View or download full presentation
Summary:
Historical Resources
- Niles Canyon Railway (NCRY) now runs vintage steam and diesel trains on the original transcontinental railroad bed
- The Essanay studio in Niles filmed in many locations throughout the canyon between 1912 and 1916
- California Brick Company
- Spring Valley Water Company was the first water company in the area
- Brightside and Farwell picnic areas were train stops in the canyon
- THE SPOT night club and meeting place
- Capt. Juan Bautista de Anza and his small expeditionary force crossed Alameda Creek at the mouth of the canyon on March 31, 1776.
- The mouth of the canyon was also the location of the first grist mill in the area and used water from Alameda Creek to turn the grinding stone.
Pictures
- Essanay Film Company posse riding through the canyon (1)
- Closing scene of The Tramp with Charlie Chaplin, 1915 (2)
- Outlaw’s Awakening with Broncho Billy Anderson, 1915 (3)
- Essanay stagecoach on Niles Canyon Road in Broncho Billy’s Squareness, 1915 (4)
- Broncho Billy’s Narrow Escape, 1912 (5)
- The Convict’s Threat, 1915 (6)
- The Claim Jumpers, 1915
Conclusions
- Entire length of Niles Canyon has historic resources
- Niles Canyon has been a destination for over 100 years
- The current HWY 84 project will severely adversely affect the ability of the Niles/Sunol corridor to be a destination area and have a negative effect on the local economies
For further information and lots of great photographs, see the following books
- Broncho Billy and the Essanay Film Company by David Kiehn, Farwell Books
- Niles, Fremont by Phil Holmes and Jill Singleton, Arcadia Press
- Niles Canyon Railway by Henry Luna, Arcadia Press
