Dyer Family Letters

Three different Dyer brothers lived in Alvarado from the 1850s and on. Two of them, Ephraim and Ebenezer married and had their families with them. Letters to family back home in Maine provide a firsthand glimpse into early Alvarado:

April 17, 1858

The children seem to enjoy the weekly visit of the steamboat. The only water view we have is by going to the creek a few steps from here, at all times you can see vessels coming and going, they have the appearance of sailing on land, it is so level that we can see at a great distance. It is quite busy here now that the steam mill commenced operations. Farmers are bringing in their grain and peddlers of all kind pass the door with fruits and vegetables. There is a butcher shop close by, a lager beer saloon, a school house, a store, etc. The school is kept the year around. They have a man teacher at the present, his wages are a hundred dollars a month. - Marion Dyer

December 11, 1859

I do not know if I ever described Alvarado to you or not. If not, it might interest you to know some of the features of the place. It contains two churches, three or four stores, a blacksmith ship, butcher shop, an Odd Fellows Hall - lately established (Herrick is a Grand Noble) Ephraim also belongs to it. We have two hotels and one livery stable.

The people settled here are mostly western or Dutch. But there is a small circle here very pleasant to associate with indeed. The creek runs by our backyard. We have quite a pretty front yard with quite a variety of plants growing, some blooming now, all in the carnation pink. You know that this is a house plant at home. But in Alvarado, it is rather low, consequently rather muddy during our rainy season.

One very bad feature of our plains, I think, is the absence of grass. Unless the land is under cultivation, you can see nothing but salt weed as far as the eye can reach. But as if for atonement, the mountains are covered with wild oats which after a few rains, make the mountains appear green and pretty.

Excepting along the banks of the creek, there are no trees to relieve the eyes. Trees can be successfully transplanted here, so when the settlers feel secure in their titles, they can soon make up for the lack of them.

Most of the buildings here in Alvarado were hauled from Union City. The latter place is getting rather shorn of some of its ancient glory while the former is in the ascendant. Mr. John Horner was the founder of Union City and Henry Smith of Alvarado. They are now both poor. - Marion Dyer

October 28, 1860

This is getting to be quite a smart village, we have two hotels, about a dozen grocers and boarding houses (mostly German), a drug store, three doctors ( in a starving condition), two blacksmith shops, two wheelwrights shops, three large stores well stocked with all sorts of goods, two churches and an Odd Fellows Hall, besides our share of officials; last but not least, the county Surveyor has an office here. - Ebenezer Herrick Dyer