The Heart of Berkeley: The Historic McGee-Spaulding District

In 1876, Joseph Hume, president of one of the earliest salmon canning operations in the west, the Knappton Packing Company, bought eight acres at the lower end of the Spaulding Tract (the area bounded by California Street, Dwight Way, Sacramento Street and what is now Channing Way).

Hume commuted to work in San Francisco while living the life of a typical Victorian ‘mini-farmer.’ The 1889 City Tax Assessment Roll lists his personal property as horses, wagon, cows, piano, fur for a total value of $1500. In 1895, the Hume family moved up to Dwight Way and Milvia to a large Victorian mansion that was purchased in 1904 by L. R. Herrick and later converted into the first Herrick Hospital.