Manteca was first settled by a
few pioneer farmers in the early 1850's.
Before the first settlers came, there were few Indians
living permanently here because of the extreme summer heat and the
scarcity of useful vegetation on what was then known as the "sand
plains". As the California Gold Rush subsided, permanent settlers
came to the area. The principal products were grain and cattle on
the first large land holdings. During this period, this valley settlement
was called Cowell Station, named after Joshua Cowell who was later
known as the "father of Manteca".
This excellent
154 page book by Evelyn Prouty is
available for purchase at the museum.
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Joshua Cowell crossed
the plains in 1861 and took up land on what is now the corner
of Yosemite and Main (currently the Bank of America). At
one time he owned most of Manteca with a claim to 1,000 acres
and he rented another 1,000. He had the honor of being the
first mayor when the town was incorporated in 1918. When
the Central Pacific Railroad came through in 1873, the track
was laid through the center of the Cowell Farm. At first
the train stopping point was merely a boxcar called Cowell
Station. There was another Cowell Station south of Tracy
named after Wright Cowell, a brother of Joshua. Because of
the confusion of the two station's names, the railroad and
the farmers agreed to a name change. The new name chosen
was Monteca. The citizens of the town were justly dismayed
when the railroad printed the first tickets and found the
name misspelled, "Manteca" (Manteca is Spanish
for 'lard'). Many of the townspeople were unhappy with the
error but it was never corrected.
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In 1898 J.J. Overshiner built the first store building
which was occupied by a general store and barber shop. Then the
residential
area of the city consisted of only a few homes but by 1910, the
population had reached about 100. Shortly after the opening of
the first store, the citizens petitioned for a post office.
To learn more of the history of Manteca, please visit the Museum
at 600 W Yosemite Ave., Manteca, CA
(209) 825-3021. The mailing address for the Museum is P.O. Box 907.
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