arrived, Solomon went to work on the Tejon Ranch caring for 25,000 small Spanish sheep. After about a year Solomon and Philo formed a partnership and began a sheep ranch of their own near the mouth of the Kern Canyon. It was called the Rio Bravo Ranch.

Shearing sheep

Sheep were an important business at this time for several reasons. Following the California Gold Rush there were still lots of miners who needed the meat from the sheep called mutton. But it was the Civil War that made the sheep business so profitable for the Jewett brothers.

The Union army needed wool to make uniforms for its soldiers. Where does wool come from? Sheep! And the Jewett brothers had lots of sheep and their wool was the best. The Jewetts also supported the Union army in the war, so they wanted to help the northern army. They made a lot of money selling wool to the army.

After the war ended, there was still a group of people who were unhappy about the war and wanted California to leave the United States and become a country on its own. These outlaws were called Bushwhackers. They decided to kill all of the men who supported the United States. They thought if they could get rid of all of the Union supporters, their plan would work. Two of these outlaws headed for the Jewett Ranch.

The outlaws asked for some food at the ranch, and Philo Jewett and one of his workers, Mr. Johnson, fed them before they realized why the men were really there. Philo Jewett was able to save himself by running away and hiding, but the outlaws killed Mr. Johnson before Philo was able to go for help. If Philo, had been killed, Kern County might be entirely different today.

1st store in Bakersfield

Solomon Jewett built the first store in Bakersfield at the comer of 19th Street and Chester. He thought building a city and helping businesses grow was important. He looked for ways to make that happen.

There were no banks in Kern County. In fact there wasn't a bank anywhere between Los Angeles and Stockton. Solomon Jewett thought a bank would help his town grow so he opened the Kern Valley Bank in 1874. When the entire city of Bakersfield burned down in 1889, it was Solomon Jewett and his bank that rescued the other business owners. The bank loaned them money to rebuild and begin again.

Kern Valley Bank

After the fire Mr. Jewett was asked what he thought about Kern County's future. He said Kern had many advantages like fertile soil, sufficient water, a diversity of products, and a great climate for growing crops. He said, "It is a wonderful country and does not begin to know its own opportunities and resources."

When you drive down a street in Bakersfield you should think of Solomon Jewett. If it weren't for him, the roads might still be made of dirt! He pioneered the use of asphalt for paving streets. They dug the asphalt with picks and shovels on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley and then hauled it to Bakersfield in wagons pulled by eight mules. Each trip took three days! He paved the street in front of his bank with wooden blocks and asphalt. Soon other community leaders wanted asphalt paving and another Jewett business was born.

Interior of Kern Valley Bank

Solomon and Philo's younger brother, Charles, wasn't as well known as his brothers. He did not come to California until 1876. He had been a soldier in the Civil War and was wounded three times during the war. He had enlisted in the Union Army when he was 17. He was wounded slightly at the First and Second Battles of Bull Run. He was much more seriously wounded at Gettysburg. His leg was badly injured and he was in the hospital for a year, and never fully recovered from his wound.

Charles stayed in the army after the war. When he was on leave in 1876 he purchased some property near Breckenridge which is in the nearby mountains. There were no refrigerators at that time, so people depended on ice to keep food cold. Charles built a large warehouse where he stored ice and took it into Bakersfield in the hot summer months.

In 1892 Charles went on an outing with a friend and her four children. They were picnicking near the upper falls of the Kern River. Willy, age 9, waded into the stream near a large boulder. The current caught him and he went in. His brother Herbert, 8, jumped in to help Willy. Charles Jewett heard the brothers yell for help and dove in. All three of them drowned in the river.

When the Pilgrims left Europe in 1620, they were looking for a better life. When the Kern County pioneers named Solomon, Philo, and Charles Jewett came, they weren't just looking for a better life. They helped to create a better life for the people who pioneered with them. They also had great ideas about how to make Kern County a wonderful place for us to live today.

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