Retrospect – A Local History Blog

Albany is a small city—approximately 1.7 square miles—but it has a rich history, full of interesting people and intriguing events. In this blog, we’ll explore some of these, in no particular order.

All text © Karen Sorensen

How the Fear of Plague Wreaked Havoc at the Waterfront and Led to the Formation of Albany

Albany Incorporation Part 1—The Full Story on the East Bay Garbage Wars and the Armed Albany Women who Stood Their Ground

The auditorium was packed. Two hundred citizens gathered that spring evening in 1908 at Dugan’s Hall and raised angry voices to make clear West Berkeley would not be the site of a city garbage dump.

“We are tired of the way we have been treated,” declared Daniel Dugan, the hall owner. “The trustees have no more right to dump garbage along any section of the West Berkeley waterfront than they have to dump it in the residence district in the fashionable part of East Berkeley…If they persist in dumping garbage despite our objections, serious trouble will result.”

In short order, the group formed the West Berkeley Protective Association, appointed 10 residents as guards to patrol the new waterfront dump site, and soon appeared before the city trustees demanding the dumping be stopped.  

Several days later when garbagemen tried to unload their refuse in the area, they were blocked by hostile residents who reportedly threw stones at the garbage wagons.

The conflict was the latest clash between the west and east sides of Berkeley. Previous disagreements had occurred over the location of City Hall, the location of schools, and the town prohibition on alcohol sales. Now the city was proposing West Berkeley’s waterfront as a site for the city’s trash.

But there was another concern—beyond the unsightly, odoriferous nature of garbage—that made trash dumping extremely controversial in the early 1900s: the fear of bubonic plague.

Plague Arrives in North America

The plague was still relatively new to North America. The first recorded incidence had occurred in the Bay Area just eight years earlier in 1900. At that time, the spread of the disease, via the fleas of infected rats, was still not well understood. However, by the second outbreak in 1907, the rat connection was clear.  

While neither incidence of plague in the early-20^th century Bay Area developed into a widespread epidemic, there was enough concern at the time that federal health authorities were sent to San Francisco (the center of the outbreaks) to limit the spread of the disease. As a result, San Francisco and other Bay Area cities were asked to undertake vigorous sanitation and rat extermination campaigns, designed to clean up excess trash and kill as many rats as possible.

While Berkeley had not discovered large numbers of infected rats, plague concerns soon developed into a major conflict. Early in 1908, the fear of plague had closed the city’s long-term garbage dump, located near the waterfront at the northern county line. Finding a new place to dump trash proved extremely difficult.

The Garbage Wars Begin

Trash dumping had always been controversial, but during a time of plague, no one wanted a rat-infested garbage dump. In the East Bay, the conflict became known as the “Garbage Wars.”

Up and down the East Bay shoreline disputes arose over trash, which had been dumped at various waterfront locations for years. Oakland residents, up in arms about the garbage dumps in West Oakland, appeared before the city council and demanded officials take action. Soon expanded cleanup efforts were underway and the city began hauling its refuse away by barge and dumping it in the ocean.

Berkeley went through a series of garbage conflicts that lasted more than a year during the plague scare. When its county-line dump closed, the city first asked for an extension of time to continue trash deliveries there, but residents of the nearby Stege region vigorously refused.

Next, the city attempted garbage dumping along its own waterfront, on two sites offered at the foot of Gilman and Harrison Streets, but was shut down by the vociferous protests of West Berkeley residents. Also considered was placing the garbage on flat cars and having trains haul it to outlying marsh areas, such as near Suisun. But residents of this area issued harsh warnings against the idea.

Another option was to join with Oakland to have the trash dumped at sea. This alternative was not ideal due to high cost. Yet another idea was building a garbage incinerator, but this was also expensive, controversial and would take more time.

Conflict Erupts with Ocean View (Albany)

With trash piling up across Berkeley and the mounting pressure of plague concerns, the city sought an immediate solution: it rented a piece of waterfront property in the unincorporated area just north of the town line in the pre-Albany area known as Ocean View. The dump site would cost the city $250 per month, a high price in the early 1900s, and was owned by the San Francisco Chemical Co. (near today’s Golden Gate Fields racetrack).

But the residents of rural Ocean View did not want the garbage more than anyone else, and the garbage wars continued.

Ocean View petitioned the district attorney to help prevent the dumping. The DA issued a warning to Berkeley’s garbagemen (known as “scavengers”) that they could be arrested if their dumping became a nuisance in Ocean View. Berkeley’s scavengers remained undeterred, stating they would continue dumping.

Armed Women Block Berkeley Garbage Wagons

The angry residents of Ocean View decided the time had come for action. On a spring morning a group (mostly women) armed themselves with shotguns and rifles, formed a line across Buchanan St., and blocked Berkeley’s garbage wagons as they approached the waterfront dump. This effort proved highly effective until the sheriff arrived to inform the women—led by Mrs. H. C. Hanscom and Mrs. F. A. Olson—that they would be thrown in jail if they continued to threaten people with firearms.

The incident became a major Bay Area news event. Not only the presence of guns—but perhaps more importantly the fact that women were using them—resulted in numerous sensational headlines.

Ocean View Incorporates to Stop Trash Deliveries

The Ocean View residents subsequently returned to legal methods to stop the dumping. Efforts to secure an injunction against the scavengers, who obtained a second dump site in Ocean View, had mixed results, so Ocean View incorporated as a city and adopted an ordinance that prohibited others from dumping within its borders.  One year later the city changed its name to Albany.

Berkeley continued to struggle to find a solution for its trash. Attempts to dump garbage in the bed of Cerrito Creek and to pay Ocean View to permit continued dumping proved controversial and unsuccessful. For a time, Berkeley joined with Oakland to have refuse hauled out to sea.

Ultimately, a garbage incinerator was built, which came with its own set of problems and controversies. Later, garbage was dumped along the bay again and a landfill was operated near the Berkeley Marina until the 1980s.

Eventually, plague concerns subsided in the Bay Area. Although unknown at the time, a major epidemic was avoided largely due to the different anatomy of the flea found in the western United States, which prevents its bite from releasing large quantities of plague bacteria.

Today, plague is still found in rodents throughout the American West. While modern medicines have lessened health concerns, every year a small number of people contract the plague—a reminder of the disease that once caused consternation and conflict throughout the Bay Area and along the East Bay waterfront.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts (see comment link above). All comments are moderated before posting, so please be patient. Longer comments can be emailed to: [email protected].