By Rainbow Mitchell-Fox Bitter and Eric Bitter
Historians have come to recognize the window of time from approximately 1870 to 1900 as, “The Gilded Age of California.” Although a brief period in history, it was marked by the rapid growth in entrepreneurism, migration to the state, and expansion of higher education for women, to name a few. It was also the period when Sarah, the fifth of six children born to Henry and Harriet Cowell, lived most of her life.
After returning to his east coast home from his business dealings with his brother in San Francisco, Henry Cowell married Harriet Carpenter in Massachusetts on November 2, 1854. The newlyweds moved to the San Francisco area to start and raise a family consisting of Isabella, Roland, Ernest, Harry, Sarah, and Helen. Harriet and the children moved to Santa Cruz in the middle of July, 1865. Henry made the move and joined his family about October 1.
Sarah was born in Oakland in 1863 and spent the early part of her life growing up with her siblings in the Cowell ranch house (now known as the Cardiff House on the UCSC campus). She attended church with her family, made her way through Bay View School with her siblings, and enjoyed life on the ranch. She and her sister, Helen, must have enjoyed learning as their names were found in an 1878 honor roll listing in the newspaper. Sarah was a regular on the honor roll list in her class.
The Henry Cowell brand was growing into a well-known name around Santa Cruz, yet he worked at keeping the family out of the spotlight while still supporting and participating in the community. His name was found in a newspaper article as attending a ball to commemorate the opening of the Pacific Ocean House in 1866. He was mentioned in another article for his contribution of $1,000 to the building of a new Congregational Church. He was recorded as sponsoring events at the family-owned property in Sycamore Grove. Henry’s name was also found in a newspaper article as a pallbearer in 1870. Then, in 1871, Henry was listed as tasked to the Committee of Arrangement at the Grand Citizens Ball. He was also an active member of the Sycamore Club.
During the late 1800s, Santa Cruz was a growing town known for its industries of lime, leather, and lumber. It was also becoming a destination for the quickly growing tourist and hospitality industries, fueled by growth and accessibility of transportation and hotel accommodations respectively. People were able to visit Santa Cruz for a day at the beach, or longer. The county boasted numerous resort accommodations along the shores of Capitola and Santa Cruz. The mountains also offered their own attraction of majestic redwood trees. While the Santa Cruz area was growing as a resort town with significant industries, San Francisco was taking over the West Coast as a fast-growing city of significance.
San Francisco was a boom town first created by the Gold Rush and then by its growth as a bustling seaport. Businesses, financial institutions, and cultural activities were the draw of visitors who became new residents. It was the destination spot for those to see and the place to live in Northern California.
Sometime in 1879, Henry moved the family from Santa Cruz to San Francisco. The Cowell business had grown to serve the Pacific Coast and had well-established offices, warehouses, and properties in the Bay Area. One could speculate that the move was business related. However, San Francisco offered the family a more refined life that included nearby higher education for his children and social activities not widely available in Santa Cruz.
By the mid 1870s, San Francisco became a city of prominence. It had grown from about 57,000 in 1860 to just under 150,000 people in 1870. The Palace Hotel, the world’s largest in its day, opened its doors in 1875. Wealthy families of California, and beyond, flocked to San Francisco to build grand homes in this bustling city. Names like Leland Stanford (the railroad tycoon), Ben Holliday (the stagecoach baron), James Phelan, Sr. (real estate and liquor magnate), and the wealthy banker, William Ralston, all moved their families into palatial residences along Van Ness, Post, Mason, Stockton, and Powell Streets. Upon their return, the Cowell family’s first residence was located at 1812 Pine Street. Later they moved into a larger home at 413 Hyde Street. The San Francisco 1880 census has the entire family living there, including Sarah (described as a student).
Though education was impressed upon only men of affluent families, Henry encouraged all his children, including the daughters, to seek higher education. So, after graduating from Bay View grade school, and the move to San Francisco, Sarah enrolled in the Berkeley Gymnasium. This preparatory school, modeled after the German-style of education, was located across the bay from their San Francisco family home. The school was situated at base of the University of California, Berkeley campus, and founded on the principal goal to prepare students for a college experience. A newspaper ad for the school boasted that coursework and school faculty were of the highest caliber and proudly displayed a patrons list of prominent names.
In the 1881 Oakland city directory, Sarah was listed as a student living on Durant Avenue between Bowditch and Choate in East Berkeley. Since the Bay Bridge wasn't constructed until the mid 1930s public transportation across the bay was available by ferry. From an 1881 daily newspaper ferry schedule, a Berkeley to San Francisco passenger could ride from 7:30 am and every hour ending with 11:30 am, and 1:30, 3:00, 4:00, 5:00, 6:00 pm daily. One can speculate that Sarah could easily make the 30-or-so minute trip to and from her Berkeley student housing to the San Francisco family home when she desired.
Sarah graduated from the Berkeley Gymnasium in May of 1881. The graduation ceremony was at the Berkeley Presbyterian church, as reported in the Oakland Tribune newspaper. Each graduating student performed an example of their talents during the ceremony. Sarah recited her essay “A Study of History,” which highlighted the importance of her focus on historical studies. From Sarah’s talk, the reporter wrote,
“MISS SARAH E. COWELL Spoke on the subject of ‘A Study of History.’ History preserves the monuments of the past, and hands them down, eternal, to the future. However pursued, history promotes, above all things, mental development. As a pleasure merely, it is great; but, as a study, it is sublime. It is to history that all resort in order to obey that divine command, ‘Know thyself.’ Poetry and history are closely joined in aim. History is an incentive to action. It is a signboard to the reader. The historian gives the greatest boon to mankind. He must be impartial and logical. It is ever advancing, we should so guide our conduct as to give a good example to the future.”
Celebrating her commencement from school, she went on a trip with her sister to, “The Geysers.” In another advertisement in the 1881 San Francisco Chronicle, the geysers were in reference to those found in the Sonoma County area.
Not much of Sarah’s whereabouts was documented after her graduation from the Berkeley Gymnasium. She attended the University of California, Berkeley briefly, only appearing once in an 1884 school list of students attending the college.
During the 1880s and 1890s, announcements in the Santa Cruz Surf newspaper showed Harriet Cowell traveled from San Francisco to Santa Cruz. Sometimes these trips included a “Miss” Cowell which could have been any of the three Cowell sisters. This suggests that travel between the family home in San Francisco to the Santa Cruz Cowell Ranch was a common occurrence. It’s easy to imagine how the Cowell ladies enjoyed a retreat from the busy city to the resort community of Santa Cruz at their ranch.
Santa Cruz wasn’t completely without activities for its social class. In August of 1890, Sarah and her father attended a “Bull’s Head” dinner at Sycamore Grove. Mayor Bowman hosted the event for the officers and ladies visiting from Camp Stanford, the National Guard post, stationed in Santa Cruz.
Sarah was a modern educated woman of means and status. San Francisco was a place for her to connect with other individuals of her rank and station. In January 1896, Sarah served as one of 24 individuals on the Board of Managers for the San Francisco Nursery for Homeless Children, incorporated in 1892. The Nursery’s primary mission was to provide shelter to orphaned children. She was appointed Corresponding Secretary, tasked with writing acknowledgements of all donations and keeping the list of the donor names. In the 1897 city directory, the Nursery for Homeless Children was listed as her residence. Moreover, Sarah’s name was found in articles highlighting homeless children. Some fundraising events were very lavish, as detailed in a 1901 article describing a charity event at the Palace Hotel’s Maple Hall. Besides her philanthropic activity caring for homeless children, she was also an active member in the Sorosis Club. Organized in 1893 and modeled after the national organization, the Sorosis Club of San Francisco was formed to empower and nurture women’s interest in philanthropy, literary, and scientific pursuits. The club met on the first, third, and fifth Mondays of each month from September to June. Sarah’s sister, Helen was found in an 1895 newspaper article to be active in the club, while Sarah’s name was listed in a club event in 1899. Both Sarah and Helen were in the 1903 Shreve & Co. Blue Book as club members. Among that list of names were Mrs. Mills (co-founder of Mills Collage for women), Miss Rose O’Halloran (esteemed astronomer), Mrs. Phoebe Hearst (suffragist and mother of William Randolph Hearst), to name a few members.
In 1900 Sarah’s mother, Harriet, died. In that year’s census it lists Sarah living at the Hyde Street address with her father and two sisters, Isabella and Helen.
Sadly, Sarah’s life was cut short in a tragic horse and cart accident just days before her fortieth birthday in 1903. It happened while she was accompanying Mrs. George, the wife of the ranch manager, on a ride near the upper kilns. The Evening Sentinel stated that, “it is presumed the horse ran away and the cart struck some obstacle, causing the ladies to be thrown out at the top of the hill. Mrs. George was driving.” Although Mrs. George was rendered unconscious and taken to her home and later recovered from her injuries, Sarah was found face down on a pile of rocks. She died within an hour of the accident from what her death records describe as a broken neck.
According to the San Francisco Call and Post newspaper, Sarah left the bulk of her estate to her two sisters, one hundred dollars each to her two brothers, and curiously, five hundred dollars to Rose O’Halloran (mentor and fellow Sorosis Club member). O’Halloran was likely a family acquaintance as she was listed as the vice President of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, for which Henry Cowell was a life member. Rose lived about two miles away from the Cowell home San Francisco.
Like many of the affluent and educated families of the Gilded Age of California, the story of the Cowell family leaves historians wondering about their personal lives. However, it is clear that Henry Cowell was a shrewd entrepreneur, appreciated charities, impressed on his children the need for higher education, and simply wanted the best for his family, including his daughters. Unfortunately for Sarah, her life was taken too soon to reveal the outcome of her total contributions.
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This was one of the stories included in the Fall 2024/Winter 2025 issue of our Lime Kiln Chronicles newsletter. To see the entire issue, please go here.
