Lake Merced[1] is the largest of three freshwater lakes in San Francisco. It is fed by an underground spring and surrounding creeks. Located in the southwest corner of the City, it was first used by the Ohlone Indians as a seasonal camping ground for hunting and fishing. In 1774 Padre Francisco Palou, who was appointed by Father Junipera Serra under Spanish rule to open and operate a mission in San Francisco, named the lake La Laguna de Westra Sonora de la Merced and utilized the surrounding land for pasture and farming. In 1835, when San Francisco was known as Yerba Buena and under Mexican rule, 2,200 acres stretching from Lake Merced to Potrero Hill were granted to Jose Antonio Golindo. Two years later Golindo sold the land to Yerba Buena’s first acolade (mayor), Francisco de Jarro. De Jarro built his house at the south end of the lake. When he died in 1949 Yerba Buena had become part of the United States and de Jarro’s heirs unsuccessfully fought for ownership of the land. The Greene family, who had been squatters on de Jarro’s land, were deeded the land around what is today Stern Grove[2]. In 1852 they reported feeling an earthquake during a winter storm and the next day discovered that a sandbank on the south-western side of Lake Merced had broken open, with water flowing into the ocean. The lake level dropped 30 feet, though by 1854 the sand bank had naturally restored itself and the lake was back to its original water level.
As Lake Merced was outside City limits until 1866, the area was often the site for nefarious undertakings, including duels. In 1859 David Terry, a transplanted Southerner and former Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court, killed David Broderick, a former California State Senator. Terry was known for his violent temper: he once stabbed a fellow politician in the neck after a verbal altercation. Broderick was at one time the most powerful man in San Francisco: no man could be elected to public office without first paying Broderick. Both men were once allies within the Democratic party, but by 1859 the party was divided: Terry and the “Chiv” faction supported bringing slavery to California while Broderick and the “Free Soil” faction were abolitionists. Terry lost a re-election bid because and blamed Broderick and Broderick’s friend Leonides Haskell for his loss. When Terry learned that Broderick had referred to him as “a miserable dishonest wretch of a judge”, Terry challenged Broderick to a duel. Despite poor health, Broderick accepted. The duel was to take place in San Francisco on the morning of September 12th, but because dueling was illegal in San Francisco, the Sheriff arrived and arrested both men. They were released later that day and the duel was scheduled for the next morning at the northern end of Lake Merced outside City limits. The weapons, Belgian .58 caliber pistols, are now housed in the basement of the Bank of California[3]. Broderick had no experience with the guns’ firing mechanism, while Terry practiced using them in the days leading up to the event. On the morning of September 13th, both men took ten paces. Broderick was to shoot first: he raised his weapon but it misfired, sending the bullet into the dirt. Terry then raised and fired, hitting Broderick squarely in the chest and puncturing his lung. Leonides Haskell brought a mortally wounded Broderick back to his house at Black Point at Fort Mason where he died three days later. Haskell House[4] still stands today and is said to be haunted by Broderick’s ghost, with pictures falling off the walls, toilets flushing and lights going on of their own accord. While Broderick was assumed corrupt during his lifetime, he became a martyr to the abolitionist cause in death. Thousands attended his funeral, a street was promptly named after him, and he was buried at the top of Lone Mountain Cemetery[5] beneath a huge monument. Terry was charged with murder twice in two different counties but both cases were ultimately dismissed. He left California to fight for the Confederacy. He was killed thirty years later during an altercation at a train station. A marker where the Broderick/Terry duel took place was erected in 1932.
In 1868 Spring Valley Water Company (SVWC) bought the rights to Lake Merced and it’s surrounding water table. SVWC became the main source for San Francisco’s water supply and the largest privately held water company in the United States. SVWC dammed the western edge of the lake and this, along with runoff from neighboring farms and ranches, caused an algae bloom that threatened water quality. SVWC’s solution was to import and dump thousands of carp into the lake to eat the algae. But the carp multiplied exponentially, and as they were bottom feeders they stirred up the water and made it muddy. To combat the carp problem, SVWC caught and released 14 sea lions into Lake Merced. This caused another set of problems as the sea lions didn’t like the taste of carp, taking one bite of the fish and leaving the rest. The surface and shores of Lake Merced were littered with fish carcasses, which attracted seagulls. The decline in water quality led to Mayor Adolph Sutro[6] insisting that SVWC address the problem. In 1893 100,000 muskellunge, a fish in the pike family, were imported from New York and within two years the carp had disappeared and the sea lions were removed.
Anger at SVWC’s exorbitant rates came to a head when the company’s infrastructure failed during the 1906 Earthquake and Fires[7]. In 1908 the City voted in favor of a municipal Hetch Hetchy water system. While SVWC still supplied some of the City’s water supply, it lost a significant portion of its revenue and began selling parcels of land to make way for golf courses, the Fleishhacker Pool[8], the San Francisco Zoo[9], San Francisco State University[10] and Fort Funston[11]. After three failed bond measures, a fourth bond measure in 1928 approved San Francisco’s purchase of all SVWC land holdings including the 62,000 acres of water shed and 28,000 acres of river rights and peninsula reservoirs. On March 9, 1930, Mayor James “Sunny Jim” Rolph[12] dedicated Lake Merced as a public park.
Today, Lake Merced is a 614 acre park with a 4.5 mile paved trail that goes around the lake’s perimeter. Three golf courses abut Lake Merced: the San Francisco Golf Club, the Olympic Club Lakeside Golf Course and the public course, Harding Park. The lake is stocked with different varieties of fish, and over 50 species of birds use the lake as a breeding ground. It is a popular spot for runners, cyclists, fishermen, rowers and bird watchers. It is managed by the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department[13] and there are multiple picnic areas, a boat launch, a fishing pier and hiking trails.
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[1] Photo: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/9283BC36-3105-45C0-9602-2F2E37EB0205.jpeg [2] Stern Grove: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=3389 [3] Bank of California: story coming April 1st [4] Photo: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/5192D97D-6534-4C91-B3E4-EB967CFC864B.jpeg [5] Lone Mountain Cemeteries: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=3762 [6] Adolph Sutro: story coming March 14th [7] 1906 Earthquake and Fires: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=2849 [8] Fleishhacker Pool: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=4745 [9] San Francisco Zoo: story coming December 22nd [10] San Francisco State University: story coming July 18th [11] Fort Funston: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=3821 [12] James ”Sunny Jim” Rolph: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=5365 [13] Visit them at https://sfrecpark.org
