Now that Arnold Schwarzenegger might soon start San Martin on
its way to becoming an incorporated town, it’s ironic to note
California’s governor and the South Valley community have something
in common. That something is … explosions.
Now that Arnold Schwarzenegger might soon start San Martin on its way to becoming an incorporated town, it’s ironic to note California’s governor and the South Valley community have something in common. That something is … explosions.
It’s a stretch I’m making, but stick with me here. Many of Schwarzenegger’s action-packed blockbusters films were filled with plenty of pyrotechnics as buildings, airplanes and cars blew up. You might say explosions made the Austrian Oak’s film career. Well … the little village between Morgan Hill and Gilroy also owes its existence to an explosion, a rather tragic one.
Here’s the history of San Martin’s explosive origins. It all starts with pioneer Martin Murphy Sr., who brought his Irish family to California in 1844 on the first wagon train to cross the rugged Sierra mountain range.
In 1851, the husband of Johanna Fitzgerald (Murphy’s daughter in Quebec) died. Murphy sent his youngest son Bernard back east by ship to accompany Johanna and her six children on the long voyage to California. While in Quebec, Bernard met an attractive Irish lass named Catherine O’Toole and asked for her hand in marriage.
Bernard and the lovely Catherine wedded in Canada, and she accompanied him on the arduous journey to the far West. The two settled down on Bernard’s Rancho La Polka, a 4,000-acre Mexican land-grant property he’d purchased just north of what’s now the city of Gilroy.
For their home, Murphy shipped around the Horn of South America a tin house he’d ordered from New England. Packed in crates, the metal dwelling was delivered to the port of Alviso on the southern end of San Francisco Bay. From there it was hauled by horse-drawn wagons to his ranch and carpenters built it into a proper structure.
Together, the two Murphys made their home a happy one. In 1852, Catherine gave birth to a son they named Martin after the patriarch of the family.
Unfortunately, the couple’s time together would be short. On the morning of April 11, 1853, on a business trip to San Francisco, the 35-year-old Murphy and his nephew Thomas Kell Jr., (the son of Murphy’s daughter Margaret) boarded the 61-ton side-wheel steamboat Jenny Lind docked in Alviso. As the ship left the port and headed north at a good clip, Murphy and Kell sat down in the dining cabin to enjoy lunch.
A little past the noon hour, the steamboat chugged through the area just north of where the Dumbarton Bridge spans the bay. Without warning, the boiler exploded. Flames and scalding clouds of steam blasted through the cabin bulkhead. The steam engulfed passengers. Many people were burned or severely maimed. Among the 34 dead killed by the explosion were Bernard and Kell.
Martin Murphy felt a tremendous grief from the loss of his son and grandson. The elderly man frequently traveled north on the 40-mile round-trip to the church in San Jose to attend Mass and visit their graves. Riding on his pony, the trip took all day. So, he decided a small chapel and cemetery should be built conveniently on his South Valley ranch.
The Irishman gave the Catholic Church about four acres of land on his property to build a small chapel with a footprint of about 20 feet by 40 feet. Murphy named the church San MartÃn in honor of his patron saint, Saint Martin of Tours in France. He located the structure at the intersection of what’s now New and San Martin avenues.
San Francisco-based Archbishop Joseph Alemany officially blessed the little church on Nov. 2, 1853 – All Soul’s Day. Alemany also participated in the re-burial of Bernard and Kell’s remains in the adjoining cemetery.
Through the years, about 20 other pioneers would be buried in the chapel’s graveyard. Later, they would all be relocated to their final final resting places at the St. Mary Cemetery in the nearby community of Gilroy.
In 1869, a railroad was built paralleling Monterey Road through the South Valley region. A few miles north of Gilroy, a flag-stop station – originally called Mil’s Switch – was established for farmers. But locals referred to the station as “San Martin” after Murphy’s chapel nearby.
On April 2, 1877, the tiny church burned to the ground. It was never rebuilt, but the station kept the chapel’s name. Over time, a village formed around the San Martin train stop. In 1892, a few streets were even formally laid out in hopes a town might eventually develop there.
Somehow, San Martin retained its village ambiance. Its population is now more than 4,000 people, almost doubling in size in the last 10 or so years due to Silicon Valley’s economic boom.
Over the years, there have been three attempts to officially make San Martin a town. The first attempt was in the 1960s, but incorporation meant that property taxes would rise by over $2,000 a house. Residents nixed the idea.
The second attempt came during the 1980s. But the community then didn’t have a sufficient tax base, and incorporation also infringed on the “sphere of influence” of both Morgan Hill and Gilroy.
A few years ago, the San Martin Neighborhood Alliance, led by its president Sylvia Hamilton, gave incorporation a third shot. This try looks like it’ll be successful.
One thing holding it back was legislation preventing San Martin from receiving vehicle license fee money from the state. But a state bill introduced by Assemblyman John Laird – and recently unanimously passed by both parties – will solve that problem. The bill now waits Arnold Schwarzenegger’s signature.
Hamilton feels sure “The Governator” will sign the bill by its end-of-month deadline. That will get the ball rolling for San Martin’s incorporation – possibly as soon as November 2007.
Just like the movie star did in films, the little community will set off its own explosions. Fireworks will most certainly explode when San Martin officially becomes a town.
“We’re exploding with enthusiasm to incorporate our town and thereby take charge of the destiny of our community,” Hamilton said.
