Journeys in Suburbia: The Frenchman's Tower

The Frenchman's Tower ***

Top Locations:
1. Mysterious Tower

Time for Visiting: N/A
Cost: N/A
Best Season: Anytime
Bring: Camera

In 1875, a mysterious Frenchman, giving himself the name monsieur Peter Coutts, arrived at the small farming town of Mayfield and purchased a massive tract of land for a stock farm. All of the area soon became abuzz with rumors, as the Frenchman, obviously a man of wealth and education, began large-scale work on his property- known as Matadero Farm- building a country house, a farm, a lake/reservoir and an intricate series of walls and tunnels connecting them all. Finally, at the edge of Matadero Creek, Coutts built this 9.75m tall, two story tower.

The tower was an object of mysterious wonder to the locals. Coutts claimed the second floor held a water tank, while the first floor held a library. Strangely though, the second floor had windows (now bricked up), while the first floor had no door, the building likely connected to the outside world through one of the tunnels. Others pointed out the obvious danger of a leak destroying the entire book collection. For eight years he lived and worked on the farm. Then suddenly in 1882, as mysteriously as he arrived, Coutts vanished, his massive work on Matadero Farm incomplete.

Rumors abounded, especially one that Coutts was a military paymaster who had stolen money from the French army during the Franco-Prussian War and absconded with the ill-gotten gains. With the French government out to arrest him, Coutts built the tower as either a fort or weapons cache or at least a lookout against Gallic agents. Yet this does not explain the poor location of the tower, hidden behind hills along a large creek.

In 1882, Peter Coutts surprised everyone in Mayfield again when he reappeared, albeit only briefly. He quickly sold his massive farm to businessman and Senator Leland Stanford, and evidently returned to France. Leland Stanford, who ran the farm as part of his extensive stables, later (1891) converted it to a University, named after his son.

Later, an interpretation of the whole incident came out. Peter Coutts was actually Paulin Caperon, a bank manager of the Bank of Bordeaux. After the Franco-Prussian War, defeat had ignited a financial panic which consumed the bank. As Gallic Law placed bank debt as the responsibility of the managers, Caperon was in danger of complete financial ruin and chose to flee the responsibility. He lived at Matadero until his situation was finally sorted out by the French government, and returned home.

Another interpretation came from Caperon's granddaughter, who claimed his flight was not over finances, but his publishing of the "La Liberte" newspaper. This came afoul of Emperor Napoleon III, causing Caperon and his associates to flee abroad.
The mysterious Frenchman's Tower sits, barely remembered, on a back road near where I work. Someone had punched a hole in the bottom of the tower, and graffiti artists have plied their hobby. The holes in the brickwork held the wooden platform that divided the first and second floors, evidently destroyed by arson at some point in the past.

To reach the Frenchman's Tower, exit HWY 280 from Page Mill Road.  Take a slight left on Old Page Mill Road, a narrow 1.5 lane road.  Continue down until you see the tower on the right.

Journeys in Suburbia: Downtown San Jose--Part 2: San Jose State

Downtown San Jose
The R2-D2 building, the last hanging ground in California, and a statue that looks like feces.

Scale: ***** Must Visit
          ****   Worth Detouring
          ***     If in the Area
          **       May be Worth Visiting-Once
          *         Interest only

2. San Jose State **

First established in 1857 in San Francisco as Minns' Evening Normal School, San Jose is the oldest public college in California. In 1862 it became the California Normal School and in 1871 moved to San Jose. San Jose State serves some 5400 people and is among the highest ranked colleges in the nation and is a major source of the computer and software engineers.  A few interesting sites are scattered throughout the campus, and some of the usual college shops and cafes are arrayed nearby.

San Jose State is a relatively small school, but it is a large are for Downtown.  The total trip should take around 20 minutes to 1 hour.

Enter San Jose State through the Paseo de San Antonio Walk near 4th and San Carlos.  Large pillars guard the entrance to the school.  Continue straight along the path to the old center of San Jose State, a large grassy lawn dominated by a large old tower. Take a left.
 

A.Tower Hall **

Built in 1910 to replace the previous building destroyed during the 1906 Great San Francisco Earthquake, Tower Hall is a mixture of Art Noveau, Gothic, Renaissance, Moorish, and Spanish-revival.  According to tradition, Tau Delta Phi sets up a chair and paddle on the bell tower, but the school has stopped it due to it being a fire hazard. 

Art Noveau, Moorish, Gothic, Spanish, Renaissance and Mission art - See more at: http://spartandaily.com/3588/a-century-later-sjsus-tower-hall-stands-tall#sthash.JZdmuX7H.dpuf

Art Noveau, Moorish, Gothic, Spanish, Renaissance and Mission art - See more at: http://spartandaily.com/3588/a-century-later-sjsus-tower-hall-stands-tall#sthash.JZdmuX7H.dpuf

Behind the Tower Hall to the left is a lawn containing a bell.


B. The Tower Bell *

Cast in 1881 to commemorate the California Normal School, it served the tower of the Tower Hall.  The bell rung until the 1906 Earthquake and was finally replaced in 1946.

To the right of the bell is a larger lawn with two figures.


C.Tommie Smith and John Carlos Statues ***
In one of the most overt political statements in the Olympic Games, San Jose State University students Tommie Smith, winner of the Gold Medal, and John Carlos, winner of the Bronze Medal in the 200m race of the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, raised their fists up in support of human rights.  Peter Norman of Australia, winner of the Silver Medal, wore a badge for the Olympic Project for Human Rights in solidarity to the Americans.  The three were booed by the crowd at the podium and suspended by order of the controversial IOC President Avery Brundage, who stated the acts to be political (though he himself has quite some controversy with being a Nazi supporter and later the decision to continue the Olympics after the Munich Olympic Massacre).  Smith and Carlos endured heavy controversy upon their return to the United States, as did Norman in Australia.  The act remains somewhat controversial, but generally most currently see it as a brave act for supporting civil rights in the United States and the world. In 2005, artist Rigo 23 created this statue of Smith and Carlos at San Jose State in honor of their actions. Norman is not depicted, though he spoke at its dedication.  Supporters occasionally place shoes at the statues.

Continuing East, you work your way around a building to another large palm-lined boulevard. You are heading towards the newer sections of campus.  In the middle of the boulevard is an impressive arch.


D. César Chávez Memorial ***

This memorial is dedicated to prominent United Farm Workers activist César Chávez, instrumental in leading the nonviolent Delano Grapes Strike of 1965 and the Salad Bowl Strike in 1970, leading to increased wages and collective bargaining rights of farm workers in California.  The memorial includes an UFW Aztec eagle on top, with images of Dolores Huerta (left) and Mahatma Gandhi (right) below.

From the arch, turn left, going Northward up 7th St. After 1.5 blocks (backtracking half a block) turn left to go Westward. Eventually you'll see Tower Hall on the left.  In front is the next stop near the corner of San Fernando and 4th St.


E. Martin Luther King Jr. Library ****

In 2003, San Jose State University and the San Jose Municipal Public Library agreed to form a single library integrating both the municipal stacks and the university literary collection, despite some controversy over whether a single collection could effectively serve its dual functions. The library appears to have been successful. With 1.6 million volumes, eight floors and 44,000 m² of space, it is the largest single library building in the Western United States. Also included is the Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies, the only museum devoted to Ludwig van Beethoven in North America, and collections related to John Steinbeck, California History, and Civil Rights History.