Trail to Jersey Island at last open to publicTrail to Jersey Island at last open to publicOctober 29, 2004
It was a proud day last Saturday morning for Ted and Helen Halsey as they sat underneath a crowded canopy and accepted accolades as they were honored with a new public trail dedicated in their name. Even the onslaught of rain didn't dampen their spirits.
After several months in planning, the Ironhouse Sanitary District board of directors officially opened the trail on Jersey Island that will allow Delta access to the general public. The trail will be open for those who wish to take a walk or fish along the shoreline with full view of the waterways.
While many people have not had the opportunity to visit the island, which borders Oakley, many are aware that the district purchased the island in 1993 to use as an environmentally safe way to dispose of sanitary wastewater. The wastewater is used as irrigation for growing hay on the island which is used to feed district-owned cattle and sold to other ranchers. The system has proved not only environmentally sound for the district, but also a good economic choice as the hay and the cattle add extra income for the district each year.
Even though this unique method of disposing of the wastewater has attracted attention to the island in the last decade, Jersey Island has an interesting hitory just the same. As far back as the Halseys can remember, the island was originally owned by the Wright Corporation. Members of the corporation were Ted's grandfather and great uncle. The corporation farmed the island full of asparagus in the early 1900s. According to Ted, asparagus has a realitively short growing period and the company decided that when the land could no longer produce the crop it was time to sell.
Growing asparagus is a labor-intensive business, and looking at the island today, many may be surprised at the number of people who lived there beforee World War II. Up until the war the island had a hotel where farm workers lived. The company that owned the land also housed a store, small school, oil station and machine shop. Many other workers lived in their own houses throughout the island.
Over time most of the houses either burned down or were demolished. The only house that stands on the island today is the ranch house where Ted and Helen live.
In 1936 the Wright Corporation decided it didn't want to be in the farming business anymore and sold several of the other islandsthat it owned in the area. The only problem was that it couldn't sell Jersey Island because for the most part the levees were non-existent. At that time Ted Halsey took over as manager of the island under Delta Properties Inc. (his family-owned corporation). As the land wasn't able to grow asparagus any longer, Ted worked to start other crops throughout the island.
Ted also began dredging and building the levees and in the mid-1930s and late 1940s. Around 1945, Delta Properties leased part of the land for several years to a company that grew sunflowers. With the backdrop of Mt. Diablo, that must have been a colorful sight. Delta Properties also began bringing in beef cattle to the property. In 1947, Ted married Helen and merged the old school house and small house into a single ranch house for the couple to live in, whhere they still live today.
In 1955, Delta Properties sold approximately 700 of the 3,500 acres to the Burroughs, a neighboring ranch family who grew corn on the property.
The Ironhouse Sannitary District hopes to open more of the island to the public for a walking trail. That process will take some time, but for now it is a great start. People who wish to obtain a permit to walk on the trail should visit the Ironhouse Sanitary District for a parking permit at 450 Walnut Meadows Road in Oakley or visit their Web site at www.ironhousesanitarydistrict.com.
Roni Gehlke's column on life in Oakley appears each week in the Brentwood News.
Distributed by the Contra Costa Times