Today, 183 years ago on Jan. 2, 1842, Henry and Elida McMaster Cowell brought a son into the world in Tioga County in the State of New York’s Finger Lakes region.

The couple named the child Joshua, after his grandfather who fought in the War of 1812 to prevent the British from reclaiming America.

Three years later, the Cowell family moved to Grant County, Wisconsin.

During the height  of the Civil War, Cowell headed west to the Carson Valley in Nevada in the year 1861

But that was not far enough west for Cowell. He was on the move again after less than two years later.

The young Cowell marked the early days of his 21st year by literally walking across the Sierra into California.

The lure of gold was still strong.

But by then the owners of claims in California were almost all large companies.

Instead of a chance to strike it rich, miners by and large were in search of relatively decent paying jobs.

Cowell had something else in mind to make his fortune.

It was farming.

In January of 1863 he ended up arriving, and settling in what was likely the definition of the middle of nowhere back in the early days of San Joaquin County — the sandy plains just over five miles from the untamed  river of the same name.

Cowell eventually bought 1,000 acres and at one pointed rented another 1,000 acres.

That represented more than three square miles of what is today Central Manteca.

But back then there was no Manteca.

And Cowell at first had no close neighbors.

Like others who pulled up stakes and came to California to farm back back then, Cowell likely lived in a tent while he built the prerequisite barn then a house.

It was clear that Cowell was intent on being a farmer.

Whether he had the vision as a 21 year-old for what was to unfold in in a matter of years after he planted his first crop is unknown.

But what is known is Cowell was:

*The first non-indigenous person to take up residency in the heart of what is now Manteca.

*The first developer whether it was selling townsite lots or building structures such as the two-story building on the  northeast corner of Yosemite and Main that now houses Aksland Real Estate among other endeavors.

*The builder and occupant of Manteca’s first house that stood where Bank of America now stands on the southeast corner of Yosemite and Main.

*Among the linchpins of a number of Manteca enterprises including its first bank — the First National Bank of Manteca in the 200 block of West Yosemite (which is now an India merchandise store) that eventually was bought by the San Francisco-based Bank of Italy that became Bank of America in 1930.

*The original advocate and investor to being bring irrigation water to the sandy plains. His effort failed but some of the ditches he put in place were eventually incorporated into the successful launch of the South San Joaquin Irrigation District.

*Manteca’s first mayor.

Cowell’s second home that replaced the original one was built in 1904.

It has six bedrooms, two bathrooms (including one upstairs), a dining room, a kitchen, and a parlor.

The parlor would often be used for funerals as Manteca did not have a funeral home at the time.

There was a pumper in the Cowell barn. Residents would come running to the barn to retrieve the pumper whenever the fire bell mounted on a pole in the Cowell’s backyard sounded.

Cowell faces rough times.

In the 1870s, he tried to return 640 acres back to the bank when he was struggling to pay the $4 an acre mortgage.

The bank declined to take the land back.

There were also years when he had to borrow money from the bank to pay his taxes.

Cowell was part of the original Manteca Board of Trade that was a quasi community board that was the forerunner to the City Council that was formed after Manteca residents voted to incorporate on May 28, 1918.

As a side note, Cowell passed away at age 84 on May 29, 1925 seven years and one day after Manteca officially became a city.

Manteca almost became known as Cowell Station.

Cowell formed the first Manteca business, the Cowell Creamery, to ship milk by rail after the Central Pacific Railroad laid tracks through the middle of his farm.

The creamery was simply a boxcar.

The stop was to be called Cowell Station.

However, Weight Cowell — a brother of Joshua Cowell — also has a stop along the tracks south of Tracy he named Cowell Station.

The two farmers agreed that Cowell Station would be the name of the stop in what is rural Tracy.

Someone, whether it was Cowell or another person, came up with the name that led to Manteca.

The story that has the support of having the most credence was the fact Manteca came by its name due to a misprint on the tickets.

One version has the name Monteca which supposedly is Spanish for butter.

Modern Spanish dictionaries have Manteca meaning butter or lard.

There are two reminders today of Joshua Cowell’s role in Manteca history.

One is Joshua Cowell Elementary School.

The other is the three-block long Cowell Street in the Powers Tract neighborhood that is the first street T-intersecting Moffat Boulevard after you head west after passing Spreckels Avenue.

As a footnote, “Manteca” went from a population of 1 in 1863 to just under 1,000 when it incorporated in 1918 and then 1,500 in 1925 when Cowell died.

Based on growth, Manteca’s population likely surpassed 93,000 as of Jan.1, 2025.

To  contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com

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